NEW MUFF FILMS FROM OUR CALL FOR ENTRIES - THE WINNERS CHOSEN BY OUR ESTEEMED JURY. WE HAVE ASSEMBLED AN AMAZING COLLECTION OF NEW CINEMA FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD. INCREDIBLE NEW OZ FEATURES, AND DYNAMIC OZ ENTRIES, THE VANGUARD OF INDY AND GUERRILLA CINEMA IS FOUND HERE AT MUFF.
CHECK THESE OUT.
PROGRAMMED BY RICHARD WOLSTENCROFT,
NOTES BY MICHAEL HELMS AND RW.
DEAD GIRL (USA)
Directed by Marcel Sarmiento & Gadi Harel
7pm / Fri 17 Oct / The George
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Straight from a sell-out riot at Toronto’s Midnight Madness comes Marcel Sarmiento and Gadi Harel’s seriously twisted LA cumming-of-age zombie chiller DEADGIRL. Two high school buddies cutting class and getting high in an abandoned nuthouse discover the naked body of a girl strapped to a gurney and covered in plastic. At first they suspect they’ve stumbled into the lair of a killer, but the rusted entrance is proof that no one else has been in the space for years. Then things take an insane turn when the body shows signs of life and the boys decide that she can be their own personal sex slave! Pretty soon word gets out about what’s going down and the town’s teens are forming queues. Equal parts John Hughes, George Romero and Jorg Buttgereit, DEADGIRL is a darkly funny teen romance with upchucking, corpse fucking and the love that will not die. Bound for controversy so see it while you can.
SOI COWBOY (UK/Thai)
Directed by Thomas Clay
7pm / Sat 18 Oct / The George
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Stunning sophomore effort from director Thomas Clay, director of “The Great Ecstasy of Robert Carmichael”. Clay takes us to the tough streets of Thailand. Soi Cowboy (the name of a Red Light district off Sukhumvitrd Rd) follows two stories. The first: the domestic life of a fat farang (Thai for Westerner) who is fucking a Thai girl who looks fourteen. He is huge, she is not. She dreads sex but is given expensive gifts from her farang. The gifts she resells to give money to her struggling brother who is working his way up through the Thai mob. The second story involves the brother who has to go and kill his older brother and bring the head to a sleazy Soi Cowboy mafia boss. The film climaxes brilliantly in violence and existential sadness. Clay delivers an important film on culture clash and delivers his second ontological meditation on violence.
A MUFF Neu must-see!
ACOLYTES (AUS)
Directed by Jon Hewitt
7pm / Sat 11 Oct / The George
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Jon Hewitt’s “Acolytes” makes its MUFF debut. Jon Hewitt (“Bloodlust”, “Redball”, “darklovestroy”) reaches a new level of maturity delivering this brilliant horror/thriller masterpiece. “Acolytes” is a stylish kick-ass thriller with a killer premise. Get this…two bullied and molested teens discover a local serial killer in their suburb AND then set about blackmailing him to kill the bully who molested them. Hewitt has picked a top notch cast including excellent newcomers Sebastian Gregory, Joshua Payne and Hanna Mangan Lawrence to play the teens. Add to that three, yes, that’s right three great psychos! Lead by Joel Edgerton in an outstanding performance of serial killer du jour, Belinda McClory his deranged spouse and Michael Dorman as the teen raping bully, with swastika tattoos. Once you add these teens and these menacing adults, all hell breaks loose… Hewitt has crafted a balls to the wall serial thriller that’s damn original and accomplished. You can see the influence of Larry Clark and David Lynch’s Twin Peaks, but Hewitt makes it all his own, in a Qld suburban back water, always ringing with the drones of emptiness. The script by Shayne Armstong and Shane Krouse is tight, and Hewitt did a great rewrite making it edgier and sharper. If marketed correctly this film could be a break out hit with teens. The next Wolf Creek? It could well be. It makes all the right moves. The teens are real ala Larry Clark. They don’t suck or have an attached PC agenda, they are non communicative, good looking and hip. The killers are dark with real menace. Joel Edgerton steals his scenes as the mild mannered local Ted Bundy, who sports a butterfly on his 4WD spare ala John Fowles The Collector. Dorman’s petrol head rapist pours on the menace that tops Suburban Mayhem and provides a creepy thug who you can’t wait to see buy the farm.
THE HORSEMAN
Directed by Steven Kastrissios
9pm / Sat 18 Oct / The George
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Amazing Oz genre film that MIFF hid inside the MUFF imitating transgressive section Night Shift. Steven Kastrissios delivers an amazing feature debut as the Father of a girl raped on video and maybe murdered, and the revenge he seeks. Greg McLean sings its praises and The Horseman is a violent and brutal 90 minutes of mayhem as a pissed off Dad goes after anyone who fucked with ‘his little girl’. Very oedipal, the Dad travels around torturing people with a young girl just like his daughter. She stands in as a supplement for his own frustrated incestuous desires. Indeed the violence seems excessive as some people our hero tortures and kills only slept with his daughter on video and had nothing to do with her demise. Indeed the whole question of revenge and its consequences is raised in The Horseman. Another kick ass Oz genre flick we are happy to give a MUFF 9 berth to.
Q&A with the director Steven Kastrissios.
The following notes below by Michael Helms;
AUTOMATONS (2006) USA
Writer/Producer/Director/Editor:
James Felix McKenney
Executive Producer: Larry Fessenden, 83mins
7pm / Wen 15 Oct / The George
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A must-see for atomic age robot festishists and should see for anyone who’s ever wanted to eyeball a black and white sci-fi flick shot on Super 8! The future world as depicted in AUTOMATONS is fuzzy as expected but we clearly get Angus (PHANTASM) Scrimm as ‘the Scientist’ transmitting urgent daily electronic despatches to his daughter on the screens that line her dingy bunker. ‘The daughter’ played by Christine Spencer also cops threatening missives from an enemy leader. All the while she’s repairing robots that look like hot water systems with corrugated arms and bubble-heads. Outside in a world with no atmosphere a robot war rages. Creepy, faux 50s electronic music and sound effects are supplied by The Noisettes and Noah DeFilippis . Filmed in Robo-Monstervision.
THE SEASON (2008) USA
Writer/Producer/Director/Editor: Adam Edward Brooks 71 minutes
11pm / Fri 17 Oct / Glitch Bar
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Lost on a back woods highway a disparate group of travellers discover an Amish clan devoted to human sacrifice. Includes an Amish mutant, eyeball pain, tongue pain, knife throwing, a backyard lobotomy and a manual stomach removal. Also has fearsome folding cross device used for the implanting of seed.
GOLD (1968) USA
Organizers: Bill Desloge & Bob Levis
Executive Producer: Ronan O’Rahilly, 89mins
9pm / Sun 12 Oct / Noise Bar
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A genuine crazy cultural artifact from the cellulite 60s that plays like an early model John Waters film but with nudity and different drugs. GOLD as the title might suggest, goes for the big issues like sub-teenage war dead, Kent State, Dead Kennedys, and pirate radio. Barely structured but sometimes solarized, sped up and randomly acted GOLD just strings together scenes of a communal town going off in search of gold. Much argument and frivolity ensues mainly from dead legend Del Close and his fellow Chicagoan comic buddy Gary Goodrow. It took until 1972 in London for GOLD to receive theatrical release but it made its first digital appearance earlier this decade. GOLD features a great soundtrack including Tont Brown, Rambling Jack Elliot, Motor City 5 (before they became the MC5), and Beastly Times. Executive Producer O’Rahilly produced a TV show featuring the Pink Fairies for his own pirate TV station that was going to broadcast from a plane flying over London but never got off the ground.
TOTALLY WEIRD SHIT (2008) Australia
Directed & Produced by Simon Strong & Aaron Goldberg, 30mins
9pm / Sun 12 Oct / Noise Bar
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The perfect compliment to GOLD and its haphazard style is TOTALLY WEIRD SHIT a talking head doco devoted to discussing Australia’s weirdest and wildest bookshop: Polyester Books. See and hear Dr. Gonzo (Paul Elliott) wax lyrical on the influences that drive him. The Gonz is backed up by commentary from Dylan Elliott (his son), and several staff members including Josie Rowe and Joel Beck.
REEL ZOMBIES (2008) Canada
Directed by Michael Masters & David J. Francis, 96mins
9pm / Fri 10 Oct / Glitch Bar
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In a world populated by real zombies the producer of ZOMBIE NIGHT I & II ‘hires’ a documentary filmmaker to make a no-budget documentary about the making of ZOMBIE NIGHT III, a no-budget zombie film that uses real zombies. The producer then goes in search of a crew finding two guys who have been hanging around the original set all this time believing that they were the only survivors of the first sequel. While location scouting in a strip joint he then casually bumps into his DOP who’s having a lap dance. Despite discovering their lead thanks to her keenness to perform topless, auditions aren’t without problems when real zombies & Lloyd Kaufman turn up. Things really get out of hand when ZOMBIE NIGHT III finally starts shooting. Even the zombie wrangler succumbs to zombie madness. You’re likely to too thanks to a savage wit that gives REEL ZOMBIES real bite. After all REEL ZOMBIES is the sort of film that would dare to expose the craft services gal and her reasons for taking over the lead role on the last day of shooting.
DIARY OF A BAD LAD (2007) UK
Directed & Edited by Michael Booth
Produced & Written by Jonathan Williams, 91mins
7pm / Thur 16 Oct / Glitch Bar
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Self described as, “Nick Broomfield meets MAN BITES DOG”, DIARY OF A BAD LAD goes about documenting Ray Topham, a big man in a large criminal world. Running a prostitution racket is what qualifies Ray and thanks to a friendly female coke dealer we get to catch him engaged in many untoward activities. Enter Tommy his lieutenant who does all the hard graft like coercing debtors into making amateur porn. DIARY comes out of the fascination for the criminal world held by a local TAFE college media lecturer who decides to act on his feature length ambitions when he finds himself suspended. Little does he know where BAD LAD will take him.Hard-hitting and hilarious.
www.bad-lad.com
CANNIBAL SUBURBIA (2008) Australia
Director: Jean Luc Syndikas and D.A. Jackson
Writer: D.A. Jackson, 80mins
11pm / Fri 10 Oct / Noise Bar
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Plenty of sick fun spewed up here in three tales of suburban degradation that are told in order to keep a guy with ping pong balls for eyes from vomiting. After lovingly preparing a meat shake for his gimp/pal during the opening credits, the black and white make-up wearing Donkey Punch Disco decides to read out several stories from the book that gives this no-budget epic its title. First up and featuring the most amount of cast is a story involving a little old lady hanging out to score, two vicious pre-pubescent girls, Susanne (DEFENCELESS) Hausschmid as a hooker, and much partying. Despite several deaths it’s the little old lady who comes out worst for wear. Story two revolves around a pair of pranksters, cannibalism and a guy and his doppleganger. Lastly we get to catch a glimpse of our storyteller and his pal in performance as it degenerates into a guy getting caught in a BOY MEETS GIRL situation (which it references). Then it’s back to the framing story to witness a guy getting beaten with a cricket bat before giving it a real crappy ending. Hilarious and revolting CANNIBAL SUBURBIA will simultaneously make you laugh and puke.
Q&A with directors after screening.
PLUM ROLE (2006) Australia
Director/Writer/Location Manager: Zak Hilditch, 75mins
9pm / Fri 17 Oct / Glitch Bar
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Plum out of Western Australia comes this cautionary fable of how a lack of contraception can unwittingly cripple potentialities in other areas of life. Young actor Jacob (Matt Hardie) has got it going on when he wins a prized role in a new TV series to be shot in Sydney from his younger and more drug-fucked rival. Picking up a one night stand to celebrate he soon discovers that inheriting the superstardom he feels he deserves is not as easy as it was to kick her out the next day. For one thing Jacob has to deal with her brothers.
THE RUN (2008) UK
Writer/Director/Producer: Tania Meneguzzi 78mins
9pm / Thur 16 Oct / The George
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From Costa Rica to the UK with drugs is the title moneymaking activity that captures a couple of ambitious Londoners in this deftly dealt drama of addiction and greed. Amanda is a muso who under the tutelage of her ex-rockstar manager has the contacts and talent to make the big time while being actively supported by her partner Rowly. Together through friends they become casually involved in international drug smuggling which inexorably leads to their dramatic downfall. Powerful work from an Australian born filmmaker working out of the UK.
NO THROUGH ROAD (2008) Australia
Writer/Director/Producer/Actor: Sam Barrett 85mins
9pm / Wen 15 Oct / The George
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While still bathing in the sickly glow of THE HORSEMAN, which had it’s hardly heralded Australian premiere at MIFF, who would’ve thought that right across the other side of the country another completely brutal revenge drama had been just as expertly executed? Set in a comfortable suburban cul de sac NO THROUGH ROAD jumpstarts when Samantha (Megan Palinkas) appears from inside the closet in the home of Richard (James Helm). Soon three thugs are on the doorstep making threats and inquiries. They’d rather be watching the game but hang around waiting to speak to Richard’s unexpected visitor. Tensions, histories and psyches unravel. Richard calls in special police assistance. Household weapons are gathered. Standing alongside the little seen home invasion classic VICIOUS, NO THROUGH ROAD is a bona fide must-see item.
www.nothroughroadmovie.com
WICKED LAKE (2008) USA
Director: Zach Passero, Music Supervision & Score: Alien Jourgensen, 94mins
7pm / Fri 10 Oct / Noise Bar
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Four swinging gals into life, love, group nudity, magic and cannibalism, get away for a country retreat in their beautiful metallic blue 57 Chev Coupe. A posse of locals and the relatives of a young male (that one of the gals befriended while nude modelling) turn up to crash the party. A reverse home invasion situation ends badly for nearly all involved. Mayhem includes oral emasculation, brain sucking, surprise explosions and group feeding. Demonic, demented and devoted to putting sex and violence back where they belong — in the same frame, WICKED LAKE demands a witness. Ministry perform several cover versions for the pounding soundtrack and Al appears as a porn fan.
www.wickedlake.com
SUMMER SCARS (2007) UK
Director/Producer: Julian Richards 68mins
7pm / Fri 17 Oct / Glitch Bar
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Six teens wag school to go hang in the local forest. Two of them nick a scooter and hit a much older male stranger. Things only get stranger though when their new pal brings his own deviancy to the party. A stray bullet forces the teens to sort out priorities. Heavy but hopeful SUMMER SCARS is the best British film to come out of a forest since BROKEN.
A SONG OF GOOD (2008)
New Zealand Director: Gregory King 82mins
5pm / Sat 18 Oct / The George
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In a heinous moment of chemically assisted brain fade, glass pipe enthusiast Gary takes advantage of a criminal situation he’s already involved in and makes it much worse. But wait, he really, really wants to make amends. A SONG OF GOOD sings a song about a universal bad that any viewer could recognise and maybe even seriously relate to: drug addiction and what it takes to keep it going. Sick sad, and funny A SONG OF GOOD is nothing short of an instant Kiwi classic. Highly recommended.
www.asongofgood.com
RIGGED (2007) USA
Producer/Director/Editor: Jonathan Dillon 105mins
5pm / Fri 17 Oct / The George
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Street racing promoter Michael ‘Dub’ Dublin changes to street fighting when he encounters Catherine Parker (Rebecca Neuenswander) a completely self-motivated and highly skilled pugilist. Parker wears a severely bruised face for most of RIGGED while Dub’s own personal ambitions are never far from the surface. While RIGGED riffs around material much more famously mined by Clint Eastwood’s MILLION DOLLAR BABY, there’s no denying the unique nature of this fiercely independent but very slick production.
DEVILS GATEWAY (2007) Australia
Director/co-writer: Alexander Herget
Producer/co-writer: Anne Mason, 90mins
9pm / Fri 17 Oct / The George
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Shot and set in Maitland Prison, NSW, Hells Gateway puts the cast and crew of TV show Paranormal Investigators inside to make an episode about a multiple murder/suicide involving a prison guard that happened in the 70s when the titular portal crashes open. The largely unknown cast stars Jack (Gabriel) Campbell as Derek Rant, a Psychic Detective and Paranormal Expert who prefers to be called a medium rather than a ghost hunter, and fellow Gabriel alumnus Michael (Gates Of Hell, Gabriel) Piccirilli as David Collins a crime witness integral to the twisting story. Expect to see digit lopping, impalement with a blunt object, death by toilet bowl and decent demon CG fx.
Q&A with directors after screening.
HOLE IN THE GROUND (2008) AUS
Director: Kenta McGrath 60mins
MORNING THEFT (2008) AUS
Director: Shaun Katz 60mins
5pm / Sat 18 Oct / Glitch Bar
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Two great new local short features we are putting together to make one great local session. Hole in The Ground is about Zack a young man seemingly detached from reality. He drifts through a mundane everyday existence – wandering through urban landscapes; meeting with friends he cares little for; and staring at the places and people that inhabit his world. This existence is punctuated only by brief excursions with a camcorder to film acts of depravity – the only activity that seems to stimulate him. Morning Theft is the story of a seventeen year old girl, the men who come and go during one week of her life and how they will shape the woman she grows into. Setup like a Doris Day Technicolor dream and then slowly becoming more raw as the story unfolds, Morning Theft is highlighted by what have been called ‘incredible’ performances.
Q&A with the filmmakers.
MESSIAH OF DUST
Director: Michael Andre
7pm / Fri 10 Oct / Glitch Bar
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A cool new Oz Surreal film that combines surreal images and narrative invention. Q&A with the filmmakers. A man incinerates his BMW and abandons his former life, venturing into the outback with the single remnant of his past - a suitcase of nostalgic possessions. In the wilderness his manic schizophrenia drives his outrageous and bizarre expressions of freedom, climaxing in a delusional mission of messianic salvation. His quest brings insights in human nature, religious hypocrisy, the depths of a tortured soul and the musical potential of a bar fridge. A bizarre new Oz Indy hits the MUFF 9 slate.
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