'The Babadook' Horror Film Review

'The Babadook' is the 2014 independent Australian-Canadian Horror film directed by Jennifer Kent.   The Film depicts a tale of Amelia; a struggling widowed mother and her erratic son Samuel. As a result of Amelia's late husband's violent death, her and Samuel's world is engulfed in darkness and depression. This darkness starts to overtake their lives as they discover and read the seemingly harmless children's book 'Mister Babadook' only to find it's disturbing contents start to become all too real...

Now in recent years, apart from a few exceptions, I've become increasingly annoyed about the direction that modern horror films are going in. Increasing reliance on cheap jump scares and the lack of effort to build up REAL tension has lead to the decrease in the standard of modern horror; one of my favourite genres. Sure these films are fun to watch mindlessly with friends and they can be very entertaining but I would also love to see more quality horrors with excellent screenplay and directing. In my opinion 'The Babadook' is the best horror film made in years and I found it truly, TRULY unsettling!

I watched the film with a couple of friends and within the first minute of the film we were on the edge of our seats. It does an excellent job of building tension through not only the extremely creepy but brilliant score but also the cinematography. It uses awkward angled shots throughout which made me feel very unsettled and the overall look of the film, the use of shadows and the cleverly crafted sets all added to the build up of tension.

The actual 'monster' in the film was TERRIFYING! It was clever in never revealing too much of the monster and when you do finally see the 'creature' the film had already been building up the tension for around an hour without any cheap jump scares! My friends and I almost wet ourselves it was that scary....which is exactly what you want from a horror right?

Although even if you are not the biggest fan of the horror genre I would still highly recommend it as due to it's excellent screenplay and acting (The main actress Essie Davis is OSCAR WORTHY seriously!) you really come to empathise and care about the characters; which for me is probably the most important factor in a film.      

For me 'The Babadook' is fresh, original and gripping. On one side you can view it as a 'monster movie' but it contains plenty of metaphorical imagery and is extremely clever in also dealing with issues concerning the consequences of grief and depression. I would encourage any film lover to watch it, I promise you won't be disappointed!
  

Short Film Review of 'Room 8'

Room 8 

'Room 8' is a BAFTA Award winning short film directed by James W. Griffiths and written by Geoffrey Fletcher. The Film tells the story of a man Ives who has somehow come into trouble with the law and is taken to a Polsih prison. In his cell he meets his secluded, intellectual room-mate Sheers who owns a mysterious red box. Curious and against Sheers warning, Ives opens the box; which results in serious personal consequences.  

From the opening shots of the film I was instantly transported to a very different type of world. Not just because the film was shot in Poland but also the overall grey tones of the imagery used in the film transported me to a more harsh, cruel plane of life. The prison location added to the realism of the situation the character of Ives enters, which contrasts starkly with the later surrealistic themes. In the opening scenes of the short film the un-subtitled harsh voices of the Polish prison guards made me feel, as a viewer confined and uneasy.   

I loved the overall look of the film. The slightly shaky camera shots added to the unpredictability of the storyline and the strong colour of the red mysterious box, in contrast to the surrounding faded colours of the sets, really added to the curiosity of  the box's contents for the viewer. The brilliant set design makes the story believable and as a viewer I  believed that the events that took place in the film could be possible in every-day life.    

Throughout the Film I continued to feel an underlying sense of dread that the film cleverly created through a combination of great understated performances by the actors (Tom Cullen and Michael Gould) and a brilliant haunting score by Lennert Busch. The storyline is unpredictable and Griffiths delivers a original and spell-binding perception on the lengths people will go to escape confinement.  

I don't want to spoil too much but 'Room 8' is a highly intriguing film with a brilliant original concept that is best watched with no expectations or knowledge about the plot. It will surprise you, perhaps terrify you and definitely give you something to think about.I would highly recommend it.  

Review of 'The Hundred Year Old Man Who Jumped Out a Window and Disappeared'

As a young person, I would highly recommend this film, even with its unlikely title ‘The 100-Year-Old-Man Who Climbed Out of the Window and Disappeared’.

Although the film is mostly in Swedish I didn’t feel it took anything away from my overall viewing experience.  A Swedish film, adapted from the bestseller of the same name by Jonas Jonasson, is directed by Swedish filmmaker and actor/comedian Felix Herngren.

The film follows the capers of Allan Karlsson (played by Robert Gustafsson as all the adult ages who gives an excellent performance here) , an unlikely hero who decides at age 100 to go out and experience life, an action that for the first time, is of his own volition.  Over the course of the film we follow Allan as he solicits the help of a petrol station owner, a farmer, and a local businessman, each helping him escape from a biker gang who are seeking him to recover a suitcase containing 50 million dollars. Recovering a suitcase is a plot device that has been done numerous times before, in the likes of Tarantino’s ‘Pulp Fiction’ or the Coen Brothers ‘No Country for Old Men’, but while both of those films took a very dark and serious approach to it, ‘The 100 Year Old Man’ does the opposite, and is much more of a black comedy.

The performances in the film are mostly excellent, and  Robert Gustafsson,  known as the funniest man in Sweden, has impeccable comic timing.  He manages to pull off Allan’s character all the way through his life, portraying his feelings as time goes on.

Alan Ford portrays the mob boss ‘Pim’, in a role virtually identical to his one in ‘Snatch’, and even though as a villain he is very one dimensional, he doesn’t need to be anything more than that, and at many points is a comedic highlight of the film. Fans of the book will realise that Pim is a new character created for the film, but will not be disappointed as this character adds to the film, which is quite a  faithful adaptation.

The film has been a massive success worldwide, earning roughly $50 million at the box office, making it the highest grossing Swedish film of all time, an accolade it certainly deserves, The Hundred-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared was a delightful adventure through the life of a man, that never ceases to make you laugh. It has been called the Swedish ‘Forrest Gump’, however I think this does the film a great disservice, as it was much more enjoyable than Forrest Gump.

Introduction of 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' at QFT

I recently got the opportunity to introduce one of my favourite films 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' at Queen's Film Theatre, Belfast. I was really nervous to have to speak in front of a large audience but the speech went well and I really enjoyed it!

I wrote the speech on my own and tried my best to incorporate engaging language to keep my audience's attention.

 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Hi my name’s Lia and I’m part of the Takeover youth panel at QFT. At Takeover myself and other young people ages between 15-20 meet regularly to organise our annual film festival which takes place in February, review films and take part in workshops to learn more about the film industry.

 It’s a brilliant way for people like myself who want to pursue a career in film to develop our knowledge, skills and confidence. For anyone interested in being involved in takeover, it’s a fantastic opportunity and I would encourage you to come and talk to me or another takeover member about becoming involved. We would love to get your feedback after this screening and you can also get a chance to enter a prize draw to win £200 worth of House of Frazer vouchers.    

The film your about to see is part of our Sci-fi season, which is supported by the British film institute and film hub N.I and is part of the BFI sci-fi- days of fear and wonder programme running at QFT this month and next. So far we have shown brazil, the girl who leapt through time and on the 29^th and 30^th of November we are showing the brilliant hitchhikers guide to the galaxy and the classic 2001:a space odyssey.

So, who says sci-fi can’t be romantic? Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless mind is a film is written by the acclaimed Charlie Kaufman and visionary director Michel Gondry. Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet play a couple undergo a procedure to erase each other from their memories when their relationship turns sour, but it is only through the process of loss that they discover what they had to begin with. The film uses elements of science fiction, psychological thriller, and a nonlinear narrative to explore the nature of love, loss and memory. The film has had high acclaim from film critics, with particular praise around its acting and writing. It won the 2004 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and Kate Winslet also received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. Although I personally feel Jim Carrey has an exceptional performance also in the film.

Although this film is set in a sort of parallel world from ours and the story is adventurous and surreal, I feel like everyone can find something to relate to in the story, which is one of the reasons I love the film so much. It’s a rollercoaster of emotions, it’ll make you want to cry and laugh at the same time and I hope all of you enjoy it as much as I did!

4 days,4 Master-classes...and an Oscar!

Day One
Film-making with Michael Lennox


On Tuesday I got the chance to partake in a three hour master class learning about Film Making.  Michael Lennox was leading the Masterclass. This was a really amazing opportunity for me as Michael is a very well known local film maker and is a recent graduate of the National Film & Television School. He has directed a number of short films to date, a number of which have been screened worldwide and received award recognition. Michael was currently back in N.I working on his first feature film Patch of Fog which is scheduled to begin filming this Autumn.


Firstly he held a discussion with everyone, just giving advice for improving ourselves in the Film industry. He said whenever he was in Northern Ireland he took advantage of every single opportunity to learn more about the industry and participated  in as many Cinemagic master classes as humanly possible! He explained that by doing this it allowed him to really decide what he wanted (or really didn't want) to do in the film industry. This is some advice I would definitely translate to my own experience as I'm still currently unsure about what I want to do. He said a useful resource for us would be N.I Screen, as they are the company that give funding to up and coming film makers in N.I. We then continued by watching some of his short films; 'Boogaloo and Graham' and 'The back and beyond'. Two very different but original and brilliant short films. We were able to ask questions about the filming and production of the films and overall Michael gave a very informative and interesting talk and I definitely came away from the session with a lot of ideas for my own short films. 



Day two
Terry Bamber
Terry has worked on many well known films as a production manager and an A.D such as World War Z, Indiana Jones, Luther, Lara Croft:Tomb Raider and 101 Dalmatians. He was truly a genuine, hilarious and inspirational person. He focused mostly on the work ethic of working in the film industry and gave us some brilliant advice. He gave us so many motivational quotes I decided to make a list!  

Terry Bamber Quotes  
- 'Pursue with all your heart and determination'
- 'Don't believe that if you haven't achieved your original goal you are a failure'
- 'Never be worried about making yourself look a fool'
- 'always show genuine appreciation of other people's work'
- ' Be a leader, not a boss'
- 'Always be honest, deliver more than you promise but never promise more than you can deliver'
- 'Never be afraid to say sorry'
- 'No one is irreplaceable' 
- 'Every long journey starts with a small step' 

I walked out of Terry's master-class feeling very inspired to try me best to make a career for myself in this industry and armed with lots of new advice; always look for a script and suitable location for filming first, pay attention to every small detail of work, don't ever let work/stress get on top of you, don't let people exploit you- never work more than five days for free, always have a good phone manner, keep on top of risk assessments. 

Some handbooks he recommended for developing our knowledge of film were; 'The complete film production' by Eve Light Honthaner, '\my magic carpet' by Micky Moore.





Day 3
Film Production with Gareth Ellis-Unwin and Jessica Mallik

Gareth Ellis-Unwin is an Academy Award and BAFTA winning Producer. After winning a BAFTA nomination and both a Spirit and Dinard award for his first film Exam, Gareth went on to produce the critically acclaimed The King's Speech. The record breaking film picked up the TIFF Audience award, 7 BAFTAs including both Outstanding British Film and Best Film and 4 Academy Awards, including Best Film. The film went on to become the highest grossing British independent film of all time.

In 2010, former sales agent, Jessica Malik partnered with Jessica Parker to form Pari Passu Films. Her most recent credits as Producer or Executive Producer include Zaytoun, Ghosted and Estranged as well as having a number of films in development including FEST with the BFI and Women in Temptation with Bedlam Productions. In her previous guise, Jessica Malik handled international sales on many feature films including the box office smash The Woman in Black, multiple Academy Award winning Robert Altman’s Gosford Park, Paul McGuigan’s Lucky Number Slevin, Peter Howitt’s Sliding Doors, Matt Reeves US DVD chart topping Let Me In, multiple Academy Award nominee Peter Weir’s The Way Back and numerous other films with budgets ranging from $5m-$40m. 

Jessica and Gareth explained to us the break down of making all films;

- First development takes place, you have to find a way to release an overview, finance the film, find a target audience and secure the rights of the film.

- The concept of the film then needs to be established, cost needs to be discussed and devising a budget.

- A script-writer is then employed to write a script and a director is contacted. The concept for the film is pitched to possible funders (Creative England, BFI, Channel 4, Fox, pararmount ect.) 

- The film can either be independent or taken up by a Film Studio.

Jessica and Gareth wanted to emphasise how preparation and pre-production is key in film-making. We all watched a clip from a film Gareth had just worked as an Executive Producer on 'Kajaki', a modern British War Film based on a true story, that is due to be released in November 2014 to coincide with Remembrance Day. The film was filmed in a hot climate and he wanted us to spot any potential problems there was on set, which we could then relate back to making our own films. Some of the problems were the language barrier, health and safety with the animals present on set, the heat and local religion and sensitivities. This exercise showed us that preparation and solving potential problems before they happen are key when making a film. 

Gareth also brought his Academy Award with him and I GOT TO GET A SELFIE WITH IT! HIGHLIGHT OF MY LIFE!  

Day 4

Leon McGeown-Fee

Leon McGeown-Fee is a Northern Ireland based Production Manager who's credits include: Dani's Castle series 1 & 3, Sesame Tree, The David Meade Project, The Greatest Knight, James May's Head Squeeze and the Irish leg of Amazing Race for the US network CBS. Leon has also worked as 2nd Assistant Director on Blandings and the Furchester Hotel. Leon's most high profile PM credit was on production for global superstar Rihanna's We Found Love video, shot on location in Belfast in 2012.

I really enjoyed all the master-classes but I think Leon's was definitely the most informative for me. She talked about the importance of being proactive with your life and career path and gave us brilliant advice for tailoring our CV's to the job we were applying to. She explained how first impressions matter when it comes to working in the film industry and we should always present ourselves in a professional way and with the right attitude as those were qualities people would remember.  

She gave us useful links for looking for jobs in the industry;

-Knowledge and Kays

-N.I screen

-Linked In

-Screen International

-IMDB

-Dairy Service

- Northern Visions

Some advice she gave us for our CV's was to keep the CV to one page and make sure it was clean and easy to read. If it was possible she said to print our CV on coloured paper to make it stand out. She also said to mention if we had our own car / driving licence, and if we had done a first aid/ lifesaving course. I also found out I could include my acting experience on my CV as all those sort of skills are relevant to the film industry.

She gave us interview advice also, she advised us to look up the person interviewing us first to find out any interesting projects they're working on, to dress smart but casually, to always be 10 minutes early, bring a clean copy of your CV, have a notebook, ask a few questions; about the film, responsibilities and the duration of filming. She also made it clear to NEVER ask the rate of pay when at an interview. 

Overall I had an amazing time at the Cinemagic Master-classes and I learnt so much! I got the chance to meet lots of new and interesting people and develop my knowledge and skills for making my own short films. It was an amazing opportunity to get a key insight into all the different roles in the film industry!