Two weeks after its UK Premiere at Grimmfest, Nightmare Cinema is continuing its run of successful festival screenings, winning fans and garnering strong reviews in the process.
In an earlier post, I listed some of the screenings scheduled for October and November. Since then, new screenings have been announced in Dublin, Melbourne, and New York City — all of which should (hopefully) bring us closer to a big west-coast premiere and a release to theatres and home video.
A few months ago, following Nightmare Cinema‘s world premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival in Montreal, I posted links to some of the film’s initial reviews here and here.
At left, a banner featuring Grimmfest Guest of Honor Barbara Crampton stands at the foot of an escalator leading to the Odeon Cinema. The renovated industrial site bears a resemblance to the L.A. locations for “This Way to Egress.” (Poster: Uncle Frank Productions)
This month, as a result of Nightmare Cinema‘s prominence on the film-festival circuit, the blogosphere is again buzzing with audience reactions, making this a good time for assembling another list of reviews.
Since many of the recent screenings have been in places like Latin America, Spain, France, and Austria, some of the blurbs below are translations. All are accompanied by links to the original posts. If you are proficient in any of the languages, feel free to submit corrections in the comment section below or on Facebook and Twitter (via the buttons at the top of this page).
At right: Writer Sandra Becerril and Producer/Director/Writer Mick Garris at Macabro in Mexico. (Photo: Sergio Becerril)
So here they are, a sampling of the latest round of viewer reactions from festival screenings:
“The most notable segments are the most aware of their nature: ‘Mirari,’ a grotesque look at the culture of aesthetic surgery, directed by Joe Dante; and the first episode, a parody of slasher cinema […], which Alejandro Brugues (Juan of the Dead) directs with conviction. Also very remarkable is ‘This Way to Egress’ by David Slade (Hard Candy), shot in elegant black and white, very morbid and dreamlike.” – espinof.com
At left: Sarah Withers in Alejandro Brugues’s slasher parody “The Thing in the Woods.” (Photo: Michael Moriatis)
“‘The Thing in the Woods,’ by Alejandro Burgués, is absolutely hilarious and one of the most original […]. ‘This Way to Egress,’ by David Slade, is based on the gritty […] aesthetic to which he accustomed us in his collaborations on Hannibal and American Gods. But my personal winner would undoubtedly be ‘Mashit,’ by Ryuhei Kitamura, a story of wild exorcisms […] that is an absolute catharsis to see.’ — almasocuras.com
At right: Director Ryuhei Kitamura at a live recording of Post Mortem with Mick Garris, following Nightmare Cinema‘s World Premiere at Fantasia International Film Festival. (Photo: Julie Delisle)
“The most disturbing entry is David Slade’s surreal black-and-white chiller […], which stars Elizabeth Reaser as a mother who seems to be experiencing apocalyptic hallucinations as she passes time in a doctor’s waiting area with her two sons. The situation doesn’t improve when she finally sees Doctor Salvador (Adam Godley), who seems entirely unruffled by what she tells him. Augmented by some unsettling effects work, the resolution is genuinely nightmarish and all the more effective for being under-explained.” — Nerdly.com
Director David Slade and director of photography Jo Willems set up a shot on the waiting-room set of “This Way to Egress.” (Photo: 21st-Century Scop)
“David Slade tells the story […] of a woman on the verge of nervous collapse, whose sense of reality seems to slip away more and more. Slade blurs the boundaries between reality and fiction in an oppressive way and delivers the darkest as well as the aesthetically most impressive contribution of the film.” — Uncut Movies
At right: Director David Slade, producer Joe Russo, and A.D. Joe Moore on the set of “This Way to Egress.” (Photo: Michael Moriatis)
“‘This Way to Egress’ is the episode that stands out. This is not only because it is completely black and white and shows more dynamic images than any other episode. The at-first-glance, quite-simple behavior of the woman, who seeks help because she cannot cope, reveals in her few dialogue scenes […] a little masterpiece that I would have liked to see in feature length.” – 100 Years of Terror
A technician walks a nightmarish corridor on one of the “Egress” sets. (Photo: Joe Russo)
“An anthology of five horror shorts from some very accomplished horror directors, all linked by a quirky and interesting host. These included a body horror/plastic surgery story, possession in a corrupt Catholic school, and my personal favorite “Egress”: a heart-wrenching black-and-white short concerning a mother’s descent into depression and disassociation during a difficult time in her life.” — Visit Manchester
“Perfect for Black Mirror fans, Nightmare Cinema is a creepy anthology that ticks every box if you take your horror with a pinch of satire, gore and a whole lot of creep.” — Fraghero.com
“Without doubt the greatest horror anthology of the past thirty years […].” – Cult of Monster
At right: Mick Garris shooting Nightmare Cinema‘s wrap-around segments in the Rialto Theatre, South Pasadena. (Photo: Michael Moriatis)
Yeah! You gotta love that last review. And the buzz is still building. For now, I’ll leave you with an interview recorded at our UK Premiere, in which I tell Grimmfest programmer Simeon Halligan a bit of the story behind the writing and development of “This Way to Egress.” Check it out, and stop back here soon for more festival news and perhaps some details about the upcoming release to theatres and home video. Until this, scop on!
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