As we’ve come to expect from each year’s Incredibly Strange component of the NZ International Film Festival programme, there are plenty of out-there offerings – some just off-kilter, others potentially off-putting – to be had in 2013. Some are crazed, others heroic; some downtrodden, others seemingly noble – and those are just some of the killers on offer in these films, let alone the unusual musical tales, balls-tripping period pieces, black comedies and more. Read on as we walk you through Ant Timpson’s Incredibly Strange selections, then head over to the NZIFF website for ticketing info.
A Band Called Death
Documentary on little-known musical pioneers Death, the first black punk band, and perhaps the first punk band ever. Shares the seldom-told tale of three African-American brothers who, in the early 1970s, came up with a style of hard rock that predated the wave of acts to come later that decade.
Inspired first by the Beatles and then by Alice Cooper, the Hackney brothers played shows around Detroit and released a single, as well as recording a slew of demos. Their brand of garage rock was out of step with record companies of the time however, and Death’s songs were never widely heard – until their demo tape from 1974 was discovered and reissued in 2009 to acclaim as it finally found an audience.
Auckland sessions: Sun July 21, 8:00pm; Weds July 24, 4:15pm; Fri August 02, 9:00pm.
A Field in England
Psychedelic, psychological horror from Ben Wheatley (Kill List, Sightseers), set in 1648 England. The potent properties of mushrooms get the better of a small group of soldiers (including The Mighty Boosh‘s Julian Barratt) when they stop to eat them as they flee a battle.
A small group of deserters run for their lives through an overgrown field. They are captured by two men, one being an alchemist who forces the group to aid him in his search to find a hidden treasure that he believes is buried. Crossing a vast mushroom circle, which provides their first meal, the group quickly descend into a chaos of arguments, fighting and paranoia, and – as it becomes clear that the treasure might be something other than gold – they slowly become victim to the terrifying energies trapped inside the field.
Auckland sessions: Mon July 29, 9:00pm; Tues 30 July, 8:45pm; Weds 31 July, 4:30pm
Blue Ruin
Offering a subversive take on the traditional American revenge tale, a drifter finds himself over his head when he tries to avenge the death of his parents in this 1970s-style thriller.
Dwight (Macon Blair) leads a bleak life, sifting through dumpsters for food and sleeping in his run-down car, but when he receives news that a hometown felon has been released from prison, Dwight heads back there with murder on his mind. As he attempts to settle a score from his past, Dwight finds himself locked in a brutal, violent struggle with a close-knit, gun-wielding clan as he tries to protect what remains of his own family.
Auckland sessions: Fri July 26, 4:45pm; Mon July 29, 8:45pm.
Cheap Thrills
In this shocking black comedy, a down-on-his-luck father (Pat Healy, Compliance) accepts a series of increasingly insane challenges for cash in order to amuse a rich, twisted couple played by Anchorman‘s David Koechner and The Innkeepers‘ Sara Paxton.
Craig has a new baby, a ton of debt and, all of a sudden, no job. Drowning his sorrows in a dive bar one night, Craig meets Colin and Violet, a cashed-up couple who get Craig and his pal wasted and then begin offering them money in exchange for straight-forward tasks like playing darts, or insulting a drunk. The amounts of money on offer quickly escalate, as do the nature of the challenges themselves, becoming increasingly humiliating, outrageously obscene – and eventually deeply disturbing.
Auckland sessions: Sun July 21, 6:00pm; Fri July 26, 9:30pm.
Lesson of the Evil
Takashi Miike returns to exploitation filmmaking with this insanely violent black comedy about a beloved teacher who also happens to be a psychopath.
Admired by students and fellow teachers alike, Mr. Hasumi (Ito Hideaki) maintains the illusion of being a wonderful human being, lending a helpful ear to children and adults alike. But in reality his empathy is a façade, and while he doles out useful advice to others, he solves problems with school bullies and overbearing parents in his own bloodthirsty fashion. Before long, Hasumi’s string of murders turns into an outright killing spree in which every child or adult is a potential victim.
Auckland session: Sat July 20, 7:15pm.
Magic Magic
Eerie psychological thriller sees Alicia (Juno Temple) embark on her first holiday out of the U.S. traveling into the Chilean countryside with her cousin Sarah (Emily Browning), Sarah’s boyfriend, his sister and their friend Brink (Michael Cera).
Alicia finds herself out of contact with the outside world, and surrounded by a group of strangers whose early friendliness takes on increasingly sinister overtones – in particularly the threateningly unhinged Brink. As Alicia experiences a disorienting and increasingly panic-stricken mix of isolation, sleep deprivation and psychological trauma, her grip on reality wavers in the remote Chilean location.
Auckland sessions: Tues July 30, 4:15pm; Weds July 31, 8:45pm; Fri August 2, 8:30pm.
Maniac
Elijah Wood stars in this remake of the 1980 slasher horror as Frank Zito, a psychopath who stalks, murders and scalps young women. Shot from this horrific killer’s point of view, with Wood’s face visible only in reflections.
Maniac sees Zito move from mentally disturbed to full blown serial killer, a transition provoked by memories of his mother, whose prostitute past has left his sexual impulses confused with violence. As Zito’s killing spree accelerates, more and more of the mannequins at the family business he runs find themselves sporting the scalps of his victims… Co-written by director Alexandre Aja (Piranha 3D, Haute Tension).
Auckland sessions: Sat July 27, 10:30pm; Thurs August 1, 8:45pm.
The Source Family
Documentary on the far out Father Yod and the Source Family who, in ’70s California, undertook a radical experiment in utopian living. Their outsider ideals, and in particular Yod’s 13 wives, soon became an issue with authorities. They eventually fled to Hawaii which initiated a dramatic demise.
Auckland sessions: Weds July 31, 6:30pm; Thurs August 1, 4:15pm; Sat August 3, 1:45pm.
V/H/S/2
In this follow-up to the 2012 horror anthology V/H/S, a new crop of directors helm their own found-footage horror shorts, including Gareth Evans (The Raid), Jason Eisener (Hobo with a Shotgun) and the originators of the phenomenon Eduardo Sanchez and Gregg Hale (The Blair Witch Project).
Auckland sessions: Sat July 20, 10:00pm, Tues July 23, 4:15pm.
You’re Next
Home-invasion horror, the big winner at Fantastic Fest 2011 (including Best Horror Film). When a gang of masked, axe-wielding murderers descend upon the Davison family reunion, the hapless victims seem trapped until a guest of the family shows she has a bunch of deadly tricks up her sleeve too.
Co-starring a coterie of young horror directors, with Aussie Sharni Vinson (Step Up 3D, Bait 3D) in the lead as college student Erin, You’re Next opens with a brutal murder in an upscale rural home. Soon after, the various members of the Davison family and their partners gather in their grand home next door for a get-together rudely interrupted by intruders wearing cute animal masks and killing them one by one with a not-so-sweet mix of axes, crossbows, machetes and piano wire. But while the Davison family panic, as the killers expect, Erin displays an aptitude for retaliation that’ll shock them all.
Auckland sessions: Weds July 24, 9:30pm; Fri August 2, 4:15pm; Sat August 3, 10:15pm.
