Art horror marathon: Handling The Undead + The Devil's Bath
Czas trwania: 240 min.
Rok produkcji:
Kraj pochodzenia:
Reżyser:
"Handling The Undead"
A dark film about the undead rising from the grave, acclaimed at this year's Sundance Film Festival, starring Renate Reinsve ("The Worst Man in the World").
One day, the dead rise from their graves to return to their homes. However, they do not attack the living, do not want to bite into arteries and eat brains. They sit in worn-out armchairs, lie in their beds and slowly rot, while Thea Hvistendahl, making her feature-length debut, glumly watches their loved ones – the mourners.
"The Undead" is an adaptation of the book "The Return of the Dead" by John Ajvide Lindqvist, the author of the extraordinary "Let Me In", based on which Tomas Alfredson made the masterpiece horror "Let Me In" in 2008. While that film (and book) was one of the most interesting takes on the subject of vampirism in contemporary culture, “The Undead” is perhaps the most compelling portrayal of zombies since “Dawn of the Dead.” Instead of a bloody fight, we get a gripping mourning, and instead of gore, we get sadness.
“The Devil’s Bath”
A folk drama from Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz, known for “I See, I See” and “A Cabin in the Mountains,” that won awards at the Berlin Film Festival.
Agnes (Anja Plaschg, known from the musical project Soap&Skin, who is also responsible for the film’s music) is getting married. However, nothing is going according to plan—her husband is not very interested in her, her mother-in-law criticizes her at every turn, and the loan the couple took out to buy the house seems to exceed the newlyweds’ financial capabilities. Agnes quickly falls into depression. However, since we are in an Austrian village from almost three centuries ago, everyone thinks she has been possessed by the devil.
Although The Devil's Bath is the work of the aforementioned Franz and Fiala, their latest film would be hard to call a horror film. It's more of a historically well-documented folk drama that allows viewers to empathize with a heroine who is put in a hopeless situation - and at the same time, look at the realities of our ancestors' lives (and especially female ancestors' lives) from a completely new perspective.
