TIFF Day2

Day 2 seemed to be "horror day"-all three films had a horror theme to them-although some were more explicit than others.

The first film was Sauna, by Antti-Jussi Annila. The film concerns a group of Finns and Russians establishing a new borderline after a particularly long and brutal war. The main characters are Eric and Knut, Finnish brothers working for the Swedes. As the group travels northward, demarcating the new border, they come upon a large swamp. The Russian leader suggests that they just bypass the swamp and continue northward, but the elder brother Eric, says that if they don't travel through the swamp, he'll just assume that Russia doesn't want the territory and the border can go along the eastern edge. Travelling through the swamp, the group comes upon a village in the exact middle of the swamp with a very sinister looking sauna on the outskirts. Then bad things start to happen.

Very atmospheric, with an oppressive sense of dread, this film is very unsettling. The landscape itself is bleak and depressing, and only seems to increase the unease that builds scene by scene. Highly recommended, but not for faint of heart
8/10

The next film was Pontypool, by Bruce McDonald. Pontypool is a small town some 90 km northeast of Toronto and Grant Mazzy is a DJ working the morning show of the town's radio station. Strange reports start to come in from around the town of large groups of people behaving very strangely. Mazzy and his production staff quickly realize that the situation is more serious than they thought.

Almost a one-room drama, this film is incredibly tight. Not a single shot is wasted, and the claustrophobia is only heightened by the many close ups of Mazzy as he broadcasts. When events begin to escalate, the tension is slowly but surely increased. An excellent zombie movie that never uses the "Z" word.
8.5/10

The final film was Deadgirl, by Marcel Sarmiento and Gadi Harel. Rickie and JT, ditching class one day, break into an abandoned mental hospital. While having a few illicit beers and generally vandalizing the place, they come upon a sealed room with the body of a naked woman chained to a table. While deciding what to do, they suddenly realize that she is breathing. This only complicates things as Rickie wants to call the police while JT wants to "have some fun". Things rapidly begin to spin out of control, with far-reaching consequences.

For all its disturbing and graphic content, the film never strays into standard exploitation territory, instead focusing on the relationship between Rickie and JT. Definitely not for everyone, but certainly rewarding for those who can stomach the violence.
7.5/10