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My apologies for that. We're now only a about a month and a -half away from the next Ramaskrik, which I'm very much forwards to it! Anyways -here is my report from four days dedicated in full to horror films, beers and -socializing with other horror fans. - -<!-- more --> - -One of the great things about this festival is it's location. A very small town -in the middle of Norway. (Yes, that sounds like "in the middle of nowhere" for -a reason.) [Oppdal] is a picturesque small town surrounded by mountains. A -popular skiing resort in winter time, and great for mountain trips in the -summer and fall. - -Due to its small size the festival gets very social. Audience, producers, -directors, actors and the organisers of the festival mingle freely. Pretty much -everyone stays at the same hotel. The venue doesn't have any VIP area, and the -evening usually ends up at one of the local bars – either at the hotel or -somewhere else. - -We (the audience) appreciate this, but it seems like the professionals present -do so too. We're all horror film enthusiasts in the end, and the atmosphere is -informal and very inclusive. - -Right! Enough chit'chat, on to the report! - -## Day 1 - Thursday - -{% figure(img="midtnorsk-fortellerforum-underholder.jpg") %} -Midtnorsk fortellerforum is making the train trip scarier. -{% end %} - -For me the trip kicks off with the Horror train from Oslo to Oppdal. This year -I volunteered to be the host of the trip from Oslo, so I don't feel I can -comment too much on how that experience was. Most of the other travelers were -familiar faces from last years trip with a few new ones added. - -Also this year -we had people from [Midtnorsk Fortellerforum] (a storytelling society) come on -board and tell some macabre stories for us during the trip. This was a great -addition! We also had the horror quiz where the winners could gain glory, -fortune and prizes when we arrived at the hotel. - -...which we did just in time to check in before going to see the opening film – -_[Train to Busan]_. An action packet and tight zombie film where most of the action is -on a train. After all, what could be more appropriate after a five hour train -trip from Oslo? A great start of an excellent festival! The director, Sang-ho -Yeon was not able to be at the screening himself, but had sent a video message -that introduced the film. - -Next up was _[The Autopsy of Jane Doe]_ introduced by the director _André -Øvredal_. Øvredal is best known for his previous film _[Troll Hunter]_, and -said he wanted to make something completely different this time around. And he -definitely did. - -_The Autopsy of Jane Doe_ is tight, dark and claustrophobic. Extremely well -made, and plays very successfully on suspense and the primal fears of darkness -and dead bodies. I found that the story worked really well, and the atmosphere -gradually evolves from the mundane everyday attitude of morticians towards pure -dread. A film highly recommended! - -{% figure(img="janedoe-poster.jpg") %} -_The Autopsy of Jane Doe_ poster. -{% end %} - -Due to the travel time from Oslo, two films was all I managed this first day. -However, a really strong start on the festival, and I think everyone is smiling -as we head back to the hotel bar for some beers. André Øvredal hangs around for -the evening, even though he has to get up early to get to the next festival (in -Stockholm) already the next day. - -## Day 2 - Friday - -First film for me on friday was _[31]_ by Rob Zombie. I'd read mixed reviews of -this film in advance, but wanted to give it a shot. We meet a crew of traveling -con artists that get caught up in a game of "31" where they play pawns for the -rich to place their bets on. The game is played by letting them loose in a -closed off industial labyrinth with hired killers trying to kill them off in -more or less imaginative ways. - -This is an orgy of violence for the sake of violence itself. Still I think it -works. It's well executed, the setting is interesting, and both the hunters and -the prey are interesting characters. Perhaps not a favourite from the festival, -but absolutely worth watching if you're not turned off by this kind of -violence. - -Before the next film _[Red Christmas]_, we got to see the short film _[Night of -the Slasher]_. - -{{ vimeo(id="127454533") }} - -_Red christmas_, an australian slasher mixing the festive themes of christmas -with the ethical and political dilemmas around abortion, downs syndrome, human -selection etc. Quite a few people didn't like this one, but I found it -entertaining. The ethical aspects were present but not dominating, still they -added a small touch of uniqueness to what would otherwise be just another -slasher film. And legendary Deb Wallace does a good figure as the mother with a -dark past. - -_[Seoul Station]_ was next on my agenda. But first we got the norwegian short -film _[The Absence of Eddy Table]_, a really absurd computer animated story -about a guy with a backpack that gets lost in a jungle of strange berries, huge -women and snail like creatures that will transform you to a monster by growing -a huge mouth in your neck. Voice talent provided by Mike Patton amongst others, -this was very enjoyable and a surreal ride! - -_Seoul Station_ is an animated prequel to _Train to Busan_. Made by the same -director – Sang-ho Yeon. It's much slower than Train To Busan, and the fact -that it's animated rather than a real film distracts me a bit. It's also a tad -longwinded. Not a bad movie, but not really needed as a companion to Train to -Busan either. - - - -{% figure(img="francesca-poster.jpg") %} -_Francesca_ poster. -{% end %} - -Fourth feature of the day was the Italian Giallo homage _[Francesca]_. This was -also a film that divided the audience a bit. I loved it, but others found it -too much a pastiche of it's genre. - -The atmosphere is set right away, by a catchy prog-rock soundtrack, over -saturated colours and even the proper typefaces from the 70's in the title -sequence. The plot is admittedly thin, and you have to enjoy the aestethics of -the film and the genre for this to be worthwhile. On one level it felt more -like a long music video than a feature film. - -_Francesca_ was preceeded by the short film _[Tunnelen]_ (The Tunnel) again by -André Øvredal (who also had _The Autopsy of Jane Doe_ on the festival.) - -This is dystopian futurism, and we follow a family on their way home from a day -by the sea. On their way back into the city they have to pass though a tunnel, -and while everybody assures eachother there's no danger in passing the tunnel -we sense that they're just not showing their fear. Based on a short story by -Alice Glaser, this is again masterfully executed by Øvredal and not the least -by the actors. Very nice! - - -After this I team up with a couple of friends for a food break. Even though -that means missing _[The Rezort]_ which I had planned to see in this spot. Head -and stomach found it wiser to eat though, so off we went for a bloody beef! - -... - -Back at the venue I went for _[Pet]_. But first the hilarious short film -_[Death Metal]_ from Chris McInroy. A metal head with less than average guitar -skills is given a new guitar by his dad. The new guitar has some secrets -though, and some rules that need to be followed. Needless to say they're not, -and things take off differently than our guitar hero expects. Very funny and -lots and lots of blood! - -_Pet_ was a film I liked very much. It starts off as more of a quirky romance -than a horror film, but it takes a different turn after about 20 minutes or so. -Then it takes different and unexpected turns several more times. - -This was a film that managed to surprise me in a good way. The actors do a -great job, and the story is twisted but somewhat realistic. This is not a film -that aims to be scary, but it does tell an interesting story that's way darker -than what I first thought. Very much recommended! - - -{% figure(img="greasy-poster.jpg") %} -_The Greasy Strangler_ poster. -{% end %} - -Last film for the day, and the one that it seems the entire day has built up -to, is _[The Greasy Strangler]_! - -Jim Hosking's debut feature film is sleasy, greasy, and a hell of a lot of fun! -Don't expect a deep story, or for that matter a conventional film in any way. -This is as if someone put all the sleaziest parts of John Waters films, the -acting talent of a low budget Troma film, mixed them all with bucketloads of -grease and added disco! If that sounds great, this is your film! Don't say I -didn't warn you! - -Three people from _Spectrevision_, the production company behind the film had -come over from Los Angeles to Oppdal for the occation. They were really funny -people with lot's of stories from the shooting of the film and other hilarious -anecdotes. The Q&A after the film had to be broken off because thay had so many -stories to tell. We all went to _Spisbar_, a nearby pub for beers and to let -the films of the day sink in. Most of us went to bed when the bar closed... - -## Day 3 - Saturday - -Saturday starts early! First with a Horror breakfast, where author _Jørgen -Brekke_ reads a couple of horror short stories. - -The first is _Gulebjørn_ (Yellowteddy,) one of his own stories. Since we hade -some time left, he also read _The Oval Portrait_ by Edgar Allan Poe. Both -stories are very enjoyable, but he clearly had not practiced reading the second -story, so that felt a bit stuttering. His own story worked much better. Still a -great start. - -First film on my schedule for saturday was _[Ouija - The origin of evil]_, one -of the more commercial films on the fetival. - -But first the short film _[Closet Space]_ by David F Sandberg. I've been -following this promising director and the shorts he's made with his wife since -I first came accross the original short _[Lights Out]_. I haven't been able to -catch his full length version of Lights Out yet, but his shorts are allways -refreshing and innovative. If you don't know his films, do check out his -channel on [Vimeo](https://vimeo.com/ponysmasher) or -[YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/user/ponysmasher). - -{{ vimeo(id="156095543") }} - -As for _Ouija_, I found it to be really good. It builds up nicely and is -extremely well made. Also the young actress playing the gifted child does a -very good job! All in all a very enjoyable movie. - - -{% figure(img="the-similars-poster.jpg") %} -_The Similars_ poster. -{% end %} - -Next up was the mexican production _[The Similars]_ (Los Parecidos). It was -very different than what I expected from the liner notes. A highly original -film, and with a story that manages to surprise at many levels. I liked it a -lot, while it could proabably have worked just as well with a shorter running -time. - -The Norwegian short _Hunden_ (The Dog) was screened just before _The Similars_. -A quietly told drama from the norwegian countryside. Very well executed, the -minimal dialogue accentuates the quietness of the countryside. While the -twist at the end is not really that surprising it comes with a great punchline. -Definitely worth watching! - - -Another mexican film, _[The Untamed]_ (La Región Salvaje) was again quite an -original one. Alejandra is left alone to care for her child after her husband -is taken to prison. By means of a female patient of her brother who is a nurse, -she is introduced to a mysterious creature in a cabin which gives intense -sexual pleasure. - -It works well on some levels, but not quite as well on others. It feels a bit -long. It's not really much of a horror film, but neither does it work as a -science fiction. Still the parts that work is well worth it, and the story is -interresting and fairly original. - -As with last years outdoor screening of _Villmark II_, Ramaskrik had organised -a special screening this year too. This time it was the train/werewolf flick -_[Howl]_ that was screened in an old train car at the Oppdal train station. - -While the film was far from the highlight of the festival, and a train car -really does not lend itself that well to watching movies, the overal experience -was great! It was a fun thing to do, and the setting did help the film in my -opinion. - -As for the film itself? It falls for the classic mistakes of revealing the -monster too soon, too often, and too much. Outside of the action it really -didn't have much of a story to tell, and the characters seemed too -stereotypical to be interesting. - -{% figure(img="night-of-the-living-deb-poster.jpg") %} -_Night of the Living Deb_ poster. -{% end %} - -Back at Oppdal Kulturhus I go for _[Night of the Living Deb]_, with the -somewhat similarly named _[Dawn of the Deaf]_ as the pre-film short. As the -organisers explained, they were placed together for their tounge-in-cheek -names, not their content. The short was light on the horror elements, but had -an interesting twist that leads well into it at the end. - -_Night of the Living Deb_ was rollercoster of a zombie-romance-apocalypse. -Somewhat in the style of _[Shaun of the Dead]_, but with a woman as the leading -role and a romantic backstory to drive the film. In other words, quite -different. This was a refreshing and at times hilarious mix that makes this -film really stand out among the rest. Highly recommended! - -After a short break with an aborted quiz (due to the quiz being longer than the -break!) I was ready for the last film of the day: _[Scare Campaign]_. - -A TV crew needs to spice up their horror reality concept to stand a chance at -attracting viewers against the competition from underground internet snuff -crews. This is a film that could go both ways, but it twists around a few times -in interesting ways. I enjoyed it a lot, and recommend that you check it out! - -{{ vimeo(id="138946032") }} - -Before _Scare Campaign_ though, we were presented the short film _Invaders_. A -couple of guys argues about what masks to wear for a home invasion. They've -picked out a nice house where a family is gathered for their thanksgiving -dinner. Thing's don't go as planned... - -## Day 4 - Sunday - -All good things must come to an end, and so also this edition of Ramaskrik! Up -way too early again judging by the beer-bill from yesterday. But hey, the -breakfast at the hotel is really good so off we go! - -{% figure(img="windmill-massacre-poster.jpg") %} -Poster for _The Windmill Massacre_. -{% end %} - -I got to see two films before heading back to the train station for the ride -home. The first one, _[The Windmill Massacre]_ was a very enjoyable piece from -the land of windmills – the Netherlands. I think I enjoyed this for two -reasons, it really captures the Dutch friendly pragmatism in a good way, _and_ -it had a good story. - -We meet a number of random people that happen to meet on a guided tour to view -some of the old Dutch windmills. The tour bus breaks down at some desolate -place, and as things unfold it may seem that the collection of people weren't -as random as we first thought. - -I really liked the way the story unfolds in this film. Also the director, Nick -Jongerius was present and talked about the film and answered questions after -the screening. - -I was unsure if I was going to be able to finish the next film before having to -run off to catch the train home. Luckily other people are better at calculating -in their head than I am, so we went for it and finished the festival with -_[Don't Breathe]_. - -Again a fairly commercial film which has been hyped quite a bit in advance. I -liked it though! It's intense and well played. It doesn't really hold any -surprises, but is an enjoyable film nonetheless. Sometimes the simple recipe is -all that is needed. - -{{ vimeo(id="193729267") }} - -Before _Don't Breathe_ we got the short film _The Procedure_. This short film -really defies any attempt to describe it. Just watch it! It's a must see, and -it can not be unseen! - - -## Winding down... - -A really great festival has come to an end. Again I've enjoyed every moment. A -lot of films were seen, quite a few beers were drunk and people were met, talks -were had and opinions were shared. All in all a great time! - -The organizers did an amazing job, both with the selection of films and -organizing the event itself. At least from a visitors perspective everything -was super smooth from start to finish. The hotel had again done an amazing job -decorating and preparing for the event, and as far as I could see it was only -smiles and happy faces the entire weekend. - -16 feature films and 9 shorts was what I managed to see this time around. As -allways there was too many films that I did not get to see due to timing or -clashes with other films, but that's only to be expected with a program as -tight and as well put together as it was on this festival. - -See you in October! - -{% figure(img="hotelldekor1.jpg") %} -By tradition the hotel has decorated the main floor where guests for the -festival is staying. -{% end %} - -{% figure(img="hotelldekor2.jpg") %} -...and the elevator, for sports sake. -{% end %} - -{% figure(img="beer.jpg") %} -A well deserved beer between the screenings. -{% end %} - -{% figure(img="kulturhuset.jpg") %} -The venue -{% end %} - -[Ramaskrik Horror Film Festival]: https://ramaskrik.no/ -[Oppdal]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oppdal -[Midtnorsk Fortellerforum]: http://fortellerforum.no/ -[The Windmill Massacre]: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2923088/ - -[Train to Busan]: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5700672 -[The Autopsy of Jane Doe]: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3289956/ -[Troll Hunter]: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1740707/ - -[31]: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3835080/ -[Red Christmas]: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5120400/ -[Night of the Slasher]: https://vimeo.com/127454533 -[Seoul Station]: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3845670/ -[The Absence of Eddy Table]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7aJGfTL2a5Y - -[Francesca]: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4958596/ -[Tunnelen]: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4583446/ -[The Rezort]: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3923662/ -[Pet]: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1183374 -[Death Metal]: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5640904/ - -[The Greasy Strangler]: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4381236/ -[Ouija - The origin of evil]: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4361050/ -[Closet Space]: https://vimeo.com/156095543 -[Lights Out]: https://vimeo.com/82920243 - -[The Similars]: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3949658/ -[The Untamed]: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5265960/ -[Howl]: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2393827/ -[Night of the Living Deb]: https://vimeo.com/ondemand/nightofthelivingdeb/179690844 -[Dawn of the Deaf]: http://www.dawnofthedeafmovie.com/ -[Shaun of the Dead]: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0365748/ - -[Scare Campaign]: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4467626/ -[The Windmill Massacre]: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2923088 -[Don't Breathe]: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4160708/ - diff --git a/content/blog/2017-08-19-ramaskrik-2016/janedoe-poster.jpg b/content/blog/2017-08-19-ramaskrik-2016/janedoe-poster.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 5b5b31f..0000000 --- a/content/blog/2017-08-19-ramaskrik-2016/janedoe-poster.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/content/blog/2017-08-19-ramaskrik-2016/kulturhuset.jpg b/content/blog/2017-08-19-ramaskrik-2016/kulturhuset.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 4fe9fbc..0000000 --- a/content/blog/2017-08-19-ramaskrik-2016/kulturhuset.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/content/blog/2017-08-19-ramaskrik-2016/midtnorsk-fortellerforum-underholder.jpg b/content/blog/2017-08-19-ramaskrik-2016/midtnorsk-fortellerforum-underholder.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 818b506..0000000 --- a/content/blog/2017-08-19-ramaskrik-2016/midtnorsk-fortellerforum-underholder.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/content/blog/2017-08-19-ramaskrik-2016/night-of-the-living-deb-poster.jpg b/content/blog/2017-08-19-ramaskrik-2016/night-of-the-living-deb-poster.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index c2264d8..0000000 --- a/content/blog/2017-08-19-ramaskrik-2016/night-of-the-living-deb-poster.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/content/blog/2017-08-19-ramaskrik-2016/the-similars-poster.jpg b/content/blog/2017-08-19-ramaskrik-2016/the-similars-poster.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index d191a0b..0000000 --- a/content/blog/2017-08-19-ramaskrik-2016/the-similars-poster.jpg +++ /dev/null diff --git a/content/blog/2017-08-19-ramaskrik-2016/windmill-massacre-poster.jpg b/content/blog/2017-08-19-ramaskrik-2016/windmill-massacre-poster.jpg Binary files differdeleted file mode 100644 index 3ac669f..0000000 --- a/content/blog/2017-08-19-ramaskrik-2016/windmill-massacre-poster.jpg +++ /dev/null |
