by Rosalie Kicks, Editor in Chief and Old Sport

The Sundance 2023 festival has come to a close and I found that this was an exceptional year. Here are five feature films that I wanted to put on the radar. Some are still seeking distribution and hopefully they will find their way to cinema screens soon.

Talk to Me
Written by Bill Hinzman, Daley Pearson (concept by) and Danny Philippou
Directed by Danny Philippou and Michael Philippou

One should not mess with the afterlife.

Mia (Sophie Wilde) and her gaggle of teen friends learn this the hard way. Through the use of an embalmed hand, they exorcise spirits of the great beyond by informing the specter that “I let you in.” What initially starts as a way to chase some thrills ‘n chills quickly turns deadly. Kids today are fearless. During my youthful days, there were few gatherings that I attended, but when I did, it was to get down with an intense game of Monopoly and if the group was feeling particularly wild, we would bust out Sweet Valley High. It was kinda an unwritten rule, the Ouija board was off limits.

Talk to Me is an effective supernatural horror that gave me the creeps. This owed to the great performances throughout and the impressive effects. Inevitably the flick managed to leave me questioning whether I actually ever want to partake in a seance… one never knows who they are actually talking to.

Talk to Me’s distribution rights were purchased by A24 and will be released in 2023.

Mutt
Written and Directed by Vuk Lungulov-Klotz

This was an excellent feature debut that left me reeling.

After recently transitioning from female to male, Feña finds their life has become one in which they are constantly being asked to defend their existence. In a swift runtime of 1 hour and 27 minutes the viewer experiences twenty-four hours with Feña (Lio Mehiel). Over the course of a day, he crosses paths with three people from the past: their foreign father, an ex-boyfriend and their 13-year old sister. Each one of these interactions contributes to an emotionally packed day that is inevitably filled with turmoil, stress and anxiety.

It is hard not to feel something while watching this movie. For me, my heart broke for how totally exhausting others make it for fellow human beings to simply live. Life is short and everyone deserves to enjoy it while they are here. This is a film everyone should seek out.

Mutt will be distributed internationally by the Brussels based company, Best Friend Forever. It appears to still be looking for US distribution.

Scrapper
Written and Directed by Charlotte Regan

“She’s a proper little weirdo…”

This is the type of film I love to find at Sundance because it warms my heart like a nice cup of tea. It is always nice to stumble upon a narrative that plays out so effectively and leaves you wanting to see more from the filmmaker.

In Charlotte Regan’s debut feature, Scrapper it tells the tale of the moxie-filled twelve-year-old, Georgie (Lola Campbell). After her mother passes away Georgie, is left to fend for herself. While everyone is under the belief that she is living with her Uncle Winston Churchill, in reality she is subsisting completely on her own. She covers the rent for her London flat through a lucrative bike stealing racket that she operates with a neighborhood kid and even manages to fool her social worker with voice recordings of the corner store guy posing as her Uncle. Everything seems to be peachy keen until her vagabond of a father, Jason (Harris Dickinson) shows up at her sliding glass door. This causes Georgie’s life to spin out of control, taking her to an unexpected place: the real world.

This is a great feature debut that depicts a story of a father and daughter that come to realize they may need one another more than they thought they did. There were a lot of wonderful moments throughout and I look forward to seeing what this young director does next.

Scrapper won the Grand Jury Prize for the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at Sundance and will be distributed by France based company, Charades.

Onyx the Fortuitous and The Talisman of Souls
Written and Directed by Andrew Bowser

Onyx the Fortuitous and The Talisman of Souls is absurd, downright ridiculous and yet, it is easy to see it was made with heart.

After a novice occultist, Marcus J. Trillbury who adamantly goes by Onyx the Fortuitous (Andrew Bowser) wins a grand getaway contest to attend a “once-in-a-lifetime ritual” at Bartok The Great’s (Jeffrey Combs) mansion. Upon his arrival he meets up with four other contestants and chaos ensues as they learn maybe winning this contest isn’t really the honor they thought it would be.

This film won’t be for everyone and that is OK. There are moments in which it lags and without doubt would have benefited from a snip as it is hard to justify a runtime of one hour and forty-eight minutes (ie this is why Directors should not edit their own films). However, I believe this would be the perfect zany watch on a Friday night after a rough week and the only person you want to interact with is your local pizza dude.

Overall, I found myself quite impressed with what the filmmaker and crew were able to accomplish here. The project was backed by 7,493 people on Kickstarter who pledged $610,467 bones and at the end of the day it not only got made, but it was completed pretty darn well. The creatures, make-up and locations were particularly noteworthy and impressive on an indie budget. The performances are fun and I am kinda shocked that I did not tire of Onyx the Fortuitous, despite the character being the type to induce fatigue. Given that the filmmaker also plays the titular role, I commend the restraint on monopolizing the spotlight. He lets the other characters shine. It should be noted, Barbara Crampton has a minor role in this and welllll… she rules.

Onyx the Fortuitous and The Talisman of Souls is still seeking distribution.

My Animal
Written by Jae Matthews
Directed by Jacqueline Castel

My Animal is in the vein of an eighties horror, from the synth score to the mood lighting. Set in a rural northern town, Heather (Bobbi Salvör Menuez) struggles to find her place in the community. As a skilled goalie she pines to be part of the hockey team. However, they don’t allow females. Sadly, she does not find much support at home as her alcoholic mother’s biggest concern is chaining Heather to the bed during the next full moon rather than her daughter’s feelings. Her father provides her with the only solace until she befriends a figure skater, Jonny (Amandla Stenberg) at the local ice rink. Inevitably this relationship causes Heather’s life to unravel in various ways exposing hidden truths of her sexuality and lycanthropy.

Throughout the course of the one hour and forty-minute runtime one witnesses Heather grapple with who she is and the expectations of those around her. This flick started off strong, but unfortunately hits a lull in the second act where it ultimately fizzled out. Still, given that is a debut feature, it is rather impressive. I also have to commend the director Jacueline Castel for setting this in a period in which cell phones did not play a major role in the story line. By the time I watched this during the festival I had lost all patience for mobile phone audio alerts within films. It was also appreciated to find my next watch hanging on Heather’s bedroom wall, Below the Belt (1980).

My Animal will be distributed worldwide (excluding Canada) by Paramount Pictures.