FINAL GIRLS BERLIN FEST: pop horror/carnivalesque shorts block
by Vannah Taylor, Staff Writer
To be completely honest, before Final Girls Berlin, I would not be able to tell you what was considered “pop horror.” A succinct definition still evades me, but that seems to be the beauty of the tastefully curated Pop Horror/Carnivalesque shorts block–it is a fantastical arrangement of oopy-goopy and sickly sweet treats like the concession stand at your local county fair. Grab some popcorn and prepare yourself for the glittery and gory goodness of these five shorts.
Wander to Wonder
Directed by Nina Ganz
Three miniature humans in the form of stopmotion creations are the subjects of a 1980s kids television program complete with its own Mr. Rogers style sweater-vested show host. Once we move beyond the confines of the video camera and the carefully crafted dioramas it captures, it appears that the creator of the series (who I assume to be Mary, Billybud, and Fumbleton’s creator) has died. They continue on taping their little shorts and hoping to hear from their doting fans despite the reality that their tapes will never again make their way to the eyes of young viewers. This short is cutesy but heartbreaking, using animated figures reminiscent of the Wallace and Gromit film series to hash out existential human concerns. Slowly the trio battle hunger and deteriorating psyches in a way that seems allegorical to the human experience, to people whose creator has abandoned them (if you believe in that sort of thing). Regardless of whatever hopelessness and fear one might feel, the only choice we often have is to simply carry on with the silly little lives that have been constructed around us.
We Need to Talk About Balloons
Directed by Jennifer Bonior
Dani’s mom has dedicated her life to re-packaging her mother-daughter relationship for views and likes. Her current fixation is commissioning a balloon arrangement for Dani’s birthday. Much to her dismay, Dani is headstrong and not interested in dulling her own spark in favor of whatever her mom has decided is trendy. In her sparkly jacket and space buns, Dani the Destroyer has her own magical ideas for how to spend her birthday. Bonior’s silly little story, infused with lines like, “Your birthday is Mommy’s next big marketing opportunity,” feels seemingly relevant in a time when influencer families and “MomTok” accounts have been under fire for not-so-glamorous scandals and a growing understanding of the dangers of exploiting childhood for content–so much so that some of these influencers are now the subject of multiple true crime docuseries. Put down your phones, eat some cake pops, and let kids be kids!
Sugar Rag
Directed by Jai Love
Starring the gorgeous Samantha Robinson (The Love Witch), Sugar Rag is about a family who has just brought home their new baby boy. Albert is anything but excited to share his life and his family with Remus, who is a giant and scary man baby (as he appears to Albert and the audience, who is watching from Albert’s perspective) stealing all the affection. Everything about this new dynamic is unsettling for him as he is forced to watch everyone dote over Remus while eating ambrosia salad and rubbing mashed potatoes on their faces. Freudian complexes and murderous impulses are brewing in this hilarious and uncomfortable little family drama.
Shé (Snake)
Directed and written by Renee Zhan
Fei (Xiaonan Wang) is an outcast at school but a star in the band room. However, when a new student, Mei (Alina Lew), shows up at her school, Fei begins to feel like she is being dethroned from the only places she feels comfortable. Blood strains the collar of her shirt after she fervently fights for her place as first chair violinist–a wound that only gets deeper when comparisons to Mei begin to leak into her home life. The voices that feed Fei’s insecurities grow louder and louder until they become Burton-esque claymation bugs that embody all of the gross feelings that crawl underneath our skin. Calling to films like Black Swan, Renee Zhan conjures up the desire to embody perfection and the ways we project those insecurities and dissects the rivalries that stand in the way of the camaraderie that could exist with the only other people who can share our unique struggles.
Milkgum
Written and directed by Marcelle Nuke
*Content warning for sexual abuse
Inspired by Nuke’s own experiences with sex work, Milkgum follows Sel (Chloe-Ann Taylor), a young mother and sex worker who is becoming more and more isolated and lonely as she begins to feel jaded in her work. Her interactions with clients become exponentially more unpleasant until she discovers an Oedipal presence looming over her reality. While I still have yet to fully grasp the final events of the film, which features a creature that can be best described as the alien from The Thing (dir. John Carpenter, 1982) but made of bubblegum, it is clear that it is an incredibly nuanced story that explores the intersections of exploitation and desire. So much more is being hidden under the glossy pink piles of goo, which highlights Marcelle Nuke as an up and coming creative to keep our eyes on.
This past year has been one for feral femmes, grotesque transformations, and realizations of the impending doom that casts a shadow over our current reality. The glittery creepy crawlies of the pop horror shorts block is just one example of the ways that these trends are being spearheaded by minds that envision stories that cannot be easily categorized by genre–a beautiful reminder to open your mind and enjoy the ride.
Additional Final Girls Berlin Fest coverage from MovieJawn can be found here
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