Love Springs Eternal.

My TIFF experience (well, genre anyway) began this year with Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead's newest film Spring.

After the loss of his mother and job, Evan (Lou Taylor Pucci) flees to Italy where he falls in love with a local woman named Louise (Nadia Hilker) who may not be all that she appears.

A few years ago, Benson & Moorhead burst onto the scene with their highly-praised debut Resolution. It defied easy characterization, but it was clear they were full of fresh ideas. I'm glad to say that their first effort was no fluke, as this one is another accomplished tale. Whereas Resolution was essentially buddy comedy with horror elements, Spring is first and foremost a romance. The byline I've been hearing of “it's a genre version of Before Sunrise” is decidedly apt.

I was glad I knew very little about the film going in, and enjoyed letting it unfold organically. As with Resolution, its strength lies in the two leads and their immediate chemistry. Having way more to do in this film than his turn in last year's Evil Dead remake, Lou Taylor Pucci gives a wholly sincere portrayal of a man lost and on-the-run. Even more captivating is Nadia Hilker, as the mysterious Louise. She is breathtaking, speaking with an accent you can't quite place. What a find, guys! The exchanges between Pucci & Hilker were really engaging, playing off his lovestruck melancholy and her perpetual evasiveness in equal measure. The film is also buoyed by a strong supporting cast including Francesco Carneletti and Vinny Curran. I was also glad to see Jeremy Gardner in there, as well. After his effort The Battery last year, he too is an important up-and-comer, so it's good to see these three guys collaborating.

As far as storytelling goes, Benson & Moorhead are still on their game. They do their best to throw you off the scent, giving you many ideas about Louise's secret, before the big reveal. What follows is some interesting lore and, sadly all too brief, discussions about science vs. supernatural.

Visually, Spring is a huge leap forward for these filmmakers. Shooting in a small Italian village, the locale sings with historical beauty. Whether it be wave-swept cliffs, secluded caves or the outer-lying orchards, almost every frame is a marvel.

Star Nadia Hilker & Directors Aaron Moorhead & Justin Benson.

Spring is a solid effort that reinforces Benson & Moorhead as fresh new voices with a talent for injecting new life into oft-trodden genres.

*Q&A photo courtesy Kurt Halfyard.

Pumpkinhead on Blu-ray

Today, I've got a guest on deck. Here's Canuxploitation's Paul Corupe with the rundown on Scream Factory Collector's Edition Blu-ray of Pumpkinhead hitting the streets tomorrow. Take it away, Paul...

FX and makeup wizards Stan Winston, Rick Baker, Rob Bottin and Tom Savini all towered over 1980s genre film, helping to define the fantastic and grotesque in what we now realize was the last era for good ol' practical effects. Winston may have been the best of the bunch, an animatronics genius who broke out from the B-movie scene to work on blockbusters like Terminator, Aliens, Predator and Edward Scissorhands. Winston was even given his own shot at the director's chair with 1988’s Pumpkinhead, a sometimes middling work that impresses with its technical achievements while getting mired in muddy storytelling. A hit on VHS, the film now gets an impressive, feature-packed Blu-ray from Shout Factory's horror imprint, Scream Factory.

The plot, which seems to take several cues from Stephen King's novels, involves a huge magical creature that wreaks terrible vengeance to avenge an accidental death. Widowed farmer Ed (Lance Henriksen) is devastated when his young son Billy (Matthew Hurley) is hit and killed by a drunken dirt biker, one of a group of rowdy high school students visiting their rural area from the big city. Remembering something he saw many years before, Ed heads deep into the nearby woods to trade his soul in return for summoning the demonic Pumpkinhead, who tracks down and attacks the unsuspecting teens. But when Ed has second thoughts about his deal with the devil he attempts to undo the evil he has unleashed, which may be harder than he expects.

As you might expect from the directorial debut by an FX expert, Pumpkinhead's makeup, production values and overall craftsmanship are the film’s most successful aspects, with characterization and story sometimes falling by the wayside. Though undeniably a work of horror, Pumpkinhead is really a tragedy at heart—there's a sad tale in here under all the prosthetics and creature effects, from Ed and Billy's economic struggles, the accidental death, the sorrow of a father who has lost everything he had and Ed's ultimate remorse for what he has done. But despite a good turn by Lance Henriksen, the film's creators aren't well attuned to the dramatic aspects of the script, and the somewhat clumsy handling of the tale helps to sandbag much of the emotional resonance. This is a film that just never feels as involving and moving as it ultimately should be.

Matthew Hurley & Lance Henriksen in Pumpkinhead.

That likely won't matter too much to some viewers, who will thrill to the film's dark Gothic atmosphere and impressive practical effects. Just check out the creepy crone-like make up on Florence Schauffler, the old biddy who can call on Pumpkinhead, and of course the impressive, sinewy creature itself who stalks and shreds his way through the young cast, including one memorable kill where one of his victims is dropped from a tree. Winston fans and FX nerds will still find much to enjoy about the film, even if it doesn't showcase his work quite as well as bigger budgeted studio pictures that Winston built his career and reputation on.

Pumpkinhead has always been a minor studio horror classic of sorts, eventually spawning three sequels, but its treatment on DVD was spotty until a MGM released a 2008 collector's edition. The Blu-ray is a notable improvement on those previous versions, with a nice sharp image that really shows off the film's largely unheralded cinematography. This version also carries over some of the features from that 2008 release. Aside from the usual trailers, stills and behind-the-scenes footage, you'll find Pumpkinhead Unleashed, an hour-long doc on the making of the film, as well as a commentary from Tom Woodruff Jr. and Alec Gillis, who join co-screenwriter Gary Gerani. It's an interesting chat, if a bit effects-focused, but should please those looking for more details on the birth of Pumpkinhead.

Shout has also included some additional material on this new release. There's a handful of interviews with some new faces, including producer Richard Weinman, star John D’Aquino and the bespectacled Billy himself, Matthew Hurley. But the real jewel is Remembering the Monster Kid: A Tribute to Stan Winston, a 50-minute homage to the man behind the film, who passed away in 2008. The interviewees, mostly fellow effects artists Alec Gillis, Tom Woodruff Jr. and Shannon Shea (as well as appearances by Pumpkinhead actors Lance Henriksen and Brian Bremer), offer a heartfelt look at Winston's personal life and wide-ranging influence, making it clear that Stan Winston Studios is more than the vision of one man, but a team of craftsmen who continue today to carry on the singular vision of one of the greatest movie magicians of our time.

Director & FX guru Stan Winston.

Though not one of Winston's most indelible efforts, Pumpkinhead is still notable because it represents perhaps his most clear vision of the fantastic on film, supported here by a nice selection of contextual extras. Ed should have been more careful for what he wished for, but it looks like those who held out hoping for a definitive release of this VHS horror mainstay finally have what they desired for so long.

Bloody ABC's

Hey all. I'm knee deep in TIFF right now, so now DKTM, but I did want to share this newly released red band trailer for the ABC's of Death 2.

It's so awesome that the trailer opens with my friend Steve Kostanski's segment (coincidentally featuring Willem Halfyard, who starred in my short film Lively last year) as it is sure to be a highlight. I'm so excited for the Toronto premiere next month at Toronto After Dark.

In addition to Kostanski, ABC's 2 also has three other Canadian collaborators in Vincenzo Natali, The Soska Sisters and my good buddy Chris Nash. His segment is gonna knock your fucking socks off, trust me.

My TIFF coverage will begin on Tuesday, but check back tomorrow for a guest post from Canuxploitation's Paul Corupe.

Fan Expo 2014 Part 4

Hopefully you've enjoyed my coverage of last weekend's Expo over the last few days. I just wanted to wrap things up here with some sights from the show. I didn't take nearly as many photos as I would've liked, as I wasn't on the floor as much this year, but even when I was there often wasn't enough room for me to even raise my arm, let alone get a clear shot of what I was aiming at.

Anyway, here's what I got;

8-foot tall Lego Rocket & Groot!

Bethesda's upcoming survival horror title The Evil Within.

Leon?

Tainted Love cake by Cakes Cove.

I don't know what this is, but I like it.

Featuring new fangled TREEbook story-branching technology.

Now hiring!

The next bunch are from Paul Jones' booth featuring many cool creature creations.

Schwartz picked me up these bad boys for my name day;

And the best costume of the weekend goes to;

There was a cool Annabelle booth at the show that was constantly scaring the shit out of people. I didn't snap a pic, but fortunately this promo got released yesterday.

Fan Expo 2014 Part 3

Continuing into Saturday, my day was pretty full of panels, which was doubly fortuitous, as my contact with the ridiculous crowds of the Expo's busiest day was kept to a minimum.

The Black Museum conducted a lecture in the afternoon about the history of home video, so I naturally couldn't pass that up.

Josh Johnson, the director of the great VHS doc Rewind This, was on hand to take us down memory lane. He touched on all the main areas, including both format wars, the Video Nasties and how the advent of VHS shaped the film production and distribution industry.

I liked that Josh made sure to emphasize that horror had a very big presence during the home video of the mid-eighties, due to indie companies like Magnum, Paragon, Embassy and Continental, who were able to get titles on shelves quicker than their Hollywood counterparts.

Josh also had some great video tidbits, which included company logos, intros and this priceless promo reel for A Nightmare on Elm Street 3.

I also learned that the first SOV film was not Sledgehammer, but this 1982 flick called Boarding House, which I absolutely, positively have to track down now.

Local VHS collector Dan Gorman brought some visual aids to the show, as well.

Fortunately, the Black Christmas reunion panel was in the same room right after, so I didn't even have to move. Local talents Art Hindle & Lynne Griffin were on hand along with Nick Mancuso and the great John Saxon, who recently received a star on the Italian Walk of Fame.

There was a lot of reminiscing about how great and innovative a director (and human being) the late Bob Clark was, as well as just how Goddamn cold it was shooting in the winter of '73.

John Saxon (left), Art Hindle, Nick Mancuso & Lynne Griffin

Art Hindle answered about whether it was a fun movie to shoot despite the cold;

“No, it was fun. We were mostly inside, you know. A lot of us knew each in Toronto. It was unique. There wasn't a lot of jobs around then, so we just felt lucky to be on a set and working. We were working with Margot Kidder who was hilarious. Olivia Hussey was a sweet lady and brought none of the airs of somebody who did a fabulous movie like Romeo & Juliet. Andrea Martin was just in the beginnings of her career. Yeah, we just had a great, great time.”

Nick Mancuso talked about performing as the caller in the movie;

“There were three voices, there was me, the director Bob Clark, and an actress whose name was Mugsy Sweeney I think, and they were blended together in post... I stood on my head to compress the thorax to give it as spooky as sound as possible, so that's how we recorded it.”

Earlier in the day was the Bruce Campbell Q&A. Even better was that his friend & cohort Ted Raimi joined him onstage and they proceeded to ham it up to everyone's delight. I mean, you know how these guys are together, it's like watching The Three Stooges – minus the fake shemp (see what I did there!)

I only caught the last half-hour of this as I was at another panel, but it consisted of them pulling fans up on stage to showcase a “demonstrative talent”, which would in turn earn them a five dollar bill out of Bruce's pocket. The bits I saw consisted of a lady performing CPR on Ted, impromptu LARPing, and a cartoon voice-off.

Ted Raimi & Bruce Campbell.

When the duo did start answering questions, Bruce quickly dealt with the obligatory ask about Evil Dead 4;

“Well, there's no Evil Dead 4 right now because as you may know that Sam and his brother Ivan are developing an Evil Dead TV show, which will star me in some capacity.”

He also added that he didn't know whether it would really come to pass, but he was certainly up for it. You know, the usual.

When someone asked if Bruce had stolen his coat from Don Cherry, he replied;

“I'd probably be offended if I knew who that was!”

Toward the end of the panel, important issues were decided when audience applause dictated that Autolycus would win in a fight between him and Joxer.

I mentioned that I missed most of this panel because I was at another event. It was perhaps the only thing that could have taken precedence over seeing The Chin perform – The Twin Peaks reunion panel.

Actors Sherilyn Fenn, Sheryl Lee and Ray Wise were in attendance to celebrate the twenty-fifth anniversary of the ground-breaking television show. They were all visibly humbled by the amount of people that showed up to see them. I wish the panel had been twice as long, but here are a few little snips.

Sherilyn Fenn (left), Sheryl Lee & Ray Wise.

Fenn talked about her experience auditioning for David Lynch;

“I had met somebody who had encouraged me to stop trying to be who everybody wanted me to be and to be myself in interviews. I interviewed with David, and I didn't know so much about him, as I was only about twenty. So I went in there and was kind of quiet, and he asked me about the script. It went fine and I left. A week later they called and said that David had written me a part. It was such a cool confirmation of be yourself, you're enough.”

Lee was asked about what it was like coming back to the character of Laura Palmer for Fire Walk With Me.

“The series ended rather abruptly, and as an actor, I didn't feel finished with her (Laura) even though I knew she was dead. And then Maddy died so fast. That is strange creatively. You're playing these people and you feel like you know them inside and out and then it's just cut so short. So, when David came to me, there wasn't a script at first, it just started in conversation, he said, I'm thinking of doing this about her life and the last few days and these other storylines and such. We would just sort of talk Laura and life. It's so strange that I have absolutely no memory of ever seeing a script even though I know there was one, but I also don't have a clear definition of where the series ends and where the film starts.”

Sheryl Lee & Ray Wise in Fire Walk With Me.

Ray Wise - as I discovered when I recently saw him in Montreal promoting Suburban Gothic - is a real character, who also happens to do a great David Lynch impression, which had the crowd in stitches. He told a few stories, including one about what he did when he learned that David Lynch wanted him to play Leland Palmer; 

“I had assumed I was going to play Ben Horne or the Sheriff. So, when he said Leland, I had to go back through the script. And I was reading... Okay, he finds out his daughter is dead, and he cries. Then he goes to the mortuary and identifies her body, and he cries. Then he's in his daughter's bedroom when the sheriff's going through all of her belongings, and he looks sad. And I thought, well all this guy does is cry! And then it dawned on me, this indeed was the challenge. I had to find different degrees of crying, and mourning, and you know, this was going to be something.”

At the end of the day, there was a screening of Fire Walk With Me at The Lightbox on glorious 35mm. I've seen the film several times now and two things always stand out to me. The first is how well balanced it is. It shouldn't be, as the first act is wonderfully comedic in tone, then turns on a dime, progressively getting more and more disturbing. Yet, the madman David Lynch is always in control.

The second thing is obviously Sheryl Lee's performance. There is so much range here, sometimes within a single scene. I've always been in awe of it, and her. She can be so terrible to people, but, like she does with Bobby outside the school, she flashes that iconic homecoming queen smile and you can't stay mad at her.

Come back tomorrow for my wrap-up post featuring photos from around the show floor.

Fan Expo 2014 Part 2

As I mentioned yesterday, there was an extraordinary amount of panels this year. Fortunately, there wasn't a huge amount of overlap - as is the case most years - so I got to sit in on most of them.

The genre examination documentary Why Horror? conducted a panel to go along with the recent unveiling of their snazzy new poster.

The film, as seen through the eyes of life-long horror fan Tal Zimerman, is an exploration as to why so many feel drawn to the darkest corners of cinema. Directed by Nicolas Kleiman & Rob Lindsay, the project is now finished and will soon screen in Mexico, Spain and here in Toronto. The panel consisted of Zimerman, Kleiman, as well as two of the doc's interviewees, Andrea Subissati and Dave Alexander.

They touched on various talking points of the film, including the history of horror storytelling through the ages, how various cultures have different things that scare them and how and why some people find watching horror films a cathartic experience.

Co -director Nicolas Kleiman (left) and Tal Zimerman, Andrea Subissati & Dave Alexander.

Zimerman & company showed sections of the film - which spans the globe, including stops in Mexico, London and Tokyo - my favourite of which is when Tal volunteers his mother to undergo an experiment with him. They visit U of T and get hooked up to heart monitors to see how they both react - his mother swore off horror after being terrified by Dario Argento's 1971 film Four Flies of Grey Velvet - to horror stimuli. It's pretty hilarious, but the results were surprising. I guess you'll have to see the doc to find out what they discovered.

I also found it interesting to learn that, in the interest of symmetry, when they sought to interview an anti-horror advocate, they couldn't find one. They, in fact, had to go back to the nineties to find said sound bites. I guess that means that the people with the torches & pitchforks really have moved onto pinning the world's problems on violent video games. Yay?

Speaking of horror, Toronto After Dark announced the first ten titles of this year's festival line-up.

There are some really exciting titles on the schedule, including The Babadook, Open Windows and Dead Snow 2. The festival runs October 16-24th and you can check out more details, by clicking here.

Lisa & Louise Burns, the ladies who played the unforgettable Grady Twins in The Shining, were there. They were absolutely lovely, and still almost as tiny!

They talked about the fans' reaction to seeing them in person;

“They are either really frightened of us, or so happy to see us. People say really nice things to us though. It is almost overwhelming. There's people making these things on that site Etsy and all these lovely people who dress up as us and send us photos.” 

Naturally, someone asked about what it was like to work with the great Stanley Kubrick;

“We found him to be very friendly and cuddly, almost like an uncle. A genuine man. He knew exactly where he wanted to go, but he would encourage rather than tell. He wasn't a telling person. He would work with his own actors, or at least that is how he was with us... He did do loads and loads of takes. You know how you've always got one friend who has to take five photos when everyone else just takes one. They always have their finger on the button, don't they? I think if Stanley was still around with all the modern gadgets we've got now, he'd be one of those people.”

They were pretty great. The day wrapped up with A Nightmare on Elm Street reunion of sorts with Robert Englund & Heather Langenkamp appearing together on stage. I'd seen them both separately in previous years, but it was awesome to see them together.

Robert Englund & Heather Langenkamp

There was obviously stuff that I'd heard before, like how they both won their roles and such, but some new stuff, as well. They talked at length about working with eventual A-listers Johnny Depp, Patricia Arquette and Laurence Fishburne, and they spoke of how important Nancy as a character was instrumental in the birth of the “fan girl” movement. I can see that, as the Nancy & Tina did interact with each other in a very realistic way, even moreso than the ladies in Halloween six years earlier. It definitely helps when you have characters within a film that you can identify with.

Someone was quick to ask about what they thought of the remake. Langenkamp declined to say anything for fear of going on a rant, so Robert tried to be tactful;

“The remake of Nightmare was just too premature. I understand remakes. Every movie our grandparents saw was a remake of a silent film. There are only so many stories to tell around the campfire. I understand the drive to remake it for a younger audience, but with the advent of digitally remastered Blu-ray box sets, these original fans are older and have kids, and they can pass these movies down to them, looking better than they ever have before. Hollywood knows that movies have a larger shelf life now, so why they are rushing to remake everything is beyond me.”

The last question of the day was about Englund ever coming back to the role;

“If I was to come back, it would be Freddy vs. Viagara!”

But the question did bring up an interesting story about a prequel;

“There was some talk after Freddy Vs. Jason of a prequel script floating around and John McNaughton was going to direct it in a documentary style. At one point I think it was called Krueger: The First Kills. But was so creepy about it, were the lawyers that get him out of jail. And they became symbols of the corruption of American society and our children. They were phenomenal roles from what I hear. I never read it, I heard a lot about it from a guy that used to work at New Line. And that was close to happening, and then Michael Bay bought the rights to everything. But that would've been the last thing I did. I loved the idea that it was the lawyers that were the stars and Krueger just comes in at the end.”

We're not done here. Come back tomorrow to hear about a further quartet of events I attended.

Fan Expo 2014 Part 1

I once again entered the madness of Toronto's yearly Fan Expo this weekend. It began on Thursday evening, which is when I like to zip in, grab my pass and quickly check out the floor before things get crazy. It didn't take long to notice the changes from last year.

First, the experimental inclusion of Sports to the Expo must have been a sizable failure last year, as it was completely absent from this one. It seems like that would have been obvious - one just has to look no further than any high school in the world to see those two groups don't mix - but it wouldn't be the first time the organizers have made a bone-headed decision.

Another thing was that the Festival of Fear, the horror arm of the Expo was set up in the North building away from its usual digs in the South. This was likely good for them, in terms of exposure, as they were now close to the most heavily trafficked area of autograph row, but for those actually looking for it, not so much. As with last year, the commuting time between buildings was problematic, so it makes it difficult to limit the back & forth when the things you're interested in are spread out evenly across both.

Then imagine this times three.

I also noticed how much the popularity of certain things has increased. Gaming has obviously been a good chunk of the Expo since its inclusion in 2005, but this year was the biggest leap I've seen in several years. In addition to the large areas for Intel, Playstation and the like, there were also massive stages in the middle of both buildings for on-going seminars & game sessions for League of Legends and Starcraft 2. Doctor Who has been gaining popularity since its reboot about a decade ago, but it has now reached a fever pitch and was definitely the most represented icon of pop culture this weekend. I witnessed everything from remote controlled Daleks & K-9's to five-year-olds dressed as The Doctor.

Perhaps one of the more welcome changes was how much more substantial in volume Artist Alley seemed to be this year. I don't know if it was just more well laid out, but it felt like there were more artists at the show. I got to meet & talk with some great artists, including Paul Ainsworth, Matt Ryan, Andrew Barr and Sabrina Parolin. Please check out their links because they are all ace.

Poster art by Paul Ainsworth.

Stagefright “Monstar” by Andrew Barr.

Gary Pullin, my favourite local artist, was doing an artist workshop on Thursday, so I made sure to stick around for that. He talked about starting out at a commercial design firm, and then working his way into the art director job at Rue Morgue magazine. His presentation included a slide show of his work as well as some examples of what he thinks makes a good design and what doesn't.

Gary blew all our minds when he showed us the hidden profile of Alfred Hitchcock embedded in his fantastic Psycho print from a few years ago. It seems fitting he would do that, as Gary was the one who told me about the hidden face in the Halloween poster - an occurrence the original artist insists was unintentional - a few years back.

Can you see it?

The most interesting part of his talk was about his process. He was recently commissioned by a studio for an upcoming, high-profile horror release and presented a series of images which represented the back-and-forth between him and them. It was fascinating to see the concept evolve across the dozen or so images he showed.

Speaking of posters, I, not surprisingly, picked up a few myself. Within a few minutes of hitting the floor, I met up with Schwartz at the Hollywood Canteen booth, and then it was pretty much open season. Mike had a milk crate filled with vintage horror posters for like, ten bucks each. It was very difficult to walk away with just five.

Check back tomorrow when I delve into the many panels I attended this year. It was a banner year for these things and felt like the majority of what I did this weekend.