“Savannah’s OTHER Film Festival”
15 unique and memorable indie and foreign movies that deserve to be seen on the big screen!
Ticket Prices:
Single Films=$9 ea. / Day Passes (Mon.–Fri.)=$15 ea. / (Sat. or Sun.)=$22 ea.
LIMITED GOLD PASS (includes tix to all 16 films—$144 value)=$100
Tickets/Festival Schedule and full details on upcoming
screenings of Indie, Foreign and Cult cinema:
PsychotronicFilmSavannah.org
To get our Newsletter–send full name + email (info will not be shared) to:
psychotronicfilms@hotmail.com
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Saturday, Jan. 28
2 p.m.
Dark Suspense Drama a la The COEN BROS.:
S M A L L T O W N
M U R D E R S O N G S
(2011, USA)
WINNER: CRITIC’S PRIZE, TORINO INTERNATIONAL FILM FEST
WINNER: BEST ACTRESS –WHISTLER INTERNATIONAL FILM FEST
OFFICIAL SELECTION: ROTTERDAM INTERNATIONAL FILM FEST
OFFICIAL SELECTION: TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FEST
This modern, Gothic tale of crime and redemption starring PETER STORMARE (DANCER IN THE DARK, THE BIG LEBOWSKI, FARGO, WEEDS) and JILL HENNESSEY (DEAD RINGERS, I SHOT ANDY WARHOL, LAW & ORDER, CROSSING JORDAN) concerns an aging police officer from a small Mennonite town in Ontario who hides a violent past until a local murder upsets the calm of his newly reformed life. The Plot: Walter is the chief of police in a small Ontario town that has its first murder victim, an attractive young woman found on the shores of the nearby lake. The victim isn’t local and so the Ontario Provincial Police take the lead in the investigation. The town is mostly a close-knit Mennonite community and Walter has recently returned to the church, while trying to deal with a violent incident in his past. With a somber, contemplative and dark vibe openly reminiscent of the work of both THE COEN BROTHERS (BLOOD SIMPLE, NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN) and DAVID LYNCH (TWIN PEAKS, MULHOLLAND DRIVE), it’s a deceptively simple and sparse tale that serves as a showcase for the nuanced acting chops of the two leads and supporting actress MARTHA PLIMPTON (THE GOONIES, STANLEY & IRIS, TV’s ER).
THE REVIEWS ARE IN:
“Beneath a deceptive calm, it uncovers a core of fear and loathing as ominous as the backwoods world of WINTER’S BONE.“
–The New York Times
“SMALL TOWN MURDER SONGS moves so deliberately, with such confident authority, that every small event takes on cumulative significance.”
–Wall Street Journal
“A redemption parable that occasionally finds ballad-like lyricism in its biblical solemnity and oddball Lynchian rhythms.”
–Time Out New York
“Besides the effective ensemble acting, another asset is the outstanding cinematography. This captivating, haunting crime drama never gets tiresome and knows when to bring the curtain down. Some of the dialogue spoken by the Mennonites is in Pennsylvania Dutch, a German dialect, with English subtitles.”
–Entertainment Spectrum
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Saturday, Jan. 28
5 p.m.
Wild Documentary on 1970s Filipino Exploitation Films:
M A C H E T E M A I D E N S
U N L E A S H E D
(2010, Australia)
For years now, the PFS of SAV has been singing the praises of (and regularly screening) Filipino exploitation movies –some of the wildest, most violent, sexist, racist and generally bewildering motion pictures ever made anywhere in the world (think WENG WENG, THE KILLING OF SATAN and SUDDEN DEATH). Boasting cheap labour, exotic scenery and non-existent health and safety regulations, the Philippines was a dreamland for exploitation filmmakers whose renegade productions were soon engulfing drive-in screens around the globe like a tidal schlock-wave. As the majority of Filipino action, sci-fi, war, horror and “jiggle” movies were either never shown in the USA or have been long since forgotten, precious little has been known about the history and inner workings of this film industry. Until now! MARK HARTLEY, director of NOT QUITE HOLLYWOOD, the respected and highly entertaining documentary on the history of Australian exploitation cinema, has now turned his sights on the Filipino film biz of the ’60s through the ’80s and the result is a non-stop, fast-paced roller-coaster ride through all manner of Grindhouse gems that you’ll have a hard time believing were ever made and show in theaters. Packed with rare and restored clips from some of the most sleazy and notorious Filipino-made movies of that era and amazingly candid and mind-blowing interviews from some of the actors, directors, cameramen and producers who helped turn that dangerous dictatorship into a one-time hotbed of low-budget moviemaking (including ROGER CORMAN, JOE DANTE, SID HAIG, ALLAN ARKUSH, EDDIE ROMERO and JACK HILL), it’s the ultimate insiders’ account of a faraway backlot where stunt men came cheap, plots were obsolete and the make-up guy was packing heat. ANYONE INTERESTED IN THE DAY-TO-DAY REALITIES OF LOW-BUDGET EXPLOITATION FILMMAKING SHOULD NOT MISS THIS EXTREMELY ENTERTAINING AND EYE-OPENING DOCUMENTARY.
THE REVIEWS ARE IN:
“This documentary is gritty, exploitative, and deliciously gross in only the way that exploitation of the ’70s and ’80s can be. The film also exposes the atrocious conditions that actresses had to go through in the Filipino climate. Many of the interviewed actresses found their work more hilarious than humiliating, and spoke of it with a strange mix of pride and self-awareness. It was educational as well and really brought the dangers of low-budget moviemaking to light.”
–Online Critic
“Mr. Hartley has proven himself to be quite the excellent curator of globally tacky cinema.”
–FEARNet
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Saturday, Jan. 28
8 p.m.
Infamous, So-Awful-It’s-Great CULT CLASSIC:
T H E R O O M
(2003, USA)
***THE CITIZEN KANE OF BAD MOVIES***
Known worldwide as a top contender for the coveted title of WORST MOVIE EVER MADE, this jaw-droppingly terrible (and terribly, unintentionally hilarious) celluloid atrocity must be seen to be believed! Perhaps the most expensive vanity project ever, this bewilderingly incomprehensible indie film was shot for a staggering $6 million in 2001 by first-time writer/producer/director/star TOMMY WISEAU, a mysterious fellow of indeterminate European ancestry whose performance in this, his debut film led one reviewer to describe him as “a bit like SHATNER or SCHWARZENEGGER before they became self-aware.” Much of THE ROOM was filmed on a soundstage, with outdoor backgrounds added using the Greenscreen special effect process, which only adds to the surreal and disoriented feeling many viewers experience during viewing. Upon its release in 2003, it played for two weeks in just two theaters in Los Angeles, after which critical disinterest (and the fact that most of the few people who bought a ticket left midway through to demand their money back) caused it to vanish from sight. However, a handful of those who saw it in its initial run enjoyed it immensely as an unintentional comedy and lobbied Wiseau to make it available for special screenings and midnight shows. This has proven to be the only type of success such a confusing film can achieve. Despite the director’s public embrace of THE ROOM’S new reputation as a gloriously awful comedy, all others associated with the production of the film insist he still views it as a deadly serious and philosophically complex psychodrama and is only reluctantly agreeing to let it be loudly mocked in order to both recoup his investment and increase his notoriety as a cult figure among film fanatics. The Plot: Johnny (Wiseau) is a successful banker with great respect for and dedication to the people in his life, especially his future wife Lisa, who has always gotten her way and will manipulate anyone to get what she wants. Johnny’s young, successful and independent best friend Mark gets caught up in Lisa’s dangerous web. Meanwhile, their even younger neighbor Denny, an orphan, gets into some unexpected trouble, OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT. We’re thrilled to close our 9th Annual Psychotronic Film Fest with one of the strangest cult films ever made. Screenings of THE ROOM routinely sell out all around the world, so arrive early to make sure you can get a seat!
THE REVIEWS ARE IN:
“Imagine a 90-minute episode of RED SHOE DIARIES written and directed by Balki from PERFECT STRANGERS. Trust me, this is the worst movie you will ever see ever in your entire life. Ever. But is it pathetically awful or sadistically hilarious? What you think will depend on your life experiences and viewpoint.”
–Online Critic
“And that’s the conundrum of THE ROOM. It’s so very bad that it becomes riveting.”
–KPBS.org
“I have now seen THE ROOM three times. It is, without question, the worst film ever made. But that is in no way meant to be discouraging. Because it is also the greatest way to spend a blisteringly fast 100 minutes in the dark. Simply put, THE ROOM will change your life. It’s not just the dreadful acting or the sub-normal screenplay or the bewildering direction or the musical score so soaked in melodrama that you will throw up on yourself or the lunatic-making cinematography; no, there is something so magically wrong with this movie that it can only be the product of divine intervention. If you took the greatest filmmakers in history and gave them all the task of purposefully creating a film as spectacularly horrible as this, not one of them, with all their knowledge and skill, could make anything that could even be considered as a contender. Not one line or scene would rival any moment in THE ROOM. The centerpiece of this filmic holocaust is Mr. Tommy Wiseau himself. Without him, it would still be the worst movie ever made, but with him it is the greatest worst movie ever made. Tommy has been described as a Cajun, a Croatian cyborg, possibly from Belgium, clearly a product of Denmark, or maybe even not from this world or dimension. All of these things are true at any one moment. He is a tantalizing mystery stuffed inside an enigma wrapped in bacon and smothered in cheese. You will fall in love with this man even as you are repelled by him from the first moment he steps onto screen with his long Louis XIV-style black locks and thick triangular shoulders packed into an oddly fitting suit, and his metallic steroid-destroyed skin. Tommy looks out of place, out of time and out of this world. There has never been anything else like him. Nor will there ever be. The shocking ending will leave you pleading for some kind of sequel. See this film at all costs. See it twice. Or three times. Or as one kid that I met has, 12 times! See it until you can recite every precious line of dialogue this movie has to offer. Let THE ROOM become your new religion and Tommy Wiseau your prophet preaching the Gospel according to Johnny. My dream is to someday buy a theater and run THE ROOM 24 hours a day, seven days a week until the print disintegrates. I hope it becomes your dream as well.”
–Guy Online Who REALLY Likes THE ROOM
“In the dynasty of dung, among the many pretenders to the best worst movie throne, Tommy Wiseau and his oddly named tragedy truly earns their rotten rep.”
–PopMatters
“Watching THE ROOM is like crossing over to a counter-factual universe where the rules of film grammar and screenwriting have been written by Dan Brown.“
–Online Critic
“PLAN 9 FROM OUTER SPACE gave me nowhere near as many belly laughs.”
–LYTRules.com
