RAW
Written and directed by Julia Ducournau, the film follows the story of Justine (Garance Marillier), a resolute vegetarian and socially-underdeveloped wunderkind as she navigates her first year of veterinary school. Amidst wordless, surreal scenes of hazing rituals, Justine is confronted with the challenge to eat a rabbit kidney and forced into the act by her older sister, Alexia (Ella Rumpf), a senior at the college who has evidently been alienated from her family for many years. The act of consuming this kidney sends Justine into a feverish spiral, piquing a desire to devour raw flesh, culminating in an insatiable craving for human meat.
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Filmmakers Jovanka Vuckovic, Annie Clark, Roxanne Benjamin and Karyn Kusama present four horrific tales of terror. In “The Box,” a boy (Peter DaCunha) starts to display strange behavior after looking inside a mysterious gift box. In “The Birthday Party,” a woman (Melanie Lynskey) refuses to let an untimely death ruin her son’s bash. In “Don’t Fall,” an innocent camping trip turns deadly, and in “Her Only Living Son,” a mother (Christina Kirk) must deal with the child from hell.
A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
The Persian-language American vampire western film directed by Ana Lily Amirpour, is a story about residents of a worn-down Iranian city encounter a skateboarding vampire (Sheila Vand) who preys on men who disrespect women.
“The first Iranian vampire Western”.
The film was chosen to show in the “Next” program at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival.
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Back in 1992, well before Buffy became a hit TV series, it was a film written by an up-and-coming talent named Joss Whedon, whose script was discovered and developed by director Kuzui. The Sarah Michelle Gellar show has since overshadowed the Kristy Swanson movie, but the latter’s not without its own appeal. The winning cast includes Donald Sutherland, Rutger Hauer, Hilary Swank, and—not long after his controversial arrest—Paul “Pee-wee Herman” Reubens. However, the original classic, directed by Fran Rubel Kuzui, offers the perfect blend of thrills and rom-com.
The Invitation
While attending a dinner party at his former home, a man thinks his ex-wife and her new husband have sinister intentions for their guests.
Karyn Kusama’s exploration of shattered relationships is more than just top-notch horror; it delivers intense suspense and genuine dread without relying on gore or ghosts. If you think M. Night Shyamalan knows how to pull a twist, check out The Invitation and marvel a truly terrifying final reveal.
Stranger Things 2
We’ve all fallen in love with the story about a young boy disappearing, his mother, a police chief, and his friends who must confront terrifying forces in order to get him back. They then meet a young girl with special mental powers, who telekinetically proves there’s a whole other world out there. A strange one nonetheless. Huge props to director, Rebecca Thomas for representing women as one of the esteemed directors of this amazing series.