FANTASIA 2016: ‘White Coffin’ Review

Jo Satana will be delivering reviews from films exhibiting at the 2016 Fantasia International Film Festival!

Nothing ruffles the feathers of bored white yuppies more than the issue of entitlement, diversity and cultural appropriation. At Fantasia, these bleed easily into discussions about the arts. Its easy to see the problem when your sockets are assaulted for three weeks by spurts of raw , unfiltered, damaging  sights and sounds, only to have to settle for vanilla from CINEGOGGLEPLEX for the rest of the year.

Things have gotten better over the years. Regarding gender issues, Fantasia can boast to a very dominant, yet nurturing, female presence. This has certainly resulted in a few drunken conversations about the role of sex in exploitation films, and how that projects expectations back onto to a new generation of viewers. Over the years however, it seems that my thrill boner got traded in for a guilt boner; which is still a pretty good boner to have.

I’ll give you an example on how the issues of entitlement, diversity and cultural appropriation can play out between two movie goers: a beloved female Japanese character is no longer Asian in an American remake. Person 1: This a form of cultural appropriation and a missed opportunity! Person 2: not at all, it`s a universal story that shouldn’t be typecast, but it surely says something about the state of diversity in today`s paternalistic society. Person 1: I want your seed in my mouth, Person 2: please pass the Aperol so that I may refresh my Spritz beverage.

Is there even such a thing as cultural appropriation in storytelling? Do genre stories need to be told with the same central, cultural view as their characters? What about sex appeal in movies? Is it wrong to make a character gay or straight to appease a demographic? There are people who ponder, and others who are busy making movies; having a blast with the innumerable ways you can reinvigorate a tired concept, irrespective of origin, for a new generation of viewers. Take the American slasher for example. Done to death. However, with the advent of the Internet and the onslaught of lowered expectations, generations of  filmmakers have all grown up after the golden era of the American nasty, and are now spitting that vile stuff right back at us. My mouth is agape. I`m wide open.

White Coffin is such a film, which had its international premiere at Fantasia 2016. It`s a firecracker encased in cellulose. A southern fried slasher road trip chewed up and spat out all over the ragged roads of Patagonia. That is, “southern fried by way of South America”. While the movie isn’t perfect, its 70 minute run time allows it to get to the blood soaked point without having you lose interest. It`s direct, packs a punch, and does not waste time with any of that blasé self aware stuff that`s speckled all over horror films of this “modern” era. A punk rock approach if you will.

So here we are. We’ve seen this before: a mother is on the run from a failed marriage.  She has her young daughter in tow. Her ex husband is calling frantically, begging for her return his child to him. She is driving through desolate terrain and passes through a small town. Cue flat tire, cue legend of an old curse, cue kidnapping set in motion by an otherworldly agenda, cue inbred psychopaths, cue the legend of a white coffin, cue rise of the strong female lead.

I’ve always believed that certain themes are universal and ring true, no matter what dirty floor you pile your laundry on. Fear of losing a loved one, fear of strangers, fear of the unknown, dislike of eggplant, all emotional cues that illicit a similar response in those who`s souls haven`t been completely darkened by a dimming light inside. For example, after the flat, a “knight in shining armor” offers to changer the mother`s tire. She has the exact same mistrust in her eyes as I do whenever I`m approached by anyone, at any time, for any reason.

White Coffin‘s pace and composition reminds me allot of what the DIY Plagua Zombie guys were trying to accomplish, but with a budget, and with a little restraint. Sometimes the buildup is better than the payoff. The twists and turns that White Coffin takes its viewers through are some of the most gut wrenching stuff I’ve seen in a while. Maybe I’m more sensitive now that commercial white bread is what small and sickly brain is craving. One scene in particular is so out there from what we commonly accept, it basically sucked my eyeballs right our of their sockets. Yes, I`m overselling White Coffin, but that`s because I want this type of stuff to be the new sriracha: spicy, tangy, thrilling, but not too thrilling, and now something that is a staple in everyone`s pantry. Rub this shit in your eyes and tell me how you feel.

So long sunshine, I`m out!

Jo Satana