Fantasia ’14 Review: ANIMOSITY

They say that 18 is the year we “come of age” and with Montreal’s Fantasia Film festival turning the big 1-8 this year, there are allot of people writing about the festival’s blossoming. From budding to voluptuous, Fantasia’s 18 now. Sounds dirty doesn’t it?

While there are surely many great years ahead for everyone’s favorite genre film festival, it’s only fitting that some of us start to wax nostalgic. For more than twelve years, my summers were spent frolicking at the lake house along with sprite-like college coeds, glistening from their recent skinny dip in the lake…. in the dark…along with the other pudgy festival attendees.

That being said, there’s nowhere else I’d like to be (since I’m no longer allowed at many other public places). So here’s to many more Fantasias! Now 18+

Despite having evolved into the genre market behemoth that it is, Fantasia’s still very much a home for many young and hopeful filmmakers.  It is therefore only fitting that in celebration of Fantasia’s 18th birthday, do we kick things off with a small indie film from a promising first time director: ANIMOSITY

Directed by first time filmmaker Brendan Steere, Animosity is very much a victim of its own cleverness and reviewers need to tread lightly. Season liberally with too much information and the effectiveness of the storyline caves in instantly. Season conservatively, and you run the risk of not giving enough to be able to taste  what Animosity is really about.

The only option is to bait the viewer, hoping that it finds something of interest to latch onto and digest.

Let the baiting begin:

Things kick off when Carry and Mike trade in their apartment for a quaint old house in the woods. Carry’s hopeful that they will start a family soon and Mike, a scientist of sort, seems to be fairing well at work . While Mike is away toiling in his Lab during the day, Carry works on the score of a small budget zombie film, a scene of which she’s having particular trouble nailing down.  Life seems promising for the young couple as they set into their new daily routine. That is, until the neighbor shows up.

Fans of Lynchian type curios such as Twin Peaks will find allot to dissect in this weaving tale of a woman slowly losing her options, and her sanity. I’d even advance that this film fits in perfectly with the “psychotic women” subgenre, as there are whiffs of Polansky’s Repulsion, as well as Let’s Scare Jessica to Death.

To call this film a psychological thriller however is akin to being lost in the woods. Animosity gets down and dirty pretty quickly and the cruelty of the film is translated flawlessly through an unnerving performance by Tracy Willet (Carry), whose overall body language had us all talking well after the screening. There’s just something about her that sets off that reptilian, instinctual malaise. This film also plays with your sense of familiarity and logic. As characters start to unravel, your frustration at their sudden shift in behavior (I’ve smacked my forehead a few times) is paid off in red herrings.

Stephen King fans will also be quick to note a slight wink in their direction but Director Brendan Steere should have taken a few cues from Mr. King about self censorship and slimmed this movie down. At 112 minutes, it slogs at times where you should be biting your nails in anticipation.

Also of note is the production credit from Roy Frumkes, who had milked his fair share of bile out of us with his screenplay for the dystopian goop fest Street Trash. Animosity is a completely different animal , but just as dark and disturbing.

This brutal, intense, little indie flick (despite its flaws) is exactly the type of freaky voice Fantasia excels at finding and sets the tone for this year’s festival. Good job guys. With Fantasia 18+ just out of the gate, I can’t wait for the gang bang.