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We go to the extreme and beyond with Dark Wave, the series of international
horror, fantasy and cult cinema. Opening the series is the supernatural
thriller Intacto featuring death-defying games of Russian roulette
played by the preternaturally lucky. New this year: Dark Wave at Midnight
with a zombiefied yakuza action film, Versus; and the wide-angle gore
and guns of Teenage Hooker Became a Killing Machine in Daehakroh.
There's more frights to discover with the latest film from the Japanese
director of The Ring with his psychothriller, Dark Water; the full
blooded monster movie, Kat; the chilling Japanese ghost story, Inugami;
a supercharged blend of Aliens and The Howling as soldiers are stalked
by werewolves, Dog Soldiers; and The Unknown, the Swedish answer to
The Blair Witch Project, Dogma style! Buy
tickets online; on sale September 30. See
schedule.
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Opening Night
Max von Sydow plays a master gambler presiding over a futuristic
casino on a desolate island in this genre-defying supernatural
thriller. A frustrated disciple searches for someone who might
be desperate enough to beat the master at his chosen game, an
elaborate version of Russian roulette, and the unlucky recruit
(Leonardo Sbaraglia) must run a diabolical gauntlet of elimination
rounds to save his girlfriend from death. Spanish director Juan
Carlos Fresnadillo fashions a shocking film about good fortune
and human nature. (Spain 2001, 108 min.) Dir. Juan Carlos Fresnadillo. |
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(Honogurai mizu no soko kara)
In this unnerving new psychothriller from the director of The
Ring and its chilling first sequel, an attractive divorcée
and her six-year-old daughter are up against the demonic forces
gripping a creepy, old Tokyo apartment building. Based on an
original story by Koji Suzuki (the Stephen King of Japan), this
deeply unsettling film firmly establishes its director at the
forefront of the Japanese cinematic New Wave. (Japan 2002, 101
min.) Dir. Hideo Nakata. |
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A squad of football-obsessed, hilariously foulmouthed British
soldiers on a training mission in the Scottish Highlands find
themselves stalked by enormous werewolves. After a disastrous
encounter in the woods, the soldiers hole up in an abandoned
farmhouse. Then the fun really begins, as various members of
the squad start to transform, an enigmatic local girl (Emma
Cleasby) turns up, and our hero Cooper (Kevin McKidd from Trainspotting)
is forced to perform emergency surgery with Super Glue. Don't
ask, just watch. (United Kingdom 2002, 90 min.) Dir. Neil Marshall. |
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In a remote mountain village on the island of Shikoku, the Bonomiya
women are duty-bound to watch over the Inugami (wild dog) gods.
When Miki Bonomiya, a lonely woman in her 40s, falls for a young
stranger, the village is soon cloaked in an eerie fog, suspicions
arise, and strange events disturb the community, awakening the
spirits. (Japan 2001, 105 min.) Dir. Masato Harada. |
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When Maria thinks that her boyfriend is cheating on her, she
starts to develop a psychic connection to a series of bestial
killings that are always committed close to a place she has
just been. Her obsession with the killings slowly takes her
further and further away from real life, until finally the truth
about her boyfriend, her girlfriend and the murders can no longer
be repressed. Repulsion-style paranoia slowly but surely grabs
you by the throat. (Denmark, 2001, 90 min.) Dir. Martin Schmidt. |
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A teacher discovers one of his teenage students walking the
streets and he blackmails her into becoming his sex slave. When
she becomes pregnant, the monster hires hit men to off her,
then slice and dice the corpse. A twisted Dr. Frankenstein fashions
the remains into an unstoppable cyborg, and soon RoboHooker
is hot on the trail of her killer. Wide-angle shots, gore, weird
lighting, guns: Teenage Hooker has it all, and more. (South
Korea 2001, 60 min.) Dir. Nam Gee-Woong. Preceded by
Gridlock, six gripping minutes of suspense and infidelity
(Dirk Beliën, Belgium, 6 min.) |
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This Dogma-Meets-Blair-Witch-Project effort effectively provides
scares and thrills without relying on frenetic camera movements.
Five biologists travel to a remote area to explore a forest
that burned down a few years ago. On the first day of exploration
they find something strange. This begins a week marred by horror,
paranoia and a steady erosion of common sense. Against their
will the biologists have taken a step into the unknown. Suddenly,
the way back to civilization seems very far away. (Sweden 2001,
90 min.) Dir. Michael Hjorth. |
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Japanese director Ryuhei Kitamura's Versus is a high-voltage
zombie yakuza action fest that plays like an unholy hybrid of
The Evil Dead, Reservoir Dogs and The Matrix. Tak Sakaguchi
stars as a moody, pretty-boy convict who finds himself trapped
with a nasty crew of gun-wielding hoodlums in an ancient, evil-infested
forest where the dead come back to life. (Japan 2001, 119 min.)
Dir. Ryuhei Kitamura. |
Sponsors:
GreenCine
GreenCine is run by movie fans, for movie fans...and a portion of membership fees benefit film arts organizations, including the SFFS.
To preview the upcoming edginess, find clips of Kat, Dark Water and Dog
Soldiers here. (Windows Media
Player or QuickTime required).
Guinness 
Media
Sponsor:
SF
Station 
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