Special package of horror films at upcoming edition of IFFI
IFFI delegates to be treated with Macabre Dreams, a special package of horror films this time around
When the 53rd International Film Festival of India (IFFI) set to begin on November 20, at the picturesque destination of Goa, filmmakers from around the globe are set to be part of the prestigious event. This time around, the IFFI organisers are lining up a special package to entertain audiences who arrive in Goa for the screenings.
The special package will be an array of horror films that are expected to haunt audiences even after leaving the movie screens. Horror movies have always had a dedicated viewership, with the genre having churned out wide ranging scary flicks. The specialty of horror movies is that every nook and corner of the world has tales that haunt. They have been brought to the silver screen, and they have stayed to bring about scary memories.
It is a fact that every country and every language can boast of at least a dozen horror films. And films that depict the scary tales have been sought after. It is this mass appeal that the 53rd edition of International Film Festival of India would be banking on this time around.
Special package to have a quartet of newly released horror films
Titled ‘Macabre Dreams’, the special package of horror movies will include a quartet of newly released horror films that promise to scare even after viewers leave the movie theatres. Among the films that have been included in the package are Nightsiren from Slovakia, Huesera from Peru, Venus from Spain, and Hatching from Finland.
Nightsiren, directed by Tereza Nvotova, narrates the tale of a young woman who returns to her native mountain village, searching for answers about her troubled childhood. As she tries to uncover the truth, ancient legends begin to invade modern reality, leading the villagers to accuse her of witchcraft and murder. The enigmatic horror film unfolds in seven chapters and brings to the screen the resurgence of ancient beliefs in modern-day Slovakia and how issues such as misogyny, xenophobia, and mass hysteria still prevail in the modern world.
Meanwhile, Huesera comes across as a supernatural body horror film directed and co-written by Mexican filmmaker Michelle Garza Cervera. Starring Natalia Solián as Valeria, a pregnant woman who finds herself threatened by occult forces, it speaks of how Valeria finds it hard to shake off heavy self-doubt and a pervasive dread. Her fear erupts from visions of spider-like beings and other supernatural threats. An international co-production of Mexico and Peru, Huesera had its world premiere at the Tribeca Festival this year and had won the Best New Narrative Director and Nora Ephron awards.
Supernatural tales that promise to scare
The third flick is Venus, a Spanish supernatural horror film set in an urban survival environment with elements of modern witchery. The movie is directed by Jaume Balagueró. The plot is inspired by American writer H. P. Lovecraft’s horror short story ‘The Dreams in the Witch House’. The story begins when a ballet dancer steals a bag full of pills from the nightclub where she works. When the plan goes awry, pursued by a gang of thugs, she decides to take refuge in her sister’s flat. However, that refuge seems to hide a threat far more powerful than the men who seek it. From the plot to the soundtrack that mixes more conventional horror sounds and powerful moments of electronic music, Balagueró creates a bizarre and hilarious update of Lovecraft.
Hatching comes across as a Finnish psychological body horror film and is directed by Hanna Bergholm. It had premiered at the Sundance Film Festival this year. It also won the Grand Prix and the Prix du Jury Jeunes at the Gérardmer International Fantastic Film Festival. The film has Tinja, a young gymnast desperate to please her mother, a woman obsessed with presenting the image of a perfect family to the world through her popular blog. Tinja finds a mysterious egg, which she chooses to bring home. Once it hatches, she names the creature “Alli”, and cares for it as it grows into a doppelgänger that acts upon Tinja’s repressed emotions.
The horror film package is expected to bring in an all new experience to the 53rd IFFI.
