
It's almost time once again for the Worlwide Short Film Festival and our lord and master Todd has once again gathered together a fine collection of the freaky, the wacky and what the hell was that? shorts for one of the two Midnight programs at this year's festival. Freaky will screen on Saturday, June 20th at the ROM. It's as much grossness, sexiness, vulgarity, humor and weirdness you can take in 95 minutes. Read on after the break for my thoughts on the program. Sometimes I wonder why I am friends with this man...
Glottal Opera – Why not start off the show with a four part harmony sung by god knows what. It is such a well sung piece of music you’re too entranced to be grossed out. The human body is a beautiful and musical thing. Four beautiful women with beautiful voices and... uh... beautiful... you’re just going to have to see it to believe it. Icky.
The Snake Mountain Colada – One year after writer/director /actor Clavin Reeder challenged our senses with the psychedelic display of bodily fluids that was The Rambler he’s back again delivering yet again another chapter in the story of the Rambler. Two weary travelers hitch a ride only to be tested by the cool refreshing taster of Miller Lite and a man in a frog mask. Do you like Pina Coladas? I bet you’re going to rethink that after you see this.
Danny’s Magical Potion – Who knew that Danny had a magical potion that would change the face of the Earth. An animated short that is concise, well done and very funny.
The Sexiest Stories on Earth! No. 2 – It’s just so damned silly it works. It’s got vampire hitchhikers with sexy haunches who love Søren Kierkegaard. Now that’s damn sexy!
Heart of Karl – We have sung the praises for Winnipeg based filmmaker Steven Kostanski for a very good reason. He makes the most of what he’s got, even if it next to nothing and gives us brilliance. With his usual crew we have the story of Karl a monster of whom his brother Max wants to put in a group home for other monsters. Chaos, anarchy and supernatural violence ensues!
Eel Girl – Whenever I fall in love with a girl I look out for a couple of things. One, does she have gills and razor sharp teeth that would make a piranha blush. Two, is she being detained on the other side of the glass in a military research base. Any one of those, or combination of the two, and I would be prone to give any relationship possibilities a second thought. Six minutes of sexy, then creepy, then funny.
The Horribly Slow Murder with the Extremely Inefficient Weapon – This was playing at last year’s Fantastic Fest and I kept running into its director, Richard Gale, and I kept apologizing because I was always at other screenings. And now that I have seen it I know what the buzz was all about. Made up as a trailer for a nine hour horror film the weapon of choice may be ‘extremely inefficient’ at killing but it does generate a lot of laughs. Gold.
Everyday is a Fish Day – It is 2 minutes in the life of a fish. Who knew they lead normal lives like the rest of us.
The Sleuth Incident – Parents be warned. In your child’s bedroom is a ferocious stuffed killer just waiting to tear your face off. Jason Kupfer’s short is beautifully shot and executed though it does take a while to get going, perhaps too long for the payoff. Stuffed evil awaits you in the toy box!
My Rabbit Hoppy – Henry has made a show and tell video for class of his pet rabbit Hoppy. Do larger rabbits make larger poo? You’re going to have to watch and find out.
Git Gob – It only takes two minutes to prove that you can be stupid and still enjoy a vast amount of your life!
My Love Lives in the Sewer – I thought we had reached the gross texture threshold with The Snake Mountain Colada but Manuel Arija’s film takes it just a bit further with a romance of two lovers and the only thing keeping them from meeting is the sewer system. That doesn’t mean that they cannot be lovers. Oh no, just the right amount of petroleum jelly can do wonders for one’s sex life. Gutter sex rules!


You may be running in to Gale some more, dude. He's coming.