Hello ladies and gentlemen, Muldoon here with this week's badass selection of fun films from across the globe. This week is a little out there, with aliens, ghosts, muscly fighters, and more. Hopefully you folks had a solid Thanksgiving (or just a great past week if you're not Stateside). Personally I ate too much and ended up finally catching up on movies I'd not seen (GREEN ROOM = Holy shit. THE INVITATION = Holy shit). Of course not all awesome films are 90 minutes as you've seen (hopefully) time and time again here each Saturday. This week is primarily genre pieces, movies that invite the supernatural and dance around what we consider possible. I don't know about you, but in a time where zombie flicks are a dime a dozen, films about extraterrestrials will always have my interest. Perhaps you prefer time travel or family dramadies... well good, because we have a few of those below as well. Ultimately, I just hope you fine folks are able to kick back and enjoy a few films you've likely not yet seen. The bulk of these shorts just hit the internet, so while a few have just stepped off their festival runs - ultimately they've not yet been seen on most other sites just yet. So while there's still a hint of "thanks" left over from this past week, I do want to shoot a massive thanks to you all (strangers on the internet I get to hang out with each week), and to the many filmmakers who reach out with their incredible films. Let's do this!
THE LAST ABDUCTION
TRT: 12:58
Roughly a year ago I posted a trailer for this film, and I'm happy to report back that filmmaker Frank Perrotto is back with the full film. Initially Frank had pitched this story as a web series called THE GREY CORRIDOR, but it eventually evolved into what we have today, a damn cool alien flick with some teeth. "When Woods Ulmann becomes convinced that he's been visited by extraterrestrial beings, his marriage, mental health, and career begin to fall apart. Due to the psychological damage stemming from the experiences, Woods obsessively attempts to capture 'proof' that these terrifying events have actually happened." While Frank is a well-known TV editor as his day job, I'm very much hoping to see more of his own projects, kickass stories he's written and stories he's yet to think of! Keep them coming, Frank!
The Last Abduction (Sci-Fi Alien Abduction Short Film) from Frank Perrotto on Vimeo.
TIME TRAVEL THROUGH TIME
TRT: 12:35
Filmmaker Bill Palmer is no stranger to these woods as his short BLOOD FROM A STONE is easily one of my favorite films... ever. In fact, the feature version of BLOOD FROM A STONE's script was on the podcast "The Black List Table Reads, Season 3" with Paul Scheer and Gregg Henry in some damn fun roles. (Definitely give it a listen if you're in to incredible awesome table reads that will make your ears bleed tears of joy.) When will we get to see BLOOD FROM A STONE made into a feature, Bill??? Okay, back to the film at hand. Bill's got a silly short for us that pokes at the eye of every time travel film you've seen. He set out to make something "aggresively dumb" and more than suceeded. "Before the invention of time travel, a would-be time traveler is visited by time travelers who must stop him from inventing time travel. Ugh." Clearly you can tell I think highly of Palmer's style and hope the guy keeps doing exactly what he does, though hopefully someday soon with a big budget behind him (to see what he'd do with that amount of freedom), so do yourself a solid and click over to his Vimeo Page for more insanity.
TIME TRAVEL THROUGH TIME from Bill Palmer on Vimeo.
BROADHURST "BONES"
TRT: 3:43
Okay... now I'm realizing a theme with this week's pick so far. They're all from filmmakers I greatly admire and have had the privilege of featuring before. Our next bit is a music video from James Chappell, who you've no doubt seen here before. James and artist Braodhurst seem to be quite the match, as James is able to compliment the guy's sound with some truly stunning imagery. "Bones" just recently hit the internet, so of course I'd be all over it. This time, as opposed to headless dancers, guys jumping off cliffs, or techno awesomeness that would make Nicolas Winding Refn green with envy - we've got a sort of fight club vibe. "An underground fight club swells with the sweat and blood of ultra-violence, as a mysterious figure enters the fray. Subverting expectations imposed by the the physicality of the situation, the power of surrender proves to be more formidable than a simple knuckle-sandwich." James is busy working on his next project, a short film that no doubt will be stunning and fun. Check out his website for more info on the guy!
BROADHURST | Bones from James Chappell on Vimeo.
GHOSTS OF THE OZARKS
TRT: 7:38
Filmmaker Matt Glass has our next film, a gorgeous western with a twist. Like the filmmakers above, I've had the privilege of screening a few of Matt's work here with films like I HATE MONDAYS, GOOD MORNING, and CITADEL. What I love about Matt's projects are they're each drastically different from another. I don't see him getting pigeonholed any time soon. This time he's got a solid short that also serves as a proof of concept for a feature version, which I'd certainly be curious to see! I very much love the music that accompanies this one, mixed with some great shots, and solid acting... I think this is my favorite of Matt's so far. There's a lot going on here, on multiple levels of cool. "GHOSTS OF THE OZARKS is loosely based on actual events around the Ozarks in the 1800s. There was a weird band of vigilantes called the "Bald Knobbers" that wore strange, horned masks and such. They became almost folkloric." Be sure to check out Matt's website for more info on the man!
CAITLIN AMONG THE BEASTS
TRT: 11:11
To wrap us out we have a film that's tonally different from all of the above. Director Adam Bertocci has our last short of the day, a funny short that taps into family issues. "A comedy about finding grace and other things that get away. Irresponsible millennial Caitlin's got an easy gig hamster-sitting for her nieces at her sister's cushy suburban pad. Everything goes all right… at first." Check out more of Adam's work over on his Vimeo Page!
Caitlin Among the Beasts from Adam Bertocci on Vimeo.
BAM! (Turkey stlye Bam!) That's it for this week's selection of shorts, ladies and gents. Hopefully you caught something that rocked your world or simply captured your imagination for a few minutes. I'll see you folks next week where I'll be attending Other Worlds Austin, the science fiction fest in Austin, TX! If you're down to have your own film fest, then check out a link or two below!
SATURDAY SHORTS 2012
SATURDAY SHORTS 2013
SATURDAY SHORTS 2014
SATURDAY SHORTS 2015
Hank & Honey: A Holiday Horror; Black Christmas; Grammy; Pick Ups (1/2/16)
Lilitu; Auld Lang Syne; Chronoshred; Ash Vs. Lobo Vs. The DC Undead (1/9/16)
Believe; The Dragon's Blade; Native Immigration; The Problem With Friends (1/23/16)
Harbinger; Hyperthermia; The Chickening; Head (1/30/16)
Erebus; Boldly Gone; Cupcakes; City In Crisis; Vandalaze "Great Big Things" (2/6/16)
Blurry; American Virgin; Azarkant; The Homing Bird; Sex, Lies, And Terminators (2/13/16)
Connected; Terry And Brenda; Fuck Buddies; Audrey; BigHead Walking Dead Parody (2/20/16)
Absence; The Adept; MAT ZO - "Sinful;" Dreamco; Hoot (3/12/16)
Pop Music; Tumble Dry Low; Rooms; Promise; Darth Maul: Apprentice (3/19/16)
Status Update; Kafka's Little Fable; Ghoster; I Got Your Nose; Creature Feature (4/2/16)
Steve; The Good Survivor; Field of Screams; Mirrored; Jack Edwards - "Falling In Love" (4/16/16)
Rest Stop; The Technician; Romp; Who's There?; If Joke & Harley Quinn Were A Normal Couple (4/23/16)
Trial; Star Struck; Color TV, No Vacancy; Notifications On; One Sunny Day (5/14/16)
You Are Not Alone; Giraffe Soup; Brother; Bury Tomorrow - "Last Light"; Rain (5/21/16)
The Group; The Trap; The Echo of Small Things; Alison Blaire - "The Sight of Sound"; James (5/28/16)
Blinking Lights; Dédalo; Invisible; Identity Crisis (6/25/16)
Schackled; Miss Nobody; I Hate Mondays; Jefferson; Mary's Passion (7/2/16)
Swap; Ghostbusters: All Manned Up Edition; The Invisible Man; Sleep Tight; Defining Fay (7/10/16)
Carl; Flat Tire; Loree's Crazy 'Bout Kittens; Chum Zone II: Shark Fin Soup; Archetype (7/16/16)
The Chaplain; Bump CLassique; The Listener; Timelike; Fantasy Hospital Episode 4 (7/23/16)
Trial Run; Thick Air; First Date From Hell; Rise; God, Me And The Salty Peanuts; Graves (7/30/16)
Deathly; The Hope You Promised Love; Surrender; Crumb; Deep 6 (8/6/16)
Broadhurst "Take Me Down;" Prungen; The Paris Syndrome; Foxed!; Ecstacy Boulevard (8/14/16)
Heartburns' a Killer; Draft Eight; Versus; Chainsaw; Injustice For All (8/20/16)
Sebastian; Where You Are; Xenos; The Line; Sand Boys (8/27/16)
Long-Term Parking; House Of Straw; You Won't Regret That Tattoo; Invasion Day; Forever (9/17/16)
Best Friends; Nae Parasan; My First Day; Slaps; Merry Gentlemen (10/1/16)
Otherhalf; Red Curtains; The Great Break-Up Contest; Pioneer; Seven Rules (10/8/16)
Frank And The Zombie Girl; Spooky Club; o negative; Zelos; The Moonlight Man; Sweet 16 (10/29/16)
Red; Larry Gone Demon; Visitors Parking; Grave Dangers; Intruder (11/6/16)
Chomper; Hoshino; Boniato; On Sunday; Darkness of Night (11/12/16)
Where The Shadows Fall; The Girlfriend; Friendlies; The First Men; Toc Toc (11/19/16)
If you have a short and think it belongs here or are on the fence about whether to send it in, please do send it in - I'd love to see what you've put together. I've already seen hundreds of fresh new filmmakers' shorts and like any good addict, I need more!
Shoot me an email at "Mike@aintitcool.com"
In the subject line include:
“SHORTS” + “Your film’s name” + “The film’s genre”
Then, in the body of the email, please include a synopsis of the film and any contact information you might think I need or would want published. The more info you send my way, the more info there is to put with your short.
Please don’t feel the need to submit multiple times.
Remember, the filmmakers might still be in the audience, so feel free to share your thoughts in Talkbacks below. (JUST DON'T BE AN ASSHOLE). I picked them, so you know I think highly of all of these, but how about you fine folks? How'd you like 'em?
BY THE WAY: If you've had a short featured here, that means that I personally am a fan of your work, so feel free to shoot me any kind of news on new projects/films/whatever. I can't say I'll be able to help or in what capacity, but I'm interested in your work and am always down to see more! (Keep making cool stuff, everyone!)
- Mike McCutchen
"Muldoon"
Mike@aintitcool.com
