HOLIDAYS is an anthology feature film that puts a uniquely dark and original spin on some of the most iconic and beloved holidays of all time by challenging our folklore, traditions and assumptions.
A young videographer answers an online ad for a one-day job in a remote town to record the last messages of a dying man. When he notices the man's odd behavior, he starts to question his intentions.
A video artist looking for work drives to a remote house in the forest to meet a man claiming to be a serial killer. But after agreeing to spend the day with him, she soon realizes that she made a deadly mistake.
A group of former classmates gather for a pre-party at one of their homes the night before their 10-year high school reunion, and one by one, they are brutally slain in a manner befitting each's senior yearbook superlative.
Director:
Anthony DiBlasi
Stars:
Chad Addison,
Jake Busey,
Tess Christiansen
Four friends on their way to Coachella stop off in Los Angeles to tour true-crime occult sites, only to encounter a mysterious young runaway who puts them on a terrifying path to ultimate horror.
On the rainy night of October 2, 1968, eight characters waiting on a remote bus station for a bus heading to Mexico City start experiencing a strange phenomenon.
Director:
Isaac Ezban
Stars:
Luis Alberti,
Carmen Beato,
Fernando Becerril
Three American tourists follow a mysterious map deep into the jungles of Japan searching for an ancient temple. When spirits entrap them, their adventure quickly becomes a horrific nightmare.
XX is a new horror anthology with a gender twist - all segments will be helmed by female directors and will star female leads. The directors have been given free creative rein within budget and time constraints, but all of the segments themselves will involve the horror genre.Written by
Anonymous
The film was intended to be an experimental project to highlight female filmmakers working in the industry. According to an interview featuring all four of the filmmakers, Jovanka Vuckovic stated that this film was intended to give more opportunities to female directors, especially in the horror genre, due to the lack of female directors working in the film industry. See more »
I'm sorry to report that this year's "XX" doesn't quite live up to the great horror anthology that its trailer promises. This quarter of female-directed horror shorts is actually quite average, when considered together, and I'd give it a 6 out of 10.
Only the first segment is truly memorable — "The Box," adapted from a short story by Jack Ketchum. The directing and scoring is superb. (Seriously, the music is quite good.) The acting is also good throughout this segment, most especially by "The Strain's" Natalie Brown. She's a good actress and she's starting to grow on me. (And her memorable last lines here, which I assume come from the text of Ketchum's story, are weird and haunting.) This quarter of "XX" gets under your skin.
Despite "The Box" being capably developed and unnerving, however, there were no conventional scares at all. It hardly felt like a horror short; it was more like a particularly macabre and ambiguous parable. Nor is the story's mystery solved — it's left open-ended.
The second segment is largely a waste of time, despite being stylishly shot and scored. (Hint: it's got the same story device as "Weekend at Bernie's.")
The remaining two tales are more standard horror stories. I'd suggest they are somewhat fair at best.
I think I would recommend this only to the most well rounded horror fans who are in the mood for something different. And, even then, it might only be for the peculiar elements of "The Box."
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I'm sorry to report that this year's "XX" doesn't quite live up to the great horror anthology that its trailer promises. This quarter of female-directed horror shorts is actually quite average, when considered together, and I'd give it a 6 out of 10.
Only the first segment is truly memorable — "The Box," adapted from a short story by Jack Ketchum. The directing and scoring is superb. (Seriously, the music is quite good.) The acting is also good throughout this segment, most especially by "The Strain's" Natalie Brown. She's a good actress and she's starting to grow on me. (And her memorable last lines here, which I assume come from the text of Ketchum's story, are weird and haunting.) This quarter of "XX" gets under your skin.
Despite "The Box" being capably developed and unnerving, however, there were no conventional scares at all. It hardly felt like a horror short; it was more like a particularly macabre and ambiguous parable. Nor is the story's mystery solved — it's left open-ended.
The second segment is largely a waste of time, despite being stylishly shot and scored. (Hint: it's got the same story device as "Weekend at Bernie's.")
The remaining two tales are more standard horror stories. I'd suggest they are somewhat fair at best.
I think I would recommend this only to the most well rounded horror fans who are in the mood for something different. And, even then, it might only be for the peculiar elements of "The Box."