Around this time every year, movie buffs suffer from serious sugar overload due to the abundance of extra-sweet cinematic holiday-themed confections available to stream. To restore a semblance of balance, the upstart 21st Another Hole in the Head Film Festival, a bloody good alternative to the gooey sentimentality, runs Dec. 6-17 at the Balboa and 4 Star theaters in San Francisco, with many selections streaming through Dec. 24. The fest is a grab bag of often gory genre gems. We jumped at the chance to check out a few.
For a full schedule and to purchase tickets, visit ahith.com.
“I Voted”: An unspecified police activity locks down a disparate group of 14 voters and volunteers in a tense polling place during a volatile presidential election. Sound too plausible and relevant? Director Tyler Mann and co-screenwriter Rachel DeRouen’s slap-in-the-face premise doesn’t tap a frayed nerve; it stabs at it, showing how constant feuding in our polarized nation can lead to bloodshed. “I Voted” makes you question your own strident opinions and consider how outrage is crippling democracy today. A slow burner, the movie would have been more effective if it were trimmed a bit. Yet Mann and DeRouen pull no punches, particularly with a disheartening, explosive finale. Forget polls and analysis pieces—“I Voted” is both astute and observant, setting up stereotypes, then breaking them down. The large cast is uniformly good as well. This one’s a hot ticket. Unavailable to stream, it screens at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 17 at the 4 Star with the filmmakers slated to attend.
“Chainsaws Were Singing”: Irreverent, goofy and gory, this scrappy Estonian genre mashup is appealingly bonkers. Shot in 2013 and just now released, this cult-movie-in-the-making so unabashedly embraces its ridiculousness, you can’t help but become captivated by the buoyant insanity. It’s partly because filmmaker Sander Maran is in love with all the genres he’s skewering: musicals, slasher films, even romcoms. All are thrown into the blender for this boy-meets-girl-meets-serial-serial killer story about a suicidal guy (Karl Ives) falling for a potential romantic savior (Laura Niils) who gets abducted by a chainsaw-wielding maniac who breaks out in song. Though “Chainsaws Were Singing” is hit-or-miss sometimes in the comedy department, it cuts to the genre grain so well, you just won’t care. It screens at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 9 at the Balboa and is unavailable to stream.
“Fleetwood Peaks: A Visual Album”: Devout “Twin Peaks” and Fleetwood Mac fans won’t want to miss this weird but hypnotic experimental project that pairs images and scenes from David Lynch’s cult classic 1990s TV series with music and videos of the iconic rock band. The result hews surprisingly true to the surreal spirit and style of Lynch’s influential creation. And it cleverly mixes Angelo Badalamenti’s unique, evocative score—one of the best made for a TV show—with Fleetwood Mac tunes. Dan Noall’s 60-minute feature is indeed geared to fans; it casts quite the visual and auditory stoner-like spell. It screens at 7 p.m. Dec. 11 at the Balboa and streams.
“Evil Dead Live: Deadite the Halls”: Sam Raimi’s gonzo horror classic serves as the impetus for this live-onstage “special reimagining” of the undead splatterfest. In what’s certain to be a far cry from Christmas chestnuts such as “The Nutcracker,” lead protagonist Ash — slayer of the undead — tries to summon up the true spirit of Christmas. That I’ve gotta see! The production, co- presented with Dreams on the Rocks, is at 7 p.m. Dec. 4-7 and Dec. 18-21 at San Francisco’s Eclectic Box, 446 Valencia St. Tickets cost $35.
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