ETHERIA SEASON 2 (SHORT FILMS)

Following on from its excellent first season, The Horror Collective has curated another batch of short horror films and dark thrillers, each with a female director.

Sweet Little Unforgettable Thing (S.L.U.T)

In a small Texas town, a young teen tries to re-invent herself to become more desirable to the local boys, but instead attracts the intention of a dangerous psychopath… The first half of this film plays like an awkward coming-of-age teen movie as our heroine allows her hormones to take the lead and hook-up with guys, not realising that someone is watching her. The second half however plays like the end of the Red Riding Hood tale, complete with the killer disguised as grandma for a heart-pounding bloodthirsty finale.

Sheila Scorned

When a pole-dancer called Sheila takes revenge on a past abuser called Charlie, she suddenly finds herself in a whole lot of trouble…or does she? This tale is pure Grindhouse, complete with scratched frames, worn print and in one very convenient moment, a missing reel (allowing the film-makers to get themselves out of a tight corner). This has some very hard-hitting violence, both inflicted upon and by Sheila but one thing is very clear, we need more of Sheila - bring on the sequel!

Gödel Incomplete

A young particle physicist working on the Hadron Collider discovers a way of travelling back in time, meeting and falling in love with Kurt Gödel, a famed mathematician. To be honest, this feels a little out of step from the other films as its an elegiac romance which just happens to involve time travel. Having said that, it is sumptuously shot and contains one of my favourite sunset scenes.

Shevenge

Three young women discuss getting revenge on their other halves over a few bottles of wine. Each take turns to discuss their partners' crimes and how they would do away with them. There is some great running commentary here as the other two girls chime in with their opinions about the fantasy being laid out and there are definitely some home truths in the heightened bastardly behaviour displayed by the boyfriends. (CLICK HERE FOR INTERVIEW)

Zone 2

Set in a post-apocalyptic future, a woman called Lisa and David, her disabled son (blind and confined to a wheelchair) survive in a small bunker. Each time Lisa has to venture out into the Zone 2 wasteland there is a risk she might not make it back. Although this is one of the shortest films in the collection, it really packs a punch and is full of detail and enthralling drama. It has a really ambiguous ending which will have you guessing an wishing the camera kept rolling for just a few more seconds! (CLICK HERE FOR INTERVIEW)

Carved

When a psychopathic serial killer is killed by the cop who is meant to be taking him into custody, the murderer’s soul escapes his body and transfers to his killer. Meanwhile, a quartet of drunken college girls are heading off for Spring Break…This film is a mix of I Know What You Did Last Summer and body transfer films where the killer's soul jumps from one person to the next, controlling them. This is a bloody affair with some strong, brutal kills. Very nasty and entertaining.

Cowboy Kill Club

Welcome to Bangkok, where just about everything and anything is available at a price. When a new dancer at an exclusive club starts getting too inquisitive aboout hat is happening in the basement, she is exposed to the club's darkest secrets. This film's concept is really out there but at the same time you will wonder if such a scenario depicted here is or isn't an eventuality given the circumstances. This one's a bit of a wild ride with a lot - a lot! Of blood and guts.

Witches

On a Saturday night, three witches work together to conjure some powerful spells, but soon certain grudges and resentments rise to the surface, turning each against each other. This is probably the slightest of the collection, in that its built around one single joke of three witches casting spells against each other. It’s a fun entry nevertheless, with some strong fx and prosthetics.

El Gigante

In order to pay for his wife and daughter to be smuggled across the US border, a young man finds himself forced into a macabre wrestling match. This film is the most nihilistic and brutal of all the films here. It's got a grotesque nature to it and has the feel of a Mexican Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It's grimy, bloody and very very nasty.

Suddenly One Night

Home alone in her deserted apartment building over Christmas, Maria answers her door to find a man claiming to be a neighbor from upstairs, and claims that someone has broken into his apartment… This psycho thriller will have you guessing all the way through. Information and different perspectives are parsed out throughout the story, planting ideas into your head as to whether the "guest" is telling the truth.

THE VERDICT

As you can see, Etheria Season 2 provides a broad spectrum of styles and ideas, mixing dark thrillers and all-out horrors. With each episode you are faced with humour, gore, grindhouse action, atmospheric chills or nihilistic, gore drenched terror, all to be experienced in 20 minutes or less. In celebrating and highlighting the talent of female film-makers, the message from Etheria is clear - Gender is not and should not be a barrier to delivering quality genre films.

9 out of 10 - HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

(MIKEOUTWEST)