Overview
Cinephiles, fans of on-screen dreams outside the norm and those with all-round offbeat tastes, it's time for your mosey through the movies that exist far beyond the mainstream. You know the ones — they won't be coming soon to a multiplex near you, and you wouldn't want them to. They're strange and sublime, odd and eccentric, and weird and wonderful.
They're also the kind of fare that the Sydney Underground Film Festival lives, breathes, champions and screens, and has done for nine years now. And with efforts about a Finnish bunny with a genital fetish and the space where concepts become crimes in their 2015 lineup, there's no doubting that this year's SUFF is overflowing with off-kilter sensibilities.
Accordingly, expect brain-exploding big-screen brilliance, raucous parties, a mind-expanding masterclass program and more, jam-packed into four days of film fun from September 17–20 at The Factory Theatre, Marrickville. Here are ten SUFF movies you won't want to miss.
LOVE
Say what you will about the films of Gaspar Noé, director of Irreversible and Enter the Void — they inspire a reaction. Perhaps his latest will make you mirror the emotion of its title. Perhaps it'll make you bubble over something completely different. Either way, the graphic, 3D, 134-minute exploration of the interplay between emotion and intercourse that is Love isn't something you'll walk out of not wanting to talk about. Whether you're immersed in the artistry of the real-life sex scenes, or finding fun in playing spot the reference to Noé's previous efforts, or itching to debate whether the porn-level bad acting is on purpose or not, prepare for your tongue to be wagging.
CALL ME LUCKY
In Call Me Lucky, comedian David Cross describes Barry Crimmins as "a guy you who you heard about before you actually saw". He's not a household name, so many are yet to even get to hear about him, but Bobcat Goldthwait's documentary will make you wish you had — and cause you to want to find out more. The Police Academy star turned filmmaker shines the spotlight on a comic legend who had more than a small impact upon his own career, as well as upon others who came to fame during the '80s. Making people laugh and mentoring other amusing folks comprise only part of Crimmins' story, though, with the funnyman morphing into a politically charged dynamo.
ONE ON ONE
Last time South Korean auteur and provocateur Kim Ki-duk made a movie, 2013's squirm-inducing Moebius, people reportedly fainted. Whether reactions to his next and 20th effort, One on One, will be as extreme is yet to be seen — but either way, you should always want to experience Kim's bold brand of filmmaking for yourself. That he's serving up another brutal, blood-soaked revenge classic this time around could be telling. That there's a statement lingering behind the twisted darkness and rampant ultra-violence could be as well.
NINA FOREVER
Admitting that you like your cinema-going with a hint of romance isn't really the done thing in movie-worshipping circles — but wanting your amorous on-screen affairs steeped in scarier stuff just might be. Nina Forever certainly tries to bridge that divide, offering a love story best described as morbid. When Rob falls for Holly, he's trying to get over the sudden death of his previous girlfriend, but the dearly departed Nina comes between them. In Chris and Ben Blaine's mischievous yet moving film, expect to take that rather literally.
REALITY
Showcasing the work of filmmakers that don't quite fall from the Hollywood mould is one of the things that underground film festivals do best. Quentin Dupieux certainly fits that bill, as anyone who has seen his 2010 cult effort Rubber — yep, the one about the people-killing tire with psychic powers — can attest. With Reality, he's playing with humans rather than objects, but that doesn't mean his latest offering makes more sense. It starts out telling the tale of a cameraman trying to craft his first horror movie, then charts the 48 hours he's given to find the best scream in the history of cinema — and that's just the beginning.
REMAKE REMIX RIP-OFF
In Turkey in the 1970s and 1980s, creating copies of Hollywood hits was big business. The nation's film industry, Yesilçam, survived by aping and appropriating all the well-known wares it could, including Star Wars, Rambo, The Wizard of Oz and The Exorcist, plus bizarre versions of the likes of Superman, Zorro, Tarzan, Dracula and James Bond. Given that his childhood and resulting cinema fandom was defined by such efforts, director happily Cem Kaya spent seven years watching thousands of movies, researching many more and cataloguing the phenomenon as an adult. If you think the love letter to unlikely films that results sounds like the kind of documentary tailor-made for an underground film festival, you'd be right.
BACK IN TIME
Delorean lovers, Marty McFly fans and everyone who ever dreamed that hoverboards would become a real thing, prepare to say "great Scott!". That's the only appropriate reaction to a documentary that dives into the 30 years of fandom spawned by one of the most beloved films of the 20th century. Packed with interviews and abundant in adoration, Back in Time celebrates everything that made Back to the Future great, and still inspires feverish love three decades later. What better way to commemorate the original movie's 30th anniversary, and to prepare for October 21, 2015, aka Back to the Future day.
THEY LOOK LIKE PEOPLE
If one of the joys of attending film festivals is to discover future classics — and it is, of course — then pencil in They Look Like People as a possible candidate for such a status at SUFF. When it premiered at the 2015 Slamdance Film Festival, it garnered plenty of positive words and other praise; however, that's not the only thing giving the genre-bending effort some buzz. Comparisons to Darren Aronofsky’s Pi and Rian Johnson’s Brick certainly help, as do mentions of It Follows and They Live. Even if its apocalyptic tale of shape-shifting doesn't meet the hype, the ultra low-budget effort still promises something that's becoming all too rare: an horror movie based on an original concept.
DEEP WEB
Once upon a time — or back in 1989, to be exact — Alex Winter and Keanu Reeves teamed up to time travel their way through acing a high school history test. That wasn't their only stint as Bill & Ted, nor their only time working together. While rumours of a third excellent or bogus instalment persist, the on-screen BFFs have joined forces on Winter's latest offering as a filmmaker. Reeves lends his vocal tones to a documentary that delves into the Dark Web, the Silk Road and all the associated perils, problems and politics, and to an effort that deserves attention for much more than its famous talent.
KNOCK KNOCK
He's apprehended surfing bank robbers, learned kung fu in a sea of ones and zeros, and avenged the death of his pet puppy. As well as voicing a look at the underside of the internet, Keanu Reeves' next task is to survive the seductive thrills coming his way in Eli Roth's Knock Knock, which pits his suburban dad against two femme fatales in a throwback to the sexploitation genre. Roth's big screen efforts might be a bit hit and miss; however, his teaming up with Reeves is ample cause for enthusiasm. You can try to tell us that you're not excited about seeing the K man on screen again more often — or about it being socially acceptable to profess your enjoyment of his films once more — but we won't believe you.
SUFF 2015 runs from September 17–20 at the Factory Theatre, Marrickville. Check out the festival website for the full program.