Connect with us

Indie

[FrightFest Review] ‘The Windmill Massacre’ Isn’t Your Average Slasher

Published

on

The Windmill Massacre

I went into The Windmill Massacre hoping for a new old-school slasher franchise-starter, in the vein of something like Hatchet, say. But, director, Nick Jongerius, is playing a different game.

The film opens in Amsterdam with a fluid set of character introductions to establish our ensemble. We’ve got the young Australian with a dark past (Charlotte Beaumont), the workaholic father (Patrick Baladi) taking his son (Adam Thomas Wright) on holiday, a marine on leave with his unit (Ben Batt), and so on. As their stories start to interlock, they are brought together for a bus tour of some of Holland’s rural landmarks. But, when they break down near a dilapidated windmill, talk of the legend of a murderous miller doesn’t exactly calm the nerves.

It’s a solid set-up and the international roster of characters in a foreign land is a nice touch. Jongerius has likened his approach to the ensemble as that of a 70s disaster movie, which is case in point that he has more on his mind than just Freddy and Jason. The cast are strong and certainly stand above your generic slasher movie performances, partly because they’re actually given something to do.

There’s a lot of time given over to exploring each character and Jongerius and his writers, Chris W. Mitchell and Suzy Quid, avoid generic archetypes in favour of more layered creations. It works well, but it does distract slightly from the horrors to come. Which is a shame because Jongerius and the production team have got some neat ideas. The killer is well designed, and his specific profession makes The Miller stand out from other death-dealing big-screen brutes. The kills don’t quite do justice to the interesting villain, but there are still some squelchy treats to be had and they’re well spaced out amongst the more mundane kills.

Jongerius has spoken about his desire to avoid making The Windmill Massacre a straightforward slasher film, and to instead lean towards the supernatural in the character’s origin story. This also applies to the execution and, like I said, Jongerius doesn’t necessarily give us all the slasher tropes we may be waiting for. The characters take precedence over the kills and the film subverts the final girl tradition for something a bit less action-packed, although a cruel turn of fate means we’re not left short of splatter. There’s also an earlier twist that happily caught me off guard, and provided another interesting subversion of conventional slasher movie character dynamics.

There’s a lot to like about The Windmill Massacre, but it didn’t quite pull together for me. It’s more satisfying in hindsight than it was actually watching it, but that’s something I think a second watch may settle. But, until then, I recommend Jongerius’ film, just don’t go in expecting it to play by the rules.

Indie

“Bite Size Short: Her House of Horrors” Announce Short Grant Program!

Published

on

Her House of Horrors, the horror division of Independent Production House WOMXNOGRAPHY, has launched its Bite Size Short Grant Program, ahead of its film festival Dollhouse of Horror, which will take place in March 2025 in Los Angeles, CA.

The Bite Size Short Grant Program awards $2,000 film grants to female-identifying and queer horror filmmakers. Shorts must be able to be made for $2,000, with a minimum runtime of 8 minutes. Submissions are now open on Filmfreeway, and are being judged by a panel of horror lovers and content creators.

The 2024 Bite Size Short Grant Program judge lineup is as follows:

“James H. Carter II- A documentary director, film producer, podcaster, marketing specialist, and writer. James is the founder and co-owner of Creepy Kingdom. Creepy Kingdom was founded in 2011 and is a multimedia website, and production studio specializing in creepy content. Their primary focus lies at the intersection of childlike fantasy and the macabre, covering horror films, theme parks, haunts, and much more. Beyond their extensive media coverage, Creepy Kingdom hosts events, offers original merchandise, and engages in film production under the Creepy Kingdom Studios brand producing original films like “Foolish Mortals”, exploring Disney’s “Haunted Mansion” fan culture, and “Georgie”, featuring Tony Dakota from the original “It” miniseries.

“In addition to founding Creepy Kingdom, James has won awards for his documentary work, including the award-winning “Foolish Mortals,” which has earned him recognition. He has been featured on Freeform’s 31 Nights of Halloween special.

“Ashleeta Beauchamp is the editor-in-chief of Peek-A-Boo! Magazine, a cheeky horror magazine created to uplift marginalized writers, artists, models and other creators within the horror community. She also runs The Halloween Coalition, a community group to provide support and marketing for horror and Halloween events around the Southern California area.

“Titeanya Rodríguez is a multi-hyphenate creative, and the founder and owner of HER HOUSE OF HORRORS, home of DOLLHOUSE OF HORROR and the horror division of WOMXNOGRAPHY. As a fellow storyteller and a self-proclaimed artivist, Titeanya’s mission is to create opportunities for women of color and queer women, across film, tv, sports, music, and beyond. She is also the creator of the BITE SIZE SHORT grant program.”

Winners will have a one-night theatrical screening at Regal Cinemas. Submissions Close April 8 at Midnight. Winners will be announced on May 27, 2024. Shorts must be shot and through post-production by June 30, 2024. The screening will take place on July 8, 2024, in Los Angeles, CA.

WOMXNOGRAPHY, HER HOUSE OF HORRORS, and Rodriguez are represented by Azhar PR, Granderson Des Rochers, and Kinsella Holley Iser Kump Steinsapir.

To submit your short to the Bite Size Short Grant Program, go to the FilmFreeway link here.

Continue Reading