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[Short Film Review] ‘Guy’s Trade’ Has Bite!

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Ozploitation films have been on the rise since the 2000s, with neo-classics like Wolf Creek and The Loved Ones proving that horror is alive in well down under. This new generation of Aussie filmmakers is injecting a much-needed dose of creativity into modern horror, resulting in an emerging film industry that goes way beyond Mad Max (or even Thunderdome, for that matter). With this in mind, director Lachlan Huddy has produced a clever short film that aims to unite one of the oldest horror tropes, vampires, with one of the most recent storytelling techniques, the mockumentary.

Guy’s Trade stars Guy Williams as a vampire hunter in an alternate version of modern day Australia. Here, vampires have become an urban nuisance, and the government encourages citizens to take up arms agains the undead menace. When a documentary film crew is allowed to follow Guy around, they attempt to chronicle his hunts, motivation and views on the morality of hunting what used to be human beings.

Although it’s apparent from the beginning that this isn’t a special effects extravaganza with a huge budget, the faux-documentary aspect actually helps sell the dark world that Huddy has created, with an added layer of realism that helps to maintain the suspension of disbelief. However, the direction does make good use of the limited budget, blending practical and digital effects almost seamlessly, in a character-based experience. Williams is fantastic in his role, with a backstory that could easily be expanded in a possible feature film.

That being said, the vampires themselves aren’t all that frightening, with exaggerated make up that doesn’t quite sell their intended corpselike nature. The CGI used to transform them is also spotty at times, but Huddy’s decision to show only enough so that the viewer can understand what’s going on saves these scenes from mediocrity, keeping the film brief but intense. It’s easy to forgive technical flaws with this kind of budget, but hopefully, a future adaptation/expansion of this story will address these issues.

There’s a lot to love about Guy’s Trade, despite some minor technical gripes. The story is fortunately heavy on character and knows when not to focus on the action, instead of selling itself as a blockbuster trailer for a possible future movie. Lechlan Huddy’s vampire infested world does seem like a good place to start a larger franchise, but the short itself is worth a watch, regardless. If you’re a fan of vampires, mockumentaries or Australian horror in general, you’ll almost certainly enjoy this seven-minute thriller.

You can watch Guy’s Trade at the top of the article!

Born Brazilian, raised Canadian, Luiz is a writer and Film student that spends most of his time watching movies and subsequently complaining about them.

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Kristen Stewart Doesn’t Want to Make Any Marvel Movies But Does Want to Make a Scary Horror Movie

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Love Lies Bleeding featurette
Pictured: 'Love Lies Bleeding'

If you haven’t yet seen A24 and Saint Maud director Rose Glass’ new movie Love Lies Bleeding, you should definitely get out there and support it in theaters while you can. The critically acclaimed romantic thriller is one of this year’s best movies so far, driven by incredible lead performances from Katy O’Brian and the always compelling Kristen Stewart.

Katy O’Brian just landed a huge role in Mission Impossible 8, but what’s next for Kristen Stewart? Well, for starters, don’t expect to see her in any Marvel movies anytime soon.

Stewart tells the “Not Skinny but Not Fat” podcast, “I will likely never do a Marvel movie … it sounds like a fucking nightmare, actually.” She further explains, “You would have to put so much money and so much trust into one person … and it doesn’t happen.”

And so therefore what ends up happening is this algorithmic, weird experience where you can’t feel personal at all about it. So likely not,” Kristen Stewart continues in her chat with the podcast. “But maybe the world changes, that’s what I’m saying.” She notes, however, “if Greta Gerwig asked me to do a Marvel movie, then I would do it.”

So what DOES Kristen Stewart want to do next? Chatting with Variety on the red carpet just a couple months back, she indicated that she’s far more interested in horror than Marvel!

I’d like to make a good scary movie,” Stewart answered when asked what she’d like to do next. “Like something a little more psychological. Yeah, a really good horror movie.”

Kristen Stewart is of course no stranger to the horror/thriller genres, getting her start as a child actor in David Fincher’s Panic Room. From there, she starred in 2007 horror movie The Messengers, as well as the Twilight movies, ghost story Personal Shopper, and 2018’s Lizzie. And don’t forget 2020’s Underwater or David Cronenberg’s Crimes of the Future.

The ball is in your court, filmmakers. Let’s make it happen.

Kristen Stewart horror

‘Underwater’

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