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[SXSW ’15 Review] ‘Nina Forever’ Is a Morbidly Funny Horror-Romance

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You know what they say, true love never dies. This conceit is taken to delightfully morbid levels in the new film from award-winning UK pair Ben and Chris Blaine. Through a darkly comedic lens Nina Forever deftly explores serious issues like grief and moving on in the face of tragedy. The subject matter is serious and utterly relatable, but the delivery is deadpan gruesome – sure to satisfy even the most twisted horror fans.

Three staples of horror are of course sex and violence and dead girls. Nina Forever presents all three in a fresh way that engages while making one’s skin crawl. The story centers on Holly (Abigail Hardinham) who falls for her co-worker Rob (Cian Barry), a young man who recently attempted suicide following the tragic death of his girlfriend, Nina (Fiona O’Shaughnessy). After sharing a Garden State moment in the stockroom of the grocery store where they both work, Holly and Rob’s relationship begins to escalate. When they decide to knock boots at Rob’s apartment, through the pristine white sheets slithers a bloodied, mangled Nina. Most dudes fantasize about a threesome, but probably not with their dead ex-girlfriend. Unless they have a necrophilia thing going on, in which case Nina Forever is your new favorite film.

As Nina, O’Shaughnessy gives a hypnotically sexy and funny performance. I know, she’s decomposing, but the actress still manages to infuse the character with a sultry edge. She talks in these wonderfully poetic bits of dialogue, saying things like “Every drop of semen that trickles onto your belly is a ray of sunshine on his grief-stricken brow.” Wicked hot, right?

Anchoring her wispy role are Hardinham and Barry, who both deliver terrifically serious performances. They balance the film’s grotesque elements with more dramatic ones, sometimes asking painfully tough questions about relationships. Rob is still close with Nina’s parents, both of who are grieving in their own way. Her father has taken to writing literature about how a man pees, for instance. As their relationship gets more serious, Rob wants to bring Holly around to meet Nina’s folks. It’s an important part of Rob’s healing process, sure, but wildly inappropriate.

But hell, what is appropriate in a film like Nina Forever? Holly and Rob desperately try to make this ungodly love triangle a normal one, no matter how many times they have to wash the sheets afterwards. The Blaine brothers do a superb job of balancing the absurdity of a corpse that’s summoned every time they have sex and the tough themes like grief and the possible impossibility of closure. These murky areas of love and death are adroitly explored and the damn fine performances help anchor the film’s supernatural elements, which don’t need to be explained any further than Nina rising from the mattress, bloodied and ready to judge Rob’s new flame. It’s ridiculous and emotionally affecting all at the same time.

Patrick writes stuff about stuff for Bloody and Collider. His fiction has appeared in ThugLit, Shotgun Honey, Flash Fiction Magazine, and your mother's will. He'll have a ginger ale, thanks.

Indie

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

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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.

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