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[Sundance Review] ‘Master’ Casts a Bewitching Occult Tale of Academia and Social Critique

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The prestigious halls of the New England set Ancaster College harbor a curse. Upper-level students scare first-year students with stories of a witch once hung there whose ghost returns every year to claim a victim on the anniversary of her death. Writer/Director Mariama Diallo uses that curse to connect the past to the present, blending a variety of terrors, real and imagined, all funneled through the lives of three women. Master casts a bewitching spell of occult and psychological horror, underscoring the true source of fear in a potent way.

New freshman Jasmine (Zoe Renee) gets assigned the ill-fated dorm room 302, the legendary room haunted by the ghost of Margaret Millett. Margaret is the least of Jasmine’s problems, though, as she struggles socially and academically. Even her professor, Liv Beckman (Amber Gray), isn’t much help, though Liv has problems of her own trying to fight for tenure among her peers. Then there’s Gail Bishop (Regina Hall), the school’s first Black master of residence, who seeks to prove herself despite the tokenism placed upon her by colleagues. It’s through Gail that Jasmine and Liv’s stories intersect, though all consistently face microaggressions, social pressures, and identity challenges in a historically all-white setting.

Diallo’s deft layering of supernatural chills with historical terror and realism makes for a compelling experience that pulls you into the interior lives of these women. Jasmine is plagued by night terrors, visions of clawed hands that emerge from under the bed, or portraits of founding fathers that decay in a blink. There’s no reprieve for her in waking hours either, thanks to academic pressures and classmates who treat her as a novelty or inferior. Gail fares no better, caught between trying to help Liv and Jasmine and trying to appease the school panel that promoted her. She, too, gets inundated with the occult and reality-based nightmares. Her ghosts are similar but separate from Jasmine’s.

The style in capturing the increasingly dense mythology is impeccable. The eerie red glow of the stately dorm halls provides stunning but creepy visual interest. Diallo demonstrates a keen eye for composition and an ability to instill an unsettling atmosphere with ease. Outside of smart scare-crafting and haunting aesthetics, what impresses most is just how much this feature debut balances in social commentary. At least, for the most part.

Master is masterful for much of its runtime, but it struggles to tie all three converging plotlines together in a wholly satisfying way. There’s too much story ground to cover, making for a rather abrupt conclusion to at least one of the three central plotlines. It causes a loss of otherwise laser focus. Diallo does at least succeed in driving her messaging home, and its intended emotional impact sticks its landing. That’s owed to the powerful performances; Renee and Hall are phenomenal in their layered roles.

The recurring imagery of Margaret Millett’s ghostly noose serves as the perfect metaphor for Master. Darkness slowly closes around Jasmine, Gail, and Liv, causing them to struggle for air in a claustrophobic and hostile environment. Even if it doesn’t entirely stick its landing, it’s the precise type of intelligent, creepy, and complex horror that makes Diallo one to watch.

Master releases globally on Prime Video on March 18, 2022.

Horror journalist, RT Top Critic, and Critics Choice Association member. Co-Host of the Bloody Disgusting Podcast. Has appeared on PBS series' Monstrum, served on the SXSW Midnighter shorts jury, and moderated horror panels for WonderCon and SeriesFest.

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‘Pandemic Sex Party’ Trailer – ‘The Devil’s Rejects’ Producer Slices into Influencers with Grindhouse Throwback

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AI has taken over the job market and most people have become either influencers or online sex workers in Pandemic Sex Party, a new horror film from producer Andy Gould (House of 1000 Corpses, The Devil’s Rejects, The Lords of Salem). Described as a throwback to the grindhouse exploitation cinema of the past, the official trailer has been unleashed this week.

Bloody Disgusting has learned that production has quietly begun on Pandemic Sex Party, about a masked maniac brutally crashing the titular bash. Writer/director Myles Erfurth says don’t let the title fool you… Pandemic Sex Party is a “balls-to-the-wall gritty horror flick and pure grindhouse terror.” Today, horror fans are being invited to join the party and participate in Pandemic Sex Party’s incentive-laden Indiegogo campaign, which is now live.

“When Myles Erfurth’s screenplay for Pandemic Sex Party came across my desk, I blazed through it in one sitting,” says Gould. “I was hooked from the start by its original mix of twisted horror and great characters, as well as its clever setting and set-up. But what really caught my attention was the blood-chilling character of The Rancher. Having worked with Rob Zombie on his classic horror films, I know a thing or two about memorable villains. The Rancher, Pandemic Sex Party’s savage killer, is a terrifying new slasher icon ready to be embraced by the horror world.”

The filmmakers pledge to recapture thrills of past exploitation gold. “As an homage to the glory day of grindhouse-style films, Pandemic Sex Party will not disappoint,” says Erfurth, whose previous feature film, The Silver Stream, was an interactive live-stream horror film that starred Bill Moseley and Ice Nine Kills.

“Our story takes place in the not-so-distant future. AI has taken over the majority of the job market, and the primary source of income for young people is that of a social media influencer or online model. Being on the verge of another pandemic, Sasha, a young video game streamer, heads off into the desert for the weekend to make ‘content’ with her online model friends: Tanya, Cash, Dream and her younger sister Cherry.”

Trouble awaits at the remote location. “Once arriving at the rental house dubbed ‘The Funny Ranch,’ the group slowly begins to realize things aren’t exactly as they seem,” music video veteran Erfurth continues. “They are soon met by The Rancher, a masked killer who has a vendetta against the newly-changing world, online influencers and online models alike.”

Erfurth further previews, “The majority of modern-day horror films have become sexually watered-down. Pandemic Sex Party is going to be a wild ride.”

Exclusively watch the trailer for Pandemic Sex Party below and head over to the crowd-funding campaign on Indiegogo to pitch in and get perks including a walk-on role in the movie.

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