This Friday marks the beginning of the Marquee Film Festival, and the main connection between the movies on display will be their unbelievable high quality. The genre and tone of these films range from the deadpan and quiet artfulness brought by “Amour Fou” to the utterly insane gorefest that is “Dude Bro Party Massacre III,” and everything in-between.
A few of these movies, including both “Dude Bro” and “Turbo Kid” are love letters to campy ’70s and ’80s horror and action. The latter is a personal favorite due to just how much it drips with 80’s nostalgia, from the all-synth soundtrack and gory action to the colorful costumes and characters. However, gore is not necessary to breed horror, as “Goodnight Mommy” is, by all accounts, a horror masterpiece which will bring out phobias you didn’t even know you had through psychological torture and an unending uneasiness.
The wide range of films also include biopics and documentaries including “Amy,” a narrative of the life and career of Amy Winehouse which will pin you to your seat until its inevitable and sorrowful end. From the look into the minds of some of the everyday citizens of Teheran in “Taxi” to the gut-wrenching and chilling emotion of “Respire,” next weekend’s Marquee Film Festival looks to be sitting us down on a roller coaster of emotions. Love, loss, nostalgia, humor, happiness, hope, emptiness, sorrow and horror are just a few of the emotions we will experience, and I plan on enjoying every second of it.
