Medusa, dir. Anita Rocha da Silveira
This neon-soaked Brazilian horror flick focuses on Mariana, a young follower of The Treasures of the Lord, an extremist evangelical cult that will go to horrific lengths to ensure that the word of Christ is being meticulously followed. Mariana and her friends—while donning freakish, lifelike masks—chase down and brutalize townspeople in the street who they believe to have “sinned”. Soon, however, the girls will have to reflect on their own salvation and wrongdoings as “followers of Christ”. A merciless and terrifying look at what it means to be a religious zealot, an extremist, and a young woman.
Hatching, dir. Hanna Bergholm
Hatching is a provocative, brutal, and surreal Finnish film that follows aspiring gymnast Tinja, a forlorn, meek young girl who constantly aspires to make her mother—a horribly cruel but saccharinely smiling blogger—proud. When Tinja wanders into the woods one night after hearing screeching echoing through the trees, she stumbles upon a bird’s egg, which she takes home to nurture. Stylish, horrific, and unsettlingly violent, Hatching is a tearjerking experience powered by nightmare fuel and is an impressive addition to horror. Remember earlier in this article when I said I sat back and whispered, what the fuck? Yeah, this movie was one of those. Despite being impressed by this one, I gotta say… animal lovers beware, this is not a movie for you. Wish I had gotten that warning going in.
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