Once again in 2011, the Nashville Film Festival will provided a temporary home for strange, offensive, gross, and bizarre films. Dubbed the Graveyard Shift and presented during late-night showings, these five films are sure to make you cringe.
Bellflower — “Bellflower” follows two friends as they venture out into the world to begin their adult lives. Literally all their free time is spent building flame-throwers and weapons of mass destruction in hopes that a global apocalypse will occur and clear the runway for their imaginary gang Mother Medusa. While waiting for the world to end, their call to excitement comes unexpectedly when one of them meets a charismatic young woman and falls hard in love. Quickly integrated into a new group of friends, they set off on a journey of betrayal, love, hate, infidelity and extreme violence more devastating and fiery than any of their apocalyptic fantasies. “Bellflower” was directed and stars Evan Glodell, and features Jessie Wiseman, Tyler Dawson, and Rebekah Brandes.
The Catechism Cateclysm — Father William Smoortster (Steve Little from “Eastbound and Down” in a beautifully warped performance), a young priest whose calling may be fading, is forced to take a sabbatical to find his way. He tracks down his old high-school friend Robbie (really, his older sister’s ex-boyfriend), and convinces him to take a canoe trip. Together, the two reminisce about days that Robbie would really rather forget. When the two men get lost, the night really begins to get weird, frightening – and hilarious! Directed by Todd Rohal, “The Catechism Cateclysm” stars Steve Little, Robert Longstreet, Walter Dalton, Miki Ann Maddox, and Koko Lanham.
Codependent Lesbian Space Alien Seeks Same — If you’ve been wondering what it would be like if Ed Wood lived long enough to direct the lesbian new- wave cinema of the early 1990s, you’ve finally got your answer! “Codependent Lesbian Space Alien” is an homage to hand-held cinema, DIY special effects, and those bad sci-fi movies that would greet us on local TV back before there were 500+ channels to choose from. When three lesbian aliens are sent to earth to have their hearts broken (their emotions are so strong, they’re destroying their home planet’s ozone layer), they find the travails of New York City dating scene to be…well…alien! The film was directed by Madeleine Olnek and stars Lisa Haas, Susan Ziegler, Jackie Monahan, Cynthia Kaplan, and Alex Karpovsky.
The Last Circus — Not since Todd Browning’s “Freaks” has the circus been home to this much horror! Winner of Best Director and Best Screenplay at the 2010 Venice Film Festival, director Alex de la Iglecia has crafted a violent cabaret where two clowns fight over love of the same woman – and over the aftermath of the Spanish Civil War. When his father is imprisoned by Franco, Javier is charged with avenging him. Cut to Madrid, 1973 and Javier has taken his father’s place in the circus and has fallen in love with Sergio, a violent man’s girlfriend – and the revenge begins.
The Troll Hunter — Three student filmmakers venture into the remote forests of northern Norway to make a documentary about bear poachers, and all signs point to a mysterious man named Hans. Eager to get their story, they follow Hans deep into territory cordoned off by the government – and it’s there they discover that Hans isn’t a poacher- he’s The Troll Hunter – a secret government agent charged with protecting the citizenry from the gargantuan horrors that lurk in the desolate reaches of the far north!