SPRING [2014]

Directors Justin Benson & Aaron Moorehead's festival favortie Spring can be best described as a gruesome love story that crosses paths with Richard Linklater's Before trilogy and Andrzej Zulawski's Possession.
After he finds his life is nothing but downs, a young man flees America, when he meets the mysterious girl of his dreams in a small Italian village...only she's got some horrific secrets of her own.
It cleverly blends the romantic drama with fantastical horror elements quite seamlessly, making it very difficult to neatly pack into any sort of genre.  My only real qualm with the film can't be revealed without some major spoilers so we'll just have to leave it there.
Like the Before trilogy, I'd love to see this story pick-up many years from now because I'm sure there's more to be said about life, death and the love that surrounds it.

3½ sacrificial bunnies out of 5

EVIL DEAD [2013]

Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell & Roger G. Tapert, the lunatics who brought you the camp cult classic The Evil Dead give their producing stamp of approval on director Fede Alvarez's psychotic remake, simply titled Evil Dead. 

Overflowing with shockingly gory sequences and disturbing violence, the film surprisingly has a wickedly dark, DARK sense of humour I found absent in the trailers.  It's been a long time since a horror film has been this bloody and fun, without sacrificing it's substance over style.  Like the original, it aims to shock and it does so with flying colors, pleasing this gorehound who was cautious going into this remake.  Apparently Raimi wants to combine the character of Ash with the surviving character of this film into a future story, which makes me wonder if this is really a remake or sequel.

3½ "drug withdrawls" out of 5

Thumbsucker (2005)

Justin is a seventeen-year-old with an addiction: thumbsucking. The stigma attached to his brand of habitual behaviour cripples him emotionally; his desire to break away from it so he can become a regular member of society (and hopefully get laid) throws his life into chaos.
The début feature from director Mike Mills is an indie film through and through, albeit one that attracted the attentions of a top cast. I think Tilda Swinton the finest actress alive today; add in Vincent D'Onofrio, Vince Vaughn, Keanu Reeves and then newcomer Lou Taylor Pucci and you have a quiet film filled with hidden depth and people to care about.

3½ debilitating problems out of 5