Category Archives: LEFT

Reviewing Patrick at the Lost Episode Festival Toronto

Arts, Entertainment, LEFT, Review, , ,

LEFT is a festival for nerds, die-hards, fanatics, and obsessives – all in the best possible way – so screening Patrick, a recent remake of the 1970s movie of the same name, was the perfect choice.

Although a horror movie, Patricks’s attention to continuity is uncharacteristic of the genre, often giving it the feeling of something sci-fi. Every detail of the supernatural plot is meticulously explained, often quite subtly, as if to mirror the rigour and precision of the setting, a hospital for vegetative patients. It is at this secluded hospital that Kathy, a bright young nurse, takes a job to get as far away from her ex-boyfriend as possible. She’s frightened by the oddities at first – the eccentric doctor, the emotionless head nurse, the mindless patients, whose bodies occasionally writhe and jump and spit, almost as if on purpose – but she works hard, out of a morbid sense of duty, curiosity and empathy. Kathy’s reactions are actually one of the greatest successes of the movie, in that she responds to her surroundings with a natural combination of skepticism and fear, a balance that horror movies rarely get right. We stay with her until the end, never doubting her decisions (though occasionally questioning her taste in men).

The generic haunted-house vibe of the hospital eventually gives way to a crystal clear plot, a story of abuse and insanity, and the results of an experiment gone awry. Unexplained occurrences in the first act are suddenly and subtly given light by developments in the second and third. (In fact, events in the first act that seemed to need no explanation are questioned by later developments). When it becomes clear that Patrick, patient 15, has psychic powers, we understand how strange things are happening; when we learn his history, we understand why. The precise limitations of his powers and intentions are so well-defined that it is hard to question the quasi-scientific explanations behind them. By the end of the film, there are no unanswered questions; there is no lingering sense of mystery.

But is this a problem? For a horror movie, the answer should be yes. When I leave the theatre, I want to be a little spooked and disturbed. I want to jump when I hear footsteps behind me. I want to hesitate before turning off the light, even if just for a second. But I know that Patrick cannot hurt me because I know everything about him. In that sense, he is much more Darth Vader than Freddy Krueger. The film-makers were aware of this issue as well, which is why they tried a last-ditch effort to add some mystery in the final seconds of the film. It didn’t work.

But everything else did. Patrick has a taught, compelling screenplay with no holes or sags. The cast is convincing and the special effects are seamless. The art team wisely chose to play with light colours contrasting dark, rather than the dark-on-dark that has been so popular these past few years. Patrick may not scratch your horror itch deep enough, but it will compel and excite you in a way that only and excellent genre movie can.

The Lost Episode Festival Toronto

Arts, Canada is the Greatest Nation on Earth, Entertainment, Events, Film, LEFT

LEFT is this weekend!

TCAF is over and summer classes have officially begun. To you summer school students, this means that, among other things, however much the sun might shine, however balmy the breezes might be, however sweet cold drinks might taste as you enjoy them in the blistering heat, you can never fully escape thoughts of homework and midterms and reading. But don’t despair, dear reader: we at blogUT are committed to providing you with information on all the best, most obscure ways to beat the summer school blahs. This past month alone we’ve given you a tip on some awesome theatre, an unusual contest, and the comics event of the year. Today, we’re following up on that grand tradition with the Lost Episode Festival Toronto.

lost episode (lɑst ɛpIso̞d)
n.

    1. An amateur video featuring characters and setting from a pre-existing television programme, in a style mimetic to that of the programme, produced under the guise of an episode that was not officially distributed
    2. An amateur video featuring characters and setting parodying a pre-existing television programme, produced under the guise of an episode of programme which was not officially distributed.

The Lost Episode Festival Toronto (LEFT) is an artist-run, non-profit film festival which showcases independent productions of lost episodes. Artists’ projects are screened for the public in the weekend-long festival at the historic Bloor Cinema, where their creativity and quirkiness can be appreciated by all. For only $5, students get in to both days of the festival, June 1 and 2.

Although they already have some awesome-looking projects on the docket, including the Canadian premiere of Star Trek Continues and lost episodes of The Twilight Zone and Batman, LEFT is still looking for submissions. If you have some time, a camera, some friends, and an idea, you should totally give it a shot.

 

The 50 Hour Film Festival (or, A Character, a Line of Dialogue, and a Prop Walk into a Bar)

Arts, Canada is the Greatest Nation on Earth, Contests, Entertainment, Events, LEFT, TV, UT Life, Video, Whimsical, World Events

We come to university to learn, or at least that’s what my dad says when he sees me blogging and shakes his head. It is true that classes impart a lot of useful (or not) information, but it is also true that much of what we learn comes not from lectures or exams, but from frantically preparing for lectures or exams. By half-way through their first year, the average student has mastered the all-nighter, the cram session, and the ability to meet a seemingly-impossible deadline on nothing but determination and Red Bull. We learn these skills to help us learn other things, of course, but it’s also so satisfying when we can apply them to other situations.

Take, for instance, Lost Episode Festival Toronto‘s upcoming 50 Hour Film Competition. A creative contest open to anyone and everyone with a camera and some friends, this local challenge encourages aspiring film-makers (or anyone else interested in winning terrific prizes) to re-create “lost” scenes from famous TV shows, or to make fake advertisements or trailers, all in only 50 hours. Remember those consecutive all-nighters for that econ final? Remember cursing the time and energy spent in learning something you thought could not have any practical application? Well, now you can put at least some of that experience to use.

The competition begins on the night of Friday, May 3, when each team is given a character, a line of dialogue, and a prop to incorporate into making a film. The teams then have only 50 hours to write, shoot, and submit their masterpieces. The entries will be evaluated by the festival’s judges and the winning teams will be awarded cash, prizes, and all the glamour and prestige that comes with winning a film festival. There’s also an audience choice award, for the film-makers who somehow manage to go commercial in under 50 hours. All entries will be screened in the big, beautiful, fully-licensed Bloor Hot Docs Cinema, only a few blocks from campus

To participate, simply sign-up on the festival website here. Participation costs less than a statistics textbook and is, I’ve been told, at least twice as enjoyable. Anyone of any level of skill and experience is welcome to enter, and a team can be of any size. It’s the perfect activity for those, like me, who have only a few weeks between the end of exams and the beginning of summer school to have a little fun. Or a lot of fun. Or 50 hours of fun.