Etheria Film Night 2023
If you aren’t familiar with Etheria Film Fest, we could try to describe it for you, or we could just copypasta their well-crafted description direct from etheriafilmnight.com:
“Etheria Film Night is the world’s most respected showcase of horror, science fiction, fantasy, action, thriller, and dark comedy films directed by women for an audience including producers, managers, showrunners, distributors, and genre fans. Etheria puts the women directors who want to make genre films and TV in front of the people who want to hire them.
“Etheria is hosted by American Cinematheque, a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting all forms of films through screenings at historic theaters in Los Angeles, the Screenland Armour Theater in Kansas City, Missouri, and by AMC/Shudder, the world’s most popular horror streaming service.”
And that last bit explains why we’re talking about it today. The Etheria Film Night 2023 showcase dropped on Shudder back on July 1, and, as of this writing, is still available. We say, “as of this writing,” because we were pretty sure we were told they would only be available for the month of July, but they’re still up here on August 19, so who knows? What we do know is you should definitely go see them while you still can. The entire ten-film showcase runs 107 minutes.
We don’t want to give a lot away about these films, but here’s some quick thoughts on each selection from each of us with maybe some very light spoilers:
NO OVERNIGHT PARKING
directed by MEG SWERTLOW
JD: Celebrity sighting! Alyssa Milano and French Stewart star in a tense and violent slasher short that makes a simple but awesome statement of purpose for all female genre filmmakers. I thought this was really effective.
M: JD summed it up better than I ever could without getting into spoilers.
AUTOPILOT
directed by JENNIFER ZHANG
JD: The idea of being alone in space has always made me very uncomfortable. This does some really unique things with that idea, and the potential dangers of the AI companion trope. Actually kind of bleak/morose.
M: Very Black Mirror-esque. It gives you some things to think about as it explores the evolution of technology and its relationship to people.
SUCKER
directed by ALIX AUSTIN
JD: Two words – body horror. I loved this. Incredible fun practical effects. Some great horror comedy beats here. Excellent chemistry between the two leads.
M: Super icky. I loved it.
THE ERL KING
directed by GENEVIEVE KERTESZ
JD: A folk horror fairy tale with incredible production value. Also a fantastic general metaphor for domestic violence, gaslighting, codependence, etc. This might be my very favorite selection this year.
M: This usually wouldn’t be my thing, but there’s something about it that won me over. Was it the excellent acting, beautiful special effects, and solid story? Or was it the suspiciously hot tree man? No one knows.
INCOMPLETE
directed by ZOOEY MARTINSON
JD: Another really clever spin on an otherwise well-worn trope: the haunted house, and why don’t they just leave? Also very clever use of limited budget to develop tension.
M: As the main character becomes more frustrated by his situation, viewers are sure to feel that same level of anxiety.
BORDER
directed by MAI NAKANISHI
JD: This is the shortest selection in this year’s showcase, and it wastes absolutely no time getting to the point. It’s got shock. It’s got confusion. It threatens its audience. What more do you want?
M: The final shot of this one got under my skin. It lingers for just a second too long, and it was very effective.
SLEEP STUDY
directed by NATALIE METZGER
JD: This is my other contender for best of the fest. A genuinely “oh fuck no” kind of movie that does it both ways, graphically visceral and hauntingly implied, and gets them both right. Real stiff.
M: Who doesn’t love a tiny morsel of devastation? Delicious.
ANGELS
directed by SAMANTHA ALDANA
JD: This, more than any selection this year, made me say, “oh, that’s an interesting prologue to a story I would love to get more of.” Not so much horror as weird sci-fi, with some great practical effects.
M: What JD said. What a delightfully weird short.
GO TO BED RAYMOND
directed by NICOLE TAYLOR ROBERTS
JD: I love me a good creepy kid movie, and this kid is great. I also love how this movie really rope-a-dopes you with its charm. That’s almost more than I should say. Good stuff.
M: Don’t have kids, folks. This movie will tell you why.
MAKE THE CALL
directed by CHELSEA GONZALEZ
JD: Remember when zombie movies evolved into rage virus movies? This might be the most interesting story idea ever done with that premise. Perhaps the two best acting performances of the fest as well.
M: There’s more story and character development crammed into this 15-minute short than some full-length films manage to accomplish. It felt 100% complete, and yet I still wanted more.
FINAL THOUGHTS
JD: There wasn’t a single film in this year’s showcase I didn’t enjoy. Some of them were more in line with my favorite flavors, but I’d be satisfied pulling any of these out of a box of chocolates.
M: If I pulled any of these out of a box of chocolates, I would be very worried.