Karlovy Vary has had a Midnight Screenings section since 2006, a popular sidebar highlighting the latest trends in horror, action and pitch-black comedy. While the first line-up was more like a retrospective, with extended tributes to the likes of Kenneth Anger and George A. Romero, the 2007 edition set the tone for what this lively section is today. Its international selection of genre fare casts a flickering torchlight on both emerging directors and established filmmakers, featuring the works of, among others, Quentin Tarantino, Eli Roth, Takashi Miike, Bong Joon-ho, Tommy Wirkola and Joe Cornish. Occasionally there’s a dominant theme (the 2010 edition had an Australian bent: “Ozploitation”), but overall the idea is to glimpse what’s going on at the movies after dark.
In 2023, such an overview is also a test to see how far a filmmaker can go in the eyes of the censors. Such is the case for Brandon Cronenberg’s Infinity Pool, which has played in Sundance and Berlin and has made a name for itself for having two different versions (similar to the director’s previous opus, Possessor). One is for festivals and one, slightly shortened (a masturbation scene lacks its climax, pun intended), for theaters. Perhaps there is no higher compliment for the young Canadian director, whose instincts are not that dissimilar to those of his father David. Sundance was also the initial platform for the Filipino horror In My Mother’s Skin, described as an Asian variation of Pan’s Labyrinth, mixing World War II with local folk tales.
Another hit on the festival circuit, starting with a triumphant debut at Toronto last September, Sisu is the brainchild of Jalmari Helander (Rare Exports). Pitched as a cross between First Blood and Mad Max: Fury Road, the Nordic actioner tells the story of Aatami Korppi, a lone, taciturn Finnish soldier who has left the war behind. But when he crosses paths with a group of Nazis attempting to enter Norway via Lapland, he basically becomes a more violent version of Gandalf in the mines of Moria: They shall not pass!
Similarly brutal and inventive, and another TIFF discovery, is the South Korean horror thriller Project Wolf Hunting, where a prison ship becomes the stage for an increasingly gory and insane battle between inmates, correction officers and something far from human.
Coming from Rotterdam, the German entry Captain Faggotron Saves the Universe (yes, that is the actual title, in all its rude glory) promises to be the most joyously irreverent film of the section, mixing super-heroics with religious imagery. The IMDb plot summary mentions, among other things, “an orgy of gay demons”, and that’s what they felt comfortable revealing before one sees the movie.
Closing out the selection is one of the festival’s customary tribute screenings, this time honoring Bruce Lee on the 50th anniversary of his death. To mark the occasion, Karlovy Vary-goers will get to see The Way of the Dragon, directed by and starring the martial arts icon, famous for its Roman locations and for pitting the star against one Chuck Norris. A battle for the ages, guaranteed to entertain the midnight crowd once more.
