Unlike last year, we all had the opportunity to bask in the glory of the mixed horror/sci-fi genres for an entire week (9 days to be exact). Many of us took to watching Ripley destorying aliens, humanoid sea creatures raping women, and “things” that take the shape of our closest friends. Though I didn’t take as much advantage of the bonus points this week as I had planned, I was still able to cram a lot more movies in than I expected. Look for a leaders list to be posted later on this week (it will be based on everyone’s current lists at the time of posting, so keep those updated if you want to be accurately represented on the point recap). Also this week will be a post dedicated to Ashe Collins’ mini reviews of all the movies he has watched so far this month. It is going to be a busy month all Challenge long at Cinefessions!
Heading into week two, we really don’t stray too far from the sci-fi/horror genre that was week one when we visit the disaster genre, which has been affectionately nicknamed “The Screaming Earth”. Much like week three, this week’s genre choice leaves room for a ton of flexibility. If you haven’t done so yet, I highly recommend checking out Tim Dirks’ write-up of the disaster genre on his AMC Film Site. This week’s genre covers natural disasters, accident films, alien invasions, pandemics, zombies, and so on. If it is a horror or science fiction film that involves some sort of disaster at its core, then it most likely counts. This flexibility will surely see a lot of differet films pop up on our lists, which is always exciting.
Week two kicks off at 12:00 am on Monday, June 10th and ends at 11:59 pm on Sunday, June 16th.
The Featured Film for this week is Jim Mickle’s Stake Land from 2010. This movie caught my eye because it stars Danielle Harris (whom I absolutely adore, as most will know), and got strong reviews when the DVD/BD was released. Netflix gives the following synopsis: “This genre-bending thriller combines vampires, religious fanatics and post-apocalyptic horrors with a coming-of-age tale that finds drifter Mister training young Martin to survive the nightmare that America has become as they journey to New Eden.” Sounds perfect for the Challenge, and might even fulfill a checklist item for a few people! Stake Land is currently available for streaming on Netflix Instant Queue, or for rental on Amazon Instant Video for $1.99.
Don’t forget to discuss the film using the #CSSC2 hashtag on twitter so we can all get in on the conversation.
I can’t wait to see the diversity that week two brings, and to try to cram as much cinematic disaster into one week as humanly possible. Good luck to everyone, and enjoy week two of the Challenge!
Branden has been a film fan since he was young, roaming the halls of Blockbuster Video, trying to find the grossest, scariest looking VHS covers to rent and watch alone in the basement. It wasn’t until recently, though, that Branden started seeking out the classics of cinema, and began to develop his true passion for the art form. Branden approaches each film with the unique perspective of having studied the art from the inside, having both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in acting. He has been a film critic since 2010, and has previously written for Inside Pulse Movies, We Love Cult, and Diehard Gamefan. His biggest achievement as a film critic, to date, has been founding Cinefessions and turning it from a personal blog to a true film website, housing hundreds of film and television reviews, and dozens of podcasts.
