The Dead Father

From Guy Maddin, the Canadian madman behind such masterpieces as "My Winnipeg" and "Archangel", comes a bizarre short film so insane it is likely to shock almost everybody that sees it (mainly due to one climactic scene in particular which made me unsure whether I should cringe, cry, scream, or laugh my ass off). Featuring Maddin's signature silent-film-esque type style, dark sense of humor, startling taste for tragedy, and knack at creating some of the most haunting "horror" movies ever made, "The Dead Father" is sure to fascinate some, impress others, and baffle most. It's visuals are grainy yet visually appealing, it seems to be a tribute t oldie horror movies while still being a completely original work of its own, it adopts a style that mixes both stylistic choices attributed to Sergei Eisenstein and 30's-50's B-Movies; it's wholly bizarre but in Maddin's own, charming way.

Sprinkled with all of the laugh out loud, yet subtle (and ABSOLUTELY ABSURD!!!) gags one could hope for as well as a stinging sense of sadness, this melancholic yet spooky fantasy tale is Gothic, goofy, and gruesome all at once (but not in the traditional manner, for Maddin breaks all possible traditions and crafts a film that is flawless in its depiction of the odd, it's almost like stepping into a creative, yet darkly lit unconscious mind, the mind of an artist with a sense of dark humor and demented horror).