Breakthrough Entertainment Presents
Antisocial Fantasia Premiere July 31 2013 GAT PR Press Summary
Interviews completed on: TV
CUTV (Concordia University TV) Interviewed: Cody Calahan and Chad Archibald Global TV Interviewed: Cody Calahan, Chad Archibald, Michelle Mylett, and Cody Thompson
Radio
Online
CBC -‐ Homerun Interviewed: Cody Calahan and Chad Archibald
Huffington Post Quebec Interviewed: Cody Calahan, Chad Archibald Slant Magazine Interviewed: Cody Calahan, Chad Archibald, Michelle Mylett, and Cody Thompson Toronto Film Scene Interviewed: Cody Calahan, Chad Archibald, and Michelle Mylett Scene Creek Interviewed: Cody Calahan, Chad Archibald, Michelle Mylett Examiner Interviewed: Cody Calahan and Chad Archibald
Antisocial Mark Adams
http://www.screendaily.com/reviews/the-‐latest/antisocial/5058729.article This intelligent and nicely claustrophobic spin on the killer virus/zombie film is an impressively sustained number that belies its modest budget and hints at social networking as much as body-‐munching as being the source of a killer outbreak that hampers New Year’s Eve fun for five university friends. Antisocial, which had its world premiere at Montreal’s Fantasia Film Festival, is rich on atmosphere and punctuated by a series of convincing performances. Lack of star quota will naturally hamper international sales, but it has the credentials to be a cult breakout as well as a must at other genre festivals. Canadian writer/producer/director Cody Calahan and co-‐writer/co-‐producer Chad Archibald -‐ who made other Fantasia hits as Neverlost (2010) and Monster Brawl(2011) – have come up with a film that feels both original and familiar. The set-‐up that social networking is dangerous has been tapped before, but it also allows technology to be a catalyst as much as blood and guts, and while the film’s second half does descend into familiar ‘young folk in peril in a house’ territory, the chills are well sustained and the tension builds well. Five University friends – Sam (an impressive Michelle Mylett), Mat (Cody Thompson), Jed (Adam Christie), Steve (Romaine White) and Kaitlin (Ana Alic) – meet at the house early to have a few drinks and chat before all of their other friends are due to arrive. Sam has recently broken up with her boyfriend and deleted her social network account on ‘thesocialredroom.com’ but the others are keen to upload photos and keep everyone updated on their fun. Bur out on the streets it seems an infection has caught hold and as they watch the news they realise that there is mayhem and panic out there, with drooling bloodthirsty types trying to break their way into the house. As usual in such circumstances, the bodies gradually start to fall, and thorough a videolink to a young teen named Tara (Laurel Brandes), who was one of the first to encounter the virus, they could to realise the symptoms of the killer disease. Most impressively those left alive realise that the only way to try and save themselves is to undergo a little amateur surgery to remove the deadly tumour in the brain…an impressively staged sequence that sees the blood running. The chilling housebound horror is a familiar format, butAntisocial is impressively designed and staged and the film keeps on developing its structure and concept rather than relying on simple zombie routines. Michelle Mylett emerges as a nicely determined and feisty axe-‐wielding heroine, and gives the film its dry cynicism and sense of dogged determination.
Summer in the City: Outdoor yoga, Fantasia’s Anti Social and the Roger’s Cup Rachel Lau
http://globalnews.ca/news/753635/summer-‐in-‐the-‐city-‐outdoor-‐yoga-‐fantasia-‐and-‐the-‐rogers-‐cup/
Fantasia: Antisocial, le film d'horreur de la génération internet Ismael Houdassine http://quebec.huffingtonpost.ca/2013/07/31/fantasia-‐antisocial-‐le-‐film-‐dhorreur-‐de-‐la-‐ generation-‐internet_n_3682204.html
Tout devait se dérouler dans la rigolade et la bonne humeur. Mais les cinq jeunes qui se retrouvent pour fêter le Nouvel An vont connaître la peur de leur vie. Le film d’horreur canadien Antisocial, présenté ce soir en première mondiale à Fantasia, invite le public dans un huis clos effrayant qui vous fera voir les médias sociaux d’un autre œil. Entrevue. Cody Calahan et Chad Archibald entretiennent une collaboration bien particulière. En créant leur boîte indépendante Black Fawn Films, les deux jeunes Ontariens déjà bien connus des habitués de Fantasia se partagent les tâches à tour de rôle soit producteur ou réalisateur. Après Neverlost (2010) et Monster Brawl (2011), on les retrouve avec leur nouvel opus Antisocial qu’ils ont coécrit. «Cela a commencé par une constatation que chacun d’entre nous peut observer dans la vie de tous les jours, affirme Cody Calahan qui porte pour la première fois la casquette du réalisateur. On ne peut plus se passer de nos cellulaires d’où l’on peut consulter à n’importe quel moment les médias sociaux. Nos vies tournent maintenant beaucoup autour de tous ces gadgets. Une vidéo postée sur le Net peut engendrer des millions de connexions en quelques heures. C’est hallucinant». Un phénomène très contemporain qu’il l’a poussé à réfléchir sur un scénario où le Web deviendrait la pierre angulaire d’un film d’horreur nouveau genre. «J’ai eu l’idée de mélanger ces nouvelles habitudes avec l’apparition d’une épidémie mondiale. Le virus s’étend sur la planète grâce aux réseaux sociaux», raconte-‐t-‐il.
Ainsi est né Antisocial, film d’horreur connecté au virtuel. «J’ai trouvé l’idée tellement bonne et évidente que je me suis dit qu’il fallait faire ce film au plus vite avant que quelqu’un d’autre le fasse», déclare le producteur attitré Chad Archibald. Les deux hommes ont réussi à signer une œuvre de genre tout à fait honorable, malgré un budget lilliputien. Entre la science-‐fiction et le gore, Antisocial tient le spectateur en haleine avec un récit bourré de surprises. «On était peut-‐être financièrement limité, mais artistiquement, on pouvait faire ce qu’on voulait. Sur ce point, on ne s’est pas trop donné de limites», ajoute Archibald avouant au passage que tout n’a pas été si facile. «Avant de travailler sur le scénario, on savait à l’avance combien allait nous coûter le film. On n’a jamais dépassé les coûts. On garde les choses simples. Au final, on demeure assez fier puisqu’on a respecté nos budgets initiaux, même si l’on connaissait nos limites et les moments d’angoisses que l’on a dû traversés pour y arriver». Et puis, les deux compères savent également comment bien s’entourer. «Tous les membres de l’équipe impliquée dans le projet ont souvent deux ou trois emplois. Un film comme Antisocial se fait avant tout sur la confiance. Chacun y met de son meilleur, car au bout du compte, on sait tous que faire un bon film peut devenir une sacrée belle carte de visite d’un point de vue professionnel», explique le réalisateur. D’ailleurs, Cody Calahan tient à préciser que sans l’apport d’une équipe aussi enthousiaste, le film n’aurait pas pu voir le jour. «Leur engagement est vital. Sans la passion des acteurs et des membres de l’équipe technique, il n’y a tout simplement pas de projet. On leur doit beaucoup». En première mondiale dans le cadre du festival Fantasia, le film sera présenté ce soir à 21h15 dans à la Salle J.A. De Sève. Une autre projection est prévue pour le 5 août à 17h toujours à la Salle J.A. De Sève de l’université Concordia.
Fantasia Film Festival 2013: Antisocial Interview with Cody Calahan and Chad Archibald http://cutvmontreal.ca/videos/2796
As part of Beyond the Film Festival's coverage of Montreal's Fantasia International Film Festival, Justine Smith sat down with filmmaking team Cody Calahan and Chad Archibald, whose film Antisocial will be making it's world premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival. Antisocial is the feature length debut for directing and writing team Cody Calahan and Chad Archibald. In spite of their youthful appearances, they are not new to the Canadian film industry or Fantasia, having produced over ten short and feature length films -‐-‐ including Fantasia fan favourite Monster Brawl which screened at the fest in 2011. Working with Black Fawn Distribution and Breakthrough Entertainment, they have pulled together their resources and talent in order to bring Antisocial to the screen. For them, nothing was more important than having this project ready in time for Fantasia, and they are thrilled that their film will be making its world debut at their favourite festival. They are even more thrilled because both of the film's screenings quickly sold out.
Fantasia Film Festival 2013: Antisocial Tackles our Complex Relationship with Technology (Interview) Justine Smith
http://www.soundonsight.org/fantasia-‐film-‐festival-‐2013-‐antisocial-‐tackles-‐our-‐complex-‐relationship-‐ with-‐technology-‐interview/ Antisocial is the feature length debut for directing and writing team Cody Calahan and Chad Archibald. In spite of their youthful appearances, they are not new to the Canadian film industry or Fantasia, having produced over ten short and feature length films – including Fantasia fan favourite Monster Brawl which screened at the fest in 2011. Working with Black Fawn Distribution and Breakthrough Entertainment, they have pulled together their resources and talent in order to bring Antisocial to the screen. For them, nothing was more important than having this project ready in time for Fantasia, and they are thrilled that their film will be making its world debut at their favourite festival. They are even more thrilled because both of the film’s screenings quickly sold out. Having the opportunity to sit down with the pair, it is quickly evident that they are good and old friends. They have a spirit of collaboration and are always looking to share the spotlight with anyone and everyone who helped them get their project off the ground. Not the type to sit back and revel in their success, they are already hard at work on their next project. They explain that in between interviews they are running back to their hotel room to continue work on it. Representing an ethos of collaboration, they explain how they plan on alternating work as director and producer in the future, so their next project will be directed by Chad Archibald. Antisocial is a risky feature as it tackles our dependence on technology and social media, in particular their effects on our relationships and social interactions. The film is set on New Year’s Eve and some college kids are having a big party when suddenly a strange disease breaks out. They barely leave the house during the rest of the film. It becomes an intimate, and at times, claustrophobic setting. Technology and social media is integral in determining what happens, but it also has more sinister underpinnings… As Cody Calahan recalls, he was producing a previous project when he had dinner with his father. Dismayed by his son’s constant use of his smart phone, his father commented it was like a “disease”, which set the wheels in motion. As a writing team Calahan and Archibald sought to explore technology and social media as something dark and destructive and with far too many recent horror films choosing to completely ignore the pervasiveness of technology in our daily lives, this proved to be an unexpectedly ambitious undertaking. How often do characters in peril reach for their phones, only to find it dead, missing or broken? It has reached the level of joke and does not properly address the real world. It has likely also spurred many of the recent period pieces in horror, an easy way to completely avoid the issue entirely. When a quick phone call is enough to destroy the facade of your
horror, it is difficult to make it compelling or strong. Calahan and Archibald though, take this even one step further suggesting that technology is what will destroy us. Though they say that David Cronenberg was not an overt influence on the film, they say his name came up a few times from members of the Black Fawn team. They also acknowledge as fans of his work, he probably peaked through even just a bit. Their film similarly ventures into body horror, but the source of the film’s more frightening moments come from strange hallucinatory imagery from the dreams of Calahan, Archibald and their DOP Jeff Maher. The pair explains that the effects used in this film blend computer generated with the practical, both Calahan and Archibald profess their love for practical effects. They have a weight to them, and no matter what people say they can always tell when they’re not real. The use of computer effects is as a result of budgetary concerns, as well as the fact that some things just are not possible working on set. They emphasize that beyond just looking better, they are also just a whole lot more fun to play with as well. Movies like Sam Raimi’s Evil Dead series are cited as major influences, and though a new twist on the old take, the movie even has a “Cabin in the woods” feel. As the action unfolds, the limits and familiarity of their environment becomes as much as burden as an asset for the characters. Also having a chance to speak with two of the film’s cast Michelle Mylett and Cody Thompson, both professed that the positive working environment and great script is what got them excited about the project. This is the first role for Michelle Mylett, who shines in the film’s lead. Mylett is the force that holds this film together and from her unusual look, which harkens back to the Queens of the Italian Giallo films, to her soft-‐spoken intelligence you have a sense that you are in the presence of a future star. Cody Thompson is equally good; bringing his own personality into what could easily have been a flat or archetypical role. Both are just beginning their careers and speak of wanting to continue to work in Canada and in the horror genre, but also wanting to take on new roles and challenges. Both say that they would love to work with Cody and Chad again as well. Antisocial is a horror film that pushes to take the familiar and render it horrific. It is a project that will likely make you reconsider your relationship with your phone, with yoru computer and with social media. It will give you pause and force you to reflect on the relationships you have with the friends and family that surround you. The film will also be making its theatrical debut later in the year, likely in early October just in time for Halloween.
Watch The Exclusive First Trailer For Cody Calahan's ANTISOCIAL Todd Brown
http://twitchfilm.com/2013/07/watch-‐the-‐exclusive-‐first-‐trailer-‐for-‐cody-‐calahans-‐antisocial.html
Just before its world premiere at Montreal's massive Fantasia Festival tonight, Twitch is proud to premiere the first trailer for Cody Calahan's techno-‐apocalypse horror film Antisocial. Antisocial begins on New Year's Eve in the not so distant future. Five university friends gather at a house party to ring in the New Year. Unbeknownst to them, an epidemic has erupted outside, causing outbreaks around the world. With nowhere else to turn, they are told to barricade themselves indoors with only their phones, laptops, and other tech devices. They use their devices to research the possible cause of this outbreak. Information and video footage over flow their computers as hey descend further into the cause and the ensuing chaos. As the virus spreads, the mood in the house changes from fear to paranoia. Who is safe? Who can they trust? Reality becomes blurred as they slowly discover the source of the virus causing the sickness...and there is no going back. Computers and social networking transforming people into raging psychopaths? Sounds like real life to me. Check out the trailer below.
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Fantasia International Film Festival 2013: Antisocial , Willow Creek , Bad Milo , Curse of Chucky , & More Erik Luers
http://www.slantmagazine.com/house/2013/12/fantasia-‐international-‐film-‐festival-‐2013-‐antisocial-‐ willow-‐creek-‐bad-‐milo-‐curse-‐of-‐chucky-‐and-‐more
After a fully stocked three-‐week run, the Fantasia International Film Festival concluded this past Wednesday evening. Now in its 17th year, the Montreal-‐based festival remains a genre lover's paradise, a celebration of all things horror and sci-‐fi. An early highlight was Antisocial, a zombie infection film about college students who develop murderous instincts after being diseased by a Facebook-‐like website. A film for paranoid Luddites as well as Mark Zuckerberg detractors, Cody Calahan's satire is clearly indebted to the legacy of Romero, Carpenter, and Cronenberg and serves as a biting commentary on the often addictive nature of online interaction. Also of note is The Dead Experiment, from first-‐time filmmaker and biology and physics expert Anthony Dixon. The film, whose dialogue is rooted in heavy scientific vernacular, focuses on a deceased med student (Ryan Brownlee) temporarily brought back to life, his brief time on Earth ticking as he and a conflicted friend with Dr. Frankenstein-‐like tendencies work to extend his lifeline. This film clearly follows the "You can't play God!" trajectory of the mad scientist-‐centered sci-‐fi/horror subgenre, and the initial idea serves as a faithful crossbreed between Pet Sematery and Primer (one of Dixon's self-‐noted influences).
Fantasia Film Festival: “Antisocial” is conceptually adept horror Ryan MacDuff
http://www.quipmag.com/fantasia-‐film-‐festival-‐antisocial-‐is-‐conceptually-‐adept-‐horror/ Using familiar horror tropes and bending them enough to make the film feel fresh is one of the great strengths of writer/director Cody Calahan’s directorial debut “Antisocial.” The film is staged around a New Year’s Eve party that Jed (Adam Christie) invites the entire campus to, using the popular social media platform The Social Redroom. Only five guests arrive until a mysterious outbreak occurs, causing nosebleeds, hallucinations and extreme aggression – leaving the five friends no choice but to barricade themselves inside the house. Their safety is not ensured as the virus finds a way inside, forcing the university students to make difficult life or death choices in an effort to stay alive. Perhaps this all sounds familiar but the blend of psychological warfare with the explosiveness of the gore in the final act culminate to create a unique brand of horror that excites and entertains. Most refreshing about the film is that it consists of character’s that aren’t “stupid horror movie teens,” for lack of a better descriptor. The kids of “Antisocial” actively try to figure out the how and why a near-‐zombifying virus is consuming society at large. This adds a dimension to the film that it could not have survived without. Undoubtedly, a film with a critical agenda, it is hyper-‐aware of youth culture’s reliance on social media to connect with each other and utilizes this worldwide commonality to mount dread and hysteria throughout the film. Calahan never lets the film run too long without featuring a screen, be it a smart phone, laptop, or television. His interest in screen culture seems as strong as his disdain for it, understanding its power to consume as well as its ability to assist in times of need. Though the suspension of disbelief is at times jeopardized by some faulty dialog and over-‐performing, the film is conceptually rich enough to sustain its runtime, providing the necessary thrills, chills, and spills one looks for in a horror film of this caliber. “Antisocial” was certainly made on the cheap side and thus for it to avoid being a failure it needed a strong concept to elevate the flaws that a lack of money can expose. Using the tools available to him, Cody Calahan’s “Antisocial” is a tense and claustrophobic journey through cyber-‐hell.
[Fantasia '13] “Antisocial:” A Fraudulent Account (Film Review) Olivia Saperstein
http://diaboliquemagazine.com/fantasia-‐13-‐antisocial-‐a-‐fraudulent-‐account-‐film-‐review/ Considering Social Media has played a massive role in our lives for the past decade, it’s about time that a horror film was made to highlight the evils that can manifest from such an attention-‐stealing phenomenon. It’s unfortunate, then, when a film that touches upon such a crucial topic, turns out to be so superficial. The film in question? Cody Callahan’s Antisocial. Fantasia audiences lined up in excitement for the movie’s premiere, considering it was writer/producer Chad Archibald’s third film here. His past Fantasia stunners includeMonster Brawl and Neverlost, so stakes were high at the J.A. De Seve theatre. When Sam (Michelle Mylett) breaks up with her boyfriend, she grows a sharp distaste for social media, or in this case The Social Redroom (the film’s Facebook equivalent). Upon arrival at her friend’s New Year’s Eve party, it’s learned that she’s not the only one whom the site is making sick. While writers Callahan and Archibald definitely harness a unique allegory—the internet as the killer itself—what they fail to realize is how highly derivative both the characters and the narrative structure of their film are. In fact, at times it seems their One Missed Call meets The Faculty feature isn’t exactly sure what it wants to be, other than a pop-‐culture hybrid with a modern spin.
An example is a scene where the character Mark (Cody Thompson) refuses to let his friend Chad (Ry Barret) back inside the house because he appears to be infected. “Let me in, please!” Chad cries. This exact scene, nearly take for take, can be found in Robert Rodriguez’The Faculty, when Stan (Shawn Hatosy) is locked outside of the school. Similar scenes can be found in the likes of Cabin Fever, Scream 4, and none other than Evil Dead. In fact, the same tentacles exhibited by The Faculty‘s aliens appear in Antisocial as well, when Steve (Romaine Waite) glances at his phone and becomes infected (bewildering how those tentacles become wires in his brain). Posse-‐member Jed (Adam Christie) finds a link to a potential cure: cue the DVD insert to Sci-‐Fi for dummies—a video where a surgeon instructs viewers to perform at-‐home brain surgery by drilling a hole into their amygdala (too bad all shots of incisions are avoided with jump cuts). Easy! Sam demolishes her forehead and finds the wire within a mere 20 seconds, her porcelain face remaining intact. While the film may attempt a “modern spin,” it certainly plays up the same archetypes we have seen thousands of times before, lacking any semblance of innovation. Who dies first? Well, the black man and the bombshell of course! Sam, the foreboding final girl is left to fend for herself (although I’m pretty sure Sidney Prescott never whined “I can’t do this alone!”). Unfortunately the performances in Antisocial did not reach the heights of some of its predecessors. Michelle Mylett drew out her vowels like an L.A. princess, and her modelesque figure appeared as though she couldn’t swat a fly without breaking a finger (certainly no Angelina or Uma). We are supposed to believe that Sam and Mark have had some long standing chemistry, but this is impossible to decipher behind eyes that shed less emotion than Ghostface. Looks like the true zombies in this film are the protagonists themselves. Sometimes handsome visuals and a mere fusion of society’s current technology aren’t enough to convince an audience, especially when all bases aren’t loaded. Perhaps next time character development and scene structure will both have a higher profile.
Social Media Zombies: Antisocial’s reality is not too far from our own Nathania Wreh
http://www.ixdaily.com/grind/fantasia-‐film-‐festival/ Canadian horror-‐flick Antisocial found itself sold out not only on its first night at the Fantasia Film Festival, but on the second night as well. This is always brilliant news to any filmmaker, and to director/writer/producer Cody Calahan, and co-‐producer Chad Archibald, who busted their asses to get into the festival, this is indeed a stellar achievement. The fact the film sold out at both of its appearances already points out that Antisocial is unlike those overrated zombie flicks we've become so accustomed to. Incorporating the use of social media in a manner that pays justice to our current state of affairs, Antisocial not only manages to freak us out, but also asks us to rethink our generation's unhealthy obsession. As five university friends gather for an intimate New Year's Eve party, we coud barely imagine how all hell will break lose. Each enjoying the early moments of the celebration, incorporating social media into activities in their own way, it seems like any other social gathering of the 21st century-‐-‐nothing fishy here. We are taken by surprise as this innocent receives its first attack. What are these zombies, and what is causing their outbreak? Many questions come to mind but there is little time to think. As New Year's Eve turns into hell on earth, we watch as our friends fall, one by one.
Visually, each frame is impressive, drawing us in with entrancing detail, lighting and colour. And while the film is but 90-‐minutes long, it is filled with a sufficient amount of material, and compressed together in a way that does not feel rushed. Not at all. Even the script manages to draw an important reflection, firmly establishing the importance of social media in our every day lives, observing how it affects our way of perceving the world and the manner we interact with it. Social media is taking over our minds as we speak, and if there are any geniuses out there with intentions as foolish as those in Antisocial, our reality might be at stake. Just think about it. If news could spread so quickly through the aid of the countless social networks, why not an infection like the one featured in the film? We've already seen an upsurge of viruses designed for the platform appearing here and there. These platforms make for the perfect target. Everyone is online and connected with one another. With smartphones in the majority of the population's hand, they are nothing more but a click away. In a sense, we could say that people are "more connected to one another," but could we really call this connectedness? Could we even say we're connected at all? Of course, each person has their own social feeds where they can exchange information-‐-‐updates-‐-‐with so-‐called friends. We know everything about one another, but how does this encourage conversation, the essence of a true relationship? The very title of the film encourages us to think of this phenomenon under a new perspective. In one way, we could be considered "antisocial" by exposing our information in order to no longer feel the need to actually interact with others. In the case of the film, the key to surviving the epidemic was by avoiding social media, which transmitted the virus in the first place. By avoiding the platform where everyone is, you are, according to them, antisocial. Yet, unlike them, you survive. In the end, the Canadian film leaves a deeper mark than expected. Through its clever thinking and thrilling scenes (heck, I found myself holding my breath towards the end, and this is something I rarely do with horror films nowadays), it definitely makes the must-‐see list. What will you do when the apocalypse begins?
Made in Canada Review: Antisocial (2013) Doug Heller
http://nextprojection.com/2013/08/02/made-‐in-‐canada-‐review-‐antisocial-‐2013/ Antisocial is a well-‐made little thriller that keeps its thriller tone throughout the entirety of the film until abandoning it for a more stock horror ending.
The story is simple: five college students gather at a house for a New Year’s Eve party. Three of the five are constantly updating their statuses on The Social Redroom, this film’s version of Facebook of FriendFace or whatever. Sam (Michelle Mylett), the main protagonist, deleted her account earlier in the day when her boyfriend broke up with her. She makes her way over to Mark (Cody Thompson)’s house for the party at dusk after her cram-‐ session class ended (apparently she did poorly on her mid-‐term or final and had to continue to go to class to improve her grade). When she arrives, she encounters Steve (Romaine Waite) and his girlfriend (and new acquaintance of Sam’s) Kaitlin (Ana Alic) along with Jed (Adam Christie). Jed gets excited when he learns Sam deleted her Social Redroom account, because he had done so months ago, giving him a small amount of company since everyone on campus and around the world is on the thing.
The evening passes slowly while they wait for people to arrive and the party to begin. I have no idea when the party was to start, since Sam got there near dark and they wait at least a couple of hours. Anyway, Jed happens to video chat with a friend of his in the dorms who gives him information on some strange virus or something that is spreading rapidly and that no one should go out. Jed turns on the news then and the story is corroborated. Not long after, the house is attacked by these infected people (they aren’t zombies, even outside of the ‘if it’s a virus they aren’t zombies’ argument) and they all decide to board up the house. This is of course after Steve and Kaitlin are attacked in a second story bedroom just before they were about to have sex (in a kind of neat little nod to 1980’s horror films where the sexually active teenagers are the first to go) and Steve pushes an infected person out of the window. Well, it isn’t long before the virus gets into the house. It infects one person at a time, making things more and more difficult for each of the remaining people. They are forced to come to terms with the fact of not just murdering people, but friends. This is where the meat of the story happens. Up until the first attack, the film focuses on the emotional connections between the characters, notably Sam and Mark. They have apparently been friends for a long time, but Mark obviously wants to be more than friends and makes many less-‐than-‐subtle remarks to that end. The scenes between those two characters are the weakest parts of the film because it shows off how inexperienced the actors are. Most of the truly emotional lines are delivered more like script-‐reads than emotive acting. Don’t get me wrong, the actors all do a fine job, but there are just some places where their lack of experience is obvious. The real thrills happen once the audience realizes one of the group has the virus long before anyone else knows. Once that happens, co-‐writer/director Cody Calahan does a marvelous job at tightening the screws without going for cheap scares. He uses a slow burn approach that fits the film very well. This could have easily turned into some kind of ‘defend your home against the evil invaders’ film, but Calahan and co-‐writer Chad Archibald eschew that old trope and opt for building terror and suspense. That combination is a rare find in horror films today. Most directors go for the cheap startle and trick the audience members into thinking that because they jumped, they were scared. Antisocial doesn’t do any of that. You are never really sure how a character is going to react in each progressively more trying circumstance, and that is where the terror builds. It’s not out of gore or violence (at least not excessive amounts of it), it’s out of genuine fear of what is happening to the world outside the house and how not knowing is more terrifying than if we did. In fact, if the social networking element were to be removed from the film, the story would be like a micro study of what was happening on a macro scale in World War Z (2013) from earlier this summer. But the social networking element is in the film, and to wonderful effect. Not only is the film a horror film about a mysterious virus spreading across the world at an alarming rate, but it is a commentary on social media sights, specifically Facebook, and how we become addicted to it either by our own obsessions or by some devious program developed to make the site more addictive. It’s an insightful and incisive view of how social media dominates our culture today and an extreme outcome as a result of it. It’s the ending that causes problems for me. After this magnificent build of tension and fear throughout the entire film, with some serious decisions being made by all of the characters, the ending just goes down familiar horror tropes, leading to an incredibly unsatisfying ending. And the thing that irritated me the most about the ending is that it sets up a sequel that already feels vastly inferior to this original film. The entire film, with the exception of the last 10 or so minutes, is a fantastic example of old-‐school suspense building with a modern concept and setting. Calahan does a great job in getting the most out of his essentially one location piece and manages to keep each scene fresh, despite taking place in one of four or five rooms. He’s clearly done his homework, studying the likes of Hitchcock and Carpenter while using inventive camera and lighting techniques with his DP Jeff Maher to make the film look like it was shot on a webcam, further pushing the notion of an omnipresent internet and its effect on all of us. Antisocial may drop the ball at the end, but it’s a hell of a run until it does.
Fantasia Fest Review: Antisocial Fails To Make Friends Evan Saathoff
http://badassdigest.com/2013/07/31/fantasia-‐fest-‐review-‐antisocial-‐fails-‐to-‐make-‐friends/
It's always dangerous to center a film around the horror of social networking. Not only does it make you look old and preachy and condescending, but chances are your film will eventually have to display a Facebook knockoff which automatically gives audiences an excuse to guffaw.
Antisocial struggles with both hurdles. It does not seem like the alarmed preaching of an old person afraid of new ways, but it still can't overcome the silliness inherent to any situation in which panicky people shout social networking terms. Antisocial offers a "what if" which feels like it came from the perspective of a contemporary user rather than some scared Baby Boomer, but the film still inspires a few too many eye-‐rolls. On top of that, Antisocial's Social RedRoom resembles a viable social networking platform about as much as Microsoft's Surface resembles an iPad. The plot finds five college students having a New Years Eve party when suddenly the outside world seems to fall into chaos. Some virus is turning people into homicidal maniacs. Those still unaffected are advised to board up their houses and wait it out. So that's what our five characters do. Their only information stream comes via Facebook (I'm just going to keep calling it Facebook, even though it's not actually Facebook). But! It turns out Facebook is what's spreading the virus via a nefarious bit of hidden coding designed to make the website more addictive. The idea of an apocalypse happening just off-‐frame with little information coming in has a lot of potential (as illustrated by the excellent Pontypool), but Antisocial squanders it. The outside chaos never really manifests itself in any tangible way, and except for a couple key moments, it is more or less your job to keep the outside menace in mind. We do get a lot of streaming video footage illustrating the situation, but it feels largely disconnected from the film's primary in-‐ house drama. One by one, our group of college students get taken by the virus and those still alive have to fight off attacks. There's a lot of blood, but nothing inventive enough happens gore-‐wise to single out the film. Near the end we learn that the cure involves drilling a hole into your head, so that takes up a good chunk of time, too. There are a couple interesting practical effects on display, but Antisocial also relies a bit too much on hallucinatory imagery -‐ such as a bunch of Jacob's Ladder shaky-‐head guys -‐ for its scares. Ironically, the best parts of Antisocial all involve the social media angle, but they go by fast enough to almost seem accidental. For instance, there's a brief bit where one character looks at his Facebook wall, and in the periphery we are able to read a sad "goodbye" post from a person who is infected but not yet turned -‐ a somewhat moving, real world application of social networking that kind of acknowledges its positive qualities. There's also a creepy bit of nonsense which allows dead infected people to post video of everything they see directly onto their feed. It's not utilized for anything, but the idea has merit. In the end, however, Antisocial does not stand out enough to recommend. The gore is just okay. The kills are just okay. The actors and characters are just okay. The film is not so much bad as standard to a boring degree.
ANTISOCIAL -‐ Review By Greg Klymkiw – Bad Script. Promising Director. Premieres at FanTasia Montreal 2013 Greg Klymkiw
http://klymkiwfilmcorner.blogspot.ca/2013/07/antisocial-‐review-‐by-‐greg-‐klymkiw-‐bad.html The final 20 minutes of this low budget Canadian horror film's 92 minute running time features some truly mind-‐ splitting gore and suspense. From a directorial standpoint, the movie kicks into the sort of high-‐gear one wants from a low budget genre film and though Writer-‐Director Cody Calahan's feature debut has a few frissons slithering throughout, much of its first two-‐thirds is a slog on a number of fronts. Basically, it's a one-‐star movie boosted a notch by a terrific climax and the potential of its director to eventually make a good movie. The setup is typical of most no-‐to-‐low budget genre items -‐ a group of college kids are trapped in a house while an infection rages outside and in addition to threats of the external variety are those from within as the college kids start catching the plague -‐ beginning, middle and end of movie. Ho-‐hum. Been there. Done that. The only thing that's going to keep us watching is a combination of directorial flourishes, new twists on the now-‐stale set-‐up/backdrop and, of course, good writing (if not narratively, at least on the level of character and dialogue). On the directorial front, Calahan (the first assistant director and co-‐producer of Monster Brawl and Exit Humanity) knows a thing or two about delivering scares in a solid fashion. Alas, there are weird pacing and spatial issues when he's not focused on pure terror. For example (and there are many similar such scenes throughout), we get two characters in a room, bad shit happens in there, the other characters come upstairs to see what's wrong, we cut back into the room, a long conversation takes place, we wonder why the characters in the hallway who have expressed considerable interest and urgency haven't burst in long before this and then, when the lines of dialogue (which aren't especially good anyway) have been uttered, the door opens and the rest of the characters saunter in. At least when stuff like that happens in an Ed Wood movie, it's funny. As a director, Calahan seems either incompetent or uninterested in pretty much everything other than visceral thrills which, yes, he can handle well enough. A good part of the problem, however, is the writing and for that, he merely needs to look in a mirror. Though derivative of much better films like Kiyoshi Kurosawa's Pulse, Calahan's script at least steals a good idea from it by rooting the source of the evil in computers. The nice twist is that it manifests its victims via a Social Networking site. This is good. Tons of potential. Alas, the possibilities -‐ narratively and thematically -‐ are not mined in any intelligent way. It sits there, ever-‐so nicely, like the good idea it is. "Look at me, Ma. I'm a good idea, but my writer isn't doing anything with me."
"Don't worry, child, someday he -‐ or someone, will." As far as the characters go, they're pretty much stock for this kind of movie. Is it always necessary to populate these films with vapid college kids who really have no depth beyond the perfunctory? Of course, it isn't, but this is exactly what Calahan does. We get a group of dull, average losers with pretty low and petty personal stakes. One might charge Sam Raimi with a similar crime in his firstEvil Dead outing, but his viciously black sense of humour, the appearance of the genuinely brilliant Bruce Campbell and the utterly creepy, horrendous shit he puts them through makes it a winner all the way. Calahan probably needed to remember that washouts of the kind he's populated his film with REALLY need MAJOR punishment. The dialogue is especially wretched and of the variety wherein something happens on-‐screen and one of the characters tells us and his fellow characters what we (and they) have just seen. The first time this happened, I was close to throwing in the towel, but hung in hoping things would get better. Even the tropes of substandard straight to video genre fare are handled with a kind of dull conservatism in Calahan's film. The initial symptoms of the infection include copious bleeding from facial openings like the ears, eyes and nose plus paranoid hallucinations. That's okay, I guess, but when I think about the blood parasite infecting Barbara Steele in David Cronenberg's first feature Shiversby slithering up into her vagina, or the disgusting pustules all over the deformed baby's face and the gloopy blood it coughs up from its mush-‐filled infected mouth in David Lynch's first feature Eraserhead or the little girl stabbing her mother repeatedly with a garden trowel in Romero's first feature Night of the Living Dead, nosebleeds just don't cut the mustard. Rectal and vaginal bleeding, however, might have been what the doctor ordered to grease things up a bit. I suggest that next time Mr. Calahan listen to his knowledgeable G.P. Eventually Calahan's virus-‐infused victims turn into raving homicidal maniacs. I can live with this, but again, I think back on Cronenberg's Shivers where the infected victims become raving homicidal SEX maniacs. In fact, Calahan's characters could use a little sex to begin with, but instead we get the main female character moping around from being knocked up by her loser boyfriend who dumps her via social networking just prior to her heading off to do remedial work after flunking a criminology test. Ugh! She's not only a drag, but stupid. She is, thankfully, a babe, but even though the actress playing her is indeed a knockout, we know there won't be any boinking going on when she hooks up with her handsome male friend who seems vaguely more intelligent and far more worthy of the supple charms twixt her thighs than the bonehead she was being dinked by. Worse yet, another vapid couple gets it on in the bedroom, but ONLY manage to strip down to their undies. Come on, for Christ's sake! Can we get a little bare breast action from the babe or a smidgen of schwance from her studly male partner? No. It's not that kind of movie. (Though actually, it IS that kind of movie, but too precious to deliver the goods.) The nice thing about low budget genre features is when, like the aforementioned Monster Brawl and Exit Humanity, the movies -‐ for whatever flaws they possess -‐ at least try to do something different and go well beyond the tropes. That doesn't happen here, but if you do bother with the film, I can assure you that in its final third, on a purely visceral level, the film will wag a drill in front of your face and bore itself into your skull. And that, ladies and gentlemen, IS entertainment!!!
Fantasia Review: Antisocial (2013) http://www.the-‐filmreel.com/2013/07/29/fantasia-‐review-‐antisocial-‐2013/
As five university friends gather for a New Years Eve party, the outside world begins to fall apart. A deadly viral outbreak is turning ordinary people into violent killing machines, trapping the friends in their house. As they turn to social media and the internet for answers, the group starts to unravel. How can they be sure that none of them have been infected? When the true cause of the virus is revealed, friends become enemies, and it may be the last night on Earth for everyone involved. With a slow start in some familiar territory, Antisocial may not hit all the right notes at first. Instant comparisons to 28 Days Later, and even a touch of Japanese film Kairo, slowly give way to one of the most bloody Canadian horror films in recent memory. There are plenty of influences on display in Antisocial, but the film does a fantastic job of moving beyond them to create something unique. At the core of the film is a great idea, but it doesn’t go quite as far as it could. This could have been something truly spectacular, along the lines of Pontypool, but it gets a bit jumbled, jumping between psychological horror, and straight up gore. That decision is finally made as the film moves toward the ending, and it’s an enormously entertaining feast for horror fans. The final scene is the true peak, leaving audiences demanding more. The Final Call After a slow start, Antisocial becomes a fantastic horror film, with an ending that will leave fans salivating for more. Director Cody Calahan’s first full length feature shows incredible promise, and he’s certainly a director to keep an eye on.
9to5 Goes to Fantasia 6: Antisocial and Zombie Hunter Keith
http://9to5.cc/podcast/2013/07/29/9to5-‐goes-‐to-‐fantasia-‐6-‐antisocial-‐and-‐zombie-‐hunter/ We’re hitting our stride here at 9to5 (dot cc) as keep going to see movies at what has so far been an incredible edition of the Fantasia Festival. Today, Jon and I talk about the social networking horror thriller Antisocial and Danny Trejo kicking some serious zombie ass in Zombie Hunter.
Des nouvelles de FANTASIA: « ANTISOCIAL » ajoute à sa liste de « Haters » http://www.septiemezone.com/2013/07/31/des-‐nouvelles-‐de-‐fantasia-‐antisocial-‐ajoute-‐a-‐sa-‐liste-‐de-‐ haters/
« Antisocial » le dit par son titre, est un film contre les éléments marquant notre société actuel; Facebook, Twitter, et autres médias servant à communiquer. Utilisant Facebook comme première cible, appelé ici « The Social Redroom » alors que Sam (l’oubliable Michelle Mylett) veut annoncer quelque chose à son petit ami, mais se fait larguer avant même pouvoir glisser un mot. Cet événement la poussera à se déconnecter de ce média social alors qu’au même moment des épisodes de violences surviennent un peu partout.
Elle décide de se changer les idées en rejoignant des amis dans une maison. Ils seront cinq personnes voulant festoyer alors que nous sommes, vous l’avez deviné, la veille du jour de l’an. La violence éprouvée
parmi la population sera vite perçue provenir de ce « Social Media » ce qui laisse voir apparaître une créature infiltrant le corps humain et transformant les gens en détraqués. Les gens commencent à avoir des hallucinations et le monde entier en souffre alors qu’on nous le rappelle plusieurs fois. Ces éléments rappellent un peu le genre de Cronenberg et l’ambiance qui y est ajouté au moment où l’on voit la créature provient aussi d’une référence aux créations du célèbre créateur. Toutefois, il s’agit d’un bien gros compliment pour une production qui ne dépasse pas la cheville de cet homme. Malheureusement, « Antisocial » manque le bateau à plusieurs reprises et ne complète pas ses idées laissant le spectateur en plan plus d’une fois. À la place, on sent une volonté sans doute trop grande de ressembler ou d’amener le projet à la hauteur des « Pulse », « The Signal » ou même « Cabin Fever ». Il n’y a rien de plus désintéressant à regarder des gens interagir sur un site de média social pendant une bonne parti du film (Je sais que le propos du film est les médias sociaux et leur impact, mais l’idée n’est pas captivante et le jeu des acteurs est inintéressant). Les personnages apprennent ce qui se passe via la télévision et la radio alors que le monde entier subit les foudres des médias sociaux (Même certaines régions du monde sans internet sont affectées ?). Certains moments tentent de nous effrayer alors que leur maison est attaquée par des infectés, mais rien de convainquant. Chacun des personnages du film n’ont vraiment de caractère ou d’émotion (On tente de nous faire tomber pour la détresse du personnage principal, mais sans succès). L’humour tente aussi de s’y immiscer à la manière de « Cabin Fever », mais il ne faut se prendre pour quelque chose que l’on est pas (Une fois l’horreur tente d’être sérieux et l’autre fois on sens une tentative vers l’humour). Leur transformation, une fois infecté est redondante et nous fait entrer dans une monotonie à chaque moment, rien pour aider. Les morts se succèdent et la musique reste aussi terne. On avance vers les deux derniers survivants dont notre protagoniste féminine aussi morne qu’un coin de porte, qui décide subitement de se transformer en guerrière pour une finale attendue qui n’arrive jamais. Bref, une idée originale qui aurait gagné à être développée autrement, des acteurs vraiment mal dirigés si tel est le cas et un scénario fade qui ne sous-‐tend jamais le suspense. Après avoir visionner « Antocial », il y a de fortes chances que vous ne voudrez plus être son ami… Désolé !
Antisocial was also mentioned on the following outlet:
http://cultmontreal.com/2013/07/fantasia-‐cannibals-‐magic-‐yes-‐vhs/
Fantasia – Antisocial http://www.lesmeconnus.net/fantasia-‐antisocial/ Les films apocalyptiques sont à la mode et les films de zombies encore plus, à un tel point que cette année on a eu droit à la version comédie romantique avec Warm Bodies et à une publicité pour Pepsi de deux heures avec Brad Pitt. Les bons films de mort-‐vivants/infectés se font rares et ce n’est pas très surprenant : comme beaucoup de sous-‐ genres d’horreur, c’est une formule surexploitée dont tout le monde connaît les codes, qui ont peu changé depuis Night of the living dead. Pourtant, de temps en temps, on peut tomber sur des films originaux qui sortent du carcan avec un concept original, comme Pontypool, REC et cette année, le canadien Antisocial. Le premier long-‐métrage de Cody Calahan suit une jeune adolescente qui vient de se faire quitter par son copain via Skype et qui décide de rejoindre quelques-‐uns de ses amis d’université pour fêter le nouvel an et se changer ainsi les idées. La fête intime commence, les fêtards partagent leurs photos sur les réseaux sociaux entre deux verres et finissent par se rendre compte qu’une épidémie sévit aux quatre coins du monde, causant des éclats de violence inexpliqués. Tous s’enferment dans une ambiance de paranoïa, et guettent les symptômes de ce nouveau mal dont les seuls informations disponibles leur apparaissent par le biais de la télévision et de leurs téléphones. Ce huis-‐clos brillant met alors en scène de jeunes adultes avec leurs angoisses, désirs et hallucinations (très réussies) provoqués par le mal, se demandant ce qui est réel, et qui peuvent-‐ils croire vraiment. Si le jeu des acteurs n’est pas toujours à la hauteur, il convient tout de même pour ce genre de film, et l’actrice campant le personnage principal s’en sort très bien. La musique est assez réussie, surtout pour ce genre de film à petit budget. L’ambiance est parfaite, angoissante à souhait et très prenante. L’intrigue est très bien pensée et habilement exécutée. Les fans des films apocalyptiques seront servis par cette version rafraîchissante des récits de pandémie.
Antisocial Charlotte Stear
http://www.horrortalk.com/frightfest-‐2013/3615-‐antisocial-‐movie-‐review.html Antisocial is the potential indie-‐horror hit of the summer festival circuit. Announced to screen at Montreal’s Fantasia International Film Festival and London’s FrightFest, it already has a media buzz around it. It is not surprising as Antisocial manages to take subject matters that will seem familiar to horror audiences (a viral outbreak, a group of friends held hostage in their own home, the terrors of social media etc.) but crucially, makes it all seamlessly work together in a fresh new way. The movie takes place on New Year’s Eve on a University campus and follows Sam who has just been dumped by her boyfriend. She meets some friends at a house party in an attempt to take her mind off things, but something very wrong has started to happen. Students have started killing themselves and attacking each other, and it progressively gets worse. They are soon barricaded in their house as the epidemic spreads and use their phones, laptops and social networking sites as their connection to the outside world. But they soon realise the social media sites may be the root of this madness as it begins to spread worldwide. First people get nosebleeds, then they hallucinate and then they become violent; it’s not long before the friends start to see symptoms in each other.
With a premise of “private life is public knowledge” whether you are on a social media outlet or not, anyone can relate to the ideas put out by this film. The whole movie is a not-‐too-‐subtle metaphor about our generation’s obsession with social media; the idea that if you’re not on Facebook or Twitter, you’re not truly connected to anyone. A scene of a group ‘selfie’ photo is cringe worthy in how accurate it is and, at a base level, how utterly ridiculous. This is people presenting life not how it is, but how they want it to be perceived. So right there, this film is connecting to its audience in a pretty major way, making us look at the real banality of what we use this technology for. It is reminiscent of some pretty awful technology based horror efforts put out over the past ten years, Cell and One Missed Call being two that sprang to mind. Ridiculous concepts that were poorly executed and thus instantly forgettable. Antisocial manages to capture something they missed, it is an ‘out there’ concept, but how the story progresses and the way in which it unravels is compelling and is as believable as it can be. The dialogue at times is mediocre and some of the character relationships needed more back story, but it does well to hook you into this apocalyptic world. They style of the film evolves quite dramatically; it starts off haunting and atmospheric, but the final few scenes are a complete 180 turnaround from that. There is a steady build up from the moment the movie starts, an uneasiness that never relents but get progressively worse. As people begin to hallucinate there is screeching music that feels like a headache, bringing you into their frantic struggle for survival. And as it gets more stressful, it also gets bloodier. Yay! Some graphic scenes are hallucinated but this doesn’t take away from their shock value (an eye gouging is NEVER pleasant) and the ‘real’ violence is brutal, killing infected with laptops no less. Added to the brutality is the knowledge these people are friends that have to turn on each other. Doubtful they’ll do a status update on this night out… As a directorial debut for Cody Calahan, this is a great way to break onto the horror scene and he will be one to watch in the future. Antisocial is a stylish, thought-‐provoking movie that shines against all the mainstream horrors that seem to be all remakes and cheap scares, indie-‐horror is the place to look for some refreshing tales, Antisocial is a good place to start.
‘Antisocial’ Review Phil Wheat
http://www.nerdly.co.uk/2013/07/27/antisocial-‐review/
It’s often been said that people today wander about the streets in a zombie-‐like state – with their faces buried in their phones texting their friends, tweeting and checking out who likes what on Facebook – oblivious to the outside world. But what if this reliance on technology, and social networks in particular, became societies downfall? What if the thing we shared online was more than just information? That’s the question posed by Antisocial. Sitting somewhere between Night of the Living Dead, The Crazies and The Social Network, Antisocial sees five university friends gather at a house party to ring in the New Year. What they don’t know is the end really is nigh, as an epidemic has erupted outside and around the world. With nowhere else to turn, they barricade themselves indoors with only their iPhones, Blackberrys, laptops, iPads and other personal devices, using them to research the possible cause of this outbreak. As the virus spreads, the mood in the house changes from fear to paranoia. Information and video footage overflow their computers as they descend further into the cause and the ensuing chaos. Who is safe? Who can they trust? Reality becomes blurred as they slowly discover the source of the virus causing the sickness and realise not even they are safe… The idea of technology interacting malevolently with humans is nothing new in the movies – it’s been used in the likes of 1977ʹ′s Demon Seed, Poltergeist (1982), Pulse (1988), and more recently in the likes of Ringu and it’s American remake The Ring, the South Korean movie Phone, and the killer video game flick Stay Alive (2006). Yet Antisocial is, as far as I know, the first to posit the idea that our always-‐connected, ever reliance on social media will actually be what eventually kills us all. Of course we’ve already had films such as Panic Button, which saw someone use social media and all the information it holds on us, to get revenge – but this film takes this one step further as computer code turns into a real-‐world biological virus! And it’s fair to say Antisocial couldn’t be more timely. With Facebook still leading the pack as one of the most-‐visited websites in the Western world and cyber-‐bullying becoming a hot topic in the media across the globe, the idea that social media is “evil” – especially in the eyes of those that don’t use or understand it – is growing and as such it’s a theme that is ripe for exploration in horror. Thankfully Antisocial gets it right. Starting as it means to go on, with a dramatic webcam-‐captured murder, the film builds from what starts out as a typical “teens-‐in-‐peril” flick to a freakish body-‐horror – complete with trepanning and strange arterial growths that look like they could have stepped out of an 80s Cronenbergian horror. All of this is wrapped around a stunning performance from first-‐ timer Michelle Mylett as Sam, whose path from timid teen to final girl is a joy to watch; and her final scenes – as she walks the streets, axe in hand, to take on the reanimated virus infected dead – just made me itch for a sequel. Bring on “Sam the Zombie Slayer” I say! I’ve said it before, and no doubt I’ll say it again but, even with the smallest of budgets, it seems Canada can produce great horror – no matter the subject – and this is yet another example of a Canadian horror that hits all the right notes. From the great cast, to the inspired techno score (from another first-‐timer, Steph Copeland), to some superb stylistic camera choices which seamlessly blends webcam footage, news reel and traditional filming techniques, I loved every minute of Antisocial. Antisocial receives its world premiere at Fantasia Fest in Montreal on July 31st before screening at London’s Frightfest on August 23rd.
Fantasia 2013 – Antisocial http://www.lefrelonvert.com/2013/07/fantasia-‐2013-‐antisocial/ Cinq jeunes étudiants se réunissent chez des amis pour fêter le Nouvel An et c’est en consultant leur profil dans les réseaux sociaux qu’ils remarquent que les choses ne tournent pas rond; le monde extérieur est envahi de gens infectés par un mystérieux virus qui se répand sur l’échelle planétaire. Ils devront se barricader et rester informés par l’entremise de la télé et d’Internet. J’ai choisi de visionner ce long métrage pour deux raisons : parce que c’est un film canadien et je crois qu’il faut encourager les films de genre dans ce pays et justement parce qu’il s’agit d’une histoire d’horreur. La preuve qu’il y a une demande pour ce type de films: Antisocial affiche complet lors d’une des deux présentations au Festival Fantasia. Si vous avez déjà vos billets, veuillez de ne pas lire ce qu’il suit. Sur papier, toutes les conditions sont réunies pour passer du bon temps en compagnie de jeunes en huis clos qui doivent se débrouiller afin de demeurer connectés avec le monde extérieur, tout en repoussant des infectés qui tentent de s’en prendre à eux. La plupart de ces acteurs ont plus ou moins d’expérience cinématographique, mais là n’est pas la question, car ils se débrouillent très bien. Et puis, le scénario est plutôt conventionnel (infection, zombie, etc.) avec la twist de l’utilisation en grande partie des réseaux sociaux. C’est pourquoi j’ai décroché dès les premiers instants du film: en raison de la façon dont la technologie y a été incrustée, parce que ça fait partie du nerf de l’histoire. Par exemple, Sam (Michelle Mylett) discute avec son copain en vidéoconférence en direct de son portable à l’école en Wi-‐Fi, sauf que l’image est trop détaillée et distancée pour que ça soit une webcam du moment. Pas si mal me diriez-‐vous, mais tout au long du film, c’est la même gimmick: les images sont trop nettes, le flux vidéo est soi-‐disant en direct alors qu’apparaît un indicateur de lecture vidéo à l’écran, les connexions aux vidéoconférences s’effectuent instantanément avec d’autres personnes pendant que ces derniers sont en mouvement avec leur caméscope, etc. En tout cas, tous ces gens ont un réseau sans fil digne des années 2050. Quand est venu le temps de connaître la véritable raison de cette épidémie, j’avais envie de hurler. Autrement dit, rien n’est authentique, excepté les bulletins de nouvelles à la télévision avec un lecteur de nouvelles d’expérience. Je voudrais tout de même saluer le travail sur les effets spéciaux ainsi que le choix des acteurs. Les non-‐ initiés de la technologie n’y verront que du feu et passeront un bon moment.
Antisocial Dany Champagne
http://horreur-‐web.com/antisocial.html Je n’ai pas de cellulaire. Ni de iPad. Pour moi, Twitter, c’est du chinois! Et je mets rarement à jour ma page Facebook plus d’une fois par semaine. Bref, je ne suis probablement pas le public cible pour Antisocial, présenté dans le cadre du Festival Fantasia 2013 à Montréal. L’histoire de ce film canadien de Cody Calahan met en scène cinq jeunes amis réunis dans un appartement pour célébrer la nouvelle année. La soirée bien arrosée est interrompue lorsqu’un des jeunes voit aux nouvelles télévisées un reportage relatant la mort d’une connaissance. Ce dernier aurait été abattu par les policiers après avoir sauvagement tué un étudiant. Puis, les nouvelles deviennent plus glauques. En un claquement de doigts, une épidémie a fait le tour de la Terre transformant ses victimes en enragés assoiffés de sang humain. La rumeur veut que l’épidémie affecte les utilisateurs du site RedRoom, l’équivalent de Facebook. Lorsque des enragés tentent de pénétrer dans l’appartement, les jeunes se barricadent, mais il est déjà trop tard. Certains d’entre eux montrent déjà des signes de l’infection, soit des hallucinations, des saignements de nez et d’oreilles. Mais il y a de l’espoir pour Sam qui a désactivé son compte RedRoom quelques heures seulement avant le début de l’épidémie. Il ne lui reste plus qu’à se méfier de ses amis qui se transforment à une vitesse alarmante. Les jeunes, lâchez Facebook un peu ou vous aller devenir des zombies! Ça ne prenait pas un film pour figurer le tout, on a simplement à ouvrir les yeux pour constater cette triste réalité. Ayant clairement une dent contre les médias sociaux, Calahan et son coscénariste Chad Archibald (Neverlost, aussi présenté à Fantasia il y a quelques années) ont mis sur papier un concept intéressant. Celui-‐ci, par contre, n’excède jamais le statut de bonne idée en plus de ne pas avoir eu le temps de maturer convenablement. La mise en contexte du synopsis est très laborieuse et rend le visionnement nébuleux. C’est notamment difficile lorsque vient le temps de présenter la progression de l’épidémie. Il se déroule, d'un point de vue narratif, moins de deux heures entre le moment où l’on voit un premier individu qui saigne légèrement du nez et celui où les réseaux de télévisions montrent des graphiques illustrant l’annihilation de la race humaine. Contrairement à Pontypool, un autre huis clos canadien relatant une épidémie, on sent mal l’ampleur de la chose en étant barricadé dans l’appartement de nos protagonistes. Et ce, malgré les petits graphiques présentés à la télé ! En gros, Antisocial, c’est l’histoire d’une fille qui survit à l’apocalypse parce qu’elle a désactivé son compte RedRoom juste à temps. Comme les films de spectres asiatiques notoires, on retrouve la fascination avec
la technologie moderne, mais passée dans le filtre Romero. Il y a une belle ironie dans le propos, mais Calahan ne trouve jamais le ton juste pour illustrer sa critique sociale. Est-‐ce un film à prendre au sérieux, un pastiche ou une propagande anti-‐Facebook? Ce n’est jamais clair. Trop souvent, on dirait un scénario destiné au réseau SyFy qui a eu le mérite d’être tourné par un cinéaste de la trempe de Ti West ou Adam Green! C’est brouillon, pas assez assumé et semble avoir été écrit à mesure que le tournage progressait. L’œuvre est visuellement intéressante, certains moments horrifiques sont franchement réussis, mais toutes les qualités du film ne peuvent faire oublier que le scénario ne fonctionne pas. Dans le même style, Pontypool, The Signal et le film japonais Kairo sont beaucoup plus aboutis. C’est d’autant plus dommage puisque Antisocial possède quelques scènes bien abouties qui contrastent avec le reste. Notamment ce personnage infesté que nos protagonistes attachent avec des lumières de Noël. L’état de la victime a pour résultat de faire clignoter les lumières sans qu’elles soient branchées. Les scènes de meurtres font aussi partie des points forts de l’œuvre. Avec des clins d’œil à Fulci, on voit clairement que le cinéaste connait le genre. Ce n’est définitivement pas Antisocial qui m’influencera à désactiver mon compte Facebook. Cody Calahan est bourré de bonnes intentions, mais il frappe la plupart du temps dans le vide. On reconnait le germe d’un bon film, mais au final Antisocial est beaucoup trop niais pour le sujet auquel il s’attaque.
Antisocial (2013) http://www.dreadcentral.com/reviews/antisocial-‐2013 In under a decade, social media networks have gone from casual time wasters in our spare time to daily life-‐altering investments that adhere to the vanity of the status quo. It was only a matter of time before the horror genre would delve into this disconcerting phenomenon and Canadian director Cody Calahan and fellow Canuck writer Chad Archibald (who were both responsible for Fantasia film favorite NeverLost) do so with ease and beat filmmakers to the punch with their tongue-‐in-‐cheek, apocalyptic cautionary tale that will surely make waves in the film festival circuit this year. After being publicly dumped by her boyfriend on the FaceBook clone social network The Social RedRoom, Sam (Mylett) is talked into going to a small New Year’s Eve party by her best friend Mark (Thompson) that is being held by her close friends. What starts out as a fun night full of promise quickly takes an egregious turn when the six friends soon discover through social media that a violent albeit unexplained pandemic is spreading like wildfire in the outside world. Trapped within the confines of the house, the group feel protected from the chaos outside until they soon learn that it only provided them a false sense of security as one by one, the group suffer from mild nosebleeds to severe hallucinations. However, when the perplexing side effects lead to homicidal tendencies, the surviving members quickly learn that narcissism is not the only epidemic caused by social media they have to worry about. Shot on a restrained budget, newcomer Calahan is able to create a controlled, sleek and effective look for the film while also managing to regale the audience with well-‐shot and executed set pieces and gore laden moments and often horror fans will be able to point out certain homages to other beloved horror films in the genre. (Viewers will wince after watching a grisly nod to a famous Fulci moment.) Although Antisocial is not particularly an original feat of writing, (since films like Halloween 3: Season of The Witch, Kairo and One Missed Call are just a few genre films that have famously showcased technological horror in the past) writer Chad Archibald is once again able to take his passion for writing the horrors of the modern human condition and create a unique contemporary psychological thriller that is fairly relevant in today’s social media-‐obsessed society. The well-‐scribed twist regarding the notion of how the pandemic started is enough to make anybody want to delete their FaceBook, Twitter and Instagram accounts as the fictional and alarming theory is definitely applicable to how we interact online in the real world. On the downside, the film does feature a fair share of weak performances (which can be forgiven since the characters are mostly archetypal representations typically seen in slasher films) and actors Michelle Mylett and Cody Thompson are the ones that are able to shine past the blood-‐soaked violence displayed onscreen. Mylett in a particular, who is not only a dead ringer for Danielle Panabaker, also flawlessly
embodies the tough as nails persona, virtue, and strength it takes to be a Final Girl. It will come as no surprise if she becomes a known Scream Queen in the Canadian horror scene in the near future. Overall, Antisocial is a solid Canadian horror film made for the Generation Y crowd and is surely able to crawl under the viewers’ skin as it deals with a frightening concept far too relevant in our self-‐induced, isolated digital world. You can catch Antisocial at this year’s Fantasia Film Festival when it premieres on Wednesday, July 31st!
Fantasia Festival 2013 Recap – Part Four: YOU’RE NEXT, PINUP GIRLS ON ICE, and ANTISOCIAL
Celestial Catnip
http://mobtreal.com/reviews/fantasia-‐fest-‐2013-‐04/ MyzMyth: This film, much in the same vein as George Romero’s THE CRAZIES, involves a strange disease that makes people hallucinate, go crazy, and turn murderous. It’s a delightful horror thriller, and it, too, is a Canadian production. Spacecat: The film opens up with our lead character being dumped via Video Chat. Ouch. She soon goes to a New Year’s Eve party where she makes some new friends who soon find out about this murderous disease that’s spreading worldwide. Everyone seems to be infected… but no one seems to know why. DBT6066: DUN. DUN. DUN. Spacecat: And it’s quite clever and innovative too. Since the ensemble is under lockdown and barricade themselves in the house, you know, due to murderous crazy people outside, much of the film revolves around the characters trying to figure out what’s going on via interactions with social media, viral videos, and watching news reports on television. MyzMyth: Probably the freshest use of this is during a montage sequence early in the film. The characters and their social media profile pages are prominently featured. It’s a very smart way of giving the audience a quickie introduction to all their character traits and quirks. DBT6066: And it’s also the filmmakers way of further expanding upon RedRoom, the Facebook within this film’s universe, which plays a very crucial role in this film. Spacecat: And like every film where people are trapped in a house… things soon go wrong. Oh, how they go wrong in this house… Friends soon fight among friends. Accusations fly. Paranoia. Infection. Hysteria. MyzMyth: Don’t forget gore. Spacecat: And a lot of gore. Including a really unique death involving Christmas Lights. DBT6066: That one was sooo friggin’ Argento. MyzMyth: Didn’t you say that about the last film?
DBT6066: I CAN’T HELP IT THAT HE’S INFLUENTIAL. MyzMyth: There’s some great scares, too. Weird slimy gross tentacle stuff seems to occur during infection.And once infected with THE SICKNESS, they see weird ghostly stuff when they hallucinate. DBT6066: And those infected with the sickness seem to be linked up and have this hive mind thing going on. MyzMyth: Was that a spoiler? DBT6066: Sorta? There’s still more surprises, trust me. Point is, it’s really freaky. Spacecat: So, you have thrills. You have surprises. You have action. You have gore. You have zombie drama without the zombies. You have a great industrial-‐rock inspired soundtrack. You have great moments in character growth… MyzMyth: You also have definite moments of WTF… DBT6066: And you have a really clever revelation about the cause of all of this. Brilliant blurring of reality and possibility with a good dose of social commentary. MyzMyth: Ignore the armchair academic film studies prof routine, it’s a cool twist and works well in the context of the film. Spacecat: And you have a possible promise of a sequel with a great last minute plot development. MyzMyth: There’s so many more cool things about this film that we simply can’t talk about without spoiling some really crucial scenes. But trust us, this film is awesome. DBT6066: I so want to spoil! it’s that good… But I will add that there’s also some good old fashioned ass-‐kicking. Spacecat: Really great fight scenes in this one between those infected with the sickness and those not infected. Leads to a tense and really gory final act. DBT6066: In short, it’s a lot of fun and a rather clever horror flick for the social media age. This is another example of going in to a film and not knowing what to expect and thoroughly enjoying it. Something for everyone in this one.
The Fantasia Daily, 2013.14 (31 July 2013): Ip Man: The Final Fight, Ritual: A Psychomagic Story, and Antisocial http://www.jaysmovieblog.com/2013/08/the-‐fantasia-‐daily-‐201314-‐31-‐july-‐2013.html Antisocial is an impressive little horror movie that distinguishes itself by showing how it's not necessarily what a movie does that matters, but how it pulls it off. Sure, the initial plot is built on a foundation of an alarmist view of modern life and iffy science (things that bug me), but the filmmakers work this material quite well -‐ it becomes tense and downright clever by the time it reaches a finale that satisfies and leaves the audience hungry for more. It'd be easy to say this movie shouldn't work, but it actually should; we're just not used to seeing the effort to make it work put in. Samantha (Michelle Mylett) is not having a great day -‐ her boyfriend just broke up with her over the phone and had changed his relationship status online to "available" before she'd even hung up, she's far enough behind in her courses that she's attending a supplementary criminology lecture on New Year's Eve, and... Well, it's a rotten day. It's about to get worse; she heads to her best friend's place for a party, but the only guests who show up to join Mark (Cody Thompson), Jed (Adam Christie), Steve (Romaine Waite), and Steve's girlfriend Kaitlin (Ana Alic) are bleeding, ultra-‐violent lunatics, and the news says that this is happening all across the world. There's a lot of it being thrown around on the various social media networks the characters frequent as well, and in a way, you've kind of got to feel for horror filmmakers where that's concerned. It only seemed like they'd just figured out how to use mobile telephones beyond the battery running out or the local area conveniently having no coverage when smartphones and social media started becoming common. That went through an "it's only good for stalkers and other creeps" and "kids paying too much attention to that will just get killed" period, and while there's still a bit of the latter present, director Cody Calahan and co-‐writer Chad Archibald mostly find ways to use it as a tool to build the scale of the film up as opposed to seeing it as a nuisance that keeps them from isolating their potential victims.
Antisocial – Slight Spoiler Alert http://madcritic.wordpress.com/tag/fantasia-‐film-‐festival/ Fortunately, I was able to attend the world premiere of Antisocial at the Fantasia Film festival in Montreal. Antisocial is a modern take on the horror film, immersing new age technologies within the typical plotline of a zombie apocalypse. Not only did Antisocial explore new themes within the genre of horror, but also showcased the addictively obsessive nature that humans have with technology, which kept the movie both entertaining and intriguing. Antisocial is an on location film, taking place within a house, where a group of friends are joined together as the hosts for what is supposed to be the biggest new years party ever. As each character begins preparing for the party, they are exposed—through media outlets—that there is a severe global pandemic, of which everyone should barricade themselves indoors at all times. However, as this virus is a chemical mutation disseminating from a social media outlet similar to Facebook, even indoors, no one is actually safe from being infected. As the actual source of the virus is unknown to civilization, slowly but surely, the houseguests become infected, where they begin to showcase bizarre symptoms, such as morbid hallucinations, bleeding, and extremely aggressive and uncontrollable behaviors. As everyone in the house is suspect to who is infected, they are conflicted on who they can trust; who they can let in the house; and more importantly, who they have to get rid of. Antisocial is a rare find in the horror movie genre, as it is a film that really shines due to its creative and fresh plotline, rather than on cheap scares, or extreme and unnecessary character development. That being said, the characters are all unique and interesting in their own ways, adding a different dynamic to the house that keeps the story captivating and highly entertaining to watch. Furthermore, rather than being scary, the film created an aura of suspense and eeriness, alongside some disgusting and brutal scenes that I found created a much more horrific mise en scène than the majority of the classified “horror” films I’ve seen in the last few years. I would highly recommend Antisocial to anyone who loves horror movies. I myself am looking forward to its DVD release date so I can have it within my collection to re-‐watch over and over again.
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