Horror Movie, Gothic Si Fi, Independent Film, Cannes Film festival 2015, World Premiere
AXS ENTERTAINMENT / ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT / MOVIES
May 3, 2015
Rating:
Jorge Ameer’s, “Medusa” (aka “The Resurrection of Medusa”), makes its world premiere at Cannes Film Festival 2015 in the Marche Du Film program. Loosely based on the mythological story of Medusa, the snake haired woman whose mere gaze turned men to stone, this contemporary adaptation is centered around a nerdish science-of-mythology professor. The professor’s quest is to find the relic which holds the power and essence of Medusa’s evil spirit. The relic is a golden mirror with a glowing red pin-light on it’s back’s center, with an ornate circle featuring the twelve signs of the zodiac. It has never been successfully recovered as each prior pursuer has mysteriously vanished into thin air, never to be heard from again. The professor, Dr Jack Peruci, ( played smartly by the talented Jeff Allen), is the current quester in pursuit of the valued mirror. When Jack receives a phone call from an eerie witch doctor, Kao, ( played hilariously by writer director Jorge Ameer), he can not resist driving out, alone of course, into the night cloaked forrest to find Kao’s gothically mystical cabin to bargain for the mirror. Of course, it’s a trap and thusly the mayhem of this contemporary gothic horror-scifi tale begins.
As for the genre and style, Ameer and his team are right on the money and do an excellent job. Especially when you consider the resources available for an obviously “ultra low budget” independent project. The music and the special effects are spooky, fun and impressive. There are notably some easily avoidable lighting, sound and diction deficits, which could have been avoided as they have only to do with careful attention to detail. Ameer’s directorial humor and style are reminiscent of the old Ed Wood “B” horror movies, complete with ( hopefully intentional) small quirky flaws.
The entire cast turn in noteworthy performances with special mention going to: Angelique ( Played by, Katy Foley), Dr Steven Craig (played by, Tom Struckhoff ), and Grace ( played by, Algerita Wynn). The stand out performance of all is Kao, the witch doctor. Ameer, in what looks like full drag makeup, gives a villainous performance that would make Tyler Perry’s “Medea” or Angelina Jolie’s “Melificent”, majestically nod in approval. The quest of Medusa’s soul to find a living human host as her vessel to live once again a mortal life, is the contemporary plot line of this narrative. As such however, it may confuse audiences as to why she insist on destroying each of her targeted host, rather than seducing them to accept her and accomplish her goal.
As Horror Movies on the whole have never really depended on logic, one may overlook reasoning the plot points. The major task after all, is to give audiences a chill, make them scream out loud, jump in their seats or hold tightly to their partner; all while witnessing in horror, circumstances that are narrowly escaped by the hero. This is the basic formula of virtual thrill-rides and they are always successful welcomed crowd pleasers. Still, even though “Medusa” relies primarily on the aforementioned rather then on a clearly defined and vital plot driven storyline, Ameer’s passionate artistic instincts clearly demonstrate, over all, he has major romantic, often lyrically classic- cinematographic ideas. He is definitely, potentially, a noteworthy world class filmmaker.
Rated R for violence and language.
To read more about “Medusa” visit the website :
http://www.hollywoodindependents.com/Medusainsidepage.htm
To read more about “Cannes Film Festival”please visit: http://www.marchedufilm.com/en/
To read more about Jorge Ameer please visit: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0024521/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm
The world premiere of “Medusa” is: 3:30 PM Sunday May 17, 2015 Palais D Cannes – France
Merde (bonne chance)
Producer(s) : Mauricio ARRIOJA, Jeff ALLEN, Jorge AMEER
Director(s) : Jorge AMEER
Writer(s) : Jorge AMEER
Cast : Jeff ALLEN, Jorge AMEER, Tom STRUCKHOFF, William MCNAMARA, Britt ROSE, Katy FOLEY
Medusa’s world premiere is: 3:30 PM Sunday May 17, 2015 Palais D , Cannes Film Festival/ Marche Du Film, France
Merde (bonne chance)
Rated R for violence and language.
Producer(s) : Mauricio ARRIOJA, Jeff ALLEN, Jorge AMEER
Director(s) : Jorge AMEER
Writer(s) : Jorge AMEER
Cast : Jeff ALLEN, Jorge AMEER, Tom STRUCKHOFF, William MCNAMARA, Britt ROSE, Katy FOLEY
