TRUE NORTH
With the use of striking animation, this tormenting tale reveals the monstrosities committed in one of a handful of present day concentration camps in North Korea that they don’t want the world to know about. As a young boy’s father is taken away, he and his family are thrown in a camp, and there he’s left searching for meaning in a deeply despairing place. Under unbearable crimes against humanity and fellow prisoners being cutthroat, the boy grows into a teenager and must do what he has to to keep him and his family fed and unharmed. Through tragedy and his sister’s support, he gets the wake up call he needs to make a positive difference and give hope to the hopeless.
It’s a bit distracting in having the characters’ voices dubbed into English (subtitles are fine by me), though the brutality exemplified and the awareness raised from writer/director/producer Eiji Han Shimizu is what matters most. The fact that this all comes from actual accounts by former guards and survivors who lived it is startling in the truest sense. And these camps are operating to this day. WTF.
ELECTRIC JESUS
Chris White writes, directs, and produces a lame fictional biopic of 3:16, a heavy metal Christian band who want to raise hell in a wholesome way. Erik (Andrew Eakle) is our narrator and the sound guy for the band. These righteous rockers hitch their hopes and dreams on to their new tour manager Skip (The Office’s Brian Baumgartner), a stereotypical self-seeker in the music biz. So a summer of head-banging and making Jesus famous hits the road. Along the way, Erik falls for the preacher’s (Judd Nelson) daughter (Shannon Hutchinson) after she sneaks on to the tour bus. And surprise, surprise, the band face their own trials and tribulations that all rock gods must do.
Their faith is put to the ultimate test when 3:16 has to step out from congregations and skating rinks to perform in a bar that serves alcohol to get their big break. It goes from bad to worse when the show is headlined by Satan’s Clutch. Oh my heavens! In all seriousness, the soundtrack is catchy, yet the story is cheesy and cliché from beginning to end. When spotlighting a music genre that he evidently adores, White’s vision is ridiculously narrow with performances that feel fake. By the time we get to the ‘Where Are They Now’ portion of the movie, it’s down-right laughable.
HOLLER
Writer-director Nicole Riegel’s debut feature is a less than compelling coming-of-age tale about Ruth (Jessica Barden), a young woman who wants more but is afraid to leave her brother Blaze (Gus Halper) behind. But unbeknownst to her, Blaze finishes her college application and sends it off. If Ruth won’t apply for an opportunity to get out of her dead-end town then he’ll do it for her. She gets into college but they are now left scrounging for the cash to pay for it, thus leads Ruth and Blaze to work for Hark (Austin Amelio), putting themselves in danger while scrapping metal. The cast is more than willing to tell this rugged story that’s smothered in bad situations and difficult decisions, but it’s also so generic and predictable. It’s a Winter’s Bone wannabe that’s missing a much-needed strong central character to drive home Riegel’s message of escaping from becoming a product of your environment because Ruth ain’t it.
Nash Film Fest 2020 Recap: Part 1
Nash Film Fest 2020 Recap: Part 2
Brandon Vick is a member of The Music City Film Critics’ Association, the resident film critic of the SoBros Network, and the star of The Vick’s Flicks Podcast. Follow him on Twitter @SirBrandonV and be sure to search #VicksFlicks for all of his latest movie reviews.
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