The January doldrums bring horror, goth and fantasy to the Carolina Theatre. Every year the Nevermore film festival celebrates the weirdest of the weird, from claymation-horror-musicals (The Happiness of the Katakuris) to low budget genre-busters like Jesus Christ, Vampire Hunter. This year, you won't have to wait: On Friday the Carolina kicks off a Nevermore spin-off, the first annual Escapism Action, Adventure and Animation Film Festival.
Escapism plans to step in where Nevermore left off, explained senior director Jim Carl. "Every year we get a ton of edgy, Asian, hyper-kinetic films, enough that I could fill a whole bill with them. But it just doesn't work at Nevermore. Audiences wanted to see more."
A turning point in the planning process came eight months ago, when the theater received word of a prospective project from animators Mike Judge ("Beavis and Butthead," Office Space) and Don Hertzfeldt. Their project, The Animation Show, eventually grew into a ninety minute collection of animated shorts, including original work by Judge and Hertzfeldt and a tribute to legendary animator Ward Kimball. Thanks to Jim's planning and foresight, the Escapism Film Festival will feature one of only ten screenings of The Animation Show nationwide.
The festival's real centerpiece is Satoshi Kon's anime adventure, Millennium Actress. Nearly lost in the hype over Spirited Away, the critically acclaimed Actress is only now making its way to the U.S. Actress chronicles the life of a once famous Japanese starlet, toying with concepts of time, space, reality and fiction.
Also opening this weekend is Wonderland, based on the true story of a Hollywood quadruple homicide in the early eighties. Headlined by Val Kilmer and Lisa Kudrow, Wonderland follows the descent of famed pornographer John Holmes into the seedy Los Angeles underworld of drugs and crime.
Foreign films round out the bill. From the United Kingdom come two thrillers, My Little Eye and Long Time Dead. The former plays with the idea of reality TV, utilizing voyeuristic camera angles and gritty digital video; the latter resurrects that favorite nefarious fortune teller, the ouija board. From France comes the swashbuckler On Guard, and from Thailand one of Asia's most elaborate epics, The Legend of Suriyothai. Finally, Escapism presents Japanese director Shinsuke Sato's The Princess Blade, a futuristic visual feast featuring fast hands and even faster swords.
Escapism offers exactly what it advertises, a flavorful escape from the monotony of everyday cinema. Whether you want food for thought or a delectble diversion, Escapism has offerings to satisfy even the most eclectic of appetites.
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