Film Reviews · Backpex

Title	Overview		Toggle columns Title Overview
Into the Middle of Nowhere	The documentary is about the uniqueness of childhood and the exploration of the human mind. In an outdoor nursery based in the woods, children create their own individually constructed worlds and can test out the boundaries of reality.
Buffalo Running	Individual photographs of the running of a buffalo shot in rapid succession.
Zombie Resurrection	15 months after the apocalypse, a group of survivors are forced to take refuge in an abandoned school, where they encounter a mysterious zombie with the power to bring the undead back to life.
Strangeland	A pierced and tattooed sadist, Captain Howdy, trolls the Internet for naive teens, luring them to his home to torture and defile them. When Howdy kidnaps and tortures the daughter of police Detective Mike Gage, he is caught. Deemed insane, he is sent to an asylum but is released soon after, seemingly better. However, Gage knows it is only a matter of time before Howdy strikes again, and he's ready to unleash his own form of retribution when the time comes.
Jim: The James Foley Story	In August, 2014, a video of the public execution of American photojournalist James Foley rippled across the globe. Foley wore an orange jumpsuit as he knelt beside an ISIS militant dressed in black. That image challenged the world to deal with a new face of terror. And it tested one American family. Seen through the lens of filmmaker Brian Oakes, Foley’s close childhood friend, Jim takes us from small-town New England to the adrenaline-fueled front lines of Libya and Syria, where Foley pushed the limits of danger to report on the plight of civilians impacted by war.
Madeinusa	Madeinusa is a girl aged 14 with a sweet Indian face who lives in an isolated village in the Cordillera Blanca Mountain range of Peru. This strange place is characterized by its religious fervor. From Good Friday at three o'clock in the afternoon (the time of day when Christ died on the cross) to Easter Sunday, the whole village can do whatever it feels like. During the two holy days sin does not exist: God is dead and can't see what is happening. Everything is accepted and allowed, without remorse. Year after year, Madeinusa and her sister Chale, and her father Don Cayo, the Mayor and local big shot, maintain this tradition without questioning it. However, everything changes with the arrival in the village of Salvador, a young geologist from Lima, who will unknowingly change the destiny of the girl.
Giant	A chronicle of a supermarket security guard's obsession with a late-shift janitor.
American Justice	When the reckless actions of an out-of-control LAPD officer get his partner killed in a deadly hostage situation, he gets suspended from the police force and heads to Mexico to face off against corrupt cops.
The Best of Me	A pair of former high school sweethearts reunite after many years when they return to visit their small hometown.
The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra	Remember the good old days when anyone with a camera and a few thousand bucks could schlep up to Bronson canyon and quickly make a cheap sci-fi/horror B-movie? Well, they're back! The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra is an affectionate, meticulous re-creation of those notoriously cheesy clunkers, as a gaggle of beloved stereotypes pursue "that rarest of radioactive elements - atmospherium."
Girls Gone Dead	A group of six ex-high school cheerleaders are stalked by a killer with a medieval war hammer and battle axe during their first Spring Break from college.
Miss Sharon Jones!	Portrait of the singer and her year-long battle with cancer.
Demon Lover Diary	The film chronicles filmmaker Joel DeMott, significant other/film partner Jeff Kreines and filmmaker Mark Rance as they head to Michigan to make a low budget horror film.
Battle in Outer Space	The nations of the Earth unite in a common cause to fight off an invader from outer space.
Fuck Off! Images of Finland	F*** Off! shows no false respect towards the authorities in its impudent and candid reportage of the developing country/welfare state Finland. It is a cinematic parallel to Donner's New Book of Our Land (1967). The travelogue focuses especially on Finland's outsiders, low-paid workers and the unemployed. In desolate provinces, the inhabitants of a cold and barren country either humbly abide their fate, choose to move to Sweden or take refuge in excessive drinking. These images are accompanied by protest songs based on Donner's own prose and the lyrics of poet Jarkko Laine. Perkele is embodied in big business and the political elite.The jagged (anti)aesthetics of the film correspond to the underground movement and the radical politics of the time. The camera agilely penetrates everyday life. Though opposed to censorship, Fuck Off! itself transgresses the boundaries of privacy.

Into the Middle of Nowhere

The documentary is about the uniqueness of childhood and the exploration of the human mind. In an outdoor nursery based in the woods, children create their own individually constructed worlds and can test out the boundaries of reality.

Buffalo Running

Individual photographs of the running of a buffalo shot in rapid succession.

Zombie Resurrection

15 months after the apocalypse, a group of survivors are forced to take refuge in an abandoned school, where they encounter a mysterious zombie with the power to bring the undead back to life.

Strangeland

A pierced and tattooed sadist, Captain Howdy, trolls the Internet for naive teens, luring them to his home to torture and defile them. When Howdy kidnaps and tortures the daughter of police Detective Mike Gage, he is caught. Deemed insane, he is sent to an asylum but is released soon after, seemingly better. However, Gage knows it is only a matter of time before Howdy strikes again, and he's ready to unleash his own form of retribution when the time comes.

Jim: The James Foley Story

In August, 2014, a video of the public execution of American photojournalist James Foley rippled across the globe. Foley wore an orange jumpsuit as he knelt beside an ISIS militant dressed in black. That image challenged the world to deal with a new face of terror. And it tested one American family. Seen through the lens of filmmaker Brian Oakes, Foley’s close childhood friend, Jim takes us from small-town New England to the adrenaline-fueled front lines of Libya and Syria, where Foley pushed the limits of danger to report on the plight of civilians impacted by war.

Madeinusa

Madeinusa is a girl aged 14 with a sweet Indian face who lives in an isolated village in the Cordillera Blanca Mountain range of Peru. This strange place is characterized by its religious fervor. From Good Friday at three o'clock in the afternoon (the time of day when Christ died on the cross) to Easter Sunday, the whole village can do whatever it feels like. During the two holy days sin does not exist: God is dead and can't see what is happening. Everything is accepted and allowed, without remorse. Year after year, Madeinusa and her sister Chale, and her father Don Cayo, the Mayor and local big shot, maintain this tradition without questioning it. However, everything changes with the arrival in the village of Salvador, a young geologist from Lima, who will unknowingly change the destiny of the girl.

Giant

A chronicle of a supermarket security guard's obsession with a late-shift janitor.

American Justice

When the reckless actions of an out-of-control LAPD officer get his partner killed in a deadly hostage situation, he gets suspended from the police force and heads to Mexico to face off against corrupt cops.

The Best of Me

A pair of former high school sweethearts reunite after many years when they return to visit their small hometown.

The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra

Remember the good old days when anyone with a camera and a few thousand bucks could schlep up to Bronson canyon and quickly make a cheap sci-fi/horror B-movie? Well, they're back! The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra is an affectionate, meticulous re-creation of those notoriously cheesy clunkers, as a gaggle of beloved stereotypes pursue "that rarest of radioactive elements - atmospherium."

Girls Gone Dead

A group of six ex-high school cheerleaders are stalked by a killer with a medieval war hammer and battle axe during their first Spring Break from college.

Miss Sharon Jones!

Portrait of the singer and her year-long battle with cancer.

Demon Lover Diary

The film chronicles filmmaker Joel DeMott, significant other/film partner Jeff Kreines and filmmaker Mark Rance as they head to Michigan to make a low budget horror film.

Battle in Outer Space

The nations of the Earth unite in a common cause to fight off an invader from outer space.

Fuck Off! Images of Finland

F*** Off! shows no false respect towards the authorities in its impudent and candid reportage of the developing country/welfare state Finland. It is a cinematic parallel to Donner's New Book of Our Land (1967). The travelogue focuses especially on Finland's outsiders, low-paid workers and the unemployed. In desolate provinces, the inhabitants of a cold and barren country either humbly abide their fate, choose to move to Sweden or take refuge in excessive drinking. These images are accompanied by protest songs based on Donner's own prose and the lyrics of poet Jarkko Laine. Perkele is embodied in big business and the political elite.The jagged (anti)aesthetics of the film correspond to the underground movement and the radical politics of the time. The camera agilely penetrates everyday life. Though opposed to censorship, Fuck Off! itself transgresses the boundaries of privacy.