FrightFest 2013: You're Next, Hatchet 3, VHS 2 & More Reviewed

On Tender Hooks

rating: 3.5

Kate Shenton's warts-and-all documentary certainly doesn't shy away from the squeamish nature (to some) of the human suspension pastime, though naturally the only question for most observes will be - why? "Why not" seems to be the attitude of many who Shenton interviews, while for others, it is a coping mechanism, a safe means of release for those who have endured severe emotional pain. Other reasons include a feeling of personal reward derived from trusting the practitioners and equipment, a spiritual catharsis and even just the sense of community and togetherness that the activity invites. If some of the explanations feel a tad dubious - namely one woman who feels that transcending the pain will empower her to get a job - it's still difficult to argue with the short and sweet doc's fascinating pull. Those involved take their craft exceptionally seriously, particularly in order to avoid infection, and the very clinical incisions performed on camera may be conducted in a manner contrary to what many might believe. Suitably, Shenton - who funded the feature herself - shoots proceedings with a relatively unfussed, scuzzy low-fi aesthetic, though is mistaken for failing to provide her narrative with a central guiding voice. Only in the very end does the frame fall into place, as Shenton herself decides to be hoisted onto the hooks, and reacts with the expected terror that most of us probably would. Generally, On Tender Hooks is more a snapshot of the experience and the colourful characters than a definitive precis. If the film makes one truly seriously point, it's how human suspension is frowned upon in some social circles - one practitioner nearly had her children taken away as a result - and that it's generally a misunderstood practice, stereotypically undertaken by sexual deviants and weirdos (these labels are only optional). The concluding point, one that Shenton's own experience with the hooks cements, is that suspension is ephemeral, and for better or for worse, you won't fully understand it unless you try it yourself. On Tender Hooks certainly provides plenty of fascinating insight into the human suspension community, even if most viewers will probably still struggle to relate to shoving hooks through their body in the pursuit of enlightenment.

Bring Me the Head of the Machine Gun Woman

rating: 3

Borrowing heavily from both the Eurocrime genre and video game aesthetics, Ernesto Diaz Espionosa's so-called "LatinXploitation" flick is a thoroughly unpretentious, gleefully trashy low-fi actioner, revolving around the efforts of a powerful Argentine gangster to kill the sexy and extremely dangerous Machine Gun Woman (Fernanda Urrejola). When nightclub DJ Santiago overhears their predicament, he only avoids being murdered by agreeing to hunt her down himself, at which point he decides to plea with the Machine Gun Woman to take the gangsters down before they kill the pair of them. All style and little substance, this pleasantly satirical, barely 70-minute jaunt unfolds with a clear reverence for video games, specifically the Grand Theft Auto franchise, for the movie plays out in a series of "missions", utilising a behind-the-car camera view not dissimilar to the games, as well as the same text font. One of the more entertaining flourishes is the unconventional choice to introduce every character by their value in bounty money, and as Santiago gets pulled ever deeper into gang warfare, his value increases, sometimes instantaneously, when caught in the middle of a gunfight. The plot is relatively inane but also barely a consideration; this is a film keen to coast on its audacity, and its sheer sexiness. And what a find the Machine Gun Woman herself, Fernanda Urrejola is, straddling and licking her victims before blowing their heads off, sucking guns provocatively, and though the she disappointingly doesn't get a whole lot of screen time in the first half, her smoldering screen presence when she shows up is undeniable. This rough-hewn yet mercifully short effort is choppily edited, indifferently shot and acted with only amateur aplomb. However, the video game-inspired visuals, pulsing synth score and manic level of energy make it quite the ride indeed.