Posts Tagged ‘Yön Saalistajat’

Night Visions Diary # 5: Over and Out

Monday, November 2nd, 2009

Halloween is now over and so is Night Visions Maximum Halloween 3009. Hands down this was the best and most successful Night Visions in the history of the festival. This once again proves that people want to see all kinds of movies and they are willing to make the effort to go see them, even in the middle of the night.

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The Zombies had a great time at the festival and here’s a little recap of what went on. The opening night was probably the most memorable for us, because we organized a Dead Snow Zombie Walk, with the help of Zombiewalk Helsinki, to take place before the screening of our favorite Nazi-zombie movie ever, Dead Snow. Although not too many zombies showed up, the ones that did were an awesome group of people. The screenwriter and actor, Stig Frode Henriksen, presented Dead Snow and also judged the zombie costume competition which Timo won! The opening night continued with the 25th anniversary of the amazing Finnish classic Yön Saalistajat. Matti “Reuna” Mäntylä was also present at the screening.

Read the full article about the screening of Dead Snow and Yön Saalistajat here.

On friday I went to see The Crispin Glover Experience! This was definitely the high point of the festival for me. Too bad if you missed it, because these kind of rare opportunities don’t come too often. But I do advice everyone to go see Glover’s show, if he ever comes to your town. I guarantee it will be a night to remember. We were also lucky to have lunch with mr. Glover the day before.

Read about our lunch with Crispin Glover here and the full article about The Cripsin Glover Experience here.

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Night Visions had an amazing selection of films this year. The ones I was really looking forward of seeing were Richard Kelly’s new movie The Box and John Hillcoat’s depressing post-apocalyptic film The Road. I really enjoyed both of the films and I highly recommend them to everyone. Luckily both films can be seen in Finnish theaters later this year.

Read my review of The Box here.

We had a blast at the festival and we will be eagerly anticipating next Night Visions and a another set of great movies.

We would once more like to thank Liisa Lehmusto, Mikko Aromaa and Kalle Kinnunen, and all the crew behind Night Visions. We are looking forward to continue our collaboration with upcoming festivals. Also a special thanks to our zombie expert Janne Tourunen for helping us with the Zombie Walk.

Until next time, Zombie’s are over and out.

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Posted in Diaries, Film festivals | 3 Comments »

Night Visions Diary #2: We are the Dead of Night Visions

Thursday, October 29th, 2009

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(Photo by Marko Saari | mrksaari on Flickr | Check out the full Dead Snow Zombiewalk Set)

It’s 8 p.m., and we are standing in front of the Helsinki Railway Station, dressed up in black leather and dripping blood, freezing our asses off. The very first snowflakes of the winter are dropping slowly from the pitch black sky. It’s the beginning of a Dead Snow zombiewalk, we set up to celebrate the first and second-to-last-ever Dead Snow screening in Helsinki. Shit it’s cold.

To be honest, nobody came. Well, not “nobody”, there was five of us, but compared to 100+ -zombiewalks they’ve had in Helsinki before, it’s close to nothing. But who the hell cares, at least the five of us are here, plus a small audience.

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(Photo by Marko Saari | mrksaari on Flickr | Check out the full Dead Snow Zombiewalk Set)

So we turn into zombies and creep our way through the city to the film theater where the screening is at. The house is packed – sold out, to be exact. And Stig Frode Henriksen, one of the screenwriters and main actors of the film is on stage, opening up the show. He invites all the zombies to stage, and the audience gets to vote the best zombie.

That’s me. Nazis win.

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(Photo by Miika Ullakko)

But then again, there’s just five of us, so we all get cool prices – DVDs, posters and whatnot.

But I get the main price – a very unique and special bottle of beer called Herzog. Branded and bottled for Dead Snow, and as far as I know, the only existing bottle of it. If you know otherwise, don’t tell me, or you crush my world.

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The screening is an absolute success. I mean, what more could you ask – a fully packed theater, great film, people laughing, clapping, cheering and enjoying the film, and they even have a possibility to shake hands with one of the creators. Really, it’s an experience. And that’s what we’re looking when we go to film theaters, nowadays. We want to experience the film.

Francis Ford Coppola was just recently talking about something like this: that film theater experiences becomes more of an event in the future, in order for them to compete against piracy, home theaters and retarded distribution – not to mention other millions of things that are stealing people’s attention nowadays.

“I think the cinema is going to live off into something more related to a live performance in which the filmmaker is there, like the conductor of an opera used to be,” Coppola says. “Cinema can be interactive, every night it can be a little different.”

The article is quite interesting, have a read.

The evening ended with 25-year Anniversary Screening of Yön saalistajat, a legendary Finnish filmmaker Visa Mäkinen finnploitation feature. Gotta say, either I’m not born with the exploitation gene in me, or I just haven’t seen too much of good stuff from the genre, but I just didn’t get the film. There was one thing, though, that I got really excited about – the bad guy, Reuna (Matti Mäntylä). His performance was quite strange in Heath Ledger’s Joker-ish way, and I wouldn’t mind if the character was to re-emerge in some form on Finnish screens in the future.

A remake of Yön saalistajat? Aleksi Mäkelä, you reading this?

There’s going to be another screening of Dead Snow during the Night Visions -festival, so if you missed the first one, but are around in Helsinki – don’t miss this. Honestly, I haven’t seen a theaterful of Finnish filmgoers go so crazy over a film in ages. It’s really worth it, like a 12-pack of ice cold beer in a very good company. With Nazis. You can buy the tickets from here.

Can’t go wrong.

Ps. Special thanks to both the people of Night Visions and Helsinki Zombiewalk for helping us pulling this zombie walk stunt together! Too bad not too many zombies showed up, but at least we were one damn devoted bunch! Thanks, and be seeing you guys in the future Helsinki Zombiewalks!

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Posted in Diaries, Film festivals, Movies, Nazis, Zombies | 74 Comments »

Night Visions Diary # 1: When there’s no more room in hell, the dead will walk the earth.

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

Hello everyone! Night Visions Maximum Halloween 3009 starts today and it’s time for our first official diary entry from the festival! Let’s have a look at what movies to see and what events to attend during the rest of the week. The Zombies will be attending the festival every day (28.10-1.11) and we will be reporting from the scene in a form of a daily blog. So let’s get started.

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The opening night of the festival is very cool. First up is the screening of our favorite Nazi-zombie movie, Dead Snow. Some of you might also know that we have been busy organizing a Dead Snow Zombie Walk to take place just before the screening in which the zombies will drag themselves across town to see the movie. Also as a special treat, Dead Snow screenwriter/actor Stig Frode Henriksen will be attending the screening and he will also be the judge of the zombie costume competition. Keep in mind that there is also another screening of the movie on saturday 31st and Henriksen will attend that one too (but there will be no zombies).

There are still a few tickets left, buy them here.

And here is the trailer.

Right after Dead Snow we will be hurrying to another movie, the Finnsploitation gangster flick, Yön Saalistajat. Actor Matti Mäntylä, who plays “Reuna” in the movie, will be attending the screening. After the movie the Zombies will be going to the anniversary/opening party at Maxim.

Get your tickets to the classic Yön Saalistajat here.

If you are not convinced yet, just check out the trailer.

Definitely one of the coolest events at Night Visions is THE CRISPIN GLOVER EXPERIENCE! The eccentric American actor and filmmaker has been an idol of mine for a long time and I can’t wait to see his “one man live-performance”. The Crispin Glover Experience contains a screening of his film It Is Fine. Everything Is Fine! (2007), Glover’s Big Slide Show, Q & A and a book signing.

You can only buy tickets to this event from Finnkino theaters (not from the website for some reason), so go get yours. This is one show you don’t wanna miss!

Also join us after the show for the official Night Visions after party at Piano 23:00 (Rauhankatu 15). You never know who will show up ;)

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I would also like to mention two very interesting films that you can see at the festival. Richard “Donnie Darko” Kelly’s The Box and John Hillcoat’s post-apocalyptic tale The Road. I have been dying to see The Road for a while now and at one point it was unclear if they would ever get the movie finished. But they did and on Saturday I can see if it will live up to my (very high) expectation. Both of these movies are being distributed in Finland theatrically, so if you miss them on saturday, you can still see them later. This rule doesn’t apply to most off the movies, so Night Visions could be your only change.

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A complete list of movies, schedules and more info can be found from the official site.

Allright, stay tuned because tomorrow we will be posting photos from the Zombie Walk and the anniversary screening of Yön Saalistajat.

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Posted in Diaries, Film festivals, Movies, Trailers, Zombies | 42 Comments »

Countdown To Night Visions: Yön Saalistajat -Star Matti Mäntylä Joins Crispin Glover And Stig Frode Henriksen

Sunday, October 25th, 2009

Night Visions Film Festival is less than a week away and we have good news for all you Yön Saalistajat fans. On the opening night Wednesday 28th of October actor Matti Mäntylä will be coming to the 25th anniversary screening of Yön Saalistajat. Other confirmed guests at the festival are Crispin Glover And Stig Frode Henriksen. Matti Mäntylä will visit Helsinki 28.-29.10.2009.

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In Yön Saalistajat Mäntylä plays a ganster called “Reuna”, who is one of the most legendary tough guy characters in Finnish cinema history. Matti Mäntylä (born 1945) is a professional actor, and he has performed in several Finnish theaters (e.g. in Pori, Jyväskylä, Kotka, Helsinki, Finland), films and TV series. Mäntylä graduated as an actor from the University of Tampere. Mäntylä has also appeared in Visa Mäkinen’s films such as Agentti 000 ja kuoleman kurvit (1983) and Pirtua, pirtua (1992). More recently, he has appeared in many Timo Koivusalo’s movies such as Kaksipäisen kotkan varjossa (2005) and Sibelius (2003), and he has also appeared twice in the role of Toivo Kärki in Kulkuri ja joutsen (1999) and in Rentun ruusu (2001).

In Yön Saalistajat a small gang of criminals is planning to commit a gold heist not knowing that the new member of their gang is actually a police detective. But when his true identity is revealed to the gang they act like they wouldn’t know about it and decide to use the detective to accomplish their plans about the heist.

Screening 28.10 22.45 Maxim 1 (buy tickets by pressing this link)

Here’s the incredibly awesome trailer again.

The 25th anniversary screening is 28th of October in Maxim 1. I’m going and will be posting photos of the event later.

Also read my previous blog entry about Crispin Glover here, and about Stig Frode Henriksen here.

For more info visit the official festival site www.nightvisions.info

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Posted in Countdown, Film festivals, News, Trailers | 151 Comments »

Countdown To Night Visions: MAXIMUM HALLOWEEN 3009 28.10.-1.11.2009

Thursday, October 15th, 2009

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Hey to all you night owls and movie geeks! We are starting a countdown to Night Visions Film Festival here in Zombie Room. Night Visions focuses on horror, fantasy, science fiction and cult movies and is the biggest genre film festival in Finland. Night Visions Maximum Halloween 3009 is held here in Helsinki 28.10.-1.11.2009 and this year the festival has expanded to five days, which means more awesome movies and of course less sleep. I can personally guarantee a great line-up of genre films and a couple of incredible international filmmaker guests joining the festival.

Established in 1997, the festival has been organized in Helsinki usually twice a year, the first Night Visions event of the year taking place in the spring around February/March and the second one around Halloween in late October. The festival’s main venue is the historically and architecturally significant cinema Maxim in the very heart of Helsinki. Active non-stop since 1909, Maxim is the oldest cinema still operating in Finland.

And with that note let’s start with the most important thing, the movies. I went trough the whole selection and here’s a few tip’s on what to see at the festival. You can buy tickets by pressing the screening time link.

JENNIFER'S BODY
JENNIFER’S BODY
Jennifer’s Body is a dark comedy and horror film written by Diablo Cody. She is the writer behind Juno and United States of Tara, which is a TV series I’m super hooked on right now. Jennifer’s Body tells a story of Needy (Amanda Seyfried) and her best friend Jennifer (Megan Fox), the smoking hot cheerleader who turns into a blood thirsty killer. I’m expecting lots of blood and guts, spiced up with some snazzy dialogue à la Cody.

Screening 28.10.2009 19.00 MAXIM 2

Check out the Red Band trailer here.

Read my blog entry here.

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DEAD SNOW
For me Dead Snow is definitely the most exiting movie of the whole festival and it’s about time we got this film to Finland. I was lucky enough to see the movie already, but that won’t stop me from going to see it again. In Dead Snow a ski vacation turns horrific for a group of medical students, as they find themselves confronted by an unimaginable menace: Nazi zombies!!!

We also have a few treats in store for all you Dead Snow fans, but more of that later :)

Screening 28.10.2009 21.00 MAXIM 2
Screening 31.10.2009 01.30 MAXIM 1

Check out the trailer here.

Read Timo’s blog entry about the Nazi Massacre Championships 2009 here

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THE BOX
I have been waiting for this movie like crazy. It’s Richard Kelly’s chance to redeem himself from the last movie mess he made (Southland Tales) and get back on track that he started with his first feature film, the amazing Donnie Darko.

A small wooden box arrives on the doorstep of a married couple, who open it and become instantly wealthy. Little do they realize that opening the box also kills someone they do not know…

Screening 31.10.2009 21.00 MAXIM 1

Check out the trailer here.

The Road
THE ROAD
The Road is directed by John Hillcoat and it is based on a book by Cormac McCarthy (writer of the novel No Country for Old Men). Hillcoat is most known from his work with Nick Cave, for example Ghosts… of the Civil Dead and The Proposition. Now he has taken on a post-apocalyptic tale of a man and his son trying to survive by any means possible.

Screening 31.10.2009 23.15 MAXIM 1

Check out the trailer here.

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AND A VERY SPECIAL TREAT…

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YÖN SAALISTAJAT
And last but not least, we have the amazing Finnish exploitation movie (or Finnsploitation) from the 80′s Yön Saalistajat, directed by Visa Mäkinen. The movie is celebrating it’s 25th anniversary and Night Visions is organizing a gala screening for it. Do I really need to say more..?

Screening 28.10.2009 22.45 MAXIM 1

Just look at this awesome trailer! It is in Finnish, but I think you get the picture…

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Keep in mind that most (if not all) of these movies screened at Night Visions might never get distributed theatrically here in Finland, so this just might be your only chance to see them! So I advice you to buy your tickets now, before they are all sold out! Also all films in Night Visions Maximum Halloween lineup are eligible for the festival’s Audience Award. You can cast your vote after each screening. I think it goes without saying that my vote will go to Dead Snow, because there just can’t be anything more awesome than that!!!

During the festival The Zombies will be posting a daily festival diary, photos and we even have a couple of cool surprises in store, so stay tuned!

For the complete list of movies, events, schedules and ticket information visit the official site www.nightvisions.info

See you at the festival!

Ein! Zwei! Die!

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Posted in Countdown, Film festivals, Movies | 29 Comments »