Short films have always been held in high esteem (and respect) by the FanTasia programmers. Short films of all variety and length are regularly shown before feature films and within special all-short programmes (the “Small Gauge Trauma” block having become an important festival staple).

An unusual coupling of short films was the teaming of Singaporean director Tzang Merwyn Tong’s revisionist retelling of the classic coming of age story “Little Red Riding Hood” A Wicked Tale, with Christopher Hyatt’s less accomplished but strangely compelling homage to old school surrealism and trance cinema, Eye of Cruelty (the title being a nod to Luis Buñuel).

A Wicked Tale begins with a close-up of an attractive, blond-haired young Caucasian man recounting how he corrupted the soul of a young, innocent girl. The character stands for the seductive ‘wolf’ male figure from many versions of the short story. The film begins with the male character seemingly being in the position of power and authority. As the film develops, and scenes cut back to broader shots of the opening scene we see that the young man is an amputee in a hospital bed, and the young girl (well played by the innocent and enchanting Evelyn Maria Ng) slowly begins to usurp his power. The act of a woman amputating a man’s legs can be seen as a symbolic act of female dominance (castration). One can also read the film as being the young man’s sexual fantasy, as we see the same young girl playing Little Red Riding Hood as his nursemaid in the hospital scenes. The young man’s erection under the bed sheets is noticed by the nursemaid and triggers a cut back to the Little Red Riding Hood scene, where the young girl mounts the helpless man (masochism or sadism?). The act of sex is sensually suggested by slow-motion, close-up shots of the girl’s head bobbing up and down. The scene is given an edge of perversion by having the young girl reach back to caress the young man’s bloodied leg wound. This gesture, along with the cut legs, can be seen from either the male (masochistic fantasy) or female (sadistic fantasy) point of view.

###

Don't be afraid to be Wicked
Send your Reviews to us
and we'll publish it. For REAL.

.sPEAK hERE .