Sitges 2011: The Film Festival Gets Scary With Von Trier’s Melancholia and Soderbergh’s Contagion

Steve Barton   |  

Sep 2, 2011

• Share on Facebook
• Share on Twitter
• Share on LinkedIn
• Share on Flipboard
• Share on Reddit
• Share on Pinterest
• Share on WhatsApp
• Share via Email

After a horror-dry summer at the movies, we’re getting back on track as fall is just around the corner. From multiplexes to film festivals, the genre is all over the place these days. Even at Sitges ’11, where two heavyweight horror films are ready to play for what I’m sure will be packed houses.

Melancholia, Danish director Lars Von Trier’s long-awaited film, will be one of the Festival’s important titles, with its poetic vision of a global cataclysm caused by the collision of the Earth and a wandering planet. Melancholia has an all-star cast including, among others, Kirsten Dunst (winner of the Best Actress Award at the Cannes Festival for this film), John Hurt, Kiefer Sutherland, Charlotte Gainsbourg and Charlotte Rampling.

On the other hand, Steven Soderbergh also deals with a global catastrophe in Contagion, in this case the spreading of a lethal virus throughout the entire planet. Contagion (currently being presented at the Venice Festival), also includes important actors like Matt Damon, Gywneth Paltrow, Marion Cotillard, Laurence Fishburne or Jude Law.

Beyond these heavyweights, there’s plenty of other horrific sights unfolding. The Turin House is director Béla Tarr’s take on the apocalypse. The woefully mediocre Don’t Be Afraid of the Dark rehash from Guillermo del Toro will be there for those who’ve yet to be disappointed by the dismal exercise in limp writing while the curious vampire tale The Moth Diaries will also screen.

And there’s more: Sector 7, the Korean monster flick, is set to screen in 3D. The dark take on Jane Eyre with Michael Fassbender (easy ladies) in on the roster. Finally, Sleep Tight, Jaume Balagueró’s disturbing psychological thriller, promises to be worth checking out.

Subscribe to our Newsletter