BOO! A Halloween Séance in Four Films

Happy Halloween!

Full of disguises and delicious fears. Halloween is the night when we willingly let in that spirit. Farrago Letter invites you to explore four films selected by Leo Van Damme

964 Pinocchio, Shozin Fukui

964 Pinocchio is a psychotic cyberpunk trip: raw, intense, and claustrophobic. The human body is portrayed as a machine — an instrument that serves as both the driving and the subjugated force within this society, an obsessive center of control and decay.

The film unfolds as a frantic, chaotic, and overstimulating experience, where form and emotion merge completely. Its abrasive, nervous soundscape amplifies the delirium even further. The pronounced DIY aesthetic lends the work a rough authenticity. A relentless and powerful piece of cinema.

Atman Toshio Matsumoto

Atman depicts a man in a robe and a Noh mask, staring into the empty landscape before him. The images are abstract and fragmented, with playful use of editing and camera movement. The soundscape is unsettling and musical. Together, these elements create an atmosphere that can be described as suspicious and menacing. The viewer is overwhelmed by a sense of alienation and emptiness. The film is full of metaphors and references, inviting personal interpretation. Feel free to explore it yourself. Atmospheric horror.

10/65: self-mutilation Kurt Kren

This work documents an Aktionismus performance in which self-mutilation is either stimulated or staged. The performances within the Aktionismus movement focus on themes such as sexuality, corporeality, identity, and violence, all explored in a confrontational manner. This film forms part of that artistic current.

The film presents a highly fragmented montage of a man who uses his body as an instrument to make themes of guilt, pain, and self-destruction tangible. 10/65: Self-Mutilation is not a work to be “enjoyed” in the traditional sense, but rather an intriguing and unsettling experience that demands careful, attentive viewing.

Angst Gerald Kargl

With extreme intensity and equally interesting camera work, we set off with a man who has an uncontrollable urge to kill people. The voice-overs allow us to experience the trip from this man's head, which makes you, the viewer, feel very uncomfortable, even dirty. This film is best watched in a large house with lots of rooms somewhere on the countryside.