Substance? Pah - how about some style for a change, guys?

Irish movies have a tendency to look at like low-budget TV dramas, which us here at TToH reckon stop us from competing with the big boys, but there seems to be something stirring in the camera departments, as the trailers for the upcoming Shrooms (below) and Anton (belower) will testify....

Shrooms

Written by Pearce Elliot (The Mighty Celt, Man About Dog) and directed by Paddy Breathnach (I Went Down, Man About Dog), Shrooms, taking its cue from American teen slasher flicks, sees a group of college students arrive in Ireland to sample the local delights offered by Irishman Jake (Jack Huston – Factory Girl). However (there always has to be a ‘however’, doesn’t there?), alone in the woods the group is set upon by ghostly creatures but our heroes are unsure if they are for real or just nightmarish hallucinations. What is striking about the film is the style, shot by cinematographer Nanu Segal...

Anton

Where as Paddy went overseas to give his film a distinctive look, debutant Graham Cantwell employs DP Fergal O’Hanlon to elevate his visuals above the norm for Anton. Set in ’70s, Anton O’Neill (Anthony Fox, who also penned the script) returns home to Cavan after years overseas to find his country radically different to the one he left. Drawn into Norn Iron’s civil unrest, Anton must choose between his woman and justice while keeping one step ahead of Gerard McSorley’s bent cop.

Stayed tuned for interviews and reviews...