Overview
The Panic Festival at Oswego Film Club specializes in horror films. This year’s winner is something of a horror comedy. “Al Dente!,” a film where the mafia kills a man with poisoned spaghetti, leaves audiences hungry for more. The antagonists soon find themselves haunted by a bizarre luchador hellbent on vengance.
The work itself, although short, is a tempting thriller that still manges to excite the humourous side of revenge.
In a stereotypical fashion, each character dons a heavy Brooklyn-Italian accent that never fails to bring a laugh to the viewer. Capitalizing on such roles seen time and time again within film, many of the henchmen either wear leather jackets or sport coats with a classic white tee.
The team behind the film, “The Riga-Tonys” have walked away from this semester’s Panic Festival with a plethora of awards, including Best Editing, Best Special Effect Make Up, Best Cinematography, Best Screeenplay, Best Performance, Best Screenplay, and finally Best Directing.
The film succeeds best when it’s taking the audience from one tense moment to the next. It also attempts to lightly characterize some of the mafia members, who have clear relationships. When the chips are down, the deaths are comical as well. For example, a man is injured when a container of Clorox wipes are thrown at him before he is rendered unconcious with a suspicious rag one can only assume to be doused in chloroform, leaning back on another thriller and mystery tactic seen commonly in film.
The set it’s shot on is fairly small, but it’s used to it’s fullest, leaving a lot of the excitement up to the actors and dynamics that are portrayed on screen.
“Al Dente!” is definitely a piece that would peak the interest of any mischievous pasta lover.
Film Club Awards Won
- Best Directing (Seung Guk Park)
- Best Screenplay (Brendan Lentini)
- Best Performance (Bryce Beache)
Film Club Awards Won
Watch the film here:
