Deadly Messages (1985)

It's chock full of dream-come-true moments for Spidey fans, but its lack of substance reeks of a self-indulgence that is rare even in fan fiction

The beating heart of this film is the relationship between Anna Osborne and Sonya Rockhouse.

A K-9 police dog goes undercover to stop an illegal animal smuggling ring and learns a valuable lesson along the way.

I was able to sit down and talk with the director of the short film Dog Lover Anne-Sophie Bine as she discussed and how she came to be in film.

The plot could’ve really been interesting if the elements of lycanthropy was integrated with perhaps the struggle of identity of being LGBTQ+. It's an experience for so many that as they’re starting to realizing their true selves, they feel like a monster, especially if they come from unsupportive homes or communities. Instead, the horror and transformation elements seem thrown in without contemplation of how this could deepen the narrative.

Tran Quoc Bao succeeds in telling us a story about martial arts, human decay, and friendship. The originality shown by his filmmaking is admirable and brings fresh air to the classic Chinese martial arts genre.