Gruenfeld
2024 · 11m · USA
Directed by Albert Birney
A weathered medieval knight named Sir Garreth wanders an accursed, shattered world in search of a mysterious song, and what he finds waiting for him is far worse than expected. Fantasy slides into practical-effects horror with an ominous narrator keeping watch.
Picked by Felix
The scouts
Albert Birney doing medieval horror with practical gore — the man could make a Hallmark card feel like an existential threat, and here he's got actual monsters.
Albert Birney (Strawberry Mansion) doing a 10-minute swords-and-sorcery quest that opens a portal into practical-effects horror — his handmade-fantasy instincts plus a piano in a rotting world is a register I trust him in completely.
Albert Birney pivoting medieval fantasy to practical-effects horror through a piano performance gone wrong — Birney's instincts for handmade folk-tale weirdness applied to genre is genuinely exciting.