Joseph Baxter

In 19th-century Styria, isolated teen Lara's quiet life is upended by the arrival of mysterious, beautiful Carmilla, a female vampire with whom she develops an intense, homoerotic bond. As Lara's life slowly drains, themes of forbidden desire, identity, and the supernatural are explored, culminating in Lara's discovery of Carmilla's vampiric nature and a confrontation with her ancient lineage.

When your mate has relationship problems, is it a good idea to bring your girlfriend along to help cheer him up? In Theo Taylor’s perceptive lo-fi feature we out with such a trio over a weekend spent at Lake Tarawera. Hadley, the mate, is in the throes of a breakup. Chris has joined him at his parents’ well-appointed lakeside house, bringing along girlfriend Lucy to provide moral support. But all Hadley wants to do is party, and he’s come very well provisioned. When Lucy gets delightedly trashed on night one, the drug-averse Chris begins to have second thoughts. Hadley’s determination to (a) stay high and (b) provide water skiing lessons on the freezing lake sends Chris’ ill-concealed need for control into further convolutions.