Rabies

This year’s excursion to the more exotic regions of genre cinema takes us to Israel with Rabies - the debut feature from writer-directors Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado. It starts off as your typical slasher flick with a group of teens on a trip taking a shortcut through the woods, but this is where the familiar territory ends. The film manages to be consistently violent and shocking, whilst simultaneously ripping the horror movie playbook to shreds. It laughs in the face of audience expectations and has the viewers gleefully creasing up thanks to its devilish sense of humor and meticulously crafted script. In short, the very first Israeli slasher distinguishes itself as one of the most original and genre bending entries in recent memory.