FANTASIA REVIEW: JeruZalem

Posted by Nicole Yeba in FringeBlog on August 4, 2015

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“There are three gates to hell, one in the desert, one in the ocean and one in Jerusalem.” – Jeremiah 19, Talmud.

Two priests captured a woman who came back from the dead. Just before she is shot down, wings grow in her back.

Flash forward to Sarah (Danielle Jadelyn) and her best friend Rachel (Yael Grobglas), two young American girls travelling to Tel-Aviv, Israel. Before the departure, Sarah’s father offers her a pair of digital glasses with her prescription in them. On the plane, they meet Kevin (Yon Tumarkin) a good-looking anthropology student, travelling to Jerusalem. He convinces the girls to follow him there. However, once they arrive, they end up trapped between the ancient walls of the city. Judgment day is happening on Yom Kippur and what appears to be dark creatures with wings start biting people who turn into these creatures.

The entire film is seen through the digital glasses, an original way to see the holy city. Sarah’s emotions are clear through her eyewear. The glasses add a comic relief with facial recognition leading to people’s social media pages. The best part is undoubtedly when Sarah grabs a picture of Kevin’s butt.

The international premiere of JeruZalem was sold out thanks to an appearance by directors Yoav and Doron Paz. The Paz brothers filmed on the fly and only with the permission to film a documentary. They captured the cohabitation of three main religions in the holy city. This is also the Jerusalem where some people go crazy due to the mysticism and history of the city. The Paz brothers wanted to make a horror story about Jerusalem and they succeeded.