The Time Bending Mysteries of Shahram Mokri (Blu-ray)

What is Time? What is Memory? Are we in the past or present -- or some strange, unknowable hybrid of the two haunted by arsonists, bloodsuckers, serial killers and phantom images of our own selves? The films of Iranian director Shahram Mokri straddle the line between genre and arthouse cinema, whether Moebius strip-like meditations on classic 1970s American slasher films (FISH & CAT), political thrillers (CARELESS CRIME), 1980s New Wave sci-fi/vampire movies (INVASION), or offbeat Jarmusch-meets-Tarantino indie mysteries (ASHKAN, THE HOLY RING & OTHER STORIES). It’s small wonder that Abbas Kiarostami in his last film, 24 FRAMES, left a cryptic message onscreen in Persian that simply read: “Shahram Mokri.”