A romantic comedy set against the backdrop of underground horror filmmaking, Kenichi Ugana’s I Fell In Love with a Z-Grade Director in Brooklyn once again finds the heart underneath the blood and viscera. This is kind of Ugana’s thing, and he’s out here doing what so few horror directors do, which is finding the love – of movies, of music, of art in general – in all his work even when it’s soaked in gore, steeped in grossness or, in the case of last year’s terrific ode to punk, The Gesuidouz, saturated with weirdo monsters. No matter how deep Ugana buries his adoration for a particular flavour of art, it can’t help but shine through and that is something I’ll always be rooting for.
I Fell In Love… is a fish-out-of-water romance between struggling but passionate filmmaker Jack (Estevan Munoz) and Shina (Ui Mihara), a Japanese actress who finds herself lost and alone in New York City after having left her boyfriend (along with her wallet and phone) just hours prior. The pair encounter one another in a Brooklyn dive bar after Jack loses the lead in the zombie film that’s about to start shooting the following day. He offers Shina a place to stay in exchange for replacing his actor, and we’re off to the races.
As Jack’s film hurtles along with his tiny but tight-knit crew of only five people and a Hi-8 camera, he and Shina develop a relationship built on self-discovery and self-expression. While Shina has fallen out of love with being an actor and perhaps with film altogether, Jack’s enthusiasm and passion for film and horror specifically rub off on her and the pair become a powerhouse, determined to make Jack’s film a reality against all odds. There’s no grand gestures that you might expect from other romcoms here, but that’s a feature for me as it gives Shina and Jack’s blossoming feelings for one another a realistic and natural progression.
Ui Mihira, who won an audience award for her portrayal of Shina, is radiant in the role. We see her visibly fall in love throughout the film – with New York, with filmmaking, and eventually with Jack. Munoz’s Jack is infectious in his enthusiasm and determination to complete his film on his own terms. Jack’s crew shows resilience in the face of adversity, and tremendous resourcefulness in their ability to pull props and scenes from out of nowhere. With cameos from Troma legends Lloyd Kaufman and Larry Fessenden, Ugana puts his own love of movies on full display. Kaufman is obviously a fan, having made a cameo in Ugana’s Visitors as well. Of the great many filmmakers covering the screen in goop out there, Ugana seems well-poised to adopt the Troma mantle of fun and extreme cinema, and has shown a tremendous eye for talent to bring this to the screen.
I Fell In Love feels more ambitious but slightly less polished than his recent ode to punk rock The Gesuidouz, but a beating, pulsing heart is equally present in both. There were even shades of this blood-soaked tenderness in Ugana’s Visitors: Complete Edition that I reviewed out of Fantastic Fest in 2023 as that film explored friendship and love in the face of horrific catastrophe. The filmmaker has shown, with only a couple of features and an extended short, an ability and an unwavering desire to find the love in places that you’d hardly expect.
I Fell In Love With A Z-Grade Director in Brooklyn is part of the lineup of the 2025 Fantasia International Film Festival, which wraps up this weekend. For more information about the festival, check out the Fantasia website and stay tuned for all our coverage here on Biff Bam Pop!