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FrightFest · 2008

FrightFest 2008

Frightfest 08

Programme

25 films · 15 reviews

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Autopsy

After a car accident, Mardi Gras revellers find themselves in a hospital with a sinister secret.

(Country: US; Year: 2008; Director: Adam Gierasch; Writer: Jace Anderson, Adam Gierasch, EL Katz; Stars: Robert Patrick, Jenette Goldstein, Ross McCall, Michael Bowen, Robert LaSardo, Jessica Lowndes, Ashley Schneider, Eric F. Adams, Arcadiy Golubovich, Ross Kohn, Ryan O'Quinn)

Bad Biology

Shlocky horror from Basket Case director Henenlotter sees a multi-clitorised woman cross paths with a man who has been feeding steroids to his penis.

(Country: US; Year: 2008; Director: Frank Henenlotter; Writer: Frank Henenlotter, RA Thorburn; Stars: Charlee Danielson, Anthony Sneed, Tom Kohut, James Glickenhaus, Eleonore Hendricks )

The Brøken (The Broken)

Review preview for The Brøken

While it is big on atmosphere and features crafty camerawork it is running on empty when it comes to plot.

Amber Wilkinson · 2.5 out of 5
A woman's life begins to spiral out of control after she sees her doppelganger. Read our with Sean Ellis.

(Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Sean Ellis; Writer: Sean Ellis; Stars: Lena Headey, Melvil Poupaud, Richard Jenkins, Asier Newman, Michelle Duncan, Ulrich Thomsen) , Official site , Trailer

Full review See: Interview with Sean Ellis about The Broken , Sundance 2008: Day Four , Sundance 2008: Day Three

Bubba's Chili Parlor

Disease infected chilli has some spicy results for the residents of rural Texas.

(Country: US; Year: 2005; Director: Joey Evans; Writer: Chris Daly, Joey Evans; Stars: Chris Daly, S. Mike Davis, Audrey Elizabeth Evans, Brad Kane, Sarah Pettit)

The Chaser (Chugyeogja)

A dirty cop runs a call girl racket... but discovers the girls that keep disappearing may not just be running away.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2008; Director: Na Hong-jin; Writer: Hong Won-Chan, Lee Shinho, Na Hong-jin; Stars: Kim Yun-seok, Ha Jung-woo, Seo Yeong-hie, Jung In-gi, Park Hyo-ju)

Death Race

Review preview for Death Race

So long as you don't care about how cars go or how reality works or how people can continue to get away with making movies without a single credible acting performance, or anything, you'll almost certainly enjoy yourself.

Max Crawford · 3 out of 5
A prisoner is offered his freedom if he can win a motor race - but just staying alive is hard enough!

(Country: US; Year: 2008; Director: Paul WS Anderson; Writer: Paul WS Anderson; Stars: Jason Statham, Ian McShane, Joan Allen, Tyrese Gibson, Robin Shou, Natalie Martinez, Janaya Stephens, Jacob Vargas, Nathalie Girard, Robert LaSardo, Frederick Koehler) , Official site , Trailer

Full review

The Dead Outside

After a viral plague has devastated the populace, two survivors find themselves confronting an even worse threat in the form of an enigmatic stranger.

(Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Kerry Anne Mullaney; Writer: Kris R. Bird, Kerry Anne Mullaney; Stars: Sandra Louise Douglas, Alton Milne, Sharon Osdin, Vivienne Harvey, John Erskine, Phylis Douglas, Robin Morris, Max Adair, , , ) , Official site

The Disappeared

Review preview for The Disappeared

Elevated by an outstanding central performance from Harry Treadaway.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A youth released from a mental hospital tries to get back to normal but is haunted by the voice of his younger brother, who disappeared.

(Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Johnny Kevorkian; Writer: Johnny Kevorkian, Neil Murphy; Stars: Harry Treadaway, Greg Wise, Alex Jennings, Finlay Robertson, Nikki Amuka-Bird, Ros Leeming, Bronson Webb, Georgia Groome, Lewis Lemperuer Palmer, Jefferson Hall, Tyler Anthony) , Official site , Trailer

Full review

Eden Lake

Review preview for Eden Lake

Not so very far from where we all live today.

Anton Bitel · 3.5 out of 5
A young couple spending a romantic weekend in the woods fall foul of an angry group of teenagers.

(Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: James Watkins; Writer: James Watkins; Stars: Thomas Turgoose, Kelly Reilly, Michael Fassbender, Bronson Webb, Jack O'Connell, Shaun Dooley, Finn Atkins, Eliza Elkington, James Gandhi, Alyssa Cooper, Thomas Gill) , Official site , Trailer

Full review

Fear(s) Of The Dark (Peur(s) Du Noir)

Review preview for Fear(s) Of The Dark

Fear(s) of the Dark is a collection of great animations, but while each of its chapters are great, the overall film doesn't gel brilliantly.

George Williamson · 3.5 out of 5
Ten animations from the dark side.

(Country: France; Year: 2007; Director: Blutch, Charles Burns, Marie Callou, Richard McGuire, Pierre Di Sciullio, Lorenzo Mattotti Screenwriters: Jerry Kramsky, Pirus, Romaine Slocombe, Etienne Robial)

Full review

From Within

Evil comes from within in this smart, supernatural thriller, set in a small extremist evangelical town that is mysteriously afflicted with serial suicides. Up-and-coming cast includes Elizabeth Rice, Thomas Dekker, Laura Allen, and Rumer Willis.

(Country: US; Year: 2008; Director: Phedon Papamichael; Writer: Brad Keene; Stars: Elizabeth Rice, Thomas Dekker, Kelly Blatz, Laura Allen, Adam Goldberg, Rumer Willis, Margo Harshman, Brittany Robertson, Jared Harris, Steven Culp, Amanda Babin)

I Know How Many Runs You Scored Last Summer

Comedy horror sees former school cricketer try to knock his old team for six.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2008; Director: Stacey Edmonds, Doug Turner; Writer: Doug Turner; Stars: Jai Koutrae, Stacey Edmonds, Az Jackson, David Gambin, Ben Paul Owens, Aaron Scully, Alex Sideratos, James Winter, Otto Heutling, Arianna Starr, Doug Turner)

Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer

Camp horror about a young plumber driven to rage every time he hears Bobby Darin's Beyond The Sea, who finds an interesting outlet for his anger.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2007; Director: Jon Knautz; Writer: John Ainslie, John Ainslie, Jon Knautz, Jon Knautz, Trevor Matthews, Patrick White; Stars: Trevor Matthews, Robert Englund, Rachel Skarsten, James A. Woods, Daniel Kash, Ashley Bryant, Stefanie Drummond, Meghanne Kessels, David Fox, Meg Charette, Kristyn Butcher)

Let The Right One In (Låt Den Rätte Komma In)

Review preview for Let The Right One In

It is frequently not what you see but what you hear which holds the horror.

Amber Wilkinson · 4.5 out of 5
A touching story of first romance... with a side-serving of horror.

(Country: Sweden; Year: 2008; Director: Tomas Alfredson; Writer: John Ajvide Lindqvist, based on his novel of the same name.; Stars: Kåre Hedebrant, Lina Leandersson, Per Ragnar, Henrik Dahl, Karin Bergquist, Peter Carlberg, Ika Nord, Mikael Rahm, Karl-Robert Lindgren, Anders T. Peedu, Pale Olofsson)

Full review See: Tribeca Film Festival: Day 10

The Midnight Meat Train

Review preview for The Midnight Meat Train

If The Midnight Meat Train starts with what sounds like a bog-standard serial killer premise, it quickly deviates into more uncharted terrains.

Anton Bitel · 4 out of 5
A photographer stalks a serial killer who picks off his victims on the LA underground.

(Country: US; Year: 2008; Director: Ryuhei Kitamura; Writer: Jeff Buhler, based on a novella from Clive Barker's Books Of Blood; Stars: Bradley Cooper, Vinnie Jones, Leslie Bibb, Brooke Shields, Tony Curran, Roger Bart, Peter Jacobson, Dan Callahan, Quinton 'Rampage' Jackson, Barbara Eve Harris, Hawk Younkins) , Official site , Trailer

Full review

Mirrors

Review preview for Mirrors

Mirrors doesn't feel like an unfixed horror for an uncertain world, it comes across more as a broth for the appetites of focus groups.

Andrew Robertson · 2 out of 5
Something nasty is lurking through the looking glass...

(Country: US; Year: 2008; Director: Alexandre Aja; Writer: Alexandre Aja, Grégory Levasseur, Sung-ho Kim; Stars: Kiefer Sutherland, Paula Patton, Cameron Boyce, Erica Gluck, Amy Smart, Mary Beth Peil, John Shrapnel, Jason Flemyng, Tim Ahern, Julian Glover, Josh Cole) , Official site , Trailer

Full review

Martyrs

Review preview for Martyrs

A movie you won’t be able to shake off any time soon.

Lee Griffiths · 4 out of 5
After being abducted and abused when she was younger, a young girl seeks revenge on those she believes to be responsible. Plus read our .

(Country: France, Canada; Year: 2008; Director: Pascal Laugier; Writer: Pascal Laugier; Stars: Morjana Alaoui, Mylène Jampanoï, Catherine Bégin)

Full review See: Interview with Pascal Laugier about Martyrs , FrightFest postmortem

Mum And Dad (Mum & Dad)

Review preview for Mum And Dad

A savage deconstruction of Thatcherite beliefs in family.

Scott Macdonald · 3 out of 5
Brit horror, sees an airport worker face the perils of a close-knit family. In cinemas and on DVD this Boxing Day. Plus read our with Perry Benson.

(Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Steven Sheil; Writer: Steven Sheil; Stars: Perry Benson, Dido Miles, Olga Fedori, Ainsley Howard, Toby Alexander, Toby Cooper) , Official site , Trailer

Full review See: Perry Benson interview about Mum & Dad and Somers Town

Red Mist (Freakdog)

Review preview for Red Mist

Beyond simple voyeurism there's really no reason to care.

Jennie Kermode · 2 out of 5
A coma victim with psychic powers hunts down the medical students who tormented him.

(Country: UK; Year: 2008; Director: Paddy Breathnach; Writer: Spence Wright; Stars: Arielle Kebbel, Sarah Carter, Stephen Dillane, Andrew Lee Potts, Alex Wyndham, Katie McGrath, Christina Chong, Martin Compston, Michael Jibson, MyAnna Buring) , Trailer

Full review See: Film4 FrightFest preview - Hot city frights

Scar 3D

Review preview for Scar 3D

So nasty are parts of Scar, the latest entry to the ever-more inexplicable torture film-canon, that you wouldn't want to view it in any dimensions, let alone three of them.

Richard Mellor · 1 out of 5
Torture porn taken to the next dimension, which may well not be a good thing.

(Country: US; Year: 2007; Director: Jed Weintrob; Writer: Zack Ford; Stars: Angela Bettis, Ben Cotton, Kirby Bliss Blanton, Devon Graye, Christopher Titus) , Official site

Full review

The Strangers

Review preview for The Strangers

Bertino introduces a parade of cardboard characters whose psychological reflexes only extend to squealing when something goes bang.

Jennie Kermode · 1.5 out of 5
A young couple are terrorised by a group of masked home invaders.

(Country: US; Year: 2008; Director: Bryan Bertino; Writer: Bryan Bertino; Stars: Alex Fisher, Peter Clayton-Luce, Scott Speedman, Liv Tyler, Gemma Ward, Kip Weeks, Laura Margolis, Glenn Howerton) , Official site , Trailer

Full review

The Substitute (Vikaren)

Sci-fi horror about a substitute teacher who is really out of this world.

(Country: Denmark; Year: 2007; Director: Ole Bornedal; Writer: Ole Bornedal, Henrik Prip; Stars: Paprika Steen, Ulrich Thomsen, Jonas Wandschneider, Nikolaj Falkenberg-Klok, Emma Juel Justesen, Mollie Maria Gilmartin, Josephine Gents, Emma Claudia Søndergaard, Jakob Fals Nygaard, Andreas Gram Nielsen, Mathias Peter Kjær)

Tokyo Gore Police (Tôkyô zankoku keisatsu)

Body horror sees a cop try to track down the cause of a virus in a futuristic Tokyo that drives the infected to murder.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2008; Director: Yoshihiro Nishimura; Writer: Kengo Kaji, Sayako Nakoshi, Yoshihiro Nishimura; Stars: Itsuji Itao, Camille LaBry, Shôko Nakahara, Sayako Nakoshi, Eihi Shiina)

Trailer Park Of Terror

Review preview for Trailer Park Of Terror

The decent cast, the unusual soundtrack and the imaginatively sadistic set pieces are all good value for money.

James Benefield · 3 out of 5
A bus load of high school kids stumble upon a trailer park full of blood-thirsty zombies.

(Country: US; Year: 2008; Director: Steven Goldmann; Writer: Timothy Dolan; Stars: Nichole Hiltz, Matthew Del Negro, Michelle Lee, Ryan Carnes)

Full review See: FrightFest postmortem

Timecrimes (Los Cronocrímenes, Time Crimes)

Review preview for Timecrimes

It may not be flashy but there are flashes of cleverness sparkling throughout.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
When a man accidentally travels back in time, he finds restoring the status quo is easier said than done. Plus read our exclusive interview with director Nacho Vigalondo.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2007; Director: Nacho Vigalondo; Writer: Nacho Vigalondo; Stars: Karra Elejalde, Candela Fernández, Bárbara Goenaga, Juan Inciarte) , Official site

Full review See: Interview with Nacho Vigalondo about Extraterrestrial and Windows , Nacho Vigalondo interview about Timecrimes and the remake