FrightFest — A–Z of films

Herriman is perfect in the lead.

Stephenson's eye picks up all kinds of telling detail to build a life-affirming picture of these individuals' heroic foolhardiness.

The most convincing piece of otherworldly horror for years.

Definitely one of this year’s most accomplished thrillers.

Katz keeps the suspense simmering masterfully, alternating between building dread and releasing tension through uncomfortable mirth

After a couple of increasingly camp comedy-horrors, it's refreshing to see the air of menace return to this series.

De Van appears to think that throwing every horror cliche in the book at something will make for atmosphere.

No less visceral and gripping for its existential concerns, this is truly epic cinema.

It’s not entirely successful but it’s gripping entertainment that maintains a sense of mystery right up to its insane everything-but-the-kitchen-sink climax.

Raaphorst and scriptwriter Chris W Mitchell seem so proud of the look that they completely forget that a film also needs to have a decent plot and characters lying beneath the costumes.

Haunter is unusual in that it lays its cards on the table early, while Breslin conveys real fear in the face of supernatural goings on.

With its claustrophobic themes of madness, suffocation and despair, The House Of Usher is a classic of Gothic horror.

Everything is wreathed in snow and the crisp air seems to make the stark absence of clues even crueller,.

Lovering has crafted an old-fashioned thriller for those who like to be gripped without gore and which offers enough surprise and inventiveness to suggest that he has a career beckoning beyond the confines of television.

A showcase for Spanish special effects and relatively slick genre cinema, but plot and characterisation required more attention.

The movie's two main strengths are Max Schreck's compelling performance, as the eerily inhuman vampire, and Murnau's unparallelled ability to blend naturalistic and expressionistic elements.

Sealing the deal is a bravura turn from Evans, always charismatic but here downright deadly, acing his American accent and conveying ice-cold menace throughout.

It's down to Yelchin to convince us to care, and it's to his credit that he generally manages to pull this off.

Outpost 3's menagerie of menace is a muddle.

There is a great story in here somewhere.. but the combination of the two narratives - presented as tonally and visually distinct from one another - does not entirely work.

Brightly coloured, esoteric, sometimes cheesy, with an electronic score and a lot more going on upstairs than you might expect, it suits its subject perfectly.

Reynolds is the weak element, as usual.

These two British upstarts show just how much can be done when you're brave enough to keep things intimate.

This is a showcase for ideas about new ways to approach the genre. In that regard, it is both entertaining and inventive.

Ambyr Childers conveys the pressure the world-weary Iris is under brilliantly, while Julia Garner shines as the otherworldly Rose.

This is a shocking, visceral work. There are moments of humour, here and there, but it is the gallows laughing.

For better and worse the majority of the action is dominated by Step Up 3D wonder-woman Sharni Vinson, an impressive physical presence as Erin but not exactly the world's greatest actress.