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FrightFest · 2014

FrightFest 2014

Main Screen

Programme

26 films · 12 reviews

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All Cheerleaders Die

Review preview for All Cheerleaders Die

When it comes to action, the physical abilities of the cheerleaders make them genuinely scary predators.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
A gang of cheerleaders embark on a supernatural path of vengeance.

(Country: US; Year: 2013; Director: Lucky McKee, Chris Sivertson; Writer: Lucky McKee, Chris Sivertson; Stars: Caitlin Stasey, Sianoa Smit-McPhee, Brooke Butler, Amanda Grace Cooper, Reanin Johannink, Tom Williamson, Chris Petrovski, Leigh Parker, Nicholas S. Morrison, Jordan Wilson, Felisha Cooper, Sidney Allison, Nadia Boceski, Simon Patrick Brown, Nathaniel Derrico)

Full review

Among The Living

Three teenage boys witness a maniac at work and find that they have become targets themselves.

(Country: France; Year: 2004; Director: Julien Maury, Alexandre Bustillo; Stars: Beatrice Dalle, Théo Fernandez, Damien Ferdel, Zacharie Chasseriaud)

The Babadook

Review preview for The Babadook

Jennifer Kent's film creates something original, even frightening

Angus Wolfe Murray · 4 out of 5
A character in a pop up book haunts the nightscape of a six-year-old boy

(Country: Australia; Year: 2014; Director: Jennifer Kent; Writer: Jennifer Kent; Stars: Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, Tim Purcell, Benjamin Winspear, Hayley McElhinney, Daniel Henshall)

Full review See: Interview with Jennifer Kent about The Babadook

Dead Snow: Red vs. Dead (Død Snø 2, Dead Snow 2)

The gruesome Nazi Zombies are back to finish their mission, but our hero is not willing to die. He is gathering his own army to give them a final fight.

(Country: Norway, Iceland; Year: 2014; Director: Tommy Wirkola; Writer: Stig Frode Henriksen, Vegar Hoel, Tommy Wirkola; Stars: Martin Starr, Derek Mears, Amrita Acharia, Ingrid Haas, Kristoffer Joner, Stig Frode Henriksen, Christian Rubeck, Vegar Hoel, Jocelyn DeBoer, Charlotte Frogner, Ingar Helge Gimle, Daniel Berge Halvorsen, Ørjan Gamst, David Skaufjord, Bjarte Tjøstheim)

Faults

A cult expert is brought in to deprogram a supposedly brainwashed woman.

(Country: US; Year: 2014; Director: Riley Stearns; Stars: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Leland Orser, Beth Grant, Chris Ellis, Jon Gries)

The Green Inferno

Review preview for The Green Inferno

The characterisation of this verdant terra incognito is decidedly old-fashioned, like a racist grandpa who insists on holding the door for ladies.

Andrew Robertson · 2.5 out of 5
A group of college activists are taken hostage in the Peruvian jungle.

(Country: US; Year: 2013; Director: Eli Roth; Writer: Guillermo Amoedo, Nicolás López, Eli Roth; Stars: Lorenza Izzo, Ariel Levy, Daryl Sabara, Kirby Bliss Blanton, Sky Ferreira, Magda Apanowicz, Nicolás Martínez, Aaron Burns, Ignacia Allamand, Ramón Llao, Richard Burgi, Eusebio Arenas, Mary Dunworth, Matías López, Antonieta Pari)

Full review

The Guest

Review preview for The Guest

Slick, tense, darkly funny and very genre-aware.

Owen Van Spall · 4 out of 5
A man inveigles his way into a family home by saying he is a friend of a dead soldier.

(Country: US; Year: 2014; Director: Adam Wingard; Writer: Simon Barrett; Stars: Dan Stevens, Joel David Moore, Lance Reddick, Leland Orser, Brendan Meyer, Maika Monroe, Sheila Kelley, Chase Williamson, Tait Fletcher, Jesse Luken, Alex Knight, Mike Miller, Tina Borek, Frank Bond, Michael Stone)

Full review

Halleluiah (Alleluia)

A woman who yearns for freedom falls for a con man and will do anything to keep him.

(Country: Belium, France; Year: 2014; Director: Fabrice Du Welz; Writer: Fabrice Du Welz, Vincent Tavier; Stars: Lola Dueñas, Héléna Noguerra, Laurent Lucas, Stéphane Bissot, David Murgia)

The Harvest

A girl secretly tries to befriend a lonely boy whose doctor parents keep him in isolation - but there's a reason for their actions.

(Country: US; Year: 2013; Director: John McNaughton; Stars: Michael Shannon, Samantha Morton, Peter Fonda, Natasha Calis, Charlie Tahan)

Home

A real estate agent and her sister find themselves in danger in a house with a supernatural occupant.

(Country: US; Year: 2014; Director: Nicolas McCarthy; Stars: Catalina Sandino Moreno, Naya Rivera, Ashley Ricklands, Ava Acres, Wyatt Russell)

Housebound

Review preview for Housebound

It will revolt some viewers, who won't see what's funny about it at all, but others will love it.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A failed criminal is placed under house arrest with her overbearing mother - and the house may be haunted.

(Country: New Zealand; Year: 2014; Director: Gerard Johnstone; Writer: Gerard Johnstone; Stars: Morgana O'Reilly, Rima Te Wiata, Glen-Paul Waru, Cameron Rhodes, Millen Baird)

Full review

I Survived A Zombie Holocaust

A nerd hired as a runner tries to save the day - and the attractive caterer - when zombie extras on a film set start to get a bit too method.

(Country: New Zealand; Year: 2014; Director: Guy Pigden; Stars: Harley Neville, Jocelyn Christian, Ben Baker, Mike Edward, Andrew Laing)

Killer Mermaids (Nymph, Mamula)

Review preview for Killer Mermaids

The whole, torn between routine slasher film and otherworldly creepfest, struggles to find a clear voice.

Jennie Kermode · 2.5 out of 5
Young tourists who visit an abandoned fort once used by the Nazis encounter a seductive and deadly mythical creature.

(Country: Serbia; Year: 2014; Director: Milan Todorovic; Stars: Kristina Klebe, Franco Nero, Natalie Burn, Dragan Micanovic, Miodrag Krstovic)

Full review

The Last Showing

A couple attending a midnight movie screening are terrorised by a recently sacked projectionist bent on making his own horror film.

(Country: UK; Year: 2014; Director: Phil Hawkins; Stars: Robert Englund, Finn Jones, Emily Berrington, Keith Allen, Chris Geere)

Late Phases

Review preview for Late Phases

Late Phases contains one of the best portrayals of a blind person ever put on screen.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A retirement community is threatened by werewolves.

(Country: US; Year: 2014; Director: Adrian Garcia Bogliano; Stars: Nick Damici, Ethan Embry, Tom Noonan, Tina Louise, Rutanya Alda)

Full review

Life After Beth

Review preview for Life After Beth

Feels less experimental and alternative than, well, the zombie genre demands.

Andrew Robertson · 3 out of 5
Beth dying makes life hard. Beth coming back makes it harder.

(Country: US; Year: 2014; Director: Jeff Baena; Writer: Jeff Baena; Stars: Anna Kendrick, Aubrey Plaza, Alia Shawkat, Matthew Gray Gubler, Dane DeHaan, John C Reilly, Cheryl Hines, Molly Shannon, Thomas McDonell, Paul Reiser, Paul Weitz, Eva La Dare, Zoë Worth, Jenna Nye, Bechir Sylvain)

Full review

Open Windows

A fan site webmaster is tricked into helping with a plan to kidnap an actress.

(Country: US; Year: 2014; Director: Nacho Vigalondo; Stars: Elijah Wood, Neil Maskell, Sasha Grey, Ivan Gonzalez, Nacho Vigalondo)

The Samurai

Review preview for The Samurai

Considerably more enjoyable than it ought to be.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A young police officer is drawn into a mysterious maniac's murderous plans.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2014; Director: Till Kleinert; Writer: Till Kleinert; Stars: Michel Diercks, Pit Bukowski)

Full review See: Interview with Till Kleinert about The Samurai

Shockwave Darkside (Shockwave Darkside 3D)

Five soldiers try to defend the moon from the Unlight enemy that has conquered Earth.

(Country: US; Year: 2014; Director: Jay Weisman; Stars: Bill Sage, Mei Melançon, Sonequa Martin-Green, Rich Ceraulo, Alexander Cendese)

The Signal

Review preview for The Signal

The film gaily sets about asking a number of questions it has no intention of answering.

Max Crawford · 3 out of 5
Three college students disappear under mysterious circumstances while tracking a computer hacker through the Southwest.

(Country: US; Year: 2014; Director: William Eubank; Writer: Carlyle Eubank, William Eubank, William Eubank, William Eubank, David Frigerio, David Frigerio, David Frigerio; Stars: Brenton Thwaites, Laurence Fishburne, Sarah Clarke, Lin Shaye, Olivia Cooke, Beau Knapp, Robert Longstreet, Jeffrey Grover)

Full review

Sin City: A Dame To Kill For (Sin City 2)

Review preview for Sin City: A Dame To Kill For

You don't venture into this steaming snake pit without balls of steel

Angus Wolfe Murray · 4 out of 5
The Senator's power may be challenged and the femme fatale's allure may be slipping but Old Town remains a dangerous place in the neon nightscape of the graphic novel

(Country: US; Year: 2014; Director: Frank Miller, Robert Rodriguez; Writer: Frank Miller; Stars: Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, Josh Brolin, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Rosario Dawson, Bruce Willis, Eva Green, Powers Boothe, Dennis Haysbert, Ray Liotta, Christopher Meloni, Jeremy Piven, Christopher Lloyd, Jaime King, Juno Temple)

Full review

Stage Fright

A young woman takes over the stage musical role once performed by her murdered mother.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2014; Director: Jerome Sable; Stars: Minnie Driver, Meat Loaf, Allie MacDonald, Douglas Smith, Kent Nolan)

Starry Eyes

A waitress desperate to become an actress is willing to do anything to land her dream role.

(Country: US; Year: 2014; Director: Kevin Kolsch, Dennis Widmyer; Stars: Alex Essoe, Noah Segan, Pat Healy, Amanda Fuller, Shane Coffey)

V/H/S: Viral

Fame-hungry teenagers feature in this latest found footage horror anthology.

(Country: US; Year: 2014; Director: Justin Benson, Gregg Bishop; Writer: Justin Benson, Gregg Bishop; Stars: Blair Redford, Carrie Keagan, Amanda Baker)

Xmoor

American documentarians, hoping to film the legendary beast of Exmoor, attract the attention of a different kind of predator.

(Country: UK; Year: 2014; Director: Luke Hyams; Stars: Melia Kreiling, Nick Blood, Mark Bonnar, Olivia Popica, James Lecky)

Zombeavers

Review preview for Zombeavers

Simply aping horror films of yesteryear, layering on the piles of intestines, and putting self-aware performances on screen, isn’t enough on its own in today’s crowded field of horror parodies.

Owen Van Spall · 3 out of 5
You know the story: sexy teens head to a secluded lakeside cabin for a weekend of debauched fun, only to be menaced by a mysterious force picking them off one by one. But here, the culprit proves to be a horde of rabid zombie beavers.

(Country: US; Year: 2014; Director: Jordan Rubin; Writer: Al Kaplan, Jon Kaplan, Jordan Rubin; Stars: Bill Burr, Cortney Palm, Rachel Melvin, Hutch Dano, Rex Linn, Jake Weary, Lexi Atkins, Brent Briscoe, Robert R. Shafer, Peter Gilroy, Chad Anderson, Phyllis Katz)

Full review