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FrightFest · 2016

FrightFest 2016

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Programme

27 films · 13 reviews

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31

Review preview for 31

It's exploitation cinema but it's made with care.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A group of carnival performers are kidnapped and forced to fight for their lives in a deadly maze.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Rob Zombie; Writer: Rob Zombie; Stars: Elizabeth Daily, Malcolm McDowell, Meg Foster, Sheri Moon Zombie, Daniel Roebuck, Richard Brake, Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs, Lew Temple, Tracey Walter, Ginger Lynn, Judy Geeson, Torsten Voges, Jane Carr, Jeff Daniel Phillips, Devin Sidell)

Full review

Abattoir

Review preview for Abattoir

This feels like an episode of Mystery Theater and will charm fans of old radio horror.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
After the death of her sister and nephew, real-estate investigative reporter Julia uncovers the sinister truth behind a series of gruesome murders where the entire killing rooms have been dismantled and pulled from their foundations.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Darren Lynn Bousman; Writer: Christopher Monfette; Stars: Joe Anderson, Jessica Lowndes, Michael Paré, Lin Shaye, Bryan Batt)

Full review

Blood Feast

Review preview for Blood Feast

2016’s Blood Feast rises to the challenge with aplomb.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A museum security guard and restaurateur prepares a cannibal feast in honour of the goddess Ishtar.

(Country: Germany, US; Year: 2016; Director: Marcel Walz; Writer: Philip Lilienschwarz; Stars: Robert Rusler, Sophie Monk, Caroline Williams, Sadie Katz, Liliana Nova)

Full review

Beyond The Gates

Review preview for Beyond The Gates

Crampton is clearly having a whale of a time.

Jennie Kermode · 2.5 out of 5
Two brothers get into trouble playing the old VCR board game that led to their father's disappearance.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Jackson Stewart; Writer: Stephen Scarlata, Jackson Stewart; Stars: Graham Skipper, Sara Malakul Lane, Brea Grant, Justin Welborn, Barbara Crampton)

Full review

Blood Feast

A caterer kills young women and collects their body parts in an attempt to resurrect the goddess Ishtar.

(Country: US; Year: 1963; Director: Herschell Gordon Lewis; Writer: Allison Louise Downe; Stars: William Kerwin, Mal Arnold, Connie Mason, Lyn Bolton, Scott H Hall)

Broken

In England to make a fresh start after a harrowing childhood, Evie takes a job as an agency carer and is quickly placed with tetraplegic patient John. But looking after the bitter former rock star and his excessive demands is emotionally and physically draining.

(Country: UK; Year: 2016; Director: Shaun Robert Smith; Stars: Morjana Alaoui, Mel Raido, Craig Conway, Patrick Toomey, Stephanie Thomas)

Cell

When a mysterious cell phone signal causes apocalyptic chaos, an artist is determined to reunite with his young son in New England.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Tod Williams; Writer: Adam Alleca, based on the book by Stephen King; Stars: Samuel L Jackson, John Cusack, Isabelle Fuhrman, Stacy Keach, Lloyd Kaufman)

The Chamber

Review preview for The Chamber

An engaging, riveting watch.

Jane Fae · 3.5 out of 5
A submarine endeavours to locate a mysterious item at the bottom of the Yellow Sea off the dangerous shores of the Korean Peninusla. When an explosion causes it to overturn and take on water, the four-man crew enter a pressure cooker situation.

(Country: UK; Year: 2016; Director: Ben Parker; Writer: Ben Parker; Stars: Charlotte Salt, Johannes Kuhnke, Christian Hillborg, Elliot Levey, James McArdle)

Full review

Director's Cut

A obsessive crowdfunded fan kidnaps a star so he can reshoot and recut an Adam Rifkin crime thriller.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Adam Rifkin; Stars: Missi Pyle, Penn Jillette, Harry Hamlin, Lin Shaye, Nestor Carbonell)

Downhill

Review preview for Downhill

Valladares’ film may be confused in places but he keeps up the pace, and the increasingly frantic protagonists don’t have time to pause and ask questions.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
A biking ace and his girlfriend are targeted by killers.

(Country: Chile; Year: 2016; Director: Patricio Valladres; Writer: Barry Keating, Patricio Valladares; Stars: Natalie Burn, Ignacia Allamand, Ariel Levy, Bryce Draper, Luke Massy)

Full review

From A House On Willow Street

Review preview for From A House On Willow Street

Although it has a solid horror premise, the script here tends to meander, leaving Orr reliant on shocks and gore to maintain the tension.

Jennie Kermode · 2 out of 5
Kidnappers abduct the daughter of a wealthy diamond distributor but they realise too late that she’s been possessed by a demon.

(Country: South Africa; Year: 2016; Director: Alastair Orr; Writer: Catherine Blackman, Jonathan Jordaan, Alastair Orr; Stars: Sharni Vinson, Carlyn Burchell, Steve John Ward, Zino Ventura)

Full review

Johnny Frank Garret's Last Word

In 1992, the State of Texas executed Johnny Frank Garrett for the rape and murder of a nun. Some believed he was innocent; others felt that, given his mental illness, the death penalty was unjust. At his execution a decade later, a bitter Johnny cast a curse on those who convicted him – and almost immediately the premature deaths of those involved started happening. Coincidence? Or supernatural revenge from beyond the grave?

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Simon Rumley; Stars: Mike Doyle, Erin Cummings, Sean Patrick Flanery, Devin Bonnee, Dodge Prince)

Let Her Out

Helen has a tumour growth in her brain causing her to experience dark visions, disembodied voices and the omnipresence of a strange young woman.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2016; Director: Cody Calahan; Stars: Alanna LeVierge, Nina Kiri, Adam Christie, Kate Fenton, Michael Lipka)

The Master Cleanse

A young man visits a spiritual mountain retreat designed to cleanse debilitating toxins and emotional baggage from his body, but the repulsive process has the power to release something far worse.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Bobby Miller; Stars: Johnny Galecki, Anjelica Houston, Oliver Platt, Anna Friel, Kevin J O'Connor)

Mercy

Two sets of estranged half-brothers return to their childhood home to say a last goodbye to their mother on her deathbed, only to find themselves thrust into a fight for survival.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Chris Sparling; Stars: James Wolk, Caitlin Fitzgerald, Tom Lipinski, Dan Ziskie, Michael Godere)

Monolith

Review preview for Monolith

Silvestrini, in only his second feature, does an excellent job of sustaining the tension in a situation where it would be easy for the audience, as well as the protagonist, to despair.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A woman driving a high-tech car through the desert stops and gets out after she hits a deer, only for her toddler son to accidentally lock her out and himself in.

(Country: Italy, US; Year: 2016; Director: Ivan Silvestrini; Writer: Elena Bucaccio, Roberto Recchioni, Stefano Sardo; Stars: Katrina Bowden, Nixon Hodges, Damon Dayoub, Brandon Jones, Jason Hayden)

Full review See: Interview with Ivan Silvestrini about Monolith

My Father Die

Review preview for My Father Die

A raw, blistering work which audiences witness rather than watch.

Jennie Kermode · 5 out of 5
A young man is out for revenge.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Sean Brosnan; Writer: Sean Brosnan; Stars: Joe Anderson, John Schneider, Kevin Gage, Candace Smith, Gary Stretch)

Full review

Pet

A stalker cages his high school crush in an attempt to make her fall in love with him.

(Country: US, Spain; Year: 2016; Director: Carles Torrens; Stars: Dominic Monaghan, Ksenia Solo, Jennette McCurdy, Nathan Parsons, Gary J. Tunnicliffe)

Realive (Proyecto Lazaro)

Review preview for Realive

To say that Realive is an ablist film would be a colossal understatement.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
70 years after being diagnosed with terminal cancer, Marc becomes the first resuscitated cryogenic body. But readjusting to life as a human lab rat proves difficult.

(Country: Spain, France; Year: 2016; Director: Mateo Gil; Writer: Mateo Gil; Stars: Tom Hughes, Charlotte Le Bon, Oona Chaplin, Barry Ward, Julio Perillan)

Full review

Red Christmas

Review preview for Red Christmas

The family setting gives this a lot more depth, allowing for complex relationships that make the interaction of the terrorised characters much more interesting than that of the usual screaming teenagers.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A mysterious stranger with extreme religious views turns a seasonal family gathering upside down.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2016; Director: Craig Anderson; Writer: Craig Anderson; Stars: Dee Wallace, Sarah Bishop, Geoff Morrell, Janis McGavin, Sam Campbell)

Full review

The Rezort

Trouble brews on a zombie safari.

(Country: Spain, UK, Belgium; Year: 2015; Director: Steve Barker; Writer: Paul Gerstenberger; Stars: Dougray Scott, Jessica De Gouw, Martin McCann, Bentley Kalu, Jassa Ahluwalia, Sam Douglas, Claire Goose, Shane Zaza, Jamie Ward, Elen Rhys, Richard Laing, Sean Power, Robert Firth, Patrick Holland, Derek Siow)

Siren

A stag party becomes a savage fight for survival when the groomsmen unwittingly unleash a fabled predator upon the festivities.

(Year: 2016; Director: Gregg Bishop; Writer: David Bruckner; Stars: Hannah Fierman, Chase Williamson, Justin Welborn)

They Call Me Jeeg Robot

Small-time crook Enzo uses the superpowers gained after falling in the contaminated River Tiber to take revenge on The Gypsy, a deranged gangster causing criminal chaos in Rome.

(Country: Italy; Year: 2016; Director: Gabriele Mainetti; Stars: Claudio Santamaria, Luca Marinelli, Ilenia Pastorelli, Stefano Ambrogi, Aurizio Tesei)

Train To Busan

Review preview for Train To Busan

As befits a film set on a rapid commuter train, the pace rarely lets up.

Owen Van Spall · 4 out of 5
A train journey is complicated by the presence of the living dead.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2016; Director: Yeon Sang-ho; Writer: Yeon Sang-ho; Stars: Gong Yoo, Jung Yu-Mi, Ma Dong Seok, Kim Su-An, Sohee) , Trailer

Full review

White Coffin

When Virginia’s young daughter is abducted on a stressful road trip, a sinister car accident grants her one more day to intervene with fate.

(Country: Argentina; Year: 2016; Director: Daniel de la Vega; Stars: Julieta Cardinali, Rafael Ferro, Eleonora Wexler, Damián Dreizik)

The Windmill Massacre (The Windmill)

Review preview for The Windmill Massacre

With a lot of characters to deal with, The Windmill Massacre wastes no time on setting up. The basic logic of the situation is quickly established and there’s never much of a pause between deaths.

Jennie Kermode · 2 out of 5
When their bus breaks down, tourists are forced to seek shelter in a disused barn beside a sinister windmill where, legend has it, a Devil-worshipping miller once ground the bones of locals instead of grain.

(Country: Netherlands; Year: 2016; Director: Nick Jongerius; Writer: Chris W Mitchell, Suzy Quid; Stars: Noah Taylor, Charlotte Beaumont, Patrick Baladi, Fiona Hampton, Ben Batt)

Full review

The Woods

A nightmarish journey into the trees.

(Country: US; Year: 2016; Director: Adam Wingard; Stars: James Allen McCune, Callie Hernandez, Brandon Scott, Valorie Curry, Corbin Reid)