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FrightFest · 2020

FrightFest 2020

August Features

Programme

24 films · 17 reviews

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12 Hour Shift

Review preview for 12 Hour Shift

A splatter-happy romp through one night in the organ trade.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
Nurse Mandy is just trying to make it through her double shift alive, but her nasty drug addiction, annoying coworkers, needy patients, and devious cousin are making it pretty tough, not to mention organ-stealing criminals and an injured convict.

(Country: US; Year: 2020; Director: Brea Grant; Writer: Brea Grant; Stars: Angela Bettis, David Arquette, Chloe Farnworth, Mick Foley, Kit Williamson, Nikea Gamby-Turner, Tara Perry, Brooke Seguin, Dusty Warren, Tom DeTrinis, Thomas Hobson, Julianne Dowler, Briana Lane, Taylor Alden, Scott Dean)

Full review

Aquaslash

A water park becomes the backdrop to a bloodbath... and everyone is a suspect.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2019; Director: Renaud Gauthier; Writer: Renaud Gauthier; Stars: Brittany Drisdelle, Nick Walker, Xavier Sotelo, Lanisa Dawn, Jessica Abruzzese, Samantha Hodhod, Ryan Ali, Jonathan Emond, Paul Zinno, Chip Chuipka, Suzanna Lenir, Howard Rosenstein, Nicolas Fontaine, Madeline Harvey, Cameron Geller)

Av: The Hunt

Review preview for Av: The Hunt

Through the simple act of showing us Ayse's far right from the start - along with her lover's attempts to defend her - director Emre Akay places viewers instinctively on her side.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A thriller about honour killing.

(Country: Turkey; Year: 2020; Director: Emre Akay; Writer: Emre Akay, Deniz Cuylan; Stars: Ahmet Rifat Sungar, Emre Yetim, Adam Bay, Billur Melis Koç)

Full review

Blind

A former actress who has lost her sight begins to suspect that she's in danger.

(Country: US; Year: 2019; Director: Marcel Walz; Writer: Joe Knetter; Stars: Sarah French, Jed Rowen, Caroline Williams, Tyler Gallant)

Clapboard Jungle (Clapboard Jungle: Surviving The Independent Film Business)

Review preview for Clapboard Jungle

Some of the participants are incredibly generous with their time and advice, and overall there is a welcoming atmosphere, and excitement at the prospect of engaging with new filmmakers.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
Following five years in the life and career of an independent filmmaker, supported by dozens of interviews, posing one question: how does an indie filmmaker survive in the current film business?

(Country: Canada; Year: 2020; Director: Justin McConnell; Stars: Guillermo del Toro, George A Romero, Justin Benson, Aaron Moorhead, Lloyd Kaufman, Brian Yuzna, Larry Fessenden, Frank Henenlotter, Uwe Boll, Mitch Davis)

Full review See: Interview with Justin McConnell about Clapboard Jungle

The Columnist (De Kuthoer)

Review preview for The Columnist

The magic of Ivo van Aart's film lies in its balance.

Jennie Kermode · 5 out of 5
Columnist and author Femke is flooded with anonymous nasty messages and death threats on social media. One day she has enough and decides to take revenge.

(Country: Netherlands; Year: 2019; Director: Ivo van Aart; Writer: Daan Windhorst; Stars: Genio de Groot, Katja Herbers, Rein Hofman, Bram van der Kelen)

Full review

Dark Place

Review preview for Dark Place

Though they're wildly out of balance, there's a lot here worth taking a look at.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
An anthology of indigenous Australian horror tales.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2019; Director: Kodie Bedford, Perun Bonser, Rob Braslin, Liam Phillips, Bjorn Stewart; Writer: Kodie Bedford, Perun Bonser, Rob Braslin, Liam Phillips, Bjorn Stewart; Stars: Nelson Baker, Katherine Beckett, Shakira Clanton, Bernard Curry)

Full review

Don't Click

An internet-based chiller.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2020; Director: Kim G-hey; Writer: Courtney Ellum; Stars: Valter Skarsgård, Mark Koufos, Catherine Howard)

Enhanced

Enhanced mutants go on the run from the government after being declared illegal.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2019; Director: James Mark; Writer: James Mark, Matthew Nayman; Stars: George Tchortov, Alanna Bale, Adrian Holmes, Chris Mark, Eric Hicks)

A Ghost Waits

Review preview for A Ghost Waits

There's a melancholy undercurrent to the tale throughout, but that only makes its upbeat moments more delightful.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A man's job requires him to clean a house, which turns out to be haunted. In the course of trying to exorcise the ghost, he falls in love with her.

(Country: US; Year: 2020; Director: Adam Stovall; Writer: Adam Stovall; Stars: MacLeod Andrews, Natalie Walker, Sydney Vollmer, Amanda Miller)

Full review

Hail To The Deadites

Review preview for Hail To The Deadites

It's effective in capturing the passion of the fans and is likely to become a treasured collectible itself.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A documentary about fans of the Evil Dead films.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2020; Director: Steve Villeneuve; Writer: Steve Villeneuve; Stars: Patricia Tallman, Ellen Sandweiss, Kassie Wesley DePaiva, Dan Hicks, Betsy Baker)

Full review

Hall

When a debilitating sickness spreads across a long hotel hallway, a few scattered victims fight for survival, and try to escape from the dark narrow stretch of isolated carnage.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2020; Director: Francesco Giannini; Writer: Derrick Adams, Francesco Giannini; Stars: Carolina Bartczak, Yumiko Shaku, Mark Gibson, Bailey Thain, Julian Richings)

The Honeymoon Phase

Review preview for The Honeymoon Phase

Beautifully framed within a carefully designed environment, The Honeymoon Phase has a distinctive look that fits very well into that older science fiction tradition whilst retaining a modern sensibility.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
Struggling young lovers, Tom and Eve, must endure a 30-day scientific experiment. Room, board, $50,000 and a month alone together in research facility housing. What could possibly go wrong?

(Country: US; Year: 2019; Director: Phillip G Carroll Jr; Writer: Phillip G Carroll Jr; Stars: François Chau, Tara Westwood, Ione Butler, Chloe Carroll, Jim Schubin)

Full review

The Horror Crowd

Review preview for The Horror Crowd

The film is beautifully edited, at times coming across like one long conversation between people in different places.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A documentary about the Hollywood horror community.

(Country: US; Year: 2020; Director: Ruben Pla; Stars: Lin Shaye, Greg Grunberg, Russell Mulcahy, Clare Kramer)

Full review See: Interview with Ruben Pla about The Horror Crowd

I Am Lisa

A sadistic, small-town sheriff and her underlings brutalise Lisa and leave her for dead in the woods. Bitten by a werewolf and bestowed with supernatural abilities, she goes looking for revenge.

(Country: US; Year: 2020; Director: Patrick Rea; Writer: Eric Winkler; Stars: Kristen Vaganos, Jennifer Seward, Manon Halliburton, Carmen Anello, Chris Bylsma)

Playhouse

Review preview for Playhouse

This is film full of red herrings and sly questions.

Jennie Kermode · 2.5 out of 5
In a remote Scottish castle, an irreverent writer faces terrifying consequences when his daughter falls prey to an evil curse lurking within the walls.

(Country: UK; Year: 2020; Director: Fionn Watts, Toby Watts; Writer: Fionn Watts, Toby Watts; Stars: James Rottger, Julie Higginson, Helen Mackay, Rebecca Callenda, Jim Page)

Full review See: Interview with Fionn Watts and Toby Watts about Playhouse

Skull: The Mask

Review preview for Skull: The Mask

It's brazen, bloody and completely committed, almost operatic in style.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
An ancient mask used in a military experiment possesses a body and starts to carry out sacrifices to avenge a murdered god.

(Country: Brazil, US; Year: 2020; Director: Armando Fonseca, Kapel Furman; Writer: Armando Fonseca, Kapel Furman; Stars: Natallia Rodrigues, Wilton Andrade, Rurik Jr)

Full review

Sky Sharks

Review preview for Sky Sharks

Perhaps most disappointingly of all, we really don't see much of the sharks.

Jennie Kermode · 1 out of 5
Deep in the Antarctic, a team of geologists uncover an old Nazi laboratory where dark experiments once occurred. In order to conquer the world, the Nazis created modified sharks who were able to fly and whose riders are genetically mutated, undead super-humans.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2020; Director: Marc Fehse; Writer: Marc Fehse, AD Morel; Stars: Tony Todd, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Naomi Grossman, Robert LaSardo, Amanda Bearse, Dave Sheridan)

Full review See: Interview with Marc Fehse about Sky Sharks

Stalker (Blinders)

Review preview for Stalker

Shot in a very plain style under the glare of the California sun, Blinders emphasises Andy's exposure at every turn.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
A young man's budding romance is threatened when he befriends an unstable ride-share driver.

(Country: US; Year: 2020; Director: Tyler Savage; Writer: Dash Hawkins, Tyler Savage; Stars: Christine Ko, Vincent Van Horn, Michael Lee Joplin, Dusty Sorg, Carla Valentine)

Full review See: Interview with Tyler Savage about Stalker

The Swerve

Review preview for The Swerve

Skye is stunning in the central role.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A middle aged woman begins to break down under the pressures of day to day life.

(Country: US; Year: 2018; Director: Dean Kapsalis; Writer: Dean Kapsalis; Stars: Azura Skye, Bryce Pinkham, Ashley Bell, Zach Rand)

Full review

There's No Such Thing As Vampires

A group of teenagers encounter vampires in a remote outpost.

(Country: US; Year: 2020; Director: Logan Thomas; Writer: Aric Cushing, Logan Thomas; Stars: Meg Foster, Raphael Sbarge, Emma Holzer, Maria Olsen, Judy Tenuta)

They're Outside

Review preview for They're Outside

It has a distinct story arc of its own and more going on thematically than you might expect.

Jennie Kermode · 2 out of 5
While filming a documentary about an agoraphobic woman, a celebrity psychologist is drawn into supernatural events.

(Country: UK; Year: 2020; Director: Sam Casserly, Airell Anthony Hayles; Writer: Airell Anthony Hayles; Stars: Emily Booth, Emma Burdon-Sutton, Nicholas Vince, Jon-Paul Gates)

Full review

Triggered

Review preview for Triggered

Shot at night with scenes designed to look as if they're lit by torchlight, this is no small technical achievement.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
Nine friends, each harbouring a dark secret, go camping in the woods. When they wake up with bombs strapped to their chests, they find themselves caught up in a deadly game.

(Country: South Africa; Year: 2020; Director: Alistair Orr; Writer: David D Jones; Stars: Liesl Ahlers, Reine Swart, Sean Cameron Michael, Steven John Ward, Craig Urbani)

Full review

Two Heads Creek

Review preview for Two Heads Creek

It's a playful, high spirited romp which has some pithy observations to make about modern societies but doesn't let them get in the way of the action.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
After their adoptive mother dies, a pair of twins move to Australia in search of their biological mother and stumble across a dark secret.

(Country: UK, Australia; Year: 2019; Director: Jesse O'Brien; Writer: Jordan Waller; Stars: Kerry Armstrong, Gary Sweet, Kathryn Wilder, Stephen Hunter, Jordan Waller, Don Bridges, Helen Dallimore, Kevin Harrington, Kasha Bajor, Madelaine Nunn, Kent Lee, Anna Tolputt, Gregory J. Fryer, Danxia Yang, David Adlam)

Full review See: Interview with Jordan Waller about Two Heads Creek