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FrightFest · 2021

FrightFest 2021

September Online

A special strand of films which will be available from 1 to 5 September for people who can't make it to the festival in person.

Programme

34 films · 20 reviews

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Are We Monsters

A werewolf conflicted with identity, Maya seeks to understand the two sides of herself - before the consequences become deadly.

(Country: UK; Year: 2021; Director: Seb Cox; Writer: John Black, Seb Cox; Stars: Justin Hayward, Stefan Chanyaem, Charlotte Olivia, Kyle Menzies)

As In Heaven, So On Earth (Come In Cielo, Così In Terra)

Review preview for As In Heaven, So On Earth

A film unlike anything else you’ll see this year.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
1275 a.C. - A young girl is imprisoned in the dungeons of an abbey where an alchemist uses her for his strange experiments. Only a young amanuensis will try to free her at any cost. 2011 a.C. - A couple of young teenagers, Cris and Jessy, go missing in the woods while a young woman comes out from the middle of nowhere.

(Country: Italy; Year: 2020; Director: Francesco Erba; Writer: Francesco Erba; Stars: Eva Basteiro-Bertoli, Ania Rizzi Bogdan, Federico Cesari, Daniele Di Matteo, Philippe Guastella, Margherita Mannino)

Full review

The Brilliant Terror

Review preview for The Brilliant Terror

This is an impressively thorough piece of work which manages to fit in a great deal whilst remaining fun to watch.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A documentary about the grassroots horror phenomenon, the filmmakers, the fascination and the brilliant terror.

(Country: US; Year: 2021; Director: Paul Hunt, Julie Kauffman; Stars: Heidi Honeycutt, Jeremiah Kipp, Alan Rowe Kelly, Paula Haifley)

Full review See: Interview with Julie Kauffman about The Brilliant Terror

Bring Out The Fear

An exploration of a doomed relationship on its final day.

(Country: Ireland; Director: Richard Waters; Writer: Richard Waters; Stars: Ciara Bailey, James Devlin, Tad Morari)

Broadcast Signal Intrusion

Review preview for Broadcast Signal Intrusion

Timely in its exploration of how we determine what’s real and how easy it is for what seems like legitimate research to become unbalanced and lead to strange places.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
In the late Nineties, a video archivist unearths a series of sinister pirate broadcasts and becomes obsessed with uncovering the dark conspiracy behind them.

(Country: US; Year: 2021; Director: Jacob Gentry; Writer: hil Drinkwater, Tim Woodall; Stars: Harry Shum Jr., Kelley Mack, Chris Sullivan, Jennifer Jelsema, Arif Yampolsky, Justin Welborn, Michael B. Woods, Steve Pringle)

Full review See: Interview with Jacob Gentry about Broadcast Signal Intrusion

Claw

Two friends forced to spend the night in a ghost town find themselves hunted by a prehistoric predator.

(Country: US; Year: 2021; Director: Gerald Rascionato; Writer: Gerald Rascionato, Joel Hogan; Stars: Chynna Walker, Richard Rennie, Mel Mede)

Coming Home In The Dark

Review preview for Coming Home In The Dark

Coming Home In The Dark takes us to familiar places and renders them strange.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A family’s outing descends into terror when teacher Alan Hoaganraad, his wife Jill and stepsons Maika and Jordon explore an isolated coastline. An unexpected meeting with a pair of drifters, the enigmatic psychopath Mandrake and his accomplice Tubs, thrusts the family into a nightmare when they find themselves captured.

(Country: New Zealand; Year: 2021; Director: James Ashcroft; Writer: James Ashcroft, Eli Kent, Owen Marshall; Stars: Daniel Gillies, Erik Thomson, Miriama McDowell, Matthias Luafutu, Frankie Paratene, Billy Paratene)

Full review See: Interview with James Ashcroft about Coming Home In The Dark

Crabs!

Review preview for Crabs!

Crabs! is not very good in the wrong ways.

Jennie Kermode · 1.5 out of 5
A horde of murderous crab monsters descend on a sleepy coastal town on Prom night, and only a ragtag group of outcasts can save the day.

(Country: US; Year: 2021; Director: Pierce Berolzheimer; Writer: Pierce Berolzheimer; Stars: Jessica MorrisDylan Riley SnyderRobert Craighead, Allie Jennings, Bryce Durfee)

Full review

Dawn Breaks Behind The Eyes

Review preview for Dawn Breaks Behind The Eyes

It will delight the eyes whether or not you succeed in engaging with its underlying ideas.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A couple spend eternity in a castle until their reality starts to shift, as the unknown moves into their lives.

(Country: Germany; Year: 2021; Director: Kevin Kopacka; Writer: Kevin Kopacka, Lili Villányi; Stars: Anna Platen, Jeff Wilbusch, Frederik von Lüttichau, Luisa Taraz)

Full review See: Interview with Kevin Kopacka about Dawn Breaks Behind The Eyes

Deadly Games (The Eliminator)

When a masked killer starts murdering women in a small town, one of them escapes and hatches a daring plan to reveal his identity.

(Country: US; Year: 1982; Director: Scott Mansfield; Writer: Scott Mansfield; Stars: Alexandra Morgan, Jo Ann Harris, Sam Groom, Saul Sindell, Steve Railsback, Denise Galik)

Dementer

Review preview for Dementer

Very different in tone from the average horror film, Dementer prompts questions about how we measure mental capacity, social functioning and even individuality.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A woman who has recently fled a cult takes a job as a carer and becomes convinced that her charge is in danger from devils.

(Country: US; Year: 2019; Director: Chad Crawford Kinkle; Writer: Chad Crawford Kinkle; Stars: Katie Groshong, Stephanie Kinkle, Larry Fessenden, Scott Hodges)

Full review

Evie

As a child, Evie lost herself in the myths and legends of the sea while her family collapsed around her. Now the demons of her past have come to claim her.

(Country: UK; Year: 2021; Director: Dominic Brunt, Jamie Lundy; Writer: Dominic Brunt, Jamie Lundy; Stars: Michael Smiley, Holli Dempsey, Joanne Mitchell, Nicky Evans, Jay Taylor)

The Exorcism Of Carmen Farias (El Exorcismo De Carmen Farías)

A journalist discovers soon after her mother's death that she has inherited her grandmother's house. She decides to move there without knowing it hides dark secrets.

(Country: Mexico; Year: 2021; Director: Rodrigo Fiallega; Writer: Molo Alcocer Délano; Stars: Camila Sodi, Juan Pablo Castañeda, Juan Carlos Colombo, Anna Silia Garza, Lucy Paez)

Forgiveness

Three women mysteriously wake up in a hospital and discover that one of them is deaf, one is mute and the other one is blind; together they will have to figure out why they are there and how to get out.

(Country: Mexico, US; Year: 2021; Director: Alex Kahuam; Writer: Alex Kahuam; Stars: Alejandra Toussaint, Laura de Ita, Alejandra Zaid, Diana Quijano)

The Found Footage Phenomenon

Review preview for The Found Footage Phenomenon

This documentary sets out to explore the development of the phenomenon at the same time as tracking changing notions of what seems real and of how realness itself is understood and valued.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
The Found Footage Phenomenon is an independent documentary charting the origins of the found footage sub-genre, tracking it through to the technique's current form and asks what the future is.

(Country: UK; Year: 2021; Director: Sarah Appleton, Phillip Escott; Writer: Sarah Appleton, Phillip Escott; Stars: André Øvredal, Eduardo Sánchez, Patrick Brice, Ruggero Deodato)

Full review See: Interview with Phillip Escott about The Found Footage Phenomenon

Gaia

Review preview for Gaia

Perhaps better understood as poetry than as science fiction.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
An injured forest ranger on a routine mission is saved by two off-the-grid survivalists. What is initially a welcome rescue grows more suspicious as the son and his renegade father reveal a cultish devotion to the forest.

(Country: South Africa; Year: 2021; Director: Jaco Bouwer; Writer: Tertius Kapp; Stars: Monique Rockman, Carel Nel, Alex van Dyk, Anthony Oseyemi)

Full review

Greywood's Plot

Review preview for Greywood's Plot

Whilst this is as scrappy as you'd expect given its financial limitations, it's quite well directed in places and stylistic choices made early on pay off nicely.

Jennie Kermode · 2 out of 5
After finding a tape of what appears to be a monster, two friends journey into the woods to uncover if the video was a hoax.

(Country: US; Year: 2019; Director: Josh Stifter; Writer: Daniel Degnan, Josh Stifter; Stars: Daniel Degnan, Kim Fagan, Samantha Kirchoff)

Full review See: Interview with Josh Stifter about Greywood’s Plot

Hotel Poseidon

The self-appointed manager of a decaying hotel watches as it is transformed into an existential purgatory.

(Country: Belgium; Year: 2021; Director: Stefan Lernous; Writer: Stefan Lernous; Stars: Tom Vermeir, Ruth Becquart, Anneke Sluiters, Tania Van Der Sanden, Dominique Van Malder)

Killer Concept

Review preview for Killer Concept

This is, at its core, a film about shattered illusions, but for most of its running time it’s surprisingly light.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
Three creatives team up to write a screenplay chronicling a string of murders in their town, but one of the three may be closer to the story than the others realise.

(Country: US; Year: 2021; Director: Casey Dillard; Writer: Glenn Payne; Stars: Cody Bishop, Coley Bryant, Casey Dillard, Caleb Hall, Georgia Jeffreys)

Full review

King Knight

Review preview for King Knight

If this hits the spot for you, you’ll probably be in stitches throughout, caught in a repetitive cycle of laughter – but if it doesn’t, you’ll be a bit lost.

Jennie Kermode · 2.5 out of 5
The high priest of a modern-day coven finds his life thrown into turmoil and ventures out on a journey of self-discovery.

(Country: US; Year: 2021; Director: Richard Bates Jr; Writer: Richard Bates Jr; Stars: Aubrey Plaza, Matthew Gray Gubler, Angela Sarafyan, AnnaLynne McCord)

Full review

Lair

A fractured family are forced to face their demons, metaphorically and literally, as a man attempts to prove the existence of supernatural forces to save a friend convicted of murder.

(Country: UK; Year: 2021; Director: Adam Ethan Crow; Writer: Adam Ethan Crow, Stuart Wright; Stars: Oded Fehr, Corey Johnson, Emily Haigh, Sean Buchanan)

Motherly

Review preview for Motherly

We spend a good deal of time getting to know them before the action starts, and these are the strongest scenes of the film.

Jennie Kermode · 2.5 out of 5
Kate and her daughter Beth live alone in an isolated farmhouse in the woods, but when Kate slowly begins to suspect that something sinister is happening, her motherly instincts are put to the test.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2020; Director: Craig David Thomas; Writer: Ian Malone, Craig David Wallace; Stars: Lora Burke, Tessa Kozma, Kristen MacCulloch, Nick Smyth, Colin Paradine)

Full review See: Interview with Craig David Wallace and Lora Burke about Motherly

Mystery Spot

A number of people find refuge in a small motel built upon the ruins of an old Mystery Spot - a long-dead roadside attraction with strange metaphysical powers.

(Country: US; Year: 2020; Director: Mel House; Writer: Mel House; Stars: Cyrus Rodas, Regan Christine House, Seán Patrick Judge, Lyle Kanouse)

Night Drive

Review preview for Night Drive

At a breezy 80ish minutes it manages an ending that asks questions of us without indulging too much in the temptation to dig up answers.

Andrew Robertson · 4 out of 5
A ride share driver's life is turned upside down after an unexpected series of misfortunes.

(Country: US; Year: 2021; Director: Brad Baruh, Meghan Leon; Writer: Meghan Leon; Stars: AJ Bowen, Sophie Dalah, Lamar Bell, Reba Buhr)

Full review

Nocturna: Side A - The Great Old Man's Night

Ulysses is a hundred-year-old man, battling for redemption on his last night on Earth. Faced with imminent death, he is forced to rethink his past, his present and his take on reality.

(Country: Argentina; Year: 2021; Director: Gonzalo Calzada; Writer: Gonzalo Calzada; Stars: Marina Artigas, Lautaro Delgado, Mora Della Veccia)

Phantom Of The Mall: Eric's Revenge

When Eric's house is burnt down t makes way for a mall, he survives, scarred and driven insane, living under the mall until he can exact his revenge.

(Country: US; Year: 1989; Director: Richard Friedman; Writer: Scott Schneid, Frederick R Ulrich, Tony Michelman; Stars: Derek Rydall, Jonathan Goldsmith, Rob Estes, Pauly Shore, Kimber Sissons)

Shadow Of The Cat (La Sombra Del Gato)

Review preview for Shadow Of The Cat

It’s all very handsomely shot, with a feisty soundtrack and ebullient sense of humour, but too often it feels as if it’s just being quirky for the sake of it.

Jennie Kermode · 2.5 out of 5
Gato's safe, isolated world is throw into chaos when his teenage daughter gets a mobile phone and makes herself visible to the world.

(Country: Argentina; Year: 2021; Director: José María Cicala; Stars: Danny Trejo, Peter O'Brien, Mónica Antonópulos, Clara Kovacic, Jay Montalvalo)

Full review

The Show

Review preview for The Show

In the end, The Show bites off more than it can chew, but it makes a good effort and there’s plenty there to please the fans.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A man's search for a stolen artefact leads him to the haunted town filled with Voodoo gangsters, masked adventurers, Depression-era private eyes and violent chiaroscuro women.

(Country: UK; Year: 2020; Director: Mitch Jenkins; Writer: Alan Moore; Stars: Tom Burke, Ellie Bamber, Darrell D'Silva, Christopher Fairbank, Antonia Campbell-Hughes)

Full review

Sweetie, You Won't Believe It

Review preview for Sweetie, You Won't Believe It

If you're a fan of Three Stooges-style silent slapstick but wish it came with a lot more gore, then, Sweetie, you won't believe what a treat you are in for

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
It all starts off quite trivially, with a young married couple’s quarrel. The husband decides to get away with two friends on a fishing trip but mysterious events await them.

(Country: Kazakhstan; Year: 2020; Director: Yernar Nurgaliyev; Writer: Zhandos Aibassov, Yernar Nurgaliyev, Daniyar Soltanbayev, Il'yas Toleu, Anuar Turizhigitov, Alisher Utev)

Full review

Ultrasound

Review preview for Ultrasound

Ultrasound is a slippery little puzzle of a film. It's cleverly put together and really quite neatly tied together, though not every viewer will successfully unravel it or, for that matter, make it to the end.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
After his car breaks down, Glen spends one hell of an odd night with a married couple, setting into motion a chain of events that alter their lives plus those of several random strangers.

(Country: US; Year: 2021; Director: Rob Schroeder; Writer: Conor Stechschulte; Stars: Vincent Kartheiser, Chelsea Lopez, Breeda Wool, Tunde Adebimpe, Rainey Qualley, Bob Stephenson)

Full review See: Interview with Rob Schroeder, Conor Stechschulte and Zak Engel about Ultrasound

The Unburied Corpse (El Cadáver Insepulto)

The father of a family and role model for many orphan kids of a small town, suddenly dies. One of his sons who lives in another town has to come back home and deal with troubles from his past and his present.

(Country: Argentina; Year: 2020; Director: Alejandro Cohen Arazi; Writer: Alejandro Cohen Arazi; Stars: Demián Salomón, Héctor Alba, Mirta Busnelli, Fernando Miasnik)

When The Screaming Starts

When Norman Graysmith is invited into the home of an aspiring serial killer, Aidan Mendle, he believes he has the subject for the documentary that will make his career.

(Country: UK; Year: 2021; Director: Conor Boru; Writer: Conor Boru, Ed Hartland; Stars: Yasen Atour, Katharine Bennett-Fox, Lee Nicholas Harris, Ronja Haugholt, Siu-see Hung)

Woodlands Dark And Days Bewitched: A History Of Folk Horror

Review preview for Woodlands Dark And Days Bewitched: A History Of Folk Horror

Rather than trying to establish a thesis of her own, Janisse allows her interviewees to deliver contradictory viewpoints on key issues, and the film is richer for it.

Jennie Kermode · 5 out of 5
A documentary about the history of folk horror cinema from the 1960s to today.

(Country: US; Year: 2021; Director: Kier-La Janisse; Writer: Kier-La Janisse)

Full review See: Interview with Kier-La Janisse about Woodlands Dark And Days Bewitched: A History Of Folk Horror