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FrightFest · 2023

FrightFest 2023

Discovery 1

Programme

21 films · 11 reviews

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The Blue Rose

Review preview for The Blue Rose

Baron, who at just 18-years-old is a prodigy by anyone’s standards, weaves a tapestry of Lynchian threads through this gorgeously presented film but ends up with something which works on its own merits.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
Two rookie cops are determined to solve a seemingly clear-cut homicide, only to find themselves in an alternate reality of their worst nightmares.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: George Baron; Stars: George Baron, Olivia Scott Welch, Ray Wise, Logan Miller)

Full review See: Interview with George Baron about The Blue Rose

The Conjuring

Review preview for The Conjuring

If it sometimes feels like Wan's falling back on the tricks of the trade, he's also often able to spin something unexpected out of the familiar.

David Graham · 3.5 out of 5
A family find that their new rural home is already occupied - by something supernatural.

(Country: US; Year: 2013; Director: James Wan; Writer: Chad Hayes, Carey Hayes; Stars: Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga)

Full review

Doctor Jekyll

Hammer Horror is back with a modern reimagining of the classic Robert Louis Stevenson novella. When ex-convict Rob takes up the position of carer to the infamous Nina Jekyll, little does he know he’s part of an evil master plan devised by her alter ego Rachel Hyde.

(Country: UK; Year: 2023; Director: Joe Stephenson; Stars: Eddie Izzard, Scott Chambers, Lindsay Duncan, Simon Callow)

Enter The Clones Of Bruce Lee (Enter The Clones Of Bruce)

Review preview for Enter The Clones Of Bruce Lee

A fascinating portrait of a cinematic era which will leave those who remain martial arts fans with a lot of titles to hunt down.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A documentary about the men drafted in to fill the gap and keep audiences happy after the death of cinema's greatest martial arts star.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: David Gregory; Stars: Bruce Li, Bruce Le, Bruce Lo, Bruce Liang)

Full review

Failure!

Review preview for Failure!

It’s a gem of a role for Raimi, who delivers the smooth talk and captures the high flying businessman look perfectly but shows us the human being behind them.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
Due to a massive debt with his bank, James is given one hour to choose between financial ruin or murder to protect his family. Shot in one single take with no cuts.

(Country: Mexico; Year: 2023; Director: Alex Kahuam; Writer: Alex Kahuam; Stars: Ted Raimi, Merrick McCartha , Noel Douglas Orput, Melissa Diaz)

Full review

The Glenarma Tapes

In spring 2020, five art students and two lecturers went missing in a remote forest in Ireland. What happened to them has remained unknown - until now. Their last movements are pieced together from found footage recovered from a police operation almost two years later, where it becomes clear that what started out as an innocent prank went badly wrong and became a horrific fight for survival.

(Country: UK; Year: 2023; Director: Tony Devlin; Stars: Warren McCook, Emily Lamey, Ryan Early, Sophie Hill)

Haunted Ulster Live

On Halloween night 1998, TV veteran Gerry Burns, teams up with popular children's presenter Michelle Kelly to investigate poltergeist activity in a haunted house on the Castlereagh Road in Belfast. A séance causes the broadcast to descend into chaos when the youngest child is mysteriously abducted by an unseen force and the two presenters must face their greatest fears on live TV.

(Country: UK; Year: 2023; Director: Dominic O'Neill; Stars: Aimee Richardson, Mark Claney, Antoinette Morelli)

Here For Blood

Review preview for Here For Blood

The focus really seems to be on ensuring that the audience has a good time, whilst the cast and crew are clearly doing so themselves.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
When his girlfriend is swamped with college exams, a rowdy pro-wrestler struggling to make ends meet agrees to fill in as a last-minute replacement for her well-paying babysitting job. Tom arrives at an isolated family home where he meets the precocious 10-year-old Grace. But what starts off as a quiet night of pizza and video games quickly spirals into bloody, violent, demonic chaos.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2022; Director: Daniel Turres; Writer: James Roberts; Stars: Shawn Roberts, Joelle Farrow, Dee Snider)

Full review

How To Kill Monsters

Jamie Lancaster is the sole survivor of a bloody massacre at a remote cabin in the woods. Claiming her friends were torn apart and eaten by a horrific monster, she’s arrested and locked up for a crime she didn't commit. Then the entire police station is ripped from reality and thrown into a nightmarish dimension of Lovecraftian monsters hungry for human flesh.

(Country: UK; Year: 2023; Director: Stewart Sparke; Stars: Lyndsey Crain, Arron Dennis, Fenfen Huang, Daniel Thrace)

Isaac

After losing their first child to a genetic disease, grief-stricken parents Nicholas and Sarah become one of ten couples to enrol into unique clinical trials launched by the GEO Group; an established cellular meat company using its technology to create GM babies.

(Country: UK; Year: 2023; Director: Tariq Sayed; Stars: Johnny Vivash, Catriona MacColl, Bosco Hogan, Kathryn Louise)

It Follows

Review preview for It Follows

A simple but compelling dynamic... the execution is superb.

Owen Van Spall · 4 out of 5
A teenager finds herself having strange visions and becomes convinced that something dangerous is following her.

(Country: US; Year: 2014; Director: David Robert Mitchell; Writer: David Robert Mitchell; Stars: Maika Monroe, Keir Gilchrist, Jake Weary, Daniel Zovatto, Olivia Luccardi, Lili Sepe)

Full review

The J-Horror Virus

Review preview for The J-Horror Virus

You’re likely to come way with a sizeable to-watch list at the end.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
How did a single ‘Big in Japan’ videotape change the course of global horror history? This documentary charts the origins, evolution and diffusion across the world of a distinctive brand of Japanese supernatural chillers featuring vengeful ghosts manifesting themselves through contemporary technology against a backdrop of urban alienation and social decay.

(Country: UK; Year: 2023; Director: Sarah Appleton, Jasper Sharp; Stars: Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Takashi Shimizu, Rie Inoo, Shinya Tsukamoto.)

Full review

Lore

Review preview for Lore

Throughout, the performances are solid, the lighting and sound work good, and the writer/director teams well synchronised, making the whole thing flow smoothly despite the changes in style.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
On a weekend trip to Scotland, four scare-loving friends book a ghostly horror-themed camping excursion. That night around the campfire, their guide encourages them to tell the most twisted stories that they know and to burn a totem that will help feed the evil that lives there. Tales of sinister spirits, demons lurking in the shadows and the truest forms of malevolence emerge.

(Country: UK; Year: 2023; Director: James Bushe, Patrick Ryder, Greig Johnson; Writer: Patrick Michael Ryder, Christine Barber-Ryder, James Bushe; Stars: Ben Crompton, Bill Fellowes, Richard Brake, Andrew Lee Potts)

Full review

Mancunian Man: The Legendary Life Of Cliff Twemlow

Review preview for Mancunian Man: The Legendary Life Of Cliff Twemlow

There are so many great stories surrounding Cliff that it’s clear director Jake West was spoilt for choice.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
Polymath Twemlow was a nightclub bouncer, novelist, composer, singer, screenwriter, producer and actor, who for a decade was the most prolific indie filmmaker in the UK! Witness how this 20th century Renaissance man created his own innovative micro-film industry in Manchester.

(Country: UK; Year: 2023; Director: Jake West; Stars: Barry Twemlow, Oliver Tobias, Ginette Gray, John Saint Ryan)

Full review See: Interview with Jake West about Mancunian Man: The Legendary Life Of Cliff Twemlow

A Million Days

As humanity stands on the brink of leaving a dying Earth for a life amongst the stars, one astronaut is faced with an agonising decision.

(Country: UK; Year: 2023; Director: Mitch Jenkins; Stars: Simon Merells, Kemi-Bo Jacobs, Hermione Corfield, Darrell D'Silva)

The Moor

Review preview for The Moor

Cronin... perfectly captures the atmosphere of the little houses clustered around the moor, the distinctive quality of the light within them, the way that they feel like a small bastion of safety against the vastness of night.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
Claire was just a child when her best friend was abducted and murdered. 25 years later, Bill, the dead boy's father, has a plan to learn the truth about what really happened. With the help of psychic Eleanor, they venture deep into a haunted moor to find his son’s supposed resting place. But they find more than just the ghosts of dead children, for something dark and evil stirs at their presence.

(Country: UK; Year: 2023; Director: Chris Cronin; Writer: Paul Thomas; Stars: Sophia La Porta, David Edward Robertson, Bernard Hill, Elizabeth Dormer-Phillips)

Full review See: Interview with Chris Cronin about The Moor

Otto Baxter: Not A Fucking Horror Story

A documentary on how 35 year-old director Otto Baxter, who has Down syndrome, uses his short film to explore his birth, adoption and epic battles.

(Country: UK; Year: 2023; Director: Peter Beard, Bruce Fletcher; Stars: Otto Baxter)

Punch

Review preview for Punch

Edwards’ triumph lies in the way he weaves together the nightmarish figure of Punch with the spirit of a town where people tear down their phone mast for fear of being infected by 5G, and where they tear down one another as a matter of course.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
Local bogeyman Mr. Punch is stalking the town, and he knows just the way to do it. As the carnage escalates, a group of friends must fight to stay alive in this seaside-gothic, end-of-the-pier slasher.

(Country: UK; Year: 2023; Director: Andy Edwards; Writer: Andy Edwards; Stars: Alina Allison, Kierston Wareing, Jamie Lomas, Faye Campbell)

Full review See: Interview with Andy Edwards about Punch , Interview with Andy Edwards about Midnight Peepshow, The Ghosts Of Monday and Punch

The Puppet Asylum

The story of a horned baby who spends years in captivity and ultimate gets revenge.

(Country: UK; Year: 2023; Director: Otto Baxter; Stars: Paul Kaye, Adeel Akhtar, Myanna Buring, Dexter Fletcher)

[Rec] Terror Without Pause

15 years after the release of the seminal Spanish horror classic [REC], the main protagonists, directors, stars, producers, fans and critics analyse the keys to the film’s global success.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2022; Director: Diego López; Stars: Jaume Balaguero, Paco Plaza, Javier Botet, Manuela Velasco)

Trim Season

Completely cut off from the outside world, a small crew of trimmers working on a remote marijuana farm discover the stalks there have disturbingly deep roots in ancient blood-soaked traditions.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Ariel Vida; Stars: Bethlehem Million, Alex Essoe, Ally Ioannides, Bex Taylor-Klaus, Jane Badler, Juliette Kenn De Balinthazy, Marc Senter, Paris Warner, Ryan Donowho, Chelsea Jurkiewicz, Lorenzo Antonucci, Cory Hart, Austin R Grant, Arianna Scott, Corynn Treadwell)