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FrightFest · 2023

FrightFest 2023

Discovery 2

Programme

16 films · 10 reviews

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Alligator

Review preview for Alligator

Forster pours himself into the role as if it were Oscar-worthy material, playing it with dedication and sincerity throughout, and this gives the film a touch of class even in its silliest moments.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
A discarded baby alligator grows into a giant in the sewers of Chicago and then emerges to go on a rampage.

(Country: US; Year: 1980; Director: Lewis Teague; Writer: John Sayles; Stars: Robert Forster, Robin Riker, Michael V Gazzo, Dean Jagger, Sydney Lassick, Jack Carter)

Full review

The Black Mass

A true crime thriller based on actual events that took place in Florida during the winter of 1978, unfolding over a 24-hour period and centring on a serial killer in the lead-up to his ultimate, deranged killing spree.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Devanny Pinn; Stars: Jeremy London, Kathleen Kinmont, Lisa Wilcox, Jennifer Wenger)

Black Mold

A photographer and her friend sneak into abandoned, off-limits buildings for the sake of their art and also the adrenaline rush. But when they break into Franklin Hill, a large facility with a dark history, they encounter a volatile threat that holds them captive.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: John Pata; Stars: Agnes Albright, Andrew Bailes, Jeremy Holm, Caito Aase)

Departing Seniors

After an act of bullying sends kind but awkward high school senior Javier to the hospital, he begins having psychic visions that reveal the horrifying truth behind a rash of supposed suicides at his school. It is now up to him and his sarcastic best friend Bianca to unmask a serial killer who’s targeting his classmates before it’s too late.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Clare Cooney; Stars: Ignacio Diaz-Silverio, Yani Gellman, Ireon Roach, Maisie Merlock)

Good Boy (Me, You & Frank)

Review preview for Good Boy

Good Boy addresses a commonplace kind of horror which we too often fail to spot even when there is every opportunity to see it coming.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A young woman meets a handsome young millionaire and romance blossoms between them - but he lives with a man who pretends to be a dog.

(Country: Norway; Year: 2022; Director: Viljar Bøe; Writer: Viljar Bøe; Stars: Gard Løkke, Katrine Lovise Øpstad Fredriksen, Amalie Willoch Njaastad, Nicolai Narvesen Lied)

Full review See: Interview with Viljar Bøe about Good Boy

I Am Monsters!

Review preview for I Am Monsters!

Vince has a good supply of stories, from the industry and from other areas of life. Together they paint a very personal portrait of an era.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A personal story about growing up with horror films and coping as a gay man under Thatcherism.

(Country: UK; Year: 2023; Director: Nicholas Vince; Writer: Nicholas Vince, Clive Barker; Stars: Nicholas Vince, Marie Britton, Lyndsey Craine)

Full review

Kim's Video

Review preview for Kim's Video

Unashamedly quirky but burtsting with the love of film, this is the sort of one-off doc that’s as much about the engaging playfulness of its construction as it is the content.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
Playing with the forms and tropes of various cinema genres, the filmmaker sets off on a quest to find a legendary lost video collection of 55,000 movies in Sicily.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: David Redmon, Ashley Sabin)

Full review

Poundcake

A savage serial killer is murdering straight white men in New York City. No one cares.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Onur Tukel; Stars: Ron Brice, Eva Dorrepaal, Pia Paez, Onur Tukel)

River

Review preview for River

Yamaguchi and his regular writer, Makoto Ueda, have such a deep understanding of their characters that it’s the emotional timeline, rather than the physical one, that becomes the subject of real concern.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
One winter in Kibune, Kyoto, people find themselves stuck in a two minute time loop. As others try to work together to find out what's going on, one woman finds herself increasingly isolated.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2023; Director: Junta Yamaguchi; Writer: Makoto Ueda; Stars: Saori, Riko Fujitani, Shiori Kubo, Kazunari Tosa, Yoshimasa Kondô)

Full review

Spookt

Review preview for Spookt

The two leads have good chemistry...and it’s really this which drives the film.

Jennie Kermode · 2.5 out of 5
When a paranormal investigator and a sceptic join forces to discover the truth behind a girl's disappearance, they are confounded by unexplained events.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Tony Reames; Stars: Christen Sharice, Hayley Leary, Erin Brown, Eric Roberts)

Full review See: Interview with Tony Reames and Vanessa Ionta Wright about Spookt

Thorns

Review preview for Thorns

Thorns is one of those horror films which will hit a lot harder if you have been raised in or around Catholicism, or if you have a strong belief in Hell.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
An ex-priest working for NASA is sent to investigate a remote observatory that went silent after receiving a mysterious radio signal from deep space. Upon arrival, he discovers the signal has opened a portal unleashing a thorned monster. Only by recovering his faith does he stand a chance of stopping it.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Douglas Schulze; Stars: Doug Bradley, Cassandra Schomer, Jon Bennett, Bob Shumaker)

Full review See: Interview with Doug Bradley and Douglas Schulze about Thorns

To Fire You Come At Last

Review preview for To Fire You Come At Last

Coloured with rural folklore, this black and white take on the experience on 17th Century life is deeply English in its sensibilities.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
In rural 17th century England, a group of men gather to carry a coffin on the long walk to the local graveyard for burial. A great deal of ancient folklore and superstition surrounds the pathway to the church, and several of the party are afraid to walk it after dark.

(Country: UK; Year: 2023; Director: Sean Hogan; Writer: Sean Hogan; Stars: Mark Carlisle, James Swanton, Harry Roebuck, Richard Rowden)

Full review

Triggered (Topakk, Trigger)

A Special Forces operative suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder is discharged from the army due to his extreme medical condition. Finding employment as a security guard his world is turned upside down when he finds himself embroiled in a different kind of urban war after a young woman seeks his protection from a corrupt police death squad working for one of the most brutal drug cartels.

(Country: Philippines; Year: 2023; Director: Richard Somes; Stars: Arjo Atayde, Julia Montes, Sid Lucero, Kokoy De Santos)

T Blockers (T-Blockers)

Review preview for T Blockers

A deceptively smart, layered piece of work.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
Ancient parasites rise from a small town, taking the most fearful and susceptible hosts. A young filmmaker finds herself as the only one who can sense the possessed resistance before the horror escapes and spreads.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2023; Director: Alice Maio Mackay; Writer: Alice Maio Mackay, Benjamin Pahl Robinson; Stars: Joni Ayton-Kent, Lisa Fanto, Chris Asimos, Joe Romeo, Cassie Workman, Patty Glavieux, Stanley Browning, Etcetera Etcetera)

Full review

Werewolf Santa

Lucy has a social media channel where she hunts for evidence of actual monsters, but it’s not doing very well, with just a few viewers following her disappointing posts. Everything changes on Christmas Eve, when her camera witnesses Santa getting bitten by a werewolf before he turns lycanthrope himself.

(Country: UK; Year: 2023; Director: Airell Anthony Hayles; Stars: Emily Booth, Joe Bob Briggs, Mark Arnold, Katherine Rodden)

What You Wish For

Review preview for What You Wish For

Elegantly styled and smoothly delivered, the film takes a hard look at corporate culture.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A chef with gambling problems flees to a Latin American villa where he assumes another man's identity.

(Country: US; Year: 2023; Director: Nicholas Tomnay; Writer: Nicholas Tomnay; Stars: Nick Stahl, Tamsin Topolski, Randy Vasquez, Penelope Mitchell, Juan Carlos Messier, Brian Groh, Ariel Sierra)

Full review See: Interview with Nicholas Tomnay about What You Wish For