Skip to main content

Glasgow Film Festival · 2011

Glasgow Film Festival 2011

FrightFest

This year's exciting horror weekender is packed full of treats, from big budget supernatural shocker The Shrine to the distinctly oddball Rubber. There's some classic exploitation fun courtesy of documentary Machete Maidens Unleashed (brought to you by the man behind last year's hit Not Quite Hollywood) and you can also enjoy the latest edge-of-the-seat performance from Rutger Hauer - just remember that you shouldn't trifle with a tramp and his rifle. Look out for our exclusive Frightfest feature coverage.

Programme

9 films · 9 reviews

Jump to a film

Amer (Bitter)

Review preview for Amer

A totally idiosyncratic creation, something that deserves to be relished for its bravado refusal to play by the rules.

David Graham · 4.5 out of 5
A surreal look at three stages of a woman's life, drawing heavily on the giallo tradition.

(Country: France, Belgium; Year: 2009; Director: Hélène Cattet, Bruno Forzani; Stars: Marie Bos, Delphine Brual, Harry Cleven, Bianca Maria D'Amato, Cassandra Forêt, Charlotte Eugène Guibeaud, Bernard Marbaix, Jean-Michel Vovk) , Official site

Full review

Hobo With A Shotgun

Review preview for Hobo With A Shotgun

The sort of movie that Rob Zombie should have made by now and will no doubt wish he had.

David Graham · 4 out of 5
A hobo hops from a train with dreams of a fresh life in a new city, but instead finds himself trapped in an urban hell.

(Year: 2011; Director: Jason Eisener; Writer: John Davies, Jason Eisener, Rob Cotterill; Stars: Rutger Hauer, Gregory Smith, Robb Wells, Brian Downey, Jeremy Akerman, Nick Bateman, Molly Dunsworth, Mark A. Owen, Michael Ray Fox, David Brunt, Glen Matthews, Scott Vrooman, Rhys Bevan-John, Gregory Richardson, John Awoods) , Official site

Full review

Little Deaths

Review preview for Little Deaths

Overall, each film boasts strong acting and well-written dramatic scenes, and a very polished look that belies what must have been very tight budgets.

David Graham · 3.5 out of 5
A triptych of disturbing tales exploring interrelated themes of sex and death.

(Country: UK; Year: 2011; Director: Sean Hogan, Simon Rumley, Andrew Parkinson; Stars: Amy Joyce Hastings, Luke de Lacey, Kate Braithwaite)

Full review

Machete Maidens Unleashed!

Review preview for Machete Maidens Unleashed!

While the documentary doesn't shy away from some of the more unscrupulous practices it works as a love letter to a period where all bets were off and anything could happen.

David Graham · 4.5 out of 5
A documentary celebrating the Filipino exploitation films of the Seventies and Eighties, where lax health and safety regulations led to remarkable thrills.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2010; Director: Mark Hartley; Writer: Mark Hartley; Stars: Carmen Argenziano, Allan Arkush, John Ashley, Roger Corman, Joe Dante, Pam Grier, John Landis)

Full review

Mother's Day

Review preview for Mother's Day

Funny and frightening from start to finish, with a set of memorable characters and powerful performances that do them the justice they deserve.

David Graham · 4.5 out of 5
Brothers fleeing a bank robbery invade a yuppie housewarming party at their mother's recently foreclosed home and sadistically attack the guests, but when mother arrives, events take a still nastier turn.

(Country: US; Year: 2010; Director: Darren Lynn Bousman; Writer: Scott Milam; Stars: Deborah Ann Woll, Shawn Ashmore, Lisa Marcos, Rebecca DeMornay, Frank Grillo)

Full review

Rubber

Review preview for Rubber

Many will feel Rubber is a short student film stretched to breaking point and past it, but if you can tune into its whacked-out world-view it should have you smiling all the way through.

David Graham · 4 out of 5
Rubber is just an ordinary tyre, but one day he develops intelligence and telekinetic powers. Horrified by what he discovers about the fate of other tyres, he sets out on an implacable quest for revenge.

(Country: France; Year: 2010; Director: Quentin Dupieux; Writer: Quentin Dupieux; Stars: Stephen Spinella, Jack Plotnick, Wings Hauser, Roxane Mesquida) , Official site

Full review

The Shrine

Review preview for The Shrine

A mirthless hybrid of different subgenre elements that, though merged with a twist, remain resolutely bland to the end.

Anton Bitel · 2 out of 5
Three journalists find themselves in danger when on the trail of a cult which just might be practising human sacrifice.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2010; Director: Jon Knautz; Writer: Jon Knautz; Stars: Aaron Ashmore, Ben Lewis, Meghan Heffern)

Full review

Territories (Checkpoint)

Review preview for Territories

This is a gruelling experience that forces the audience to look at events in today's 'liberated' world and consider the cost for those directly involved.

David Graham · 4 out of 5
Three American friends returning from a trip are arrested at customs and taken to a strange backwoods camp where they suddenly realise their lives are on the line.

(Country: France, Canada; Year: 2010; Director: Olivier Abbou; Writer: Olivier Abbou, Thibault Lang Willar; Stars: Roc LaFortune, Sean Devine, Nicole Leroux)

Full review