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Glasgow Film Festival · 2018

Glasgow Film Festival 2018

Frightfest

Programme

13 films · 8 reviews

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Attack Of The Bat Monsters

Review preview for Attack Of The Bat Monsters

Its warmth and good humour make it easy to like and there’s a playfulness about it that keeps it engaging.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
A group of low-budget filmmakers make a horror movie.

(Country: US; Year: 1999; Director: Kelly Greene; Writer: Kelly Greene; Stars: Michael Dalmon, Maurice Ripke, Fred Ballard, Casie Tabanou, Ryan Wickerham)

Full review See: Interview with Kelly Greene about Attack Of The Bat Monsters

The Blacksmith And The Devil

Ten years after Civil War in Spain, an orphan seeks escape from her abusive guardians and constant harassment from uncaring villagers. When her beloved doll is stolen, it ends up at the property of a lonely and feared blacksmith who is the keeper of a terrifying secret.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2017; Director: Paul Urkijo Alijo; Stars: Kandido Uranga, Eneko Sagardoy, Uma Bracaglia)

Cold Skin

Review preview for Cold Skin

The most ambitious, assured and accomplished work to date from Xavier Gens, Cold Skin is terrifying in places and heartbreaking in others.

Jennie Kermode · 5 out of 5
A young man who takes up the role of weather observer on a remote island finds himself trapped in a battle with sinister people from the sea.

(Country: Spain, France; Year: 2017; Director: Xavier Gens; Writer: Jesús Olmo, Eron Sheean; Stars: Ray Stevenson, David Oakes, Aura Garrido)

Full review See: Interview with Xavier Gens about Cold Skin , Interview with David Oakes about Cold Skin

Friendly Beast (O Animal Cordial)

When a cafe is raided, the law of the jungle starts to apply as the workers struggle to survive.

(Country: Brazil; Director: Gabriela Amaral; Writer: Gabriela Amaral; Stars: Murilo Benício, Luciana Paes, Irandhir Santos, Camila Morgado, Jiddu Pinheiro, Ernani Moraes, Humberto Carrão, Ariclenes Barroso, Eduardo Gomes, Thais Aguiar, Diego Avelino)

Ghost Stories

Review preview for Ghost Stories

When it's not busy trying to impress, the film conjures up a lot of atmosphere and succeeds in disturbing.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
A trio of spooky tales.

(Country: UK; Year: 2017; Director: Jeremy Dyson, Andy Nyman; Writer: Jeremy Dyson, Andy Nyman; Stars: Martin Freeman, Alex Lawther, Andy Nyman, Nicholas Burns, Paul Whitehouse, Daniel Hill, Kobna Holdbrook-Smith, Ryan Oliva, Samuel Bottomley, Lesley Harcourt, Jake Davies, Oliver Woollford, Maggie McCarthy, Paul Warren, Louise Atkins)

Full review

The Lodgers

Review preview for The Lodgers

Richard Kendrick's cinematography is gorgeous and O'Malley is unafraid to let his camera linger, drawing out the atmosphere in scenes lesser directors might have rushed.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
Twins in a crumbling family home live according to rules set by a mysterious supernatural entity, but when one of them falls in love, the stage is set for conflict.

(Country: Ireland; Year: 2017; Director: Brian O'Malley; Stars: Charlotte Vega, Bill Milner, Eugene Simon, David Bradley)

Full review See: Interview with Brian O'Malley about The Lodgers

Pyewacket

Review preview for Pyewacket

Pyewacket takes a simple story – a modern interpretation of an age old morality tale – and spins it out slowly to ratchet up the tension.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A frustrated, angst-ridden teenage girl awakens something in the woods when she naively performs an occult ritual to evoke a witch to kill her mother.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2017; Director: Adam MacDonald; Writer: Adam MacDonald; Stars: Nicole Muñoz, Laurie Holden, Chloe Rose, Eric Osborne)

Full review

Primal Rage (Primal Rage: The Legend Of Oh-Mah)

A newly reunited young couple's drive through the Pacific Northwest turns into a nightmare as they are forced to face nature, unsavory locals, and a monstrous creature, known to the Native Americans as Oh-Mah.

(Country: US; Year: 2018; Director: Patrick Magee; Writer: Jay Lee, Patrick Magee; Stars: Casey Gagliardi, Andrew Joseph Montgomery, Eloy Casados)

The Ravenous (Les Affamés)

Review preview for The Ravenous

One of the most artful and creative zombie films for some years.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
In a remote village, locals have turned against their loved ones. A handful of survivors goes into hiding, looking for others like them.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2017; Director: Robin Aubert; Writer: Robin Aubert; Stars: Marc-André Grondin, Monia Chokri, Charlotte St-Martin)

Full review

Sixty Minutes To Midnight

On New Year's Eve 1999 a construction worker suddenly finds himself starring on a TV game show that kills its contestants.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2017; Director: Neil Mckay; Writer: Terry McDonald; Stars: Robert Nolan, Arnold Sidney, Terry McDonald, Hugh Lambe)

Secret Santa

Review preview for Secret Santa

A natural crowd movie.

Jennie Kermode · 2 out of 5
The Pope family’s Christmas Eve dinner goes horribly and hilariously wrong when someone puts something in the party punch causing everyone to tell the unvarnished truth at the already dysfunctional holiday reunion.

(Country: US; Year: 2017; Director: Adam Marcus; Writer: Adam Marcus, Debra Sullivan; Stars: Michelle Renee Allaire, Petra Areskoug, Scott Burkett, Melissa Corkern)

Full review

Tigers Are Not Afraid (Vuelven)

Review preview for Tigers Are Not Afraid

The performances that director Issa López gets out of the children, most of whom are new to acting, are extraordinary.

Jennie Kermode · 5 out of 5
A dark fairy tale about a gang of five children trying to survive the horrific violence of the cartels and the ghosts created every day by the drug war.

(Country: Mexico; Year: 2017; Director: Issa López; Writer: Issa López; Stars: Paola Lara, Hanssel Casillas, Rodrigo Cortes, Tenoch Huerta, Juan Ramón López)

Full review

The Wanderers: The Quest Of The Demon Hunter

A tale of the creatures behind Transylvanian vampire legends.

(Country: Romania; Year: 2017; Director: Dragos Buliga; Writer: Octav Gheorghe; Stars: Armand Assante, Lior Ashkenazi, Branko Djuric, Raluca Aprodu, Bae Jung-hwa)