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Grimmfest · 2020

Grimmfest 2020

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Programme

22 films · 11 reviews

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12 Hour Shift

Review preview for 12 Hour Shift

A splatter-happy romp through one night in the organ trade.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
Nurse Mandy is just trying to make it through her double shift alive, but her nasty drug addiction, annoying coworkers, needy patients, and devious cousin are making it pretty tough, not to mention organ-stealing criminals and an injured convict.

(Country: US; Year: 2020; Director: Brea Grant; Writer: Brea Grant; Stars: Angela Bettis, David Arquette, Chloe Farnworth, Mick Foley, Kit Williamson, Nikea Gamby-Turner, Tara Perry, Brooke Seguin, Dusty Warren, Tom DeTrinis, Thomas Hobson, Julianne Dowler, Briana Lane, Taylor Alden, Scott Dean)

Full review

Anonymous Animals (Les Animaux Anonymes)

A series of vignettes illustrating human captives being literally treated like animals by humanoid figures with animal heads - who or what exactly are these people?

(Country: France; Year: 2020; Director: Baptiste Rouveure; Stars: Pauline Guilpain, Emilien Lavaut, Thierry Marcos, Aurelia Schikarski)

An Ideal Host

Liz just wants to host the perfect dinner party but an unexpected guest sends the evening into chaos, with potentially apocalyptic consequences.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2020; Director: Robert Woods; Writer: Tyler Jacob Jones; Stars: Nadia Collins, Evan Williams, Naomi Brockwell, St John Cowcher, Mary Soudi)

Death Ranch

Review preview for Death Ranch

On days when watching Nazis get punched on YouTube isn't enough, this hits the spot.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
Three African American siblings on the run from the police take refuge at an abandoned Tennessee Ranch, unaware their hideout is on the hunting grounds of a cannibalistic Ku Klux Klan cult

(Country: UK; Year: 2020; Director: Charlie Steeds; Writer: Charlie Steeds; Stars: Deiondre Teagle, Faith Monique, Travis Cutner, Scot Scurlock, Brad Belemjian, Thomas Mark Higgins)

Full review

The Deep Ones

A married couple rent a beach side Airbnb only to find themselves in the grip of a mysterious cult and its ancient sea god.

(Country: US; Year: 2020; Director: Chad Ferrin; Writer: Chad Ferrin, based on the work of HP Lovecraft; Stars: Jackie Debatin, Johann Urb, Kelli Maroney, Nicolas Coster, Gina La Piana)

Fried Barry

Review preview for Fried Barry

Achieves remarkable poignancy for something so irreverent.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
Barry is a drug-addled, abusive bastard who - after yet another bender - is abducted by aliens. Barry takes a backseat as an alien visitor assumes control of his body and takes it for a joyride through Cape Town.

(Country: South Africa; Year: 2020; Director: Ryan Kruger; Writer: Ryan Kruger; Stars: Gary Green, Brett Williams, Joey Cramer, Sean Cameron Michael, Steve Wall)

Full review See: Interview with Ryan Kruger about Fried Barry

The Horror Crowd

Review preview for The Horror Crowd

The film is beautifully edited, at times coming across like one long conversation between people in different places.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A documentary about the Hollywood horror community.

(Country: US; Year: 2020; Director: Ruben Pla; Stars: Lin Shaye, Greg Grunberg, Russell Mulcahy, Clare Kramer)

Full review See: Interview with Ruben Pla about The Horror Crowd

It Cuts Deep

A commitment-phobic man fights to hold onto his girlfriend after her obsessive childhood friend starts vying for her attention.

(Country: US; Year: 2020; Director: Nicholas Payne Santos; Writer: Nicholas Payne Santos; Stars: Quinn Jackson, Chloe Roe, Alison Fraser, John Anderson)

I Am Ren (Panacea)

An ordinary mother becomes convinced that she's an android and has started to malfunction.

(Country: Poland; Year: 2019; Director: Piotr Ryczko; Writer: Piotr Ryczko; Stars: Marta Król, Marcin Sztabinski, Marieta Zukowska, Janusz Chabior)

The Medium

A team of paranormal investigators head for the highlands of Fraser's Hill, Malaysia, to probe a series of alleged disturbances at a house with a dark past.

(Country: US; Year: 2020; Director: Brando Lee; Writer: Brando Lee, Alfie Palermo; Stars: Fiona Dourif, Harris Dickinson, Randy Wayne, William Miller, Malin Crépin, Jordan Belfi, Ashlyn Boots)

The Oak Room

Review preview for The Oak Room

Few films have ever depicted the art of storytelling as brilliantly as this.

Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
During a raging snowstorm, a drifter returns home to the blue-collar bar located in the remote Canadian town where he was born. When he offers to settle an old debt with a grizzled bartender by telling him a story, the night's events quickly spin into a dark tale of mistaken identities, double-crosses and shocking violence.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2020; Director: Cody Calahan; Writer: Peter Genoway; Stars: RJ Mitte, Peter Outerbridge, Ari Millen, Nicholas Campbell, Martin Roach)

Full review See: Interview with Cody Calahan about The Oak Room

Rent-A-Pal

Review preview for Rent-A-Pal

Wheaton is excellent as the twee yet sinister Andy.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A lonely carer looking for love becomes obsessed by a videotape featuring a man who offers to be his friend.

(Country: US; Year: 2020; Director: Jon Stevenson; Writer: Jon Stevenson; Stars: Brian Landis Folkins, Wil Wheaton, Amy Rutledge, Kathleen Brady)

Full review

Revenge Ride

Review preview for Revenge Ride

Revenge Ride has a kind of rough-hewn grace, a purity that's rare in today's cinema.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
After a young woman is drugged at a party, her cousin's all-female biker gang rides out for revenge.

(Country: US; Year: 2020; Director: Melanie Aitkenhead; Writer: Timothy Durham; Stars: Serinda Swan, Diego Boneta, Jake Lockett, Pollyanna Macintosh, Vanessa Dubasso, Reem Kadem)

Full review

Ropes (Cuerdas, Prey)

Review preview for Ropes

Elena is not initially an easy character to like, but her courage and ingenuity is handling the crisis she finds herself in gradually wins viewers over.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A young quadriplegic woman who has lost her sister moves to a country house with her father. A trained dog helps her, but then becomes her worst enemy.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2019; Director: José Luis Montesinos; Writer: Yako Blesa, José Luis Montesinos; Stars: Paula del Río, Miguel Ángel Jenner, Jordi Aguilar, Paula del Río, Miguel Ángel Jenner, Jordi Aguilar)

Full review

The Special

Suspecting his wife of infidelity, Jerry follows his friend down a dark rabbit hole into a horror landscape of addiction.

(Country: US; Year: 2010; Director: B Harrison Smith; Writer: James Newman, Mark Steensland; Stars: Davy Raphaely, Dave Sheridan, Sarah French, Doug henderson, Susan Moses, Paul Cottman)

Stray (Tvar)

A couple who have lost their son decide to adopt, but the boy they get is not what either of them expected.

(Country: Russia; Year: 2019; Director: Olga Gorodetskaya; Writer: Olga Gorodetskaya, Anna Starobinets; Stars: Elena Lyadova, Vladimir Vdovichenkov, Sevastian Bugaev, Yan Runov)

Ten Minutes To Midnight

Review preview for Ten Minutes To Midnight

Williams is fantastic in the central role.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
A late night radio host is trapped inside the station by a violent storm after being bitten by a rabid bat.

(Country: US; Year: 2020; Director: Erik Bloomquist; Writer: Erik Bloomquist, Carson Bloomquist; Stars: Caroline Williams, Nicole Kang, Nicholas Tucci, William Youmans)

Full review

They Reach

In 1979, a young girl stumbles upon a possessed tape player. She unwittingly unleashes a demonic entity that haunts her family while slowly dragging the small town of Clarkston to Hell.

(Country: US; Year: 2020; Director: Sylas Dall; Writer: Sylas Dall; Stars: Mary Madaline Roe, Morgan Chandler, Eden Campbell, Kyan Zielinski)

Triggered

Review preview for Triggered

Shot at night with scenes designed to look as if they're lit by torchlight, this is no small technical achievement.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
Nine friends, each harbouring a dark secret, go camping in the woods. When they wake up with bombs strapped to their chests, they find themselves caught up in a deadly game.

(Country: South Africa; Year: 2020; Director: Alistair Orr; Writer: David D Jones; Stars: Liesl Ahlers, Reine Swart, Sean Cameron Michael, Steven John Ward, Craig Urbani)

Full review

Unearth

Review preview for Unearth

Overall, the story is slight, but Lee Eun-ah's atmospheric cinematography enables Unearth to punch above its weight.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
The relationship between two neighbouring farm families is strained when one of them chooses to lease land to an oil and gas company - and something long dormant and terrifying, deep beneath the earth's surface, is released.

(Country: US; Year: 2020; Director: John C Lyons, Dorota Swies; Writer: Kelsey Goldberg, John C Lyons; Stars: Adrienne Barbeau, Marc Blucas, Brooke Sorenson, Allison McAtee, PJ Marshall, Rachel McKeon)

Full review

The Unhealer

A botched faith healing bestows supernatural shamanic powers on a bullied teenager. When his lifelong tormentors pull a prank that kills someone he loves, he uses his powers for revenge and goes on a bloody rampage to settle the score.

(Country: US; Year: 2021; Director: Martin Guigui; Writer: J. Shawn Harris, Kevin E. Moore; Stars: Adam Beach, Elijah Nelson, Natasha Henstridge, Lance Henriksen)

Urubú

A birdwatcher and photographer, tries to give his career a push by taking an impossible photograph: an albino urubú never seen outside captivity. To this end, he drags his wife and daughter to the Amazon rainforest.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2019; Director: Alejandro Ibáñez; Writer: Carlos Bianchi, Alejandra Heredia; Stars: Carlos Urrutia, Clarice Alves, José Carabias, Alejandro Ibáñez, Jullie D'Arrigo)