Faux Frightfest 2014

After missing out on this year's annual Frightfest shindig in London's glitzy Leicester Square, due to the utter shambles which was The Vue Cinema's online / phone booking system (which went into predictable meltdown the day tickets went on sale, and duly remained an absolute farce throughout), being obviously bitter and twisted, I decided to curate my very own 'Faux Frightfest' over the same August Bank Holiday weekend as the genuine article, as a means of easing my resentment, and keeping up with new releases in the ever evolving world of horror cinema.

Programming twenty new and recent horror / genre films from around the world proved to be quite fun, and a bit of a gamble as all were to be first time watches, so frankly quality was far from guaranteed (in that respect, mirroring the real Frightfest then!). I chose a selection of films which were either screening at this year's Frightfest (The Den, Dead Snow 2, Coherence etc), had been shown at recent previous Frightfest events, such as this year's Glasgow Frightfest (Mindscape, Torment), or last year's main London bash or Halloween all-nighter (After, Soulmate etc). Other titles were mainly gathered from well-received screenings shown at various other regional and international horror / fantasy film festivals (Found, Rigor Mortis etc). The films programmed were made up from a selection of retail / rental / import / screener & VOD sources, and went a little like this, with my post-viewing Twitter mini-reviews included here for each film.......................

THURSDAY 21ST AUGUST 2014

THE DEN 
(2013) (USA) (81mins)  
The Den: Ingeniously merges current online & horror cinema trends to form suspenseful & sinister zeitgeist grabbing cyber-stalk & slasher.

GUN WOMAN

(2014) (JAPAN) (86mins)

Gun Woman: Heroically deranged & depraved orgy of cartoonish sex, sleaze & splatter with a hardcore taboo-busting agenda.Gloriously extreme.

  

FRIDAY 22ND AUGUST 2014

DEAD SNOW 2 - RED Vs DEAD
(2014) (NORWAY) (100mins)
Dead Snow 2: Far more comedic than previously. A cavalcade of creative cadaverous carnage & inspired comic-book splatter. An absolute blast.

ALIEN ABDUCTION
(2014) (USA) (85mins)

Alien Abduction: Not quite 'Dire In The Sky', but fails to capitalise on initially eerie build-up & camcorder FF conceit rapidly wears thin.

SATURDAY 23RD AUGUST 2014

ALL CHEERLEADERS DIE

(2013) (USA) (89mins)

All Cheerleaders Die: Tonally ramshackle, entertainingly madcap subversion of high school horror, even if it's essentially Jennifer's Bodies.

COHERENCE

(2013) (USA) (89mins)

Coherence: Labyrinthine lo-fi / high concept mindbending sci-fi, cultivates a warped reality of escalating paranoia & cryptic perception.

DELIVERY - THE BEAST WITHIN

(2013) (USA) (84mins)

Delivery: Rosemary's Baby for the reality TV era. Nothing groundbreaking, but manages to raise a few shivers & the climax genuinely shocks.

LIFE AFTER BETH

(2014) (USA) (91mins)

Life After Beth: An indie-spirited Warm Bodies, with manic sense of absurdity & surprising emotional depth. Enjoyably offbeat & affecting.

 

RIGOR MORTIS

(2013) (HONG KONG) (105mins)

Rigor Mortis: Jiangshi revival / supernatural portmanteau set in gloomy apartment block. Beautifully shot, visually rich, pedestrian paced.

SUNDAY 24TH AUGUST 2014

 

WITCHING & BITCHING

(2013) (SPAIN / FRANCE) (112mins)

Witching & Bitching: Agreeably barking mad supernatural battle of sexes, bit ragged, but inspired lunacy & visual flair prevail. Bitchin'!

AFTER

(2012) (USA) (90mins)

After: An intriguing mystery unravelling in the subconscious with deviations from expected plot & sensitively handled central relationship.

AT THE DEVIL'S DOOR (aka HOME)

(2014) (USA) (91mins)

At The Devil's Door: Slow burn Satanic shocker, switches focus between leads & has some mood & menace, but drags its cloven hooves terribly.

FOUND

(2012) (USA) (103mins)

Found: Raw & rough edged, this controversy-baiting indie pulls few punches with its grim vision of a psychotic sibling & copycat violence.

R100

(2013) (JAPAN) (100mins)

R100: A fetishistic fantasy, grief & guilt manifested in a series of increasingly perverse & surreal encounters as the 4th wall shatters.

 

MONDAY 25TH AUGUST 2014

SOULMATE 

(2013) (UK) (104mins)

Soulmate: Low key & leisurely, an old fashioned, mournful, melancholic ghost story more concerned with character & mood than cheap scares.

CRAWL OR DIE

(2014) (USA) (86mins)

Crawl Or Die: Micro-budget creature feature throwback. 90 mins of monotonous crawling about in dark confined spaces. Tedious tunnel-vision.

 

TORMENT

(2013) (CANADA) (80mins)

Torment: Formulaic home invasion fare, essentially You're Next minus genre-savvy smarts. Katherine Isabelle in scream queen mode is a bonus.

 

MINDSCAPE (aka ANNA) 

(2013) (USA / SPAIN / FRANCE) (99mins)

Mindscape: Absorbing psychological chiller of paranormal psycho analysis. Treads familiar ground, but with assured footing & a classy cast.

DEAD SHADOWS

(2012) (FRANCE) (75mins)

Dead Shadows: Parisian Night Of The Comet/Lovecraftian apocalypse. Feels rushed & televisual but at barely 70 mins doesn't outstay welcome.

THE LAST SHOWING

(2014) (UK) (90mins) 
The Last Showing: Obsolescence turns to psychosis as embittered Englund goes One Hour Photo in cat & mouse multiplex manipulation & murder.