Some three and a half months late, my thoughts on last year's Frightfest which was somewhat unusual in there being no Asian films (though one was
scheduled) no French and no Italian ones. What there were provided a mixed
bag of both genre and quality.
23 August
BLACK SHEEP
Another dangers of genetic mutation effort, this time from New Zealand where efforts to produce the wonder sheep proved deadly. Nice scenery and
some amusing touches without being too demanding or scary. A nice quiet
start to the weekend.
24 August
THE SWORD BEARER
A Russian entry set in Kaliningrad for a change with the premise of the hero
having a sword in his hand which extends at times of great danger and
anger. Well handled with a believable story line to the extent that one all but
accepted the rather over the top ending. The exotically named Chulpan
Khamatova who played the heroine was a sight for sore and not so sore eyes
though her engaging in rampant sex with the hero almost as soon as they met was a little hard to accept - or is that just envy.
THE SIGNAL
Basically good idea spoilt by bad acting, bad editing and bad filming which
was a waste of time. I wonder if the idea came from Stephen King's 'The
Cell'?
1408
Mainstream Hollywood with high production values and first rate performances from John Cusack and a well turned out, almost elegant, Samuel L. Jackson. Confusing backflashes at times but, overall, fairly good.
25 August
COLD PREY
Glorious scenery and a solid story with a convincing back story which made
what happened believable. Viktoria Winge as the first female victim should
have a special award for exposure in minimal underwear in snow and ice!
A strong heroine which has become something of a cliche in slasher films
of late possibly to compensate for the untold numbers of your women who\have been killed in these films.
JOSHUA
Evil seed drama which was poorly acted and directed: with the high production values involved, this was definitely the biggest waste of money of
the weekend though not the absolute worst film, a title which a number of
the low budget features deserved.
STORM WARNING
When things start to go wrong, why do all horror heroes and heroines, if those be the right words, press on instead of turning back - haven't any of
them seen what happens? A couple lost in shoreline swamps stumble into
a marijuana farm where first the two brothers on the farm and then the father
terrorize them. Again, the resourcefulness of the heroine, Nadia Fares,
eventually saves the day in what is a rather bloody climax.
WRONG TURN 2
Quite jolly horror comedy set in the boonies where inbreeding and nuclear
waste mutants start killing off reality TV contestants. Not as good as the
first of this name though. Again a spunky female lead.
DISTURBIA
Described in the programme as 'the surprise smash American hit of the year',
the surprise being that it was a hit. An updated remake of Hitchcock's
'Rear Window' for the teen years, it has a few interesting riffs on the way the
main character is restricted but has nothing other than this to commend it.
26 August
JACK KETCHUM'S THE GIRL NEXT DOOR
The revelation of the weekend and, were it not so nasty a true tale, the film of
the weekend. Very disturbing indeed with excellent performances from
both the eponymous heroine, Blythe Auffarth, her nemesis (brilliant acting by Blanche Baker) and somewhat less so by the narrator of the events that occur, Daniel Manche. Unflashily directed, and all the better for it, by Gregory Wilson, the film portrays real evil very convincingly indeed.
BOTCHED
A romp with scary special effects and a bloody killing spree that was both
amusing at times and effectively done. As with a number of this type of film
a jolly way to pass the time without too much strain on the grey matter.
POSTAL
First of a Uwe Boll double bill which reminded me of 'Arttack of the Killer
Tomatoes' in some ways. Utter rubbish.
SEED
The second Boll feature which may have been better but was filmed in next
to complete darkness so after 30 minutes or so I gave up and went for coffee.
WAZ
A horror noir based on the thoery of a geneticist, George R. Price, that there
is no such thing an altruism. A serial killer sets out to prove this or the
opposite and is chased by Stellan Skarsgard in yet another solid performance
whose path crosses that of Selma Blair, much better here than in 'Hellboy'.
For me, the revelation of the film was Melissa George as Skarsgard's partner;
a strong well-nuanced performance, all the better for being unexpected.
27 August
THE ZOMBIE DIARIES
To call this tripe is being unfair to that much unloved delicacy. An English
Zombie movie in quasi-documentary style with no redeeming features apart
from ite mercifully short length of 81 minutes.
KM 31
Twin sisters communicate psychically and one is left mutilated and in a coma
after a road accident at - Km31 - after which the walking sister experienced
her sister's terrors. It then gets confused but remained, for me, fairly well
done without overly relying on special effects. Apparently a big hit in its
home country of Mexico, I doubt it will resonate much elsewhere.
SPIRAL
Joel David Moore, who co-directed and co-wrote, plays a disturbed and rather dysfunctional young man who is befriended by his employer (a family
friend) and is then increasingly involved with a new employee (a sweet
performance by Amber Tamblyn). When she fails to turn up to lunch with
him at his employer's on Christmas Day, the latter decides she is a figment
of his imagination - until the last moments of the film. I did not like the film
much but acknowledge that it was well done.
DAY WATCH
The sequel to 'Night Watch' and apparently more successful. Again a strong
and believable story line, excellent but not overdone special effects, good
performances from the leads, particularly Konstantin Khabensky, with a merit
award to the good girl, Mariya Poroshina, and her bad counterpart, Zhanne
Friske, for reasons which have nothing to do with acting - see their fellow
countrywoman in 'The Sword Bearer' to complete the trio.
THE ORPHANAGE
The final film of what was a very interesting weekend with a number of other
films which were missed either because of their late timing - getting home
after the Underground stops is no longer fun - or because they did not appeal. This was the best film of Frightfest with some strong contenders -
the two Russian films and 'Jack Ketchum's.....' running it close. Not a film
with lots of gore but a psychological fantasy of the highest order directed by
Juan Antonio Nayona with a superb central performance by Belen Rueda.
From the opening sequences with the backflash to the history of the setting
for the film, through the moving fairytale ending this is a film to be treasured
and watched again and again.