FrightFest

Hi all,

If you only see one film on Saturday, make it The Harvest. It left me exhilarated and exhausted!

Review here: http://bit.ly/1wiOlis

Rob@Sky wrote:Hi all,

If you only see one film on Saturday, make it The Harvest. It left me exhilarated and exhausted!

Review here: http://bit.ly/1wiOlis

Really? Saturday also has The Babadook and Coherence - you'd pick this over either of those if you only had the choice of one? It does look promising from what I've heard/seen, but The Babadook has had almost universal praise and looks great from the trailer.

Yeah, I thought it was disturbing and emotionally exhausting, despite being essentially a kid's mystery story. Be interesting to see what certifcate it gets - it's a PG13 in the States, but reckon it could get a 15 over here for subject matter. Be a shame if so as teens will like it I reckon.

But, it could be this year's Haunter, which divided opinion last year.

8/10 - some of the early scenes only make sense later on, so it feels a bit odd to start with... but it settles down nicely after that. The ending for the mother felt a bit abrupt. Well acted all round.

@ Rob@Sky - or it could just be a convenient way to promote your blog, eh? You're not making any friends here...

Not my intention, jonbly, but do enjoy sharing my thoughts with like-minded people. But, if that's the general consensus will ease off the linking.

Come on guys, keep it friendly. Many Frightfesters have sites and blogs that they're publishing their thoughts on.

Rob, there's a thread here for Frightfest coverage where you're encouraged to post links to your work: http://www.frightfest.co.uk/forum/viewt ... =61&t=6708

If it's in there at least people can choose not to open the thread if they don't want to see links elsewhere.

Enjoyed this - the mashup of The Secret Garden and Coma the world has been waiting for!

Has the woman in the film four screen finished presenting her dissertation on the NHS yet?

Think I stand alone here but I wasn't that impressed. It was very well made but oh-so-predictable. The film's title is a giveaway in itself and the other major twist was very clearly signposted ... 6/10.

I loved this film. And I'm so glad I'm not the only one who thought it was Secret Garden-esque. Was that mentioned in the Q&A? Unfortunately couldn't stay for it?

John McNaughton mentioned he was going for a fairy-tale feel, and mentioned Hansel and Gretel and the Brother's Grimm.

But like you I thought of Secret Garden during the film - might have asked about that in the Q&A if it wasn't for the rambling monologue from the trained nurse and expert on the US healthccare system.

Rob@Sky wrote:Hi all,

If you only see one film on Saturday, make it The Harvest. It left me exhilarated and exhausted!

Review here: http://bit.ly/1wiOlis

Well said my friend. Like you i really enjoyed it, and barring the awful Zombie Halocaust, its been one of the best days films I've experienced for years. Not sure why Jonblow is being such an a kid, but at least he made me aware of your blog Your comments were insightful and helpful. Cant we just all enjoy a good film........

A good low key way to start Saturday. Absorbing for the majority of its running time but let down by the rather obvious twist and that fiery melodramatic ending. Still 7 / 10

I thought the plot was decent enough and the child actors were good, but the film itself was shot like a TV movie with a score which would have been more at home in a romantic comedy (I checked out the composer on IMDB, he mostly scores comedies). The bland visual look didn't work in favour of the fairy tale feel they were going for. Samantha Morton was fine early on when she has to exert a chilly control over her family and the interloper, but later on when she goes crazy her performance descends into camp "Mommie Dearest" style histrionics which were more funny than scary. At times this wasn't far from a Lifetime movie starring Heather Locklear and Kevin Sorbo and I was wondering what attracted two highly regarded indie-actors to the project. That said, it was one of the more entertaining films of what I though was a pretty underwhelming Saturday line-up. It would be a great film for someone who is in their early/mid-teens.

Cheers Bernal316! And DJBenz - will put my stuff in the link you mentioned. Glad The Harvest is sparking off debate though, a lot going on in that script. Including a symbolically adolescent looking cruciform scarecrow!

Enjoyed this - the mashup of The Secret Garden and Coma the world has been waiting for!

Has the woman in the film four screen finished presenting her dissertation on the NHS yet?

Couldnt have described it better When she'd been going on for 5 minutes without asking a question my mind wandered to "French Cinegoer" of past years