Saturday

[Ak30rigg]

Just the one day for me at Frighfest each year.

Venue - lacks the huge screen and special atmosphere of the old Empire, and still shambolic with tickets. But positives are a big bar area and better discovery screen theatres. Not great, but not that bad really.

Very pleasantly surprised with the standard of films - after a couple of poor one day options in the last couple of years.

Starry Eyes - excellent main performance and an interesting theme. A few problems with changes in tone and pacing issues, but overall an unexpected treat.

Short film showcase. Some comedy, some gore, some thought provoking. An interesting selection. Fantasy/horror ideas can be really well served by the short film format.

Sleeping Room. A discovery screen gem. Very well acted ghostly chiller capturing the seediness of Brighton Rock and the melancholy of seaside towns in winter. It deserved a bigger audience. Film of the day.

Babadook. Nothing particularly wrong with this, but still my least favourite film of the day. Maybe there was too much hype, but the classy design and acting didn't it prevent from seeming like a very, very long film. It may well be that you have to be a parent to get fully engaged with this one.

Zombie Holocaust. Fun nonsense romp.

If Babadook is the worst film of the day, then that is a day of high quality entertainment. So lots of credit due to the organisers - and the film makers.

[DJBenz]

It may well be that you have to be a parent to get fully engaged with this one.

Nope. Parent of three and while undeniably well made and acted, it didn't do much to terrify me (which I was expecting).

[Stephen with ph]

So you didn't catch "The Harvest" or "Life after Beth"?

Shame. Both are terrific and the latter is perhaps my highlight of the festival

After an uneven start to this year's 'Fest, Saturday turned out to be one of the great FF days.

[Ak30rigg]

Never an easy choice to know whether to go for the main screen or a discovery screen.

Seems like Saturday was a day that you won whatever choice you made.

[Lost Highway]

I used to do the whole Frightfest in the Prince Charles days, but now I only go for one day.

This year I picked Saturday because of the highly praised The Babadook and because of Sin City 2 which was then moved to Thursday (Frightfest, please lock down your schedule before you sell day passes) and on the whole the day was a disappointment for me. There was nothing bad enough to make me walk out, but also no real stand outs like previous Frighfest treasures like Let the Right One In, The Woman, Monsters and You're Next, all of which have become much watched favourites. In some ways the TV movie-like The Harvest was the most satisfying film because unlike the other films, which all felt underdeveloped, like overextended short films, it had a plot which sustained its running time. But it was let down by bland direction and a miscast Samantha Morton. All the other films were watchable, but nothing that I'd really rate including the highly touted The Babadook. I skipped the last film I Survived a Zombie Holocaust, so maybe I missed out on a masterpiece there.

It's a shame the wonderful Empire got redeveloped into an IMAX and I appreciate the need for a different venue. Unfortunately there just isn't an auditorium left to hold the entire crowd in London and no doubt something is lost in terms of a group experience. I can't think of a a nicer festival crowd than the Frighfest attendees, so that's a shame. The Vue is not too bad an alternative though and the bar area makes for a better meeting place than the Empire lobby. I really hope they sort out the teething problems for next year, especially the ticketing fiasco.

One film I was really hoping to see in the programme is "It Follows" about which I read quite a few raves after its Cannes premiere.