FrightFest

Yep, I was caught out by this one. When the film was confirmed by an agency that looks after films for major studios, I was told and told in writing that it was a world premiere. The first I knew about it being available in the US was when I had an email from someone telling me it was on sale as an import in a UK shop. By this time however we had announced our Glasgow line up and the fact that it was a world premiere. You can imagine my reaction. Pissed off doesn't cover it.

As far as I'm aware the film hasn't played in any festival, although you may be able to tell me different, and the film doesn't have a UK sale. I will be updating the films status once I have final confirmation.

iomega wrote:As far as I'm aware the film hasn't played in any festival, although you may be able to tell me different, and the film doesn't have a UK sale. I will be updating the films status once I have final confirmation.

It'll be a UK premiere at least, possibly European. Our US guys were sent the trailer in December 2014 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nObJIXKF0w8) which must've been for the home entertainment release so it looks like the agency was definitely telling porkies.

Still, with no UK release on the horizon and most likely straight to DVD if it ever was, this is the only chance you'll see this on the big screen on these shores for sure.

A big thank you to Alan, Ian, Paul and Greg for another fantastic festival! Thank you too to the GFT staff, the GFF, the distributors, the audience and everyone else who made the event happen! A very good line-up this year and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Eliza Graves

Based on a Poe story, but not as dark as I imagined, being more quirky and humorous than expected. Fairly light on horror, albeit with some horror-oriented scenes, but with more emphasis on madness and psychology underpinning a period romance. Features a starry British cast, as well as a few twists and turns to help prevent it becoming too predictable. 7 / 10

The Atticus Institute

1970s science meets in a lab. Some good scenes and an undercurrent of unease keeps this one ticking along nicely even if it isn't particlar original. Shot in mock-doc style, but I wondered if it would have made more impact if it was told straight and not had the talking heads in the present day. 7 / 10

The Hoarder

Reminiscent of a previous Frightest flick and fairly enjoyable, although some of the characters weren't particularly likeable and hence I didn't engage with them much. 7 / 10

Wyrmwood

Entertaining zombie apocalypse romp from Australia that benefits from interesting and amusing characters, while a few new ideas certainly liven up a tired subgenre, bringing something fresh onto the scene. Gore, fun and pathos = a winner! 8 / 10

88

Scream queen Katharine Isabelle plays the central role in a twisting, time-hopping mystery. Shades of "Memento" and Lynch lace this intriguing, noirish thriller. Definitely one that keeps you thinking, although whether it all hangs together on second viewing remains to be seen.
8.5 / 10

The Asylum (Backmask)

Typical American teen horror filled with plenty of dumb characters doing dumb things, but I found this to be entertaining nevertheless. A good use of phones and the Internet for a change too - sometimes with amusing results! I did see the twist coming from about halfway through though. I likes the lead actress, but thought the hero was a bit bland. 7/ 10

Clown

Balancing horror comedies successfully is always tricky and instead of going for all out comedy this opts for front-loading the jokes before becoming more serious as the film progresses. Enjoyable, but I couldn't help thinking an even better movie could've been made with the idea. 7.5 / 10

Must confess skipping Blood and Black Lace in favour of It Follows, swapping a retro movie I have already seen for a new release. The latter is good (8 / 10) but not quite as groundbreaking as some of the hype would have you believe.

The Woods Movie

A decent documentary, but I couldn't help wishing I was watching the movie itself - or even a Blair Witch 3! Interesting enough, but lacking anything truly revelatory or salacious! It would have been good to hear the 3 actors feeding back their thoughts too, but credit to Russ Gomm as this project was clearly a labour of love.
7 / 10

The Treatment

A very dark and disturbing thriller dealing with sensitive subject matter. Engrossing despite a fairly lengthy running time and although 8.5 / 10

REC: Apocalypse

So the series comes to an end and whilst I appreciated that it eschewed the found footage approach, perhaps some of the magic of the first two instalments has been lost - or maybe the makers have simply run out of ideas?

Still, good to see Manuela Velasco in action again, even if the copycats have diluted the impact of the story. I did wonder if more could have been made of the religious aspect too - any thoughts? 7.5 / 10

There Are Monsters

I had high hopes for his one, despite knowing little about it, but it turned out to be much different to what I expected. Nevertheless, it's a good example of its subgenre and builds tension and a feeling of unease more effectively than many of its (often bigger budgeted) peers. It threatened to go off the rails about two-thirds of the way through, but pulled itself back around before heading to its fairly predictable climax. 7.5 / 10