FrightFest

I liked this a lot - it was very slick and the lead was an engaging enough chap although the girlfriend was wetter than an otters pocket and started to seriously grate by the halfway mark. Nicely shot with interesting effects and terrific editing, but I have to say I'm not quite sure where the horror aspect was? I'd like to see it again, I think.

Yes, I wasn't really sure what this was doing in a genre festival like FF either. It is well-made with some nice visual effects, as you say (although I thought it dragged a bit in places and would have benefited from more stringent editing) and it's interesting to see psychopathy portayed in a different light than the usual axe-wielding variety, but it's ultimately not a horror film for me; not even in the broadest sense. I would maybe liken it to Sun Choke, which was similarly left-field and dealt with mental illness, but had a much darker vibe, which felt at home at FF. One thing that really niggled at me in this film was the idea that taking a pscychoactive drug once could re-wire the brain permanently as was shown to be the case here. I'm no neuroscientist, but that seems pretty far-fetched on the face of it. The plot generally felt a bit contrived.

I would say it was one of the more unusual films I saw at FF this year though, so I wouldn't want to be over-critical as I think that's a good thing. I'd much rather have more films on the menu like Lost Solace and We Are the Flesh than Blood Feast!

WraithApe wrote: I would say it was one of the more unusual films I saw at FF this year though, so I wouldn't want to be over-critical as I think that's a good thing. I'd much rather have more films on the menu like Lost Solace and We Are the Flesh than Blood Feast!

Agreed.
Really enjoyed this one, and the writer/director came across well in his Q&A. It was clearly a very personal film.
Superbly acted and very nicely shot and scored.

Poorly staffed one corridor hospital as is movie tradition.

My main criticism, which I tried and failed to articulate to the director afterwards (because I panic and forget all my words) was that I didn't feel that the festival circuit 'poster' was the best representation of the genre, direction, and quality of his film. He showed me two further variations for the film poster afterwards which were probably better but still shouted low budget CGI, end of the world, last man standing, something maybe about drugs.