FrightFest

7/10 - Very funny at times, but the change of tack towards the end robs the film of life and pace in the last act. The 'surprise' doesn't really work at either end... what was it originally for? How was it supposed to fit in that bag? What if he'd checked the contents as soon as he picked it up?

7/10. Imagine if early in his career, Peter Jackson had made Primer instead of Bad Taste and you'll have a good idea of what's in store here. This is the kind of quirky, irreverent slacker comedy the Kiwis do so well, bringing together time travel and low level heist tropes in a film that mines the idea of multiple intersecting time lines for laughs rather than mindfuckery.

I'm not sure the time travel paradoxes really made any sense - and I certainly can't be bothered to think about it - but I did enjoy it a lot. At times I thought the leading man wasn't quite up to carrying the film, but the guy playing the main villain was superb.

The final film on the Thursday and I thought the best, a nice steady increase in quality.

A smidge too long but enjoyable and lovable all the same.

The time travel paradoxes made enough sense for me to go with them. This is a spin on the ontological paradox, albeit a messy one that can be resolved by the paradoxical duplicate going back in time. The comedy is typical quirky Kiwi humour and sold well by the actors, with another great turn from Jonny Brugh as a friendly evil crime lord.

I think the film tries to do a few more things than it can handle. Some of the subplots get tied up in an abrupt and unsatisfactory way and I think the film could have done more clever things with the time travel. After a while the time travel becomes irrelevant to the plot, and it becomes a movie about duplicates instead.

Good for a few laughs and a pleasant way to round off a strong first day. When you look at what's been scheduled for the midnight films at Frightfest, this is the best one for ages.