FrightFest

5/10 - dull and grey. By the end, chunks of the audience were laughing at a movie that definitely wasn't meant to be a comedy... There was some potential here for a psychic nun detective story (a thriving genre), but that's not how it come out.

(If you're in film, and anyone ever says, "I'm going for a desaturated look", it's time to slap them silly)

Didn't rate it. Heavy on the atmosphere light on tension, narrative, characterisation', acting etc. Hannah Arteron's comment before hand that she did it because really wanted to a 'Hammer Horror' suggest that she has never seen a Hammer movie.

It's a shame, Paul Hyett is a really nice guy and a terrific effects wiz but his directing leaves a lot to be desired. File this in the same bargain basement where you will find HOWL (2015).

I was looking forward to this, the latest nun-based chiller, but came away disappointed. It took too long to cut to the chase, although I did like the last 20 minutes when it became - we just needed more of it and sooner! I thought the lead actress did well though and helped to maintain interest in her plight. 6 / 10

Well the theme of this year seemed to be demonic/satanic nuns - yup fine with that but this one was just dull, dull, dull, gloomy and poorly lit.

Horrible effects dreadful looking exteriors of castles looked like they were done on clip art. I understand why this has sat around for two years. Now they can ride the wave of Nun movies. It'll probably turn up in Asdas with a title change, something like 'The Nun Redemption".

This was very weak. Straggly haired women running up and down the same corridor shrieking

An endless boring cycle of:

1. Wander round dimly lit corridors exceptionally slowly
2. 'You ungrateful girl ! take her to (insert location)'
3. Demon appears and menaces unidentifiable nun in cell who does precisely fuck all and is then killed

There might have been some good gore gags and make up effects in there somewhere, but because every 'action' scene was shot in fast edit, up close, murky shakycam it was impossible to tell.

I enjoyed watching our heroine tending to the vegetables by poking a trowel around though

Oswald Cobblepot wrote: ↑Tue Aug 28, 2018 4:40 pm An endless boring cycle of:

1. Wander round dimly lit corridors exceptionally slowly
2. 'You ungrateful girl ! take her to (insert location)'
3. Demon appears and menaces unidentifiable nun in cell who does precisely fuck all and is then killed

There might have been some good gore gags and make up effects in there somewhere, but because every 'action' scene was shot in fast edit, up close, murky shakycam it was impossible to tell.

I enjoyed watching our heroine tending to the vegetables by poking a trowel around though

It's a good job they were being picked off one by one, because that tiny vegetable plot wouldn't have produced enough to make much more than one meal at best.

I liked this film, up until the end. I loved the atmosphere, the sturn/total bitch Reverand Mother (played by the fantastic Claire Higgins), haunting and bleak settings and actually scary spirits. However, almost all the characters were whiny and boring or overly sturn and grumpy.

All until it all started to come to a head and the demons/possessed started popping up and it just became a slaughter. Then it just became boring, with no satisfactory ending.

It was awful. No build-up, no tension, no atmosphere, no light and shade, no story. Just chuck some young girls in a convent and bounce them around between nasty nuns, the plague and some ropey-looking spooks until there's only one left.

And just in case anyone actually cares about the "plot", have a scene where that drippy Prince Charming lad visits a mysterious old woman for 10 minutes of exposition.

The worst film I saw at this year's festival, made even more disappointing because the period setting and promise of demonic nuns seemed exciting. Bad cinematography of people shuffling in darkened rooms, bad writing that rarely captured a period-appropriate tone and gave us a repetitious and confusing plot, bad acting (yes, even Claire Higgins' overcooked performance, although she's better than the blocks of wood that populate the rest of the film) and generally bad direction. Only a few scenes of gore and an absurd final scene ("Embrace the darkness!" "Embrace this!") alleviated the tedium with unintentional humour.

I suppose the question is just how many Paul Hyett films are we going to sit through at Frightfest before the conclusion is arrived at that *whisper it* - they are not very good?

Jon H wrote: ↑Wed Aug 29, 2018 5:07 pm I suppose the question is just how many Paul Hyett films are we going to sit through at Frightfest before the conclusion is arrived at that *whisper it* - they are not very good?

Oh you heretic!

Alex J wrote: ↑Wed Aug 29, 2018 6:34 pm Oh you heretik!

Fixed

ChrisReynolds wrote: ↑Wed Aug 29, 2018 4:51 pm bad acting (yes, even Claire Higgins' overcooked performance, although she's better than the blocks of wood that populate the rest of the film)

You reminded me to check if Hannah Arterton is related to Gemma Arterton - turns out she's her sister. Without wishing to be too unkind, one of those siblings ended up with 100% of their combined acting talent.