FrightFest

8/10 - Sometimes unexpectedly twisty, sometimes annoyingly predictable (LOOK AT ME I'M A PLOT DEVICE FOR LATER ON!). A tad too long. But well made and good-looking, particularly for a crew+cast of just 13.

I liked it, there was a nice 80s vibe running through it, without resorting to the cheesy stuff like John Carpenter style music. The leading man, I thought, was excellent.

That said, I don't think I would go back and watch it again, one viewing was enough to soak up its qualities

Not bad this one. I think it worked well with a same sex couple - for me it’s more unexpected and scarier when the cold calculating psycho is a woman. You’d think by now though that if your husband/wife/girlfriend/boyfriend suggested a nice weekend away at some deserted creepy house in the woods in the arse end of nowhere that you wouldn’t go “oh yes how lovely” more like “fuck no you’re planning to murder me aren’t you?” . Decent enough movie but I wouldn’t watch it twice.

I was absolutely loving this one all the way up until the boat chase across the lake. When the guy asks how everything was going she should have just shouted. "She's trying to kill me for the insurance money". What did happen was so dumb that it sort of ruined the film for me. Then add to that the films complete unwillingness to end that I was just sick of it by the time the credits rolled. Which was a real shame. I thought the music was great and the performances. I don't think I'd watch it again.

A twisting thrillride with two female leads that goes to some suitably dark places - as others have mentioned there are some niggles over a few bits that seemed a bit stupid or predictable, whereas other parts were quite clever and well done. Very watchable and plenty of tense sequences. 8.5 / 10

7/10 - Generally enjoyed this and even though the plot rumbles a bit, it never seemed too long or too superfluous.

Definitely one of my favourites of the festival. I know there were a couple of obvious plot points
but all the twists and turns worked really well, and I loved the ending. It was definitely improved by being a same sex couple as it made the dynamic between them much more interesting

Probably my favourite of the weekend. Definitely the best of the several "bad shit happens at a holiday home" efforts.

I loved all the twists and turns, didn't find anything too predictable although maybe that one plot device, already mentioned, could've been a little less awkward. I've tried to imagine it with a male villain, as the director originally planned, but it would've been a very different and less interesting film.

Well acted and emotional. Although the main character is clearly a run in for 'worst decision maker 2018' award.

This was so close to being my film of the festival, only beaten by One cut of the Dead.

Only earlier in the day, i had been talking to a few people about the lack of Female Serial Killers in our Genre (this was one question in the Quiz on Wednesday as well) and we were ploughing our brains to think of some. But hey ho, heres another one!

Have to admit though, the tense and strange relationship between the 2 girls really kept me hooked. Personally, i dont think it went over the top, and i loved the twists and turns of it all. It was one of the few movies of the weekend that i just couldnt take my eyes off the screen at any time as i though i would miss something

And for a cast and crew of so little, the film looked great and the performances (especially by Brittany Allen) were top notch.

I really enjoyed this too and I thought the score (also by Brittany Allen) was a real stand out. The couple were believable and while there was some seriously daft decision making it all worked very well and never dragged.

I did think the flashback bit towards the very end was a bit superfluous but that's the only thing I'd change.

This one was almost good; interesting character study of a psychopath, but seemed to overplay its hand with a lot of false endings and twists. I'm still not quite sure how good I thought it was, but I think it was around average quality for the weekend. The best thing about this was the acting. Brittany Allen and Hannah Emily Anderson give a great portrayal of their respective characters and really sell their character arcs. Most of the best scenes in the film are just these two talking to each other. Cinematography is nice as well; not only does the forest scenery look good, but there's an impressive scene shot by ultraviolet light that looks great.

It's also positive that the main characters are a same sex couple and the film doesn't make a big thing about it. It's just an aspect of their character that isn't even particularly important when they're in a life or death situation. It was serendipitous that the original male lead dropped out and was replaced by a female one, but credit to the director for going in that direction when the opportunity presented itself.

A shame, then, that although the character study parts of the script are good, the plotting is shaky. There were several occasions when Allen's character made decisions that I don't think any rational human being would make, and the worst thing for the movie is that she has to make those decisions or the movie would be over. In the moment I went with it, but I don't think I'd be so forgiving outside a festival environment. Changes to the script to close off the character's obvious options would have made the film a lot stronger. Lastly there's the issue of the false endings and twists. Some of these work, some don't. The last couple of seconds of the film were particularly frustrating for me, which has to be a big problem.

It was refreshing to hear that the couple being lesbian was more a pragmatic thing, with the original male lead dropping out, than a concious one because I think it did play better and a bit more novel with XX vs XX for a change.

And while I thought it was well made and acted, it was too long and as conditioned to stupid behaviour as we are to keep the film chugging along, some of the decisions in this film were Darwin Award level and deserved to be punished with death and so this lessened the film in my eyes quite substantially.