Frightfest 2024: by David and Tara Court – The 25th Anniversary of Frightfest
It’s the fourth Frightfest in a row for Tara and myself, and the increasing popularity of the festival made it the first year we were genuinely concerned whether we’d be able to get tickets at all. This year it had moved away from the usual venue of Leicester Square Cineworld for the two Odeon sites also sharing Leicester Square, and we watched helplessly as tickets vanished as soon as we tried to claim them – still, we got our seats in the end, in the rear stalls.
As usual, we’d promised Jim a write-up of the entire festival (with our previous write-ups available for 2021, 2022 and 2023) so here it is
Coverage of every single movie that we watched at Frightfest 2024, the 25th anniversary of probably the most prestigious horror festival in the world. Slightly fewer films this year – the overlap of stuff that both Tara and I watched was greater this year, and Discovery tickets were in big demand – but there’s enough of a bumper crop (24 watched) to whet your interest, with some real unexpected highlights. Some of the movies already have distribution, some are still seeking it – so you may have to be patient for some. But one of them is available right now on Amazon Prime, so keep reading.
This year we turned up on the Wednesday evening – an evening before the festivities proper – to be there bright and early, and to also do the quiz that takes place at the Pheonix Arts club, a cabaret club that also houses the after party after each night of the festival.
We’d been warned about how difficult it was but managed to rope in a stranger from our table (hello, Steve!) to join our team (“The Killening”, natch) and we didn’t do too badly, coming 11th out of around 20 teams. Which, when you consider there were only three of us, we thought that was good going. I had no idea Christopher Lee worked on so many films with Peter Cushing.
Excitement was at fever pitch on the Thursday evening as we sat down for the first of many films, and, having introduced ourselves to our neighbours who would be our companions over the next several days, the 25th Frightfest began.
Broken Bird
Joanne Mitchell (and her husband Dominic Brunt) are Frightfest stalwarts (indeed, Brunt’s “Evie” was a festival highlight from 2022) and the opening movie – “Broken Bird” – was Joanne’s feature debut and this year’s opening movie. You’ll probably know Dominic Brunt as Paddy from Emmerdal, I am legally obliged to mention in this opening paragraph – not my choice, it’s
It must be said that as relative newcomers to this established festival that the opening films from the past three Frightfests have been absolute stinkers. Despite having some big names attached (and even present for the screening in some places), Neil Blomkamp’s “Demonic”, Neil Marshall’s “Lair” and last years “Suitable Flesh” have hardly set the horror world alight – although an optimistic might have viewed these opening films through the rose-tinted observation that things could only get better.
Rebecca Calder plays Sybil, an undertaker’s assistant.
Her life is one of bitterness and resentment, angry or jealous of those around her, and she’s clearly more than a little unconventional. A chance meeting at a museum and then again at an open-mic poetry night (albeit one with clearly more eccentrics than the ones I usually attend) starts Sybil down a path of no return, one that can only end in tragedy. There is a parallel story about a grieving mother – Emma, played brilliantly by Sacharissa Claxton – and as a cinema audience, we know their stories will overlap – just not how.
Calder is amazing, prim, proper with both a fringe, cheekbones and cutting manner you could slice bread with. The study of detail of her mannerisms and quirks is a thing to behold, and you are captivated by her with every second she spends on screen. It’s a heartbreaking tale with many, many casualties but is quite beautiful – and breaks my personal curse of the bad Frightfest opener. It’s surprisingly well paced – when it feels like it’s beginning to dip into the melancholy and overly bleak, it’s broken by some particularly laugh-out-loud dark and morbid humour.
“Broken Bird” is quite the debut. There are elements of Lucky McKee’s 2002 directorial debut “May” – both sharing a quirky death and taxidermy obsessed protagonist – but that is by no means a criticism. Both are terrific movies and would make excellent companion pieces. Compelling and a brilliant opener to the festival. The fact that this is only the first of a three film deal bodes very well for future Frightfests, should she decide to stick with the genre for those forthcoming movies.
Rating: 8.5 / 10
Frightfest 2024: Celebrating 25 Years of Horror
Test Screening
In an Oregon town where nothing exciting ever happens, a new secret film gets delivered to the rundown and failing cinema. Four close friends – and the rest of the townsfolk – attend the secretive test screening (in a town that has been mysterious sealed off from the rest of the world) and learn that the movie is anything but the latest Star Wars film that they’d predicted.
The poster implies a fun Monster Squad style romp, but the film is not what you’d expect from that. Despite a very convincing eighties atmosphere (reminiscent of the excellent remake of The Blob) and an interesting and talented cast – this movie never quite finds its way. It plays its hand earlier than I would have expected, and I was hoping this would give them an excuse to really go for it, but it never quite does. The creepy atmosphere is convincing and compelling, but when we move into the final act, it never quite convinces.
“Test Screening” is a movie that loves to tease and then not actually show you what it was building up to, which begins to grate after a while. Some convincing effects towards the end dispel the thoughts that this hesitation was to do with lack of budget, and it is an entertaining enough romp – but it ends up as little more than that. Tara described it as “Society meets Stranger Things,” and that feels like a fair comparison – it never really finds its own feet. That said, the final shot is excellent, and the resolution well-earned.
Rating: 6.5 / 10
Invisible Raptor
Tara here – Thursday evening was the UK premiere of The Invisible Raptor, a film that is as ridiculous as it sounds. When we arrived at the Odeon, we were handed some excellent merchandise, our very own Invisible Raptor toy!
The Tyler Corporation have engineered a raptor which is pretty impressive, what’s even more impressive and really rather dangerous is that it is invisible. Obviously, it escapes and wreaks havoc in Spielburgh County.
With the titular character on the loose, it’s down to Dr Grant Walker (writer of the film Mike Capes), a palaeontologist reduced to working at Dino World and security guard-cum-dinosaur impressionist, Denny Denielson (a side-splitting turn from David Shackleton) to recapture the beast.
There is an awful lot of toilet humour in there, which I am not very fond of (yes, I know, my problem) but it is an incredibly funny piece of work.
This is a film that doesn’t take itself seriously whatsoever, with a reference to “Weekend at Bernie’s” and cameos from Sean Astin and Sandy Martin from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, it’s silly, gory and an awful lot of fun.
Rating: 7/10
An Taibhse
Surprisingly, “An Taibhse” (“The Ghost”) is the first horror movie ever shot entirely in the Irish language. Set in the mid-nineteenth century fresh after the days of The Great Famine, Tom Kerrisk and Livvy Hill play Éamon and his daughter Máire, new caretakers of a Georgian mansion. It is a life of solitude, toil, and drudgery – made worse through Éamon’s own troubles, and the fact that a malicious force may well have followed them there.
It’s beautifully shot, and Livvy enthrals as Máire – an innocent entrusted with a terrible weight on her shoulders. There are some truly memorable set pieces – the last act is a particular highlight – but it can’t help drawing comparisons with “The Shining” with its similar themes – troubled individuals being drawn into increasingly odd behaviour through loneliness and solitude and the forces present within the huge buildings four stately walls.
That said, it’s an impressive effort that never fails to mesmerise – and having it in the Irish language is a bold first and makes for a memorable experience. It’s even more impressive considering that Hill had to learn the language from scratch phonetically. A strong movie and a standout in an already impressive festival.
Rating: 8 / 10
Bookworm
Purists may scoff at some of the films that made selection, but I’ve often found that some of my favourite experiences at Frightfest have been with some of the non-horror choices (namely “King Knight” from 2021 and Jake West’s documentary “Mancunian Man” from 2023). “Bookworm” is a new one to add to that list. It’s very much a kid’s movie, but is no less entertaining for it, and seemed to go down very well with the Frightfest crowd.
Mildred (played by Nell Fisher) is a verbose eleven-year-old with a penchant for reading.
When her mother is taken ill, her long absent father is forced to take over – Elijah Wood plays the oddly named Strawn Wise, an eccentric (and somewhat useless) stage magician who has little experience with children.
A trip to the wilderness of New Zealand sees the two effective strangers forced to adjust to each other’s foibles and quirks, whilst fending off wild animals and even more sinister humans. Genre favourite Michael Smiley is an absolute delight as one of a couple they meet on their travels, beckoning oner of the most memorable elements of the film. Both Fisher and Wood are terrific, the latter giving a superb doe-eyed performance and coming over as one of the most pathetic and ineffective humans you could ever hope to meet, a sharp contrast to his effective and world-wise child. Tara wasn’t a fan of the actress playing the daughter – calling her the most annoying Australasian kid since that lad from “The Babadook” – but I enjoyed her performance, seeing quite a lot of the precocious child I was in her.
So, maybe far from horror – and perhaps a little out of place – but a delightful palate cleanser to pierce all the standard festival bleakness, ghosts and gore. And a scene involving our intrepid duo escaping a wild animal whilst traversing a rope over a gorge was one of the tensest moments of the entire festival😊
Rating: 7.5 / 10
Shelby Oaks
The beginning of Chris Stuckmann’s “Shelby Oaks” is entertaining enough but uninspired, seeing a Blair Witch scenario told in found footage documentary style of a paranormal investigation team (“The Paranormal Paranoids”) who went missing. Before you can say “Zoinks!” we suddenly shift to the proper start of the film in which the remainder of the tale is told in a more convention dramatic style.
It was at this point I genuinely thought the film was doing something very clever, positing a dramatized version of the events but in a meta-style, as though we were watching a fictional television series based on what happened to the Paranoids. It wasn’t – and that was just my fevered imagination gone wild – but it was difficult to shift that image from my brain, and I’ll admit it took me off guard and distracted me a little from the film itself.
That said, once it gets going, it’s terrific. It does a wonderful job of being up a palpable atmosphere of discomfort, and treads in some very unexpected territory. It’s one very much worth going into blind – even saying some of the films that it reminded me of would be a massive spoiler – but I was thoroughly entertained throughout, and on the edge of my seat. Despite not being the film I thought it would be (no fault of theirs, that was my own flight of fancy), I can heartily recommend “Shelby Oaks.”
Rating: 7.5 / 10
The Hitcher
It’s been a good two decades since I’ve last watched The Hitcher (and my last memory of it is probably the risible sequel and the mediocre Sean Bean remake) and Frightfest was lucky enough to be presenting the first showing of the brand new 4k restoration by Second Sight films. Lovingly restored from the original camera negatives and approved by the director Robert Harmon, this 1986 classic has never looked better. It was one of the most popular films of the festival, playing to a packed house – a heady mix of fans of the original and those experiencing it for the first time, and what a better way to be introduced to it?
Telling the tale of young Jim Halsey (C. Thomas Howell), the hapless traveller is driving alone through the Texas desert delivering a car from Chicago to San Diego. He picks up a hitchhiker – Rutger Hauer – and soon learns the folly of that, ending up being menaced by the titular Hitcher in a deadly game of cat and mouse.
I had forgotten quite how taut the film was,
Not wasting a second of time. Hauer is a force of nature, an unstoppably cruel antagonist, given little back story or motive – which makes the film all the better. Jennifer Jason Leigh also stars as Nash – a Diner waitress who ends up being dragged along for the ride – and she’d only just appeared on screen the year previous with Hauer in Paul Verhoeven’s “Flesh and Blood”.
It is hell of a lot of fun – and I urge you to seek out the restoration if you are a fan. It has stood up surprisingly well, and makes you wonder about an alternate reality in which Hauer had ended up playing The Terminator instead of Schwarzenegger – his Hitcher would give Arnie’s T-800 a run for his money in the persistence stakes.
Rating: 8 / 10
Hauntology
In Parker Brennon’s “Hauntology” an older sister tells her younger sibling four sinister tales about their hometown – which all makes for a suitably satisfying mechanism for an anthology movie. All the stories are set within different periods of time in the same physical locale of the town, which is an entertaining enough concept. It’s also novel in that – in an age where an anthology seems to be a great excuse to get a load of filmmakers together – this is clearly Parker’s movie, and there’s no noticeable stylistic difference between the segments.
“Hauntology” is touted as a queer-friendly anthology, which again is a welcome change. However, I felt as though it didn’t lean into this angle enough – the first tale represents the theme well, focusing firmly on trans issues, but an entertaining start meanders into a disappointing low-key ending with a “Was that it?”. The other tales fare little better, none of them really having a satisfying pay-off. The dullest of anthology tales can be rescued with a kick-ass ending, and a dull ending won’t damage a satisfying story – but if both elements are mediocre, it’ll result in little fun for any concerned.
It’s tame and relatively bloodless, so it’s good that it’s open to horror film fans of all ages – but I really wanted to enjoy this one more. The cast are enthusiastic and clearly talented, but there’s little for them to bite into. The director seems thoroughly likeable, and it is clearly an impressive feat to get your movie onto such a big screen – but I wanted so much more. That said, I shall be looking forward to what Brennon does next as he’s clearly got the talent for it.
Rating: 5.5 / 10
Survive
The spiritual successor to the Doug McClure dinosaur films you’d end up watching on Saturday morning telly, “Survive” is fun despite featuring some of the hokiest science I’ve seen outside of 2003’s “The Core”. When an idyllic birthday break on a private yacht in the middle of the ocean is interrupted by Earth’s magnetic poles peskily switching places, a family of four are flung into peril when the sea switches place with the land (!).
Left to fend for themselves in this literally topsy-turvy world, they’re confronted with not only the horrors of the terrain itself but psychotic survivors and ravenous crabs. Directed by Frederic Jardin, it’s a beautiful looking film with some truly majestic landscape photography but is ultimately all a bit silly. When one of the characters proudly announces about their predicament, “Looks like the conspiracy theorists were right!” it can’t help but promote laughter.
Brain-dead fun, but ultimately disposable – although the beleaguered cast convince as hapless victims (albeit ones with convenient skill sets) thrust into great danger. The film tries several times to throw a heavy-handed ecological message at you, but it’s hard to take the sentiment seriously amongst the daftness.
Rating: 6 / 10
Frightfest 2024: Celebrating 25 Years of Horror
The Last Voyage of the Demeter
“Wasn’t that out ages ago?” you might ask, for a on this illustrious website. The movie – by director André Øvredal of “Trollhunter” fame and based on Dracula’s sea crossing from the Bram Stoker novel – was due to be released in August of 2023, but after Lionsgate acquired its distributor, the UK release was delayed indefinitely. It’s getting a physical media release later in the year, but this was an opportunity to see probably one of the most expensive films of the festival up there on the big screen, as it was intended.
The fateful final crossing of the ill-fated Demeter from Bulgaria is an element of the novel that rarely sees the leap from page to screen and was probably most recently seen in the fair-to-middling 2020 BBC Mark Gaitiss and Steven Moffatt retelling/adaptation.
It’s a lavish retelling, and is quite the spectacle to look at.
With convincing locales and sets – and a convincing cast playing it very, very straight. Where it struggles is that it is of course a story where we all know how it ends, so there’s little hope of it deviating dramatically away from the established plot – but what does transpire on the undead-plagued schooner is entertaining with a fair few well-done (and well earned) jump scares.
It’s always good to see the reliable David Dastmalchian on screen, and he and the equally dependable Liam Cunningham make for a believable captain and his first mate. Corey Hawkins plays Clemens, an English man of science not given to the superstition that plagues the crew he finds himself unexpectedly amongst – as an American, he mostly convinces with an accent, but it does occasionally deviate from Cockney to Washingtonian. Overall, it’s simply good fun – it’s never afraid to pull off a cheap trick, but – most importantly for a story we all know – ends in a satisfying and unexpected manner.
Rating: 8 / 10
Dead Mail
Introduced by Mark Kermode, this 2024 film by Kyle McConaghy (wearing many hats including Director, Screenwriter) opens entertainingly enough. A desperate man, shackled, crawling away from a building with a blood-stained note in his hand – which he then goes ahead to post.
I am loath to use the phrase “quirky,” but it sums up the aesthetic of this movie perfectly. We’re introduced to an odd cast of idiosyncratic characters, including Jasper (Tomas Boykin) – a post office employee skilled in the art of resolving issues of dead mail – mail that is undeliverable due to unintelligible addresses and the like – and his co-workers, John (Sterling Macer Jr.) – a trusting synthesiser builder – and Trent (John Fleck) – the films central antagonist.
Any movie which features the insult “Your grandmother masturbates standing up” is already onto a winner in my eyes, and “Dead Mail” doesn’t disappoint. It’s a tale of bizarre obsession and dedication, with some amazingly odd dialogue that wouldn’t feel out of film in an exploitation movie such as “The Greasy Strangler” – a throwaway line about the obvious well-known rivalry between discus and javelin throwers nearly had me snort out my Fanta.
Trent is a truly terrific villain, resembling the restaurant critic from “Ratatouille” given flesh. He’s somewhat sympathetic yet loathsome, and Fleck imbues him with a level of depth rarely seen in your traditional bad guy. This film was precisely the right level of oddness I like, with an amazing electronic music soundtrack that I’m desperately hoping will get a vinyl release. Not knowing what I was expecting – and to be honest only attending because of the Kermode recommendation – I absolutely adore this film.
Rating: 9 / 10
Duke Mitchell Film Club
The Duke Mitchell Film Club didn’t feature in the Frightfest of 2023, but the one from 2022 was a highlight of the long weekend. Effectively a “Tarrant on TV” for horror fans, it’s an evening of the oddest of clips and short films curated by both the hosts and some of the filmmakers in attendance. No clip can be shown before a shot is dutifully downed by the donor, and the evening saw witness to some hilarious and shocking footage.
From public information films about road safety that do not hold back, to seeing Richard Burton do a fight scene whilst at his very drunkest, “The Duke Mitchell Film Club” is a welcome break from the routine. It’s always a popular ticket – indeed, even as a festival ticket holder, I had to buy a ticket to attend this one – but well worth it. It’s packed full of moments you’ll be desperate to pass on and share with those who couldn’t attend. A much larger venue (in the depths of the Odeon Luxe) meant it didn’t feel as intimate and as party-like as the atmosphere in the Prince Charles where it was held previously – and applauding directors as they walk on stage doesn’t half take a long time in such a big building – but it still works well.
Rating: 8 / 10
The Last Ashes
“The Last Ashes” (“Läif a Séil” in native Luxembourg) is the directorial debut of Loïc Tanson and is a historical action drama set in 1854. Hélène (a stunning Sophie Mousel) has grown up under the strict regime of the Graff family, landowners who protect their populace from the ravages of encroaching famine but at a horrible price. Escaping after her family are slaughtered for daring to question their allotted roles in this vicious patriarchal society, she returns years later seeking her revenge.
If that sounds like all the old tropes of a Western, you’d be spot on.
Swapping the deserts of Texas for the woodlands of Luxembourg makes for a novel setting and feels suitably authentic. Notably, it takes place around the same period of “An Taibhse” from earlier in the festival, making them vaguely related works based around the themes of plague and famine – and how individuals choose to escape them.
What sets this apart from its Cowboy counterparts is the protagonist – a woman, for one, being quite a novel concept in such a patriarchal society. But more important, it shuns away from the “Hang ‘Em High” and “Unforgiven” concept by having the lead being only too human, fallible and flawed – she is far from a ruthless killing machine, but a vulnerable woman with a limited skillset who bleeds as much as her victims.
It is brutal and unforgiving in its violence and covers a period of history to which I previously had no knowledge. As mentioned before, Mousel is great – vulnerable yet lethal, flawed yet cunning. The head of the Graff family is a violent and unlikeable brute yet comes across as a believable adversary and not a pantomime villain. It’s beautifully shot, taking full advantage of the amazing landscapes and beautiful architecture and you’ll be rooting for Hélène throughout, coming out of this revenge thriller fully satisfied.
Rating: 8 / 10
The Life and Deaths of Christopher Lee
There was an amazing documentary about Terry Pratchett back in 2020 – in which the Actor Paul Kaye convincingly played the behatted fantasy author – and the opening scenes of this equally brilliant documentary reminded me of that. A Thunderbirds-style puppet of Christopher springs to life and is voiced throughout the documentary by the talents of Peter Serafinowicz.
It’s a good enough impression that you’ll forget it’s not Lee himself, and a nice mechanism to tell a story you’ll be surprised you know little of, and the documentary is a traditional chronological trip through Christopher’s life. A man of noble beginnings who could trace his lineage back to Charlemagne (and indeed, went on to make two heavy metal albums about his ancestor) who eventually struggled with finding jobs for being too tall and foreign looking – who then became synonymous with Dracula because of those exact physical qualities.
Director Jon Spira (of superlative “Elstree 76” fame) does a marvellous job of telling the entire life story of an actor who – much to his chagrin – could never quite shake the shackles of Dracula, despite his best efforts. The discussions about his close friendships with Peter Cushing and Vincent Price are highlights, with a lowlight being his utter dismay towards the end of his life as being referred to as “The King of Horror.” Sadly, there’s some weak AI generated CGI in certain segments, but this is soon forgotten with a subsequent delightful hand-drawn Dave McKean animation showing Lee’s unexpected one-off encounter with Tolkien, a writer who would of course change his life. Introduced by his biographer Jonathan Rigby, “The Life and Deaths of Christopher Lee” sees a wonderfully enigmatic man with a wonderful career given fine justice.
Rating: 9 / 10
Frightfest 2024: Celebrating 25 Years of Horror
Saint Clare
Tara back again – Written by Mitzi Peirone and Guinevere Turner (co-writer of American-Psych0), Saint Clare is based on the novel Clare at 16 by Don Roff.
To the world, Clare Bleecker (Bella Thorne) is a normal teenage girl, deeply religious and a devoted vegan. She lives with her grandmother (an unrecognisable Rebecca DeMornay), goes to school, and has an interest in being in the school play. But in reality, she is preoccupied by voices telling her that bad people deserve to die. She is haunted by one of her accidental victims, Mailman Bob (Frank Whaley) who serves sort of a Jiminy Cricket role.
I really enjoyed Saint Clare, its good fun, its dark and parts of it are hilarious (props to Joel Michaely as school play director Cole). It uses the trope of teenage girls being bitchy to one another and behind each other’s backs (as a former teenage girl, I can confirm this is an actual true thing), the cast gel so well together and I couldn’t believe that as well as not recognising Rebecca DeMornay, I ALSO didn’t recognise Ryan Phillippe. I think it’s time for an eye test for me. Anyway, this is a cracker of a film and is also a strong female led film with it having
been cowritten and directed by women.
Rating: 7.5/10
A Nightmare on Elm Street – 40th Anniversary
Tara here – I spent Sunday afternoon with everyone’s favourite barbequed bad boy, Freddy Krueger.
Okay, small confession, I had it in my head that this started at 4pm and so I missed the intro and the first about five minutes, but as someone who adores the NOES franchise, I knew what was going on. I was super excited to see my beloved Mr K on the big screen for the first time.
If you’re a newcomer to A Nightmare on Elm Street, where have you been?
It’s 40 years old, hence why FrightFest screened it. The story involves a group of teens who are haunted in their dreams by a mysterious villain, he’s burned and has an interesting weapon in the form of a glove with knives attached. At the start of the film, we see him making it in his workshop.
Nancy Thompson (Heather Langenkamp) lives with her alcoholic mother, Marge (Ronee Blakely) at 1428 Elm Street, directly opposite her jock boyfriend Glenn Lantz (the screen debut of one Johnny Depp). When one of their group of friends, Tina (Amanda Wyss) is brutally murdered, the finger is pointed at her boyfriend, Rod Lane (Jsu Garcia, although credited as Nick Corri), Nancy suspects there’s more to it and that it’s the man of our dreams who is the culprit.
This film is like a comfort blanket to me, having first seen it when I was about seven years of age, thanks to my cousins finding the video my mum and auntie had hired. Sure, it traumatised me for a large part of my life (at the age of 45, I still can’t go to the loo in the middle of the night without thinking Freddy is after me), but it’s longstanding charm and the inventiveness of the antagonist killing people in their dreams is testament to the creativity that the much missed Wes Craven had in spades.
One, two Freddy’s coming for you, so if I were you, I’d give this a watch.
Rating: 8/10
Derelict
Jonathan Zaurin’s “Derelict” is a film that has been mentioned on these pages before by the esteemed Kit Power (who I got to meet face to face for the first time at this Frightfest showing), and hopes were extremely high. It was a sold-out performance on a Sunday evening which saw the Discovery Screen in Odeon Luxe packed to the rafters (have I mentioned that it’s London’s deepest cinema?) for the World Premiere of this brutal revenge thriller.
Opening with uncomfortable lingering close-ups of a corpse left abandoned, the mood is set from the outset. Crystal sharp black and white footage lingers painfully on every detail, every fragment of debris, every inch of graffiti. As a Midlander myself – a Coventrian – I grew up and hung around places like this, and there’s an air of uncomfortable familiarity to it. These are not prefabricated movie sets but lived in places – places with history.
The bleak tale is told in Rashomon style, segments out of chronological sequence but all building towards a crescendo and a resolution. Colour is used intelligently – at first seeming to mark whether events are taking place in the past or present, but later appearing to signify moments when all hope is lost – or when an irreversible event takes place, effectively dooming all the participants.
Jonathan is undoubtedly already sick to the back teeth of the comparisons,
But with the Midlands vibe it’s hard not to pick up shades of the work of Shane Meadows, namely “Dead Man’s Shoes”. Both are tales of small-town hoodlums and the overbearing toxicity of masculinity, but “Derelict” does enough to shine above the associations.
Suzanne Fulton stars as Abbey, a damaged individual driven to shunning her old life due to the heartbreaking events that have befallen her and her family. It is her quest for revenge that comprises the films lofty two hour running time – although not a minute of that is wasted – and we watch her transformation from vulnerable victim to agent of vengeance.
Special mention must go to the cast, all of whom are uniformly excellent.
It’s unfair to focus on any individual cast member, as all impress – but its worthy of note that Dean Kilbey makes his second appearance of the festival; a role which could on the surface be portrayed as not a million miles away from that of his role in “Charlotte” (more on which later) but his portrayal here is remarkably different – and his fate ultimately heartbreaking, and the pivotal moment of the film.
It’s an incredible piece of work, and Zaurin is clearly an incredible talent to watch out for. With an impressive body of work behind him, “Derelict” deserves to propel him from strength to strength. One of the best films of an already very strong Frightfest, and one which shows the banality of evil.
Also, kudos for one of the best pieces of marketing materials of the festival – “Invisible Raptor” looked like it had clinched it with an empty action figure box (see the photo accompanying that review) but a bottle of festival exclusive hot sauce “Abi’s vengeance”) just about grabs the top spot. Vengeance is indeed a dish best served really, really hot.
Rating: 9 / 10
Frightfest 2024: Celebrating 25 Years of Horror
Invader
We open to a home invader with a penchant for smashing up his temporarily domicile being driven from his makeshift home by police sirens, and then see our lead Ana (Vero Maynez), arriving in Chicago from Mexico to stay with a cousin.
Frightfest veteran and director Mickey Keating introduced the film as the counterpoint to the spate of horror movies where U.S citizens travel abroad to find themselves in danger – Hostel, et al – in portraying the opposite; a traveller to the U.S. encountering the worst of the country, warts, and all.
She arrives hours late and is rushed off the bus by an unapologetic driver, to be confronted with an empty bus shelter. An attempted taxi-journey to her destination introduces her to the taxi driver from hell, and she’s forced to walk to her destination through the squalor and decay of the poorest parts of America.
It’s an interesting framing mechanism for a horror – in which the lead character stumbles across a horrific incident mostly after it’s occurred, rather than being directly involved. The antagonist – the titular Invader who we met in the opening act – is a terrifying adversary; altogether human without any supernatural elements, which – as shown in the closing credits – makes him a force to be reckoned with, and will make me a little nervous about answering the door to strangers.
Tense and fun, and brutally shot. I was a little apprehensive given the warnings about the handheld nature of the movie but needn’t have been – the gimmick was well-used, and shots were perfectly framed, leaving no confusion as to what was going on. Recommended.
Rating: 7 / 10
The Dead Thing
In the world on online dating and hook up apps, Alex (Blu Hunt) is a young woman who frequents these apps, seemingly in search of casual hook up after casual hook up. But when she swipes right on Kyle (Ben Smith-Petersen and Mr Riley Keough), things change. Alex is merely existing in life, working odd hours in an office job with an obnoxious and creepy co-worker. We see her get up, go to work, hook up with someone repeat to fade.
Then she meets Kyle, and she becomes alive again. After a passionate night together, she finds herself ghosted by him and tries to find out what happened. I’ll admit, Blu Hunt was brilliant in this piece that, to me, seems to be more style over substance. It’s beautifully shot and the mise en scène is outstanding, director Elric Kane has a wonderful eye, but it left me somewhat cold. Maybe it was me, maybe I’ll check it out again but with a questionable casting choice in Smith-Petersen, it felt somewhat disjointed.
Rating: 5.5 / 10
Short Film Showcase 3
For my earlier Frightfests, I’ve managed to get hold of tickets for all the Short Film Showcases – they’re a particular highlight of my visit – but not this year. This year they vanished at breakneck speed, so I could only attend the final one – and judging by the quality of this final set, I’ve clearly missed out on some treats. However, this particular showcase’s most impressive efforts were “1 Star Review” (having its world premiere) featuring a Chef who will go to any length to resolve poor reviews for his restaurant, “Cakes!” (London Premiere) which – quite simply – defies description, and “The Wedding of the Proud Princess” (London Premiere) which was an absolutely stunning piece of animation. Also, special mentions to “Punch,” “It’s Really You” and “The Awakening” (the latter featuring a surprise Daniel Mays appearance).
Rating: 7 / 10
A Desert
Tara back again – Like most of the films of FrightFest this year, I went in blind to this one and I’m glad I did. Alex (Kai Lennox) is a photographer who likes to “purposely lose himself” in America to take photographs of abandoned buildings and landscapes. On one of these trips, he stops at a grimy, sleazy looking motel. His neighbours, a young couple, are fighting and so Alex goes to the front desk to ask the owner whether he could intervene. Moments later, the male half of the couple comes and apologises and invites himself and his sister in, they have moonshine. What happens next is a tense neo-noir type horror film that will make you wish Alex hadn’t encountered Renny (played with great gusto by Zachary Ray Sherman) and Susie Q (Ashley Smith).
Alex’s wife, Sam (Sarah Lind) hires a PI Harold Palladino (David Yow) to try to find Alex, but will he be found, or will we find out what, if anything, has befallen him? I thoroughly enjoyed this film. It’s dark, sleazy and hugely anxiety inducing. It’s beautifully shot and the setting works well with the bleached nature of the direction. Be wary accepting moonshine from strangers, y’all.
Rating: 8 / 10
Charlotte
Whereas in earlier festivals, it’s been the reassuring screen presence of Johnny Vivash that’s been a familiar sight (especially last year featuring in the standout “Isaac” as well as a number of shorts), the role of “most prominent face on a Frightfest screen”) appears to have been temporarily taken by actor Dean Kilbey (“Derelict”) this year. I missed the comedy horror “Member’s Night” due to a schedule clash, but this is the third of three appearances for the talented actor, and what a role.
When a crying young girl (the titular Charlotte – played by Georgia Conlan) turns up at the doorstop of Roy (Kilbey) to get away from her troubled home, the benevolent soul takes her in. But are there more to his seemingly sincere motives than are readily apparent? This is a film that is hard to discuss without heading heavily into spoiler territory, but it’s a tense – and tautly shot thriller – which ended up being one of my highlights of the festival.
It’s a film that neatly masks its relatively low budget,
Confined mostly to a single set and a few outside locations. It’s a film where working (and real-life couple) Georgia Conlan and co-writer Martin Hardwick seem to have done nearly everything (editing, casting, art, sound, music, catering) and their passion for the project shines through. Charlotte (a wonderful Conlan) is vulnerable and sympathetic, and Dean Kilbey’s Roy neatly switches between compassionate father figure and predatory villain, his motives remaining mostly – and satisfyingly – unclear.
It’s now available on Amazon Prime, and I eagerly devoured a second viewing upon my arrival back home after the festival. A terrific piece of work, and thoroughly recommended. Nerve-frayingly tense with a tale that feels all too real. (It’s also worth mentioning that the film does a particularly clever thing with subverting your assumptions, making a rewatch a very intriguing prospect).
Rating: 8.5 / 10
Frightfest 2024: Celebrating 25 Years of Horror
Cold Wallet
Cold Wallet (Defⁿ): Cold wallets are a way of holding cryptocurrency keys offline. By using a cold wallet, cryptocurrency users and investors prevent theft by hackers who might gain control of their hot wallets via viruses, malware, ransomware, or other methods.
Again, a genre piece as opposed to strictly horror, “Cold Wallet” (directed by co-writer Cutter Hodierne and presented by Steven Soderbergh) is kind of The Thing meets Ocean’s Eleven – or Ocean’s Eleven Bitcoins, perhaps. A disaffected group of Redditors who have been badly strung by their bitcoin investment (which crashed when the owner died) learn that rumours of the death of the kingpin behind it may well have been exaggerated. A home invasion in which they try to reclaim their lost funds turns sour and ends up turning friend against friend. Do they try and get the money back of all those who lost out in the crash, Robin Hood style, or claim the huge bounty for themselves?
Benefiting from both a short run time and a fine ear for technical details (at least for the ears of this software developer), “Cold Wallet” is an entertaining modern heist movie. With a bunch of likeable – and interesting – characters, the terse length keeps the mood tense and the atmosphere palpable. It’s a little distracting that the lead looks like Adam Driver run through photoshop and left the same height but with his width compressed 80%, but that’s no fault of his. “Cold Wallet” isn’t perfect – being restricted to a single location makes for a baggy middle act – but it’s suitably exciting with a satisfying denouement, which is all you can ask for.
Rating: 7 / 10
The Substance
The quality control of the Frightfest closing movie tends to be slightly better than that of its openers (except for “The Sacrifice Game” last year, which I didn’t enjoy at all) but optimism was high for “The Substance”. There’s been a good positive vibe around this film since it was first announced, and a body horror starring Demi Moore? Consider me in like Flynn. As for most Frightfest closing movies, the cinema was packed. After the standard farewells from the hardworking Frightfest team, the film was introduced by director Coralie Fargeat (of 2017’s excellent “Revenge” fame).
“The Substance” (which sounds like an upmarket artisan version of “The Stuff”) is part exposé of the seedy underbelly of show business, and part cautionary tale. A never-better Demi Moore plays Elisabeth Sparkle (whose star is definitely on the wane) as a TV aerobics star who – having reached the ripe old age of 50 – is due to be traded in for a new model. The film opens with a shot of Sparkle’s Star being constructed on the Hollywood Walk of fame and we then follow it over the years, cracking, and decaying – a far from subtle metaphor, but a memorable opening indeed.
When she is offered to take part in a trial for a substance called
Well, The Substance – for which, worryingly, no money ever changes hands – she’s offered a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to reinvent herself literally. This regenerated Elisabeth – going by the name of Sue – is a breath of fresh air, becoming famous overnight.
Of course, there are strict instructions associated with the use of The Substance (which is beautifully presented on screen in minimalist packaging like an Apple product) which must be adhered to – with horrific consequences. But, like the oft-disregarded instructions to look after Mogwai, greed takes precedence over logic as Sue wants more and more of this life, fully aware that she is depriving Elisabeth of hers.
Margaret Qualley makes for a great reinvigorated Demi Moore, appearing in aerobics videos that look like sleazy pornographers shot them, and there’s an uncomfortable feeling of complicity with you as the reluctant voyeur. Dennis Quaid chews every ounce of scenery he can (and usually shot with a fish-eye lens with an uncomfortably close zoom) as a sleazy over-the-top TV executive (in a role originally intended for Ray Liotta, before his sad demise).
It’s as subtle as a sledgehammer
And of course, the audience are just waiting for everything to go wrong, but boy – when it does, it does. It all builds up to a wonderfully over-the-top climax with some brilliant practical body horror effects, by way of David Cronenberg meets Noe’s “Climax.” It’s gritty, visceral and just so damn squishy and at times I couldn’t believe what I was watching – this in a film starring Demi Moore of all people, too. The final shot in particular got a round of applause from the delighted audience.
Me? As a 53 year old, I’ll stick with me L’Oréal Hydra Energetic Serum, ta.
Rating: 9 / 10
In closing: another excellent festival. It’s interesting to see that Pigeon Shrine are still the sponsors but, unlike last year, they didn’t dot their risible unfinished trailers between the movies. Although, I note bizarrely, that none of the trailed films from last year ever emerged or seem to exist in any way, shape or form. Some real highlights this year – and notably, my favourites of this festival were still genre movies but could barely be considered horror at all. Roll on 2025!
The Odeon made a fine venue, with plenty of seat and legroom – although the air-conditioning seemed to be a lucky dip; for us, it was uncomfortably warm, leading to the odd micro-nap in the middle of some of the films. No criticism of the content, just a criticism of the immense heat. The Odeon Luxe is a cracking cinema though – located down two tall escalators, it features chairs with tables and reclining seats – an ideal viewing platform for these movies, although my sore neck is still testament to the difficulties of being on the front row in front of such a huge screen.
Frightfest 2024: Celebrating 25 Years of Horror
About the Authors
Tara Court
Tara Court is a professional daydreamer and big fan of Autumn. When not writing reviews for Gingernuts of Horror, she can be found reading, singing songs to her puppy, and watching endless reruns of Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares USA. She hosts The Killening horror film podcast and The Weekend Immune System on Noisebox Radio. Tara has also done some voice work, narrating an audiobook and acting in a forthcoming audio drama about Mozart. She likes bats, cats, dogs, white wine, and Halloween. She dislikes olives, red wine, horsefly bites and Christmas.
David Court
David is a writer, poet, playwright, journalist, radio presenter, voice actor, and silly old weasel. Jack of all trades and master of none, he is single-handedly responsible for four collections of short stories (“The Shadow Cast by the World”, “Forever and Ever, Armageddon”, “Scenes of Mild Peril” and “Contents May Unsettle”) (editor’s note this is a brilliant collection!!) and is about to feature in “The Book of Coventry” due for release by Comma Press in September 2024. His debut poetry collection (“Little Gnome Facts”) is due out before the end of the year, and his comics work includes “Thriceslain” which is about to feature in the impending Zarjaz 2024 Sci-fi Special. He can be found lurking mischievously at www.davidjcourt.co.uk.
