FrightFest: Now here's a treat

The 24th FrightFest powers into the long weekend with exuberant crowds at its Leicester Square venue. Hanging out there is a lot of fun, with a superb buzz of activity everywhere. It's almost more like a horror fan convention than a film festival, with people in freaky costumes but a full-on happy vibe. It runs through Monday, so if you're nearby, it's well worth a visit. And most films are British, European or even world premieres. Here are some highlights for Saturday...

Cobweb
dir Samuel Bodin; with Woody Norman, Lizzy Caplan 23/US ****
Unusually strong characters bring this atmospheric horror film to life, especially as it takes a twisted approach to issues like bullying and child abuse. First-time director Samuel Bodin uses every trick in the book to keep the audience on edge, putting us through the wringer alongside the people on-screen. It definitely helps that the adept cast bring much more to the characters than is written in the screenplay... FULL REVIEW >

Where the Devil Roams
dir-scr Zelda Adams, John Adams, Toby Poser; with Zelda Adams, Toby Poser 23/US ***.
Made by the entire Adams family, this stylised horror romp is packed with extreme gore and devilish humour. Actor-filmmakers John, Toby and Zelda play a father, mother and daughter in 1930s America who embark on a murderous rampage while trying to hold their family together. So the film is a bizarro mix of emotional connections and satanic nonsense, plus lots of blood. And underlying warmth continually takes us aback.

Herd
dir Steven Pierce; with Ellen Adair, Mitzi Akaha 23/US ****
Starting as a marital drama, this film develops strongly resonant themes before transforming into a marauding zombie thriller. Steven Pierce directs the film with a sharp sense of both the settings and relationships, which pulls the audience in further. It's a fresh approach that brings new ideas to the genre, highlighting the drama and grisliness while making pointed commentary about people who would rather fight than help each other... FULL REVIEW >

The Moor
dir Chris Cronin; with Sophia La Porta, David Edward-Robertson 23/UK ***

With an earthy, documentary style, this often unnerving thriller revisits a missing-children case through the eyes of people who have a lingering connection to it. Although the film is far too long, director Chris Cronin has a terrific sense of the English countryside, mixing wide-scale landscapes and gritty handheld urgency. So while the pacing is a bit choppy, the vivid central characters add a strong emotional kick... FULL REVIEW >

Transmission

dir-scr Mike Hurst; with Vernon Wells, Dave Sheridan 23/US ***.
This ambitious horror film uses a range of pastiche styles to tell a story that's created by channel-hopping through TV broadcasts. Writer-director Michael Hurst infuses everything with the same B-movie production values as the films and programmes within the film. Each element has a strong kick, and the way they combine is fiendishly clever. But there isn't space for character depth as everything circles around an overall narrative.

Pandemonium
dir-scr Quarxx; with Hugo Dillon, Arben Bajraktaraj 23/Fr ***.
Essentially three shorts woven together thematically, this relentlessly grisly and devastatingly bleak movie explores the afterlife through the eyes of three people whose sins have condemned them. Yes, it's all very catholic in its take on right and wrong, and French writer-director Quarxx wallows in this simplistic morality while having a lot of fun with elaborate sets, makeup and gore. It's also expertly shot, edited and acted... FULL REVIEW >

Reviews of these and other films will be linked at SHADOWS' FRIGHTFEST page.

For details, FRIGHTFEST >