FrightFest: Stand by me

This long weekend is crazy busy in London, with the streets of the West End clotted with tourists, plus the pulsing events at Notting Hill Carnival. I've been hanging around in cinemas at the 24th FrightFest, surrounded by fellow oddball movie fans, actors and filmmakers. It's a lot of fun, and there's one day to go. Here are highlights from Sunday...

Here for Blood
dir Daniel Turres; with Shawn Roberts, Maya Misaljevic 22/Can ***.
Set around an aspiring professional wrestler, there's a wry double meaning in the title of this movie, which mashes up elements of broad comedy and home-invasion horror. Director Daniel Turres shoots this like a pastiche of vintage scary movies, complete with wildly excessive gore. The filmmaking may be somewhat cheap and cheerful, and the supernatural story elements unnecessarily over-egged, but the movie is also boldly inventive and riotously funny.

Cold Meat
dir Sebastien Drouin; with Allen Leech, Nina Bergman 23/UK ***.
Tightly contained within a snowbound car, this edgy thriller hinges around a battle of wills between two people who really don't want to be trapped together. Director Sebastien Drouin cleverly expands the visual palette with external scene-setting imagery, back-story flashbacks and some deranged nightmares, so the film plays intensively on various layers. And even if it's slightly half-hearted, the nod to Native American folklore creates a powerful undercurrent... FULL REVIEW >

The Seeding
dir-scr Barney Clay; with Scott Haze, Kate Lyn Sheil 23/US ***.
Skilfully creating an atmosphere of claustrophobic dread, writer-director Barney Clay echoes a range of wilderness horror classics as he carefully crafts a modern-day folk tale. And it's deeply disturbing, like some sort of a surreal nightmare. Nothing is terribly original here, but the movie has a confident sheen, building sympathetic characters against the odds as it cautions against venturing into isolated, and insulated, parts of the American West... FULL REVIEW >

Raging Grace
dir-scr Paris Zarcilla; with Max Eigenmann, Jaeden Boadilla 23/UK ***.
Issues of class and ethnicity run right through this British drama, which draws in elements of farce and horror as its story shifts and twists with pointed intent. Writer-director Paris Zarcilla stirs in details from his Filipino heritage to add some deeper currents of meaning. And even if the storytelling feels a bit undercooked, the settings, music and editing create at atmosphere that's almost too vivid... FULL REVIEW >

Minore
dir Konstantinos Koutsoliotas; with Davide Tucci, Daphne Alexander 23/Gr ***. 
Enjoyably offbeat, this Greek action-fantasy infuses a modern-day legend with a witty sense of humour and a surreal queer sensibility. A large ensemble cast has fun creating a collection of hilariously quirky characters, while filmmaker Konstantinos Koutsoliotas skilfully builds a growing sense of ominous menace before the gore starts to flow. And swirly dreamlike sequences, which ripple with inventive effects and makeup, add to the mythical sensibilities... FULL REVIEW >

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

For details, FRIGHTFEST >