FrightFest: There's something out there

The 27th FrightFest wraps up tonight after bringing another colourful lineup of ghastly movies to appreciative Leicester Square audiences. And with so many world premieres, a lot of filmmakers and cast members have been mingling with their fans. Here are notes on six more films I caught, several of these are world premieres...

Ithaqua
dir Casey Walker; with Luke Hemsworth, Kevin Durand 26/Can ***.
Strikingly shot in the snowy Canadian wilderness, this film nicely captures the period and setting, and it's populated by characters who are intriguing and enjoyably messy. Filmmaker Casey Walker sets up the story robustly, revealing the relationships, clashes and challenges before things take a an even nastier turn. The tension that comes along is genuinely unnerving, especially as this turns into an original ghostly zombie horror.

Bad Karaoke
dir Robert J Steinmiller Jr, Chris Lightbody; with Lexi Underwood, Case Walker 26/US ***.
With terrific character details and a raucous sense of pitch-black humour, this nutty horror comedy gets increasingly gruesome over the course of about 24 hours in an isolated cabin in the woods. Directors Robert J Steinmiller Jr and Chris Lightbody gleefully poke fun at the perils of karaoke, as well as the tried and tested tropes of scary teen movies. And it's all mixed together with a steady stream of goofiness.

Do You Want to Play?
dir-scr Nick Lyon; with Quinn Aune, Maxwell Mushallo 26/US ***
There's an oddly over-serious tone to this teen horror romp, which quickly establishes the premise and characters with melodrama rather than engaging detail. Writer-director Nick Lyon deploys grisly imagery early on, then follows a hideously masked supernatural villain terrorising a group of teens who are blithely playing around with the occult. So even if it never feels very original, there's some fun to be had.

Dracula: The Night Around Us
dir-scr Chris Schwab; with Eric Toms, Marlene Mc'Cohen 26/US ***.
Loosely based on the Bram Stoker novel, this low-budget freakout uses minimal dialog and lots of murkiness to keep the audience on edge. Writer-director Chris Schwab has a lot of fun with both jolting jump cuts and yucky closeups, making the most of the superbly grainy film stock. Offhanded humour adds a superbly engaging tone to what is otherwise a rather wacky gothic nightmare with heavy emotional overtones.

Hyena [aka: Hy3na]
dir Matthew Ninaber; with Storm Steenson, Kristen Kaster 26/Can **
Opening with a barrage of colourfully violent craziness, this lurid thriller then cuts back three weeks to recount the story of a wildly unhinged serial killer. With a quick pace, director-cowriter Matthew Ninaber indulges in outrageous grisliness while infusing everything with snarky broad humour. So it's a bit frustrating that the plot feels so oddly thin, with fragmented strands and too many slinky montage sequences. Plus the obvious twist.

Valley View Motel
dir-scr Nick Psinakis, Kevin Ignatius; with Laura Im, Soulo Smith 26/US ***.

Even with a limited budget, actor-filmmakers Nick Psinakis and Kevin Ignatius inventively infuse this thriller with a superb 1970s vibe, using the camerawork, a churning score and groovy costumes and cars. The also adeptly channel the Coen brothers, keeping things blackly comical as they throw a bunch of very messy characters together, pushing them to acts of desperation. So the final act is expertly staged horror slapstick.

Full reviews will be posted on SHADOWS' FRIGHTFEST PAGE >