FrightFest: Scary monsters

The 23rd FrightFest is running this weekend in central London, scaring the life out of happy moviegoers. I tend to only catch a handful of films each year, and here's my selection this time round, starting with one of the best films I've seen all year...

Piggy [Cerdita]
dir-scr Carlota Pereda; with Laura Galan, Richard Holmes 22/Sp ****.
Bright, sunny and blackly humorous, this small-town Spanish drama takes an unblinking look at bullying and the complex emotions it evokes. Even more than a fiendishly clever approach to a serious topic, the film is an audacious genre mashup, mixing a high school comedy with a tense horror movie. Writer-director Carlota Pereda has a terrific eye for detail, and notable skill as a storyteller who cares about her characters.

Fall
dir Scott Mann; with Grace Caroline Currey, Virginia Gardner 22/US ***.
Shamelessly playing on its vertiginous premise, this adventure thriller keeps us in a state of nerve-wracking suspense right from the start. We're so frazzled that we never mind that many of the scares are gratuitous, the filmmaking is painfully obvious, and the continuity is more than a little iffy. This is a nonstop exercise in the most basic fear, and it's feels almost exhilarating when we survive it... REVIEW >

Burial
dir-scr Ben Parker; with Charlotte Vega, Tom Felton 22/UK ***
Set at the end of WWII, this mystery thriller generates a sense of secrecy at every step. It's packed with skirmishes that are nasty but not always easy to follow, while the story structure moves from one incident to the next without much overall momentum. It's sharp enough to hold the interest, but it lacks a compelling point of view, relying on intrigue rather than any human element.

Hypochondriac
dir-scr Addison Heimann; with Zach Villa, Devon Graye 22/US ****
Opening with a caption noting that it's "based on a real breakdown", this psychological horror immediately gets under the skin. Writer-director Addison Heimann creates a superbly subjective perspective, using inventive camerawork, editing and effects to explore the central character's thoughts. It's a terrific approach to internalised terror, which continually grounds mind-based delusions in earthy authenticity. This adds emotional angles that make the movie both gripping and bleakly moving... REVIEW >

Incredible But True [Incroyable Mais Vrai]
dir-scr Quentin Dupieux; with Alain Chabat, Lea Drucker 22/Fr ***.
French filmmaker Quentin Dupieux delights in telling wildly bonkers stories with a straight face. This lightly farcical tale involves time travel but delights in never quite explaining it. But while the premise is blatantly silly, with several riotously funny scenes along the way, the film has a warm heart that brings its characters to life. So while the central point feels somewhat simplistic, it's an engaging little romp.

Deep Fear
dir Gregory Beghin; with Sofia Lesaffre, Victor Meutelet 22/Fr ***
Earthy and confident, this French thriller maintains a lightly comical tone while layering in the usual hints that something horrific is brewing. This includes a standard randomly violent opening scene and a freak-out dream before the plot even begins, sending four young people on a day out that looks intriguing, fun and of course more than a little harrowing. It's a sharply well-made movie with a seriously vicious streak.

The Leech
dir-scr Eric Pennycoff; with Graham Skipper, Jeremy Gardner 22/US **.
There's a deranged sense of humour in this black comedy, which places an upstanding priest on a slippery slope to hell. Writer-director Eric Pennycoff encourages the cast to go for heightened performances that play up the in-your-face characters and dialog. As the story continues, it gets relentlessly darker, spiralling through swirly dream sequences before revealing some bleak truths about people who aren't particularly easy to empathise with.

Orchestrator of Storms: The Fantastique World of Jean Rollin
dir-scr Dima Ballin, Kat Ellinger; with Veronique D-Travers, Brigitte Lahaie 22/US ****
Brisk and packed with detail, this documentary traces the life of a little-known filmmaker who told poetic stories about dreams and memory, often using horror and sex. Critics dismissed his work as exploitation, but scholars now see his roots in the art world and his important contribution to the French New Wave. Even if it's overlong, this is an essential doc about a rarely explored side of cinematic history.

These and other full reviews will be linked at Shadows FRIGHTFEST page >

Critical Week: Super Sly!

For some reason, August has been one of my busiest months this year, with barely a free moment between all of the movies I need to watch. And yes, it feels like work! At least, to balance the heavy arthouse fare, there were two loud masculine thrillers this week. Sylvester Stallone gets to play an ageing superhero in Samaritan, an unusually violent movie that seems made for kids. Its writing and direction are simplistic, but Sly is great, as is Pilou Asbaek as the villain. Meanwhile, Idris Elba takes on an angry lion in Beast, an entertaining but simplistic thriller with some terrific action moments. Its family angles have a bit more texture.

BEST OUT THIS WEEK:
Private Desert • Funny Pages
Official Competition • The Good Boss
PERHAPS AVOID:
Samaritan
ALL REVIEWS >

The British post-WWII thriller Burial stars Tom Felten and Charlotte Vega (with a boost from Harriet Walter) in a dark tale about a Soviet mission. It's  messy, but atmospheric. The British thriller Black Mail is slick and watchable, but the filmmakers' inexperience shows in its lack of originality. And I also watched six films for the forthcoming FrightFest in London (coverage is coming this weekend) and just started working through my advance list of films that will be shown at the 79th Venice Film Festival (coverage starts next week).

This coming weekend is FrightFest in London, and then next week I'm heading to the 79th Venice Film Festival. I have 13 films to watch before I go (yikes!), then need to find time to write about them before seeing even more movies in Venice. Watch this space for updates...

Sundance London: Best friends forever

The Sundance Film Festival London is always a short, sharp shock, as it only lasts four days but features a flurry of acclaimed films. On the final day, I caught up with the short film programme and also attended the surprise film screening...

Zola 
dir Janicza Bravo; with Taylour Paige, Riley Keough 20/US ***
Based on a "true" story from a Twitter thread, this arthouse movie is loose and deliberately cartoonish. Director-cowriter Janicza Bravo keeps the story moving with chattering dialog that feels like a joke the audience can't possibly get. Meanwhile, the selective sound mix and swirling camerawork echo a leery male gaze. And as characters hit the road over a long weekend, what the story reveals about youth culture is chilling... FULL REVIEW >

Misha and the Wolves 
dir-scr Sam Hobkinson; with Misha Defonseca, Jane Daniel 21/Bel ****
This may be a documentary, but it has more outrageous twists than most mystery thrillers. Filmmaker Sam Hobkinson tells the story with range of inventive techniques, including firsthand interviews, archival photos and clips, dramatic recreations, animation and some movie-style trickery. And the people interviewed on-screen have a wonderfully earthy charm. What emerges is a riveting exploration of the power of storytelling itself, especially when sympathy is brought into play.

After last year's virtual festival, Sundance London's surprise film screening returned this year, only revealing the title once everyone was ready for it to begin. The film itself was a disappointing choice, as it comes from Sundance 2020 (all others were from Sundance 2021), and it also previously screened in the main programme for the London Film Festival 2020, where I first saw it. But it's a good film, and the awesome Harriet Walter was there to introduce it in person...

Herself
dir Phyllida Lloyd; with Clare Dunne, Harriet Walter 20/Ire ***.
Intensely personal, this Irish drama quickly gets under the skin as it centres on a woman who has been a victim of horrific domestic violence finds an inventive solution to her precarious situation. It's an intriguing mix of the happy and bittersweet, plus a few downright awful moments, beautifully directed by Phyllida Lloyd to catch internal feelings and earthy realism. And actor-cowriter Clare Dunne is terrific in the central role... FULL REVIEW >

Sundance Shorts
Sundance London brought seven short films from its January festival, a fascinating range of mini-epics. Each of these shorts has a singular perspective, exploring situations that centre on nationality, ethnicity and religion while inventively using drama, archival documentary and animation. Six were from the USA, often with international angles, while my favourite, Les Criminels, is a terrific drama set in Turkey. It's about as a two amorous young university students who are threatened with arrest and worse as they seek somewhere they can have a bit of privacy.

• For more festival information: PICTUREHOUSE: SUNDANCE
• Visit Shadows on the Wall's anchor page for SUNDANCE LONDON for links to all reviews.

LFF: Find your family

As the London Film Festival continues, I enjoyed attending one of the live virtual screenings last night, at which the filmmaker and lead actor of Days (see below) offered an engaging Q&A. Otherwise, it's been more about watching one movie after another on my computer, without much sense that a festival is happening. But there have been some great films already, and we're only three days in. Here are four more highlights - full reviews will be up this weekend...

Herself

dir Phyllida Lloyd; with Clare Dunne, Harriet Walter 20/Ire ***.

Intensely personal, this Irish drama quickly gets under the skin as it centres on a woman who has been a victim of horrific domestic violence finds an inventive solution to her precarious situation. It's an intriguing mix of the happy and bittersweet, plus a few downright awful moments, beautifully directed by Phyllida Lloyd to catch internal feelings and earthy realism. And actor-cowriter Clare Dunne is terrific in the central role.

Relic

dir Natalie Erika James; with Emily Mortimer, Robyn Nevin 20/Aus ***.

Overloading the creepy atmosphere from the start, filmmaker Natalie Erika James unnerves the audience with the usual cinematic freakery. Although the film's murky imagery and achingly slow pace may challenge some viewers, it immediately becomes clear that there's something more profound going on here, as decay in the family house has a bigger metaphorical meaning. This may be somewhat obvious, but it plays out with a beautiful darkness.

180º Rule

dir-scr Farnoosh Samadi; with Sahar Dolatshahi, Pejman Jamshidi 20/Irn ***.

This drama vividly highlights the lack of power women have in Iranian culture. It's a gripping story, beautifully well-told to explore the issues without preaching, even though it's precisely clear what is so drastically wrong. With her first feature, writer-director Farnoosh Samadi skilfully explores a situation in which a seemingly easy decision becomes bleakly momentous. It's somewhat melodramatic in its approach, but the film carries a strong wallop.

Days

dir-scr Tsai Ming-liang; with Lee Kang-sheng, Anong Houngheuangsy 20/Tai ****

Opening with long static shots of a man staring at the rain and sleeping in a bath, there's a sense that veteran filmmaker Tsai Ming-liang is indulging in cinematic imagery, with movement only in the faintest ripples. This style continues throughout this essentially wordless film, but both movement and a narrative emerge from the stillness. This is a gloriously filmed meditation on human connection, but it does demand patience.

NB. My anchor page for the LFF is HERE and full reviews will appear in between these daily blog entries. That's the plan anyway.