Film4 Fright Fest - Glasgow 2014

FrightFest Glasgow 2014 (Film 4, Glasgow Film Festival, 28th February - 1st March 2014).

Last weekend was the annual Film4 FrightFest at the Glasgow GFT cinema, Scotland, in the city centre. This was my second year attending the festival and I was not disappointed.

A collection of 11 new films from a variety of directors (known and relatively unknown alike) were shown over the 2 days.

There were freebies (although I didn't manage to snag any this year) and tee-shirts (£15) which I sadly had neglected to order beforehand.

Directors, including Ti West, came along to watch and discuss their new films (Mr. West was also spotted on-and-off throughout the rest of the festival).

Q&As were had, cheering was rife and the riotous giggling of many horror fans enjoying a bloody  on-screen explosion was a delight to behold.

Our hosts, as usual, gave an excellent show. Everything ran on time and the GFT's relocation of the bar to just behind the screen was an inspired idea.

I'll follow this up with some reviews, but not all at once... One of these years I'll venture down to London for the full FrightFest experience!

In fact the only disappointment after last year was that there was nothing quite as good as "Hellfjord" being shown in-between films!

http://www.frightfest.co.uk/

Hani

Savaged

"Savaged" (2013, Michael S. Ojeda) is a rape-revenge story which explores some pretty dark themes but manages to create a funny and gory film.

A pretty deaf mute girl called Zoe (Amanda Adrienne) heads out on a road trip to move in with her fiancé. As she goes she documents her trip with her camera phone. A habit that both saves and condemns her.

A near miss on the road causes her to stop and she's taken by surprise by a group of American Indian-hating red necks who have sickening plans for her, ending in her death.

She's found by a witch doctor who tries to revive her with magic, but what comes back is so much more than Zoe, and it's out for revenge.

The film touches on several dark themes: rape, racism, murder, black arts, the destruction of the indigenous race of the USA, brutality towards women and police corruption.

But "Savaged" is not a cerebral or preachy film. It's a self-aware, gory, silly horror with lots of action, excellent gore effects (a scene with barbed wire will stick with you for a while) and an interesting, if completely batshit, plot.

It's an odd mix of rape-revenge, zombiism, spirit warriors and comedy gore. The feel is a cross between The Crow, I Spit on Your Grave and an x-rated episode of Goosebumps (I blame the green mist for that last comparison, an effect that was often used in the children's horror show).

While nothing new, it's entertaining and a good first film at Glasgow Fright Fest 2014.

Aftershock

"Aftershock" (2012, Nicolás López, Eli Roth, Cross Creek Pictures, Dragonfly Entertainment, sobras.com Productions, Vertebra Films) is a Natural Disaster movie with some twists and turns in there. 

A visually shocking and exciting film, it starts in a way similar to "Hostel" (which isn't surprising when you consider that Eli Roth plays a large part in both writing and acting in this film), where Gringo (Eli Roth) is currently in Chile with two Chilean friends, Ariel (Ariel Levy) and Pollo (Nicolás López) enjoying the underground nightclubs, vineyards and pretty young women, in particular the company of Kylie (Lorenza Izzo), Irina (Natasha Yarovenko) and Kylie's uptight, straight lace, half-Hungarian half-sister, Monica (Andrea Osvárt).

All the fun comes to an abrupt end, however, when an earthquake hits while they're partying. Soon they're fighting for their lives, but they've yet to learn that the earthquake may not be the total of their troubles!

The film starts off like a completely different kind of film, which as much as this is becoming the horror norm these days, I actually really enjoyed, the characters, although not entirely likeable, were nicely built up and the scene was set. I quite enjoyed the repartee between the characters and they reminded me very much of some of the kinds of people you meet on holiday. 

When the horror begins it's pretty brutal and the disaster scenes are edgy and realistic. The panic on display is also pretty lifelike, and seeing this on the big screen definitely adds to the feeling. 

There's a lot going on and, like all horror movies, you could easily over analyse the plot into rags, but that's not part of the amusement!

An effective, bloody film with enough to keep you watching. However, as a warning, there are rape scenes (because what else would you do while an earthquake is destroying your home?!).

Hani

The Bay

"The Bay" (2012, Barry Levinson) is a found footage 'mock-umentary' about the ecological side-effects the human race is having on the globe, and is pretty much a nature-bites-back-film.

Based in a small American Seaside town called Chesapeake during their 4th of July celebrations, we watch through the confiscated found footage of the inhabitants and a small student news blog as the town falls into chaos when a terrifying menace begins threatening the lives of the townspeople.

I'm not usually fan of found-footage, but I'm happy to report that "The Bay" is a winner for me. It was gross, scary and had a plot. While it's evidently a platform for Levinson to preach a little about global pollution and governmental transparency, it does so with style and excellent effects.

Some good old jump scares keep the pace, while we also get a lot of disturbing visuals and an engaging and almost 'mystery'-like slow reveal of the true cause of the panic and deaths.

While it's certainly no "Jaws", it's a really good yarn. Hey, and Kirsten Connolly from "Cabin In The Woods" is in it!

Hani

The ABCs of Death

"The ABCs of Death" (2012, Nacho Vigalondo, Adrian Garcia Bogliano, Ernesto Diaz Espinoza, Marcel Sarmiento, Angela Bettis, Noboru Iguchi, Andrew Traucki, Thomas Malling, Jorge Michel Grau, Yûdai Yamaguchi, Anders Morgenthaler, Timo Tjahjanto, Ti West, Banjong Pisanthanakun, Bruno Forzani, Héléne Cattet, Simon Rumley, Adam Wingard, Simon Barrett, Srdjan Spasojevic, Jake West, Lee Hardcastle, Ben Wheatley, Kaare Andrews, Jon Schnepp, Xavier Gens, Jason Eisener, Yoshihiro Nishimura, Drafthouse Films, Magnet Releasing).

"The ABCs of Death" is a 26-short anthology film, featuring a mini-film each from the above directors (or directive pair in some cases) based around one of the 26 letters of the alphabet. The film is 2hrs long-ish, and to be fair, it doesn't feel anywhere near this long as each short runs quickly onto the next in succession. It is, however, riddled with terrible mini-films which sadly overshadow some of the few really excellent shorts in the collection.

The film starts with a high point or two, but it's a severely mixed bag, and by the end I was glad to see the credits.

Some of the inspirational shorts are creative, violent, spooky, different and could be progressed easily into a full scale film. Some of the good, but maybe more average shorts are pretty standard and could really be thrown in with the likes seen in the latter day "Creepshow" films. Unfortunately there are also a majority of uninspired shorts which verge on the depraved (and not in the good way) and often jump the line into the simply stupid category. As much as the film moves quickly past these short little efforts, they unfortunately stick more in my mind than some of the good attempts.

Lots of toilet humour (although the claymation short was hilarious!), murders, vampires, paedophiles, animals, boobs and randomness. Some good, some terrible. The peaks certainly jump whole-heartedly into the troughs, but a cinematic experience to be had, for sure! Guaranteed you haven't seen anything like this before!

[Image: Drafthouse Films]

Hani

The Lords of Salem

"The Lords of Salem" (2012, Rob Zombie, Alliance Films, Automatik Entertainment, Haunted Films, IM Global, Blumhouse Productions) is the film I was most excited for at Glasgow Fright Fest 2013.

As a fan of Rob Zombie's music and his films, I was waiting in anticipation for this film and it was one of the first main attractions for going to the festival (not that I wouldn't have gone had it not been showing!).

I'm pleased to say I was not disappointed, and while Lords isn't quite in the same style as "House of 1000 Corpses" or "The Devil's Rejects", it is really enjoyable! I felt it was well put together, and had the feeling of a Hammer Horror (such as "The Devil Rides Out") mixed with a touch of "Rosemary's Baby", there was also some classic 70s horror weirdness in there, especially any scenes with the Beast himself in them.

Heidi (Sheri Moon Zombie) is a radio DJ on Salem's local radio station. She co-hosts a show with her sometimes lover, Herman "Whitey" Salvador (Jeff Daniel Phillips) and also Herman Jackson (Ernest Lee Thomas).

One day, Heidi receives a strange record by a band called "The Lords" in a creepy wooden box. After a drunken night in with Whitey, they stick on the record and it behaves strangely, trying to play backwards. When it finally starts playing Heidi begins to feel strange and see odd visions. She kicks Whitey out and heads to bed where she dreams strange dreams.

Regardless, they play the record on the show and it becomes a hit with the listeners. The Lords also announce a gig in Salem and provide free tickets to anyone who wants them. But are The Lords all that they appear? Or is there something more sinister going on? And is the sweet little old landlady and her sisters really all that sweet?

An atmospheric film which is both slow burning and also quite trippy, The Lords of Salem is enjoyable and weird. Good visuals and a fitting soundtrack give the desired effect. Although, it's not for everyone, and is certainly no gore fest.

Several notable scream queens are present in this film including:

• Magenta from Rocky Horror, Patricia Quinn
• Meg Foster (she was in John Carpenter's "They Live")
• Barbara Crampton ("Re-Animator")
• María Conchita Alonso ("Predator 2", "The Running Man")
• Dee Wallace ("E.T.", "The Howling", "The Hills Have Eyes", "Cujo")

 The coven scenes are excellent, if you can handle that much naked old lady, and really hark back to the glory days of witch horror, when Vincent Price was hunting them down and Joan Fontaine was losing her mind to witchcraft!

I actually liked the end which sped up and delved back into the Zombie we know and love and, for me, brought all the craziness to a head.

Good, different, but not gory, this film may be a point of contention amongst fans, but is a bold move by the ever talented Rob Zombie.

[Image: Haunted Films]

Hani

Sawney: Flesh of Man

"Sawney: Flesh of Man" (2012, Ricky Wood, Philabeg Films) is the gore-soaked, blood drenched, modern day take on the old Scottish Cannibal legend of Sawney Bean and his in-bred family.

Sawney's back (or at least, one of his ancestors is) with a new, smaller, smarter family of in-bred cannibals (some of whom seem to be free-running, in-bred ninjas!), and this time they're not just waiting on passers by to get their munch on!

Excellently put together, completely depraved in parts, humorous and with really good special effects, this indie horror is a winner.

The picturesque surroundings are really atmospheric, and I'm happy to see that it is actually Scotland and with not many, if any, CGI effects.

The acting is good, and David Hayman in particular is excellent as the religious, maniac, cannibal daddy of the household. He delivers a crazed but strangely charismatic character with a glee that will make you uncomfortable.

There is rape of both sexes in this film, however, and a lot of gore. So it's not for the faint hearted!

[Image: Philabeg Films]

Hani

The American Scream

"The American Scream" (2012, Michael Stephenson, Brainstorm Media, Chiller Films, Magic Stone Productions) is a documentary from the mind that brought us "The Best Worst Movie" back in 2009.

It's set in a quiet American town called Fairhaven and follows 3 families of 'home haunters' as they prepare for the big night of Halloween over the month of October. Each family goes all out for Halloween, turning their gardens and houses into haunted houses for people to visit and enjoy. All three have a different personality, and so each Haunt is very different.

I knew America was crazy for Halloween, but I didn't realise how seriously some people took it! Or that there were whole conventions for props and house decor. Man, I definitely live in the wrong part of the globe.

Endearing and sweet, and often a little sad, this film follows the trials, tribulations and sheer dedication the Haunters and their ever supporting families go through to treat the children and trick or treaters at Halloween.

Each Haunter has such a different character and obviously felt very differently about the holiday and how they went about putting their haunt together, and I think I loved each one of them, they were just so charming in their sheer determination to make their haunt one to remember.

With some ups and downs and some really funny moments that had the cinema laughing aloud and sharing smiles, I found this film to be an excellent crowd pleaser, and a great study on the modern day American obsession (not with bad connotations, however) with All Hallow's Eve and how hobbies can really give your life purpose if you're passionate enough.

The props that Vincent put together, in particular, were so impressive! If he lived in my neighbourhood I would have been helping him out every year! The ending has a melancholy feel to it, however, and I'm curious to whether getting to live his dream has made Vincent happy. I really hope it has, though!

The scenes inside the haunts are excellent and really funny. All in all, this was a little gem of a movie and, while not a horror, is so touching and well put together it will bring a smile to your face.

A good way to start off the 2013 Fright Fest!

[Images: Brainstorm Media, Chiller Films, Magic Stone Productions]

 

Hani