By Evrim Ersoy Aug 30, 2005, 15:10 GMT
And now it is over. I am sitting here in my room, in front of me are my two programmes and I still can’t believe that the festival whirled by so past. I mean after all I had really been looking forward to it and last week seemed like an agonising non-stop wait but once it got started; oh boy there was no stopping the momentum it gained.
I want to get down to the details immediately. Although it was my intention to start by thanking all the people who made it such a memorable event, I’m going to savour this and save that for the last so that you will all read it until the end. Not that I don’t trust you. Actually I don’t. But hey, that is neither here nor there.
Frightfest started Friday morning with a pre-Frightfest breakfast. Now for some unknown reason I decided to spent the Thursday night in Newbury Park instead of at my own house in Mile End which meant that I ended up getting up an hour earlier just to make up for the second leg of the journey. So I felt a little whacked and more than a little zombified by the time I arrived at the cinema. Already there were people there which meant that a) I could join the conversation and meet people and b) My unfounded fear that no –one would turn up was completely and utterly gone. Us being so early meant that we all had a brief chance to discuss the weekend ahead and we got a lovely surprise from the organisers: a signed Frightfest brochure by the director of ‘Malefique’.
At this point in time I would like to point out that Frightfest are starting their own Horror DVD label soon. Which is a good thing. Trust me on this one. ‘Malefique’ is the first film to come out along with ‘Dead Meat’ so I would recommend you all to watch them. I mean, watch ‘Malefique’ for sure because it is a great film and heaps of fun and watch ‘Dead Meat’ if you love zombie movies because it is Irish and perfectly unique.
So after a long chat with other Frightfester, they all headed inside for the Dead Day. I refrained from buying tickets to this, as I just didn’t have it in me to sit through the Dead trilogy again. I have only recently watched back to back with a friend and I just couldn’t hack it. True this meant that I wouldn’t get to see Land OF The Dead but luckily I had the chance to see it elsewhere already.
So , Land Of The Dead...is it any good? My answer would be yes. Ok, it is never going to have the pure,raw power ‘Night Of The Living Dead’ have nor the shock value but George Romero has constructed here something solid and very,very decent. Amidst all the kiddie-carnage and teeny-paranormal films, Land Of The Dead stands out as a fine example of the genre and a welcome addition to the rare roster of decent horror films this year. (Along with Neil Marshall’s The Descent. Nasty. Gruesome. I think it’s great.)
Next up was A Bittersweet Life, which I had already, the pleasure of seeing. So you guys know how I feel about it. I love A Bittersweet Life. Even though some of the Frightfester complained the next day about the pace of the movie and the length, I still think it very highly of it.
Last movie of the day was Evil Aliens. Which was fun. But that was about it. Just fun. If you are ever in need of a horror movie with no brains, lots of gore and nudity (well some nudity at least) watch Evil Aliens. It’s a hoot nut that’s about all it is.
Saturday started nice and early with a showing of Dario Argento’s ‘Do You Like Hitchcock?’ I thought it was a shame that they put this lovely little film in this slot because a lot of the audience missed it due to having gone to the George R. Romero signing at The Cinema Store.
Now although I overheard some detrimental comments about the quality of the film, I am of the opinion that for a t.v. movie this was exceptional stuff. I think a lot of the people forgot that what usually t.v. movies are like. With the bad acting. And the bad script. And the Baldwin brothers. However ‘Do You Like Hitchcock’ whizzed along at a nice speed with a likeable lead and an interesting plot. (And I also thought the actress who played the male lead'’ girlfriend was exceptionally pretty. Saturday morning brightened considerably by little detail.)
This film was followed by ‘Dead Meat’ which I have already recommended. It’s a nice little flick and I think it deserves to have a nice, huge audience. Please see it if you have chance and support so that films like this can continue to be made.
Oh and ‘Dead Meat’ was coupled with a 47 minute documentary titled ‘Ban The Sadist Videos’. Unfortunately I didn’t get a chance to see it but my sources tell me that it is a very good documentary on the era that was the 80’s and our panic ridden attitude towards the videos.
The next film was an oddity from Japan titled ‘Neighbour No 13’. This was one I had been looking forward to and I must admit I was a little disappointed. What I read about the film made it sound much more madcap than it actually was and I do believe that if my expectation had been kept a little lower I would have enjoyed it much more. Don’t get me wrong, ‘Neighbour No 13’ is a perfectly watchable film, it just wasn’t what I wanted at that point in time. I think it is worth taking a look if only for the performance of Shido Nakamura as the psycho-personality of Juzo Masaki. Apparently he’s a kabuki star in Japan which makes a lot of sense about his performance.
After a brief break it was time for Wild Country. Now this was another film I refrained from attending because I had already seen it. It’s an interesting film, a bit of a disappointment due to the hype it came surrounded with to me but to those who see it with no word and no build up will enjoy it a lot more. It has some lovely cinematography, and the only complaint I heard during the festival was that the print was too dark at point to see what was going on. Oddly I experienced the same problem when I saw the film as well so maybe this is a point to be careful about.
Finally we get to Saturday night, 21.00. The big film of the day. The coup-de grace. The final touch. Usually this is a slot saved for a big Hollywood film or something whose success is almost guaranteed. Which made it a surprise that we were given ‘The Roost’ this year, a film so highly regarded by the organisers that they kept heaping praises on it. In fact I was so excited that I ended up recruiting two of my dear friends to come along and see it with me. So we sat down in the cinema and the director who apologised for the first five minutes because the sound was problematic and kept dropping in and out introduced the film. The film started, the five minutes with crappy sound passed, we even clapped to show that we were a loving and receptive audience dammit and we would enjoy the movie nonetheless and without any judgement and prejudice.
And then we actually saw the damn thing. God almighty!
When I say that ‘The Roost’ was a bad film, which sucked, I am understating. I am understating by so far that people can now write to me and criticise me for being so kind to this movie. Oh Lord, it was like ‘Bewitched’ all over again. And what never failed to amaze me at any point, what drove me insane beyond understanding and reason was that some people actually enjoyed it. Maybe I lack that part of my brain, which is for being scared of people walking into barns and out, and in again but it just didn’t do anything. The acting was atrocious, the plot was a mess and by the end I was weeping with anger and disappointment. The fact that Ti west, the director stood outside when we came out also didn’t help. I refrained from talking to him and stood very,very far away. Leave ‘The Roost’ alone people. You have been warned. See something else instead. Like ‘Pokemon The Movie’.
The next film I am afraid I possibly can’t comment on. Because I didn’t watch it. I refrained from getting tickets for the simple reason that my dear friend Annaleis had her 19th birthday. (she is so damn young man) SO what I can report to you is that after a quick hop and trot to my own house to get changed, I legged it to Annaleis’s and got drunk. Very badly drunk. So drunk that it hurt all day and all night. Plus there was a distinct lack of sleep with only two hours under my belt.
But I had fun.
So Sunday morning, I was standing in front of the Odeon West End, 10’clock with a dirty, horrible Burger #King breakfast in my end, the mother of all hangovers in my head and a distinctly zombified look in my eyes when I realised that I would now be seeing ‘The Collingswood Story’ Which actually did not disappoint me. A rare occurrence really.
But before’ The Collingswood Story’ let me just briefly talk about ‘The Ten Steps.’ ‘The Ten Steps’ was a short they couple with the main feature ‘The Collingswood Story’ and let me just say that it was brilliant, a pure and genius slice of horror. I would recommend everyone to track it down and I say give the director a chance for a horror feature. It scared the shit out of me. (And Loretto who was sitting next to me. I hope your back is back in business, kiddo!)
So ‘The Collingswood Story’. Yes, it was unrealistic the way they used webcams. Yes, it was a bit long in expositional conversation and scenery. Yes, it was ‘Blair Witch’’esque. But dammit, if it wasn’t also effective and creepy. Wil told me it worked on him. It damn well worked on me. SO watch it people. It’s not a run along, crazy ride but as a slow burner, it’s an effective piece of filmmaking.
The next film was ‘Marebito’ which I love very much. It’s surreal and very much in the annals of ‘what the hell is this’ but nonetheless a very effective and unnerving movie. I wouldn’t call it out and out horror but a more oddity. Like a beautiful freak of some sort. I do believe the DVD is out in Germany already so I recommend you guys rent it or bring it over or just wait until those wonderful people at Tartan pick it up and release with all new, spangly bits.
By the way you might have noticed that I am not giving much on plot details. This is due to the fact that if I were to do so this article would become a thousand pages long and the organisers of Frightfest have already done a very good job of it. So if there’s any of these movies you want to know about plot-wise, direct your browser to www.frightfest.co.uk and click on programme. You will definitely be able to get a feel of the film this way.
Marebito was followed by ‘Boo’. No it wasn’t. Dammit, I don’t know why but ‘Boo’ had to be pulled out unfortunately and instead we got a showing of ‘Red Eye’.
I must admit that at first I was not interested at all. ‘Red Eye’ just doesn’t sound like something I would enjoy and the only pulling point for me was the rumour that Wes Craven would make an appearance. He didn’t but in a surprising turn of events I enjoyed this hokum.
It definitely wasn’t the film for my hangover. Dolby 5.1. or whatever sounds system they have, planes going up and down with booming motors, loud crashes, very high and noisy punches and head butts, by the time the movie ended my headache hated me more than I hated my headache. But dammit I still enjoyed it. Yes, it’s ridiculous and yes the last twenty minutes are pure pantomime with appropriate boos and hisses but it still zipped along nicely and I sat there feeling pleased with myself. (Also I never heard so many rounds of applause during a movie. Man our audience can be interesting at times.)
OK the next two movies were ‘Nightwatch’ and ‘Dominion: Prequel To The Exorcist. I haven’t seen Dominion and I really had to go home by that point so this is one for which you are going to have to wait for a verdict on, folks.
‘Nightwatch’ on the other hand is damn worth your time. Ok, so it is not the brilliant masterpiece they are making it out to be. But it still is a very good piece of film making and I feel that if the director manages to pull of the quite hard task of keeping it up with the second and the third film then we are going to have a hell of a trilogy. You are going to hear a lot about Nightwatch within the next few months so I am going to say no more.
Monday morning began with ‘Born To Fight’ which is just brilliant fun. They jump, they fight, and they do stupendous stunts. If you liked ‘Ong-Bak’ just watch this now. I have been told that it has gone straight to video and DVD in the U.K. so run and rent it. Seriously.
Then we had Day Of The Dead 2: Contagium. Which was alright. Just.
People however seemed to hate it more than I did. Which seemed odd. But anyway there’s the two verdicts, pick the one, which appeals to you, the best: alright or crap.
‘P’ is actually the other film I missed. It just did not appeal to me so I decided to skip it. Apparently this was a dumb mistake on my behalf and ‘P’ was really good. Oh well. I now have to find a copy and give an honest review at a later date.
Antibodies was a title for which I had been waiting for the whole weekend. Since my love of ‘Tattoo’ is well known, German serial killer flicks excite me. It seems that there is something about the serial killer genre that the Germans understand very well and therefore the movies they make turn out to be quite extraordinary.
Antibodies was no exception. Beautifully shot and with great performances from all those involved, it was a solid thriller with some very disturbing imagery thrown it for good measure. Special mention must go out to the lead Wotan Wilke Möhring,whose portrayal of a man whose belief are questioned and who starts to transform into something which he cannot bear to be was brilliant and realistic. My only problem with the film was the ending which I thought kinda lost the point. But I don’t want to say anymore and ruin it for you. See ‘Antibodies’ at the first instance. Apparently it has already been marked for an American remake. Eeeeek. See it before the remake.
Also I would like to say that Christian Alvart, the director, was the only person whose signature I actually asked for. That’s how much I enjoyed the film. It made me act like a fanboy. (Oh and if anyone can spot the paralled between this and Tattoo and e-mails me will get a nice prize. I’m serious. What is the parallel between Antibodies and Tattoo. It’s not plot. And don’t look for imagery. Something connects the two films so just watch them carefully.)
And so we come to the final movie of the weekend. ‘Wolf Creek,. Which I had seen and already reviewed. So as I departed from the cinema with my signature firmly in Sam’s bag and a heavy feeling in my chest, I bid farewell to Frightfest until next year. (See Wolf Creek. It rocks.)
Now the thanks column. A special mention goes out to:
The organisers who put on a fantastic event every year and are friendly and humane enough to mingle and talk to the rest of us.
And Finally my newly found Frightfest friends:
Alex Kidd who from the first morning on Friday proved himself to be an enduring and true Frightfester, Steve whose enthusiasm towards the whole thing even infected me and who insisted on calling me Eugene which I didn’t want to correct (it’s actually Evrim but I don’t mind. You love horror movies so it’s ok. And don’t forget to email for those invitations).
The rest of the group which I hung out with between movies; I don’t remember any of your names but let me just say that without those discussions none of this column would have materialised. (And those of you attending Firecracker or Raindance? Find me...)
The chap who taught me that carabenas can be used as knuckled dusters on Friday morning. The charming young lady on Friday morning whose excitement was spellbinding. And the two gentleman who came for the Dead Day. And who unfortunately I did not see again. Christian Alvart who refrained from running away when I went over and talked until I was blue in the face. And countless others who I might have talked to. Thank you ever so much.
My first Frightfest being social. It was a damn special affair.
Until next yearVoorheves
You can access some photos from the opening night of Frightfest on this page.
Contact Evrim on - evrim dot voorheves at monstersandcritics dot com
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