Frightfest’s Halloween All-nighter, the third and final
event of its annual calendar, returned to VUE West End last Saturday (26
th)
to screen six movies over fourteen hours through the night. This year, co-organisers Alan Jones,
Paul McEvoy and Ian Rattray introduced four
UK premieres and two previews to a
(very nearly) packed screen, hosting a number of special guests and flinging out a number of cool merchandise.
The UK
premiere of SOULMATE was the first movie on the bill and the first of the
night’s many directorial feature debuts. Axelle Carolyn flew in from LA to
introduce her supernatural drama alongside executive producer Neil Marshall (The Descent) and leading cast members
Anna Walton (Hellboy 2) and Tanya
Myers (Casualty).
Synopsis: After a failed suicide
attempt, Audrey (Walton) moves to a cottage in a remote rural Welsh village to escape
her miserable life and come to terms with the tragic death of her husband. But
when she starts to feel a haunting presence in the cottage, its tragic history
begins to surface as she learns that she is not alone in her grieving.
“It’s an old fashioned, atmospheric, dramatic film… inspired
by classic ghost stories”, explains Carolyn. “It’s a little bit different.”
Its amalgamation of classic literature and themes of
romanticism are certainly refreshing amidst the long runs of supernatural
horrors driven by evil paranormal presences and countless jump scares. It’s a
simple tale concentrated in fantastical elements, and the gloomy disposition of
the Welsh countryside conveys a chilling atmosphere. Walton delivers a fine
performance oozing with melancholy, saying of the screenplay: “I thought it was
a very sensitive and honest betrayal of someone dealing with grief.”
Though it may tug at fear and sadness, it never really
commits to a deeper emotional substance with regards to Audrey and ghost
Douglas (Tom Wisdom), and we beg for a more meaningful outcome than what the uninspiring
ending offers.
A Q&A about life and death (cheerier than it sounds) ended
with Marshall discussing his next project after Games of Thrones, the remake of Norwegian film-footage film Troll Hunter, in which he anticipated
the audience’s grunts with an “I know, boo hiss.” Yes, boo hiss indeed.
RATING: 2.5
The much-anticipated PATRICK remake was up next for its UK
premiere and third screening worldwide. Another feature debut in the line-up sees
Doc-God Mark Hartley (Not Quite Hollywood, Machete Maidens
Unleashed!) re-envisage Richard Franklin’s 1978 beloved Hitchcockian homage.
For those unfamiliar with the story…
Synopsis: Nurse Kathy Jacquard
(Sharni Vinson) takes a job at a private psychiatric clinic in the secluded
outback and soon develops an interest with the patient behind door 15. Handsome
Patrick (Jackson Gallagher) is a comatose, following a bathtub incident with
his mother and her lover, and is the goldenboy of Doctor Roget (Charles Dance) unethical
experiments. But his unhealthy fondness for Jackie becomes dangerous when his
telekinetic powers start ruling her life.
For what seems to be a pointless remake, Hartley’s rendering
was pretty much as expected. The structure was annoyingly formulaic; the gory effects
unjust and out of place with its gothic tone; and the intriguing elements of the
original’s mystery were instead replaced with outright shock. Not to mention
that it crescendos at thirty minutes and defiantly plods through the motions
until it comes to an underwhelming hault. Thankfully, an unrelentingly raucous,
electrifying score by Pino Donnagio (known mostly for his sound work on the
likes of Carrie and The Howling) strikes an appropriate
pulsating energy into every scene and rightfully deserves all the attention it
demands throughout.
Vinson plays perhaps her most convincing role yet and fellow
nurse Williams (Peta Sergeant) provokes a few welcome gags. It’s clear that Hartley
made this picture through his love and respect of Ozploitation classics. But Franklin’s original was
undeniably flawed. And this is disastrously so.
Star and (as Alan dubbed) “exploitation scream queen” Sharni
Vinson (Bait 3D, You’re Next) blessed
us with her presence and answered questions about being an actress before
talking about her recent heavy involvement in horror and if she’d stick to the
genre.
“It’s not intentional, I just take what lands in my lap at
the right time. It just so happened that the last three were horror… I went
through all the horror movies at a young age. I love horror and I love action…
I wouldn’t not do a horror but I wouldn’t not not do a horror,” she said.
What we do know is that Vinson is not against the idea of
doing sequels to her two 2013 horros. But the Final Girl raised a very valid
point – “All my co-stars die, so who would I work with?”
Patrick is set to be released theatrically in the US next spring but has not yet secured a UK distributor.
RATING: 2
A quick swap around in the
schedule meant that MARK OF THE DEVIL saw us into the next day. If you were
coming to this event for one reason, it was to witness the first public
screening of this notorious 1970 West German film, banned in several countries
and having gained a reputation as one of the most violent and exploitative
films in cinema history, with viewers being given sick bags upon watching the
film.
What’s more, director Michael Armstrong (The Haunted House of Horrors, House of the
Long Shadows) was there to mark the occasion. A humble introduction from
Armstrong ended on: “I hope the film isn’t too much torture to sit through…!”
And on that note, the curtains drew and in came Michael Holm’s deceivingly
harmonious melodic score.
Synopsis: In 18th century
Austria,
a callous, hard-knuckled witch-hunter (Reggie Nalder) spreads terror around his
town, hastily accusing its women of witchcraft and delighting in watching them
burn to the stake. Infamous witch-hunter Lord Cumberland (Herbert Lom) arrives
in town, ordered by the Crown to enforce his righteous judgement alongside his
doting apprentice Count Christian (Udo Keir). But when Christian catches his
mentor murdering a town official, he questions his religious teachings, and
rebels to take justice into his own hands.
“Yes I wanted to make a film that was accumatively violent… I
made a movie that was meant to upset and disturb,” said Armstrong. Mark Of The Devil is one hour and forty
minutes of incessant macabre torture, from whip slashings to hangings, from
burnings to tongue removal. And though it’s fictitious, it has overwhelming
elements of authenticity; the three witch cases that the film centers were
based on real cases and almost all the instruments in the movie replicate the
ones used to perform torture.
Though its infamous ‘V for vomit’ stigma shouldn’t cloud its
historic relevance, the moral message which opens the film is ultimately
unmaintained and inferior to its graphic motive. Still, it’s an involving story
with a pleasingly surprising end and, despite falling short to cheesy,
melodramatic moments, is largely credible. He’s no Vincent Price (who starred
in Michael Reeves’ 1968 Witchfinder
General) but Hom makes for a loathsome villain, whilst Nalder too
impressively bears a repugnant evil.
To this day, Armstrong doesn’t quite know why it was banned
and was astounded how much it was attacked and ridiculed on release. “I was
called every name under the sun,” he said. “I’m grateful that now people come
up to me and have seen the movie as I intended it.”
Anchor
Bay has picked up the title and it will be released on Blu-ray before Christmas. The perfect stocking
filler.
Armstrong also revealed his plans to publish the complete
works of his (40) movie’s screenplays as a collectors set to help gain
recognition for those who, he thinks, are largely unaccredited and undermined
in the industry.
RATING: 4
3am, Sunday morning. The clocks had just gone back an hour.
Half way through. If there was the slightest temptation to rest your eyes in
the next film, it was immediately dashed upon realising that DISCOPATH was up
next. Beating with energy and louder than disco halls in full swing, director
Renaud Gauthier’s debut feature is aesthetically a stomping masterpiece.
Synopsis: A shy New Yorker, Duane
Lewis (Jeremie Earp), leads a mundane city life until he is exposed to a new
genre of music: disco. Its pulsating rhythm sparks an uncontrollable murderous
tendency in him, which he finds is related to a childhood trauma, and he soon
becomes one of America’s
most dangerous serial killers.
“When I was young I used to get scared by a couple of disco
songs. I always thought there was a scary element to disco,” said Gauthier. I
don’t think there’s a medical term for that fear, but it certainly makes for an
original screenplay. This retro-crazed slasher screams fun and downright funky.
The concept isn’t a complex one and doesn’t go out of its way to experiment
with generic slasher conventions, nor does it impress as a particular engaging
manhunt. It’s authenticity and charm lies instead in its overt pastiche and
remarkable ability to re-capture the 70s era. “We worked hard to create a 1970s
feel with 2013 equipment,” said Gauthier.
Gauthier explained his experience as an art director and a
self-professed collector of everything, so he was able to use his own knowledge
and enthusiasm to design sets and his own items as costume and props. The
Carpenter and Giallo-influenced disco score is relentless and, though Gauthier’s
limited budget prevented him using the era’s big boys (he said Bee Gees wanted
$50,000 to use one of their tracks), is well-guided to complement, and
emotionally and aesthetically enhance, the content’s wavering pace and intense dramatic
elements.
We were glad to hear that Gauthier is back next year with
two horror projects: a 1972 Giallo (currently unnamed) and Aqua Splash, which features a waterpark and razorblades – yikes! As
for the former, with Gauthier’s evident spot-on ability to recreate a past era,
it’s likely that we could see a much-needed truly authentic Giallo homage.
After a crowd member made himself known and performed a
scarily enthusiastic breakdance sequence, revealing he’d consumed far too much
caffeine for everybody already, cue break.
RATING: 3.5
When something is likened to The Thing, you envisage a worn out sci-fi thriller formula of unidentifiable
mutants inhabiting the snowy mountains where a group of scientists sit
ignorantly unaware that they’re the next victims. But Austrian sci-fi horror
THE STATION by Marvin Kren succeeds to avoid such stereotype with nail-biting
suspense, poignant moments and convincing bold effects.
Synopsis: A group of scientists
based at a station in the German Alps are investigating an unfamiliar liquid
that is seeping from the mountains and transforming nearby wildlife into
monstrous mutants. When tech guy Janek’s (Gerhard Liebmann) beloved dog is attacked
by one, he and his team become even more determined to eliminate whatever is threatening
the group and the Environment Ministers that are on their way to their station.
Disturbing discoveries, bloody outcomes and encounters with
beetle-fox hybrids and giant horn-bearing eagles, this is as close as you’re
going to get to ‘The Thing meets Alien’. But what really defines its
respect is The Station’s
character-focused persona, as true in Kren’s zombie spin-off Rammbock, which allows room for
emotional twists and turns, not to mention an unexpected shock ending.
The Station will
be released next year by Studio
Canal.
RATING: 3.5
Backed by Slasher Films (co-founded by Guns ‘n’ Roses rock
god Slash), Gore Verbinski’s visionary protégé, Anthony Leonardi III, makes his
feature directorial debut with NOTHING LEFT TO FEAR.
Synopsis: Priest Dan moves his
family to small town Stull, Kansas
to be the new pastor after its long-time Priest Kingsman readies to retire. But
their hope for a more idyllic life seems unlikely when they realise they are to
be the sleepy community’s latest ceremonial sacrifices to an evil Beast that
lurks in the depths of the church, one of the seven gateways to hell.
Reminiscent of the likes of
The Gathering and
The Shrine, such
horror pics tend to compel in its well-contrived backstory of some heinous
ancient, mythic or religious (hell sometimes all three) curse or presence at
the hands of a cult. But here, there are no efforts to bring in any background
explanation whatsoever, let alone anything remotely original, rendering its
copycat themes puzzling and utterly pointless. The acting is as wooden as the
plot and the generic family isn’t worth giving two hoots about.
Though its special effects are by no means poor - its
uncanny imagery provokes more than a few unnerving shifts in your seat - what
you see is what you get with this evil spirited terror tale, and unfortunately
that isn’t a great deal. And you didn’t even have to be wide awake to see
through it.
RATING: 1.5
7:20am and a sleepy crowd raise from their seats, realise
the copious amounts of sugar, grease and caffeine that they’ve savaged through,
and head home for a well-earned kip. A generally mixed line-up and a great turn
out from special guests and fans yet again succeed to soften the blow of the
end of the August festival. Thank you Frightfest. Until next year.
The Frightfest All-Nighter is also being held this Saturday
3rd November at Glasgow, Basildon,
Poole, Sunderland and Newcastle, as well as in Bristol on Saturday 16th
November. Tickets can be purchased on the Frightfest website, where more
details on the featured films for each event can be found.
Let The Right One In is an eerie yet alluring masterpiece that tells the story of lonely, bullied teen Oskar (Martin Quinn) who falls for the new girl-next-door, Eli (Rebecca Benson). But Eli has a dark secret that Oskar is unaware of: she's a vampire, and survival depends on killing locals for their blood, with the helping hand of deeply-besotted human ex-lover Hakan (Clive Mendus). But when the town's search for the notorious 'murderer' gathers pace, their position is compromised, and Eli and Oskar's blossoming relationship must face the truths.
Frightfest’s Halloween All-nighter, the third and final
event of its annual calendar, returned to VUE West End last Saturday (26th)
to screen six movies over fourteen hours through the night. This year, co-organisers Alan Jones,
Paul McEvoy and Ian Rattray introduced four 
A quick swap around in the
schedule meant that MARK OF THE DEVIL saw us into the next day. If you were
coming to this event for one reason, it was to witness the first public
screening of this notorious 1970 West German film, banned in several countries
and having gained a reputation as one of the most violent and exploitative
films in cinema history, with viewers being given sick bags upon watching the
film. 
