I just got back from my yearly horror festival - wrote this for a few friends, so I thought I'd post it here too.
I thought I'd post my two cents on the movies, although I've kept each one short as there are quite a few
Triangle - New Chris Smith film (Creep/Severance) which was well made, but I thought lacking internal logic.. Which, in a time-looping movie I've always felt is kind of vital. Brave effort.
The Hills Run Red - Based around a fan's love of an infamous splatter movie of which all the prints have been destroyed, this one had its moments, but they felt a little few and far between. The first third felt like it was trying too hard to be clever and post modern, and the middle third was a little dull, but it definitely picked up towards the end.
Infestation - Great fun insect-taking-over-the-world-armageddon horror comedy. For a straight to DVD movie the effects were surprisingly good, and the comedy was nice and low key, largely based on the characters and situation than cheap slapstick. All in all a very pleasant surprise.
The Horseman - An Australian revenge chiller. It was a completely independent movie, and as such another nice surprise - the protagonist was believable, and - rarely for this kind of movie - you could empathise with him (even if his actions were misjudged). Nicely made, and the bicycle-pump/penis torture scene was memorable.
Beware The Moon - Very entertaining documentary about American Werewolf, a very cool extra for the rereleased DVD.
An American Werewolf - Remaster looked great, and watching it with the Frightfest audience was very enjoyable indeed.
Shadow - New Italian horror, had occasional effective moments, but the characters were poorly drawn and unbelievable, and the ending suggested to me that the director/writer (a big Italian pop/rockstar) hadn't seen a horror movie in the last decade, as we've seen it so many times before...
The Horde - French gangster/police/zombie movie - first half an hour took itself a little too seriously, but after that it really got into its stride. Some great moments, another very competently made zombie movie.
Macabre - Pretty gory Indonesian horror. First 40 minutes were pretty dull, after that the blood started pouring and really didn't stop. That said despite the more interesting second half, the pacing was pretty poor, the characters weren't very believable, and it didn't do all that much for me.
Smash Cut - Starring David House (Krug, original Last House On The LEft) and porn star Sasha Grey, this one was trying to be a satire of independent horror, but turned out to be worse than the majority of movies it pastiched. The score was intrusive, and occasional funny moments didn't really make up for the majority.
Hierro - Spanish moody drama about a woman coping with the loss of her child. Some nice subtle touches from the director, who has a history in animation (dolls blinking, paintings coming to life, the sea running backwards), but the plot was predictable. It was close to being a very decent movie, but kind of lacked impact.
Millenium: Girl With The Dragon Tattoo - Based on a Swedish novel, this was another non-horror. It was a police thriller which reminded me of Crimson Rivers in terms of the complex plot. Long, at almost three hours, but very watchable and absorbing.
Giallo - New Dario Argento with Adrian Brody in the main role. So abysmally awful it was great to watch with the FF audience as everyone was in stitches. Horrible, horrible movie.
Trick 'R Treat - Good fun Halloween horror anthology which WB has sat on for two years. The stories were interlinked and intercut which was a nice touch, and it was just a great fun horror. Not much in the way of originality, but well made and highly entertaining.
Vampire Girl vs. Frankenstein Girl - More Japanese insanity from the guys that did Tokyo Gore Police. Apart from the racism (questionable...) it was, as ever, some really good fun psychadelic splatterstick. Lulled occasionally, as these movies always do, but was otherwise fast paced, insane and great fun.
Dead Snow - Nazi zombies in icy Norway. A slow start, but once they got going there were lots of original deaths, funny moments and decent gore. Hardly ground breaking, but unlike the other nazi zombie things I've seen, actually live up to the promise of the concept.
The Human Centipede - Crazy German doctor makes a human centipede by sewing three people together, ass-to-mouth. A sick as it sounds, I was expecting something really dark and nasty, but this actually had quite a bit of humour, and wasn't graphic at all. Fairly well made and very watchable.
Coffin Rock - Australian horror based on a woman who has an affair, becomes pregnant and is then stalked by the father. These movies rely on you caring about what happens to the characters, and I just didn't - all of them were very objectionable people. Not great.
Night Of The Demons - Remake of the '80s classic, directed by Adam Gierasch. As with Autopsy this was fun - what he does, he does very well - but derivative and just didn't really do a great deal for me.
Clive Barker's Dread - Three students start filming interviews about people's worst fear and then one takes the experiment a little too far. Some great performances, interesting subtext and questions raised, and really dark atmosphere. A nicely made and very effective film.
Making of Thriller - John Landis dug this out and brought it to FF to be shown for hte first time in 20 years. Good fun, just a shame it was on so late and to be followed by a two hour movie, which took the edge off it.
Black - French blacksploitation heist movie. Had its moments, but nothing really to write home about.
Zombie Women Of Satan - UK independent horror written and made in 6 months (and it shows) which follows are burlesque troupe walking around the base of a strange cult many of which have become under-wear clad zombies. Unsubtle humour, occasional good moments, but mostly fairly dire.
The House Of The Devil - Ti West's follow up to The Roost. Also slow moving, but done with a genuine appreciation of '80s movies. Film is set in the midst of the satanic panic, and the slow burn is effective at times, but never really lives up to the potential of the best moments, which is a shame.
Case 39 - By Christian Alvart (who did the far better Antibodies) with Renee Zellweger as a social worker who adopts a devil child (Jodelle Ferland from Silent Hill). Very effective creepy child, but otherwise bland hollywood horror. Entirely uninspiring.
Heartless - First movie in 15 years from Philip Ridley, about a guy living in the east end, where gang attacks start up. A little investigation suggests they may actually be demons. A mix of different genres (and not a "new genre of horror" as the director so glibly, arrogantly and pretentiously proclaimed) that are melded together into an uncohesive and unsubtle whole. Some good ideas and great images shine through the pretention, but ultimately the movie's flaws make it frustrating.
The Descent: Part II - Didn't need a sequel, but since they were going to do one anyway, couldn't really have asked for much better. Some of the characters and the premise weren't entirely believable, but otherwise it was almost exactly like the first, and almost as effective.
Surprises: Sneak peaks of the new Romero zombie film (looked decent) and Adam Green's new movie, Frozen (also looked fairly watchable). A sneak peak at Dorian Gray suggests it should be pretty watchable.
Since I've watched Choke (based on the Chuck Palahnuik book, good) Moon (also pretty decent), Blood The Last Vampire (shit), Dean Spanley (great), The Fountain (interesting), Final Destination 4:3D (not quite as entertaining as 2&3) and Soylent Green (watchable). Good two weeks
