Frightfest 2011
Frightfest was once again superb. I was initially a little unsure about going because of the huge hike in the price, but it ended up being worth it! It was the usual oven temperature in the theatre and the only complaint I had was the annoying, posh student types that were behind us - the kind who seem to think they're much better than everyone else (they'll feature in my mini-reviews later).
I only missed one of the showings, the final one on the Friday night. This one was a documentary about a sub-genre of horror movies from the 70s and 80s and not something I'm interested in, so it was duly skipped. The rest of the films were all superb, with the worst one still worth watching if you happen to find you have nothing better to be doing (last year didn't have such a good line up and there were many I'd say to avoid at all costs!).
So, here are my mini-reviews (in order of worst to best)...
Territories - This film was written to highlight the current atmosphere of fear in America. It's about two ex-military types who take it upon themselves to patrol the smaller roads that cross the American/Canadian border. They stop a group of friends and because one of them is a "forgeigner", despite being an American citizen, they find ridiculous reasons to withold them and take them to their own home prison camp and start torturing them. This is where those snotty students come into it. Apparently one of them couldn't see the point of the film, because apparently the worst thing they've had to deal with is real milk in their latte, rather than soya milk (I have no idea if that's true or not, but I got that impression from them). The point of the film was to see it from the prisoner's point of view (i.e. the constant fear of being American, but not white and the way they are treated because of "terrorism"). While not being a terrible film, it wasn't particularly very good either. Worth a watch if you can be bothered, but you're not missing much if you don't.
Mother's Day - This one is about a group of guys who bugger up a robbery and have to run back to the mother's house, only their mother lost the house several months ago. The new occupants get quite a surprise when they turn up with one of them wounded. This is one of these horrors which is rooted firmly in real life. There's no fantasy, no zombies, ghosts, etc., but just people being tortured in ever increasing ways. The film was enjoyable and has a small twist to it, but overall it's just your fairly average kill fest.
Little Deaths - A trio of short films make up Little Deaths, each involving people dying, with some sex and nudity thrown in - what more could you want?! The first short was about a husband and wife team that take in homeless girls off the street with the promise of a meal only to be abused and later thrown back onto the street. Except this time they chose the wrong girl! This one was the worst of the three, but still amusing. The second was the most bizarre. Some Nazis discovered they could create a drug out of people who have a mutation in one of their organs (hint: this one's called Mutant Tool) and revolves around one girl who eventually takes the place of the current mutant. Worth watching just for the pure nutty factor. The last short was probably the best. A young guy is being abused by his girlfriend, in more ways than one. He's generally being treated like shit by her, but he puts up with it because of his weird fetish, which she indulges in. Eventually he's had enough though and takes revenge on the girl. You're left to decide what actually happens to her as you don't actually see it. Overall the three shorts were very low budget and it shows in some areas, but definitely worth seeing.
The Shrine - This one is about a group of journalists who travel to a small town in Poland to investigate the disappearance of several backpackers. After a very slow and poor start to the film it picks up about halfway through. Most of the film's dialogue is in Polish without any subtitles, which I'm assuming was deliberate as it adds to the confusion that's prevelant throughout the film and unless you understand Polish you're going to have to rely on the context to work out what's happening. The end of the film turns everything upside down and makes you realise you were actually wrong about all your assumptions, which sort of makes up for the really bad start and is also why it jumps ahead of Little Deaths a bit in the 'worth watching' stakes.
Hobo with a Shotgun - I overheard someone call this a ronseal movie (i.e. it does what it says on the tin) and that's exactly what it does, it's a film about a Hobo with a Shotgun. He arrives in a small town (filmed in Cananda, in Nova Scotia, although I'm not sure if it's actually supposed to be set there) and sees the rampant crime going on and decides to pick up a shotgun and sort things out. The beginning of this one, like The Shrine, is pretty bad. I didn't think I was going to like it after the first half hour. But then the sheer absurdity of the concept kicked in and was thoroughly enjoyable. This is one of those films that you have to watch the right way - don't expect any super duper special effects, or even a story that makes sense. Just enjoy the overall silliness of it!
I Saw The Devil - I think this is the first Korean horror film I've seen and I was very impressed! A serial killer chooses the wrong victim and kills the fiancé of a government special agent. The agent then decides to take justice into his own hands and follows the killer around, torturing him in ever increasingly evil ways. This is one violent and gory film and strangely enough is actually quite funny. It's surprisingly well done and well mixed. The humour doesn't detract from the violence and helps split up the movie a bit, as the only real complaint about this one is that it was a bit too long. I don't want to spoil anything by going into detail of the numerous ways in which he's tortured, you'll just have to go see it yourself!
Rubber - Rubber was by far the best out of the lot. A film about a sentient tyre with psychokinetic powers that starts terrorising a small, American town. A lot of the films this year had twists to them, but Rubber has the best one. It basically breaks the fourth wall to inject some humour into the film. Unfortunately I can't say too much about it without spoiling the surprise (even although you are introduced to it right away). The sentient tyre only really plays a small role in the film, with most of the story coming from the events surrounding it. Go watch this film!
