Stung
Directed by Benni Diez
Starring Clifton Collins Jr., Jessica Cook, Lance Henriksen, David Masterson, Matt O’Leary, Cecilia Pillado, Kathleen Renish
Imagine if you took The Fly, The Thing, Aliens, Eight Legged Freaks and that cockroach scene from A Nightmare on Elm Street 4 and put them into a blood-filled blender and you get the idea of what to expect from the wickedly fun Stung.
Far too often filmmakers attempt to make a ‘so bad it’s good’ movie where it just ends up being plain bad, but Benni Diez has managed to get the balance just right. Stung is never ‘bad’, but’s always ‘good’ and at many other points it’s awesomely fun and entertaining. The gore levels are high, the scares are effective and its demeanour and treatment of subject matter are on point. Is it a stone-cold classic? Not really. But if you taped this off a late-night screening on Channel 4 in the late-80s, it would be one your favourite repeat viewings. And when Stung hits the home entertainment market, it’s going to create a buzz.
Read our ★★★★ review here.
SEE ALSO: Poster and trailer for monster movie Stung
Summer Camp
Written and directed by Alberto Marini
Starring Maiara Walsh, Diego Boneta, Jocelin Donahue, Andrés Velencoso
[REC] producer Alberto Marini turns director in this Spanish horror tribute which is full of thrills, spills and some effective scares.
Summer Camp does suffer from a few issues – mostly in the first act – but once it hits its stride it’s a tremendously great ride. As soon as the real plot kicks into gear and the cliché horror guff is done with, Summer Camp is fantastic, bloody, scary and downright enjoyable. As a producer, Alberto Marini has shown great taste in movies, but he shows here that he also a keen eye for direction. Here’s hoping he returns to the chair again soon.
Read our ★★★★ review here.
Sun Choke
Written and directed by Ben Cresciman
Starring Sarah Hagan, Barbara Crampton, Sara Malakul Lane
Sun Choke is a movie that questions the very idea of nature vs. nurture. It’s a brutally honest movie with two incredible central performances, and a gripping narrative that won’t let go until its conclusion.
It’s a brilliant movie that should be seen by as many people as possible. As a film, this hits the mark on every level, but as a form of pure entertainment perhaps Sun Choke has a couple of pacing issues (this is why Flickering Myth has the best rating system in the world). But with two brilliant central performances and a captivating narrative, Sun Choke is an exceptional piece of cinema and one that will stick with you for days on end.
Read our ★★★★ review here.
The Diabolical
Directed by Alistair Legrand
Starring Ali Larter, Max Rose, Chloe Perrin, Patrick Fischler, Arjun Gupta
As director director Alistar Legrand said in the post-screening Q&A for The Diabolical, cinema screens have been inundated with seemingly nothing but ghost stories over the last few years. Having gotten past the meta-horror of the early 2000s and the torture porn that came off the back of Saw and Hostel, we’ve been handed a lot of movies based around ghosts and possessions mostly to middling results. But what The Diabolical looks to do is to take the tropes and stories of movies like Sinister, The Conjuring and Insidious and turn them on their heads.
Far from actually being diabolical, The Diabolical is a gorgeous looking movie, and one you should definitely check out. Will the reveal work for everyone? Probably not. Chances are it won’t work for a good 70% of its audience. But the narrative is so engaging and the performances are so gripping that its worth a shot to see if you do. This is Legrand’s first feature movie, and he should be a director on everyone’s radar.
Read our ★★★★ review here.
SEE ALSO: Poster and trailer for FrightFest horror The Diabolical starring Ali Larter
Howl
Directed by Paul Hyett
Starring Ed Speleers, Holly Weston, Elliot Cowan, Amit Shah, Sam Gittins, Shauna Macdonald, Duncan Preston, Ania Marson, Rosie Day, Calvin Dean and Sean Pertwee
Forget Snakes on a Plane, this is Werewolves on a Train in Paul Hyett’s brilliant slice of British horror that packs gore, shocks and plenty of scares.
Howl is a brilliant example of how to get a monster movie right. Werewolf movies have been done a million times before, but Howl brings something slightly new to the table. Hardcore werewolf lovers might be upset by Nick Ostler and Mark Huckerby flagrant disregard of the rules set up by other stories, but Howl is the best werewolf horror in years.
Read our ★★★★ review here.
SEE ALSO: First trailer for werewolf horror Howl
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So, what did you make of this year’s Film4 FrightFest? What were your favourite films?
Originally published September 2, 2015. Updated November 29, 2022.
