Luke Owen looks back at this year’s Film4 FrightFest…
Wow, what a great showing of film’s at this year’s festival.
Film4 FrightFest is done for another year and we only have another 360-odd days until the next one. But while we wait with our breath held for the announcement of next year’s movies, let us reflect on the great films shown at this year’s festival.
8. The Mirror
This low budget British found footage movie took a lot of people by surprise at this year’s festival.
It was a very taut and tight affair with some great performances and direction to produce one of the best movies in the found footage genre since last year’s Frankenstein’s Army and The Borderlands.
Like many have at this year’s festival, Ed Boase has shown just how talented he is and will certainly be one to watch in years to come.
It’s unfair to compare The Mirror with the bigger budget and heavily promoted Oculus, but the two are almost on equal footing. The Mirror doesn’t push conventions and it plays with all of the overused tricks of the trade, but Ed Boase’s direction and the marvellous performances from all three leads (Joshua Dickinson in particular) pushes The Mirror into a level above most UK produced horror movies. It may not be seen by many, but there will be those who track it down and appreciated once Boase becomes a big player in this industry.
Read our review here.
7. Starry Eyes
Described by FrightFest co-founder Paul McEvoy as his “favourite film of the festival”, Starry Eyes is like Melrose Place: The Croenenberg Years and this body-horror will suck you in an never let you go.
A fantastic film with a great cast and script that is a superb satire of “making it in Hollywood”, Starry Eyes is one tolook out for and its directors are a pair to keep your eye on.
Starry Eyes features a simple but clever story, a strong central performance and some incredibly interesting visuals. It isn’t one of the best films of 2014, but it’s really interesting and certainly one to look out for when it’s released next year. Alex Essoe is a revelation and Kevin Kolsch and Dennis Widmyer look to be upcoming masters of this genre.
Read our review here.
6. WolfCop
WolfCop was best described to me by Flickering Myth staff writer Scott Davis when he text me saying, “WolfCop is brilliant. I mean, it’s shit, but it’s brilliant”.
It’s one of the few genuine ‘so good it’s bad’ movies and a huge amount of fun with some great effects and hilarious ideas. It also features the oddest sex scene since Team America: World Police…
Let’s not beat around the bush, WolfCop is not a good movie. The acting is terrible, the script isn’t very good and the story is far too corny and clichéd to write home about. But, that’s really not the point. The point is that WolfCop is a brilliant movie that is more fun than some will get give it credit for. There will sadly be those who will look at WolfCop and see the movie as “bad”, but thankfully there will be those who see it for the brilliant fun it is.
Read our review here.
5. All Cheerleaders Die
Lucky McKee and Chris Silvertson’s All Cheerleaders Die harks back to a time when Buffy the Vampire Slayer ruled TV screens and every teen horror was trying to emulate Scream. But while it’s hilarious on the surface, it also looks at some deeper issues like how we address rape culture and turn a blind eye to domestic violence.
The movie should be given more plaudits than it will and it’s so much more than just a “horror comedy”.
All Cheerleader Die feels like it was made in the late 90s and then placed in a time capsule to be watched now and its an absolute blast. The cast all do a sterling job and [Lucky] McKee and [Chris] Silvertson have crafted a great script with superb direction. It’s funny when it needs to be, it’s powerful when required and it knows just how to get the balance right. It’s very silly at times, but that’s all part of the fun. All Cheerleaders Die is a great return to proper teen horror movies.
Read our review here.
Originally published August 27, 2014. Updated April 13, 2018.
