Frightfest 2016 Day Five

The Windmill Massacre

In which the spirit of Jean Brismee’s THE DEVIL’S NIGHTMARE is revisited with a Dutch setting and an almost Amicus feel. A group of individuals on ‘Happy Holland Tours’ get into trouble when the bus breaks down near an old windmill. When a hideous monster starts bumping them off it becomes clear they aren’t there by chance. Old school Euro-horror done well, and a real treat for fans of this kind of thing.

Alternate Title: Amsterdamnation

Man Underground

The gentle tale of a geologist who once worked for the government and believes he saw aliens. Now he has his own youtube channel (350 hits) and spends his time trying to convince the tiny audiences who attend his lectures that They are out there. When he decides to make a movie of his life in five days with the aid of his friend and a waitress he meets at the local diner, he fails to appreciate that the project may end up liberating him in all the wrong ways. A tiny budget, endearing performances, and a low-key feel to the proceedings made this an excellent early afternoon entry.

Alternate Title: Man Overground and Wombling Free

Director's Cut

What happens when a lunatic crowd funder grabs the film he’s funded, recuts it, adds a commentary track, and then kidnaps the lead actress to film his own ending. Often hilarious and managing the difficult feat of pulling off three different narratives (the movie, the re-edited movie, and the commentary) with tremendous skill, this is a very funny satire on the nature of low budget moviemaking that often had me laughing out loud.

Alternate Title: Reshoot First, Ask Questions Later!


Blood Hunters

Living up to the promise of its charmingly 80s VHS cover-style poster, this one’s about an underground medical facility where blood-sucking monsters are on the rampage. Obviously very low budget, and with a plot that tries to touch on both religion and science, mortality and life after death, its reach is probably just a bit too ambitious for what should essentially be a bit of pulpy action fun. When this hits DVD it’ll be okay for a slow evening.

Alternate Title: Underground


Train to Busan

And we finish Frightfest 2016 with what might well be my film of the year. The best fast-moving action zombie picture ever made, the best train-set horror picture ever made, and the best film ever to close Frightfest. It gets a UK release in October. Just go and see it.

And that's it for another year! It's now close to 1am on Tuesday morning. Once again I find myself exhausted but exhilarated, blissfully happy at so many great films and so many lovely people, and yet very sad that it's all over now. Some of these films will find themselves in my top ten of the year (and my bottom five, oh yes indeedy). Normal service will be resumed later this week but for now I have a train to catch, and after that final film I feel quite unnerved about doing so.