Oh dear oh dear. The latest anthology movie from Ant Timpson (THE ABCS OF DEATH) is feeble in the extreme, offering a snapshot of crappy short horror stories from around the world, all based on local myths and legends. Highlights are the one from India which manages a pleasingly disturbing vibe reminiscent of the fiction of Clark Ashton Smith, and Peter Strickland's final foot fetish fairytale segment. On the whole, though, there's a real lack of knowing when and how to end a story here. But at least now I know what a goat looks like on an IMAX screen.
Possum
Follow seriously disturbed Sean Harris and his attempts to destroy the hideous spider puppet-thing he calls Possum. Does it really even exist? Does anyone else we meet in this? Or are we just in the lead character's head all the time? Bleak, grim, disturbing and very slow paced, some will think POSSUM is marvellously horrific (I certainly did) and others will hate it for the very same reasons. I don't, however, think I need to see it ever again. The story is like something from Ramsey Campbell and the visual style is a cross between Jose Larraz and 1970s public information films - all disquieting landscapes and horrible 1970s suburbia. Fans will be pleased to learn that Matthew Holness has plans for his next project to be even more grim and depressing.
The Golem
Lithuania 1649 and the plague is on the increase, but not in the small isolated Jewish village where Hanna (Hani Furstenberg) is busy studying the Kabbala when she should be busy having a child. When the neighbouring gentiles bring one of their plague-ridden number to be cured, and threaten to destroy the village when she isn't, it's time for Hanna to create the traditional creature of clay of the title to defend her home. But of course it doesn't all quite go to plan. A well-made film from the team who gave us JERUZALEM with probably the best music score of the festival, THE GOLEM feels mainstream enough to get a general release, and makes the planned JERUZALEM 2 an interesting prospect.
Climax
THE CRAZIES goes to the disco...eventually. But first we have to put up with an awful lot of chit-chat, disco dancing and twirly Steadicam work before someone spikes the punch of a bunch of dancers and they all go mental. The final act of the movie lies somewhere between a thing of nightmare and someone down the local nightclub at 2am holding his video camera upside down. Not as shocking as it probably wanted to be and feeling as if it was probably shot in a couple of days Jess Franco-style, Gaspar Noe's film was nevertheless an interesting and very European way of ending the festival.
And that's it for another year! It was one of the best Frightfests for some time, with at least two brilliant films most days & I'm sure some of them will be appearing in my top ten round up at the end of the year. For now though...
...I'm not finished at all! Because Signature are launching their Frightfest Presents label, releasing some of the movies premiered at the festival. There are six planned for the first phase and none of them were part of my festival viewing. I have seen them, though, and they will make up my next set of Frightfest reviews which will be posted in a bit.
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