Frightfest 2019 kicked off with the picking up of the annual goodie bag, which this year contained such riches as 14 identical promo cards for Adam Egypt Mortimer's DANIEL ISN'T REAL. Neither Mrs Probert nor I are booked in to see that one so I handed the cards back to the registration desk, along with ten stickers for EAT BRAINS LOVE (which we're also not seeing) and some posters for THE WRETCHED (not that one either, sorry) plus a stack of other stuff in our attempt to hopefully help stave off the imminent destruction of a rainforest somewhere.
But enough of what's not on our programme! This year we (oh yes, Mrs Probert aka Thana Niveau will also be contributing reviews) plan to cover more than 30 of the films showing at the festival. Will we survive? Will our sanity be challenged? Will we tell the right film-makers that we loved their films and stay out of earshot of the others? Let's get started, shall we?
Come to Daddy
An absolutely cracking start to the festival with the best Frightfest opening film for a long time. Urban hipster Norval (Elijah Wood) receives a letter from the father he hasn't seen since he was five inviting him to the man's remote Oregon home. When Norval gets there he is met with nothing but animosity, threats, and a refusal to discuss why his father has even invited him from a man superbly played by Stephen McHattie.
Then something happens that plunges Norval into a world I wasn't expecting at all & neither will you which is why I'm not going to say any more. Great performances, a quirky script from Toby Harvard (who co-wrote THE GREASY STRANGLER but don't let that put you off) and carried off with a serious amount of style from director Ant Timpson (the man behind THE ABCS OF DEATH) COME TO DADDY is indeed, as the Frightfest programme says, a 'deliciously edgy stunner'.
COME TO DADDY will be released on Digital HD on the Frightfest Presents label from Signature Entertainment in early 2020
Crawl
When a massive hurricane hits her Florida hometown, championship swimmer Haley (Kaya Scodelario) ends up having to search for her missing father. She finds him somewhat the worse for wear beneath the family home. Unfortunately he's not alone, as the local alligator farm has suffered a bit of a mishap and the giant creatures are on the loose in the neighbourhood.
Loads of toothy, bites mayhem ensues in an action-packed creature feature that's perfect for fans of the 'When Animals Attack' subgenre. In the Q&A afterwards director Alexandre Aja pretend-confessed he had forgotten how difficult it was to shoot in water after making PIRANHA 3D, and also mentioned how he would have liked to film a VR segment for the picture. He even joked about a possible sequel...
CRAWL is on general release in UK cinemas from today
Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark
Director Andre Øvredal (TROLL HUNTER, AUTOPSY OF JANE DOE) was on hand to help introduce this, a 'family horror film' based on a series of American children's stories. Don't let that description put you off, though - Mr Øvredal makes sure there's plenty of scary imagery in this tale of teenagers in late 1960s small town America who find an old book in a haunted house who then start to be killed off by stories the book seems to be writing itself. Very good indeed and an excellent end to possibly the strongest every Frightfest opening night. Onwards to Friday!
SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK is on general release in UK cinemas from today
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