If you hang around at Frightfest for long enough, sooner or later a version of the kind of movie Empire Pictures used to do so well back in the 198os will turn up. Unfortunately ENHANCED is nowhere near as good as the films Charles Band and Co. used to turn out, saddled as it with a derivative script, uncharismatic performances, and a dead serious po-faced approach that makes the whole thing feel very much like a sub-par X-Men knock off.
AV The Hunt
Brutal and uncompromising, this Turkish film is the kind of thing that Frightfest showcases so well. As a result of an affair a woman finds herself on the run from the male members of her family who are determined to kill her to avenge the honour they feel has been besmirched by her act. Action packed from the off with plenty of nail-biting suspense as well as social commentary this could be the film of the festival. And of course I'm not going to tell you if it has a happy ending or not.
Dark Stories
The final film for this year's August Frightfest is a French anthology picture with five stories and a bizarre (and at the same time somewhat perfunctory) wraparound where Kristanna Lokken tells stories to a talking doll that has her tied up in her basement. The first story is set in an art gallery and has a fantastic central idea about ghouls hiding in paintings. Other stories include a park filled with ghosts and a splendid tale of a girl who unwittingly brings a Jinn back from Morocco. The final story boasts Dominique Pinon (DELICATESSEN) and Michelle Ryan (COCKNEYS VS ZOMBIES) and while pleasant enough doesn't really have the punch to end a horror anthology. Still, DARK STORIES was a decent festival closer.
And that's it! The first ever digital Frightfest! Somehow here we still feel almost as exhausted as if we'd been to London anyway. Huge thanks to the organisers, and to all our new friends on social media in the Frightfest and Phoenix groups who provided thoughtful discussion and barrels of laughs where appropriate. It looks like there are more digital festivals on the horizon, but until then I have to give special shout outs to star Tyler Gallant, screenwriter Joe Knetter, and director Marcel Walz who have demonstrated tremendous good humour in showing their appreciation for the tribute video we made to their film BLIND. Gentlemen we salute you! As it seems like a good note to go out on, here it is:
BLIND (not this one) is out on Digital HD from Signature Entertainment on their Frightfest Presents label on Monday November 16th 2020.
House of Mortal Cinema will be back after a nice lie down
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