We're back! It's been three years since we last attended Frightfest and here we are again at the Empire / Cineworld in Leicester Square, smack in the middle of London's glittering West End. Back in 2019 the opening night of the festival consisted of crowd pleasers COME TO DADDY, CRAWL and SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK. Did tonight's offerings measure up? Well there was another crocodile on the rampage picture, albeit in the tiny Cineworld Discovery screen, but luckily Mrs Probert was able to secure a ticket so without any further ado let's see what the opening night films for Frightfest 2022 were like.
The Lair
Neil Marshall's latest is better than THE RECKONING but not as good as DOOMSDAY. Make of that what you will. Improbably glamorous fighter pilot Kate (Charlotte Kirk) is shot down in Afghanistan, where she ends up having to single handedly fight a gang of terrorists straight out of TEAM AMERICA WORLD POLICE. She then happens upon an old Russian military installation filled with mutant space monsters. She escapes only to be saved by a bunch of soldiers who take her back to their base. The monsters follow. THE LAIR is a B-grade monster movie with a C-grade cast but if you can get past the dodgy accents (including possibly the worst Welsh Accent In Cinema Ever), the clunky dialogue and the strictly one-note performances it's still possible to appreciate Marshall's considerable skills as an editor and action director, meaning this will satisfy undemanding monster movie fans on a slow evening but that's about it.
The Visitor From the Future
Continuing the Frightfest tradition of the second film on the Thursday night usually being something good, THE VISITOR FROM THE FUTURE is a hugely entertaining time travel romp that could easliy be described as French comedy TRANCERS but is actually so much more. A disaster at a cheaply-built nuclear power plant results in an apocalyptic wilderness. A man travels back to try to prevent it, pursued by Time Agents who want things to stay the way they are, but they haven't reckoned with the eco-warrior daughter of the power plant's owner who's happy to help them, especially when she and her father get inadvertently transported to the future he is responsible for. Possibly the only time a massive nuclear explosion has been received with applause and raucous laughter in a cinema, this one's a delight from start to finish.
Croc!
A source close to Frightfest who shall remain nameless said this might be the worst film Frightfest has ever shown. Judging from audience reports it would seem that person might well be right.
Scare Package II: Rad Chad's Revenge
Yes there was a SCARE PACKAGE I and no I can't tell you anything about that one. What I can tell you is that SCARE PACKAGE II is a comedy horror anthology picture with a framework story that limps along and very quickly wears out its welcome. The individual stories, however, aren't too bad, with an amusing riff on Final Girls, a HALLOWEEN spoof that's actually better than most of the real sequels, and a piece that manages to make fun of REANIMATOR and THE FLY all within the context of STAND BY ME. So if you're forgiving, know all about 1980s horror films and fancy the odd chuckle this might float your boat.
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