Saturday began early with The Pack a fun if disjointed French horror film. It started off well getting progressively more ridiculous as it went on, overall I enjoyed it well enough, it was short too which I was glad about because I'd entered into the cannot-stop-fidgeting phase of the festival which always hits me by day 4, much to the chagrin of those around me I'm sure. Still there are much worse cinema habits to have, such as the guy I saw tucking into an entire bucket of KFC - I'm just glad he was nowhere near me or there would have been trouble. Next up was Andy Nyman's Quiz from Hell which was good fun and I was quite pleased with myself at how many I got correct, but really I was never going to beat the FrightFest crowd at a horror quiz... I was also glad to see the return of the Short Film Showcase, which had been missing from the line-up last year. Almost all of the 12 films screened showed real talent, my favourites included the strange and disturbing To My Mother and Father by Can Evrenol, the hilariously gory Papa Wrestling by Fernando Alle, a Welshman attacked by a Breville toastie maker in Rise of the Appliances by Rob Sprackling, Scottish dancing Zombies in Choreomania by Louis Paxton and Switch by Melanie Light was also very good. We Are What We Are was an intriguing and exceptionally well shot Mexican slow burner that centred around a family struggling to cope after the death of their patriarch and provider, the fact that they also happen to be cannibals is sidelined in favour of giving a strong character study of each remaining family member and how they spiral out of control and deteriorate mentally. I read mixed reviews of this and people complained it was too boring and for the first half I was undecided whether I liked it or not but it succeeded in bringing me around by the end, and I'm eager for a second viewing. Again this was a highlight for me, although it's certainly divisive and not to everyones tastes. Damned By Dawn on the other hand had to be one of the worst films I saw all weekend, I'm not even sure what happened as I stopped paying attention an hour in. Really dreadful special effects and an nonsensical plot that completely lost me. If anything it just made me even more disappointed that Kaboom had been dropped from the line-up. Next up was supposed to be A Serbian Film which was pulled at the last minute due to Westminster Council stepping in and refusing to let it be screened without a BBFC certification. Which it was never going to get uncut. I'd seen A Serbian Film beforehand, as I'd always had a sneaking suspicion something like this would happen, but I was slightly disappointed as I'd been looking forward to seeing it with an audience to witness their reactions. I'll say this though, it wasn't nearly as shocking as I'd been expecting it to be, maybe because I'd read about it and had fully prepared myself for the worst it then didn't have the same effect as if I'd been watching it blind. I can understand why the BBFC refused to pass it uncut - sexual violence, and particularly sexual violence involving young children was never going to go down well (if you'll pardon the pun). I wish I could remember where I'd read this... but after the screening at The Tribeca Film Festival I'd read an article describing the filmmakers as having come from privileged, affluent backgrounds which makes the argument that it's some kind of statement about the atrocities they'd supposedly suffered at the hands of the Serbian Government not sit right with me, also the "message" is about as subtle as being repeatedly hit in the face with a brick whilst someone screams "Serbia is fucked!" in your ear. I'm sure perhaps a documentary would have been more effective in getting the message out there. All they've really accomplished is pissing off any potential mainstream audience and giving the genre fans something to get all hot and bothered about. Anyway, the replacement film was Buried which I thought was okay, I really wasn't expecting much as the entire movie is literally just Ryan Reynolds in a box for 95 minutes. Taking this into consideration it was quite an accomplishment and it certainly wasn't boring, even if the the whole Iraqsploitation vibe doesn't do much for me. My mum on the other hand hated it and said she almost walked out she thought it was that bad. Next up was another Australian horror, The Loved Ones which I'd heard good things about but wasn't really expecting much from, however it turned out to be the big surprise for me this year and I absolutely loved it. It was good fun, and the central performances were great particularly Robin McLeavy as Lola. It's great to see a female protagonist in a horror film that's not a victim, hellbent on revenge or simply following the lead of a man but is instead a complete and utter psychopath in her own right (which is where the Misery comaprisons come from). It was perhaps the best straight up horror film of the festival for me and I had Kasey Chambers "Not Pretty Enough" stuck in my head for days afterwards. It's out on DVD in the UK on 4th October and I'd strongly recommend checking it out.
Monday was the last day and I was both sad and relieved, sad it was all coming to an end for another year but relieved because I wasn't sure my body could handle much more caffeine. First up was Jake West's documentary Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship & Videotape it was short, concise and informative although I did have the feeling that I'd seen it all before somewhere else before, particularly in Fear, Panic & Censorship which was on Channel 4 a while back. It was certainly entertaining, even if I didn't learn anything that I didn't already know. Next was The Dead and I don't know if maybe I'm just bored of zombies at the moment but this didn't do much for me, it certainly looked amazing and it made the most of the African setting but overall I found it to be dull, saccharine and the acting wasn't particularly good either. Korean revenge film Bedevilled was next, and knowing precisely nothing about the film going in I was actually pleasantly surprised and I liked it a lot. At it's core it is a similar narrative to I Spit on Your Grave, abused woman snaps and wreaks revenge, but it's really far better in almost every way. First time director Jang Cheol-so is one to keep an eye on. Finally the film I'd been most looking forward to, Red, White & Blue from British director Simon Rumley. Set in Austin, Texas it tells the story of 3 unhappy individuals and how their lives intertwine with ultimately devastating consequences. This really blew me away, it was an absolutely fantastic low key thriller, like if Larry Clark was more competent and less of a dirty old man. Amanda Fuller gives a very brave performance as Erica and Noah Taylor (who I absolutely love) was fantastic as the damaged sociopath Nate. Really the less you know about this the better and I really hope it gets a cinema release because it deserves to be seen. The closing film of the festival was The Last Exorcism a mock documentary about an evangelical preacher and exorcist who continues his trade even after losing faith. I liked this for about the first 30 minutes then it just got silly, and the ending was a complete and utter cop out in my opinion. Also, it really wasn't very scary at all and those hand-held camera movies always make me a little motion sick. A slightly disappointing end to an otherwise interesting weekend. 
HATCHET II **
PRIMAL **
TEXAS CHAIN SAW MASSACRE *****
ISLE OF DOGS **
F ****
RED HILL ***1/2
CHERRY TREE LANE *
THE TORTURED 1*
I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE **
MONSTERS ****1/2
THE PACK ***
WE ARE WHAT WE ARE ****
DAMNED BY DAWN *
BURIED ***
THE LOVED ONES ****
VIDEO NASTIES: MORAL PANIC,CENSORSHIP AND VIDEOTAPE ***
THE DEAD ***
BEDEVILLED ****
RED WHITE & BLUE *****
THE LAST EXORCISM ***
A SERBIAN FILM **1/2
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