FrightFest

Nearly time to kick-off the film reviews from yesterday, but before I do I would like to thank everyone involved for making it such a great day! Well done to the organisers, the cinema staff, the guests and everybody else!

Reborn
Hammy and hokey in places and sometimes felt like an overwrought melodrama at times, but quite entertaining with some decent kills. The latest 1980s throwback in many ways, even if it was meant to be set in the present day, in terms of casting, style and even the type of plot, which was not the most original even if I have only seen the used on a few occasions before. 6.5 / 10

Parallel
A wish-fulfilment fantasy that is not the most original, but is well-executed. A few twists and turns help to keep this one interesting. 7 / 10

Mara
An intriguing sleep paralysis-based movie with J-horror influences. I liked the guessing game of whether the story would go down a scientific or a supernatural solution, even if the answer wasn't a big surprise. There were some pleasingly tense moments, but I just didn't find to be scary or creepy enough to make it a truly memorable experience. 7 / 10

Peripheral
When Paul Hyett said in the intro that it was a "woman in a flat" movie I groaned as that sounded unappealing but I really enjoyed this one. A nice blend of near-future technology with sociopolitical comment along with the perils of being a writer. 8 / 10

The Unthinkable
Reminiscent of another great Nordic feature from a few years ago, "What We Become", and again this is very well done. Maybe a little bit too much family drama in places, but perhaps that helps to anchor the rest of the plot as well as to appreciate the characters. Suitably unnerving in places and good action setpieces. 8.5 / 10

Abrakadabra
I liked a lot about this neo-giallo, including the magic backdrop, the attention to detail of the period setting, much of the story and some of the kills. It could have perhaps benefitted from one or two more setpiece death sequences and I was really not sure about the ending, which was a shame given what had gone before. 7 / 10

My top 3 of the fest:
1) The Unthinkable
2) Peripheral
3) Abrakadabra

Although I would say that there really wasn't a lot between 3rd to 6th as the standard was pretty consistent.