2014 All nighter

For discussion of the Frightfest Halloween events in 2014
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Wulfster
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Re: 2014 All nighter

Post by Wulfster »

Really enjoyed the evening.
I used to be a shift-worker, so I actually didn't zone-out at any point surprisingly ... although that may have been the 4-hour kip I had on Saturday afternoon!
Nice to see the uber-talented Alice Lowe there with "Solitudo".
It was actually the first all-nighter I've been to for Frightfest, although I go to the main London event every year...
It felt like a strong line-up of films (with one exception), that was generally good rather than outstanding...

"Extraterrestrial" was a nice opener and I enjoyed it, although the slightly mawkish relationship between the two main characters was a bit "blecch". Nice to see the douchiest character get his bum-uppance though (see what I did there?). Good to see the brothers there with the Q&A as well.

"ABC's of Death 2" was great I thought, and unlike a lot of people, I thought it was WAY better than the first one! Personal faves = "V" for Vacation and "A" for Amateur. WTF were "D" (Deloused) and "P" (p-p-p-Scary) about though?

"Last Shift" - I really enjoyed this one! Brilliant leading performance from Juliana Harkavy and a nice blurring between realities. I know it didn't strike a chord with a few viewers, but I really rated it. Hope they get rid of the awful original title of "Paymon: King of Hell" though, which is still on the credits at this point.

"The Pact 2" - Easily the worst film of the night for me. Dour, slow-paced, and humourless, with long patches of nothing-much-happening. I like Caity Lotz and Camilla Luddington as much as the next man (actually probably more so.... cue Sid James laugh), but this was really the worst film to have at 4am (3am BST) in the morning. Cue the sound of one whole row softly snoring. Really!

By comparison "The Editor" was fantastic! The Astron 6 guys must have sat through every 70's/80's giallo film ever made (and most of the Lucio Fulci ones as well). Note-perfect with brilliant on-the-nose lines it was my favourite of the evening, even if it was a smidgen over-long.

Overall, a pretty good night for me, even if I did have the same just-outside-London travel problems as DeanoG. Two trains, two buses, and a taxi!!

Thanks to Alan, Paul, and Ian for organising.
Oswald Cobblepot
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Re: 2014 All nighter

Post by Oswald Cobblepot »

I agree this year was a reasonably strong line up, there wasn't anything approaching Umbrage/Watermen/Bad Meat levels of badness this year.

Extraterrestrial wasn't bad, but didn't do much different. Enjoyed ABC's of Death 2 quite a bit and it was perfect for the all nighter as it kept me awake due to the changing subject matter. The Last Shift was the standout, great sound design and camerawork, superb atmosphere. The Pact 2 wasn't terrible, just too lacking in incident for 4am so I took a tactical sleep like many others seemed to. The Editor was great fun but the plot just trundled along aimlessly and it could have done with being 20 minutes shorter.

Personally I would have liked a retro film like Captain Kronos instead of the Pact 2 as I think this would have kept me awake.

Venue wise the Prince Charles was pretty good but the slanting of the seats made getting in and out of the rows a bit of a nightmare. Leicester Square is always a bit of a pain with loads of pissed revellers around, I miss the ICA days of walking up and down the beautifully quiet crisp Mall in the middle of the night.
Wolfshade
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Re: 2014 All nighter

Post by Wolfshade »

Yeah it was a decent year, the all nighter always seems to be slightly lower in quality of films than the main event, and this was true this year as well, no absolute turds though. 5 films was the correct amount imo, staying away for 6 is a bit of mission.
I love the Price Charles as a venue, but packed out as it was, it wasn't great - extremely hard to get past people in seats, and seats got yanked back way too far when someone in the row behind you was going past. Hope it goes back to the Vue next year.

Extraterestial - way better than I thought it would be, sounded very uninspired and generic from the write up, but it turned out to be lots of fun! Romance with the 2 main characters a bit nauseating
Spoiler:
....good to see them chucked in a hole and fried with a flame thrower at the end! Good opener.
ABCs of Death 2 - enjoyed the first one, but due to the nature of the project I found the quality of the segments varied wildly, and this was the same. D is for Deloused, S is for Split, W is for Wish and Y is for Youth were my favourites, but there were a few naff ones (R is for Roulette, P is for P-P-P Scary). There was nothing to match the utter depravity of L is for Libido from the first film, but overall I think this was a slight improvement on the original.
The Late Shift - had low hopes when I heard this was from the people behind the crappy Missionary film we saw in 2013, but it turned out to be pretty ace - really benefited from the basic storyline and being entirely set in the station with a small cast, made it extremely intense and claustrophobic. Lots of people seemed to be scared by this judging by the noises, but I didn't find it particularly scary, but still really enjoyed it.
The Pact 2 - hated the first one, heard this was even worst. Had a nice sleep.
The Editor - flagging a bit by this point and kept dropping off, but liked what I saw, very amusing and a great soundtrack.
iomega
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Re: 2014 All nighter

Post by iomega »

Thanks for all your comments. They are pretty much echoed by Phelim O'Neill writing on the Daily Telegraph's website.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film ... annes.html

Keep you comments coming.
Paul1968
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Re: 2014 All nighter

Post by Paul1968 »

Wolfshade wrote:Yeah it was a decent year, the all nighter always seems to be slightly lower in quality of films than the main event, and this was true this year as well, no absolute turds though. 5 films was the correct amount imo, staying away for 6 is a bit of mission.
I love the Price Charles as a venue, but packed out as it was, it wasn't great - extremely hard to get past people in seats, and seats got yanked back way too far when someone in the row behind you was going past. Hope it goes back to the Vue next year.

Extraterestial - way better than I thought it would be, sounded very uninspired and generic from the write up, but it turned out to be lots of fun! Romance with the 2 main characters a bit nauseating
Spoiler:
....good to see them chucked in a hole and fried with a flame thrower at the end! Good opener.
ABCs of Death 2 - enjoyed the first one, but due to the nature of the project I found the quality of the segments varied wildly, and this was the same. D is for Deloused, S is for Split, W is for Wish and Y is for Youth were my favourites, but there were a few naff ones (R is for Roulette, P is for P-P-P Scary). There was nothing to match the utter depravity of L is for Libido from the first film, but overall I think this was a slight improvement on the original.
The Late Shift - had low hopes when I heard this was from the people behind the crappy Missionary film we saw in 2013, but it turned out to be pretty ace - really benefited from the basic storyline and being entirely set in the station with a small cast, made it extremely intense and claustrophobic. Lots of people seemed to be scared by this judging by the noises, but I didn't find it particularly scary, but still really enjoyed it.
The Pact 2 - hated the first one, heard this was even worst. Had a nice sleep.
The Editor - flagging a bit by this point and kept dropping off, but liked what I saw, very amusing and a great soundtrack.
ARGH SPOILERS!! :(
brad1000
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Re: 2014 All nighter

Post by brad1000 »

Yep - cheers for the spoilers - good work , thanks.
the house shot her !!!
Wolfshade
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Re: 2014 All nighter

Post by Wolfshade »

You're welcome :)

To be fair though other people have posted spoilers in their reviews (there weren't even that many in my post anyway...), and a thread like this reviewing the films is obviously going to contain spoilers, so it's best to avoid reading it if you don't want to see them.
Paul1968
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Re: 2014 All nighter

Post by Paul1968 »

Wolfshade wrote:You're welcome :)

To be fair though other people have posted spoilers in their reviews (there weren't even that many in my post anyway...), and a thread like this reviewing the films is obviously going to contain spoilers, so it's best to avoid reading it if you don't want to see them.
i hadn't actually read any specific spoilers in any reviews but one leapt out of your extraterrestrial review. i know no one means to do them but can people remember there are still some people who haven't seen these yet.
DJBenz
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Re: 2014 All nighter

Post by DJBenz »

As (another) reminder, anything spoilery can be wrapped in spoiler tags to hide it. ie

Code: Select all

[spoiler]SPOILERY STUFF HERE[/spoiler]
gives:
Spoiler:
SPOILERY STUFF HERE
You've got the tools, use them. ;)
chary
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Re: 2014 All nighter

Post by chary »

Not sure why your reading this thread if you haven't seen the movies, surely this is exactly the right place to discuss the films shown on the night.

This was my first allnighter and probably my last, unless it becomes an all-dayer, its just too gruelling for me. One thing that I found annoying, the fire exit sign at the front was a bit too bright and It was distracting. That and the queue for the men's toilet, 3 people at the urinal was a bit too close for comfort

-Spoiler alert-

extraterrestrial, a fun way to start the night, was disappointed when I realised that Brigitte (Emily Perkins) was only in it for about 1 min. Eventhough its an homage but some new, original ideas would of been nice. The sheriff's subplot was looking interesting until his abrupt end, which made it rather redundant.

Enjoyed the ABCs 2 better than the first film, especial z and a, r and the He-man one (I think it was w). perhaps it would of been better to show it later in the night it gets harder to think say 3.00am.

Night shift was an effective haunted house movie that made the building feel very sinister. considering that the family were responsible for her fathers death, you'd think she'd of find out more about them.

Pact 2 was alright although I was starting to find it hard to concentrate at this point.

I loved the editor, I think it may one of the funniest horror comedies ever albeit in a very short list; shaun, tucker and dale and eye 10 to name a few others. I'm not a huge fan of giallo and so, for me all the jokes were spot on, even the broader gags were working for me "I was home shaving my pussy..." Hilarious. Viva la moustache!

BTW was Laurence R Harvey with a tissue attached to the end of a film or just a skit that was put in there?
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Re: 2014 All nighter

Post by DJBenz »

chary wrote:-Spoiler alert-
FFS :roll:
Alex J
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Re: 2014 All nighter

Post by Alex J »

Firstly a big thank you to the organisers for putting together a good line-up and setting everything up. Thanks too to the Watershed cinema staff who were very friendly and entered the spirit of the night.

On to the films:

"The Editor" sent up the giallo genre, riffing on Argent, Fulci et al, while parts also reminded me of Cronenberg and Nakata. The joke did wear we a little thin in places, but overall it was an entertaining, homage-filled spoof that exceeded expectations. 7.5 / 10

"ABCs of Death 2" was a mixed bag, much like the first one and as to be expected. It was a shame I had to wait until towards the end for my top 3: T, X and Z, as the hits were few and far between up until then. 7 / 10

"Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter": I struggled to keep awake during this one and it was perhaps a little too slow paced for that time of night . Still, it was interesting to compare and contrast the mythology with orthodox vampire tales, while as one audience member pointed out, Kronos was a little like a prototype "Blade". 6.5 / 10
No tears, please. It's a waste of good suffering.
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Re: 2014 All nighter

Post by Alex J »

The Pact 2 was an effective sequel that didn't just repeat the first film, but instead had a new, involving mystery with a number of tense sequences. I also liked the tie-ins with the first story. I would be interesting to see where a third instalment takes us. 7.5 / 10

The Last Shift: Saving the best 'til last, this used a small cast and a single location to great effect. I loved the tension and the sense of isolation of the main character - the lead actress was great too. I liked the back story and the ambiguity that permeated throughout. One of the films I come out of thinking that I'd watch it again straight away. 8 / 10
No tears, please. It's a waste of good suffering.
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