FrightFest

Offseason

A gripping and paranoia laden horror thriller, anchored by a typically great lead performance from Jocelyn Donahue. The foggy locations ooze atmosphere and there are plenty of good, suspenseful sequences. 8 / 10

Prisoners of the Ghostland

Predictably bonkers, but less humorous than expected, so it ended up being more ho-hum than fun. 6 / 10

The Maid

It came with a fair amount of hype, but was fairly predictable - nevertheless, it was very well made and executed. Some satisfyingly jumpy and creepy parts in the first act too. 8 / 10

King Knight

An entertaining wicca romp, funny and heartwarming. A little slight, so probably not one that I'll remember for years to come, but it was fun while it lasted. 7 / 10

Sound of Violence

Improbable and a bit too farfetched in places, but a joyride of a movie, definitely worth seeing on the giant screen and with the audio to match. A sensory feast of an experience and it operates effectively as a slasher cum Saw type of movie with a 8.5 / 10

John and the Hole

Intriguing but glacially slow. I think this has been adapted from a short and it feels like the idea has now been stretched too thin over the feature running time. A shame, as the story had potential. 6 / 10

As In Heaven, So On Earth

A mash-up of found footage, mockumentary and creative puppetry that works really well to tell a tale spanning the centuries. I enjoyed the mystery and investigative elements too. 8 / 10

No Man Of God

A gripping portrayal of the Hagmaier - Bundy interviews. Whilst it doesn't go into lots of detail of Bundy's crimes there's enough to keep his shark-like presence suitably foreboding and compelling, while both leads give very good performances. Come the ending you just know this one will stay with you for some time after making such a profound impact. Powerful stuff! 9 / 10

Thanks for posting these reviews! I much prefer to read a quick paragraph and a mark out of ten then have to click a link to some over-long spoiler laden blog post!!

Thanks for the feedback! Much appreciated - hopefully some more reviews will be added by others over the next few days now that the fest is over.

The Retaliators

Not quite the film I was expecting, this is reasonable but probably forgettable fare, unless you're a fan of the bands on show. The story is quite heartfelt before becoming a revenge flick where the violence escalates, with a 6 / 10

Slapface

A pretty powerful story that exceeded expectations, where a local folktale is blended with the dysfunctional, broken remains of a family after two young brothers lose their parents in an accident, a situation that increasingly spirals out of control, leading to a blood laden conclusion. 8 / 10

Ultrasound

A mindbending mystery thriller, perhaps too mindbending for the last day of the fest! Intriguing, if a little confusing and bewildering before explanations and reasons start to be revealed in the second half of the film. Probably one to watch again with a clearer head! 7.5 / 10

The Advent Calendar

An entertaining dark fable and a neat variation on the "be careful what you wish for" subgenre. It strangely reminded me of the Final Destination films as the deaths started to unfold, although the violence and gore are much more restrained compared to that franchise. A fun yuletide horror with a moral dilemma at its heart. 8 / 10

The Sadness

Bloody hell! This came with a lot of hype and it mostly delivered. The sexual content was neither as strong nor as frequent as I had expected (not that it needed to be), but I guess in the current climate it has still been problematic due to sensitivities and censorship prevailing in some areas, both geographically and topically.

Nevertheless, the action and bloodshed came in copious quantities, while the story was serviceable and fine, if fairly predictable and not very original. 8 / 10