A splatstick shocker full of brutal, bloody, fanatical fun. When metal-thrashing outcast Brodie meets a kindred spirit in Zakk, they start their own band Deathgasm. Soon the duo’s resentment of the suburban wasteland leads them to sheet music said to grant the Ultimate Power to whoever plays it. But the music also summons the ancient […]
Well it took a lot longer than expected and there has been a LOT of deliberation on my part, but here it is: my Top 10 Films of Frightfest 2015. In order, with a joint number 1! Honestly there really was no way I could split the two, both are my top picks for different […]
Horror comes screaming into the light in a masterpiece of mystery and menace. Janie (a career defining performance from ‘Freaks and Geeks’ Sarah Hagan) is just trying to get well. Recovering from a violent psychotic break, she’s subjected each day to a bizarre holistic health and wellness regimen designed, and enforced, by her lifelong nanny […]
Stars: Diego Boneta, Alex Gonzalez, Jocelin Donahue, Maiara Walsh, Andres Velencoso | Written by Alberto Marini, Danielle Schleif | Directed by Alberto Marini With a title like Summer Camp you’d be forgiven for thinking that this film would be yet another stalk and slash fear flick. It isn’t. The film, helmed by longtime Filmax producer […]
Stars: Zoe de Grand’Maison, Amy Forsyth, Adrian Holmes, George Buza, William Shatner | Written by Doug Taylor, Sarah Larsen, James Kee, Pascal Trottier | Directed by Grant Harvey, Brett Sullivan, Steven Hoban Anthologies have made something of a comeback in recent years, at least in the horror genre, with films likes of V/H/S and its […]
Stars: Fran Kranz, Emma Fitzpatrick, Joey Kern, Jacquelyn Palmquist, Pedro Pascal | Written by Dr. God, Ryan Mitts | Directed by Brian James O’Connell Horror and comedy have always gone hand in hand. Laughs often alleviate the tension and who doesn’t crack a smile at the goriest, over the top scenes of horror? But the […]
Stars: Milo Cawthorne, James Blake, Kimberley Crossman, Sam Berkley, Daniel Cresswell | Written and Directed by Jason Lei Howden Deathgasm. That name conjures up a myriad of things in your mind. A myriad of things that Deathgasm probably contains in its short, but packed, 90 minutes running time. From death by dildo, decapitations, eviscerations, disembowelment, […]
Stars: Ko Shibasaki, Hideaki Ito, Hitomi Katayama, Ebizo Ichikawa, Maiko, Toshie Negishi, Miho Nakanishi, Hiroshi Katsuno, Ikko Furuya | Written by Kikumi Yamagishi | Directed by Takashi Miike Time to fess up: I don’t know all that much about Japanese folklore. Knowing the source material for an artwork that leans heavily on popular cultural institutions isn’t a requirement when viewing […]
A tense female revenge saga and frightening true-life crime thriller graced by a scalpel-sharp screenplay and extraordinary performances. Two women who dream of opening their own café in a work-depressed northern town go to the wrong person for a loan in this chilling allegory of the economic brutality independent businesses face within the austerity-led banking […]
Stars: Danni Smith, Tim Lueke, Martin Monahan, Rick Zahn, Preston Lawrence | Written by Jaron Henrie-McCrea, Carys Edwards | Directed by Jaron Henrie-McCrea Danni moves into a New York apartment and starts sprucing the place up. She doesn’t know the previous tenant committed suicide in very strange circumstances. Nor does she know there’s a mysterious […]
Stars: Julianne Hough, Teddy Sears, Madalyn Horcher, Penelope Mitchell, Drew Rausch | Written by Kimberly Lofstrom Johnson, Lee Patterson | Directed by Iain Softley If I wanted to watch The Hitcher, I’d watch The Hitcher. If I wanted to watch 127 Hours, I’d watch 127 Hours. If I wanted to watch Buried, I’d watch Buried. […]
Stars: Akasha Villalobos, Danielle Evon Ploeger, Brian Villalobos, JD Carrera, Ryan Hamilton, Kelsey Pribilski, Laura Ray, Chris J. Knight | Written and Directed by Benjamin R. Moody Five years ago, a masked killer brutally murdered a group of friends. Since then, Camryn, the lone survivor, has tried to make sense of the homicidal events and […]
Stars: Sarah Bolger, Joshua Rush, Carly Adams, Carl Bailey, Thomas Bair | Written by Richard Raymond Harry Herbeck | Directed by Michael Thelin Whether it’s trashing the house, raiding the fridge or having guests over partaking in substances and acts that they shouldn’t really be doing, we have all heard those babysitter horror stories. Well, this […]
Starring: Tony Curran, Diana Vickers, Rupert Hill, Sophie Lovell Anderson, Peter Woodward, Adrian Bouchet, Charley McDougal | Written and Directed by Mark Murphy It’s grim up north. Or so many British horror films would have you believe. If you’re travelling across the Yorkshire Moors you damn well better not be travelling alone or – heaven forbid […]
Stars: Elma Begovic, Jordan Gray, Annette Wozniak, Denise Yuen, Lawrene Denkers | Written by Chad Archibald, Jayme Laforest | Directed by Chad Archibald Chad Archibald has been making quiet a name for himself in genre cinema (and in my movie collection) over the past few years, whether it’s producing awesome action movies like Bounty Hunters, starring […]
Stars: Fanny Valette, Jonathan Howard, Jonathan Demurger, Jess Liaudin | Written by Cyril Ferment, Julien Seri, Pascal Sid | Directed by Julien Seri I love it when a movie subverts your expectations… Following the traditional slasher movie framework, Night Fare sees two best friends, Luc and Chris, reunited after a year. A year they’ve spent […]
Stars: James Hamer-Morton, Damian Morter, Laurence R. Harvey, Dan Palmer, Dani Thompson, Vito Trigo, David Curtis, Eloise Daye | Written and Directed by Liam Regan It’s a credit to a film festival like Frightfest that so many of its attendees not only are wannabe filmmakers, but actually put their proverbial money where their mouth is […]
Stars: Sarah Jeavons, Kerry Ann Reid, Andreas Sobik | Written and Directed by Ursula Dabrowsky Inner Demon is nothing if not unpredictable… in the most predictable way possible. You see the story revolves around teenager Sam (Jeavons), who is abducted one night along with her younger sister by a feral serial-killing couple. Escaping from the […]
Stars: Danielle Jadelyn, Yael Grobglas, Yon Tumarkin, Tom Graziani, Fares Hananya, Steven Hilder | Written and Directed by Doron Paz, Yoav Paz Falling firmly in the goofy camp of horror gimmicks is Jeruzalem, an Israel-set shocker that uses the holy city as its canvas and Google Glass as its brush. We’ve seen POV films before (REC 2, Enter the Void), […]
Stars: Beth Riesgraf, Martin Starr, Jack Kesy, Rory Culkin, Leticia Jimenez | Written by T.J. Cimfel, David White | Directed by Adam Schindler Anna Rook is isolated from human contact in nearly every way, which is exactly how she likes it. Suffering from crippling agoraphobia and holed up in an old Victorian mansion on the […]