FrightFest 2010 - Day FOUR

The first film of the day started promptly at 11am. Running just a little late, My Mom and rushed to the cinema. Luckily, we made it just in time.

The first feature being screened in the main screen was a new French Zombie film titled, THE PACK.

THE PACK relates to an ancient buried group of diggers who only rise from the dead when a splash of blood seeps into their burial ground. A lonely traveler, hiking through the forests, stumbles upon the sacred ground and must fight for her life in order to survive the grueling terror of THE PACK.

Anyone who has kept up with contemporary horror over the last few years knows that the most innovative and pulsating slices of horror celluloid having been coming from France. The intensity and ferocity this new French horror generation has provided has been utterly dazzling. With such pulsating works such as, INSIDE, FRONTIERES, HIGH TENSION, and MARTYRS, France has been able to paint a brutal form of horror, dipped in breakneck pacing and relentless barbarism.

Following such momentum, THE PACK had to keep the torchlight running...Lucky, it did.

THE PACK is a tight zombie feature that that is hard-hitting, nail-biting, and very thrilling. Without using superficial CGI, the carefully crafted practical FX effects come off beautifully gory. Evoking the foreboding sense of dread found in classics such as THE EVIL DEAD, the burial ground itself is fantastically atmospheric, laced with foggy dews, crawling maggots, and decaying hands reaching from their dirt ridden tombs. THE PACK doesn't try to explore ideas far too big for its budget, so the intention of the film is set around a tight scenario, which is perfectly suited. THE PACK may not be as relentless as INSIDE or HIGH TENSION or as philosophically deep as MARTYRS, but it is one of the best zombie films I've seen in sometime. 8/10.

A fun little diversion that made its way onto the schedule this year was a special Horror Quiz and SHORT FILM SHOWCASE. The quiz basically consisted of a variety of trivia questions, identify the soundtrack, and match image to film questions. The top five or so winners of the quiz would receive a whole host of horror goodies. Although I swore I did AMAZING in the quiz, it seemed the QUIZ was rigged. They ended giving the top prizes to some nameless, unworthy foes.

After the quiz, we were treated to a SHORT FILM SHOWCASE, consisting of mini features from all over the world. While some lacked innovation and creativity, a whole host of them were quite spectacular. Many had such great energy and unique storylines that they put some of the main features being shown at the festival to shame (I'm looking at you 13 HRS).

One of the standout pieces from the showcase was a Spanish/Portuguese production titled PAPA WRESTLING. The film is far too short to discuss the storyline but I will say it deals a father who takes it upon himself to rid the bullies that have been plaguing his son. It is utterly ridiculous, madly over-the-top, and horrifically funny.

During the SHORT FILM SHOWCASE, I stepped out to take a quick break and found the dual directors of AMER, the forthcoming Giallo being screened at FrightFest, hanging around in the lobby. Excited to see them, I rushed over to where they were sitting and began asking them all sorts things Giallo.

I asked what their inspirations were. They enthusiastically responded with classic Argento and Fulci pictures like TENEBRE and DON'T TORTURE A DUCKLING. They also stated some signature Sergio Martino and Umberto Lenzi picks, including A STRANGE VICE OF MRS. WARDH and 7 BLOOD STAINED ORCHIDS, along with many other Italian titles my brain couldn't translate fast enough.

I asked whether they had found distribution in the United States yet, and they responded with a definite, yes. I also inquired whether they had any plans for making another horror film, to which they said their next film is going to be another Giallo-esque thriller! I asked if I could take a photo with them, with Helene Cattet whispering 'you haven't seen the film yet so you may not like it and may not want to take a picture with us!' I reassured her that I was sure I would love it.

Just before the photo, Bruno Forzani commented on how cool the shirt I had on was. What do you think?

I agree with him. :)

Their film was set to screen twice, one tonight, and one tomorrow morning. When I inquired about the availability of the upcoming evening show at the front desk, I was informed that they were all sold out! I'd have to try again tomorrow. Hopefully tomorrow I'll be lucky enough to see one of my most anticipated films of the entire festival (fingers crossed). We'll see...

After the SHORT FILM SHOWCASE, I stumbled into the two filmmakers behind PAPA WRESTLING in the lobby.

Here's a random shot I got of the lobby (they're on the left side, with the duffle bag):

We ended up discussing filmmaking for a good while. It was fascinating to hear their opinion on film production and their current development as filmmakers.

That's one of the cooler things about FrightFest, it allows like minded individuals to get together and converse, first hand, about aspects in filmmaking you can’t get anywhere else. I ended up exchanging Facebook contacts with them and now have since connected with them through the beauties of technology. Who says you don't make friends at FrightFest?

After the showcase, we presented with another foreign horror presentation, this time from Mexico. WE ARE WHAT WE ARE.

This is a film I'd heard about for some time. It had been making the festival circuit throughout the year, being billed as a very intimate portrayal of a poverty stricken family of cannibals living in the heart of Mexico. With their father dying in the opening moments of the film, provider of their cannibalistic needs, the family must nominate an heir to take responsibility and provide for the family. The two brothers, reaching adulthood must face this task under such strenuous circumstances, while their younger sister and grieving mother look towards them as providers.

It's shocking to see such an illicit affair as cannibalism be taken so realistically and oddly understandable. The family is trying to feed a fix, not necessarily bathe in nihilistic tendency. It's not about being killers but trying to survive under such horrific desires. They have moral codes that defy the stereotypes normally found in cannibalistic horror films. For instance, the mother refuses to touch the flesh of prostitutes, claiming them to be unclean and filthy. Scenarios like these are set up that make WE ARE WHAT WE ARE more than just a superficial horror film. It deals with the urge, not the gore and chooses towards developing real characters, a hard route, over drawing one dimensional characters, the easy path. The film is quite slow and drawn out with some spots dragging a bit, but your never fully disconnected.

Essentially, WE ARE WHAT WE ARE is a family drama sprinkled with horrific flashes, a unique, oddly intriguing, but ultimately satisfying concoction. 8/10.

After a short break, we all returned for the 6:30 European premiere of DAMNED BY DAWN.

DAMNED BY DAWN deals with a revengeful banshee set loose on the foggy green fields of Australia (I didn't know Australia had such things!).

The hype prior was that it was very much shot in the vein of THE EVIL DEAD, filled with over-the-top gory gags, dark humor, and visceral energy. Unfortunately the film is nothing like that. It's nowhere as inventive, atmospheric, or splattery as Rami's masterpiece. Plus, there's no Bruce Campbell = deduction 1 point. DAMNED BY DAWN holds an original premise but does absolutely nothing with it. The characters are forgettable; the atmosphere is nowhere to be seen, and all we ending up getting is an endless, whaling banshee. But I haven't told you the most annoying thing in the film, the ridiculous banshee scream. It is loud, annoying, overused, and ends up giving the deafest person a headache. DAMNED BY DAWN should just be damned, plain and simple. 5/10, wait, with the Bruce Campbell deduction, 4/10.

The original film set to be shown at 9:00 was the VERY controversial A SERBIAN FILM.

The film was asked to be sent to the BBFC for review prior to the screening. Unfortunately the film came back with over 3 minutes of cuts needing to be made. With this in mind, the organizers at FrightFest decided that it would be best not to screen a truncated version of film which many say has to be properly seen to be believed. Supposedly, the film deals with some very mature and nihilistic themes that have philosophically stemmed since the Serbian war. Dark, depraved, and downright nasty, A SERBIAN FILM is labeled as a grueling descent into the mind of a conflicted filmmaker working to create film that portrays the depravities of filth and cruelty through the human condition.

This one will definitely have to be experienced at a later date...

Since A SERBIAN FILM was unable to be screened, FrightFest organized a special secret replacement film. They were many whispers throughout the weekend as to what the film would be. They were only two clues given, it would an icon film and that it would also be a Spanish film. Many of the attendees suspected it would be MACHETE. I, myself also suspected this to be the replacement film, it made sense.

But after Alan Jones officially laid down the situation regarding A SERBIAN FILM, he finished off by revealing the secret film to be BURIED. It's directed by a Spanish filmmaker and is produced by ICON productions. That's how the two clues figured in.

BURIED has a very original premise. Ryan Reynolds stars as a trapped victim, for unknown reasons, in a coffin buried six feet underground. He has a few items at his disposal: a lighter, knife, and cell phone. Utilizing all his wits, he must work to escape his buried tomb. But with oxygen slowly evaporating, claustrophobia prevailing, and insanity creeping in, this might turn out to be his final resting place.

With a 95 min. runtime, BURIED is shockingly not boring at all. It is a tense, terrifying, and very well paced thriller. The film could have easily succumbed to repetition and boredom, but a refined script along with great direction and a thoroughly likable lead work towards making BURIED a terrifying scenario that's realistically presented. It throws the viewer right into the cramped, isolated, cold environment for the entire duration. We feel the claustrophobic nature and tight, closed spaces. What makes the film much more disturbing is the what-if scenario. The viewer's mind is constantly running, thinking what they would do if they were pitted in such horrendous circumstance. This accelerates the immersive factor greatly. As the momentum of the film builds, the climax turns out to be brilliantly intense and utterly engrossing. When it boiled down to it, BURIED turned out to be a fine replacement film. 8/10.

The midnight film of the day (which actually began at 11:30pm), brought us back to the country that gave us Mel Gibson, Russell Crowe, and that weird CROCODILE DUNDEE movie.

THE LOVED ONES takes place over the course of a prom night. Brent Mitchell is popular and slick looking student who is well prepared and set for the upcoming prom. Mia, an unpopular and very ordinary girl, shyly asks Brent to go to the prom with her. He declines, stating that he already has a date. Broken and torn by the response, Mia, along with her deranged father, take it upon themselves to kidnap Brent and hold their own twisted, psychotic prom.

Wacky, funny, and deranged are the words that not only sum up the characters but also the film. THE LOVED ONES works on so many levels.

One of the standouts of the film is Mia. She is relatable, funny, yet undeniably crazy and psychotic. This makes for such engrossing experience that has you flinching as she commits heinous acts on Brent and laughing as she takes in the twisted pseudo prom experience so seriously. It also builds towards a third act that turns out to be surprisingly dramatic, compelling, and quite cinematic.

It's very hard to define THE LOVED ONES. It's not a straight horror film nor is it a straight comedic piece. What it is though, is a twisted take on the perfect date story that sprinkles elements of horror, comedy, drama to brew a film that is almost impossible not to like. 9/10.

The two leads of THE LOVED ONES flew in to attend the UK premiere and participated in a Q&A afterwards. They noted films like MISERY as some of their favorite horror features. As they were heading out, I was able to quickly meet Xavier Samuel, the lead of the film:

Although the first three days of the festival provided a mixed bag of films, Sunday proved to be an outstanding selection. This of course is pretending the screening of DAMNED BY DAWN never happened.

Here's hoping the momentum continues into the final day...