Frightfest 2016- Day Five

Reviews for the final day can be found here. My review for Train to Busan, which deserved it's own page, can be found by clicking this link

Monolith 

Monolith is the perfect car for your family, it's safe, secure and has bullet proof windows in case you ever need them (the film is set in America so suspect you will soon enough) but there's one major safety flaw...what if you get locked out with your child inside? This is exactly what happens to Katrina Baldwin's Sandra as her child accidentally locks her outside the car using the app on the phone. Her problems worsen when the scorching Utah desert heat begin to take a toil.

It's a nifty idea from director Ivan Silvestrini whose film is more based in what is best described as 'real world' horror rather than the supernatural. For that reason, the film can work exceptionally well with some audience members as it more based around reality (and it did work really well with some audience members). However, my fears that the film would struggle to keep the idea ticking over the course of the film's running time were proven to be well founded as the film struggles to stretch its idea over the course of 85 mins despite Katrina Baldwin's good performance. Still, despite the rather silly ending, it's a good film that many could find merit in.

3/5

Directors Cut

This strange meta horror film isn't for everyone, it's about a delusional crowd funder who, disappointed with the current progression of the film he's working on, kidnaps star Missi Pyle (played by Missi Pyle) in order to make his own movie. Director's Cut shows the film made by the crowd funder, with poorly shot new scenes added to the film

This unique satire of the entertainment industry is deliciously funny taking satirical bites out of the entertainment industry with Herbert Blount's, the crowdfunder, obsession with Missi Pyle which could easy been seen as a satire of horror film directors who seem to ogle their leading lady a little too much. The joke can kinda wear thin after a while though.

3.5/5

The Windmill Massacre

Holland is famous for its clogs, cheese and windmills (and for other more illicit stuff than windmills) so having a curse on a windmill that kills anyone who goes near it will probably damage Holland's tourist industry, especially among Holland's older visitors (I can't imagine a group of lads on a proper lads holiday taking a trip to see Holland's famous windmills). Anyway, this is what happens in The Windmill Massacre, a bus breaks down close to a mill where a lunatic with a scythe is killing the passengers, all of whom have a dark secret.

The Windmill Massacre isn't simply a back to basics slasher film as it has a little more going for it in the plot, although, that said, with the inventive, bloody and gruesome kills and a masked killer it more than makes for a serviceable slasher flick. The performers do a good job, particularly Charlotte Bourmont and Fiona Hampton (who had to learn Japanese with a French accent) and director Nick Jonherious keeps the scares coming. Furthermore, the film is laugh out loud funny with the best line being “This isn't hell. This is Holland!”

4/5

Red Christmas

 

Red Christmas was probably one of the more divisive films at Frightfest this year with many taking issue with the film's depiction of characters with Down Syndrome whilst the others got their kicks from the ludicrous plot, crazy performances and insane kills. The cast is led by genre veteran Dee Wallace (of The Hills Have Eyes and The Howling) who invites her family back for one last Christmas at the family home before she departs to Europe. Things take a sinister turn when a hooded figure arrives on the doorstep with a dark secret in tow. As I said, Red Christmas is a film that divided audiences, personally I really enjoyed it and found the film to be tense, exciting and even moving in places.

3/5