It’s October, Halloween is fast approaching, and the horror genre festivals are out in force. Kicking the month of monsters off in style is the Manchester-based Grimmfest. The event, now in its ninth year, takes place from 5th-8th October at Vue Printworks, and features a whole host of interesting and unique genre movies.
The four-day festival will see over twenty films that celebrate the weird and wonderful grace the big screen. This year there are some really special films on display, many screened at Frightfest back in August, but there are also a few new magic gems. If you missed the likes of Freehold, Ruin Me, Better Watch Out, Killing Ground, Replace or 68 Kill at Frightfest then you simply have to make time for them at Grimmfest; if you did manage to catch them, here’s a list of five other films not to miss…
Dave Made a Maze
Grimmfest 2017: Four Films not to Miss
Dave Made a Maze is sure to become one of the most talked about films of Grimmfest, why? Because it’s simply so wonderfully unique that people won’t be able to not talk about it.
Annie (Meera Rohit Kumbhani) returns home from a work trip to find her living room taken over by a cardboard fort and her boyfriend Dave (Nick Thune) nowhere to be seen. It’s soon revealed that Dave is trapped inside his cardboard creation having gotten lost inside. With some of Dave’s friends, Annie embarks on an expedition to rescue Dave; once inside the fort they realise that something very peculiar is occurring as hidden beneath the basic card is a strange and deadly world of origami birds, paper-cuts and constructed Minotaurs. The group must do all they can to survive the twisted labyrinthine creation.
Dave Made a Maze is a quirky, warmhearted comedy that will leave you with a massive smile on your face. The premise is very out there, but once you embrace the insanity you’re in for a whirlwind tour of some very imaginative filmmakers. The sets will leave you breathless and the film has a very unique way of handling the expected gore.
Dave Made a Maze screens on Sunday 8th October at 12 noon.
Mohawk
Grimmfest 2017: Four Films not to Miss
The Western is a genre that has, in recent years, all but disappeared. Then we got Bone Tomahawk, a movie that offered a new horror spin on the old tropes. Director Ted Geoghegan seeks to add a similar spin in his Grimmfest offering Mohawk.
Set during the War of 1812, the film follows young Mohawk woman Oak (Kaniehtiio Horn) and her two lovers as they face-off against a group of American soldiers hell-bent on revenge. Mohawk offers a fresh story angle on the invasion and occupation of America, it’s beautifully shot and bone-crushingly brutal, and features an incredibly kick-ass heroine. It’s a very different movie to Geoghegan’s previous We are Still Here and demonstrates that he is capable of tackling a plethora of genre’s and styles.
Produced by Travis Stevens, and scored by Wojciech Golczewski, this intense tale of survival is most certainly one of the Grimmfest films to catch at all costs.
Mohawk screens on Sunday 8th October at 6:30PM.
Fake Blood
Grimmfest 2017: Four Films not to Miss
Director Rob Grant is no stranger to Grimmfest. He screened previous film Mon Ami at the event, and now returns with his latest venture Fake Blood. The film deals with the aftermath of the success of Mon Ami.
Mon Ami followed the escapades of two friends whose ‘get-rich-quick’ plan of kidnapping their boss’ daughter went horribly wrong after their captive accidentally died. The duo then had to work out a way of disposing of the body… The film achieved a strong and dedicated fan base, though some took things further than others. Grant and his friend and fellow collaborator Mike Kovac received a disturbing fan video that mimicked a scene from Mon Ami where the two lead characters shop in a hardware store to get equipment to dispose of a body. This video then motivated the pair to investigate the the responsibility of the filmmaker portraying violence in film. This subject matter then sees Rob and Mike tumble into a very real world of violent crime as they cross paths with an unsavoury character known to the audience only as John.
Fake Blood is a wonderful blend of documentary and thriller, and will leave you questioning how much is true. Definitely one to exercise the brain cells, and will certainly spark post-screening debates.
Fake Blood screens on Saturday 7th October at 9PM.
Poor Agnes
Grimmfest 2017: Four Films not to Miss
The serial killer thriller gets a modern day makeover in Poor Agnes. Agnes (Lora Burke) lives in rural Canada. On the surface she looks like your average all Canadian lady, but she’s hiding a disturbing secret, she’s actually a murderess. She gets her kicks out of ensnaring men, kidnapping and torturing them before finally killing them. All is going swimmingly for Agnes until private investigator Mike (Robert Notman) turns up on her door looking for one of her past victims. She sets to work seducing him and trapping him in her basement, but then the unexpected happens, she falls for her would-be prey. Poor Agnes is very much like a twisted romantic comedy that delves into some unexpected areas. It raises some interesting ideas around relationships and their powers to both destruct and heal, and is held together by a fantastic performance from Burke. Her performance is that of a chameleon with Agnes flitting between bubbly and friendly, cold and deadly, effortlessly.
Poor Agnes screens on Friday 6th October at 10:20AM.
