Each year FrightFest dedicates an entire strand of programming to celebrating new voices in the genre world. The First Blood strand is especially curated by the festival to showcase some of the most exciting new talent around. Whilst this year there has been a change in sponsor, with the event now known as Pigeon Shrine FrightFest, the First Blood strand remains. Taking place on Saturday 26th August, the festival’s Discovery Screen One will host four films under the First Blood banner, including Tony Devlin’s The Glenarma Tapes.
The latest film to be produced through Northern Ireland Screen’s New Talent Focus initiative, The Glenarma Tapes serves up plenty of found-footage frights. In spring 2020, five art students and two lecturers went missing in a remote forest in Ireland. What happened to them has remained unknown – until now. Their last movements are pieced together from found footage recovered from a police operation almost two years later. It becomes clear that what started out as an innocent prank, went badly wrong, and became a horrific fight for survival in the cold darkness of Glenarma Forest.
Whilst The Glenarma Tapes presents a familiar set-up, the film itself isn’t afraid to deviate from the traditional path of the found-footage format. Director and co-writer Tony Devlin has created a thrilling entry into the sub-genre that pays respect to its heritage, but also provides a few innovations of its own. These changes are sure to delight fans of the genre and we at THN heartily endorse getting a ticket to The Glenarma Tapes if you can. It is perfectly positioned in the prime time Saturday night slot and is sure to win over the crowd of horror devotees.
Ahead of the international premiere at FrightFest, THN spoke with Devlin to find out more details about both himself and his first-time feature. Our discussion covered his journey from actor to director via the theatre, reinventing whilst respecting the found-footage film, and exactly why The Glenarma Tapes is not to be missed at FrightFest.
The Glenarma Tapes screens at Pigeon Shrine FrightFest on Saturday 26th August 2023. Tickets are still available here.
