Although the majority of films that screen at FrightFest focus on more traditional horror problems such as ghosts, masked killers, and zombies, each year there are a few movies that venture in a different direction. One such film on the August 2026 line-up was writer and director Chris Green’s Synthesized. The film, starring Thomas Turgoose in the lead role, is a darkly comedic thriller that fully encompasses the concept of what we’ve started calling Council Estate Noir.
Computer repairman Martyn (Thomas Turgosose) is also an adept musician and plays 1980s synth pop in the local bars to unappreciative audiences. He loves his wife Valkyrie (Sacha Parkinson) as much as he does his computers. After some harrowing events disrupt his life, his marriage crumbles and he retreats to music for solace hoping it will calm his inner turmoil. But music can summon the darkness as well as soothe the soul and his dark emotions lead to a violent murderous rage. It’s not long before Martyn is hitting more than just the keys on his synthesizer keyboard.
Although Thomas Turgoose wasn’t able to attend the Synthesized screening at FrightFest, Chris Green was and had company in the form of Hannah Traylen and Kiran Landa who play Tia and Jasmine, two women integral to Martyn’s journey. After the first of two screenings of Synthesized at FrightFest, THN were able to speak with Chris Green, Hannah Traylen, and Kiran Landa as they attended the festival media wall. We delved into the importance of Synthesized and how it works as counter programming against a line-up of more similarly aligned features, what Thomas Turgoose is like as a leading man and scene partner, and why you should keep an eye out for Synthesized should it screen at a venue near you.
Synthesized screened at Tubi FrightFest. On Sunday 20th September, 2026 a screening of Synthesized will form the closing event for the Prestwich Arts Festival, featuring a post-screening Q&A.
