Best of Frightfest: ‘Double Date’ Dir. Benjamin Barfoot

Best of Frightfest: As the twentieth anniversary of Arrow Video Frightfest approaches, we at team THN take a look back at some of the best and brightest films that have screened over the last two decades. It’s now time for Double Date.

Double Date screened in 2017 and was an instant hit with the Frightfest audience. It’s writer and lead actor Danny Morgan even snagged the Screen Genre Rising Star award. Directed by Benjamin Barfoot, Double Date is one of the most fun comedy horrors I’ve ever seen. Somehow the film is The 40-Year-Old Virgin meets Fatal Attraction, it’s both horrifying and funny. Usually films that try to be a horror comedy either focus more on one side than the other, or fail completely, yet Double Date nails the balancing act.

The film tells the story of perpetual virgin Jim (Danny Morgan). He’s about to turn thirty and has never been intimate with a lady. His mate Alex (Michael Socha) is horrified by this news and sets out to get his pal laid. Their night on the town sees them cross paths with sisters Kitty (Kelly Wenham) and Lulu (Georgia Groome), two females whom are way more dangerous than they appear. The boys are in for the night of their lives.

Double Date has a strong opening where we see Kitty and Lulu partying at a grand house in the country with a couple of drunk guys. This are going well and then the opening bars of Yazoo’s ‘Only You’ begin to play. Suddenly things take a dark turn. It’s a wonderfully striking sequence, and when coupled with that horribly catchy song, becomes one that sticks in the memory. From there, the attention shifts to Jim and the contagious warmth and humour bursts forth. It’s rare that you can have this much fun with a film whilst at the same time being fully invested in your heroes.

A lot of this is down to the writing of Morgan whom has created slightly heightened versions of characters that we see everyday. Michael Socha’s Alex could be any number of ‘lads’ you see down the pub, gobby and cock-sure on the outside, masking intense insecurities on the inside. The dynamic between the pair makes the audience believe that these guys have known each other since their school days. Jim is instantly loveable. He’s the perpetual nice guy, the guy who still smiles whilst his heart is being ripped out. A dreamer and a romantic, you can’t help but want Jim to win, even when he starts to fall for the dangerous Lulu.

Kitty and Lulu are also strong characters. They could have all too easily been written simply as crazy women, but there’s much more to them. There’s a reason for their bloodshed, one that in another film would garner sympathy from an audience. They also have their own problems – Lulu isn’t as gung-ho about killing as Kitty, and in many ways is a victim herself. As with Jim, her story arc is fully fleshed out and realised. Kitty herself is a melting pot of seduction and aggression; the ultimate black widow. Wenham was giving fight training in preparation for the film and her actual power shines through.

It’s hard to pick a favourite moment from the film as it really is a joy-ride from start to end. If we had to pick though, in addition to the opening sequence, there’s an insane cameo from Big Narstie, Dexter Fletcher being sleazy, a brutal and beautifully comedic smackdown between Alex and Kitty, but just pipping both are the moments that Jim and Lulu spend with Jim’s family. These guys need their own show.

Seductive, hilarious and deviously disturbing, Double Date should be sought out as soon as you can.

Arrow Video Frightfest returns for its twentieth year on 22nd August 2019. Full details about the event can be found on the Frightfest website.