This year’s FrightFest begins on Thursday 21st August and runs for five days, concluding on Monday 25th August. During that time the festival will screen around seventy feature films celebrating the best and brightest of new genre cinema, as well as four showcases stuffed full of spooky shorts. With the exception of the opening film, The Home, and closing movie, Influencers, at any given time there will be three films playing in tandem across three different screens located at both Odeon Luxe Leicester Square and Odeon Luxe West End. This of course means that picking the right film to watch can be incredibly daunting, but worry not, THN have rounded up some of our top picks from the programming, which we have already seen so far.
Blockhead
Matt Harlock’s psychological horror taps into every creative’s worst nightmare – writer’s bloc. The story follows best-selling author Will Mercer (Danny Horn) as he struggles to come up with an idea for his highly anticipated second novel and then finds himself strangely inspired by painter and decorator Mikey (Joe Sims). But the closer the two men become, the darker the path that Will finds himself on.
Packed with a modern Gothic atmosphere, Blockhead is a riveting character study, featuring a stellar performance from Danny Horn. Coupled with some fascinating commentary on the agony of creation, Blockhead sucks the audience in and doesn’t let them go.
Dooba Dooba
It wouldn’t be FrightFest without a found footage film or two, and in Dooba Dooba attendees have the chance to watch one of the more exciting examples on the festival circuit. Set over the evening and early hours of Friday 13th and Saturday 14th May 2022, Ehrland Hollingsworth’s film chronicles the fate of aspiring singer Amna (Amna Vegha) as she is tasked with babysitting a traumatised sixteen-year-old Monroe (Betsy Sligh). What Amna doesn’t know is that Monroe has planned a variety of ways in which to terrorise her temporary guardian, and all Hell is about to break loose.
Despite the 2022 setting, Dooba Dooba is not one of the more pristine looking found-footage pictures. The imagery is instead grainy and hazy, the technique transporting the audience even further back in time. This picture quality is also an effective way to unsettle the viewer as they try to decipher what they are seeing on screen. Even the most mundane interactions become distressing and the more Dooba Dooba progresses, the more this sensation intensifies, and by the end, audiences are likely be a nervous wreck.
Hellcat
In 2021, Brock Bodell edited the FrightFest film Ultrasound. Now he is back at the festival, this time with Hellcat, a film that he both writes and directs. Prior knowledge of Hellcat’s story should be kept to a minimum, but the hook is that Lena (Dakota Gorman) awakens in the back of a moving truck. As the driver starts to communicate with her via intercom, it becomes clear that Lena might be in very real danger.
A monstrously taut and claustrophobic chamberpiece with an ace up its sleeve and some superb sound design, Hellcat is set to have FrightFester’s clinging to the edge of their seats.
Influencers
As the closing movie of the festival, Kurtis David Harder’s Influencers screens unopposed, meaning that you have no excuse to not catch this fantastic film. A sequel to 2022’s Influencer, Harder and the core cast of the original return to tell more of CW’s (Cassandra Naud) story. This time the setting switches to the South of France where CW is happily living with girlfriend Diane (Lisa Delamar), but after influencer Charlotte (Georgina Campbell) ruins their anniversary plans, CW finds herself repeating mistakes from the past.
Influencers might come with the added homework of having to watch Influencer ahead of the festival, but the preparation would be worth it. Influencers is one of those rare sequels that manages to achieve the same level of quality and content as what has come before. Although a different beast, Influencers is a clear continuation of CW’s story, building on interesting aspects seen in the original, and fleshing them out into something even more riveting. An easy, breezy, and beautiful sequel that retains all the magic ingredients of the first, whilst stirring in some fresh meaty morsels, Influencers is a sun-soaked thrill trip that you’ll want to return to again, and again, and again.
Mother of Flies
If you are a fan of the filmmaking family the Adams’ then Mother Of Flies is likely already on your radar. If not, prepare to get your mind blown by potentially the most talented family in the world. The Adams’ are exceptionally hands on, writing, directing, editing, starring in, scoring, and much more, making their art entirely their own. This time around, their story sees a terminally ill young woman (Zelda Adams) and her father (John Adams) journey into the woods to seek assistance from a witch (Toby Poser).
Those that enjoyed the Adams’ family film Hellbender will be elated to hear that Mother of Flies is the yin to that film’s yang. A bewitching escape to nature, Mother of Flies provides plenty of gnarly witchy rituals alongside some now trademark Adams emotional trauma.
Parasomnia
FrightFest is known for championing first-time filmmakers and this year’s festival is no exception. One filmmaker making their feature debut at FrightFest is James Ross II. HIs film, Parasomnia, delves into the nightmarish hellscape of night terrors as Riley (Jasmine Matthews) and those around her become trapped in a waking nightmare.
The perfect pick for those fascinated by sleep disturbances, Parasomnia is delightfully eerie, with Ross perfectly capturing that creepy sensation of being awake in the dead of night. Assisted by some eye-watering moments of gore, Parasomnia is a horror that works on both the cerebral and visual level, and proves James Ross II is a name to make a note of.
The Other People
Another director making his feature debut at FrightFest is Chad McClarnon with his film, The Other People. Inspired by real life events, The Other People shares some similarities to previous FrightFest films Ghost Game and Freehold, but shifts the perspective and tones to create something new and horribly disturbing. After moving in with her new husband, Rachel (Lyndie Greenwood) starts to suspect that stepdaughter Abby’s (Valentina Lucido) invisible friend might have a more sinister origin.
Given its real world connection, The Other People might just be the most terrifying film screening at this year’s FrightFest, so be sure to check it out. Just remember to check all your cupboards upon your return home or else you’ll likely never sleep again.
Redux Redux
If you’ve seen The Block Island Sound you will already be aware of just how talented the directing duo of Kevin and Matthew McManus are. Their new film, Redux Redux, is somehow even better than what has come before and offers an exciting new spin on the multiverse movie. Irene (Michaela McManus) is a grieving mother travelling across the multiverse, hunting and killing the man who murdered her daughter.
Channelling the low-fi sci-fi of The Terminator and Looper, Redux Redux is a must-watch film for fans of grounded science-fiction. Exceptional work from Kevin and Matthew McManus, Redux Redux scratches beneath the shiny surface of the multiverse subgenre to dig into a more human and compelling story – do not miss.
Sick Puppy
As a society we are fascinated by serial killers, and with his feature debut, writer and director Jay Reid explores this phenomenon through the eyes of one serial killer’s wife. Charlie (Natasha Calis) is married to serial killer John (Brett Geddes). After Charlie encourages him to go cold turkey, John seems to stick to his word, but Charlie finds herself going to extreme lengths to protect his secret.
As feature debuts go, Jay Reid’s Sick Puppy is definitely worth seeking out. Featuring fascinating performances, a compelling plot line, and trio of characters worthy of deeper psychological analysis, Sick Puppy is one of the most thought-provoking movies at this year’s FrightFest.
The Toxic Avenger
In 1984, Troma Entertainment released The Toxic Avenger into the world. Now over forty years later comes a new version, this time from director Macon Blair. Featuring Peter Dinklage, Elijah Wood, and Kevin Bacon, this is a very starry outing for Toxie, but fret not, it is still packed full of gnarly gooey gore.
Although releasing into cinemas on 29th August, this week’s early preview surrounded by the FrightFest crowd is the perfect environment to watch The Toxic Avenger. Grab a couple of beers (and maybe a sick bag), and strap in for some melty carnage.
FrightFest runs from Thursday 21st August to Monday 25th August. For more information, head to the FrightFest website.
