Offbeat vacations, serial killers, seedy motels and a return to form from Melanie Griffith form the central strands of The Grief Tourist, a study in criminal cause and effect from director Suri Krishnamma.

The film centres on Jim Tahana (Michael Cuddlitz), who, instead of opting for the sights or the beach for his vacations, decides to visit the crime scenes of notorious serial killers – hence grief tourism.

For his trip this year Tahana has elected to revisit the crimes of Carl Marznap, a headline-grabbing arsonist from back in the day.

But throw in prostitutes, some rancid sexual impulses and a weakening grip on reality on Tahana’s part and we can be pretty sure something nasty will end up happening.

Having already been described as haunting, chilling and powerful, and with a trailer that looks something a bit different, The Grief Tourist screens at Frightfest on Sunday August 25.

About The Author

Simon Fitzjohn

Simon is a journalism tutor in London, who also just happens to be a movie fanatic, with a craving for the darker side of cinema. He has written two books, one on the horror films of director Bob Clark (2014) and the other on the history of the character Norman Bates (2015). His third book, on the work of British exploitation director Pete Walker, is due in 2017.