Frightfest 2014 Preview: Deadly Virtues Matthew Hammond July 18, 2014 Film4 Frightfest 1959 The home invasion thriller is an endlessly interesting sub-genre of horror. Playing on fears of being violated in your most personal and intimate of spaces, this act of transgression is one that has only become more chilling in this modern age, where the barriers between people are both more fluid and more rigid than ever. Deadly Virtues is a new horror to join the likes of Funny Games and Cherry Tree Lane before it, and rather than feel like another foray into well-trod territory, it promises to be shockingly original. In the dead of night, a purposeful stranger creeps into the home of Alison and Tom. After attacking the couple, the demented stranger Aaron ties a terrified Alison to the ceiling in an elaborate web of ropes, while Tom is held captive in the upstairs bathtub. Aaron begins his gruesome game, aiming to seduce Alison and break her relationship with Tom, making her his. However, while the film’s torture and psychological horror is powerful enough, the film’s true terror comes not from Aaron’s torment of the couple, but the transgressions and hidden horrors that infest Alison and Tom’s relationship, liberating and condemning them. Deadly Virtues promises to be an uncomfortable experience, drawing on the frailty and fears of modern relationships. Directed by Ate De Jong and starring the likes of Edward Akrout, Matt Barber and Megan Maczko, the film screen at Frightfest on Monday, August 25.
