Fancy a splash of modern gothic with your Frightfest brew? If so, Braid may be the film for you.

The feature debut of writer/director Mitzi Peirone (who already has the shorts Chaosmos and Vesperlings to her name), this promises to crank up the creepy before busting out the gore.

Madeleine Brewer leads the way here as Daphne, and any fans of current TV smash The Handmaid’s Tale will instantly recognise her as recurring character Janine. Joining Brewer are the likes of Imogen Waterhouse, Sarah Hay and Scott Cohen.

Here’s a synopsis:

Lifelong best friends Petula and Tilda make ends meet by dealing drugs in Manhattan. Then a random bust leaves them with no choice but to flee town. Their hideout? The mansion of childhood friend Daphne, an agoraphobic heiress teetering on the edge of sanity. At first, entertaining Daphne’s playful world of make-believe is a breeze. However, they realise her mental state is more wildly disturbed. And what begins with innocent role-playing quickly devolves into torture, madness, and bloodshed. A Gothic fairytale with an uncompromising feminist edge, Mitzi Peirone’s feature debut is a bold, visually lavish dazzler.

Braid gets its European premiere at Frightfest on Friday, August 24.

About The Author

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 three books - on the horror films of director Bob Clark (2014), the history of the character Norman Bates (2015) and the work of British exploitation director Pete Walker (2017). He is currently working with director Richard Loncraine to explore all avenues in a bid to orchestrate the re-release of 1978 Mia Farrow chiller Full Circle