I’ll be honest, any film billed as ‘unbearably tense and ruthlessly bleak’ automatically gets my attention, which is why New Zealand offering Coming Home In The Dark has been on my radar since being announced for Frightfest.

Getting its UK premiere as a late-night screening, this one looks set to eschew monsters and mythical killers for something much more real – and brutal.

Here’s some blurb…

Director James Ashcroft’s electrifying thriller is an emotionally raw, out-of-control spiral into shock pulling no punches in showing the evil darkness that lurks within. All the Hoaganraad family want is a fun road trip through the beautiful New Zealand landscape. But no sooner have they laid out a lakeside picnic than two strangers come strolling up to their idyllic spot. Things quickly turn threatening then murderous as the clearly unhinged psychotic duo plainly has an agenda. But what exactly, how does it link to their hostages and what is the endgame for these cold-blooded lunatics?

Frightfest fans will remember director Ashcroft well for his 2016 entry Black Sheep, while the cast includes the likes of Daniel Gillies, Erik Thomson and Miriama McDowell.

Here’s a trailer…

Coming Home In The Dark screens at Frightfest on Friday, August 27.

About The Author

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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