Film4 Frightfest

By Dr Christopher Reynolds The scene that opens The Witch in the Window sets up both the premise and the themes of the film, with absent father Simon (Alex Draper) dropping in on his ex-wife Beverly (Arija...

British horror has a long and iconic relationship with religious and folk horror subgenre. From the seminal Unholy Trinity of Witchfinder General, Blood on Satan’s Claw and The Wicker Man, through to Ben...

n a world ruled by violence, only tigers are not afraid. But it’s hard to be a tiger when even the safety of your classroom is regularly violated by gunfire and violence. Cowering on the floor during a...

Posing as an innocent teenager, thief Amber (Elyse Dufour) cons her way into the mansion of wealthy occult expert Ted Hooper (Joe Walz) under the pretext of babysitting his neurotic, reclusive son Kevin (Jack...

A love letter to 80s synth pop, the VHS generation and all things retro, Videoman is a real treat – by no means a horror film, but full of horror references and likely to delight fans of the genre. Put...

It’s the near future and, in post-Brexit Britain, bloody civil war rages between the fascistic, totalitarian government and the equally brutal rebel militia, the poor and dispossessed trapped between...

A bold, bloody, genre bending, cyberpunk/body horror mash-up where Siri turns psycho, perhaps the most shocking thing about Leigh Whannell’s gobsmackingly violent, balls-to-the-wall Upgrade is it’s only...

By Dr Christopher Reynolds Dementia Part II is one of those odd curiosities that comes from the modern equivalent of the underground horror scene. It has almost no mainstream appeal, and indeed, at only an...

Australian cinema through the decades, arguably forming within the explosion of exploitation and art in the 1970’s, has been a consistent cradle for the horror genre in a suitably wild spectrum of guises....

Tormented by the urge to murder his newborn baby, we first meet family man and closet psychopath Reed (Christopher Abbott) standing over the cot and contemplating driving an ice pick into the child’s...

By Dr Chris Reynolds The Cleaning Lady takes its cue from a number of films built around the prospect of an interloper gradually worming their way into the protagonist’s life and then disrupting it. Usually...

Jenn Wexler’s ballsy, brutal, energetic retro slasher The Ranger got the Frightfest party off to a flyer – tapping in to the current 80s genre craze to give the audience a welcome jolt of punk-infused...

Fancy another director interview ahead of next week's Frightfest festival? Of course you do, so here's ten questions with The Dark helmer Justin P Lange... Q. THE DARK is based on your Columbia University...

Arrow Video FrightFest 2018 showcases the best in short film from the UK and around the world, with ten countries representing five continents. From otherworldly ghosts to terrifying monsters, from the creepy...

A bit of creature feature carnage always goes down well at Frightfest, so Aussie offering Boar rolls in to fill that spot very nicely. The bonus this time is not only do we get a effects extravaganza with...

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...

One of the films that really caught our eye in the Frightfest line-up was Swedish entry Videoman, a throwback of sorts that leans on the current 80s fad to good effect. Now, my liking for the film may have...

Director Jon Knautz has built himself a nice little reputation among the Frightfest fraternity, responsible for such diverse outings as Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer, Girl House, The Shrine and Goddess Of...

Bad Samaritan may be billed as an American film, but there's plenty of talent closer to home on show. For starters, the bad guy - a 'sadistic serial killer' no less - is played by none other than David...

Jenn Wexler's 80s slasher homage The Ranger looks set to rock Frightfest as the opening film, so what better way to get excited than to chat to the director herself, firing off questions about the film, her...

New Zealand horror has found itself quite a little niche at Frightfest over the years, with the likes of Deathgasm certainly going down well with genre audiences. Well, the good news if you are a fan of...