Altergeist

Director: Tedi Sarafian

 

It was already the fifth and final day and we had the blues emerging, just as everyone was getting settled into their seats feeling right at home we had to get ready to say goodbye, well almost. I began the day with two discovery screen films the first of which was Tedi Sarafian’s rather creepy Altergeist.

 

Loosely based on true events (aren’t they all?),  the film sees a group of paranormal investigators spend a 48 hour weekend in King Ransom Winery to uncover evidence of the other side. It’s known as one of the most haunted places in North America and so the group think they have hit the jackpot when they arrive. What they find is more terrifying than they can imagine and affects them in ways they could never have prepared for. Cue lots of jump scares and a few twists and turns and there you have it.

 

Several people walked out of this film and at the end hardly anyone bothered to clap apart from myself and maybe two others. This I thought was unnecessary and quite frankly a little harsh! The story was decent and the acting actually pretty good for this type of genre hybrid. There weren’t excess amounts of shaky cam either and I was genuinely a little scared at times. It does make a drastic tonal shift towards the end that comes out of nowhere and some of it feels misplaced but for what it is this film is pretty decent.

 

R3/5

 

 

Lemon Tree Passage

Director: David Campbell

 

This next film was one of my most anticipated films of the festival and I don’t think I have ever been so let down before. It just goes to show you should never get your hopes up. Boring and as predictable as it gets, Lemon Tree Passage just feels rather pointless, what could have been such an exciting horror film turns into your average, run of the mill revenge story that has been done into the ground.

 

It begins with a group of young adults who decide to test the Australian urban legend that says that if you drive down the creepy road of Lemon Tree Passage then you will see a flash of light in the trees and be forever haunted by the tormented spirit of a man killed by thrill speeding teenagers. They do indeed witness this but it is not the manifestation they think it is and after one of the lot goes missing, events start to spiral out of control and one girl starts to become possessed. Then it basically turns what could have been quite an original plot into the boring one we’ve all seen so many times before.

 

It is so obvious to see what is going to happen before it even happens.The acting is quite poor and the characters unsympathetic. The director insists on continuously using that stupid slow motion which is so unneeded in a film like this. There was real promise here, it’s just a shame that the producers and director didn’t take a slight risk and try to go down a more original avenue. Still, what can you do?

 

With a rather good Q and A afterwards, it all felt rather awkward too, but you don’t come to the festival expecting everything to be great.

 

R2/5

 

 

Alleluia

Director: Fabrice Du welz

 

Originally planning on opting out of this and seeing Jessica Cameron’s Truth Or Dare in the discovery screen, we heard too many good praise surrounding Alleluia that we chose to stick with the main screen. Oh what a poor decision that turned out to be! In the minority here I found it displeasing to watch, inconsistent and quite frankly, just not satisfying in any way possible. By the end I was so frustrated that I has just wasted ninety two minutes of my life that I couldn’t get back and that I hadn’t gone with my original instincts!

 

Based on the true story of The Honeymoon Killers, Martha Beck and Raymond Fernandez it follows single mother Gloria (played well by Lola Duenas) who meets crazy crook Michel (the also exceptional Laurent Lucas). She falls for him badly but he has other intentions, namely meeting rich women and milking them for all their worth. However he meets his match with Gloria and she proposes to help him do this whilst remaining his lover but the lengths she goes to result in murder.

 

Not even particularly as gory and unnerving as I had expected it to be, the film just felt unnecessary. Random scenes like the couple dancing naked by a camp fire just go to show how bonkers the film is. The acting is indeed superb from both leads and it is well shot but it just feels like this could have been a lot better. Still, it proved to be a hit among many people in the audience. This could end up being a marmite film.

 

R2/5

 

 

VHS Viral

Director: Justin Benson, Gregg Bishop, Todd Lincoln, Aaron Moorhead, Marcel Sarmiento and Nacho Vigalondo

 

After a rather poor beginning to our final day I was really hoping that the last two films would surely bring us back to that top notch standard. The third instalment in the popular VHS franchise was one I was particularly looking forward to and it was entertaining in parts. Building on the premise of the previous two films, this one projects five stories and brings them all together (sort of) by way of a wraparound segment. This time it centres on some fame-obsessed teens who all become stars of the next internet sensation.

 

This time we have a magician who loses his head, a group of teen skateboarders who encounter a host of weird ritualised figures who won’t seem to stay dead and to be honest I can’t remember the rest as it was all so rushed and a little hard to distinguish. It keeps returning to the wraparound segment in between that it’s very hard to tell which story is separate.

 

As it turns out there was a whole section that was cut from the film which explains a lot. It just feels like we have been cheated here and the film just doesn’t feel anywhere near the impressive level of the first instalment. It was fresh and unique at the time and sometimes these things are better left alone before they get too big for their boots.

 

There are a few long lasting images here but nothing to hit home about. Disappointing to say the least, this final day was turning out to be quite weak. It was up to the closing film to bring our spirits back up and ready for the after party to come.

 

R2.5/5

 

 

The Signal

Director: William Eubank

 

The closing film was upon us and I am pleased to say it was a memorable, haunting an extremely effective one! It landed in my top five and stayed with me long after the night was out. William Eubank’s stylish sci-fi fantasy thriller is engaging and endearing in so many ways. Nic (Brandon Thwaites) and Jonah (Beau Knapp) are MIT students who are helping Nic’s girlfriend Haley (Olivia Cooke) move across the states.

 

However they also happen to be engaging with an online altercation with mysterious hacker ‘Nomad’. They get a lead on his whereabouts and decide to investigate. Suddenly they all lose consciousness and Nic awakes in what appears to be a secretly hidden underground hospital. There he meets the mysterious Damon (Laurence Fishburne) armed in a clinical white radiation suit who tells Nic about this ‘Extra-terrestrial Biological Entity’ and holds him for testing. Just what is this all for and where are his friends? It’s up to Nic to find out just what is going on and try and find his way back before he loses his way forever.

 

It is hard to tell just where this is going and it takes a while to build up but when it does kick in we are rewarded with an intriguing plot turn and an exciting dystopian like setting. To add to this is the astonishing cinematography that captivated me from the start. Sweeping shots of the open road and the vast landscape are enough to project you into this enlightening tale of human survival and determination when faced with an underlying threat.

 

Thwaites is exceptional as Nic and gives an understated yet charismatic performance that is engaging to watch. Laurence Fishburne is also impressive as Damon, a character reminiscent of his days as his signature character Morpheus. It’s nice to see him returning to the sci-fi horror genre and his withdrawn performance is brilliant and he executes it perfectly. The music score is spine tingling from the start and works really well in line with the aesthetically pleasing direction and the bold colours that feature in the cinematic scope.

 

The film is just interesting to watch and there’s something really haunting about what its eventual premise turns out to be. The twist comes in at the right moment and is surprising. The film hits on every level and as the closing film it is certainly one I will be remembering for a long time to come.

 

R4/5

 

 

In conclusion...

 

So after five days and over twenty five films I had survived another Frightfest and what an amazing one it was! From zombie girlfriends and beavers to angry ex-soldiers and werewolves this year really pulled out all of the stops. Despite the concerns and the adjustments it proved to be worth it all in the end and we were rewarded with a host of fantastical frights! The theatres emptied and a sigh of sadness could be heard from metres away but with the October all day event just around the corner and Glasgow a few months away there’s never long to wait. I hope you enjoy my roundup, until next time…