FrightFest - Part One

It's a day longer than intended but after digesting twenty (out of a possible 25) movies in just over four days, plus various shorts, trailers and previews, I didn't quite have my head together to begin the reviews.  As is, I can see that the only way I am going to cover this is to offer you very brief capsules covering both the high and low points of the weekend.  So here goes:

Black Sheep (2006):  This film from New Zealand was the kick-off movie and reminded me of early Peter Jackson funfests.  Played more for laughs than for gore (although there was plenty along the way) this is the story of a flock being infected by a mutant foetus and their bloodthirsty rampage with only a sheepaphobic farmer and a female urban warrior remaining unscathed.  Sheep may appear to be the most docile of creatures, but hordes of them descending with their bony snouts covered in blood is actually pretty scary.  If the film were not quite so funny, I would worry for the future of New Zealand tourism, but even most of the were-sheep victims ultimately survived their mutation.  Rather good fun for those with a taste for the bizarre.

Sword Bearer (2006):  This Russian fantasy was unexpectedly one of the high points, especially since there were other films from which I expected more.  Since an early age our hero Sasha has found a retractable blade periodically emerging from his hand, and when pissed-off, as the saying goes, he uses it for murderous ends -- quite amazing this since it can grow long enough and sharp enough to cut a forest of trees in half.  A chance meeting with Katya turns this into a doomed love story as the authorities attempt to close in.  Beautifully filmed in the former East Prussia, the gorgeous scenery becomes his killing field.

The Signal (2007):  This American movie was apparently a Sundance hit, but I thought it long, somewhat boring, and very amateurish.  There were three directors for each of the three sections, but any stylistic differences of approach were invisible.  The gist is that rogue television signals are turning everyone into murderous psychos and that civilization is doomed.  So what else is new?

1408 (2007):  This adaptation of a Stephen King short story was a big grosser Stateside and is about to open in Britain -- and pretty good it is too.  While there are other characters, it is largely a one-man show as ghost-busting writer John Cusack checks into the most haunted room at the Hotel Dolphin, when the very suave manager Samuel L. Jackson fails to dissuade him.  His inate skepticism is soon destroyed by inexplicable phenomena and an aura of menace.  Despite a false phony ending which feels a cop-out, the viewer is given a better second ending to make this more satisfying horror.

Teeth (2007): The next film was a "no-show" so this was a last-minute substitute.  Our heroine is one of those sworn virgin-until-I-marry sort when she discovers that she has some unusual teeth -- guess where?  I believe the technical term is vagina dentata and as she becomes more sexually experienced, she leaves a trail of severed willies in her wake -- to say nothing about her gynecologist's fingers!  Pretty silly and very graphic and of course her mean step-brother's severed one gets lapped up by his killer dog.  That got a big laugh from the not too discerning audience.

Cold Prey (2006):  This Norwegian movie is a variant on the standard slasher film as five snowboarding friends find refuge at a deserted hotel in the frozen hills when one of their number breaks a leg and they are too far off-piste to expect a rescue.  However, of course, they are not alone, as a masked giant figure picks off each in turn.  Unlike most such movies, the five young people are all pretty sensible and likeable and they are not being punished for sexual transgressions -- they are just being punished, along with dozens of previous skiers, for reasons that emerge in the back story.  And this was the first of several movies at the Fest where the strongest character turns out to be one of the women.  Of course we ladies know that we are superior to men in a crunch.  Ha-ha.

That's it for today.  More to come soon, since I've only just begun...

Tags: FrightFest, sheep, Russian fantasy, 1408, slashers