by Tori Potenza, Staff Writer

The first half of FrightFest was quite interesting. Truly the best part was seeing what a dedicated group of horror fans come to the fest each and every year. And for the 25th anniversary of the festival, people were ready to celebrate. Nestled in Leicester Square, it feels like you are right in the heart of London, and I am sure the highly touristy area was not expecting to be invaded by a slew of horror fans. It was joy to participate in the festival. The Odeon theaters are incredibly comfortable making it easy to spend hours in the theater, and the programmers are dedicated and friendly making it easy to feel like you are a part of the group. The overall selection was a bit lackluster but with some highly anticipated releases being showcased there are definitely some gems in the festival. 

Broken Bird
Written by Dominic Brunt with story by Joanne Mitchell and Tracey Sheals
Directed by Joanne Mitchell
Runtime 1 hour and 39 minutes

Broken Bird was an interesting choice for an opening night feature. The film closely aligns with films like May or Excision, following a lonely woman who works in a funeral parlor and finds more company amongst the dead than in real life. The film looks incredible and there are several fantasy sequences that are gorgeous to look at. Overall the film is a bit uninspired and does not live up to some of the other lonely creepy girl horror movies out there. There are several plot points weaved together and simply are not as interesting as one would like. There are a few great moments of gore and taboo horror elements but ultimately it left me wanting more; it just felt like it could have gone a little further. Rebecca Calder does give a great lead performance and the finale is one to remember.

Ghost Game
Written by Adam Cesare
Directed by Jill Gevargizian
Runtime 1 hour and 30 minutes

As a fan of Jill Gevargizian’s film The Stylist this was a highly anticipated watch for me. Unfortunately this seems like more of a junior film than the latter. Ghost Game has a great idea at its core that should make for some great horror, but the execution was not there. The biggest weakness is the overall script which feels very forced and unnatural especially with its dialogue. There is not a lot of buy in with these characters and the end over complicates what could be a very effective ghost story. The performances are just as weak and the film just does not look as good as anticipated. There is also a depiction of a child who is potentially on the spectrum (although it is never explicitly mentioned) which was not handled as well as it should be. It is very unfortunate that I did not enjoy this one when I was so excited but hopefully Gevargizian will come back with some other great stories to tell. 

An Taibhse
Written and Directed by John Farrelly
Runtime 1 hour and 32 minutes

I so wanted to love An Taibhse (also known as The Ghost), and I did for some time until it took some unsavory twists and turns as it progressed. It was great to see an Irish language film on the big screen and the actors did such a great job. It has big folk horror vibes as it focuses on a father and daughter who are taking care of a secluded home for a rich family in the winter. The isolation takes them to some dark places internally while also dealing with some potential external dread in the large creepy home. It takes elements from films like The Witch and The Shining but does not come close to either of them. The film looks great and even has some very effective jump scares and moments of dread. My biggest complaint is that it handles burgeoning womanhood and violence towards women in a very frustrating and insensitive manner. Which begs the question: Why do cis men continue to make these films and put women and girls through the ringer?

Bookworm
Written by Toby Harvard and Ant Timpson
Directed by Ant Timpson
Runtime 1 hour and 43 minutes

It is fascinating that one of the best films of FrightFest was not even a horror movie, but that is definitely the case with Bookworm. An inquisitive young girl and her estranged magician father go on a quest through the New Zealand wilderness facing all kinds of challenges that may either bring them together or push them further apart. Nell Fisher is such an incredibly young actor, I cannot wait to see the trajectory of her career. She is so funny and sweet and holds her own against an incredible performer like Elijah Wood. It is very easy to spend time with these characters and buy into the importance of their quest. This is a great family film with heartfelt humor and emotions. If you enjoyed films like Hunt for the Wilderpeople, this will surely be one not to miss. 

Shelby Oaks
Written by Sam Liz and Chris Stuckmann
Directed by Chris Stuckmann
Runtime 1 hour and 39 minutes

One of the themes of this year’s round of FrightFest features seemed to be movies with potential that fail to stick the landing. As well as the even more frustrating themes of child abuse and the various problematic representations of it. And Shelby Oaks certainly has both of these. I will say that it is probably good to go in knowing as little as possible about the film, it takes a turn that will work for some but not others. Unfortunately it did not work for me. I loved the found footage/youtube ghost elements of this film, honestly why are we not seeing more youtube horror films? And it is hard not to be excited when you get incredible character actors like Keith David who make everything they are in better. There are some very chilling and eerie elements to the movie but I wish it did not feel the need to over complicate the story with a bunch of unnecessary elements, especially when the central story was interesting enough. But it does take a chance and other viewers may appreciate where it goes. 

While the films of the festival may not have been strong, it has still been such a joy to be here. Nothing beats coming out of a theater and hearing the reactions of your friends and getting to dig into the details of each of the movies you have just seen. That is usually the best part of these festivals and there were plenty of folks to talk to and discuss horror films with. If you are like me and do not always get this in your day to day life it is hard not to love being surrounded by a bunch of other passionate horror fans. I still have the other half of the fest to dig into so stay on the lookout! Visit the FrightFest website for details on their entire 2024 lineup.