Frightfest Review 3: The Dead

As you may have guessed by now, zombies are my life. I live for the undead; kind of ironic really. So when I heard that there was only one (feature length) zombie film being shown at FrightFest this year I was, to be honest, disappointed. Wheres all the flesh-eaters?! But thankfully this one film was one of the greatest zombie films I've seen in a good while. And that film goes by the, rather appropriate, name of The Dead.

What  The Hell Is It About?
According to the FrightFest booklet;

Known in the UK as the new Ridley and Tony Scott because of their similar commercial backgrounds, the Ford Brothers now burst on the high-class scare scene as a fresh force in the horror fantasy arena. In the very near future most of the world has succumbed to a living dead virus. After crashing off the coast of Africa in a plane, Lt. Brian Murphy battles for survival across inhospitable parched terrain in search of a way to get back to his beloved family in America. Saved by local military man Sgt. Daniel Dembele, who is also searching for his son, both men join forces to fight the ever present flesh-eating threat stalking the bush. Starring West African superstar Prince David Osei and Rob Freeman from Saving Private Ryan, The Dead features stunningly shot burnished landscapes, brilliant special make-up and visual effects and terrific dust devil zombies.

 Was It Any Good?

Was it good?! What type of stupid question is that? To call this film anything short of a beautiful masterpiece would be an understatement. The entire film takes place in Africa which instantly brings to mind one thing to all zombie fans. No, not Resident Evil 5, but a return to the roots of the zombie mythos; the Haitian zombies. In fact, I would argue that the whole of this film is a step into the past of the zombie genre. Clearly influenced by the films of Lucio Fulci, particularly prevalent with the extremely slow shamble of the somnambulists. The Ford brothers themselves announced to the FrightFest audience that they are huge fans of his work along with the indisputable king of the undead, Mr. George A. Romero. The very fact that these zombies are slow is quite a breath of fresh air when compared to the zombie trend of the past few years; fast, hectic living dead. As further elaborated upon by the Ford brothers, this again was a conscious effort to build tension and suspense rather than a frantic action zombie ride. This couldn't be more truthful. Whilst it would be completely wrong to suggest that the speedy dead lack the power to scare ([Rec] being an obvious example to demonstrate this), the undead in The Dead possess a terrifyingly bleak and empty feel not seen since Zombie Flesh Eaters.

Frightfest 2010 Review 2: F

Next up on this marathon of new and upcoming horror films was another British horror film called F. Stupid title, I know. Before the film started, the director Johannes Roberts introduced it by comparing it to the excellent Assault On Precinct 13 (John Carpenter, 1976) and described it as an old-school horror film. What can I say; I was excited to say the least. But did the film actually live up to this hype?

What the Hell is it about?
Again, according to the official Frightfest booklet;

Welcome to the Class of 2010. The college day ends, the school building becomes a vast complex of dark corridors, eerily quiet classrooms, empty save for a few staff and children. What none of the remaining teachers and pupils realize is tonight is going to be a night they will remember for the rest of their lives. Viciously attacked by a pupil in the past English teacher Robert Anderson was devastated when the governing board refused to back his lawsuit to avoid bad publicity and scandal. Now a burned-out, world-weary alcoholic tyring to reconnect with his daughter, Anderson must finally face his most terrifying demons. For the school comes under relentless attack from a faceless thread intent on causing maximum mayhem. Alone Anderson must battle brutal bloodthirsty killers, and his deepest fears, in a desperate battle for the survival of those he holds most dear. Will lessons be learned?

Was it any good?

 As can be seen in the above semi-synopsis, F has a much bigger focus on character than the previous piece of garbage, Isle Of Dogs. The characters are all believable and have their own flaws, fears, goals and problems. In essence the characters in this film, or at least the main characters, are multi-dimensional resulting in the audience actually giving a damn about them. It's no surprise that the most well-developed character is the star of the film, Robert Anderson, played by David Schofield who's career has included appearing in the 2010 Wolfman remake, Pirates Of The Caribbean 2 & 3 and even the horror classic An American Werewolf In London.  Schofield plays his character in such a way that the audience empathises with his character who truly is a victim of circumstance - even though he constantly does the right thing nothing seems to go right for him. Instantly, I noticed parallels between the fantastic and highly underrated cult film Class Of 1984. Sadly though, whilst this film clearly benefits from having such a great character, it also hinders the film's enjoyability since it felt as though the entire film was building up to something slowly and, in the end, never really delivering it's promise or, more accurately, it's potential.

Frightfest 2010 Review 1: Isle Of Dogs

For those who don't know, Frightfest is a huge horror film festival in London which shows off the latest horror films resulting in the majority of the screenings being world premiers, or at least UK premiers. So, the next few posts will be reviews of all the films I saw and whether you should, in my opinion, both checking them out when they (if they) receive a wider release.

The first film I actually saw there this year was Tobe Hooper's original The Texas Chainsaw Massacre from 1974. There's no point reviewing that as everyone knows that it is a masterpiece of horror cinema and to see it on the biggest screen in England was nothing short of spectacular. It was followed by a long Q & A with Hooper, discussing this film in particular but also his occasionally successful career.If you would like to see this, check it out on YouTube here. That video has clearly been edited, Mr. Hooper looked very awkward, nervous and shy on stage. Oh and did I mention I also got an original pre-cert VHS of this film signed by the man himself? No? Well I did. Awesome or what?!

Anyways, let's get to the review of the World Premier of Isle Of Dogs. Directed by Tammi Sutton who's directorial credits include a killer clown film that often appears in the Poundshop (!) Killjoy 2: Deliverance From Evil (2002) and Sutures (2009) a film I had not even heard of before I wasn't too sure about this film. But I went along anyway.

What the hell is it about?
Well according to the FrightFest booklet;

It's a dog eat dog world. So take a deeper plunge into the darker side of human behaviour with an intense portrayal of sex, murder and betrayal. Darius is the gang boss from Hell, a deadly bastard and the last man you'd cross. But when he discovers his young Russian bride  Nadia is sleeping with Riley, he makes the small time hoodlum an offer he can't refuse. Kill or be killed. But murder is a very high stakes game - one with no rules. And as dawn rises on Darius' country estate, there will be seven bodies, with only one winner left standing. In the tradition of London To Brighton, an unflinching portrayal of what people will do to survive. Written by Sean Hogan (Little Deaths) and director Tammi Sutton (the upcoming Welcome To Graveland [what, no mention of killer clowns?!]), comes a barking Brit body count horror.