Gustavo Mendoza’s documentary is billed as an examination of the horror festival circuit and the horror fans that flock to such events, year after year, on a pilgrimage for blood and guts. What emerges is a one dimensional look at horror fans – all male, except for one cameo from legendary scream queen Barbara Crampton – and what seems to be a shaky home movie of the harassment of Bruce Campbell at film festivals.
There is no examination of why horror attracts so many of us – men and women – instead, only talking head interviews with punk bands, filmmakers and critics, mainly from Argentina, Italy and Spain, with brief glimpses of Frightfest in London and footage of horror masters such as Argento doing signings or public appearances. Festivals all over the world are shown, mainly focusing on Sitges in Spain and Buenos Aires’ Roja Sangre, with the same aesthetic as filming a Q&A on your phone.
What is most offensive is the exclusion of women. For a genre that so often deals with female stories and protagonists, from the Final Girl to the rape revenge, perpetuating the myth that horror is one big Boy’s Club, films women “look away” from and men relish. Horror examines issues such as gender, sexuality and the “Other” through metaphor and spectacle better than any other genre. Not delving into this or connecting the genre’s themes with any humanity leaves the film feeling more like a surface-level fan video, devoid of any depth. Horror icon Robert Englund and Master of Horror Mick Garris are given adequate screen time, enough to satisfy fans looking for fun cameos instead of any introspection.
What is fascinating is how films outside of America or the UK are explored and how countries such as Argentina have created their own versions of Hammer Horrors or slasher monsters, yet Cult Of Terror is disappointing in that it does not explore further how horror can be different for other cultures yet still remain so universal.
The entire documentary should have been reduced to its final ten minutes – a montage of various men expounding on why horror fascinates us so, from its powers of immortality (film won’t die, whilst we will, and allows us to explore our own death in a safe setting) to Bogdanovich on how horror is only cathartic if you have never experienced real tragedy. This adds some layer of poignancy, but only a little, to something which is more of an indulgent pet project. Interviews are edited bizarrely, cut in the middle of sentences, which is less DIY-punk rock and more one big jumbled mess.
If you are a horror fan, this is not the documentary for you. An obnoxious two hours paying lip service to horror fans – how they dress up as zombies and freaks, what the inside of a film festival looks like – without making any real point about them or the genre itself.
CULT OF TERROR / DIRECTOR: GUSTAVO MENDOZA / SCREENPLAY: GUSTAVO MENDOZA / STARRING: DARIO ARGENTO, BARBARA CRAMPTON, ROBERT ENGLUND / CERT: TBC / RELEASE DATE: TBC
