Review Category: Movie

Jill Gevargizian’s sophomore directorial effort proves her chops behind the camera with a mix of hidden camera footage and possible haunted house hijinks.

Vinny (Zaen Haidar) has discovered his girlfriend, Laura (Kia Dorsey), likes to go play something called ‘ghost game’ with a friend, Adrian (Sam Likowski). It’s not an innocent thing with dice and a board, however. The pair are part of a group that essentially breaks into people’s homes and attempts to live there undetected for a few days, all while screwing with the owners’ minds by moving things and the like. This is all filmed with GoPros strapped to their chests and some carefully placed hidden cameras. Their strict code of conduct has already been broken when Laura freaked out over Adrian snipping a lock of hair from a sleeping woman, bashing the unfortunate victim over the head several times. Vinny convinces Laura to take him as her game partner instead of Adrian, but their excursion isn’t going to go the way they planned.

The house the pair enter has been derelict for quite a while and has a sinister history. The new owners move in not long after they arrive, putting their plans in motion. The new owners are Pete (Michael C. Williams), who was disgraced when his book about an alien abduction was proved to be a complete fabrication, his second wife, Meg (Emily Bennett), and her neurodiverse daughter, Sam (a brilliant Vienna Maas). When things start happening throughout the house, Meg jumps to the conclusion Pete is trying to trick his way to a new book, but Laura and Vinny experience similar anomalies.

No matter how you feel about the ethics of their ‘game’, watching things play out is mighty entertaining. Taking elements from several different subgenres, Ghost Game keeps your allegiances changing throughout as the various events occur. Amongst the usual pranks the pair pull on the householders, there are several things happening that could lead towards the idea that the house is genuinely haunted. Adam Cesare’s smart script and Gevargizian’s smart direction keep the audience guessing, patiently revealing things to great effect. It’s also good to see an autistic child used naturally rather than as ‘the creepy kid’.

Following The Stylist would always bring massive expectations, but Ghost Game is confident, knowing and thoroughly enjoyable.

GHOST GAME screened at Pigeon Shrine FrightFest. 

A professional afterlife denier (well, a podcaster) finds his life turned upside down when a guest kills himself during a recording session. Faced with irrefutable proof of life after death as Duncan (Gabriel Rush) subsequently returns – all the deader for a bullet to the head – host Charles (Eric Tabach) does what every fame-hungry wannabe influencer might… he podcasts about it some more.

Set within the world of podcasting, this dark comedy horror from Dean Alioto (The McPherson Tape) is a lively yet small-scale take on The Frighteners, eschewing big scares in favour of unpacking Charles’s dilemma: how do you get a ghost on your podcast when no-one else can see or hear it?

Tabach gives a compelling lead performance as the fame-hungry podcaster, while much of the low budget is successfully deployed in bringing Duncan back to life. As Charles learns more about his ghostly guest, so a mission is concocted to bring Duncan some peace, involving a rival podcaster (Charlie Saxton), a seedy figure from Dunc’s past, and… a cameo from master of horror Mick Garris.

A chilly, tightly-constructed supernatural horror story.

THE LAST PODCAST premiered at Pigeon Shrine FrightFest on August 23rd, 2024.

Set against the backdrop of the Irish famine, this one-of-a-kind folk horror film follows a grieving father and daughter as they relocate to a remote country estate where they, and they alone, are to serve as caretaker during its winter months. “What if Alexander follows me here?” asks Máire (Livvy Hill) as she stands shivering on the doorstep of her new home. Dad’s response – that ghost Alexander isn’t real, and he doesn’t want to hear that name again – is just a little too aggressive, foreshadowing the escalating tensions to come.

Directed by John Farrelly, An Taibhse is a particularly harrowing take on the haunted house film, every creaking floorboard and pitch-black doorway pregnant with malice and dread. As a two-hander between the pair, it’s powerfully acted by Hill and Tom Kerrisk – the latter giving Jack Nicholson a run for his money as the angry alcoholic caretaker with a thing for shaggy stubble and staring off into the distance. It may borrow liberally from The Shining and other Gothic/Folk horror counterparts, but it remains unique in itself anyway, as the first Irish language horror film ever made.

Jump scares are unnecessary but effectively deployed, while the house and its grounds are gorgeously shot by Farrelly and cinematographer Ross Power. The plug sockets and light switches are regrettable, but, to some, may serve as a welcome distraction from the all-consuming darkness.

Farrelly’s script is as slow a burn as the candles which light every room and dingy corridor, eking out tension as a wardrobe door swings open and shut, or as Daddy demolishes a whole bottle at his study table. Where this is all headed becomes clear early on, but that doesn’t make the journey there any less upsetting.

AN TAIBHSE (THE GHOST) premiered at Pigeon Shrine FrightFest on August 23rd, 2024.

Wozzek (Graham Skipper) is the last man on Earth. As the survivor of a global catastrophe, he ekes out his days in a remote cabin, as we all would but might not care to admit – shitting into a bucket, masturbating miserably, and experiencing visions of his dead wife (Christina Bennett Lind). He even does some of those things simultaneously. When his dead wife isn’t around, Wozzek is kept company by the mysterious voice of The Deletarian (Paul Guyet), who leaves Earth’s sole survivor questioning both his sanity and his purpose.

Written and directed by its star, The Lonely Man With the Ghost Machine is a raw and personal work of low-budget sci-fi. Skipper has become a recognisable face in recent years, appearing in indie horror films The Leech, Christmas Bloody Christmas, and Scare Package II. With this, his fourth film as director, he bravely puts himself front and centre, delivering a meaty performance as the last man alive. Unlike the FOX TV show, there’s no cop-out hiding behind Wozzek’s desolation, and the film does a good job of highlighting both his loneliness and his unravelling mental state. It’s I Am Legend with a side of H.P. Lovecraft; Passengers in a distant shack; it’s all that, and a Christmas film, too.

The film’s extremely low budget makes its intimacy a necessity; the end of the world is only glimpsed during a cosmic light show that neither stretches the VFX department nor spoils the vibe. This may not appeal to those who prefer their apocalypses to be bigger and more calamitous, but as a portrait of a regular Joe just trying to see out the last days of a solitary existence, it nails the sense of loneliness. That, and the tragicomic misery of screaming while shitting into a bucket as your possibly imaginary friend watches from the graveyard of a cold, dead world. Truly haunting.

THE LONELY MAN WITH THE GHOST MACHINE premiered at Pigeon Shrine FrightFest on August 23rd, 2024.

After her mother is injured in an unfortunate toaster-related accident, the life of 11-year-old Mildred (Nell Fisher) is turned upside down. With mum in an induced coma, Mildred embarks upon an ambitious camping trip with her estranged father, a once-famous magician… sorry, illusionist… Strawn Wise (Elijah Wood). There, they hope to find the elusive Canterbury Panther and, with it, the jackpot.

To address the elephant in the room, yes, it’s a bit like 2016’s Hunt For the Wilderpeople. A family adventure set in New Zealand with a mismatched child and their father figure (in this case, a biological one), getting into comedic scrapes in the wilderness. However, this whimsical coming-of-age film by director Ant Timpson (who previously worked with Wood on 2019’s Come to Daddy) has more than enough merits of its own.

Elijah Wood’s, ridiculous hat aside, Blookworm is more grounded than first appearances might suggest – and unafraid to ramp the stakes up where appropriate. Its own take on the Wilderpeople formula turns the central relationship on its head, making Dad the good-natured, chaotic one and Mildred the grump. Nell Fisher impressed in last year’s Evil Dead Rise, and continues to do so here, tip-toeing a fine line between precocious and precious. The chemistry between Wood and Fisher is a joy – her bookish sense of self-determination offset by his more childlike demeanour. It’s another winning performance from the Lord of the Rings star, and one which is very generous to his young co-star. If all that sounds a little too sickly sweet, worry not – an unhinged Michael Smiley has you covered, along with Vanessa Stacey as his sinister partner in crime. 

Bookworm is a charming coming-of-age comedy featuring a star-making performance from its young talent, and comfortably eccentric ones from its elders. While it may seem like a trip through familiar territory (and Wood is no stranger to sloughing it though the New Zealand hills), it’s a zesty, heartfelt family adventure with a surprising sense of peril to its otherwise wacky antics.

BOOKWORM premiered at Pigeon Shrine FrightFest on August 23rd, 2024.

 

There’s a Velociraptor on the loose in small-town America… and it’s invisible. What more do you need to know? After the titular beast escapes from an underground laboratory, down-on-his-luck amusement park paleontologist Grant Walker (Mike Capes, who also had a hand in the screenplay) and security guard Denny Denielson (David Shackelford) join forces to stop the beast before it can wreak any further havoc. And, with Sean Astin, a kid and a dog among its victims already, the creature has a pretty hefty head start as it is.

With a title like The Invisible Raptor, certain promises are made, putting it firmly in the Cocaine Bear and Sharknado school of high-concept creature feature. Mike Hermosa’s raucous comedy-horror makes good on that promise, featuring the Invisible Raptor in all of its ridiculous glory, cutting a bloody swathe through the suburbs. The comedy is broad and puerile but well-distributed, switching evenly between gross-out humour, mean-spirited violence and good-natured silliness. Capes and Shackleford are fun as the two would-be heroes, with Richard Riehle and Sandy Martin (Mac’s mom in It’s Always Sunny) stealing the lion’s share of laughs during their brief screen time.

You may think you know what you’re in for with The Invisible Raptor, but that isn’t always the case. Yes, the CGI is bad, and some of the performances are wooden, but its story is surprisingly well-structured, featuring fun action and a sweet bromance at its core. Almost two hours of it is far too much, but it comes brimming with an infectious enthusiasm that can’t be faked.

It’s the smart version of a stupid movie while still being so very deeply stupid.

THE INVISIBLE RAPTOR is out now in the US.

 

Set in a small town in Oregon in 1982, excitable film fan Reels (Drew Scheid) learns that the cinema he helps out in is going to host a test screening of a big Hollywood movie. Convinced it’s going to be Return of the Jedi, he gets all his friends to attend. Once the film ends and the audience leaves, they begin to behave differently. Having fallen asleep during the movie, Reels is unaffected, and Penny (Chloë Kerwin, who gives a stunningly effective performance) is forbidden to go by her pious preacher father (Sean Bridgers), so they team up to try to find out what’s going on.

Test Screening proudly has its influences front and centre. They range from Invasion of the Body Snatchers to Society, but no matter how familiar the story might be, director Clark Baker (who co-wrote with Stephen Susco) has crafted an engaging tale full of characters that we want to root for. They are personally flawed, natural people and when they are under the ‘influence’ of the film their lack of emotion to Reels and, particularly, Penny feels alien. Penny’s infatuation with Mia (Rain Spencer) is at first reciprocated, but the post-movie ghosting is heartbreaking. The bigger picture of what’s going on isn’t as far-fetched as you’d imagine, but the outcome is gloriously twisted.

The scenario of a group of youngsters trying to figure out a mystery has been so commonplace in cinema for years that it’s become a cliché, particularly post-Stranger Things. However, Baker has crafted his own take on the theme perfectly, populating his town with characters who are fleshed out well. This test screening is one you shouldn’t skip.

TEST SCREENING played at Pigeon Shrine FrightFest on August 22nd.

What hath Winnie-the-Pooh wrought? Since the headline-grabbing success of Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey and its sequel, horror re-imaginings of every fairy tale character and childhood favourite past their sell-by-date copyright infringement have come crawling out of the woodwork – from the Grinch to Steamboat Willie Himself. Next up? Cinderella.

The original version of the fairytale is grim(m) enough as it is, with scenes of childhood trauma, household abuse and lopped-off toes – but director Louisa Warren goes one further, adding an Evil Dead twist to this gory re-imagination of the tale. Summoning her fairy godmother from an ancient book bound in flesh, Cinderella (Kelly Rian Sanson) is finally granted her greatest wish – bloody vengeance.

As far as ideas go, the Edgelord Fairy Tale may be wearing a bit thin, but there’s no reason why Cinders shouldn’t get to go to the ball – or Monster Mash, as it were. And, in that spirit, the Edgelordification of her story makes more sense than most, with a tragic backstory, loathsome villains and the potential for all manner of carnage in a grand ball where a pissed-off Cinderella finally realises her revenge.

The scant seventy-minute runtime keeps things from growing too stale but also results in the setup feeling rushed. An already predictable Frozen-esque plot twist misses the mark, while not enough time is spent with either Wicked Stepmother (a suitably horrible Danielle Scott) or wicked stepsisters (Lauren Budd and Natasha Tosini) to make her brutal revenge feel satisfactory.

Still, it’s appreciated that Cinderella’s Curse doesn’t waste time in getting to the meat of the matter – setting Cindy loose on those who wronged her. Warren delivers on the carnage in this respect, including a toe-curling version of the glass slipper scene. Too much of it is hidden behind dingy cinematography, but the gore is effectively done and liberally shared.

CINDERELLA’S CURSE premiered at Pigeon Shrine FrightFest on August 22nd,  2024.

Expanding her award-winning short film Sybil, Joanne Mitchell (Evie) has crafted a bleak but captivating character study that takes us into the minds of a number of troubled souls.

Sybil (Rebecca Calder) is a budding poet whose detachment from the world makes her the perfect candidate for the job at an undertakers, working alongside Mr Thomas (James Fleet), who has run the place on his own since his wife died. She excels in her position since she possesses an unhealthy connection to the corpses. When a museum worker, Mark (Jay Taylor), strikes up a conversation with Sybil, she daydreams about having a relationship but discovers he has a girlfriend. Her fractured mind takes her to some very dark places. Parallel to this, a police detective, Emma (Sacharissa Claxton), has resorted to alcohol to cope as her child has gone missing. Her life will become entwined with Sybil’s in the most horrendous way.

More important than the disturbing events, Broken Bird is an engrossing rumination on loss and grief, and the ways it affects people in different ways. These are people who have been through various traumas and deal with them in their own, often horrific, ways. It’s a testament to Mitchell’s direction and the layered script (by Dominic Brunt from an original story by Tracey Sheals) that, although their actions are extreme and despite their ‘peccadillos’, the characters still command sympathy.

For her feature debut, Mitchell has not opted for an easy watch. Both spellbinding and horrific, Calder plays Sybil as a twisted Amélie, visually waif-like and dispassionate while hiding a perverse urge. Igor Marović’s beautiful cinematography perfectly contrasts against the grim subject. We’ve followed Joanne Mitchell’s film work for a while – as an actor, writer, and producer – and Broken Bird cements her in a healthy position for things to come.

BROKEN BIRD screened at Pigeon Shrine FrightFest and is in UK cinemas from August 30th.