Mayhem Film Festival
(2014)
Day 3: 1st
November 2014
Dead Snow 2: Red vs Dead
(2014)
IMDb genre:
Action/Comedy/Horror
Director:
Tommy Wirkola
Writer:
Stig Frode Henriksen, Vegar Hoel, Tommy Wirkola
Starring:
Vegar Hoel, Orjan Gamst, Martin Starr
Don’t
read this as putting down the first because I’m not but the sequel manages to
beat it. Far funnier, a grander scale and generally a little more polished.
General
Opinion:
Scare
Factor:
Gore:
Clowns:
Starry Eyes (2014)
IMDb genre:
Horror
Director:
Kevin Kolsch & Dennis Wydmer
Writer:
Kevin Kolsch & Dennis Wydmer
Starring:
Alex Essoe, Amanda Fuller, Noah Segan
Going
by her performance in this, Alex Essoe has a bright future in the genre as she
ensures the protagonist is fragile but still infinitely watchable. The film is
a slow burner and won’t give you all the answers you want but it’s a solid
watch and once the pace is picked up it will sweep you along with it.
General
Opinion:
Scare
Factor:
Gore:
Clowns:
Housebound (2014)
IMDb genre:
Comedy/Horror/Thriller
Director:
Gerard Johnstone
Writer:
Gerard Johnstone
Starring: Morgana
O’Reilly, Rima Te Wiata, Glen-Paul Waru
This
one was a very popular screening and for good reason; this film is hilarious. A
unique idea, a brilliant script and an outstanding cast mean it was probably my
favourite of the festival, I highly recommend it.
General
Opinion:
Scare
Factor:
Gore:
Clowns:
Scary Shorts (various)
The
rapid changes in tone due to watching several shorts at once was a little
jarring but I think a short gives a little more freedom and particularly in
horror that’s a good thing so check some out. There was some interesting work
with stop motion here and one hugely gross-out film in a mortuary.
The
Canal (2014)
IMDb genre:
Horror/Mystery/Thriller
Director:
Ivan Kavanagh
Writer:
Ivan Kavanagh
Starring:
Rupert Evans, Antonia Campbell-Hughes, Hannah Hoekstra
Before
the pieces fit together towards the end this was in some ways harder to figure
out than the sci-fi films of the weekend. You should persevere though as it’s
intriguing, well-shot, and has an ending that will stay with you for a while.
General
Opinion:
Scare
Factor:
Gore:
Clowns:
Stagefright: Aquarius (1987)
IMDb genre:
Horror/Thriller
Director:
Michele Soavi
Writer:
George Eastman & Sheila Goldberg
Starring: David
Brandon, Barbara Cupisti, Domenico Fiore
This
80’s slasher was a great end to the day; it is cliché, over the top and unintentionally
hilarious. The dancing owl man alone is worth your time.
General
Opinion:
Scare
Factor:
Gore:
Clowns:
Day 4: Sunday 2nd
November
Predestination (2014)
IMDb genre:
Drama/Mystery/Sci-Fi
Director:
Michael Spiereg & Peter Spiereg
Writer:
Michael Spiereg & Peter Spiereg
Starring:
Sarah Snook, Ethan Hawke, Noah Taylor
Your
brain will not be the same after you try and follow this one! Don’t let that
put you off though, the story is unique and enthralling, Sarah Snook is a
marvel and it does explain itself in the end.
General
Opinion:
Scare
Factor:
Gore:
Clowns:
ABCs of Death 2 (2014)
IMDb genre:
Comedy/Horror
Director:
Various
Writer:
Various
Starring:
Tristan Risk, Beatrice Dalle, Martina Garcia
If
you enjoyed the first selection you will like this one too; I’m not going to
pick fault with the first one but this effort is of a higher quality in my
opinion, although admittedly this might just be because there are different
directors and therefore different stories. I think it stands as a great
testament to those involved that the shorts are inventive and visually
thrilling enough to hold your attention for the whole running time and make
sure you check out the post-credits scene for added humour.
General
Opinion:
Scare
Factor:
Gore:
Clowns:
What We Do In The Shadows
(2014)
IMDb genre:
Comedy/Horror
Director:
Jemaine Clement & Taika Waititi
Writer:
Jemaine Clement & Taika Waititi
Starring:
Jemaine Clement, Taika Waititi, Jonny Brugh
This
one was a sell-out and for good reason, I have seen it again since so I’m working on
a full review but for now I’ll say it’s fantastic. Vampires and mockumentaries
are both quite over done but this film proves they can still be fresh and
funny.
General
Opinion:
Scare
Factor:
Gore:
Clowns:
Daughter of Horror (1955)
IMDb genre:
Horror/Mystery
Director:
John Parker
Writer:
John Parker
Starring:
Adrienne Barnett, Bruno VeSota, Ben Roseman
To
be honest this film just confused me and I wasn’t a fan, although the fact that
8mm Orchestra did a live score for this particular screening at least made it a
good experience. I’m sure the film was good for its time but it hasn’t aged
particularly well.
General
Opinion:
Scare
Factor:
Gore:
Clowns:
Monsters:
Dark Continent was shown as the closing film but I left after the horror quiz in
the bar (I had work on Monday, boo!). The first Monsters is one of my favourite
films though so I think I would have been very hard on this sequel.
I’m
looking forward to going to Mayhem again this year and I will try and be
organised with my review next time!
