Friday 9 September 2016

Ranking the films from Frightfest 2016




After some pondering I thought it’ll be a good idea to rank the 25 films I saw at Frightfest 2016. Obviously, number 1 is the best film I saw. I’ll update this list as I see more films from this year’s festival when they’re released on DVD/VOD.

Looking at list I seem to have been rather positive throughout most of the festival as I positively reviewed 19 of the 25 films I saw.
 
Train to Busan – 5/5
Exciting, tense and deeply moving, quite simply one of the greatest zombie films ever made.

Beyond the Gates – 4.5/5
If Jumanji was a horror film, it would look like something Beyond the Gates. Engaging characters and a respectful treatment of 80s horror cinema makes this film a treat.

Pet – 4.5/5
A film with twists to die for, you think it’s going one way before taking a completely different direction.

They Call me Jeeg Rebot- 4/5
A potentially revolutionary Italian superhero film that could dictate the country’s cinematic output for years to come.

The Windmill Massacre – 4/5
A back to basics slasher but with a more in depth plot than simply a masked killer killing tourists.

Johnny Frank Garret’s Last Word – 4/5
An interesting, anti-capital punishment film that brings to the public attention a case of miscarriage of justice.

The Master Cleanse – 4/5
A strange film where the less you know the better the experience.

The Chamber – 4/5
Claustrophobic thriller where everything goes wrong at the bottom of the Yellow sea.

Realive – 4/5
A beautiful looking and moving film that examines what makes us human.

Let Her Out – 4/5
A Cronenberg style Canadian horror film led by a great performance from Alanna LeVierge.

Broken – 3.5/5
A powerful, brutal film heading for greatness…. until the film’s misjudged ending.

Director’s Cut – 3.5/5
An amusing meta horror film that can, occasionally, run the same joke into the ground.

My Father Die – 3.5/5
Brutal and vicious, the wonderful cinematography is excellent but the film’s jarring tone is somewhat questionable.

House on Willow Street – 3/5 
Fun albeit somewhat repetitive possession based horror.

Monolith – 3/5 
Despite being a great idea, it’s a film that doesn’t have the fuel to power it the entire journey.

Red Christmas – 3/5 
Questionable pro-abortion message aside, this is a lot of fun.

Mercy – 3/5
Great fun until the men and women behind the masks reveal their identities and motives.

The ReZort – 3/5
The cool premise goes a long way despite the standard zombie clichés.

Blood Feast – 3/5
A film so bad, it’s so bad it’s good.

Abattoir – 2.5/5
Cool ideas let down by a ‘meh’ execution.

Cell - 2.5/5
A mess of the film, but one that has moments where it’s enjoyable.

31 – 2.5/5
Lots of poor editing and shaky cam lessens the films impact and shock value. Richard Brake is a revelation though.

Downhill – 2.5/5
Chaotic and messy, a film that spends too much time ogling Natalie Burn’s arse.

Sadako vs Kayako – 2/5
It’s quite clear that the filmmakers have stopped taking both franchises seriously. It’s sad to see where these legendary horror monsters are now.

White Coffin - 1.5/5
It would have been a good film if everything was so shit (except the main plot which had great ideas).

5 comments:

  1. Oh, I fully endorse this list, though I liked "Broken" more than you and had quite the opposite reaction to "White Coffin". Nevertheless, I'm not really gonna argue with your objections either as I can easily see your point. It's fun just be a film-watching machine for several days, leaving reality just a negligible thing somewhere in the future, nothing to be worried about for a while. And the crowds are great. Been going for about 6 years now and it's always a treat.

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    1. I think the issue I had with White Coffin made have been something not to do with the film, i found the sound system really loud in the screening I saw it in but the other films didn't have that issue.

      This was my second year, but first full year.

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