Glasgow FrightFest 2024 (In Capsule)

FrightFest, the UK’s premier festival for horror films, takes place three times during the year. Two of these take place in London, the main festival in August and another over Halloween. But before these, the Glasgow Film Theatre plays host to FrightFest for a weekend in March. This year, The Geek Show was on site to check out some of the offerings.

Across the days of the festival, films from Ireland, Turkey, the UK, Canada and the US vied to terrify and entertain. While the sub-genres ranged from creature feature to folk horror to body horror to home invasion to haunted house, there was a common theme of relationships. Relationships come in many varieties, and the films screened at FrightFest Glasgow explored the horrors and in some cases the heartwarming that comes from associations with others.

In the area of relationships between men and women, there was the UK premiere of Kill Your Lover, an increasingly fraught depiction of a literally toxic relationship. Told over the course of a single day with multiple flashbacks, this might be One Day or Blue Valentine directed by David Cronenberg. Dakota (Paige Gilmour) and Axel (Shane Quigley-Murphy) have been together for a while, but Dakota feels the relationship has run its course. Through flashbacks, we see that disagreements over domesticity, décor, money, and levels of independence have been inherent to the relationship since the start, and in doing so the film shines a light on male behaviour that curtails women’s vocabulary and expression and the fractures between people. Dakota’s wish to end things before they become toxic proves too late, as Axel comes home with an unexpected infection. Within the contained space of the apartment, and with a total of five characters, Alix Austin and Keir Stewart’s film offers a frank, raw and relatable presentation of modern relationships, with some seriously ick moments.

One of the frank aspects of Kill Your Lover is its depiction of sexuality, which despite a lack of male frontal nudity (are penises really so terrible?), the film still puts on screen a sense of chemistry and physical intimacy. Taking this up several notches is Custom, that received its world premiere at FrightFest Glasgow. Directed by Tiago Teixeira, Custom stars Abigail Hardingham as Harriet and Rowan Polonski as Jasper, a couple of artists in a non-monogamous relationship who earn a living and progress their respective art through sex tapes. BDSM sits comfortably alongside performance art, until an intermediary in the kink scene sets them up with a very particular client and things become less comfortable. Art, fetishism and fear interweave in this sensual and surreal deep dive, where incantations as well as intercourse lead to transcendent states that are in equal parts fascinating and disturbing. Feeling like a combination of Lost Highway, Martyrs and Censor, Custom not only depicts fetishism but also expresses a fetishistic interest in video tape. Much ascelluloid or the appearance of celluloid has become outré in our modern era of digital film, the video tape is reminiscent of a key time in horror and underground cinema, such as the Video Nasties of the early 1980s as well as the wider market which brought all manner of independent art to diverse audiences. Custom’s close-ups on the magnetic tape as well as the very abundance of the material create a deep fascination with this largely outdated technology, a physicality that adds to the changes undergone by the characters.

Custom presents a nuanced and involving presentation of what might be considered a non-traditional relationship. All You Need is Death features several relationships, beginning with a couple, Anna (Simone Collins) and Alex (Charlie Maher), partners in life as well as in crime, who use nefarious means to locate obscure Irish folk songs. As tends to happen when city people go searching for something in the old country, they get more than they bargain for. In concert with Agnes (Catherine Siggins) and then pursued by Breezeblock Concannon (Nigel O’Neill), past legends prove all too real, bodies and minds are taken over and recriminations become intense. Recalling A Dark Song as well as Possession, All You Need is Death, which received its world premiere at FrightFest Glasgow, is a fine addition to the sub-genre of Irish folk horror.

Romantic and well as family relationships are prominent in All You Need is Death. Family is a common source of horror and, as the name may imply, is central to Mom, that also received its UK premiere before a wider release. Like many an independent horror film, Mom is set almost entirely within the home, where new parents Meredith (Emily Hampshire) and Jared (Francois Arnaud) bring home their baby Alex. Such films are often set in new houses – see Insidious and Sinister – but this is not a new space for the family, rather the family is itself new with the addition of Alex. Director Adam O’Brien’s focus is very much on Meredith’s struggles with motherhood, Mom presenting the potentially radical idea that being a mother is a struggle and a burden. Meredith’s steady deterioration is matched by physical alterations in the house, often tied to moisture which recalls Dark Water and creates a drip-atmosphere of malevolence and melancholia. Spectral images keep the viewer guessing as to whether we are seeing the psychological or the supernatural, but never taking us away from a strong feeling of discomfort, expressed through oppressive visuals and an even more oppressive soundscape.

Familial relationships mixed with the professional provide foundational tension in Last Straw, a home invasion-style horror set in a rural diner. Manager / boss’ daughter Nancy (Jessica Belkin) has an unwelcome discovery before having to take over the night shift, during which things get nasty. Last Straw had its UK premiere as the last film of the festival, and it could have offered stark psychological and body horror to go with its mean-spiritedness, but the film lacks conviction as the various escalations happen with insufficient build-up or suspense. It was also not much fun, lacking the dark humour of Better Watch Out or Ready or Not. A pity, since a fractured narrative shows some intriguing creativity from director Alan Scott Neal.

A far more satisfying riff on the home invasion set-up is to be found in Wake Up, that could be fairly described as Home (Depot) Alone meets You’re Next. The relationships here are those of family, as two brothers, Kevin (Turlough Convery) and Jack (Aidan O’Hare) work as security guards at furniture and homeware store Ideal Home (not at all a stand-in for Ikea, of course not), and also belief, as six young activists target the store to protest the company’s role in deforestation. Unexpected consequences and escalation are key to directors Francois Simard, Anouk Whissell and Yoann-Karl Whissell’s approach here, as events spiral out of hand and things become increasingly and inventively gory. Looking at the traps, weapons and wince-inducing nastiness here, it is somewhat surprising that this location has not been used before. Connections between the two sets of characters are handled compellingly, especially between the activist’s leader Ethan (Benny O. Arthur) and newcomer Karim (Tom Gould). Meanwhile, Kevin is a terrifying presence, Convery’s massive frame and intense stare creating a new movie monster that may generate greater respect for men in uniforms.

Wake Up had its UK premiere at FrightFest and does a nice job of the modern with the primitive. Something else which does so while also combining romantic and platonic relationships is The Invisible Raptor, where Grant Walker (Mike Capes) has to manage things with his ex-partner Amber (Caitlyn McHugh) and dim-witted co-worker Denny (David Shackelford) when an invisible velociraptor goes on the loose. This is not a film that can be prosecuted under the Trade Descriptions Act, because there is indeed a raptor that is invisible, explained by the director Mike Hermosa because he wanted to have a dinosaur but could not afford the visual effects for it. Simple solution – it’s invisible! A plot reason is provided that is as flimsy as everything else in the film, but none of that matters with something as knowing, referential and outright funny as this. The references start from the beginning with title font that echoes Jurassic Park, followed by a character addressed as Dr Grant, ominous openings of doors, mention that ‘you’re need a bigger…’ and a location called Spielburgh. This is barely scratching the surface of the jokes, which come thick and fast without slowing down the action. The Invisible Raptor, premiering in the UK at FrightFest Glasgow, is a bit like an Asylum Studios version of Jurassic Park, but interestingly the invisible aspect means the viewer is not distracted by crappily generated imagery and the blood spatter and dismembered corpses actually look decent.

The strangest type of relationship forms the artery of the strangest film at the festival, The Funeral. This Turkish film by Orcun Behram follows Cemal (Ahmet Rifat Sungar), a hearse driver who is called upon to drive a body around for a while. This job turns out to be more complicated than anticipated, with Cemal encountering a variety of threats while also developing something of a relationship with his charge. To give more detail would be to give things away, but it is worth noting that this film combines elements from multiple genres while still feeling fresh and at times genuinely scary. The road trip aspect allows for eerie locations and atmosphere, while the gory scenes are visceral and relentless. The film also offers a chilly beauty in its mountain locations, once again imbuing familiar genre features with something distinct and innovative.

Speaking of scary, there were also some striking short films that screened before the features. These included Mouse, a harrowing cat and mouse trap thriller that makes great use of close quarters and genuine fears. There was also Subject 73, a chilling portrait of moral and empathetic choice. Relationships were central to these as well, albeit relationships between groups rather than individuals. This shared element highlights the multiple ways that horror can explore humanity, and the continued variety of great material that FrightFest presents from all sub-genres and filmmaking communities.

Vincent’s Archive – Glasgow Frightfest 2024