Dark and intense Scottish thriller A Banquet plays on 5/6th March at the GFT for the Glasgow Film Festival, before going to cinemas and digital platforms on 11th March. Review coming soon
Cert 15, 97mins
Synopsis: A Banquet is an unsettling, thought-provoking and hyper-tense psychological thriller from director Ruth Paxton. The film stars Sienna Guillory (Resident Evil franchise, Luther), Jessica Alexander (Get Even), Ruby Stokes (Rocks, Bridgerton) and Lindsay Duncan (Birdman). Widowed mother, Holly (Guillory), is pushed to breaking point when her daughter Betsey (Alexander) develops an extreme eating disorder. She claims she has experienced a profound enlightenment where her body is in service to a higher power. Possessed by Betsey’s illness, her family are faced with an agonising dilemma, torn between love and fear, and Holly is forced to confront the boundaries of her own belief. A Banquet played at Toronto International Film Festival and The London Film Festival in 2021. Scottish director Ruth Paxton as well as British actors Sienna Guillory and Jessica Alexander will all be at the festival as well!
Three terrifyingly terrific titles play at FrightFest Glasgow 10-12th MARCH
First up is ace suspense You Are Not My Mother, playing on Friday 11th March at 20:45 ahead of its general release in UK cinemas and on Digital 8th April (Wildcard release in Irish Cinemas 4th March). Review coming soon
93mins
Synopsis: You Are Not My Mother is a creepy and unsettling psychological thriller deeply rooted in Irish folklore. Directed by Kate Dolan, this highly-anticipated chiller debuted at Toronto International Film Festival to great acclaim and stars Carolyn Bracken (Dublin Murders), Paul Reid (Vikings, Ritual) and Hazel Doupe (Calm with Horses). Char’s mother, Angela, has inexplicably disappeared. All that remains is her abandoned car. When she returns home without explanation the following evening, it becomes clear to Char and her grandmother, Rita, that something is amiss. She might look and sound the same, but Angela’s behaviour has become increasingly frightening, as if she has been replaced by a malevolent force. As Halloween night looms, a night steeped in ancient myth and legend, Char realises that she is the only one who can save her, even if it means potentially losing her forever. You Are Not My Mother won the Jury Prize at the 2022 Gérardmer International Fantasy Film Festival. Irish director Kate Dolan is also attending FrightFest.
Next comes the British made climbing horror The Ledge, playing at 13:00 on Saturday 12th March before its release on Digital Platforms 14th March and DVD 21st March.
Cert 15, 97mins
Synopsis: The Ledge is a high-concept, high-stakes, edge-of-your-seat action thriller starring Brittany Ashworth (Hostile) and Ben Lamb (Divergent, Now You See Me 2). Having retired to bed early to prepare for a dawn mountain ascent, Kelly (Brittany Ashworth) is woken by the screams of her friend Sophie, who had stayed up with a group of men they had met earlier. Desperate to get to her friend, Kelly runs deep into the forest using her GoPro to guide the way. She arrives just in time to see Sophie’s lifeless body being thrown over a ledge, a horror she captures on camera. Terrified, Kelly finds herself in a free-climbing chase up a freezing mountain, pursued by the group of murderous men after the evidence. If she’s to escape this deadly game of cat and mouse she must dig deep, do all she can to survive, and climb. Also starring Nathan Welsh (Trust Me). The Ledge is directed by Howard J. Ford (Never Let Go) from Tom Boyle’s script, and Howard will be at FrightFest!
Straight after The Ledge at 15:15 on Saturday, Signature treats us to the fun and violent Some Like it Rare, which goes to digital platforms 21st March.
Cert 15, 87mins
Synopsis: Your life is at steak in Some like it Rare – a hilarious French comedy with a dark twist. Sophie and Vincent’s small butcher shop is on the brink of bankruptcy and their marriage is falling apart. Their lives are turned upside down when Vincent accidentally kills a vegan activist who vandalized their shop. Overwhelmed and terrified of being accused of murder, their only solution is to get rid of the body by turning it into ham… To their surprise the ham is so popular that it may save their business… that is if they’re ready to keep hunting!
FRIGHTFEST COVERAGE
GLASGOW FILM FESTIVAL
Glasgow Film Festival 2022 will take place 2 – 13 March at Glasgow Film Theatre, Cineworld Renfrew Street and online at Glasgow Film At Home
