The Eleventh PictureShow

Contents

September 2012

September Features

Reviews Section

Page 4: The Dark Knight Rises Reviews

Page 24: Ted

Page 9: Great Expectations Page 12: FRIGHTFEST Feature

Regulars Page 3: Editor’s Note and Contributors Page 27: Things To See in September

Page 25: The Expendables 2 Page 26: Brave

Contributors Editor’s Note Editors

Joshua Hammond: Editor-in-Chief joshua@pictureshow-magazine.com

Dale Pearson: Editor

dale@ pictureshow-magazine.com

Words

Joshua Hammond Chris Binding Josh Sutherland Ben Ostell Iain Moss

Welcome Back to PictureShow Magazine What an issue we have for you this month!

After a brief month off, we have returned in a blaze of glory with a stupendous Festival feature from our regular contributor Chris Binding. With over 18 advanced previews and special screenings in the roundup it’s a fantastic piece for any big horror fans out there.

Elsewhere we have a selection of reviews for the latest Batman movie, The Dark Knight Rises, we felt that opinions varied far too much for the film to only be given one definitive review, so we have a selection from our esteemed bank of critics.

Online

There’s a brief piece on expectations working against reality and how the higher the anticipation is for a film, then the higher fall can be.

Like us on facebook Follow us @PictureShowMag

Finally we have our regular reviews section and a jam packed Things To See In September. Thanks for reading.

Joshua Hammond, Editor-in-Chief

Find us at pictureshow-magazine.com

THE DARK KNIGHT RISES REVIEWED SPOILERS AHEAD

AS ONE OF THE MOST WIDELY ANTICIPATED AND CRITICALLY LAUDED FILMS OF THE SUMMER. PICTURESHOW FELT IT WAS APT TO DEMONSTRATE THE VARYING OPINIONS ON THE DARK KNIGHT RISES USING DIFFERENT REVIEWERS AND OUR FAMED REVIEW GUIDE.

Say what you like about The Dark Knight Rises director Christopher Nolan, but it is impossible to deny that he is an incredibly hard worker. In the last seven years he has single-handedly re-defined what the big-budget American blockbuster can achieve. Since the release of the ground-breaking cult classic Memento, Nolan has co-written and directed four large-scale intellectual Blockbusters that have achieved huge critical and commercial success. By challenging audiences with sophisticated plots and themes in combination with assembling some of the best actors around, and placing all of this amongst some of the most mind-bending action sequences ever committed to film, Nolan has proved that modern big budget films do not have to be either meaningless superficial twaddle (see Michael Bay’s Transformers franchise) or sentimental escapism (Spielberg’s War Horse for example).

The Dark Knight Rises is the most recent example of Nolan’s refusal to pander to modern audiences, and is arguably one of his most powerful works.

Thematically, the film is as relevant and bitingly satirical as a superhero film will ever be. Some of the lines act as playful condemnations of the hypocrisy of the powerful and rich- one of which comes near the start when Bane replies to a stock broker’s plea that ‘there’s no money here to steal!’ with ‘Really?

Then why are you people here?’ It is small but frequent sections of dialogue such as this that remind us that Nolan wants us to see the themes of the film in relation to our own crumbling world. It is one of Nolan’s greatest achievements that throughout the trilogy the narrative has stayed faithful and committed to Batman, whilst also assuring that relevant themes and the moral grey areas of the real world are also explored with masterful sophistication. The films are less entertaining escapism, and more sophisticated audience confrontation.

Make no bones about it- this film acts as a damning allegory for modern America just as much as it celebrates the Batman legend. Let us hope that with this near-flawless blockbuster trilogy Nolan has inThe film is a spellbinding, emotionally draining spired a new generation of ambitious film-makers juggernaut of a blockbuster that sees the incred- to continue his trend of intelligent big-budget action ible ensemble cast thrive with the aid of a powerful films, although it is hard to see them making a bet(if a little too earnest) script and a desolate and at ter trilogy than this. JS times truly terrifying story. The Dark Knight Rises acts as a truly fitting and emotionally fulfilling climax to the Batman trilogy- a trilogy that arguably ranks amongst some of the best cinematic trilogies of all time.

There is a brilliant noir-like quality to the film, but yet an indescribable starkly bright, crisp realism to each shot. As a result of these apparently conflicting directorial techniques, the dark bleakness of Nolan’s Gotham is made truly disturbing through the creation of a strong sense of reality to the desolation.

The cast of Bale, Hardy, Cotillard, Caine, Hathaway, Gordon-Levitt, Oldman and Freeman must surely be one of the best cinematic ensembles put together in recent memory. They portray the story with a pitch-perfect tone, and although in the first half the film’s exposition of plot and themes are, at times, needlessly clunky, the actors handle it well and draw the audience into the story with huge skill and emotional intelligence. The performances in combination with Hans Zimmer’s typically thunderous score do truly immerse us in the dark few months of ‘Gotham’s reckoning’.

Let’s face it; summer 2012 has been quite lacklustre in terms of the regular blockbusters that appear when the sun comes out. Blame a lack of originality, blame the economy, blame the lack of bloody Harry Potter, but the excitement of a summer at the movies was notably absent The Avengers assembled, Spider-Man swung, and Prometheus pretty much fizzled out. Thank God then, for Christopher Nolan and thank God for his spin on Batman which has happily put all memory of 1997’s Batman and Robin in the dust. The Dark Knight Rises isn’t just a by the numbers blockbuster, this is a modern-day epic.

So is Rises perfect? Hell no. The Joker in the pack is definitely the strongest of Nolan’s trilogy, and the realistic world created for that seems to have been forgotten in favour of a Gotham that is all seedy bars and seedier congressmen, where a rag-tag crew lead by a man in a strange mask has set up camp in the sewers for reasons known pretty much only to the man himself, Bane. And unfortunately Tom Hardy’s Bane is a bit of a problem. He’s menacing, certainly, but the audience isn’t really treated to enough knowledge of him to really get much of a sense of threat. He turns Gotham into a warzone, yet we never get the suspense from, say, the ferry scene in The Dark Knight. Bane’s voice, which was only given in cool-sounding snippets in the advertising, doesn’t really match his movements or his eyes. The opening doesn’t live up to the expertly chaotic bank-heist from TDK and the heavyweights that the film should rely on such as Morgan Freeman, Michael Caine and Gary Oldman are shamefully underused.

But this isn’t their film. This isn’t Bane’s film. This isn’t even Batman’s film (he only appears in costume three times). This film belongs to Bruce Wayne, and rightly so. From the off, we see his mental anguish has turned physical, and he has to support himself with a cane. Bale gives a mesmerising dedicated performance of a man who has purposefully shut himself out. It isn’t until the appearance of one Selina Kyle (a surprisingly fantastic Anne Hathaway) that he

faces up to going outside again, before being embroiled in a series of events that will cripple him not just financially, but literally. It is here that the film kicks it up a notch, sending Wayne out of a Gotham he can no longer save. Batman and Gotham are broken, and there really is a sense of Bruce Wayne’s hopelessness throughout the first couple of acts.

Although pushing over two and a half hours, the movie never drags - quite the opposite in fact - especially in the first act where the pace does move too quickly for any real tension to be established. A lot is made of Batman being out of action for eight years but when he finally does don the cape and cowl, it is with little ceremony. Despite these flaws this film is pure unabashed entertainment that’s not scared to be intelligent. With characters this intriguing and sequences so spectacular it’s difficult to take your eyes away from the screen. It’s moody, it’s flawed, but dammit it’s impressive. Kind of like a certain billionaire superhero. BO

The ultimate problem with Christopher Nolan’s epic conclusion to The Batman Series most probably lies with the director himself. Over the decade, from film to film, Nolan has shown ingenuity and increasing directorial flare, but not here. In many ways, the film almost acts as a redressed Inception, and whilst it’s hard to exactly defend that as a criticism, there is a definite lack of appropriateness, when considering the Batman subject material.

The Dark Knight Rises has the same tone, the same pace, the same look and the same nerve destroying music as Inception and so, what’s actually new? Well, only the plot and characters; the former is fine but the latter is lacking.

Bane fails to live up to expectations. Tom Hardy is impressive physically but Bane lacks all of the character that the Joker has. Bane is probably meant to be emotionless, but this acts as a huge backfire because it makes him rather uninteresting, meaning he brings none of the presence needed when it comes to Batman’s greatest foe.

This, however, is not the worst thing about The Dark Knight Rises. What makes this film so very average is the fact that it has no style whatsoever. It has a reasonably good storyline with at least some great characters and awesome action sequences, but that is not the same thing as style. The Dark Knight Rises is closer to Michael Bay’s Transformer films than anything else, and that is not a good thing. The constancy of the action never allows the film to tap into some higher sense of filmmaking. There is always some heavy duty action happening in the Batman universe. If Batman isn’t beating someone up then Bane is. If Bane isn’t murdering someone then Selina Kyle is beating someone up.

And if in some rare moment where none of this is happening, fear not, because a minor character is probably fighting for their life.

The problem with this is that it doesn’t actually allow for any suspense in the film; it’s go-gogo all the time, underscored by the continuous soundtrack of Richter scale bass. This is occasionally intercut by the few moments when the characters stop and talk to each properly, and

these are the best bits of the film, but sadly they are too uncommon. Even given that this is supposed to be an action-packed superhero film, it still craves some subtlety, and ultimately lacks in fluctuation in tone.

The film is not awful, but in over playing the action, it descends into the realm of the ridiculous; case in point - the two armies charging at each other with automatic machine guns and then proceeding to have a war of fisticuffs whilst keeping a respectful circle around Bane and Batman so they can duel. Superhero films have supposed to have moved on from this nonsense, but apparently not. Inception suited this tone of near constant action because the premise was a race against time and the action built gradually in stages, until it reached an amazing climax.

The Dark Knight Rises attempts the same effect but fails, maybe because the race against time takes five bloody months, or maybe because the climax never really happened. IM

The Dark Knight Rises is the weakest of Christopher Nolan’s trilogy, it falls into a similar trap that many other final instalments of beloved series have done. While Wally Pfister’s cinematography may be utterly spectacular and various set pieces look wonderful on the big screen (the bigger the screen the better, IMAX’s massive screen and more powerful speakers give the images a real grandeur) the plot of the movie is tired, misjudged and completely without any integrity. As you already know, The Dark Knight Rises is set eight years after the events of The Dark Knight and Bruce Wayne has been suffering with the loss of his mobility and the love of his life, Rachel Dawes. Batman is called back into action after a masked mercenary with ties to the League of Shadows, Bane, begins to terrorise Gotham City. However, multiple storylines begin to play out during the course of the film, Bruce Wayne has not one, but two new love interests regardless of his pining for Rachel, there are convoluted financial power plays at Wayne Enterprises that involve stolen fingerprints and kidnapped senators.

The Dark Knight Rises has to be judged on its own merits and not reduced because of the successes of its predecessor; however The Dark Knight is a good measure. Undoubtedly the strongest point of the series, The Dark Knight only has to introduce the audience to two new characters, Harvey Dent and The Joker - one for the good guys and one for the bad.

In The Dark Knight Rises an almost entirely new set of characters is introduced; Bane, Selina Kyle, Miranda Tate, John Blake and John Daggett all come into play, with a limited amount of screentime, not helped by all the other new minor characters and big established characters also at work. As such it is hard to get these individuals beyond anything other than stock characters.

There has also been the conscious decision to set the majority of the The Dark Knight Rises during the daytime to add a symbolic element to the “Night is darkest just before the dawn” speech from Harvey Dent in The Dark Knight. However, setting Batman in the daytime makes him look utterly ridiculous, and in fact renders his costume void. Why dress like an imposing bat if you’re not imposing anybody? Just throw on any old mask and some body armour a la Bane.

The massive cast also leaves less room for a cohesive storyline, characters just “know” things without any convincing explanation as to why or how

they do. Actions aren’t given motives and things just have a tendency to just … happen. With Inception, Christopher Nolan trusted audiences with big, abstract themes, a very complicated plot and established reason behind the actions. The Dark Knight Rises doesn’t do this. There is also a lack of any emotional payoff for those who have devoted a great deal of time to the series. For a plot involving a nuclear bomb, turf wars, a Mercenary pumped full of steroids and corporate espionage, there is a surprising lack of fatalities. The character of Bane has been dreadfully mishandled by previous Batman movies (yes Batman & Robin we’re looking at you) but The Dark Knight Rises doesn’t do much better, by the end of the movie Bane is rendered a little toothless and the audience has less respect for him. As such, the film does not hold up to multiple viewings.

For all of it’s posturing about the state of financial excess and the dangers of scary corporations as well as shady organisations, The Dark Knight Rises is purely a work of excess. It’s very pretty, it has a fantastic cast even in the smaller roles, and yet this means nothing. All of the good work done by Batman Begins and The Dark Knight is undone due to a staggering lack of artistic courage. While the final shot of the movie ties the three films together through the symbolic nature of Batman, it still rings hollow at the end of a series that had the potential to be knockout. JH

Great Expectations Why do good films feel worse when we wanted something different?

JOSHUA HAMMOND

H

One of the key problems is that these big tentpole releases during the summer are often part of a larger series with a hardcore element in the audience. This hardcore bunch are devoted enough to always ensure that they see what the Studio releases. This is down to their own loyalty to the characters and the amount of time they have invested in an extended storyline outside of the cinema. Good examples of this are The Avengers and The Dark Knight Rises, both are part of a larger storyline, both were preceeded by huge hits in previous years and both now have an extremely loyal fanbase that know the series inside and out. While studios love the guaranteed cash flow a new film from the Marvel Universe can generate, the fans can (and almost inevitably will) lash out if the plot or the characters don’t develop in the way that they perceive to be correct or inkeeping with the series.

ow often have you been to the cinema with no particular film in mind and just wandered into the nearest screen with no ideas, preconceived notions or expectations weighing on your head?

If you’re anything like PictureShow’s writers you rarely do, but is this may be inhibiting our ability to fully enjoy going to the cinema. Day after day, we trawl the internet looking for news, trailers and exclusive photos to whet out appetite for upcoming releases and as such we often go into the cinema expecting something very specific. Often films live up, or down, to our expectations though occasionally they either surpass or fall short of them. So why do good films feel worse when they don’t live up to our expectations and mediocre films appear better for a lack of them?

This is not just a problem for the big, boistrous blockbusters of the Summer, smaller films with a This Summer has seen some of the biggest releases perceived high amount of talent behind them also in history, both in terms of scale and budget but come in for a great deal of stick. When it is thought also in terms of fan excitement and overall box of- that a cast or director aren’t working as well as fice takings. The one unifying factor between the they should, then the result can be dissatisfaction. superhero movies, the science fiction films and the The recent Bel Ami, was a good example of this, animated comedies is that the expectations held by the budget for the film was only 9million regardless fans and the general public have been staggeringly of its impressive cast. The cast, however, was part high. The Dark Knight Rises, Prometheus, The Hun- of the problem. The actors involved had a great ger Games, John Carter and The Amazing Spider- amount of respect, and though they had previously Man all had massive fan followings prior to release, done sterling work, were not creating the perforif these films didn’t live up to the expectations on the mances needed to allow the drama to appear reaudience can they be deemed a failure? alistic.

The cast and the director can be enough to sell a film to the audience, Christopher Nolan’s films will rarely fail to find funding because there is a certain demographic that are familiar with his work and will pay to see anything he releases. Inception may have had one of the most mind-bending plots in recent years, including big and small releases, but on the basis of Nolan’s name and the talented cast at work the film secured a massive $160million budget. Emerging in cinemas without the momentum of previous installments to propel it, Inception was a massive hit and a talking point for weeks and months after release. If Christopher Nolan was to ever create a sub-par work, would it be all the worse because he had been so good up until that moment? Or, do our own opinions about specific crew members make it harder to accept they misstepped?

A more timely example is this year’s The Amazing Spider-Man, while the film may have had its detractors prior to release the expectation for the film was incredibly high before any reviewers or members of the audience had seen it. The Amazing Spider-Man had a fantastic cast and crew behind it, critics were extremely excited by the prospect of a younger more Peter Parker led Spider-Man film with Marc Webb at the helm following his massive success with (500) Days Of Summer. The cast reads like a Who’s Who of up ‘n’ comers and highly in-demand actors such as Andrew Garfield, Emma Stone, Rhys Ifans and Martin Sheen. With such a high calibre of cast and crew, and expectations set high, the result felt rather disappointing.

What also appears to be a massive factor in raising the hopes and expectations of the cinema goin public is the amount of time between releases.

Some of the biggest disappointments in recent years have been releases that came after a long period of time and failed to maintain the momentum that was going with the series. The Godfather Part III came 16 years after Part II and is widely regarded to be a high watermark or dashed hopes.

The Phantom Menace arrived on screens in 1999, again 16 years after the last installment of the series and utterly obliterated the series for many.

It is hard to judge what will be seen as a massive disappointment in year to come, largely it depends on the viewer but with a great cast and crew, or a big franchise pushing a project forward then any fall in quality from previous work is likely to cause a major upset both from fans and critics who have come to expect more.

Top 5 Sad Realities.

The Phantom Menace The Phantom Menace is part of one of the largest film franchises in movie history. The weight of fanboy expectation was crushing after a massive 16 years since Return Of The Jedi had wrapped up the series. Big name stars such as Ewan McGregor and Liam Neeson both had masses of acting credibility, even the casting of Natalie Partman was intriguing after her performance in Leon.

The Godfather Part III Another 16 year gap, another huge series, though for different reasons, the first two Godfather films were masterclasses in acting and directing. The third chapter should have been magnificent, maintaining the director and stars from the first installments The Godfather Part III buckled under the weight of its predecessors.

Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein Possibly not a film everyone considers to be a massive disappointment, but in PictureShow’s eyes the 1994 adaptation of Mary Shelley’s masterpiece Frankenstein or The Modern Prometheus was devastating. The Frankenstein name evokes nostalgia for almost anybody, Kenneth Branagh was in the director’s chair and on screen alongside Robert DeNiro and Ian Holm. Where did this go so wrong?

The Kingdom of The Crystal Skull If George Lucas hadn’t shattered your childhood with The Phantom Menace and it’s lacklustre sequels, he certainly did a number on it with Indiana Jones and The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull.

Bringing back the big players from the original series, Steven Spielberg, Harrison Ford and Karen Allen while adding Cate Blanchett and John Hurt got our hopes up so high only to destroy them.

Godzilla Godzilla is a catestrophically bad movie, though we were excited about it for a time. Roland Emmerich wasn’t quite the master of destruction he is seen as now, having just released Independence Day. An American version of Godzilla seemed like a great idea, throw in Jean Reno and we have a winner. Unfortunately not. Lets hope Gareth Edwards can do better in 2014.

FRIGHTFEST 2012

As huge horror fans, we always keep one eye on the screenings at Frightfest in London. This year we sent Chris Binding to the chapel of gore to give our readers the most comprehensive roundup of the CHRIS BINDING festival.

In its humble origins in London PrinceCharles cinema in 2000, a group of like –minded journalists created a festival which premiered Scary Movie, twisted Japanese shocker Audition and sci-fi horror Pitch Black. It gathered together a small group of horror enthusiasts who brought their overt passion for the genre into the multiplex and out onto the streets. Since then, Frightfest has grown exponentially; attracting huge sponsors including Film 4, inviting horror legends such as George A Romero, Tobe Hooper and Guillemero Del Toro and becoming a worldwide hub of creativity, nurturing the rising talent in the industry and hosting a huge range of international premieres and special events. This specific year was a special anniversary ‘Film 4 Frightfest the 13th’ and upon attendance I became aware of the festivals actual legacy, with many fellow film –goers having attended for ten years or more. Remarkably, the festival is still run by the same journalists who started it, continuingly providing fans with their original mission statement ‘to show the films you want to see, get the guests you want to meet, and ask the questions you want answering’ and from my experience of the festival this year it seems that despite the huge pressure of sponsors and international attention, they refuse to sell –out. This year was no different with guests including Italian horror legend Dario Argento and special effects guru Greg Nicotero, along with an intimidating guest list of international directors, actors and recognisable faces. As if the impressive roster of international world premieres and UK Premieres wasn’t enough, Frightfest provided exclusive previews of upcoming films in production,a Horror Channel sponsored shorts programme of the rising generation of new horror directors (including a monster movie with giant snails Gargols!), riveting Q and A’s, tonnes of exclusive memorabilia

and a annual quiz hosted by actor and scholar Andy Nyman ; along with older movies such as Clive Barker’s Nightbreed being re –released with new footage in the ‘Cabal –Cut’. Alongside this menagerie, Frightfest is also characterised by its wacky alternative events, with this year giving festival pass owners a bit of quality stand-up drama in the form of Ross Noble calling out Frankie Boyle (who turned up the following day), a screening of Inbred having a live DVD commentary by the cast and crew and the re–discovery screen, where classic re –issues of horror movies are screened and where you most likely to see horror writer and famous journalist Kim Newman strutting his stuff. Despite the films, special events and guest appearances, the biggest impact of the festival is the atmosphere, with horror icons, journalists and aficionado’s mingling in the lobby and smokers area between screens with none of the egos and condescending superiority that can characterise most red – carpet festival shindigs; and is hence the perfect place to network both at a personal and professional level. In contrast to the other film festivals I have attended in the past, Frightfest is the most enjoyable and collectively welcoming festival I have experienced and as it continually grows in scale every year and a sense of nostalgic resentment of the ‘good ole days’ rings out amongst many older fans, I fear I have may have turned up a little late for the party. Nevertheless, as long as the festival stays true to its ethics and continues to provide such a diverse and stimulating programme, it is one of the most important festivals in the yearly calendar and a cultural Valhalla for horror fans, collectors and aspiring journalists. Whether queuing overnight for tickets in the ‘sleepy queue’, or frantically buying them online release day, try the festival out and get involved in its prestigious history. You will not regret it.

Tower Block

Chained

From Towering Inferno to The Raid, high rise apartment blocks are a staple setting for thrillers and as the closing world premiere of Frightfest, Severance writer James Moran’s Tower Block demonstrated that it is still possible to make effective thrillers on a relatively low budget. The plot follows the tenants living on the top floor of ‘Serenity House’ tower block as the last people in the building to be re –housed before the building is demolished. As a breeding ground for crime, violence and even murder, the inhabitants live in fear on a day to day basis, that is, until they find themselves under attack from a un- known sniper. With the exits blocked, building booby trapped and a series of strange notes saying ‘see no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil’ the disparate tenants find they have no other choice than to band together, work out the killers motives and find away to escape. With the shooter off screen for the majority of the film, Tower Block is essentially a tense character drama with a strong central performance from Sheridan Smith , with the misdemeanours of drug dealer (Russell Tovey) treading the fine line between likeable comedy and brutal criminality. The script is also very well written, with believable relationships and group dynamics alongside self –referential gags, including a Call of Duty obsessed teen aiding the group with his encyclopaedic knowledge of gun specifications.

The film also makes incredibly effective use of off –screen antagonist, intertwining a sense of constant tension and mystery alongside some visceral unexpected death scenes; with an opening scene involving the cross–cut assault of the all inhabitants simultaneously. However, for a film based around a skilled sniper, potential is wasted for more elaborate booby traps and effective splatter chaos; this is especially evident in the finale, which is nothing more than a drenched contrast to the incredible opening scene. Although Tower Block is a well oiled machine of a thriller with James Moran’s signature comic off –shoots, it was a poor closing film to Frightfest, most likely achieving the programmed slot because of the writers, producers and directors involved. In contrast to films such as Maniac and Sleep Tight it is a somewhat forgettable flick but due to the quality of writing, direction and ingenious concept, should do very well upon wider release.

For a film that revolves around the cyclical way that ‘monsters are born’ by being passed down from generation to generation, the phrase ‘like father, like son’ has a malevolent relevance, or, in the case of Jennifer Lynch - ‘Like father like daughter’. As an individual whose father needs no introductions, the director has established herself within the horror genre, dealing with similar themes of the darker side of the American imagination. Her latest film, Chained, deals with a terrifying true story of a boys trip to the movies leading to a decade long imprisonment under the ‘father – figure’ of a sadistic, sado–masochist woman-killer. Kidnapped in a fake taxi and forced to watch his mother killed before being chained to a bed and forced to bury the victims’ bodies, years pass and death and domination become routine. As he comes of age and is deemed worthy of becoming a killer himself, by his captor, the reluctant protégé must make a choice between escape and becoming a killer himself.

In the role of the captor Law and Order: Criminal Intent star Vincent D’Onofrio paints a portrait of a serial killer. He displays a mixture of terrifying and paternal authority and a disturbing mundane attitude to the seasoned cycle of killing and kidnapping. D’Onofrio manages to produce empathy, raising hard questions concerning family abuse that could present him as a misunderstood victim of his own upbringing. And for a serial killer film of the HENRY tradition , the real punch lies not in the violence but the psychological terror, with off – screen deaths and the relationship between Bob and his surrogate son oscillating between ‘love’ and involuntary violence. A brash twist in the final act (which divided audiences) also sheds light onto the wider context of nature/nurture debate, while forcing audiences to re-assess who the real ‘monster is’. Dark, uncompromising and a little too realistic at some points, Chained is a depressing movie that demonstrates that where the Lynch family are concerned, psychological horror , existential terror and American nightmares will always be on the menu.

Berberian Sound Studio

REC 3

Many people know very little of the Italian horror sub –genre ‘giallo’, a hybrid of crime, mystery and eroticism; with other films in the Frightfest programme such as Paura 3D, modern giallo Tulpa and the Italian master Dario Argento in attendance; this in many ways was the year of homaging classic Italian horror. Thus it seemed relevant that Total Film magazine’s sponsored film this year was postmodern pastiche Berberian Sound Studio, a psychedelic and psychological delve into the mood and soundscapes of Italian horror cinema. Set at the height of Giallo and classic Argento (1976), the film follows the English protagonist Gilderoy (Toby Jones), an introverted sound engineer from Dorking, who travels to Italy to work on horror film Equestrian Vortex by exploitation horror maestro Giancaro Santini. While composing horror sounds from hacked vegetables, mixing screams and dubbing the film in this alien environment, life starts to imitate art as the boundries between the film and reality subvert in a maelstrom of psychedelic sound and image. Although many of the more obscure references may be lost on most, the film does pay homage to the Italian genre by exploring its production (recording chainsaw noises from a food processor) , recruiting actual stars from giallo classics to the film’s sound booth; while also parodying the ridiculous plots of the said films, inflated auteur egos of horror directors and getting meta with the shift between Italian and English subtitles , simulating the chaotic projected experience of seeing sleazy exploitation films in cinemas at the height of their popularity. Despite having a quite classical narrative at first glance, it soon descends into an existential dream of eroticism, hellish sounds and frivolous attempts to claim expenses, with the films peculiar lack of external shots adding to the sense of claustrophobia. As both a celebration and deconstruction of the Italian horror genre, the film is a visual and audible feast (especially through the sound system of the THX Leicester square auditorium) and although there seemed to be a dichotomy between the positive critical reception and confused silence of the Frightfest audience, Berberian Sound Studio’s originality , concept and intelligent pastiche shine through, although it would probably be best appreciated further with a knowledge detailed nuances of the Italian horror genre. A niche fan film if there ever was one made for and in direct dialogue with the type of horror aficionados populating Frightfest.

In the hotbed of zombie movies and handheld camera based horror, Jaume Belgeuro’s REC series emerged as a fresh take on the contagion movie.

It follows a film crew’s descent into hellish terror after the spread of a disease leaves them trapped inside a apartment building at the mercy of violent wraiths. Where the first sequel expanded the ‘zombie’ ethos to a wider possession based context, REC 3 shifts the franchise in a drastic new direction from straight horror to cult ‘zom–rom-com’. The early promotional posters circulated the humorous image of a bloodied bride with a chainsaw . Under a new director (Paco Plaza) the film follows the farcical separation of a bride and groom after their wedding’s descent to chaos and the subsequent attempts of the two to find each other. The other drastic shift involves the self – referential transition from hand –held to classical editing, which plays with expectations in the hand- hand opening with the hilarious concept of a edited DVD wedding video. For a franchise built upon and reliant on hand –hand camera, this conceptual shift is remarkably jarring and takes a while to adjust. However, this act is potentially a creative reaction to the way the REC series’ pretensions to realism have become trivialised by a focus on camerawork (parodied by a ‘cinema verite’ wedding photographer with a OTT stedicam rig) with the act of the re-inventing the franchise as a testament to the strength of the narrative concepts.

Alongside a few inclusions to the REC mythos, including religious elements and supernatural reflections, the lack of hand held ‘shaky cam’ removes a sense of peril and gives the film a strange leisurely pace filled with ridiculous moments. From Braindead –esque creative zombie deaths , a children’s entertainer dressed in a spongebob squarepants suit talking about copyright disputes and an ending that gives a new meaning to ‘you may kiss the bride’ , the UK premiere went down a storm with the audience in raucous laughter throughout. Although this change may divide many REC fans, thankfully the original director Jaume Belgeuro’s is returning for the final chapter subtitled ‘Apocalypse’ with a self – confessed concern to return to straight horror with an epic scale. For what it’s worth, REC 3 is the Evil Dead 3 of the franchise, with the requisite steel jaw heroics, knights in shining armour and hyper – real violence. Although it was unconvincing as a ‘REC movie’, it is a welcome alternative for a franchise becoming increasingly characterised by repetition.

American Mary

Nightmare Factory

In 2009 twin directors Jen and Sylvia Soska released exploitation gold Dead Hooker In A Trunk attracting the help of devoted fan, director and actor Eli Roth (Hostel, Cabin Fever) which, along with their ‘attractive, scantily clad twin’ gimmick gained them worldwide attention. In their first visit the UK so called ‘Twisted Sisters’ are actually annoyingly likeable, with over exaggerated personalities and dressed in the signature leather aprons that characterised the lead actress in their new film American Mary. Described as a ‘metaphor for the Soska’s journey through independent film industry’ American Mary chronicles the journey of trainee surgeon Mary (Katherine Isabelle) and her disillusion with the medical profession, with financial problems leading her into the twilight world of ‘body modification’ and underground surgeries, where flesh artists pay anything to get their unusual procedures done illegally. Re –inventing herself as Bloody Mary, she soon finds her new profession leaves irreversible scars on her psyche as she becomes infatuated with the sado–masochistic practices she performs. From subplots of date–rape, women committing surgery to de – sexualise themself and the Soska sisters appearing themselves in a cameo as high–end clients seeking surgery to become ‘demons’; the film raises a lot of questions about gender and identity and the role of body modification as both a counter–cultural rebellion and a sexually empowering process.

A surprising shift away from the low budget, grainy quality and the pulp plot of their debut, American Mary is a remarkable success in terms of production, narrative pacing and visceral gore, with one revenge scene resembling a certain famous moment from Takeshi Miike’s Audition , complete with suspension hooks. With no personal expectations for their new film, based on their trashy exploitation roots, American Mary‘s bizarre concept and outlandish tone is hard to not fall in love with, much like the ‘Twisted Sisters themselves’. Although the Eli Roth accolades may have been influential in their discovery, American Mary should be the flagship to establish them as directors and help them transcend their gimmicky public personas.

Alongside the original cast of Clive Barker’s Nightbreed and Italian maestro Dario Argento, another influential guest was in attendance at 2012 receiving a lifetime achievement award from none other than Simon Pegg. The man, the myth and the legend was indeed Greg Nicotero, who quit medical school in 1989 to pursue a career in horror on the set of George A Romero’s Day of the Dead under horror effects legend Tom Savini. With a career of superfluous gore and effects credits his created company ‘KNB EFX Group’ has become one of the most prolific makeup studios in the world , working across many genres of feature films from (Inglorious Basterds, Chronicles of Narnia) to broadcast television (The Walking Dead). Documentary Nightmare Factory chronicles both the development of the man but also the resurgence of practical effects in cinema, from a small band of bohemian metal head / gore hounds living in squalor in L.A in the 1980s to the intense complex studio productions of today. Seeing the universe through Nicotero’s eyes, Nightmare Factory explores the artistic skill, commitment and co-ordination involved in effects production complimented by an eclectic mix of talking heads and collaborators including Quentin Tarantino, Frank Darabont, John Carpenter, George A Romero and more. From behind the scenes footage of tomfoolery and huge compilations of clips, the films is a punchy, humour punctuated horror fans wet dream. Alongside the humour and historical chronicling of filmic technology it also theorises the future of practical effects in the wake of CG wondering which individuals will carry the bastion after the current special - effects legends themselves disappear (Need we forget the recent death of Stan Winston). With an Empire Magazine endorsed interview later in the festival fleshing out Nicotero’s own opinions and an amiable and likeable man in person, Nightmare Factory is an immensely entertaining account of Nicotero and the pivotal individuals who carved out their names n the history of horror cinema and the influential technological ‘new –wave’ they produced, that hopefully will survive and avoid being completely usurped by cost effective studio favoured CG.

Dead Sushi

V/H/S

When you have festival pass and you’re watching on average of six realistic feature films a day about incest, child rape and women giving themselves abortions with coat hangers it’s understandable to get a bit depressed about the future of humanity.

However the Frightfest programmers have evidently remedied this potential horror induced nihilism by dipping into the bizarre horror–comedy cinema of Japan with the glorious Dead Sushi, chronicling the riveting tale of corporate corruption, family tradition and wait for it... reanimated killer sushi. When character Keiko is disowned by her sushi chef father, she finds work in a hotel catering to the upmarket business sector and when a pharmaceutical company hire the venue for a party a crazed employee returns to enact his revenge, possessing a serum that infects the sushi the party turning it into hordes of critters hungry for human flesh. In the face of great peril, Keiko and her anthropomorphised egg sushi roll ‘eggy’ fight against tuna headed ninja’s, California roll battleships and vinegar rice spewing zombies in a ridiculous , hyper–violent sushi holocaust. Alongside the fishy violence and egg yolk kisses the film often shifts from the sheer bizarre to gnomic philosophy and practical tips of how to appreciate sushi properly, as one of the only food based horrors (an actual sub –genre) that leaves you with a desire to fill your stomach with the said cuisine. Concepts such as the suspension of disbelief were never really made for films like Dead Sushi, but if you can entertain the thought of axe wielding tuna headed monster, feeling genuinely upset that a piece of egg on some rice has ‘died’ and corporate types eating sushi resembling 80s stock brokers taking cocaine, then this is most definitely the film for you, with more sushi based puns than you can wave your chopsticks at.

One of the most anticipated films of Frightfest, the hot –tipped hit from Sundance film festival 2012, was the terrifying horror anthology V/H/S (Video.

Horror.Shorts). It follows in the collaborative tradition of Creepshow - a found footage film involving six horrific stories by six acclaimed directors. Tied together in a loose framing story of teens stumbling upon a host of video tapes in an abandoned house, the individual stories are both terrifying while also pushing ‘hand –held’ horror genre in exciting new directions. From a date–rape shocker morphing into a demonic fantasy, a horrific Skype conversation, a Grand Canyon road trip , a different kind of slasher and a old fashioned poltergeist story, the individual segments are unpredictable and riveting, reversing genre conventions and using hanheld cinematography in inventive ways. While the directors involved Adam Wingard (You’re Next), Glenn McQuaid (I Sell The Dead) Radio Silence (The Teleporter) , David Bruckner (The Signal), Joe Swanberg (Silver Bullet) and Ti West (The Innkeepers) produce an eclectic mix of unexpected tales, the framing story itself is a little weak but does little to undermine the overall power of the piece. It’s also interesting to notice that since The Blair Witch Project popularised ‘hand–held camera’ horror, there has been a shift to the self –cannibalisation of the hand –held movie genre from ‘reality’, to pastiche and experimentation an in many ways the collective minds behind this project and it’s ensuing popularity at the festival demonstrate that there’s still life in the old dog yet. In the tradition of all the great horror anthologies before it, it’s collaborative nature , range of styles and frantic immediacy is an exciting showcase of some of the more underrated horror directors working in the industry today.

Grabbers

Stitches

Getting palatic drunk and fighting giant octopus type creatures sounds appealing at the best of times and although for many of us it will remain a wild dream, a certain Irish movie has risen from the icy depths to fill this gap in the market. Coming straight from a popular run at Sundance film festival and playing domestically in Ireland, Grabbers is a hilarious potentially cult movie, which director Jon Wright describing it as a Carpenter/ Speilberg homage to the effects and monster driven blockbusters of the eighties. The plot is incredibly classical: a meteor hits, alcoholic policeman overcomes his problem through adversity, romantic sub plot develops and a toothless Irish coot spouts all the best comedic lines . However the brilliant and original twist revolves around the characters accidently discovering that the aliens only need blood and water to survive and that high blood alcohol will kill them, leading to a hilarious finale where everyone gathers in the local pub to get smashed and prepare for the final battle. In a strange hybrid of horror and comedy owing a lot to Tremors, the actors also manage the impressive feat of making their characters transcend Irish stereotypes with the film subsequently progressing into a glorious pastiche of every great monster movie of the eighties, from Critters to Gremlins. Speaking of monsters, the outstanding design and animation of the CG creatures (courtesy of Paddy Eason) are integral in elevating the film from the bottomless deaths of Rodger Corman’s mega sharks and giant ‘gatorpus’s’ characterising modern monster movies , with many impressive manifestations of the creature appearing, from the Critters esque little tinkers to the towering behemoth of the final act. As a fun, self –aware monster romp with Hollywood standard effects and strong line of Irish humour, it is hard to pick any faults and like cult favourites beforehand is best enjoyed in conjunction with the pub. Let’s hope it makes its way to UK audience with a wider release as soon as possible.

For a comedian whose act normally revolves around nonsensical tangents and chaotic structure it seems like contradiction to associate Ross Noble with a slasher type script, that is until the realisation that it revolves round a sleazy children’s party clown ‘Jaded Richard Grindle’ returning from beyond the grave to a house party, seeking revenge on the children who were implicated in his death. Representing his first feature film in person, Ross Noble’s presence at Frightfest was a breath a fresh air, introducing the festival and his film on various nights, ripping on Frankie Boyle (who later turned up at the festival) and revelling in the sheer ridiculousness of the role, which in the first five minutes involves a clown sex scene and being impaled on the contents of an open dishwasher.

The young actors involved all do a great job in the shadow of Noble, with Dead Meat director Conor Mcmahon providing some macabre death scenes involving novelty gags accompanied by one liners, while most of the films revolves around juvenile Inbetweener’s type humour involving plenty of crude sexual jokes. However, Stitches is undoubtedly Ross Noble’s gig, channelling the mannerisms of Reece Shearsmith’s clown from Pyschoville and surprisingly playing the role quite straight; which makes a contrast to the way the film represents the highlights of teen house parties as getting wasted on tinned strawberries in the pantry and dancing to 80s power ballads. Nevertheless the gore flows, the bad taste gags appear and Ross Noble plays a killer clown in a film, which by all intents and purposes should bring a smile to the most stoic of film fans. Set for a Halloween release, Stitches is a glorious mix of horror and comedy and although the film would have most likely been very different or not even existed if it were not for Ross Noble, the novelty factor works and the film should be a cult hit, tapping into both horror and comedy fans respectively. For what it’s worth it is also ten times better than similar UK comic attempts such as Lesbian Vampire Killers.

Sleep Tight

Sinister

If Steven Spielberg’s Jaws made a generation of children refrain from swimming the ocean and Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho altered the prospect of having a shower , REC director Jaume Belgeuro’s disturbing thriller Sleep Tight joins the darkly this unsettling canon with a concept that will stay with you long after the credits have rolled. Taking place in an apartment block in Barcelona, the film follows unassuming janitor Cesar’s polite veneer hiding a far more sinister personality, with a desire to drag everyone down to his nihilistic unhappiness. Unbeknownst to Clara on the fifth floor, he repeatedly sneaks into her flat at night drugging her with chloroform to appease his twisted fantasies, bribing a troublesome little girl not to reveal his secret. But when a police investigation threatens to disrupt his miserable master plan, Caesar is put under pressure to maintain his secrecy and remove unscathed.

With an unsettling lead performance from actor Luis Tosar, Sleep Tight draws audiences into unsettling territory in the way the narrative revolves around the villain’s perspective, with dramatic irony soaking many straight dialogue scenes with horrific implications. The film is also well shot and structured; with some intensely nail biting scenes evoking Alfred Hitchcock’s Rope and an ending as that is about as optimistic as Se7en and Requiem For A Dream. However in contrast to the paper thin monsters, knife wielding killers and comic zombies of the Frightfest programme, Sleep Tight’s calculating protagonist and frightening concept are intensely realistic , with one fan in the post screening Q and A asking the question ‘ What can I do to avoid this happening to me’ and the answer unfortunately being ‘absolutely nothing’. Alongside Maniac, Sleep Tight was my personal favourite as the critical recommendation for the festival, mixing mundane revelations with far reaching consequences and bringing irreversible connotations to the phrase ‘Good Night, Sleep Tight’. Absolutely Sublime.

In the post screening Q and A, Sinister writer Robert Cargill recounted the dream he had that inspired him to write a script, a haunting image of 4 bodies being hung from a tree. Spinning a plot from this concept and fleshing it out, he probably never thought it would become the quality product shown at Frightfest, which was by far one of the best straight horror movies of the festival and indeed American horror, as a self –aware, humorous and downright chilling mystery revolving around ‘snuff video tapes’. When a crime–writer notorious for unearthing police mistakes (Ethan Hawke) moves to a new house where murders took place to write a new book , he has no idea of the consequences that will ensue when he finds a box of old super 8 tapes in the attic. Discovering horrific videos of mass multiple murders his investigation leads him further from empirical crime investigation to supernatural phenomena, discovering the figure he sees videos to be a occult ‘child eater demon’. With The Exorcism Of Emily Rose director Scott Derrickson on board and writer Robert Cargill’s experience as a critic at ‘Aint it Cool News’ for ten years, the film works both within and outside the horror paradigm, seamlessly shifting between genre aware humour and terrifying set–pieces (including a moment with a lawnmower that left no stomach in the cinema un–turned). Ethan Hawke is also especially impressive as a man descending into madness, with an uncanny ability to make a selfish character sacrificing his family and other lives for his career, relatable and appealing. From the ingenious Super 8 videos simulating snuff movies to the ingenious ending where the mystery finally falls into place, Sinister is a perfect mainstream horror movie that manages to work within the genre while seeming remarkably fresh and original. Moral of the story?

Don’t buy a house where the previous inhabitants were hanged, drowned, incinerated or otherwise brutally murdered. You would have thought horror films would have taught us that by now.

May I Kill You

The Seasoning House

Out of all the films on the programme the world premiere of May I Kill You stood out as a potential gem. The film follows a vigilante bike policemen, with impressionist and comedian Kevin Bishop in the lead, creating an appealing black comedy with a intensely British flavour , described in the Frightfest brochure as ‘Deathwish meets Ealing Studios’.

Set in the heights of the London riots, policeman ‘Baz’ receives a brick to the head, which leads him into a war path of vigilantism offering criminals the option ‘May I Kill You’, with criminals too drunk, confused or reluctant to reply being merrily dispatched. Recording the murders on his trusty helmet cam and posting on social networks under a pseudonym, his capture by a relative threatening death is met by a fate even worse – exposure. Director Stuart Urban’s post screening Q and A statements revealed he wished to create a ‘satire on vigilantism’ while conducting real research into serial killers to create comic contrasts in the film , revealing the comic villain being bathed by his mother and nonchalantly pushing , stabbing and bludgeoning people to death. Kevin Bishop , known for his serious roles as well as comic TV work, plays the role as more of a bumbling idiot rather than devious killer , with the comedy sapping any sense of horror or tension away from the film; the death scenes themselves are a tame and uninspiring affair. As a concept, the satire seemed well–thought out but its execution leans too far on the comic side to make it realistic, and the ‘comedy of misadventures’ angle’s ineffectiveness makes the film sit uncomfortably on the precipice of horror cinema. While serial killer caricatures such as The Last Horror Movie moved between horror and comedy comfortably, May I Kill You seems to be unsure of what type of film it really is. The Kevin Bishop connection and concept of police responsibility should draw in wider attention but whether the film will fly with wider audiences remains to be seen.

As the opening film of the festival The Seasoning House was promoted as the hot ticket to Frightfest 2012, with a disturbing script involving human trafficking, a stellar cast and a directorial debut from experienced effects maestro Paul Hyett; who has made his name in on every great horror of the past decade from the films of Neil Marshal (The Descent, Dog Soldiers) to The Women in Black. Set in a Balkan brothel The Seasoning House revolves around commodity exchange of young girls sold into sex slavery for soldiers and civilians alike in war torn areas. Young protagonist Angel is a deaf mute girl enslaved to care for the inmates in their drug induced stupors moving amongst the crawl spaces of the building and planning her escape, until the soldiers responsible for her families’ death arrive and she is forced to make a desperate shift to violence and brutality. Although press hyperbole pitched it as a mixture of ‘Die Hard, Martyrs and Pans Labyrinth’ the film does tread over old ground, using Eastern Europe stereotypes profusely and working in many ways as a extended ending to 28 Days Later, with soldiers exacting brutal sexual violence against women in a post apocalyptic styled environment. Hyett’s move to directing is impressive; in the sound-saturated opening 15 minutes, he implements stedicam and drenched cinematography in order to simulate the drug induced dream-like experience of the brothel, as a result, many of the flashback combat scenes prove to be quite authentic (despite being shot on an Air Force Base in the midlands). The cast are also integral to pulling the film from generic obscurity with Sean Pertwee (Dog Soldiers) and the brilliant Kevin Howarth (The Last Horror Movie) as sinister soldier and brothel owner plagued by a history of war crimes alongside lead actress Rosie Day, proving her versatility with a challenging role and content as lead Angel. Despite Hyett’s visceral effects and challenging rape scenes, the almost superhuman transition of Angel to a ‘harbinger of death’ in the final act is little hard to swallow, with some scenes including death by ceramic pigs, seemingly thrown in for extended dramatic exposition. Nevertheless The Seasoning House, is still a powerful quality British horror and with Hyett’s plans to make it the first of a ‘war based horror trilogy’ exploring realistic war stories and atrocities , he looks to have made the transition from behind the camera to one of Britain’s most exciting new horror directors.

Hidden in the Woods

The Possession

When Chilean director Patricio Valladares introduced his film at Frightfest he cheekily labelled it as ‘funny picture’, yet for a film about child prostitution, incest, feral children and cannibalism, it’s hard to understand what he is actually getting at.

Then again, this is a director who lied to the Chillan government to gain a grant to make a ‘social drama’ and then cameos in his own film as a stoner farting on people’s heads, so it’s no real surprise we don’t get the joke. The film he produced is an explosion of trashy exploitation, filled with bad taste imagery and exploding with demented energy. Taking its narrative from a real life tabloid story of two sisters raised by their drug–dealer father in isolation, before he ends up killing two cops with a chainsaw and being put in prison. With the girls and their mentally retarded brother (the incestual product of rape) are left to fend for themselves, they make the natural transition to prostitution and then cannibalism , that is until the criminal kingpin searching for their father shows up demanding payment. Descending into a orgy of madness and gore in the final act resembling the end of Tale Of Two Sisters, the shooting style and gritty visuals create a raw filmic experience which can becoming tiring and challenging to watch. However, as opposed to the other sophisticated art dramas that are normally funded in Chile, director Valladares’s punk attitude and guerrilla shooting (trapping the actors in the mountains for the entirety of the shoot) produces a film with clear parallels to exploitation classics such as Last House on the Left. Despite the film being fundamentally flawed in many ways, the director being dubbed as ‘exciting talent from the current hot –bed of South American horror will have its clear benefits for the film, attract international financiers and allow Valladares to create a film that doesn’t hid behind exploitative controversy, although following his comments in the Q and A I have a sneaking suspicion that these types of films will be to fun for him to depart from. We shall see.

Since the success and controversy of The Exorcist, many ‘possession films’ have been churned out over the years and despite some modern highlights (The Last Exorcism, REC Series), the genre often falls into its own genetic paradigm, with its main feature again and again being the manipulating hand of a supernatural force on a innocent soul (normally a young girl), with a subsequent exorcism, a lot of shutters rattling and heads turning 360 degrees.

While the aforementioned modern possession films added something new with the introduction of hand –held camera, most modern possession movie are repetitive, cliché and mind numbingly boring. You would have thought that the master of possession himself Sam Raimi (Evil Dead, Drag Me To Hell) and director Ole Bornedal (Nightwatch) would produce something stimulating and new ; however apart from the quality production and acting , the film falls into the same clichés and set-pieces and is an ultimately forgettable movie. The means of possession in this case is an antique wooden box, built to contain a malevolent Hebrew spirit ‘dibbuk’ , who is an eater of children (Sinister anyone?) causing young daughter Em to go bat-shit crazy , get a lazy eye and produce gnarly looking moths from her mouth. Most of the plot in fact revolves the brilliant Jeffery Dean Morgan dealing with his divorce, vengeful spirits and orthodox Jews (poor guy) as he frantically attempts to keep both his family and daughters anatomy together. For a Raimi horror picture, the possession scenes are incredibly tame, with rumoured bunch of deleted scenes unfortunately being cut for a U.S release pushing it into the realms of a ‘date movie’ with safe amount of peril that never spills over the offensive line. The Possession is a perfect example of a ‘safe’ horror movie if there ever was one and a disappointing result for what has been marketed as a Raimi standard picture. Unless you’re a big fan of the genre and haven’t given up on it by now seek it out, if not you are not missing much at all.

Maniac

Cockneys Vs Zombies

Initial anticipation for Maniac had less to do with its remake status or controversy at Cannes but for the promise of leading actor Elijah Wood in an intensely ‘straight’ horror movie. From only a small cameo performance as the mute sadist in graphic novel adaptation Sin City, he made a big impact and in Maniac he is incredible as a Norman Bates– esque mannequin / scalp collector, with requisite mother issues and psychological scar tissue. From the shocking opening scene, director Frank Khaifon continually constructs an intimate psychological profile of the serial killer through a mixture of POV shots, stylised dream sequences and carefully constructed symbolic imagery, which, like Black Swan before it, mimics an Argento style aligning composition and music with psychology and violence. The POV shots spanning the whole film, not a new concept by any means (Halloween, Silent Night Deadly Knight), heighten the ferocity of the violent imagery while challenging the morality of the voyeuristic gaze in many uncomfortable visceral scenes. It’s not all style and concept, the narrative and script also hold up well, layering childhood flashbacks, psychedelic imagery and a romantic subplot, which builds up a character as much a socially awkward victim as a sexual aggressor. As a glorious hybrid of style and a concept exploring ideas of cinematic violence with a strong lead performance from Elijah Wood, Maniac is a memorable and stylish entry to the genre. Although it’s not a game changer, genre-wise, its themes should provoke a lot of discussion and should finally break Elijah Wood out of the ‘Frodo Paradigm’. One of the true cinematic highlights of Frightfest and even if you are a mild pediophobe (fear of mannequins) prepare to be profoundly disturbed.

‘Vs’ films aint what they used to be. From Kramer vs. Kramer to Mega Shark vs. Giant Octopus, what happened? Rising from the rotting mire of current genre mash –ups director Mathias Hoene’s Cockneys vs. Zombies does exactly what it says on the tin, mashing together a bunch of comic actors and zombies in a horror comedy that follows in the same wake of Shaun of the Dead. Just as brothers Andy and Terry Maguire rob a bank, construction workers in a Docklands building site discover an ancient evil sealed up in 1966 and when the bank job goes predictably wrong, the hap–hazard group of wannabe criminals walk out into a zombie apocalypse.

Written by James Moran (Tower Block, Severance) he described the film in the post–screening q and a as an excuse to get legendary Cockney actor Alan Ford (Snatch) killing zombies , with the basic idea that if a zombie invasion ever came to London , the Cockney’s would just sort it out themselves. Splitting the plot between the young protagonists (including Eastenders’ Michelle Ryan decapitating zombies with a samurai sword) and a residential home, both parties take out zombies in a Braindead-esque orgy of ridiculous deaths, cockney rhyming slang and ageist jokes including one thrilling chase scene involving the slow moving undead and a zimmaframe. From combat efficient London Buses, Pussy Galore (Honor Blackman) toting an uzi and Chas and Dave singing ‘Head to Head (with the undead) over the closing credits you can’t make this stuff up.

Sheer horror comedy with, a great British cast and an absolute laugh a minute. Lovely Jubbly

let any project die with grace means that a sequel is almost inevitable, the plotline following Donny and Bobby would have been better served in a film on it’s own. The grand set pieces towards the end of the film, simply serve to flesh out the final act and are neither engaging or thrilling.

Ted

Despite this setback, the film is successful, relying less on the Family Guy mode of making jokes (cut scene – racial slur – musical interlude) and instead building up to bigger and harder belly laughs.

Mark Wahlberg is definitely proving himself to be one of the most talented comic actors in the business as well as being a bankable dramatic and action star. While Mila Kunis is definitely proving the comedy chops she’s honing in mediocre fare such as Friends With Benefits and Date Night. Some may criticise MacFarlane for simply using the tried and tested ‘Peter Griffin Voice’ for the character of Ted, but it shouldn’t really detract from the film itself

While there has been a considerable decrease in quality in Seth MacFarlane’s television series, Family Guy, American Dad and The Cleveland Show, this has always been countered by the promise of his first feature. Ever since Family Guy’s Return Of The Jedi special fans of MacFarlane’s have been waiting for Ted, the passion project, the return to form. To an extent, that is what they get, largely Ted is hilarious, working great jokes and cultural references into the script nicely. However, the issues with Ted remain the same as the issues to be found even in his greatest TV achievements.

Ted is a successful comedy, it easily breaks the 5 laugh minimum but better plotting could have given Ted more stability and even more great moments.

MacFarlane is tried and tested comic writer, his teammates Alec Sulkin and Wellesey Wild are also proven talents and are capable of more, possibly a more objective eye or some savvy editing could have stopped this film from sagging in its final act.

The first hour and the inclusion of Flash Gordon’s Sam J. Jones (sporting the same haircut as he did in Flash Gordon) is easily worth the price of admission. JH

The plot revolves around John Bennet (Marky Mark Wahlberg), a thirty something slacker who spends his time goofing off with his Teddy bear, who came to life because of a Christmas Wish that came true.

John’s relationship with Ted puts a great amount of strain on his relationship with the beautiful and successful Lori, who is constantly advised to dump his sorry ass and find someone more successful and motivated.

The script is designed to deliver jokes thick and fast, but shoehorns in unwanted and unnecessary characters to do this. Giovanni Ribisi’s Ted obsessed Donny and his terrifying child Robert feel like the remnants of the plot left over from the first draft.

They appear, disappear and reappear delivering the odd punchline and just generally looking creepy prior. The financial and critical success of Ted, combined with Seth MacFarlane’s inability to

The Expendables 2 There is a paradox that exists within sophisticated film-criticism, it can often leave credibility savaged and frayed at the seams. Despite a commitment to rewarding technically astute filmmaking, there is one symbolic leviathan of Hollywood silliness we all still adore.The man in question (identifiable by his first name) is none other than the Austrian beefcake Ahhnold , with The Expendables 2 being his proposed grand return to Hollywood after a turbulent decade in the corridors of political power. Stoking the flames of novelty and nostalgia and knowing how to work the market, The Expendables was a Box Office Success and the sequel beckoned the return of Arnie and other action stars including ‘Chuck Norris’ and ‘Jean Claude Van Damme’ in a sequel that promised more spectacle , scope and substance than the original. Well... in the words of with its biggest assets lying in the roll call on the the Terminator himself - ‘BULLLSHIT’! poster. Yet pastiche and novelty sell and dumb one The Expendables 2 was always going to be dumb –liners make multitudes laugh. If you were hoping and cliché ridden and in theory all the elements that most of the expendables are a little past it , the were there for great action homage, yet somehow fact that Chuck Norris is 72 suggests that for most it just didn’t work. With an ambitious opening set career ‘action stars’ work just never seems to dry piece, brilliant individual fight styles and gross out up. Roll on Expendables 3. ‘I’ll be Back’. Indeed, money shots, the rest of the film was plodding, one can already smell the testosterone. cringe worthy and boring. The plot involves the gang seeking to take down a gang of European ter- On another note there was actually a female charrorists trying to get their hands on plutonium, led by acter in the film, who was objectified, and then the ridiculous Van Damme, dressed like a member proved herself as equal to the expendables... beof Rammstein, strutting around spouting nonsensi- fore coming Stallone’s trophy in the final reels. cal lines and ticking off every evil rule in the book Can’t hurt to try, can it?... CB (including forcing women and children into labour and basically undermining American world power). Standout performances include Chuck Norris, who bites the bullet making a ‘Chuck Norris Joke’ himself, while Terry Cruz is often hilarious, bringing a sense of ridiculousness and self –awareness to his racial stereotype within the group.

As for Arnold (yes, a new paragraph has been started to talk about him). As a rival mercenary to the Expendables , he dips in and out the film sporadically , at one point progressing the plot to the finale by driving into a scene chomping a cigar in what appears to be the huge drill machine from Verhoeven’s Total Recall. The overt and sloppy nature of his jokes, sap them of the power and humour that made them famous in the first place, making many scenes quite a sad affair. The explosions were impressive and action is very entertaining, but beyond that lays an empty shell of a movie

better for it. There isn’t really anything new.

The worst crime the film commits is quite early on, during which the heroine, in a fit of sisters-are-doing-it-for-themselves is subject to a cutesy montage in which a cutesy song plays whilst Merida climbs a cliff and cutesely dances next to a waterfall. It wouldn’t have been half as bad if Disney hadn’t done it all before with their film Tangled. For Pixar, you’d think they’d do better than that.

Brave Another year another Pixar film, and with it comes a slight air of dread with what it will deliver. Pixar had continuously cranked out great film after great film, and with each new animated masterpiece the apprehension for the next animated outing would mount higher. Surely their first bad film would be around the corner. Well their first truly disastrous film has come and gone, last year’s Cars 2 now a distant memory. So is Pixar back on form with their latest, Scottish historical epic Brave?

The short answer is yes. Well, sort of. Brave, their first original story since 2009’s Up is a decent film.

It tells the story of flame haired princess Merida (voiced by Kelly MacDonald) and-WAIT. Don’t let that put you off. Pixar might be treading on old ground by producing an animated film about a princess, but this is not the traditional fairy tale fair.

This is in fact the first Disney Princess who doesn’t rely on a Prince Charming; it is very much Merida’s tale, and it is this hook which Pixar is relying on to make sure Brave stands out from the crowd.

And to an extent it works. Yet Brave still doesn’t feel like anything truly original. The story is quite simple for a Pixar yarn-Merida is the princess who doesn’t want to follow the rules her mother enforces on her day in day out, and in a fit of rebellious anger runs away from her Highland castle and happens upon a witch, who gives her a spell that will “change” her mother. Needless to say, things go wrong. The characters go through the usual arc, and come off

Luckily this is a Pixar film, and they know how to tell a story even if it does have an air of having been done before. The film has enough charm and humour to get away with its flaws, ironically the most entertainment coming from the dim-witted male characters, headed by the excellent Billy Connolly as King Fergus. And for eagle-eyed viewers John Ratzenberger does make an appearance (although good luck telling his Scottish accent apart from the others), and there is even a Pizza-Planet van in there.

Brave is a good film, but not a great one. It is however exceeded by the short film La Luna, which of all the Pixar short films is possibly the most beautifully crafted to date. Like Pixar’s illustrious backcatalogue, Brave has a tough time following it. It does get away with the ticket price by having copious amounts of charm and heart, even if the story is somewhat lacking. BO

Things to See in September Unfortunately Summer has come to an end, but that doesn’t mean that your local cinema will stop putting on special shows, if anything there’s more shows this month than we’ve seen in a while. As always, look for your local area and see what we’ve found for you, we might have missed something and so check out your local cinema and see what it has on.

Wales Aberystwyth Aberystwyth Arts Centre The Circus 20 September Despite the arduous filming process, The Circus became one of Charlie Chaplin’s most successful films. On the cusp of the sound revolution, The Circus is a silent movie following the Little Tramp as he joins the circus only to find that he can’t be funny intentionally, but he’s hilarious by accident.

Cardiff Chapter Quatermass And The Pit (1967) 23 September

Based on the BBC series of the same name, Quatermass and The Pit revolves around the discovery of a mysterious object buried deep underground. As one of Hammer Films’ most well received productions, it pays to see this on the big screen.

Scotland Dundee Dundee Contemporary Arts F For Fake 15 September While Orson Welles is sometimes seen as a one hit wonder, the fantastic F For Fake demonstrates his incredible working knowledge of the craft behind filmmaking. Weaving together several different narratives with very different subjects Welles creates a beautiful film that is not quite documentary, but definitely stanger than fiction.

Edinburgh Edinburgh Filmhouse Frenzy 10 September Possibly one of Alfred Hitchcock’s more overlooked films, Frenzy is the story surrounding a series of murders around London’s Covent Garden. While the murderer is revealed early on in the film, the tension doean’t drop in Hitchcock’s penultimate film.

Glasgow Glasgow Film Theatre To Kill A Mockingbird 13 September Easily one of the greatest films of all time, and one you have all most probably seen before. Robert Mulligan’s adaptation of Harper Lee’s novel stands the test of time and Gregory Peck’s performance alone insists multiple viewings of the film. As a side note, To Kill A Mockingbird also marks the film debut of Robert Duvall.

North West

Kevin Spacey and Julia Louis-Dreyfus.

Liverpool FACT Batman (1989) 10 September

North East

Whether you were satisfied or not with the conclusion of Christopher Nolan’s epic Bat-trilogy, it is always worth going back to Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman . Michael Keaton may not have been the most obvious Bruce Wayne, but there is definitely an argument to be made that he is the best.

Manchester Cornerhouse The Bad And The Beautiful 12 September This Kirk Douglas classic was an absolute awards powerhouse after its release in 1952. Alongside the beautiful Lana Turner, Douglas plays a film producer who has systematically alienated all of those around him. The story unfolds in a series of flashbacks through his career.

Alnwick Alnwick Playhouse The Flowers Of War 14 September The Flowers of War got a very, very limited release in 2010, however with Christian Bale in the lead role it is worth seeking out. The Playhouse in Alnwick is showing it for just one evening and it is definitely an astonishing piece of Chinese cinema.

Newcastle Tyneside Total Recall (1990) 17 September Some of you may have already been to see the remade Total Recall featuring everyone’s least favourite action star Colin Farrell, if you need your pallette cleansing with some fantastic Arnie action then look no further.

Penrith Rheged A Bugs Life 16 September

Leeds Hype Park Picture House Revenge Of The Nerds 22 September

If Brave wasn’t quite your cup of tea, and you are desperate for some old fashioned Pixar brilliance then look no further than Rheged’s showing of A Bug’s Life. Featuring quality voice acting from

A staple piece of 1980’s american college comedy, Revenge Of The Nerds follows a united bunch of misfits as they try and assert themselves over an abusive bunch of jocks on the campus.

Penistone Paramount The General 16 September Another Buster Keaton classic to be featured in our ‘Things To See’ section. Set in the midst of the American Civil War, The General revolves around the titular train and it’s owner trying to retrieve it from the Unionist spies that steal it.

Midlands Coventry Warwick Arts Centre Death Watch (1980) 11 September Death Watch is a fascinating meditation on the perils of reality television. Filmed in 1980, it already watches like a prophetic pice of cinema that looks very hard at the entertainment industry. Featuring a young Harvey Keitel and Harry Dean Stanton this is intriguing cinema.

Derby QUAD Red Desert (Deserto Rosso) 20 September Michaelangelo Antonioni’s first ever colour feature is the simple tale of Giuliana, a woman just trying to survive in the modern world. Antonioni’s cinematography is to die for as the sights and sounds of post war Ravenna almost come to life.

Leicester Phoenix Square Miller’s Crossing & In Bruges 23 September From one of PictureShow’s favourite cinemas, comes an inspired double bill. The Coen’s Miller’s Crossing and Martin McDonagh’s In Bruges beautifully compliment each other as wickedly funny and intensely thrilling pieces of cinema. Neither should be missed and the opportunity to see them together is fantastic.

Malvern Malvern Cinema The Ladykillers (1955) 11 September Forget the Coen Brothers’ attempt at remaking this beloved British comedy, simply see the original with Alec Guinness at his creeping and scheming. Full of quick one liners and jokes that build up over the course of the film The Ladykillers is wonderful comic cinema.

Wolverhampton The Light House Oliver! (1968) 25 September This cinematic interpretatiuon of the West End staple, has become a cultural touchstone for almost everybody. At two and a half hours long, this film is massive, but you definitely get your money’s worth.

South Saffron Waldon Saffron Screen Chariots Of Fire 16 September We know you’ve all been glued to the olympics this summer, we know because cinema attendance is down. In order to get you back into the hallowed screens this September Saffron Screen are luring you back with a classic British sports movie, revolving around the Olympics. With its iconic soundtrack , Chariots Of Fire is invigorating cinema London Phoenix East Finchley Vertigo & North By Northwest (Double Bill) 16 September Mark Kermode’s favourite cinema is hosting a fantastic double bill of Alfred Hitchcock’s thrilling masterpieces. With Cary Grant and James Stewart as our eternally watchable leading men, this is a fantastic opportunity to see truly classic pieces of cinema in a wonderfully renovated environment.

Harrow Arts 12 Angry Men 20 September

Everyone wants to be Henry Fonda, but how many of you are? Admire Sidney Lumet’s courtroom drama without the courtroom and see which angry man you really are. Lumet’s cinematography and use of props means that even with the limited space on screen, the viewer knows exactly what happened.

The Lexi Cinema Double Indemnity 23 September One of the staple examples of Film Noir, Billy Wilder’s tale of murder was co-written by Raymond Chandler author of The Long Goodbye and Farewell, My Lovely. This marvellous work builds tension and intrigue from its first flashback. “How could I have known that murder could sometimes smell like honeysuckle?”

The Prince Charles Cinema Leon & The Fifth Element (Double Bill) 10 September We do love a good double bill here at PictureShow, before you go to the masterclass in directing at the Phoenix on the 16th you can see two of Luc Besson’s greatest films at The Prince Charles Theatre.

Both films feature standout turns from Gary Oldman. Besson’s films are magnetic, whether gritty and realistic or bonkers and colourful.

PictureShow Magazine will return on the 5th of October