I got into Manchester earlier than normal to a bustling town centre full of Saturday shoppers. Scoffing my jumbo hotdog with onions, I made my way to the Odeon Printworks for the third day of Grimmfest 2015 film festival.
Starting at 12pm, the first film of the day was Excess Flesh. I hadn’t a clue what it was about and by the end of the film I wasn’t any clearer. Grotesque shots of people eating in slow motion, mouths open like washing machines, put me off the idea of eating anything for a while and, between these, the crazed characters didn’t really make the film any more coherent or enjoyable. An odd film that seemed to completely puzzle me.
Next up were a series of six short films that thoroughly entertained the audience. A witty dark_net dealt with Johnny Vegas who wanted to get revenge on a bloke named Barry after he nabbed his missus. Maybe a hitman hired over the net could sort that out for him? Others included [shut-in] about a man living inside a virtual universe, A Stranger Kind about a quirky magician who’s act involves chopping his hand off and a laugh-out-loud Cowben Ben starring Misfits‘ favourite probation worker, Shaun Dooley.
Have nightmares? Chances are you don’t have them like the folks in Rodney Ascher’s documentary The Nightmare. The Grimmfest festival goers learnt about the frightening sleep paralysis in this documentary and the strange experiences that often go with it, including Shadow People who appear in the room of those paralysed during their sleep. Most of the interviewees talking about their experiences were American, everyone except for Steven Paynter from Manchester who also turned up to Grimmfest for a Q+A after the screening. I also got to chat with Steve about the film and his sleep paralysis which you’ll be able to read about soon!
Needing a dose of werewolf horror, humour and fun, The Seasoning House‘s Paul Hyett enthralled the audience at Grimmfest 2015 with feature film Howl. Set on a train broken down near some woodland and starring Doug from Emmerdale, a group of strangers are forced to work together when they come under attack by the full moon monsters. Plenty of bloody humour and frightening fun made Howl an entertaining watch.
Last year we had Coherence, this year Grimmfest brought us Synchronicity to fulfill one of the sci-fi gaps with a time-travelling tale dealing with wormholes. I absolutely love anything that explores time-travel and different outcomes so I thoroughly enjoyed what the film had to offer and it seems the rest of the Grimmlins liked it too.
Wrapping up Grimmfest 2015 day three were Deathgasm and We Are Still Here but once again, beauty sleep beckoned as I prepare for one final long day of horror, cult and sci-fi films with the welcoming community of Grimmfest horror fans.
Single screening tickets are still available to purchase at the Odeon Printworks box office. You can find out more at grimmfest.com
Check back tomorrow for the fourth and final festival daily update.
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