The bottom line – a cheat sheet for anyone who doesn’t want to wade through five days of diaries (here, here, here, here and here) to separate the metaphorical wheat from the chaff. In terms of overall quality of the picks, this year was as great as the last couple. Though for the sheer range on offer, it was maybe the best I’ve been to. Almost all of these movies offered something different, be it an exciting twist on a classic template or a radical new direction. Hell, even those I liked less, with the exception of Heretiks, made for challenging watches, that pushed the boundaries a little and felt fresh. I consider myself lucky to have been in the audience, and can’t wait to see some of them again. It’s a great time to be a horror fan, and as the new voices on offer these last few days showed, our genre is in safe hands.
So here we go:
1. The Man Who Killed Hitler and Then the Bigfoot
2. Climax
3. Upgrade
4. Summer of 84
5. Terrified
6. Possum
7. What Keeps You Alive
8. Boar
9. Fright Fest: Beneath The Dark Heart of Cinema
10. Devil’s Doorway
11. St Agatha
12. The Golem
13. Open 24 Hours
14. Incident In A Ghost Land
15. The Most Assassinated Woman in The World
16. Hell Is Where the Home Is
17. He’s Out There
18. The Ranger
19. Ravers
20. Heretiks
As usual, festival goggles may apply. Please note I’ve not included the excellent short film Final Stop, for obvious reasons. Though it’s well worth your time, and can be seen here. Frankly, it’s among the better ways you can spend 7 minutes whilst keeping your clothes on. Our Fright Fest coverage will continue via interviews with the Paz Brothers and Robert D. Krzykowski, so do come back for those. Until then, I’d like to thank anyone who has followed my journey this year, plus Fright Fest, Clout Communications and Arrows Films for inviting me back. And, of course, our own web mistress, Bat, for giving me the opportunity to represent HorrorCultFilms again. It’s been a pleasure. Now only another 360 days ‘til the next one!
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