Frightfest 2022 day 5: "Piggy", "Terrifier 2", "Burial", "Barbarian", "Fall"

Piggy

Director: Carlota Pereda.

With: Claudia Salas, Pilar Castro, Carmen Machi, Fernando Delgado-Hierro.

Spain 2022. 90 mins.

The blood-drenched poster, although true to the film, perhaps implies a straightforward revenge-of-the-bullied flick, and although it's that too, 'Piggy' comes more from the long heritage of touching, rambling and empathic bildungsroman. Laura Galán’s performance is compelling as our bullied and put-upon heroine finds her Id unleashed in the form of a serial killer that takes a shine to her. There's then her moral dilemma of if she allows vengeance by proxy, thereby investigating the very revenge sub-genre we are in. If it ultimately doesn't challenge too much, it's a strong, self-aware drama whose move into genre shocks aren't necessarily celebratory and certainly not exploitative.

Terrifier 2

Director: Damien Leone.

With: Lauren LaVera, Owen Myre,

David Howard Thornton, Sarah Voight.

USA 2022. 140 mins.

Probably what non-horror fans think horror is: over two hours of sadism and outrageous gore with a magic sword get-out clause.

Burial

Director: Ben Parker.

With: Harriet Walter, Tom Felton,

Charlotte Vega, Bill Milner.

UK 2022. 95 mins.

A fine World War II that I expected to be a vampire flick, maybe, for a moment, but isn't. Rather, it's a solid wartime drama set in a horror landscape - coffin, woods, shadow-monster and isolated taverns. The tone is suitably austere but not drab and desperate, the performances good, the action decent too if occasionally lost in the shadows.

Barbarian

Director: Zach Cregger.

With: Georgina Campbell, Bill Skarsgård, Justin Long, Kurt Braunohler.

USA 2022. 102 mins.

As this film is especially best served cold, I will just leave it at: it’s good and brilliantly gamed.

(I'll probably write about it properly later...)

Fall

Director: Scott Mann.

With: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, Grace Fulton, Virginia Gardner,

Mason Gooding.

USA 2022. 107 mins.

Aside from the dopiness of the character behaviour (don't tell anyone where you're going? maybe don't climb when it's so rusty?) and the predictability of the drama, its vertiginous thrills are entertaining.

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And so it was nice to be back in person at the festival. I made new friends. I realise that most/many of the audience were probably podcasters/bloggers/journalists. Horror-fantasy-science fiction  brings with it the most devoted crowd... nothing quite bonds people like genre films. 

I bumped into the guy outside dressed like The Terrifier, apologised and said "Don't kill me!" (but I don't think he heard me). This was just after I had seen a small cocky boy walk by and shout at The Terrifier "You're not a very scary clown!" And I thought "You haven't seen the film, kid!" 

I came to the conclusion that horror and arthouse fans are probably the most cine-literate and savvy.

I was bowled over when Neil Hannon turned up (I am a fan) and discussed with my neighbour how alternative reality films really reinterpret pop-culture via music in that way. This was regarding 'Lola', which was just as heady and stuffed full of ideas as 'Something in the Dirt'.

As usual, the films I expected least from turned out to be gems. The opening of "the Traveller from the Future" had everyone laughing. And "Deathstream" turned out to be my particular unexpected favourite in that it was so funny and well-written and genuinely unnerved me all at the same time. I look forward to seeing it again to catch the one-liners and onsceen social media comments that I missed fist time round. "Candy Land" impressed. I gleefully enjoyed the revelations of "Barbarian". 

Then I left two vinyl albums behind (Kate Bush's 'The Hounds of Love' and Portishead's 'Dummy', which I already have but seemed to need on vinyl) and had to return to the Empire only to find the cinema was closed up because of a 'Rings of Power' premier. So I had to wait a couple of hours before security would let me speak to someone to retrieve my goodies.

Anyway, again, day after day where all you are required to do is watch films and dash to find something to eat... I'll be back next year.