Frightfest Online 2021: 'The Show' and 'Crabs!'

This odd year, where horror fans were surely more psychologically prepared for a pandemic than most, FrightFest chose to go ahead with the physical event.

However, I opted for the online section of FrightFest taking place this week after the usual weekend event. Work by day: films by night.

The Show

Director - Mitch Jenkins

Writer - Alan Moore

UK  2020

 

‘The Show’ plunges straight into an apparent private detective trying to unravel a mystery of a death, and also in pursuit of a stolen cross; but its true magic-realist nature is revealed when he goes to other detectives that turn out to be kids living a film noir out of their garden playhouse like something from ‘Just Ask for Diamond’. You just know there’s going to be a zany dream with a courtroom trial featuring clowns, as typical of this kind of thing and there is. Full of that achingly self-consciousness English whacky-weirdness where you can feel the dialogue being written even as its said, despite some good lines, so the kaleidoscopic, burlesque nature never quite gels. Although Tom Burke casts a stablising saunter through bizarre characters and mountains of exposition, he is surrounded by variable acting from those that know the notes to hit to those that chew scenery to the bad. And it has moments that arguably flirts with homophobia and tiresome geezer gangster villainy. The carnival nature increasingly mitigates interest and … wait: it’s written by Alan Moore? Well, it runs like the debut of a first-time writer trying way too hard rather than from the pen of a master writer that helped set the context for comics being seen more than a kids’ medium. Who’d have thought?

 

 

Crabs!

Writer & Director - Pierce Berolzheimer

2021, US

 

A creature-feature that more resembles stupid ‘80s teen improbable sci-fi comedies like ‘Weird Science’ rather than fun low-budgeters like ‘Critters’. The main players play it straight whilst the jokey stuff wants to be ‘Gremlins’ (DJing crabs anyone?) whilst heading for Kaiju action. Whether you go with the pointless stupid of course depends upon taste, and whereas a film like 'Dead Sushi' runs out of steam long before the end and a film like 'Cyst' gets it right, 'Crabs!' bid for genuine emotional resonance instead of gags always seems misplaced in such silliness. And there’s no getting around Radu, the single worst and insulting (offensive?) and unfunny character that I have seen in a long time.