FrightFest 2026 - Day 3

 FrightFest Day 3 

 

Labyrinth

Ryûhei Kitamura, 2026, USA 

 ‘Saw’ style horror with crowd-pleasing ultra-gore, weak script, dodgy performances, and tedious vigilante-coz-the-system-is-broken endorsement. Busy camerawork and pacing keeps things entertaining but it is routine, tired stuff. By the time it goes Fulci 'The Beyond', it's gone full supernatural-fascist.

 

Dead Reset 

Stewart Sparke, 2026, UK

Starts strong enough - time loop; broad villain; practical effects and decent production design - but, having never played the game it is based upon although exposition dumps are expected, I wonder if it too stops the monster rampage for unconvincing romance and surgery? Made with evident love but only diverting.

 

Ithaqua

Casey Walker, 2026, Canada

Benefits hugely from its snow-and-blood palette; less so from insisting on hokey villainous pronouncements, which is a shame as it takes time to avoid outright stereotypes elsewhere. Nevertheless enjoyable, ambitious and interesting, if a little muddled. The background of starvation, culture and class war in an unforgiving landscape give this strong thematic foundations, often looks impressive and Kevin Durand’s hulking performance stands out.

Grind

Ed Doughtery, Brea Grant, Chelsea Stardust, 2026, USA

A highly entertaining anthology with many good lines and a surrealistic bent. Just the right side of zany. Perhaps the delivery guy story ends up the most disturbing and strongest with its anger most targeted at layers of exploitation. However surreal it gets, and however bright and off-the-wall its veneer, these cannot quite distract from its outrage at the manipulations and humiliations of modern work life.

The Nameless Ballad

Federico Zampaglione, 2026 Italy

Tortured genius haunted by a possessive piano tune. Mental health and romantic issues ensue, mostly relying on dream sequences and loud stings to get its point across, even throwing in toad p.o.v. at one point. But otherwise nothing new. Nice house, cute dog, but a film whose lack of imagination is exceeded only by its dullness.

Ghost in the Cell

Joko Anwar, 2026, Indonesia 

Bloody, silly, and often very funny (even characters stop a mass fight at one moment to be confused at the splatter). It is as interested in making its inmates dance as it is in Indonesian political corruption. It also has the most amusingly randomly scored and edited shower scene. Crowd pleasing comedy for gorehounds.