Horrorthon 2007 (Part 1)

I was surprised when looking over the programme for this year's Horrorthon (a horror film festival held around Halloween each year at the Irish Film Institute) at just how many of the films I'd already seen but that's not to say I was disappointed. On the contrary, it provided me with a chance to see some classics on the big screen, not to mention allowing me a couple of gaps in my viewing long enough to actually allow me to go out and eat occasionally.

The opening night consisted of the eagerly anticipated horror comic adaptation 30 DAYS OF NIGHT. It was certainly eagerly anticipated by me. More's the pity then that to save a little bit of money (I was late in booking a hotel) and due to a lack of holidays (too many film festivals) I didn't actually get there for the opening night. That meant I also missed James Wan's DEAD SILENCE, a shame since I was really quite interested in seeing this effort from the SAW creators.

So the festival for me kicked off properly on Friday afternoon with a screening of the completely insane MOTEL HELL. If that sounds familiar to you, it's because I saw it at the Glasgow Film Festival earlier this year. I wasn't about to pass up an opportunity to see it again though as stuff like this doesn't pop up in the cinemas very often, particularly in such a fine print. Crazy fun like they just don't make anymore.

And then to another one I was already familiar with. FRIDAY THE 13TH: THE FINAL CHAPTER (guess what, it wasn't really the final chapter) sees the return of Jason Vorhees who, in a brave departure from the previous films in the series, spends the film being really hard to kill and slaughtering naughty teenagers in a forest on the shores of Camp Crystal Lake. Yeah, okay, it's not a departure at all, it's the same thing again - but when a formula works, why change it? I love eighties slasher movies and the FRIDAY THE 13TH films are among my favourites. This one is notable for appearances by Crispin Glover (who I struggle to watch without wanting to shout "Hey McFly!") and eighties kid legend Corey Feldman. There's gore aplenty (courtesy of the great Tom Savini) and a fair amount of humour - some intended, some not - love it or hate it, you'll certainly not get bored. I for one am glad that the title turned out to be a misnomer.

Because I'm always trying to see Scottish films whenever I can, I was interested to see Robbie Fraser's low budget tale of love and drama among role-play gamers in Glasgow. There's enough humour in GAMERZ to keep the plot ticking along when it otherwise gets a bit dull, but in the end I can't make up my mind if this film is an attempt to humanise the stereotypical gaming geek or if it serves only to reinforce the image. Watchable but flawed - still, at least it's a Scottish movie that isn't just about alcoholics, junkies, gangsters and poverty-stricken kids from broken homes.

Having already seen BOTCHED (see last night's post about the Cork Film Festival) and Joshua (see my Edinburgh Film Festival coverage) I took the opportunity to skip out for some food. I was glad that I returned in time for the late show however...

Survivors from a wreck at sea find themselves washed ashore on a strange island where small doll-type-things lurk in the bushes waiting to attack and strange things start to happen, most notably the discovery of an acid lake (no reason is given). No, this is not the next season of LOST. It's the stupendously named ATTACK OF THE BEAST CREATURES.

This mid-eighties oddity truly defines the term "low budget horror", while ensuring that the quality is perfectly commensurate with the amount of money spent on it. As a movie it's a failure in almost every way except for the one most important aspect - it's entertaining. To call the plot basic is an understatement; to say it's well scripted would be a lie; to say the acting is wooden is to insult trees; and to describe the special effects as, well, special, is just wrong. The creatures are clearly some kind of puppet construction, thrown about by hand and made for zero money; some of the gore effects are rather entertaining in a quaint way; and thrown together with the absolutely dire filmmaking on offer, ATTACK OF THE BEAST CREATURES turns out to be the perfect late night movie to watch in a cinema full of like-minded people who know how to enjoy such movies.

Actually, now that I think about the film again, I really do hope the next season of LOST is like this. If the makers of the hit TV show want to spice things up a bit, then lets stop with the romance and whinging about dead family members and instead get some 12-inch puppets running rampage round acid lakes. That's what the viewers all want to see. They just don't know it yet.

To be continued...