Film Festival Feature by Alasdair MacRae The UK’s biggest genre film festival resumed as an in-person event this year with a bumper offering of 70+ films across five screens. The packed schedule meant that this first-time festival attendee could only see just over 20 of the films available. With that in mind, don’t be discouraged if your favourite is absent from this list, after word-of-mouth recommendations my own personal watchlist has now expanded too. Nonetheless, there was plenty of great cinema to go around, so here are ten of the best films to look out for in the coming months. 1. New Religion Dir: Keishi Kondo After the tragic death of her young daughter, Miyabi (Kaho Sato) takes on work as a call girl. As her life spirals she begins visiting an unusual client who wishes to photograph every part of her body individually. Director Keishi Kondo’s feature film debut has already drawn comparisons to Cronenberg and Lynch, with plenty more to make including Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Godard, Von Trier, and Tarkovsky. One thing for sure this is a cinematic treat! An emotive visual poem that transcribes the peril of submitting to one’s own extreme subjective reality. 2. Something in the Dirt Dir: Aaron Moorhead, Justin Benson New neighbours, John (Aaron Moorhead) and Levi (Justin Benson), discover something paranormal in their L.A. apartment building and decide the best way to profit off it is to make a documentary. A comical and at times tragic folie à deux, for anyone who has turned on the TV late at night to have a giggle at someone recounting their ‘unexplainable’ experience. Written, directed, shot, acted, and edited by Benson and Moorhead (and whichever spare pair of hands they could find) during COVID, the pair perfectly portray the mind-melting chaos of entertaining conspiracy theories. As their characters desperately search for answers in books, youtube videos, podcasts, geo-caches etc, they capture the boom of widespread misinformation thanks to the internet’s ability to make anyone’s voice heard. 3. Piggy Dir: Carlota Pereda Teenager Sara (Laura Galán) is bullied by her peers in a remote Spanish village. One day following a particularly vicious event, Sara witnesses her tormentors being kidnapped. She makes a conscious choice to keep the information to herself but as bodies begin to turn up and the local community turn on her Sara’s decision becomes harder to endure. A beautifully twisted tale of the torture of adolescence, Piggy is a heartfelt European drama with a healthy dose of brutally indulgent violence mixed in. Think Water Lilies meets Wolf Creek. A soon-to-be classic coming-of-age tale, discussing issues from isolation to body image, with testing parents, Sara has a difficult relationship with her well-meaning but impatient and bullish mother (Carmen Machi), and to cap it all off, unhealthy romance. Finally, it would be remiss not to mention the stunning colouring, especially the use of pink. 4. A Wounded Fawn Dir: Travis Stevens When Meredith (Sarah Lind) agrees to go away with her new boyfriend (Josh Ruben) to his remote cabin for the weekend, she didn’t know that she had agreed to be his latest victim. A Wounded Fawn starts out as a 70s/80s style slasher, giallo-inspired even, before descending into psychotropic mythological chaos. Director Travis Stevens crafts a transcendentally textured experience, shot on film it feels like a personally curated visual mixtape, the pattern of a forest canopy, seductively crimson paint, the coiling of a snake, the whip of silks in the wind, and squelchy, crunchy gore. Arguably the most luxuriously crafted and stylish film on show. 5. The Harbinger Dir: Andy Mitton Despite the protests of her frail father and concerned brother, Monique (Gabby Beans), travels to New York City during a Covid lockdown to help out an ailing friend. Little did she know the recurring nightmares her friend suffers from are contagious. Admittedly many will find it too soon to watch a film about Covid, but The Harbinger deftly captures a snapshot of the ongoing global pandemic. Throughout there is a rightful everyday fear, and time and space collapse like dreams and nightmares. It really gets to the heart of the experience and asks the big questions: what happens to those who are already vulnerable? What happens when those who are supposed to take care of us get sick? And what happens to those who pass away under the curtain of the Covid years? Altogether an accomplished work packaged with genuine scares and a particularly haunting soundscape. 6. Incredible But True Dir: Quentin Dupieux More madcap fun from the French director who apparently doesn’t want the premise of the film shared. As per usual it stars a small group of dysfunctional characters situated in a bizarre and hyper-specific scenario, and comedy ensues. Not as standout as the excellent Deerskin, but a welcome treat from the prolific director who seems to be providing at least a film a year as of late. 7. The Visitor From The Future Dir: François Descraques Following (?) a nuclear disaster in the future, environmental activist, Alice (Enya Baroux) and her political leader father (Arnaud Ducret), are brought into a time-hopping game of cat and mouse as they try to prevent the future disaster. An entertaining slapstick sci-fi comedy that rattles off jokes at an incredible rate. Based on the director’s own webcomic, the film preserves the fun, quippy comic strip feel and manages to successfully balance the epic scale of world-ending destruction with an intimate emotionally charged father-daughter relationship. In a world of endless franchise forming and sequelisation this is one of the rare experiences I would actually want more of! 8. Dark Glasses Dir: Dario Argento Diana (Ilenia Pastorelli), a prostitute, is stalked by a serial killer. When the killer causes a car crash, Diana is permanently blinded and left with an unusual sense of responsibility for Chin (Andrea Zhang), a young Chinese boy orphaned by the same crash. Based off of a script written over 20 years ago, Dark Glasses feels apiece with the director’s earlier Giallo work. A stylish and taut thriller, to slide onto the shelf next to The Bird with the Crystal Plumage and Tenebrae. However, the elements of Argento’s latest that could be conceived as sexist feel harder to stomach knowing that it has been made in a modern context. Nonetheless, it is still a welcome return to form from one of horror’s greatest filmmakers. 9. Candy Land Dir: John Swab Things go south quickly for a group of rest-stop sex workers after they take in a member of the local cult seeking refuge. Candy Land is likely to be one of the more divisive films on offer. Most of the film is dedicated to characterisation, we grow into the young makeshift family as they go through the rhythms of their daily life. And then we watch as they are picked off and brutally murdered, as to be expected in any slasher film, but here it feels particularly ruthless. For better or worse, one cannot deny that it is an intriguing decision made by director John Swab, to kill off the characters he has so lovingly created in such a manner. Moreover, there will likely be debate over the depiction of sex work, whilst the characters feel far from cliché, the presentation of sex work as a dangerous profession most definitely is, not to mention the distinct presence of the male gaze. 10. Barbarian Dir: Zach Cregger When Tess (Georgina Campbell) arrives at her Airbnb to find it already rented out, to the awkward Keith (Bill Skarsgård) no less, she decides to take caution before accepting his kind invitation to join him inside. Barbarian is an entertaining, twisty hundred minutes packed with both laughs and shrieks as characters see all of the red flags and wilfully ignore them anyway. It boasts a charismatic core cast, with Campbell, Skarsgård, and longer-term friend of horror, Justin Long. The only disappointment is that, without saying too much, the antagonistic presence feels somewhat lacking and ultimately uninspired.

Directed and Written by: Aitch Alberto Starring: Max Pelayo, Reese Gonzales, Eugenio Derbez Film Review by Robert Stayte Based on the popular book of the same name by Benjamin Alire Sáenz, this first-time feature by director Aitch Alberto tackle’s heavy themes of teen sexuality, family and homophobia to good effect. In El Paso 1987, the narrative follows teen Aristotle “Ari” (Max Pelayo), who meets fellow teen Dante (Reese Gonzales) and they strike up a friendship together. Soon they are both aware of their sexual preferences as well as their deeper feelings for each other, which spurs on drama and growth for them both. The script does well in condensing a 392-page book into 95 minutes. It does not feel breezed through or underdeveloped. That being said, there are a couple of tangents that would feel more natural in a book that stick out somewhat in the story. Also, the film for the most part is a bit light on drama for the first two acts, however this does eventually change and make the lighter beginning more understandable in hindsight. Character-wise, Ari is on the stoic, withdrawn and even aggressive side, but the film is good at putting you in his perspective and making you understand his situation, mindset and inner conflict. Dante is rather likeable and the two make for a sweet pairing that is helped by the strong acting and chemistry of the two leading actors. The parents of each of the two teens also stand out in being supportive and not forced to be dramatically opposed to them. As mentioned, first time lead actors Max Pelayo and Reese Gonzales have good chemistry together and individually they both impress. Reese’s vocal cadence and Max’s physical acting are both the standouts of their performances. Elsewhere, Eugenio Derbez and Verónica Falcón as Ari’s parents shine in an understated but touching performances. The direction and cinematography are bright and appealing, not to mention handled with tastefulness that naturally veers into drama and even intensity. The subtle stylistic choices make sense for the scenes they appear in and look good, with one extremely handheld cam shot scene adding to the moment’s power and impact. Director Aitch Alberto is part of the LGBT community herself, so it is clear that she understands how to present gay characters in a human and sensitive way without falling into easy shock tactics like brutal depictions of hate crimes. Finally, the soundtrack, full of 80’s songs, is well utilised and not just fitting in immersing the audience into the time period but also is not pushed too far into being overbearing to the point of self-indulgence. The production design is also subtle and not a caricature of the decade, whilst still being accurate. In conclusion, Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe will hopefully be enjoyed by fans of the book and newcomers looking for a teen love story. It is well executed and moving, not to mention a good calling card for its director and lead actors.

Directed by: Carlota Pereda Written by: Carlota Pereda Starring: Laura Galán, Carmen Machi, Claudia Salas, Pilar Castro, Mabel del Pozo, Camille Aguilar, José Pasto, Julián Valcárcel Grimmfest Feature by: Darren Tilby Synopsis: With the summer sun beating down on her rural Spanish town, Sara hides away in her parent’s butcher shop. A teenager whose excess weight makes her the target of incessant bullying, she flees a clique of capricious girls who torment her at the town pool, only to stumble upon them being brutally kidnapped by a stranger, who drives off with them in his van. When the police begin asking questions, Sara keeps quiet. Intrigued by the stranger — an interest that’s mutual — she’s torn between revealing the truth and protecting the man who saved her. Grimmfest say: Imagine you are a victim of constant, cruel bullying, which is escalating, getting worse by the day. And then imagine that, on the day of your greatest humiliation at your bullies’ hands, you are offered a sudden, unlooked-for opportunity for revenge, without even having to lift a finger. Would you take it? And could you live with yourself afterwards? Developing and expanding on her queasily uncomfortable and morally troubling 2018 short of the same name (which forms the basis of the opening act here), Writer-Director Carlotta Pereda offers a complex and compassionate exploration of female body image and self-loathing, moral complicity and guilt, and the evils of bullying and the monsters it can create, all played out under the sweltering, pitiless Summer sun. Beautifully shot, and grounded in a strong sense of environment, with an almost tactile sense of location, and a detailed, nuanced sense of rural Spanish small town life and community, and anchored by a truly fearless, heartrending performance from the remarkable Laura Galán, bolstered by a strong supporting cast, headed by Almodovar regular Carmen Machi, this is a film unafraid to probe the darker impulses which can afflict us all in moments of crisis or trauma, how quickly the desire for release can become a desire for revenge, and how rocky and strewn with regret is the road to any kind of redemption. What I’m expecting: Does anyone remember the anthology film, The Willies? Namely, the section entitled “Bad Apples”... It’s about a young boy who discovers a monster in his school bathroom and decides to make life easier for himself by feeding his bullies and overbearing teacher to it. It’s a great little flick that had a profound effect on me as a youth; not for any technical or artistic merit, but more for the moral dilemma it proposes. Do you stay silent as the creature continues to kill unpleasant people? Or do you do something about it? Carlota Pereda’s Piggy is giving me serious Bad Apples vibes! Both films will surely reverse traditional good guy/bad guy roles; this is where the moral dilemma comes from after all. The location also seems to feature heavily in both instances: Bad Apples has a small and claustrophobic setting (like many films of its kind), whereas Piggy has the open expanse of rural Spain. This change in setting type gives Piggy a distinct advantage, as it allows Pereda to explore a wider range of themes. Female body image, moral complicity, guilt and the evils of bullying are all relevant contemporary issues more than deserving of exploration. I’m excited to see where Pereda takes this: to what ethical conundrums she explores; what questions she poses to her audience, and I’m excited to see on which side of the moral coin Pereda’s piece eventually lands.

Directed by: Martin Owen Written by: Piers Ashworth Starring: Max Harwood, Ben Miller, Susan Wokoma, Hero Fiennes Tiffin, Ashley Benson, Evan Ross Grimmfest Feature by: Darren Tilby Synopsis: After the tragic loss of his mother, Oliver is threatened with state custody unless he can find a new family. And so Oliver does just that… by digging one up at the local cemetery. He must now convince the social workers that he has found the perfect family – who just happen to be decomposing… A modern fairytale – with zombies. Grimmfest say: We know what you’re thinking: Ho hum…Yet another British horror-comedy about zombies… But set those preconceptions aside right now. This is something genuinely unexpected; a sweet-natured fairytale about the need for family support and social acceptance, inspired by one of the most notoriously disturbing criminal cases in history. An orphaned, unstable, otherworldly mother’s boy is released from the asylum, to return to the house where he grew up, only to start exhuming corpses from the local graveyard to serve as his new friends and family. Sound familiar? Yep, you got it. But while the story might resemble that of Ed Gein, the style and tone are closer to EDWARD SCISSORHANDS, owing far more to Tim Burton than to Hitchcock or Tobe Hooper, as the reanimated corpses become a real family and help the hapless protagonist to rebuild his life, in a perfect, retro-styled, pastel-candy-coloured suburban home. It’s as if Gein’s psychotic delusions had taken the form of a 1960s American sitcom. This is not America, but a bizarro 1950s British fantasy version, a kind of Transatlantic Otherworld, wherein the two cultures can clash and cross-pollinate, and pretty much anything can happen, however improbable or fantastic. Balancing wry genre knowingness with broad black comedy and a streak of pure grotesquerie, sharply played by a fine cast, and packed full of quirky, eccentric detail and sheer wilful oddness, it’s a film of (sur)real charm. What I'm expecting: Yet again, the good folks at Grimmfest are right: there are too many British horror comedies about zombies. In fact, I'd argue that, due to oversaturation in the film industry, zombie films, in general, are becoming a little tiresome. However, The Loneliest Boy in the World sounds very interesting. The idea to take, as its foundation, the deeply disturbing story of Ed Gein and infuse it with the good-natured charm of Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands is either genius or madness. But I don't think anyone does "black comedy" quite like the British! Ultimately, I envision this being more akin to the Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe film, Swiss Army Man, in its use of surrealist themes to tell a melancholy but sweet story about the human need for friends, family, and acceptance. In the end, The Loneliest Boy in the World's success will likely come down to good writing and performances to really bring the characters to life (sorry!). I have my fingers crossed for this one, as I think it has the potential to be something very special.

Directed by: John Ainslie Written by: John Ainslie Starring: Kimberly Laferriere, Rogan Christopher, Janet Porter Grimmfest Feature by: Darren Tilby Synopsis: Chloe and Jack travel to Miami for their honeymoon. Amidst the flashy neon and sunny beaches, they decide that a peyote experience will strengthen their marriage. Unbeknownst to them, they’ve been given a rare and powerful strand that awakens a desire to eat human flesh. Grimmfest say: Holing up in an anonymous Florida hotel with a large quantity of psychotropic drugs is probably not the best way to celebrate and consolidate your marriage, even if you have some experience with the drugs in question. If you don’t – if you don’t even know what those drugs actually are, or what they might do – well, then, you shouldn’t really be surprised when things get… messy. But you might be surprised at just HOW messy they get in John Ainslie’s cautionary tale of ill-considered actions and terrifying consequences. An emotionally involving and genuinely disturbing mix of deftly observed relationship drama, sly social satire, and harrowing, gory horror, this is a gripping, gruelling and ultimately heartbreaking film, able to shift from darkly funny to utterly horrifying within seconds; the slippery, jumpy sense of time, sequence, and consequence, capturing perfectly the disorientation and dislocation caused by the couple’s escalating drug usage and resulting mental fragmentation. Beautifully played by the two leads, whose inexorable decline from sympathetic, likeable, identifiable characters, into total monsters is both horrifying and heartbreaking, and with maybe a droll nod to Paul Bartel’s classic cannibal satire, EATING RAOUL in the sharply observed characters of Wayne and Wendy, the middle-aged swingers who have the misfortune to cross paths with the drug-crazed newlyweds, this is smart, sharp, cruel filmmaking, utterly unflinching, which grows ever darker and bloodier as it progresses, but anchors its horrors in a really nuanced and entirely believable depiction of a collapsing and toxic relationship. It’s truly a honeymoon in hell. What I'm expecting: Grimmfest's description of Do Not Disturb as having social satire, gory horror, darkly funny humour and themes of mental fragmentation, made me immediately think of Julia Ducournau's masterpiece of body horror, Raw. Here, Do Not Disturb, it seems, uses Raw's premise to tell a story about toxic relationships and a failing marriage, swapping out Ducournau's coming-of-age tale and adding its own unique twist. It's a great concept, but it's incredibly risky. A good body horror film must be able to connect its graphic violence to the underlying themes of the piece; at its heart, it's about change and transformation. Too many contain just buckets of gore without the character depth and development, or themes being represented through it as if that should be enough to carry the film on its own. It's not. Well-written character development and meaning to the gore are why Raw succeeded where so many others have failed, and that's what John Ainslie (as writer-director) needs to get right. The folks at Grimmfest have said very promising things, which leads me to believe that Ainslie really knows his stuff and has done this right. I have high hopes for this one. I need a full-blooded, practical effects-driven body horror movie to make me squirm in my seat!

Grimmfest, Manchester's International Festival of Fantastic Film will be returning to regular venue, The Odeon Great Northern, in Manchester on October 6th – 9th, for four high-impact, fear-filled days of the very best in genre cinema. Hot on the heels of announcing the Grimmfest 2022 feature film line-up, the festival team are delighted to reveal this year's poster artwork and short film selection. The past few months has seen the festival undergoing a bit of a rebrand, with a new Logo and more interactive website. This year’s poster, too, marks a shift in style. Grimmfest's artist and iconographer, the inimitable Ilan Sheady, has reimagined the festival's iconic regular poster star, the Reaper, to truly stunning effect. The visual style might have shifted, but the black heart and soul of the festival are unchanged. And just to underline the festival's continued commitment to new, exciting, and challenging voices in genre cinema, Grimmfest is delighted to announce this year's short films. Pandemic paranoia, postnatal anxiety, pressures of work, bickering neighbours, and a husband who just seems... off, in Ben Botwick's icy study in domestic alienation, ENOUGH SLEEP, a Grimmfest World Premiere, guest-starring Jeffrey Combs and Sherilyn Fenn as the neighbours from hell. Ruthless ambition, repressed memory and reckless substance abuse collide, with catastrophic consequences, in Alec Gibbons' frenetic, high-octane fusion of Jay McInnerny and Edgar Allan Poe, THE BABY NEXT DOOR, an international premiere. A bereaved mother fights back against a sinister intruder, in Paul Hibbard's relentless, ruthless, and shockingly brutal home invasion thriller, SOME VISITORS, another Grimmfest International Premiere. A recently divorced father confronts his demons... LAKE MUNGO's Martin Sharpe turns writer-director, for the suffocatingly tense psychological thriller THE EVIL IS INSIDE, a European Premiere. A would-be Prom Queen faces up to a pregnancy that's not only unwanted, but utterly monstrous, in Hannah May Cumming's genre-savvy retro-styled feminist body horror splatter-satire, BABY FEVER, a UK Premiere. The disposal of a dead body proves increasingly problematic, in Matthew James Fackrell's intense and claustrophobic WHO GOES THERE, another UK Premiere. An expectant mother starts to lose all sense of identity in Gabriela Staniszewska's slippery and unsettling blend of social comedy, satire, and brutal, bloody nightmare, YUMMY MUMMY, which is receiving its Northern UK premiere at Grimmfest. Two old rivals meet up for a reconciliatory Christmas Celebration that proves to have very little to do with the Season of Goodwill, Brian Quintero's deliciously dark festive treat, OLDTIMERS, starring Julian Richings (ORPHAN BLACK, SUPERNATURAL, VICIOUS FUN) and Conrad Coates, and having its UK Premiere at Grimmfest. Grimmfest Reaper Award winner Helena Puig (RENDEZ-VOUS) makes a welcome return to the festival, in Fabio Colonna's jaw-dropping expressionist gothic nightmare, UMHEIMLICH, a Greater Manchester Premiere, which sees the eternal fight between the conscious and unconscious mind played out in viscerally physical fashion. Comedy of social anxiety and visceral body horror combine, as a young woman must balance relationship uncertainties, the attentions of a sinister cult, and a horrific infection, in the international premiere of Will Lee’s squirm-inducing and uproarious RINGWORMS, which recently won the audience award at Popcorn Frights. And a young woman discovers that she cannot escape from her own guilt, in Carlos Baen's delirious, disorientating and visually devastating study of mental fragmentation and the road to damnation, TRANVIA, a UK premiere. And as a quick reminder, we’ve already announced our 21 feature film premieres, which you will find listed on our website with screening times and ticket availability. Highlights include FINAL CUT a hilarious French comedy about the production of a doomed zombie movie from Oscar-winning director Michel Hazanavicius (THE ARTIST), The UK premiere of HOUSE OF DARKNESS from director Neil LaBute and starring Justin Long and Kate Bosworth, The UK premiere of awesome creature feature THE LAKE from Thailand, THE PRICE WE PAY starring Emile Hirsch and Stephen Dorff and NIGHT SKY starring genre stalwarts Brea Grant (12 HOUR SHIFT) and AJ Bowen (YOU’RE NEXT). Grimmfest 2022 tickets and passes are available now, from www.grimmfest.com

Grimmfest, Manchester's International Festival of Fantastic Film is delighted to announce the full feature film line-up for 2022. The festival will be returning to regular venue, The Odeon Great Northern, in Manchester on October 6th – 9th, for four high-impact, fear-filled days of the very best in genre cinema. All 21 carefully selected feature films are premieres, all are new to Manchester, and many are international or UK premieres. This year's festival will open with the exclusive UK screening of Martin Owen’s THE LONELIEST BOY IN THE WORLD (UK). Ed Gein meets EDWARD SCISSORHANDS, as an unstable and otherworldly Mother's boy seeks a replacement family in the local cemetery, in this darkly comic and delightfully quirky “fairy tale with Zombies”. The closing night film is one almighty and monstrous international premiere from Thailand, Lee Thongkham’s THE LAKE is a massive creature feature extravaganza that combines awesome physical effects work with state-of-the-art VFX to pit the inhabitants of a small town against a threat of huge proportions. This one is not to be missed! FINAL CUT (France) was the opening film at this year’s Cannes. This riotously funny re- imagining of micro-budget classic ONE CUT OF THE DEAD, from Oscar-winning writer- director Michel Hazanavicius, features A-List French stars, Romain Duris, Berenice Bejo and Matilda Lutz in this hilarious take on the complexities of the film making process. Neil LaBute (THE COMPANY OF MEN, THE WICKERMAN) offers a sly modern spin on a Gothic genre classic, as a casual pick-up turns increasingly strange and sinister. Part EC Comics morality tale, part sour comedy of sexual manners, Justin Long and Kate Bosworth star in the International Premiere of HOUSE OF DARKNESS. A young girl, struggling to awake from a coma, navigates the nightmare-freighted world of her own subconscious in the international premiere of Ryan Stevens Harris' astonishing steampunk gothic fairy tale, MOON GARDEN (USA), which evokes the best of Jan Svankmajer, Terry Gilliam and Clive Barker. A surreal and sulphurous study of the legacy of abuse, and of the iniquities of a murderous father upon his damaged children in the UK premiere of Karim Ouelhaj's MEGALOMANIAC (Belgium), Winner of “Best Feature” at Fantasia 2022. Emotionally gruelling, unflinchingly brutal and utterly compelling. Scott Slone offers a whip-smart reinvention of the Found Footage genre in the international premiere of MALIBU HORROR STORY (USA). A machine-tooled old-school thrill ride, packed with brutally effective jump scares and dark, twisted wit. There's weirdness in the wilderness, as a group of women on a therapeutic “outward bound” trip to the mountains must confront their deepest traumas given monstrous physical form, in Berkley Brady's unsettling parable of the rocky road to recovery, in the international premiere of DARK NATURE (Canada). A trio of desperate criminals choose the wrong home to invade and find themselves caught in a fiendish trap, in Vincenzo Ricchiuto's cruel and clockwork-precise study of revenge. The international premiere of THE GOLDSMITH (Italy), stars Italian cinema icon Stefania Casini (SUSPIRIA, 1900). Jesse Thomas Cook takes aim at Reality TV, True Crime Machismo, New Age cultism, and the contemporary internet hate figure of the “Karen”, in the gleefully cartoonish satire of self- actualisation, and self-delusion, in the international premiere of CULT HERO (Canada), fresh from its world premiere at Fantasia fest. A teenage girl strives to protect her invalid father from a callous ruling class, and the mercenary instincts of his brother, as she works on an experiment that might just save humanity, in Kristina Buozyte and Bruno Samper's sci-fi eco-fable, VESPER (Belgium/France). Rafaella Chapman, Eddie Marsan and Richard Brake star in this UK premiere. A rideshare road movie with a shapeshifting alien parasite on board, Raúl Cerezo and Fernando González Gómez's THE PASSENGER (Spain) relocates the action of THE THING to the back of a moving vehicle, for a mordantly funny horror-comedy, making its UK premiere. Pitch-black comedy, in the UK premiere of FEED ME (UK), Adam Leader and Richard Oakes' study of suicidal depression, cannibalism, and emotional alienation, which dances deftly between farce and ferocity. Horrifyingly funny and at times just plain horrifying. A frightened young woman is infected by an inescapable waking nightmare and finds herself stalked by a predatory dream demon in Andy Mitton’s (THE WITCH IN THE WINDOW) THE HARBINGER (Canada), which recasts the recent pandemic paranoia as a battle for existence itself. Grimmfest favourites AJ Bowen and Brea Grant swap snappy one-liners and strike sparks off one another in Jacob Gentry's (BROADCAST SIGNAL INTRUTION, THE SIGNAL) genre-savvy splicing of Desert Noir, freewheeling 70s road movie, and paranoid Science Fiction conspiracy thriller, NIGHT SKY (USA). A seemingly naive and devout young woman finds herself in the underground world of truck stop sex workers in John Swab’s (LET ME MAKE YOU A MARTYR), CANDY LAND (USA). An unflinching exploration of religious gaslighting that spirals into brutal murder. Starring William Baldwin, Olivia Luccardi (IT FOLLOWS), Owen Mitchell (X) and Guinevere Turner (AMERICAN PSYCHO). Japanese maestro, Ryûhei Kitamura (MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN) pitches vicious heist men Stephen Dorf and Emile Hirsch against Vernon Wells' illegal organ trafficker and implacable seven-foot henchwoman Erika Ervin, then cheerfully cranks the carnage way past eleven, in the gleefully gory THE PRICE WE PAY (USA). A bullied and brutalised teenage girl is offered an opportunity for revenge against her cruel tormenters, in Carlotta Pereda's, PIGGY (Spain), a complex exploration of female body image and self-loathing, moral complicity, retribution and redemption. An ambitious architect wakes up to discover he is trapped inside a filthy porta-toilet and faces a frantic race against time to free himself before he is buried under concrete. Claustrophobic tension and scatological humour combine to stunning effect in Lukas Rinker's pressure cooker thriller, HOLY SHIT! (Germany). A honeymooning couple choose the wrong way to consolidate their marital union, as a mind- expanding experiment with unfamiliar psychotropic drugs unleashes monstrous appetites and mental and moral meltdown, in John Ainslie's hallucinatory, hilarious, and utterly horrifying, DO NOT DISTURB (USA). Josie and the Pussycats collide with Lovecraft and Fulci, as an all-girl rock band agree to an extra gig, only to find themselves facing off against pan-dimensional alien brain parasites and a whole town full of ravening zombies, in Pablo Parés' pyrotechnic splatterfest, and future midnight movie classic, PUSSYCAKE (Argentina). The full screening schedule, along with details of the short film programmes, festival guests, and individual tickets will be released soon. Grimmfest 2022 full festival passes are available now, from www.grimmfest.com.

★★ Directed by: #AngusSilver Written by: #AngusSilver Starring: #KrisNeilson Film Review by: Emily Davison Angel Candy is a lot of things: a huckster, an artist, a life coach, a radio personality, and a titan of the rail wheel lubricant delivery industry. Above all else he is doomed. While in hiding, he presents to us the story of his bizarre and often morally questionable life. The Death of Angel Candy (2022) is a Canadian comedy crime thriller which has been nominated for Best Feature Film and Best Comedy Film on Film Freeway. The film takes on a documentary style format by focusing on the tales of our intriguing subject, Angel Candy, a strange and eccentric individual who has had a troubled upbringing from a potentially abusive grandfather and lives anything but an ordinary American lifestyle. Director and writer Angus Silver creates an intimate narrative through the framing of a single character directly addressing viewers by speaking about several life anecdotes, claiming to have almost died twice already. The humour is very tongue in cheek and dry, with Angel discussing his ventures and past history in straight terms, the comedy derived from Kris Neilson’s charismatic line delivery and engrossing screen presence. The movie begins with an infectious quirky energy through snappy editing, utilising precise cuts to match the rhythm of Neilson’s performance as he moves about different areas of one location to another. The comedy and more dramatic scenes are complimented well by an effective original music score which adds a pleasant backdrop to well shot sequences. The film is very much reliant on the central performance of Neilson to carry us through ninety minutes of bizarre circumstances and whilst he is clearly talented and can carry a script well, it is not quite enough to redeem an otherwise uneventful, slow pace. Due to the simplicity of the screenplay with random events being narrated to us and a lack of successful tension being mounted, the film can very often drag along aimlessly with no clear point to anything. In the end, The Death of Angel Candy is a film which was clearly made with passion from all involved, exhibiting a quirky sense of humour through Silver’s direction and featuring an engaging lead performance by Neilson. However, ultimately the movie is bogged down considerably by heavy reliance on dialogue driven sequences throughout, which results in an audience disconnect and a lethargic watch overall. #EmilyDavison The Death of Angel Candy (2022) trailer:

★★★★ Directed by: #TylerNilson #MichaelSchwartz Written by: #TylerNilson #MichaelSchwartz Starring: #ShiaLaBeouf #DakotaJohnson #ZackGottsagen Film Review by: #GeorgeWolf Zack Gottsagen wanted to be a movie star. Filmmakers Tyler Nilson and Michael Schwartz told Zack there just weren't many roles available for actors with Down Syndrome. He asked if they could write him one. The result is The Peanut Butter Falcon, an irresistibly endearing adventure powered by an unwavering sincerity and a top flight ensemble that is completely committed to propping it up. Zak (a terrific Gottsagen), getting an assist from his elderly roommate (Bruce Dern), makes a successful break from his nursing home quarters with a mission in mind: finding the wrestling school run by his idol, the Salt Water Redneck (Thomas Haden Church). Tyler (Shia LeBeouf) is also running - from a big debt to a small time tough guy (John Hawkes) - and when Zak stows away on Tyler's rickety boat, the two embrace life on the lam as Zak's case worker Eleanor (Dakota Johnson) slowly closes in. The quest carries obvious parallels to the real Zack's Hollywood ambitions, and the Nilson/Schwartz directing team lovingly frames it as a swamp-ridden fable full of Mark Twain homages. You get the sense early on that this is the type of material that would crumble if any actor betrayed authenticity for even a moment. It also isn't long before you're confident that isn't going to happen here. LeBeouf is tremendous as the wayward rogue whose inner pain is soothed by his bond with the stubbornly optimistic Zak. The chemistry is unmistakable, and ultimately strong enough to welcome the arrival of Johnson, who gives her Eleanor layers enough to embody our fears of the "real world" puncturing this fairy tale. The surrounding ensemble (including Jon Bernthal and real-life wrestling vets Mick Foley and Jake "the Snake" Roberts) and rootsy soundtrack color in the last spaces of a world wrestling with convention. Sure, you'll find glimpses of feel good cliches. What you won't find is condescension, or the feeling that anything here - from the characters or the filmmakers alike - is an act of charity. Often similar to last year's Shoplifters, The Peanut Butter Falcon is all about embracing family where you find it. Following a dream, Zak finds it. And we feel it.

★★★★ Directed by: Ajoy Bose Co-directed by: Peter Compton Starring: The Beatles Film review by: William Hemingway Everybody knows and loves The Beatles, right? They're probably the greatest band there ever was, right? This was even observed with a twinkle in the eye by Danny Boyle's heart-warming comedy Yesterday in 2019 as it wryly ran with the premise that one would think it very odd to come across anyone who had never heard of The Fab Four. Including their own movies there are well over twenty films that explore the music, lives and deaths of these Liverpool lads, so you might well ask yourself what else there can be to tell or show about them that hasn't been heard or seen before. However, into that busy realm now come two more films, both with a distinct focus on the band's time in India. Meeting The Beatles In India (2020) is Paul Saltzman's personal reflection on that period, where he met and photographed The Beatles as they shared time at a spiritual retreat in the mountains of India. It boasts big names as talking heads, holds court on the fundamentals of transcendental meditation and even has Morgan Freeman doing the voice-over, yet still this film is limited in its scope and has a much more individual standpoint. The next film, The Beatles And India (2021) thankfully takes a much broader view of this period in the lives and careers of The Beatles. It paints a much fuller picture of just how their time in India affected them personally and professionally as well as how this meeting of worlds shaped the culture of Eastern and Western societies for decades to come. For those already au fait with the ins-and-outs of Beatles history it will come as no surprise that George Harrison was the main driving force for the band's Eastern awakening. He had used a sitar on Norwegian Wood while filming Help! In 1965 and this started him on his journey to explore the sounds and instruments of India, eventually leading to a meeting and friendship with Indian music icon Ravi Shankar. Soon the rest of the band got involved and they began to consider how to use this sound to enhance and diversify the music they were creating. It was during this time that The Beatles met Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, a spiritual teacher and founder of the practice of transcendental meditation. They connected at a retreat in Bangor in Wales, while tragically at the exact same moment in London, The Beatles manager Brian Epstein died from misadventure at the hands of what was deemed an accidental overdose. Seeking a new guide and a new path the still twenty-something Liverpool lads dove head first into meditation and spirituality under the tutelage of the Maharishi, leading them eventually to Rishikesh, the holy guru's retreat in the foothills of the Himalayas. Here they stayed, played and meditated for an entire summer as they dealt with their grief and learned to be at one with themselves. Here they also wrote most of the songs on The White Album, a seminal piece commonly hailed as their greatest work. And the rest is history. So, when faced with yet another documentary pertaining to the exploits of The Fab Four, the first question that inevitably arises is 'Does it add anything new?' We could all sit down with the iPlayer and pore over hours and hours of stock footage overlaid with vox pops from Jamie Theakston and Jo Whiley, but where does it get us? Thankfully, The Beatles And India has a very clear vision and focus, using its cinematic aspect to full advantage to give us a detailed and comprehensive overview of what was a relatively short period in the lifetime of the band. Not only that but the director and producers have a vested interest in the story they are telling and provide a stunning portrait not just of The Beatles but of India, too. The personal stories and individual accounts of those who were there at the time provide a genuine connection to the personalities of John, Paul, George and Ringo, whilst new found footage, photographs and audio recordings lend a definitive authenticity to every recollection being aired. Some segments which use original footage overlaid with present day shots of the retreat also become very affecting as you watch the imprints made on time and space by such an historical event. There is plenty to explore here, from the early days of Beatlemania in the more Westernised communities of India, to the story of the band's - and more importantly George's - relationship with the country, to the effect this experience had on the people, the culture and the music that followed. The relationship of the band with the Maharishi is dealt with openly and evenly, never descending into bias or blame, and while this is undoubtedly exposed in more detail elsewhere, by others, director Ajoy Bose makes expert decisions in just how deep to delve and who to listen to when piecing together evidence from both sides. There is more to The Beatles And India than just either The Beatles or India. The music, multicultural learning, meditation, media stars and many other aspects of the film ensure that anyone, not just fans of The Fab Four, can access, enjoy and spend time in the company of those who defined an era. #WilliamHemingway

★★★★★ Directed by: #ShinichirôUeda Written by: #ShinichirôUeda Starring: #TakayukiHamatsu, #YuzukiAkiyama, #HarumiShuhama, #KazuakiNagaya, #Mao Film Review by: #DarrenTilby Every now and then, a film comes along that takes you completely by surprise. Sometimes because it was better than you were expecting, sometimes because it was worse. Sometimes it's because of a twist ending, and sometimes it's because the ending was so obvious, you hadn't seen it coming. With One Cut of the Dead, however, it's something...else. Advert director, Higurashi (Takayuki Hamatsu) is hired by a new start-up channel – focussing on zombie-related programming – to do a short zombie movie. The catch? The movie must be filmed with just one camera. In a single take. And, broadcast live. Quite the challenge for a director who describes himself as “fast, cheap but average.” The first 37-minutes of One Cut of the Dead is that short film. And is itself, shot in a single take. The film is full of patchy acting, awkward silences and unconvincing levels of gore. Exactly what you'd expect from a low-budget zombie flick. So much so, you don't really think anything of these weird little moments at the time. Now, a 37-minute long single take is nothing to sneer at. In fact, it's quite an accomplishment in its own right. But the film only gets better as it goes on. The last hour of One Cut of the Dead details the making of that short film. And towards the end, as everything starts to come together, and these little oddities begin making sense. You'll find yourselves smiling uncontrollably. Just like I was. The cast is phenomenal throughout. But what's more, they represent a mockery of acting clichés we're all familiar with: there is the alcoholic actor, the high-maintenance actor, the method actor, the actor whose every film has to be artistic, and the actress who isn't an actress at all, but has been hired because she's a well-known pop star. Of course, they all have their own list of demands and things they aren't willing to do. And watching director Higurashi during the film's climax as he attempts to juggle them all, while also trying to make this incredibly high-demand film, is just a huge joy. One Cut of the Dead is one of those films that, on the surface, can seem like a cheap lampooning of low-cost film-making. But, in reality, it’s more about championing independent movies and the intuition needed by filmmakers to make up for the lack of available funds. Standout performances from Takayuki Hamatsu and Harumi Shuhama are anchored by a superb supporting cast. While Shin’ichirô Ueda’s ballsy direction and clever writing impart an intelligence and nuance to this film, you’d be forgiven for thinking it could not possess. This is damn fine film-making, and you should seek it out immediately.

★★★★ Directed by #SimonArmstell Written by #Simon Amstell Starring #ColinMorgan Film Review by Seth Troyer Benjamin is one of the most uniquely brilliant indie films I’ve come across in some time. It’s a film that could have easily been yet another Woody Allen clone, yet another romp where a director shares his thoughts on love, nervous breakdowns, and how cool and complex he is just before the film cuts to credits. Benjamin is something much more. While the core of the film seems born from director Simon Amstell’s autobiography, what really makes it stand out is the duet Amstell has with his star. Colin Morgan’s lightning fast delivery and realistic portrayal of Benjamin, a young gay man who endlessly gets in his own way, makes the film more than just a mouth piece for a director, but a unique character study. Benjamin is a filmmaker who recently failed to live up to the promise of his debut movie. In the aftermath, he falls in love with a beautiful French musician named Noah, but their relationship is constantly threatened by Benjamin’s increasingly erratic mental state. In less capable hands such a plot would make for a rather unoriginal film, but here, the events that unfold feel realistically random and unpredictable. Plot points begin, end abruptly, and then pick back up all over again in surprising ways that create a true to life experience. Even the minor characters are fleshed out yet mysterious, creating unique human beings rather than lazy stereotypes. The film’s fast paced, dark humor is never contrived or pretentious. Amstell’s incredible ear for dialogue coupled with Morgan’s gift for delivery feels like a comedic team at the top of its game. Though far more lovable, Morgan’s portrayal of an erratic, untrustworthy protagonist calls to mind David Thewlis’s darkly genius incarnation of Johnny in Mike Leigh’s Naked. Indeed, Benjamin seems to have much in common with Leigh’s everyday dramas in the attempt to flesh out believable characters rather than convey easy moral judgements. It is an aching portrayal of a person who seems either on the brink of transformation or immolation. Benjamin is a cry for the mind to just shut up for once, and let the heart take the wheel for a change. #SethTroyer