FrightFest Day 2
Having skipped the Hatchet DVD commentary (not having seen the film before I didn’t fancy having someone talk all the way through the film) the day started with The Sword Bearer. It wasn’t the greatest start. A love story with characters you don’t like and don’t care about and a score so overblown you’d think it was an opera. You can get away without explaining a lot in genre films (The Signal that followed this is a case in point) but a guy with a fucking sword that shoots out of his arm isn’t one of them. Worst film of the festival so far.
Things picked up big time with The Signal, a film that owes more than a little to Romero’s Crazies but had enough originality to keep it fresh. I’m assuming the three directors each did one of the segments (or Transmissions as the film refers to them) and whichever one handled the middle section is the pick of the bunch. There’s a lovely streak of black humour running through it that’s mostly absent from the other parts. In fact one of the films main problems is its a little pretentious and has a climax that’s far too drawn out.
Next up 1408 based on a Stephen King short story. It’s well made, well acted but a little to over the top. It feels like they’ve thrown every possible scare tactic into the film, including that perennial favourite, bleeding walls. Still, Cusack is on good form and Sam Jackson steals the film (and delivers the best line) in what amounts to an extended cameo. This may have made more money than any other King adaptation but it’s far from the best. This was followed by a short Q&A with the director, Mikael Hafstrom.
