FrightFest Day 3
Nothing exceptional today but no duds either. First up Cold Prey showed that a change of locale and some genuinely likable characters could breathe new life into the slasher film even if the end result felt a bit like Jason takes a holiday in Norway. Director Roar Uthang did a pretty good job although keeping the identity of the killer a secret was pretty pointless as anyone into this kind of film will know who it is by the end of the credits. He did a short Q&A after the film and told us the film had been a big hit in Norway and another horror film (not directed by him) was in production there.
Next came a new entry in the creepy kid sub-genre. Joshua brought back memories of Rosemary’s Baby and other films of that era, its slow burning atmosphere a nice change of pace from the usual fare. Vera Farmiga impressed as Joshua’s mum, who after giving birth to a second child, a little girl, goes a little nuts (with more than a little help from young Josh). Sam Rockwell as the father gets better as the film goes on, but the real star of the film is Jacob Kogan as the titular character. Playing the part with so little emotion can’t have been easy, particularly with the histrionics of the other actors but he never falters throughout. This wasn’t a film I was really looking forward to but I was pleasantly surprised.
