FRIGHTFEST 2020 REVIEW

The Covid-19 Pandemic has affected all industries and few more so than TV and Film. Production has come to a virtual standstill and for fans, being able to see new features on the big screen or showcased at film festivals has all but stopped. The UK's biggest horror film festival Frightfest is one that has had to adapt and this year they offered audiences a chance to still enjoy the Frightfest experience, albeit in a virtual way. The festival ended yesterday and although it could never hope to replicate the experience of the physical event, the whole thing ran as smoothly as possible from a view experience and allowed viewers to communicate and chat on social media, during and in between films. 25 premieres were shown and we managed to catch 13 of them, and we're here to fill you in on some of the hits (and misses).

THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS VAMPIRES

Director: Logan Thomas

Strangers, Joshua and Ariel, crash into each other in the dead of the night. Before long they find themselves pursued across the North America desert, the target of an unstoppable supernatural force.

A low-budget vampire road movie horror that feels like a surreal mash-up of Jeepers Creepers, Terminator and The Night Flyer, There's No Such Thing As Vampires is quirky and fast-paced 80 minutes or so. Unfortunately, the further it goes the more it runs out of steam and its efforts to build up a sense of mythology weigh it down in an underwhelming final act.

Propelled by a synthy Carpenteresque score and some energetic central performances by Josh Plasse and Emma Holzer, the first thirty minutes or so are quite a lot of fun. On the open road being pursued by an unknown menace, the film promises much. However the shifting tone and uneven pacing muddle things somewhat and once the antagonist is revealed the film loses most of the intrigue it had built. How that scene with a group of characters discussing Friday 13th and Halloween got left it is a mystery too. Fun in an early 90's monster flick kinda way but ultimately it flatters to deceive a little.

There's a sequel planned, which we're kind of curious about though...