INVESTIGATION
FrightFestW W W. S C I FI N OW.CO.U K© Julie EdwardsAND FLOWS IN THE GENRE OVER THE
YEARS OR DO YOU FEEL THAT IT’S
STAYED PRETTY CONSTANT?
GD: It’s not unusual for the mainstream to
highjack the genre when it feels appropriate.
And that’s a good thing as far as I’m
concerned as it helps raise the profi le of all
the creators involved, including the festival.
And don’t forget, horror is still the most
consistent money-making division of the
fi lm industry, even if the critics still try and
dismiss it. It’s NEVER going to go away, and
perhaps, in these dark and dangerous times,
it’s more desired than ever.
AJ: I have been in the genre fi lm critic/
journalist business now for over 40 years
and have lost count of how many times I've
been told that ‘horror is big business’ or
‘horror is dead’. It has always been the same,
it’s only mainstream perception that has
changed with these ludicrous descriptions of
post-horror or elevated horror. The moment
I read anything like that I know that we’re
in a time where ‘normal’ critics have seen a
horror fi lm they like, but can't admit it, so
have to make up excuses for their sudden
improvement in taste.
DOES FRIGHTFEST FEEL LIKE A
GREAT PLACE TO SHOW FILMS
THAT MIGHT PROVOKE WILDLY
DIFFERENT RESPONSES?
AJ: I can only say what I feel and know
it translates to the FrightFest audience. I’m
always looking for the next chill, the next
jolt, it can be from a foreign subtitled fi lm
or the third in a franchise. We will always
give a fi lm the benefi t of the doubt because
we want to be taken some place new and
shocking. We programme a lot of fi lms
people do not know about for that reason so
they will look back next year and say, hey
remember when we saw that at FrightFest
last year, and now look what it has started.
The genre is always the best place to fi nd
innovation and new ideas. I get tired of
people thinking the Blumhouse model
is an accident, of course it isn’t, it’s the
way to go.
AS FANS IT’S INCREDIBLY EXCITING
SEE THESE FILMS ON THE BIG SCREEN
WITH A CROWD OF LIKE-MINDED
PEOPLE. IS IT A SIMILAR THRILL FOR
THE FILMMAKERS AND GUESTS WHO
COME TO PRESENT THEIR WORK?
GD: Yes, absolutely. FrightFest is a level
playing fi eld. We don’t have VIP areas,
there’s nothing elitist going on. The
fi lmmakers and the audiences are constantly
mixing and it’s a rare opportunity for the
talent to get direct and honest feed-back
from the very people they are making the
movies for.
AJ: We get the greatest guests for that
reason. The fans are respectful but always
speak their mind. We’ve had fi lmmakers
re-edit their work based on FrightFest’s
reaction. There’s no better compliment and
testimony to the democracy of the genre.IS THERE ONE MEMORY FROM PAST
FESTIVALS THAT REALLY STANDS
OUT AS A SPECIAL, ONCE IN A
LIFETIME MOMENT?
AJ: I've always said it’s when I introduced
Guillermo del Toro and Alfonso Cuarón on
stage for Pa n’s Laby r int h, the second time in
the world the fi lm had been seen outside of
Cannes. The atmosphere was electric and I
was on terrifi c form.
GD: For me it was forming a friendship with
director John McNaughton, the director of
Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer one of my
all-time favourite fi lms. We spent a few
hours together whilst he was at the festival
with The Harvest and he is such an
intelligent, curious and gracious man.
Can you believe that he made Henry over 30
years ago? For me it will always stand the
test of time...DO YOU HAVE ANY PERSONAL
FAVOURITE PICKS FROM THE
UPCOMING EVENT TO FLAG UP?
AJ: Way too many, Upgrade is fantastic,
the Argentine T e r r i fi e d is the scariest movieof the year bar none, The Man Who Killed
Hitler And Then The Bigfoot is an incredibly
moving portrait of American heroism,
starring one of my movie heroes Sam
Elliott (please let him be able to attend the
screening!) and of course there’s our closing
fi l m Climax, which is quite something,
a masterpiece of extreme cinema and a
fabulous disco movie to boot!
GD: I loved The Dark, Terrifi ed, A Young
Man With High Potential, Perfect Skin,
Lasso, Lifechanger, The Ranger and there’s
many more coming up...FINALLY, DO YOU HAVE ANY TIPS FOR
NEWCOMERS ON HOW TO MAKE THE
MOST OF THEIR TIME AT THE FESTIVAL?
AJ: Get involved, talk to the people next
to you, come and introduce yourself to the
organisers. Only be scared of the movies, not
the audience! You'll have instant fi rm friends
in seconds. Don’t try and see everything.
That’s impossible. Curate your own
programme, stick with it and don't panic.
Just have a fantastic time.
GD: Be open for all experiences...Arrow Video FrightFest runs from 23-27
August at Cineworld Leicester Square and the
Prince Charles Cinema. For more information
and tickets, visit http://www.frightfest.co.uk034 |
L-R: Ian Rattray, Paul McEvoy,
Alan Jones and Greg Day.Summer Of 84 opens
this year’s fest.