Three movies in and our first ever Frightfest is off to a blinding start!
First up was Adam Green’s Hatchet II, introduced by the director himself. A worthy sequel to 2006′s terrific mutant-with-a-well-equipped-toolshed flick Hatchet, it boasts a brilliant, camp-as-tits lead performance from Tony Todd and enough inventive and audacious gore to satisfy the Frightfest crowd. Whilst it’s a little slower to get started than its predecessor and perhaps lacks the outright laughs that defined the original, it was a great opener.
Up next was Australian creature movie Primal, an enjoyable enough piece of nonsense, but derivative as hell, mashing up The Descent, 28 Days Later and Evil Dead amongst others. Characters and dialogue clunk away with pointless exchanges designed to set up later twists, but the action was well directed and overall the whole film pretty passable.
The last film of the day was the world premiere of terrible British gangster/vampire crossover Dead Cert. Its tedious obsession with ‘glamourous’ gangsters and sub-Eastenders attempts at London grit already make it feel terribly dated, and the shoestring budget, risible cockney dialogue and woeful editing add an air of unintentional hilarity. Danny Dyer shows up at the end for an ‘iconic’ cameo, which sort of shows the level this film is pitching at.
Overall, though, a hugely enjoyable start – onto day 2!
