Frightfest 2012 - Hidden In The Woods Review

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Frightfest 2012 - Elevator Review

Nine people trapped in a lift facing death? Is this M. Knight Shyamalan’s Devil? Nope this is Elevator. A low-budget genre flick that does more with its limited resources than Devil ever did. A slow-burning, tense thriller that both knows, and plays with, genre conventions, the film sees nine people – Henry Barton (whose cocktail party they are all attending), his precocious granddaughter, two office executives, a glamorous TV news presenter, a pregnant woman, a nervous pensioner, the evening’s comic entertainer and a bodyguard – trapped in a lift after Barton’s granddaughter presses the emergency stop button as a practical joke on the claustrophobic, and obnoxious, comedian. Only one of the nine has a grudge against the Barton and his investment company and has come to the party armed with a bomb…

OK, so the premise may not be that original, but what raises Elevator above others of its ilk is that it is fully aware of the genre in which it belongs – even referencing Alfred Hitchcock’s Lifeboat, the granddaddy of the sub-genre, at one point. The film also makes a great statement on modern news, with glamorous reporter Maureen (Sunny) shooting the incident on her phone to be broadcast live on the nightly news – with shades of “found-footage” flicks as we see the unfolding situation from the perspective of the phone’s cameras lens.
Director Stig Svendsen, making his US directorial debut (and what a debut), balances the claustrophobic in-elevator action with effective scenes of just how isolated the group are, their voices echoing out of the elevator into the darkened lift shaft. Svendsen and writer Marc Rosenberg also have a tremendously dark sense of humour, visible not only in the gleeful way Joey Slotnick’s comedian George and Barton’s granddaughter Madeline (played by twins Amanda and Rachel Pace) torment each other, but also in the more macabre aspects of the films final third act – which I’m not going to spoil for you here.

Much more than just Devil with a bomb, Elevator is a great example of the best of horror – taking a horrific premise and using it as a jumping off point to explore much bigger themes and ideas. In this case not only the characters and their psyches but also racism and racial stereotyping in America post 9/11, and the role of financial corporations and the impact their decisions have on the everyman (shades of the global financial crisis?).

A tense, taut, thriller which blends an oft-told story with great performances, a wry dark sense of humour and some gruesome, yet not overtly graphic, set pieces, Elevator is easily one of the best examples of the (sub) genre yet.

This was a review By Phil At Blogomatic3000 

Rating:15
UK Release Date: 24th & 27th August 2012 (Frightfest)
Director: Stig Svendsen
Cast: Christopher Backus, Anita Briem , John Getz 

Frightfest 2012 - The Seasoning House

Brutal, harrowing, unflinching and relentless. Just some of the words that will no doubt be used to describe the debut feature of SFX artist turned director Paul Hyett; and they’d be right, The Seasoning House is all those things. But it is also a a damning indictment of the inhumantiy of man and price some pay for war; a true reflection on the horrors of war and of man.

The film follows Angel (Day), a deaf mute sold into slavery by soldiers who forcibly remove her from her home and kill her mother. Scarred by a birth mark on her face Angel is too ugly to be used for prostitution, instead Viktor, the vicious pimp that runs the seasoning house, takes her under his wing, using her to drug and make-up the girls pre-coitus and then clean them up afterwards… However unbeknownst to her captors, Angel crawls the walls of the house, fighting her own battle – the hollow walls of the seasoning house are her trenches, those outside the walls – the men who would have their way with the drug-addled girls – the enemy.

Based on case studies of true events that have happened across the globe in many war-torn countries, The Seasoning House is a film that walks a fine line between realism and exploitation. Director Hyett has obviously come out all guns blazing with this film, this is a man who has studied his subject matter and his craft. There are subtleties to the film that will no doubt be missed by many at first glance -none more so than the fact that, despite all the excesses of the film, this is not a brutal as the true stories of the exploitation of women during wartime. Stories which go untold in the mainstream media. Hyett also wears his influences on his sleeve – the way in which Angel moves about the walls screams Wes Craven’s People Under the Stairs, however her mannerisms as she crawls forth from the vents echoes the movements and motions of Sadako from Hideo Nakata’s Ringu; and like Jaume Balaguero’s Sleep Tight, The Seasoning House is reminiscent of the early work of Roman Polanski – only with a modern nihilistic edge!

If Hyett is a man on top form, then so are his cast. I have nothing but praise for actress Rosie Day, her portrayal of Angel is one of fragility and strength, a mix of femininity and ferality that is astonishingly accomplished for someone so young – especially given that Angel is a deaf-mute. Day manages to convey the full gamut of emotions without saying one word, and come films conclusion amongst the pipework of a boiler, the look upon her face says more than words ever could. And Kevin Howarth, as Viktor, the owner of the titular seasoning house, manages (partly in thanks to the great script) to make his character both likeable and abhorrent at the same time and as an audience you can never really tell whether he loves Angel or is just protecting his greatest asset.

Possibly too harrowing for some, The Seasoning House is a challenging debut film from Paul Hyett. One that many will praise for its unflinching representation of a real-life situation, but one that many may say also glamourises it. The latter would of course be wrong. The Seasoning House is a film that both entertains and has a message; and I hope the wider audience realise that too.

This was a review by Phil From Blogomatic3000

Rating: 18
UK Release date: August 23rd 2012 (Frightfest)
Directed By: Paul Hyett,
Cast: Sean Pertwee, Sean Cronin , Anna Walton, Rosie Day