Once again, the most magical time of the yearā¦
A wildly mixed bag this year, but tbh I donāt particularly curate the films that I go to so sometimes that is part of the fun. Sometimes.
First up was Labyrinth. This was some kind of Saw/Escape Room mashup and was every bit not as good as that might sound. This is directed by Ryuhei Kitamura, who has made a number of films that Iāve actually enjoyed (Midnight Meat Train, Nightmare Cinema, No One Lives, some others) but this was absolute trash. Felt like a film made by someone who had never seen a horror film before. Looked cheap AF also. Featured Tommy Flanagan who should be doing better stuff than this.
Next up, Dead Reset. Film adaptation of a game (that Iād not heard of) apparently. Lo-fi British production that is a timeloop/reset story. The cast and crew represent the best of the York movie making industry apparently and have all worked together on multiple previous projects. This was clearly made on a budget and looked a bit Red Dwarf at times. That said, it was pretty entertaining and had a pleasingly downbeat ending.
Ithaqua - a far north snowbound Canadian 19th century frontier film featuring Thorās brother (not Loki - Liam Hemsworth). Unlike the previous two films, this one looked expensive and was filmed really nicely. Problem was that it was a better film film than it was a horror film - the horror elements turn up about halfway through and are initially pretty effective. The longer they go on however, the less they work and the more I think this would have been better as a straight drama film. That said, has some excellent dialogue throughout. Terrible closing scene however that should be edited straight out.
Grind - first great find of the festival finally. This is an anthology film about how shit work is in 2026, which is something we can all relate to. Horror anthologies are usually let down by at least one weak chapter or poor linkage, but this worked all the way through. Really nicely put together and gets a bonus point for Barbara Crampton as ever.
The Endless Ballad - one of the disappointing things about film festivals is having the filmsā creators clearly have genuine enthusiasm for something that just doesnāt work for you. This was a prime example - the intro and Q&A saw the director clearly setting out his vision but this was just not for me. Bog standard ghost stuff in an old house featuring a mopey lead who I didnāt care about. Filmed nicely I guess and maybe other people will get more out of it.
Having said that I donāt particularly curate my film selection, when I saw that the Adams family were going to be there I definitely curated myself a ticket to The Glorious Dead. Iāve enjoyed all of their stuff to varying degrees and hugely respect their DIY approach to making films. The Q&A with them afterwards was so lovely and hearing about how many jobs everyone had on the film and how they roped in friends to help make the thing was genuinely inspiring. Film itself was a definite change of pace from last yearās Mother Of Flies. This had (presumably intentional) Fargo vibes and was laugh out loud funny. Surprisingly actiony in places too. Another hit for the fam.
Oof - now if ever a film should have been curated into oblivion, Do You Want To Play? is it. Iāve watched some absolute dross in my time, but this was shiiiiiiiit. Genuinely wonder if this film was made via AI - the script had barely any lines that sounded like spoken English and the crew acted like theyād never even read dialogue in a school play previously. It had weirdly high production values but then massive continuity errors throughout like it had been stitched together from different sources. Terrible stuff. Had to leave before the Q&A with the director as it would have been cringeworthy.
Finished up with Welcome To G-Town. Now this is by no means a great (or even a good) film - itās ridiculously lo-fi, dodgy script and FX that literally look like something from a pound shop. But, itās made by a bunch of mates who have just finished film school and guerilla filmed it in Glasgow and therefore has about 1000 times as much heart as the ^previous slop. Hopefully they go on to better things and good luck to them.
