2025’s FrightFest UK tears through the noise to deliver a lineup of strange oddities and violent slashers. This unique genre festival kept me on the edge of my seat—and, in the case of some titles, anxious to turn on all the lights in my home. Don’t miss my full coverage for the festival after the jump!
Films
213 Bones
Full review at the link.
A BLIND BARGAIN
A remake of Lon Chaney’s lost silent film of the same name, A Blind Bargain is a total oddity. It has the feeling of being hopelessly outdated while still managing to inject creativity into its trippy visuals and throwback aesthetic. The most notable element is probably Crispin Glover as the mad scientist Dr. Gruder—though his methods are strange, they aren’t exactly torturous, either. Glover speaks in an over-the-top affected accent, an aura of mystery following wherever he goes. Taking place in 1970, the Gruder Institute ropes in a desperate war vet. Dominic (Jake Horowitz) gives them his former actress mother (Amy Wright), whose blood will pay $500 a pint. Dominic can easily pay off his debts now, but at what cost? The setup fascinates, but the movie never really takes off, especially when we see the results of Gruder’s wild experiments. Underneath the excess, there’s a message to be found about aging. The rest of the runtime gives you Glover waxing poetic about fluffy cats and pinatas filled with money, so take that as you will.
DON’T LET THE CAT OUT
A couple obsessed with cats recruit a young adult of unspecified age to house sit as they secretly conspire to fill his body with the soul of their beloved cat, Marty. Yes, that premise is just as outlandish as one would assume, with almost every inch of the couple’s sprawling home littered with cat paraphernalia, including cat clocks, cat fridge decals, and ceramic cats. They even have CatPeople as a Wifi password! At first, it seems that writer/director Tim Cruz (Ladybag) is aiming for campy body horror, especially as poor Charlie begins to sneeze and cough and discover random tufts of hair from an unseen cat. Do they actually make cat ball gags, or have extra giant litterboxes for sale? Perhaps, but watching them onscreen just feels uncomfortable. As we inch closer to the endgame, Don’t Let the Cat Out reveals more of its oddities, which mostly just involve batshit owners and cat costumes. This might be a new favorite for furry lovers or crazy cat ladies, but for me, it was a bit too much of a hairball to recommend.
HEALING ANDY
Operating under the most basic definition of found footage, Healing Andy hails from writer/director/editor/producer, Villablanca, who one would assume knows nothing about this subgenre given his take on the material. A group of four friends head to Italy in the attempts to get Andy (Matthew Kay) out of a post-fiancée funk. They meet Ginger (Gemma Acosta), a representative who offers a quick tour of the property they are staying at for the week. Ginger immediately catches Andy’s attention, but she and her crew have questionable intentions. They end up robbing Andy’s crew of their money and passports, effectively stranding them in Italy. At the top of the film, we learn that these boys never make it back; their camera footage was discovered three years later, then cobbled together. There is never really much of a threat to any of them, and what does happen could be classified more as just a few friends having fun. Making matters worse, the acting does the film no favors, dodging any form of believability paramount to these found footage flicks. Healing Andy could barely be considered horror. With obvious comparisons to The Blair Witch Project, it simply doesn’t stand a chance.
THE MANNEQUIN
Full review at the link.
THE OTHER PEOPLE
Full review at the link.
PIG HILL
Boasting an impressive cast—including Shane West (A Walk to Remember, Dracula 2000) and Shiloh Fernandez (Evil Dead, Torn Hearts)—Pig Hill was one of my most anticipated movies of FrightFest. Carrie (Rainey Qualley, Shut In, Ultrasound) is working on a book about the legend of the Pig Hill Butcher and the myths of the Pig People. These Pig People allegedly breed and paint a path of chaos that spans back for decades. As the bodies of women continue piling up without explanation, Carrie grows more determined to seek justice for them. To no one’s surprise, Carrie eventually gets snatched, ending up right in the grasp of the Pig Hill Butcher at the mercy of a pig-masked maniac that grunts more than an animal being slaughtered. Some of the imagery here is appalling, from the implications of a woman riding a pig with “with a pecker the size of your forearm” to rape and murder. Any film that compares being sexually molested to being passed around like a bucket of breadsticks at an all-you-can-eat buffet probably isn’t meant to be taken very seriously. The ludicrous twist near the end is an eye-rolling frustration, especially given there was little-to-no indication of that plot development quietly stirring. For those who can get past its many shortcomings, maybe Pig Hill could still be a fun-enough genre time waster; for this viewer, it was unfortunately one of the most disappointing movies of the festival.
THE RED MASK
Full review at the link.
SANE INSIDE INSANITY
Full review at the link.
SELF HELP
Full review at the link.
YOUR HOST
Full review at the link.
WHAT SHE DOESN’T KNOW
There’s a serial killer on the loose, dubbed the Genesis Killer. This maniac has a trademark of stealing people‘s ribs, and targets only honor roll students. In the opening scene of FrightFest pick What She Doesn’t Know, a young teen is tormented by a sadistic caller highly reminiscent of 1996’s Scream. If the rest of the film had followed in the footsteps of its enticing opening sequence, this one could have at least been a fun throwback slasher. Instead, it shifts focus to a single location chamber piece set in a sprawling mansion. The characters are decent enough, especially the lead, Indy (Siena Agudong, Netflix’s Resident Evil), who struggles with how to tell her bestie that she has been accepted at NYU. As Indy, Brynn (Jessica Belkin, Last Straw), and their male friend, Jordan (Connor Husting, Let Us In), chow down on ribs and joke about the murders, Indy is haunted by strange visions and eerie nightmares. There are a couple of red herrings, strange interspersed ads, and an unhinged turn from Denise Richards, but the killer’s identity can be seen from a mile away. A late in the game twist almost saves the film. Still, it’s mostly harmless, even though you will probably forget What She Doesn’t Know almost as soon as the credits roll.
For more information and to check out the full slate, head over to the fest’s official website.