RAW REVIEW: FRIEND REQUEST

One of the biggest shocks to me last year was the surprising greatness of Levan Gabriadze's Unfriended, a social media savvy horror flick that delivered a fresh take on familiar genre tropes.
Simon Verhoeven's latest effort, Friend Request attempts a similar feat, combining multiple subgenres into one teen friendly tale.
After I was fortunate enough to receive an invitation to a screening hosted by the good folks behind London's annual Film4 FrightFest, I eagerly headed to the new venue for this year's fest, the West 12 Vue in Shepherd's Bush (which looks like a superb choice for this summers premier UK horror event).
Was this a Friend Request I'd want to accept? Or would I soon be logging off?
Read on...

Friend Request (2016)

 

Dir: Simon Verhoeven
Starring: Alycia Debnam Carey, Liesl Ahlers, Brit Morgan, Brooke Markham, William Moseley, Connor Paolo, Sean Marquette, Shashawnee Hall, Nicholas Pauling

SPEEDY SYNOPSIS: I'll try not to spoil too much here but continue at your own risk.

Laura (Carey) is a pretty, popular college student with a handsome medical student boyfriend, Tyler (Moseley), who seems to have life made. After drawing the attention of reclusive, artistic oddball Marina (Ahlers), she receives a social media friend request from her fellow student.
However, the intensity of Marina's infatuation causes Laura and her friends, including goodtime girl Olivia (Morgan), sensitive Isabel (Markham), loudmouthed funnyman Gus (Marquette) and lovestruck geek Kobe (Paolo) to grow wary of this clearly disturbed girl.

The situation eventually builds to a violent disagreement, following which Laura unfriends the desperately clingy Marina... who commits suicide, filming the whole thing on her webcam as she does so.
Consumed by guilt, Laura struggles to make sense of events, especially when she continues to receive updates from the dead girl's account. However, Marina's is not the last death close to Laura... and as she loses those she holds dearest Laura finds herself in a race against time to discover the horrifying truth.

THE BEST BITS (mild spoiler warning): With Friend Request, director Simon Verhoeven succeeds in creating a visually stunning, competent teen-friendly horror.
While it does not hit the heady heights of last year's Unfriended, it manages to combine a number of seemingly disparate subgenres, including pyschological stalker thrillers, J-Horror-esque techno hauntings and even good oldfashioned witchcraft, into one polished horror tale.
The shiny cast are every bit as easy on the eye as Verhoeven's slick visuals (even if a couple are clearly too old to portray college students), with the impressive Carey a real standout as a sympathetic lead. She reminds me a lot of Taissa Farmiga and I hope she stick with the genre for a while. She has the makings of an excellent scream queen. 

I also loved the work of the likeable Sean Marquette in a strong supporting role. His character, Gus, delivers some much needed levity during the film’s darker moments, as do character actors Shashawnee Hall (who horror fans may recognise from Wes Craven’s A Nightmare on Elm Street) and Nicholas Pauling as a pair of comical police detectives who deliver all the movie's greatest lines.

At the other end of the scale, the very talented Ahlers and Connor Paolo deliver in their edgier parts.
Ahlers, channeling The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo's Noomi Rapace, is excellent, not overplaying a role that could easily have devolved into a cartoonish weirdo. She's at the heart of some of the more subtle unnerving moments and I shall keep an eye out for her in the future.

The wonderful flourishes of including her flash animations in the film ensures that it remains striking, all while ratcheting up the weird and unsettling tone.
As well as the visual side of things (enhanced no end by the skilled cinematography of Jo Heim), Verhoeven shows real flair as a horror storyteller. He crafts some sterling scares (bar a couple of mistimed jump attempts) and manages to do justice to each element of the story (written by Verhoeven along with collaborators Matthew Ballen and Philip Koch). As I wrote earlier, this is a storyline that combines several different threads and ideas, yet it never feels disjointed, instead organically incorporating each element into a simple, understandable plotline.
As well as the more obvious horrors (the black wasp motif, the grisly deaths and deeply disturbing imagery of Marina's haunting artwork, such as two mutilated young boys), there are several small details that rattle the nerves.
Laura's growing desperation and helplessness as she struggles to clear her name and protect the people she loves is palpable, while the slow loss of popularity (cleverly portrayed as a gradually dwindling 'Friend Count' onscreen) and friends is certainly sure to haunt youngsters watching the film.
Special praise must also go to the superb score by Gary Go, comprising of several moody techno infused tracks that don't just fit, but truly enhance the events occuring onscreen.

This is just one more stylish component in a film that really does ooze class in its production values.

THE WORST BITS (mild spoiler warning): One of the biggest problems with Friend Request is the focus on the film's Facebook-substitute (sure, it doesn't actually say that it is Facebook but the fonts, colourscheme, terminology and basic layout make it pretty clear where the inspiration lies) already feels dated. Teens have moved on from Mark Zuckerberg's creation some time ago, and its inclusion here feels a lot like an attempt by studio execs to relate to youngsters they've since lost touch with.

Another bugbear proves the number of rather lascivious times in which the camera seems to focus on Carey’s (admittedly shapely) behind. It feels gratuitous and more than a little bit lecherous. She's a talented actress, there's need to focus on her anatomy's assets to hold the attention.
What's more, as accomplished and proficient as Friend Request proves as a film-making exercise, it lacks that extra spark and moment of true brilliance to propel it into must-see territory, especially during its rather hackneyed conclusion. The film sort of fizzles out and the actual conclusion doesn't really make much sense in context to all the revelations of the plot prior to that point.
It's not that the film is bad, per se, so much as it doesn't do enough to distinguish itself as truly exceptional.

THE VERDICT: Despite some small flaws Friend Request is a fun and well-made film that looks to serve as a very strong introduction to some exciting young talents. It's visually stunning, gives us some decent frights and (a rarity among genre flicks), some characters who are actually worth caring about.
It's a proper popcorn crowd pleaser and is well worth your time. I for one look forward to seeing much more from the individuals involved. Check it out.

Friend Request is released in UK cinemas this week. Film4 FrightFest will be taking place in West 12 Vue on 25th-29th August. Visit the festival's web site here for more information.

If you haven’t already, do please check out and Like the Hickey’s House of Horrors Facebook page, which you can find here. It gives you a nice quick link to any new posts on this blog, plus regular news updates from around the web. I check the Internet so you don’t have to! Alternatively, follow me on twitter: The House @HickeysHorrors

Until next time, I hope you enjoyed your stay. 

ALL THE WEEK'S HORROR HEADLINES (28th Sept-5th Oct)

Not got time to trawl the web for all the top horror news of the last week? Well allow me to give you a bite-size breakdown of the all biggest nightmarish news!

1. MANIAC COP REMAKE FINDS A DIRECTOR

A remake of Maniac Cop (that criminally underrated slasher franchise) is on the way and John Hyams, the director of Universal Soldier films Regeneration and Day of Reckoning is attached to direct.

I've always loved the MC films, not least for Bruce Campbell and Robert Zdar, so I approach this news with some trepidation...

Read Twitch Film's story here.

2. X FILES TRAILERS RELEASED

The X Files, that most momentous of cult pop culture TV series, will return to our screens in January, 13 years since the last episode aired. ANd Fox has given us a couple of cool trailers to whet our appetites!

3. FILM4 FRIGHTFEST ANNOUNCES LINE UP FOR HALLOWEEN EVENT

The Film4 FrightFest Halloween event is back at the Prince Charles Cinema on Saturday 24 Oct with six brand new movies, including two World premieres, a European and two UK premieres.

This year’s Shockathon kicks off at 11am with the surprise movie which guarantees a sci-fi cocktail of weird creatures, crude humour and hilarious action. Next up is the UK Premiere of THE VATICAN TAPES, a dynamic, unusual and thrilling exorcism shocker by Crank director Mark Neveldine. This is followed by the World Premiere of THE UNSPOKEN, a chill-orientated sinister ghost story with an insidious sting in its tale. Kicking of the evening with a massive jolt of brutal energy is the UK premiere of MOMENTUM, a break-neck, nerve-shredding violent thriller starring a stand-out Olga Kurylenko & James Purefoy. Our second World Premiere is BELLY OF THE BULLDOG, directed by Nick Gillespie, whose past short films have been shown at FrightFest to great acclaim. We are delighted to welcome him back for his feature genre debut. To complete the line-up prepare yourselves for twists galore, horrific jolts and seat-edged suspense with the European Premiere of I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE III: VENGEANCE IS MINE, which whole-heartedly retains the stunning shock impact of the entire controversial series.

Guests attending include MOMENTUM stars James Purefoy (The Following) and Olga Kurylenko (Quantum of Solace) and from BELLY OF THE BULLDOG, director Nick Giilespie plus key cast, to be announced later.

Plus, they’ll be showing two fantastic shorts, THE CHICKENING, a poultry-infused remix of The Shining, directed by Nick DenBoar & Davy Force and THE PACKAGE, starring Dan Palmer (Stalled) & Tom Gordon. And of course there will be intros, Q & A’s, give-aways and a few special surprises…

Alan Jones, co-director, said today: “Enough with the after dark jitters, caffeine fixes and trying to stay awake through the last movie. FrightFest is always ahead of the curve when it comes to redefining event experiences so here’s our latest innovation. All before midnight you’ll delight in fright with six of the must-see movies of the moment. Carefully selected by the FrightFest team of experts to show exactly where the genre is right now, these six nightmares before Christmas are tales of Halloween you just have to witness”.

Passes for the London event cost £45 and are on sale NOW. 

To book go onlinehttp://www.princecharlescinema.com/events/events.php…
or call the Prince Charles Cinema on 0207 494 3654
Passes can also be bought at the cinema

FULL LINE UP:

11:00 SURPRISE MOVIE

12:55 THE VATICAN TAPES (UK Premiere)
A concerned priest, two Vatican exorcists and the distraught father of a young girl battle to save her soul after she expresses increasingly erratic and strange behaviour. It soon becomes clear that Angela has been taken over by an ancient satanic force and that she must be quickly purged of evil. But what nobody knows is that the spiritual crusade is not just for Angela - it’s for the entire world as humanity knows it.
Director: Mark Neveldine. Cast: Olivia Taylor Dudley, Michael Peña, Dougray Scott, Djimon Hounsou, Peter Andersson. USA 2015. 91 mins.

15:00 THE UNSPOKEN (World Premiere)
In 1997 the close-knit Anderson family vanished from their home without a trace. No bodies were ever found and no explanation satisfied curiosity. For 17 years the house has remained undisturbed...until now. This eerily expert frightener is further enlivened by terrific performances from ‘Suits’/’Arrow’ star Neal McDonough and SILENT HILL/THE TALL MAN/TIDELAND’s Jodelle Ferland.
Director: Sheldon Wilson. Cast: Jodelle Ferland, Sunny Suljic, Neal McDonough, Jessie Fraser, Jonathan Whitesell. Canada 2015. 90 mins.

17:30 MOMENTUM (UK Premiere)
Clint Eastwood’s go-to cameraman Stephen S. Campanelli turns skilled first-time director with this BOURNE style thriller done with panache and witty super-slick suspense. From its attention-grabbing futuristic bank heist opening to exciting airport chase finale, the breathless cat-and-mouse action never stops as CIA assassin James Purefoy relentlessly tracks glamorous jewel thief Olga Kurylenko for a stolen computer hard drive implicating corrupt senator Morgan Freeman in a terrorist plot. Kurylenko is terrific as the criminal mastermind enduring torture with a smile and inventively avoiding Purefoy’s gleefully evil sadist.
Director: Stephen S. Campanelli. Cast: Olga Kurylenko, James Purefoy, Morgan Freeman, Karl Thaning, Dylan Edy. USA/South Africa 2015. 96 mins.

19:45 BELLY OF THE BULLDOG (World Premiere)
With nowhere else to hide, a group of mercenaries and their prisoners take cover inside a long abandoned Bulldog tank. But, while they try to keep the forces outside at bay, the real enemy is already among them, locked inside the belly of the Bulldog. After collaborating closely with Ben Wheatley on FREE FIRE, HIGH-RISE, A FIELD IN ENGLAND and KILL LIST, Director Nick Gillespie makes his feature genre debut.
Director: Nick Gillespie. Cast: Rupert Evans, Deirdre Mullins, Michael Smiley, April Pearson, Gordon Kennedy. UK 2015. 84 mins.

22:15 I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE III: VENGEANCE IS MINE (European Premiere)
After her harrowing experiences in 2010, Jennifer Hills has taken the name Angela and is now working in an anonymous office job. Attending a rape support group to find closure, she meets feisty Maria Finch and they become firm friends. Then Maria suggests Angela join her in taking revenge by proxy on the abusers they hear about in their secret sessions…This superior sequel is genuinely surprising, consistently gripping, smartly written and brilliantly acted.
Director: R.D. Braunstein. Cast: Sarah Butler, Jennifer Landon, Gabriel Hogan, Doug McKeon, Karen Strassman. USA 2015. 87 mins.

4. TV SPOTS FOR PARANORMAL ACTIVITY: THE GHOST DIMENSION

Three TV spots for the final film in the Paranormal Activity franchise — The Ghost Dimension have hit the web. I don't hate the series as much as most (I even enjoyed The Marked Ones and, whisper this now, PA4) so I can't wait to see how the series concludes.
Watch the spots here!

5. CABIN IN THE WOODS 2?

Den of Geek recently conducted an interview with Cabin in the Woods director and co-writer, Drew Goddard, in which he revealed that Lionsgate have been in contact about a possible sequel.
Avoiding spoilers here, but not entirely sure how that would work, which seems to be echoed in Goddard's unenthusiastic response: 'The funny part is, I don’t think we planned that movie to do a sequel, you know? But that being said, the fun thing about Cabin is, the rules are pretty crazy. We get away with a lot of crazy stuff. So, I’m sure we could figure it out if we got inspired to. I know Joss and I both feel like we don’t want to tarnish what we did with the first one. With a sequel, we’d only do it if it made us laugh hard enough, I suppose.'
Read the interview here.

6. NEW RELEASES

First up this week, The Houses October Built gets a UK release under a new name — The Houses of Halloween. It's had some pretty positive word of mouth so expect a review here soon!

Buy it at Amazon here.

Also this week we receive a LANCE FUCKING HENRIKSEN flick!!!!! Another renamed US release, Harbinger Down (cool name!) becomes Inanimate (crap name!)
I love horror at sea and this boasts some cool effects works. Again, expect a review soon...
Buy it at Amazon here.

Another good one here, with Werewolf Western, Blood Moon hitting shelves this week. And guess what? Review soon etc.
Buy it at Amazon here.

We also get 'the perfect so-bad it's awesome flick' Raiders of the Lost Shark. Now that's some cover art right there. Oh and...
BEST. NAME. EVER!
Buy it at Amazon here.

If you haven’t already, do please check out and like the Hickey’s House of Horrors Facebook page, which you can find here. It gives you a nice quick link to any new posts on this blog, plus regular news updates from around the web. I check the Internet so you don’t have to! Alternatively, follow me on twitter: The House@HickeysHorrors

Until next time, I hope you enjoyed your stay.

FILM4 FRIGHTFEST SPECIAL — REVIEW: THESE FINAL HOURS

There's been quite the horror resurgence in Australia of late. Jump started by Wolf Creek, the Oz Horror scene has also given us the likes of Charlie's Farm, Storm Warning, Wyrmwood and arguably the biggest genre flick of last year, The Babadook.

The recent Film4 FrightFest introduced another Down Under flick that has been making waves, Zak Hilditch's end of the world thriller, These Final Hours.

Would this be time well spent? Or would I be counting down the seconds until the end credits?

Read on...

THESE FINAL HOURS (2013)

Dir: Zak Hilditch

Starring: Nathan Phillips, Jessica De Gouw, Kathryn Beck, Angourie Rice, Daniel Henshall, Lynette Curran

SPEEDY SYNOPSIS: I'll try not to spoil too much here but continue at your own risk.

The world is going to be destroyed. An unspecified but massive object has collided with the Earth, instantly obliterating the entire Northern hemisphere and sending a catastrophic destructive wave of fire out from the point of impact that will utterly annihilate anything and everything in its path. The people of Australia are told they have just eight short hours until it reaches them.

The film opens with irresponsible screw-up James (Phillips) in bed with Zoe (De Goew) pondering the unspeakable fate they face. Making an already unbearably poignant moment all-the-more heartbreaking, Zoe then reveals that she is expecting his baby.

James, never one to accept responsibility or man-up, promptly chooses to abandon her, instead opting to meet his long-term girlfriend Vicky (Beck) at the party to end all parties, thrown by Vicky's brother Freddy (Henshall). Here James intends to do drugs, drink, smoke and screw himself into oblivion.

However, on route James witnesses two deranged kidnappers dragging a young girl, Rose (Rice) into a house to suffer an unspeakable fate.

Unable to stand idly by, James intervenes and finds himself the custodian of the girl. He then agrees to help reunite Rose with her family in a world in which laws and society have crumbled in the face of the apocalypse. 

Can this flawed and broken man do the right thing for once? Can he save an innocent... and himself?

THE BEST BITS (mild spoiler warning): Wow, These Final Hours blew me away. It works on every single level. The story, the filmmaking, the cast, the themes — it's utterly fantastic. 

Let's start with the story, taken from a fascinating premise that one can't help but hypothesise over — 'what would I do with just eight hours between me and certain doom?' — a story that boasts fantastic, well-rounded leads and plenty of great twists, turns and cul-de-sacs along the way.

It's compelling and provokes some genuine emotion (I felt quite choked up during some of the later scenes), not least because of some fantastic characterisation.

As flawed leads go, Phillip's James ticks all the boxes — selfish, weak, irresponsible, always making excuses — yet somehow we still root for him to eventually do the right thing, just once, and help the adorable Rose. This is thanks in no small part to the superb Phillips. His is a brave, honest performance, and makes for one of the most believable and tragic protagonists I've seen in some time. He is an excellent actor, a true star, and I sincerely hope to see more of him in the future.

Likewise Rice is a revelation — that rare thing, a child actor who is talented but doesn't come across as precocious or bratty. She is more than up to the considerable demands of the role, a role which is much more than just a plot device through which James is offered one last shot at redemption. Rice is a legitimate co-lead and she is just as good as her older partner. My sincerest congratulations on a wonderful job, young lady.

It is the interaction between the two of them that is the heart of the film. It encapsulates some of the strongest themes in the film — it's no small irony that after running from his unborn child James still finds himself in the role of guardian to a minor. There's no running from your parental responsibilities, a message echoed during an emotional visit to James' mother's (the excellent Curran) house. His mother has grown used to being let-down by her loser of a son, but when he comes calling there's still room for him. In fact, after witnessing the way in which James disappoints Vicky, Zoe and his Mum, we can't help but hope that Rose is the one lady he'll do right by.

The dialogue between him and his young charge sparkles, the delivery flawless. The story (written by director Hildritch) is surprisingly simple, but the richness of the characters ensures it remains totally captivating. Focusing on personal dilemmas and character arcs, the mysterious cataclysmic event that will end all life on earth is barely explained, but nor does it need to be — it's the MacGuffin used to spark the personal storylines that grip us.

Now all this talk of character-development and relationships may lead you to believe that this is a film that goes easy on the horror. This is not the case. We get some sudden and unexpected violence as James and Rose come across some individuals who have snapped in the face of inevitable doom and the bloody course they cut through the Australian landscape is horrifying. What's more there are some wonderful visual effects courtesy of Nathan Stone's talented team.

Yet despite the grimness of the story and the decidedly nasty events that occur on screen, the film is still gorgeously shot. Cinematographer Bonnie Elliot foregoes the usual dark and gloomy look of end of the world flicks, instead embracing the bright, blazing sun of the Australian setting, giving the film a dazzling, saturated look. It feels and looks very different to most genre efforts and ensures that Hildritch's eye for framing hits with optimum effect. Just one more hit in a film with very few misses.

THE WORST BITS (mild spoiler warning): Expect this section of the review to be very short.

One area in which it might suffer is the linear, uncomplicated nature of its storyline. As I said earlier, the plot is surprisingly simple and the biggest plot device, the world-ending catalyst is never truly explained. What's more, the very narrow focus on one or two major characters robs the film of scale. Some may be bothered by this, I however enjoyed it. Not giving us an explanation for the wave of destruction is a sound strategy, it stops all the DIY scientists from picking holes in the story, and ultimately, whatever it is that has caused the events of the film is largely irrelevant.

The narrow focus works because this is a film about one man learning to actually be a man before it's too late. It focuses on James' journey because THAT is what the film is really about.

However, there is a small setback here — the other characters do receive quite short shrift as they tend to be defined by their relationships with or actions towards James and Rose. The supporting cast of De Goew, Beck, Henshall and Curran are all excellent, but I do wish they'd all been given a bit more to do. Nevertheless they make the most of their screentime and there's only so long a film can be.

Finally, while there are some horrific scenes it's worth pointing out that this is more of a very dark apocalyptic thriller than a true horror movie. If you want chainsaws, a bodycount in double figures, scenes of prolonged torture and keyboard-slam jumpscares, look elsewhere. If, however, you want a more thought-provoking look at the far more scary prospect of inevitable destruction, These Final Hours is everything you could possibly ask for.

THE VERDICT: I'll cut straight to it — These Final Hours was the best film I saw at this year's FrightFest. A beautiful, heart-breaking but ultimately hopeful tour de force, it is one of the finest movies I've seen in a long, long time. From the cast, to the direction to the story, I cannot praise These Final Hours highly enough. It is an absolute must-see. 

Luckily, UK readers will be given the chance to see it very soon — hot on the heels of its FrightFest screening the movie will also be showing at Sheffield's Celluloid Screams Festival. If you're nearby and able to attend, you simply have to see it.
Furthermore, the film has already won plenty of support in the States and is now set to be adapted as a TV series by Luc Besson's EuropaCorp! Marvellous news!

Read my previous Film4 Frightfest special reviews for Suspension here, The Nightmare here, Wind Walkers here, Stung here, Night of the Slasher here, Invaders here, Crow Hand!!! here, We Are Still Here here, Demonic here, The Lazarus Effect here, Turbo Kid here and Another Me here.

If you haven’t already, do please check out and Like the Hickey’s House of Horrors Facebook page, which you can find here. It gives you a nice quick link to any new posts on this blog, plus regular news updates from around the web. I check the Internet so you don’t have to! Alternatively, follow me on twitter: The House @HickeysHorrors

Until next time, I hope you enjoyed your stay.

FILM4 FRIGHTFEST SPECIAL — REVIEW: ANOTHER ME

I'm proud of the fact that I'm a British guy, so I love to see what fellow Brits get up to with our beloved genre. In fact, my reviews for the likes of Curse of the Witching Tree and The Cutting Room are among the most popular I've ever posted here at the House, so I know there are plenty of people out there who share my affection for horror flicks from the UK.
Which leads me to one of my most anticipated films from the recent Film4 FrightFest — Isabel Coixet's Another Me, based on Cathy MacPhail's novel of the same name.
With a host of top British acting talent in the cast, including Game of Thrones' Sophie Turner, I thought this looked like a film that would be tough to replicate. But would I have another think coming?
Read on…

ANOTHER ME (2013)

Dir: Isabel Coixet
Starring: Sophie Turner, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Claire Forlani, Rhys Ifans, Gregg Sulkin, Charlotte Vega, Geraldine Chaplin, Leonor Watling, Ivana Baquero

SPEEDY SYNOPSIS: I'll try not to spoil too much here but continue at your own risk. 

Fay (Turner) was a fun-loving teen, right up until her father Don (Ifans) was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis. Devastated as she watches his condition deteriorate, her relationship with her mother Ann (Forlani) has suffered.

Struggling to cope, nevertheless Fay continues to attend school and auditions for the role of Lady MacBeth under the encouraging tutelage of drama teacher Don (Meyers). Things seem to be looking up a little when her crush Drew (Sulkin) is cast opposite her and bitchy rival Monica (Vega) is made her understudy.

However, a dark sequence of events unfolds as Fay comes to realise that her mother is conducting an extramarital affair. In emotional turmoil, Fay finds herself under even more pressure when first her elderly neighbour Mrs Brennan (Chaplin), then her school friends and teachers claim to have seen her at times and locations where she wasn't present.

As Fay starts to see signs of a shadowy stalker she begins to unravel. What is going on? Who is this mysterious doppelgänger — and what does she want?

THE BEST BITS (mild spoiler warning): Needless to say with a cast of this caliber, the acting in Another Me is absolutely top notch. A couple of the youngsters aside, everybody nails their role. Much is asked of Turner and, odd plummy accent in a couple of scenes aside, she is excellent. 

At times it actually becomes uncomfortable to watch her because it feels as if you really are witnessing a young woman experiencing a genuine mental breakdown. She was actually cast in this role before landing the part of GoT's Sansa Stark but she shows no inexperience here.

Elsewhere Ifans gives a tremendously powerful performance of a man staring his own mortality in the face. It's very restrained by his standards and all the more captivating for it.

Meyers and Forlani also impress with their roles, although perhaps the pair could have done with a little more screentime.

Young Vega provides some strong support work as Fay's nemesis, wisely playing it down so as not to drift into Mean Girls territory.
That the actors are given characters so well-rounded and fleshed-out is all the better, a pleasant bonus when dealing with many book adaptations. 

The very talented Coixet has built up a reputation for dense, character-driven, beautiful films with the likes of Elegy, Paris, Je T'aime and My Life Without Me. Another Me shares plenty with the Spanish-born director's previous works, focusing on character interaction, drama and romance. It's a very restrained and controlled take on terror, with a few gentle jolts along the way as it slowly builds towards a truly horrifying finale. There's very little blood, no preposterous bodycount and instead relies on good-old fashioned spooky concepts and the natural feeling reactions of the stellar cast. Coixet deserves credit for trying to bring her higher-brow artistic storytelling sensibilities to a genre which is all too often prepared to insult the intelligence of its fans.

These sensibilities are carried over into the gloriously gritty but still starkly beautiful cinematography by Jean-Claude Larrieau. Each shot is wonderfully framed by Croixet and looks entrancing. The colour palette is muted with emphasis drawn to certain motifs, including Turner's striking red hair. The grimy greys accurately reflect the urban environment in which the story takes place, as well as echoing Fay's miserable, depressed emotional state. It really is quite tremendous.

THE WORST BITS (mild spoiler warning): There's no polite way to say this, so I'll just come out with it — Another Me is pretty boring. It focuses so much on delivering an intelligent, character-driven take on horror that it utterly forgets to include the scares. It's a crying shame because the aesthetics are perfect to instil an atmosphere of dread, it's just that nothing particularly frightening happens in this atmosphere.

This could perhaps be forgiven if the film was especially witty or clever — unfortunately the plot is not anywhere near as intelligent as it seems to think it is. ********SPOILERS******** The unborn twin thing has been seen in plenty of other genre films and Another Me does nothing new with the idea either. ********SPOILERS END******** 
What's more it unfolds at a snail's pace, layering on foreshadowing so thickly that it gives viewers a good 10 minutes notice to work out what's coming next.

Even the finale, a legitimately terrible concept, is spoiled by the fact that we're given so much time to suss out what the big reveal will be, effectively robbing it of so much of its potential impact.

Also, while I've praised the cast assembled for the film, another cardinal sin committed by Another Me is in focusing more on the young, weaker cast members than the impressive experienced heads such as Forlani, Meyer and Chaplin. Ifans is given more to do than most of the other 'grown-up' cast members but even his appearances feel sporadic. I know it's set in a school but it just feels like a waste of some considerable talent.

THE VERDICT: I really wanted to like Another Me. The last thing I wanted was to sound like an ADD-addled teen bemoaning a slow pace, a lack of blood and guts and 'lik wheres all the jumps?!?!? lol'. I really appreciate the look of the look of the film and Coixet's brave and admirable decision to focus on character, but unfortunately it moves like molasses and tells a story that is ultimately quite clichéd. 
Perhaps if it had instead been marketed as a thriller rather than an out and out horror title this would have gone down a little better?
As a drama with some spooky elements, it delivers (albeit slowly). As a horror movie, I'm afraid it comes up short. Bear this in mind should you decide to give it a go.
Read my previous Film4 Frightfest special reviews for Suspension here, The Nightmare here, Wind Walkers here, Stung here, Night of the Slasher here, Invaders here, Crow Hand!!! here, We Are Still Here here, Demonic here, The Lazarus Effect here and Turbo Kid here.

If you haven’t already, do please check out and Like the Hickey’s House of Horrors Facebook page, which you can find here. It gives you a nice quick link to any new posts on this blog, plus regular news updates from around the web. I check the Internet so you don’t have to! Alternatively, follow me on twitter: The House @HickeysHorrors

Until next time, I hope you enjoyed your stay.

SINISTER SIX: RANKING (AND REVIEWING) THE MOMENT OF HORROR SHORTS

As regular readers of this blog will know, I'm a big fan of horror short films. As such, when Film4 FightFest announced that it would be screening a group of shorts commissioned by Channel 4 under the A Moment of Horror banner, I was pretty excited — and beside myself when I heard that they would then be available to watch for free through Channel 4's on demand service, All 4, after the festival.

Having watched all six of the shorts I was not disappointed and then I had the bright idea of resurrecting my old Sinister Six features to rank them all.

Now before we get to the countdown I do need to stress that all of the short films are of a sterling quality and the actual difference in perceived quality between the first and last here is negligible. In short, you should watch them all!

With that in mind, let's press on...

6. WHAT THE DOG SAW

Dir: Andrew Brand

Starring: Alexa Brown, Tom Geens, Dudley the dog

Those of you who've owned dogs will be familiar with those strange times at which your family pet suddenly decides to bark at thin air, usually with absolutely no warning late at night.

Brand's atmospheric short gives us a closer look at one such incident as Linda (the superb Brown) finds her peaceful evening disturbed by her dog Max's sudden and unrelenting barking.

The brisk story follows Linda and her pet right up until the point at which we see exactly what has caused the disturbance.

I imagine several readers will be pretty annoyed at my decision to place What The Dog Saw in this position — and for good reason too. The short is fantastically creepy with a real atmosphere of mounting tension as Linda makes her way through her dark home.

However, the reason it's ranked so low is because I felt the ending fell a little flat. The reveal at the end was not particularly well executed, nor was what revealed that frightening. Combine this with the fact that the short then sort of peters out without hitting us with a sharp shock and you have my reason for placing this film in sixth place.

5. KILLING TIME

Dir: Michelle Fox

Starring: Meghan Doyle, Katie Tranter

As young Harriet (Doyle) looks to skive off work by playing around on her phone in the ladies' room, her slave-driver boss becomes irate, sending a text demanding she gets back to work.

The put-upon Harriet ignores the message, instead texting friends. However, it soon becomes apparent that she may not be alone in the lavatory as somebody (or something) desperately warns her to get out of there...

There's a lot to like in Fox's short film. It's probably the coolest of the bunch and has a couple of brilliantly unnerving moments (that breathing sound was spine-chilling) while the talented Doyle does some good work in the lead role. There's some nifty editing which gives the short  a really dynamic feel, no mean feat when you consider the fact that the vast majority of it takes place within the confines of a toilet cubicle. 

However, it does lack a little substance to go with that style. The story itself is pretty underdeveloped and leaves quite a few unanswered questions. Fun? Yes. Fulfilling? Not so much.

4. BATH TIME

Dir: Rose Glass

Starring: Elizabeth Chan

There's a tried and trusted formula in horror of unspeakable frights occurring while a victim is in the bath. I suppose this comes from the inherent vulnerability that comes with being naked, so Glass's decision to combine this with a character's emotional fragility is very clever indeed.

Chan plays a young woman enjoying a relaxing bath while she listens to a self-help tape to overcome her inner fears. However, as the shadows around her peaceful little haven deepen, it becomes clear that maybe not all her fears are internal.

This is a fantastic short that does a splendid job of building suspense (thanks in no small part to Chan's excellent work as she utterly conveys a believable sense of mounting desperate terror), as Glass shoots the film marvellously before springing a lovely double trap towards the end. There is something terribly disconcerting about the last shot, making this a decidedly strong effort from the A Moment of Horror team.

3. BEHIND YOU

Dir: Lee Lennox

Starring: Eline Powell, Honey-Rose Quinn, Thom Fell

I'll be honest with you here, I could have given first place to any of these top three shorts, as each utterly delivers on its own front.

Lennox's Behind You combines elements of The Babadook with any number of creepy kid stories. Taking the familiar 'babysitter reads a bedtime story to her young charge' situation, the work from the leads — Powell as babysitter Lara and Quinn as young Rosie — is excellent. The book is a wonderfully scary prop from production designer William Hooper and the manner in which it starts off as simply a bit creepy and quickly escalates into something absolutely horrible is excellently Lennox does a superb job of subverting the innocence of childhood into something far darker. There's a fantastic scary reveal towards the end of the short and the killer ending delivers sadistic thrills in spades. 

With some great camera work, some equally cool make-up by Dan Martin and Liam Doyle and a simple but effective plot, this is a high-quality horror short.

2. NIGHT FEED

Dir: Christian James

Starring: Alice Lowe, David Oakes

The parents among you will be familiar with those times in the early hours, somewhere between asleep and awake when your body finds itself stumbling through the darkness to answer the insistent demands of your new arrival.

James' absolutely brilliant short takes this scenario and spins it on its head. When half-asleep, we are less alert — which makes us more vulnerable to malevolent forces, and James uses this to fantastic effect.

In this film the very impressive Lowe utterly gets us onside with her likeable and believable performance and the sheer dread of the story as she makes her way into her little one's room to commence nursing is masterfully executed by James.

There's a phenomenon in horror — and sometimes in gross-out comedy — in which an understated character reaction lets us, the wider audience, guess at the decidedly horrible reveal about to come (see a slip in an as-yet unrevealed puddle or the infamous line 'so wet' in Cabin Fever). This short has one such moment guaranteed to have you wincing at the screen.

Combine these factors with the It's Alive-esque shock ending reveal and you can see why Night Feed is a real winner.

1. THE DOORKEEPER 

Dir: Weronika Tofilska

Starring: John Atterbury, Thomas Fitzpatrick

The story to Weronika Tofilska's The Doorkeeper is disarmingly simple — an elderly man completes his rounds in a murky, dusty old house, closing all of the doors. 
There's no sudden, heart-stopping jolts in there — it's simply a man (the marvellous Atterbury who will be familiar to Harry Potter fans for his work as Sirius Black's ancestor and former headmaster of Hogwarts, Phineas) slowly realising that something else is roaming the corridors and then coming to a shocking conclusion. Even that twist-ending isn't particularly original, echoing a very highly regarded supernatural thriller (that I shan't name to avoid spoiling this short).

However, the reason that The Doorkeeper is in top spot is because it executes all of these elements PERFECTLY. I've mentioned masterclasses in suspense and tension so far, but trust me — this feels like a classic ghost story and positively drips with spooky atmosphere. Alistair Little's cinematography is absolutely sumptuous and the muted colours make the whole film feel as if it takes place somewhere between life and death. The cast are wonderful, Atterbury utterly owns the screen, conveying nuanced and complex emotions with the simplest of gestures or shifts in expression.
The tale itself (at the risk of spoiling it so be careful) echoes the sadness and helplessness of good old fashioned Victorian ghost story and that, ultimately, haunts far more than any jump scares or gore geysers. Tofilska has managed to create a horror story that feels vintage and thoroughly modern all at the same time. It's a timeless tale and one that you'd be crazy to ignore, especially as it's available to watch for free RIGHT NOW.

To watch all of these awesome short films, head over to All 4's A Moment of Horror page right here.

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Until next time, I hope you enjoyed your stay.