As if October wasn't the best month anyway, my birthday and Halloween, it also marks the epic event that is Mayhem Film Festival which kicked off yesterday with the hypnotising live performance from The Duke St. Workshop.
Presented by Nottingham's own Kino Klubb, the live music performance was delivered by The Duke St. Workshop with Laurence R. Harvey (The Human Centipede 2, The Editor, Banjo) reading from HP Lovercraft over the top of the music.
Whilst the music was being presented, hypnotic, translucent, neon images were projected on the screen. Along with Harvey's eerie yet inviting voice and a very John Carpenter Esq / 80s horror movie score, the visuals made for a rather trippy and mesmerising show. Something of which I remember for a very long time.
A truly one off experience, but you can get hold of the recording on vinyl and CD. They sold pretty quick last night, but I managed to get my hands on a beautiful purple LP.
The first film of the evening was the French cannibal film, Raw.
If you've read the reports about this film then you'll have read that audience members in Cannes film festival and Toronto International Film Festival had fainted etc. during it's showing.
I can safely say, as a long time horror, the film actually made me hungry! OK, not for human flesh of course. But all that aside, it was a very refreshing take on the cannibal sub-genre from writer / director Julia Ducournau.
The coming of age tale follows Justine (Garance Marillier) during her "rookie" week of veterinary school and her growing need to consume human flesh even though she's vegetarian. Along with the flesh eating, there's a couple of shocking moments, but there's also a few laughs along the way. Great acting and brilliantly written, Raw is definitely worth watching.
The final film of the evening was the UK premier of Kimo Stamboel & Timo Tjahjanto's Indonesian action thriller Headshot.
Starring The Raid's Iko Uwaisyou know straight away you're in for some ass kickery goodness! This time though Uwais shows us a bit more of his acting skills. That's not to say there's less action. Far from it. With some absolutely brutal and bloody fight scenes and stunning camera work that puts you right in the middle of every fight comes a story redemption and revenge.
Definitely one for the serious martial arts film fan.
That's it for day 1 of Mayhem. Keep your eye out for day 2's post shortly.
Mayhem Film Festival was founded in 2005 by filmmakers Steven Sheil and Chris Cooke. They screen the best in contemporary horror, science-fiction and cult cinema and television from around the world. Featuring premieres, previews, masterclasses, international special guest filmmakers, and unique live cinema events, the festival has developed a reputation as one of the strongest and most innovative genre festivals in the country. They are based at Broadway in Nottingham, one of the UK's leading independent cinemas and creative hubs.
The final day of the festival started with a Sci-Fi flick and an absolutely amazing one at that!
Predestination stars Ethan Hawk as a time-travelling Temporal Agent on his final assignment. He must pursue the one criminal that has eluded him throughout time.
There's not much more I can say about the plot that won't give away the many and very clever twists throughout the film. The movie is simply mind bending and blowing, with a couple of massive "WTF!" moments.
On top of that, the performance from Sarah Snook is outstanding, along with some fantastic cinematography. There's no over the top SFX and it keeps the time travel theme rather simple which only adds to the brilliance of the film.
I can not recommend this movie enough for fans of Sci-Fi thrillers. This will leave you speechless your brain melted with delight.
Predestination gets 5 Stars
Check out the trailer...
Next up was ABC's of Death 2.
The was only a handful of segments that stood out in the first anthology so I was apprehensive going into this. I was however looking forward to seeing Jen and Sylvia Soska's contribution, as I loved their work.
I'm not going into every segment in this post, but what I will say that as a whole this anthology sequel is better than the first film and well worth watching as all involved has cranked up the gore, fun and disturbing intensity.
The Twisted Twins didn't disappoint with their "T is for Torture Porn" segment which stars Tristan Risk and Astron6's Conor Sweeney.
Robert Morgan's "D is for Deloused" was also great and he was also a special guest at the festival that day.
ABC's of Death 2 gets 3 and a half Stars
Check out the trailer and below that is a Q&A with director Robert Morgan...
Here I am with Director Robert Morgan
Next that followed was another hilarious and clever comedy horror from New Zealand.
What We Do in the Shadows was absolutely hilarious from start to finish. Much in the same vain as This Is Spinal Tap (1984), the movie is presented as amockumentary. We follow the lives of four house mates that are all vampires as they go about their daily, or I should say, nightly business. There's so many nods to great vampire characters and films throughout the movie and there's even a few werewolves that fit into the story nicely. It's not just filled with obvious slapstick comedy, but it also has some very clever and cool moments that only a seasoned vampire fan and / or horror fan will recognised. This was one of the highlights of the weekend.
What We Do in the Shadows gets 5 Stars
Here's the trailer...
What came next was a very special experience. The 1955 silent film Daughter of Horror (Dementia Cut) was shown with a live score played by Nottingham's own 5 piece band, the8mm Orchestra.
"As the narrator invites us to explore the horrors of an insane mind, a
young woman wakes from a nightmare in a cheap hotel room. We follow her
through the skid-row night and encounters with an abusive husband; a
wino; a pimp and the rich man he panders for; a flashback to her
traumatic childhood; violence; pursuit through dark streets; dementia.
Filmed in film-noir style throughout; only the narrator speaks." The vivid imagery is pleasing to the eye and was equalled by the amazing live performance from the 8mm Orchestra. If you haven't experienced anything like this then I recommend it. Hopefully they will be playing again in 2015.
As a whole experience, this gets 5 Stars
Check out the original trailer...
A few shots before and after the 8mm Orchestra performance
After a short break for "The Flinterrogation" which is the hardest horror quiz who'll ever take part in that took place in the Broadway Cafe Bar, Mayhem showed the last film of the festival.
Monsters: Dark Continent, sequel to 2010's Monsters, takes place ten years on from the events of Monsters, and the 'Infected Zones' have
now spread worldwide. In the Middle East a new insurgency has begun. At
the same time there has also been a proliferation of Monsters in that
region. The Army decide to draft in more numbers to help deal with this
insurgency.
What starts out as a war film / creature feature, becomes more of a story about a small group of soldiers and how they deal with what's going on. As the film progresses, so do the emotional state of the characters.
Although not the best film of the festival by any stretch, with the excellent performances from the main cast which provided the strong emotional content to the film and some beautiful cinematography, this sequel was extremely enjoyable.
Monsters: Dark Continent gets 3 Stars
Check out the trailer below and again, another Q&A with cast members Joe Dempsie (Game of Thrones), Sam Keeley, Johnny Harris (This Is England '86/88, The Last Days on Mars) and film editor Richard Graham.
From left to right: Johnny Harris, Sam Keeley, Me, Joe Dempsie
I was actually pretty star struck with meeting Joe Dempsie as I'm a huge Game of Thrones fan! He plays Gendry, the "bastard" son of Robert Baratheon.
So that was the end of the 2014 Mayhem Horror Film Festival and an amazing weekend. Keep your eyes out for part 4 which looks at "10 Years of Mayhem."
