Thursday 21 August 2008
Eden Lake
(World premiere)
Destined to be the most controversial and provocative British movie of the year is this 'hoodie horror' written and directed by James Watkins, co-writer of My Little Eye, writer of Gone and The Descent 2. Nursery teacher Jenny and her boyfriend Steve escape London for a romantic weekend away. Steve has found an idyllic lakeside beauty spot and plans to propose. But their peace is shattered when a gang of obnoxious kids encircles their campsite causing threatening havoc. When tempers flare and sudden violent attack occurs, the distressed couple must flee for their lives and endure a chilling game of cat-and-mouse Frighteningly well acted by Kelly Reilly, Michael Fassbender and yob ringleader Jack O'Connell Eden Lake is uber-disturbing in its horrifying content and stark imagery. Bleakly unrelenting in its tapping into current concerns about out-of control youth culture, it's a compelling and unsettling shocker marking Watkins as a major new talent.
90 minutes
Director: James Watkins
Starring
Kelly Reilly
Michael Fassbender
Jack O'Connell
Thomas Turgoose
James Burrows
UK 2008
Distributor: Optimum Releasing
I Know How Many Runs You Scored Last Summer
(World premiere)
Mass murder? It's just not cricket! Be bowled over Down Under by a vengeance-crazed serial killer with an impressive moustache in Stacey Edmonds and Doug Turner's co-directed comedy horror. After bullying endured two decades earlier at an exclusive boy's school, someone is using an arsenal of razor-fingered cricket gloves, sharpened stumps and nailed balls to slash their old team to ribbons. But which of the remaining eleven is the 'Pommie bastard psycho' spoilsport? Detective Inspector Kim Reynolds gets them together to find the answer. Batting way above average in pitching its shock, and fielding knowing nods at many classics of the genre from Friday The 13th to Dressed To Kill, the sticky wicket splatter combines upper class British sensibilities with brash Aussie humour for a fun test match. The gore is top draw, portraying a devilishly twisted imagination, and the murder weapons are absolutely hilarious. Who said cricket was boring!
85 minutes
Directors: Stacey Edmonds & Doug Turner
Starring
Jai Koutrae
Stacey Edmonds
Az Jackson
David Gambin
Ben Paul Owens
Australia 2008
Distributor: FrightFest
Scar 3D
(UK Premiere)
The big news in Movieland is 3D. Major studios and star directors are embracing the fully immersive format to create dimensional thrills and spills on a never-before-seen scale. Be the first to witness the latest trend in full tilt action with Jed Weintrob's gore-in-your-face slasher. Years ago Joan Burrows became a victim of Erne Bishop, a crazed undertaker with a penchant for mutilating young girls in his morgue torture chamber. She killed him, escaping his sadistic clutches and becoming a local hero. But returning to her small-town home to visit relatives, it looks like someone is copying Bishop's horrific modus operandi. As teenage girls go missing once more and the bloody clues gather, the police pinpoint Joan as their prime suspect, forcing her to face her deepest fears to apprehend the maniac. Eyeball-popping, blood-spurting, scalpel-waving chills leap from the screen in scarring 3D. You won't believe your eyes!
94 minutes
Director
Jed Weintrob
Starring
Angela Bettis
Ben Cotton
Kirby Bliss Blanton
Devon Graye
Christopher Titus
USA 2007
Distributor: The Works