All The Boys Love Mandy Lane (2006)
The Movie : After taking its bow at Toronto, All The Boys Love Mandy Lane makes its way to London FrightFest, giving the gorgeous Amber Heard one of her first leading movie roles.
Why It's Great: A great twist meant this was one everybody was raving about at FF 2007 – talk about reinventing the Final Girl.
Red Eye (2005)
The Movie : Wes Craven slinks away from slasher territory for a no-less exhilarating psychological thriller in which Cillian Murphy plays mind games with Rachel McAdams.
Why It's Great: Sure, the final act devolves into a cat-and-mouse Scream throwback, but the stuff on the plane is golden. Also, Rachel McAdams is great in anything. Yes, even Time Traveller’s Wife.
Evil Aliens (2005)
The Movie : Horror aficionado Jake West presents his second feature-length horror film, a tongue-in-cheek chuckler revolving around alien abductions.
Why It's Great: Slapstick… in a horror film? It’s such a batshit idea that it actually works in West’s nutso scream of a flick – definitely one to see with a big audience.
1408 (2007)
The Movie : Director Mikael Håfström comes to the Fest with his adaptation of Stephen King’s same-named short story.
Why It's Great: Think of it as The Shining in just one room and you’re on the right track. Sure, Håfström’s film is no match for Kubrick’s, but it’s a decent King adap in a slurry pit of crummy ones.
The Strangers (2008)
The Movie : Liv Tyler and Scott Speedman are victimised in their holiday home in Bryan Bertino’s genuinely unsettling ‘invasion’ horror.
Why It's Great : It wasn’t the best film at FF 2008, but it had serious style and some memorable scares to boot. We slept with the lights on that night.
I Spit On Your Grave (2010)
The Movie : A remake of the so-called ‘70s 'video nasty', I Spit On Your Grave gave the concept a modern reboot – and proved just as controversial as its forebear.
Why It's Great: Fangoria loved it, and we’re not a little partial to it, too – not least because our heroine’s revenge is extraordinarily vicious. You want blood? You got it.
Fanboys (2009)
The Movie : Not exactly a horror, but a cult comedy nonetheless, delayed by years but finally given a release and a screening at FF2010.
Why It's Great: Though it couldn't quite live up to the hype (a somewhat poetic outcome for a film about the letdown that was Phantom Menace ), Fanboys is an often riotously funny love letter to Star Wars .
Frailty (2001)
The Movie : Bill Paxton makes his directorial debut, casting Matthew McConaughey as a man who believes that his brother was the serial killer known as ‘God’s Hand’.
Why It's Great: Paxton proved he could do just as well behind the camera as in front, with Frailty hailed as a smart story with unexpected depth.
The Girl Next Door (2007)
The Movie : Adapted from Jack Ketchum’s 1989 novel, The Girl Next Door is set in the late 1950s, where a teenage girl is tortured and abused…
Why It's Great: Stephen King himself called it the most “shocking American film” he’s seen since Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer , which is quite a ringing commendation.
Hatchet (2006)
The Movie : Only Adam Green’s ode to ‘80s slasher flicks. Hatchet made its worldwide debut at FrightFest in 2006 before going on to sell out at festivals all over the globe.
Why It's Great : If you love ‘80s slashers, this is the film for you. Even better, Green returned the following year to screen the film again at FF 2007, this time providing live commentary.
