FrightFest 2012: 13 Must-See Movies

Berberian Sound Studio

The Plot: A mild-mannered English sound technician (Toby Jones) who goes to Italy to work on a full-blooded horror movie.

Why It's A Must See: Well, for a start, it's Total Film's sponsored film!

A love letter to the ‘70s heyday of Italian horror, Berberian Sound Studio faultlessly recreates the period and is imbued with an unshakeable sense of dread.

Think early Polanski pictures meets Dario Argento meets David Lynch and you’re there. Sort of.

Total Film’s Deputy Editor Jamie Graham says: “This is our fourth year in partnership with FrightFest, and Berberian Sound Studio - after Kill List , Monsters and Niels Arden Oplev’s The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo – advances our mission to sponsor top-quality movies.

“It also ties in nicely with our Total Film Icon for 2012, who is none other than the master of Italian horror himself, Dario Argento.”

Buy tickets for Berberian Sound Studio

Keep checking www.totalfilm.com/frightfest for the latest news and announcements

V/H/S

The Plot: A gang of hipster criminals are hired to break into a mysterious house, to steal a rare VHS tape.

Nightbreed: The Cabal Cut

The Plot: When a secret community of monsters is discovered by a troubled young man, they must fight to protect their anonymity. Hellraiser creator Clive Barker wrote and directed this 1990 adaptation of his classic novel Cabal , finally viewable in its uncut form.

Nightbreed was a pared-down version of Barker’s original vision of a horror Star Wars, but was c ut by studio Morgan Creek by nearly an hour following disastrous test screening reactions. The missing material was thought to have been destroyed – until rumours surfaced that Morgan Creek had it locked away in an archive. That turned out to be false, but the weight of enthusiasm for a Nightbreed director’s cut led to Barker digging out the VHS workprints and cutting together a new version that religiously sticks to the original script.

Now, finally, The Cabal Cut can be seen in the UK. But get your ticket as soon as you can because FrightFest may well be the only place to see it – whilst Morgan Creek are happy for the film to tour festivals (it’s already done the rounds to sold-out crowds in the States), a DVD/Blu-ray release hasn’t been approved. And it might never be, because of the disparity between the quality of the original footage, and the VHS material.

Sleep Tight

The Plot: Cesar is a janitor is an upmarket apartment block in Barcelona. Quiet and polite, most tenants pass him without noticing he exists. But Cesar has a dark obsession – one that friendly new occupant Clara is about to discover to her cost.

American Mary

The Plot: A student becomes disillusioned by medical school, and finds herself increasingly fascinated by the underground culture surrounding illegal surgeries.

Maniac

The Plot: Remake of William Lustig’s sleazy ‘80s video nasty classic, following the misadventures of Frank – a serial killer with a scalp obsession – as he adds to his collection of mannequin companions.

The Possession

The Plot: Essentially The Exorcist if it was based on Jewish folklore instead of Catholicism, a young girl opens a fabled dybbuk box, unleashing the spirit within and suffering a possession so gruesome, even the poster depicting it was banned.

Grabbers

The Plot: When aliens invade a small Irish town, a group of residents discover the creatures can’t stand alcohol – meaning our heroes must keep themselves drunk in order to survive.

Sinister

The Plot: True-crime novelist Ellison (Ethan Hawke) moves his family into a new home for research purposes, without telling them it’s the site of a quadruple murder.

Stitches

The Plot: A kids' party clown meets his death at the hands of a gang of children he’s supposed to be entertaining. Years later, he returns from the dead to take his terrible revenge.

Tulpa

The Plot: Corporate professional Lisa Boeri (Claudia Gerini) risks her reputation by spending her nights frequenting the notorious sex club Tulpa.

Why It's A Must-See: Italian cinema is a key theme of this year's FrightFest – the legendary Dario Argento will be Total Film's Icon , Eurocrime! will celebrate the history of the Poliziotteschi, and Toby Jones will pay fictional tribute to the art of the giallo soundtrack in the highly anticipated Berberian Sound Studio – so it's fitting that Tulpa , praised as the ultimate neo-Giallo, should make its world premiere at the festival.

Tower Block

The Plot: A tower block is scheduled for demolition, but when the top-floor residents are trapped by a psychopathic sniper, they have to fight for survival.

[REC] 3: Genesis

The Plot: The [REC] virus infects a wedding party, with fairly disastrous results.

Why It’s A Must-See : The original [REC] films were master-classes in rollercoaster entertainment. This third instalment nods to its forebears before going off in a completely different direction.

One of the bigger franchise flicks at FF:13 , it’s a threequel that has to be seen to be believed. It’ll certainly get you talking.