Following the intensity of the Saturday’s film schedule the organisers of Grimmfest presented a succession of screenings on Sunday that were plucked from the widest corners of the genre. Lucky Grimmlins were exposed to dark humour, unsettling twists, outright comedy and more blood and guts than any single film surely has the right to contain. The highlights of the final day are many but began with the troubling ‘The Butterfly Room’ starring horror legend Barbara Steele.
This intricate tale of obsession and subverted morals was intriguing in its premise and somewhat shocking in its subject that split audience opinion slightly. Following this came ‘Wither’ which possibly unfairly has been dubbed the Swedish’ The Evil Dead’. There are certainly many similarities with the latter, and many other genre films for that matter, but ‘Wither’ must be applauded for picking up the “demon living in the basement of isolated cabin” baton and running with it headlong through gallons of the red stuff before splattering itself against whatever inventively fashioned weapon was to hand. This was not an original film but was unarguably a well made homage to its more famous predecessors.
The best film of the day, and a contender for the title of film of the festival was the zombie siege comedy ‘Stalled’ which had director Christian James and producer Richard Kerrigan in attendance to answer questions. Taking the zombie siege concept to the extremity of spacial restriction ‘Stalled’ focuses on everyman W.C. becoming trapped in a toilet cubicle during a zombie outbreak. Rammed full of brilliantly black humour and with a real sense of growing tension ‘Stalled’ is a triumph that will undoubtedly be a huge hit.
With inventively dark humour continuing in the shorts of the day ‘The Body’ and ‘Shellshocked’, two of the best of the festival, Grimmfest 2013 finished on a definite high. Audiences could be left in no doubt that the organisers had searched far and wide to bring the most horrific, most unsettling, most amusing but above all most entertaining films, guests and shorts possible to this year’s event. Roll on Grimmfest 2014!
For information and details of future events visit www.grimmfest.com
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