Mayhem Film Festival 2018 in Review

I have just arrived back home after a terrific weekend at this year's Mayhem Film Festival, taking place at Nottingham's wonderful Broadway Cinema. Seventeen films were screened over the course of four days, commencing Thursday and playing through until Sunday night; there was also a slot on the Saturday showcasing a range of short films. The festival invited many genre fans to watch a range of interesting films from around the globe, but also some old favourites and hidden gems, ensuring that everyone's tastes were catered for over the weekend. Audiences were treated with entertaining director's Q&As, along with UK premieres - the organisers had done a terrific job to secure these delightful guest appearances.

The festival began with John McPhail's Anna and the Apocalypse on Thursday evening, a zombie Christmas musical; yes, a zombie Christmas musical. McPhail's film was a satisfying film to kick off the weekend, offering a blend of horror, comedy and sing-along entertainment. Personally, I couldn't help feel aware that I was not the target audience for the film while watching it - the characters and musical numbers seemed to be written for a much younger teen audience, and sadly the film's violent content may result in it escaping the demographic that would enjoy it the most. That's not to say that it will, it's merely a hunch. Some of the song and dance numbers worked, others didn't, but it was the warmth of the character's that elevated the narrative, and many seemed to enjoy the film. The director was in-house for a Q&A afterwards; he was a very passionate individual, and this passion certainly radiated throughout his work, despite it not resonating with me as much as it evidently did with much of the audience. Next up was Nightmare Cinema: five shorts from five filmmakers, and only the fourth segment felt worth the time. The film was a slog.

The next day, audiences gathered once again at the Broadway for a full day of cinema programming. First up was Erik Blomberg's 1952 film The White Reindeer, a film boasting some truly gorgeous cinematography, but nevertheless bogged down by a sense of familiarity despite it's odd premise. Next up was Nicolas Pesce's Piercing - one of my favourites of the festival - a perverse tale of sadism which was adapted from one of Ryu Murakami's stories, the author of the Takashi Miike adapted Audition. It was brilliantly paced, relentless, squeamish, and boasted a terrific performance from Mia Wasikowska. Up next was Marc Price's Nightshooters; Free Fire meets The Raid is probably a decent way to describe it. The film was clearly a favourite of many festival-goers. The crowd was roaring with laughter throughout, and stunned by the martial arts set-pieces that felt bafflingly high-concept for such a low-budget British film. Price was present for a Q&A, a charming and friendly man. He asserted his aims to have the audience laugh and tear up both in the space of a few minutes; personally I don't feel he achieved this. The enemies of the film were despicable, and after watching them murder likeable characters, I wasn't ready to co-operate with their humour so immediately, I needed more time between the highs and lows. However, for the most part it was a roaring success, certainly one of the most enjoyable experiences of the weekend, and wondrously quotable. Then came Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich, a film wrong on so many levels, but if you're into that sort of thing (yes, I considered myself entertained) then it's a blast. Nothing special, but a few cheap laughs made it worth the watch. Closing the day was the eagerly anticipated Mandy, the second film from Panos Cosmatos. I couldn't stand his first film, Beyond the Black Rainbow, so I was pleasantly surprised with this follow-up effort. It may be the best film I've seen all year (followed by First Reformed), blending so many genres and influence from films such as Hellraiser, Santa Sangre and Heavy Metal. I cannot wait for it to hypnotise me again later this week.

Regrouping Saturday morning, the day kicked off with one of the most hotly applauded horror films of the year: Shin'ichiro Ueda's One Cut of the Dead. To say anything about it would spoil the fun, so I'll simply say that this film comes together in the most glorious way, and was definitely one of this year's highlights. Following this was Prospect, a science-fiction and western hybrid. It looked terrific visually, and there are some tender moments, but on the whole the narrative felt too sparse to deliver anything memorable, and by the last act it had really ran out of steam. Contrary to this was Number 37, the next film which offered yet another revision of Alfred Hitchcock's Rear Window, which offered a suspenseful climax, relevant if not obvious social commentary, but little else. Then we had The Devil's Doorway, one of the better found-footage films of late from Aislinn Clarke (whose Q&A was knowledgeable and insightful). The characters and script were great, as was the film's authentic visual style; I just wish it deviated from found-footage cliches in the last act - I honestly thought it would. Closing the day was Demons - is there any better way to enjoy this film than in a cinema with a bunch of fans? There certainly isn't.

Sunday: the last day. Inuyashiki, a live-action manga adaptation offered audiences a humble and exciting take on the superhero genre. I didn't expect to enjoy this at all, but I had an absolute blast with it, and I'm sure that fans of the original source material would have been very pleased with the film. Up next was the worst film of the festival; of course, another anthology horror film called The Field Guide To Evil, which consisted of eight films from eight directors exploring folklore tales. The only one that felt worth the time was the last entry from Peter Strickland. It was an infuriating ordeal because the cinematography of most of the shorts was fantastic, and yet seemingly every other element of the production cancelled out this achievement. After the film I really needed to watch something good. Fortunately, The Witch in the Window was probably my second favourite film of the festival; low-budget indie horror filmmaking done right. The horror elements worked wonderfully, and yet at the heart of the film is a touching and poignant father-son relationship, bringing with it humour and emotion. It's a great film, and it would have taken a lot to follow it up, something that The Nightshifter was unable to do. It began so well, setting up a really unique and gritty premise, and yet it spiralled into something which felt like a Brazilian retread of something like Insidious Chapter Two - a disappointment which had great promise.

Closing the festival was Colin Minihan's What Keeps You Alive. Imagine Eden Lake mixed with Calvaire. It's definitely an entertaining film - well acted, shot, paced. Some of the motivations are difficult to understand, but the film's relentless narrative allows us to be swept up in the action, urging us not to dwell on the logic of the film's characters. It was a great way to end the festival, and it was clear to see that everyone was gutted to go home. Mayhem 2018 was such a great experience for me, and I can't wait to head back next year and spend four days in my favourite place: the cinema.