Armed with caffiene and sugary snacks, I was prepared for the Terrorcotta Horror All Nighter which was part of the Terracotta Film Festival, 23 May – 1 June at the Prince Charles Cinema. A night which promised horror, gore, ghosts and bloodshed.
The festival started at 22.55pm and ended at around 8.30am. With intervals between each film featuring t-shirt contests and a quiz, which I epically failed at! (and I call myself an Asian cinema fan *cries*) Well done to those who got ten out of ten – my hats off to you!
Having only read the synopsis for the films showing; I had intentionally avoided the trailers due to spoilers – I wanted to keep the films as suspenseful as possible. The film I was most anticipating was ‘Lesson of Evil’, which luckily was on first which meant I had more chance staying awake.
If you liked Battle Royale and Audition, this is the film for you! Third Windows film will be releasing this on DVD soon, so grab a copy if you can! In a nutshell, the film introduces a perfect charismatic English teacher, who goes psycho and massacres the students who are introduced Battle Royale style.
The second film ‘In the Dark’ was the film I was least looking forward to, merely because I find ghost/haunting films predictable and unintersting. It may sound a tad sadistic but I much prefer the slasher/gore films! However from the audiences reaction, I think the majority did find it disappointing and scored it low (we were asked to rate each film after viewing it). I think everyone was so impressed by Lesson of Evil shown before ‘In the Dark’ was a tough follow up film. Unfortunately, I feel this was the weakest film of the evening.
Despite my tiredness, the next film ‘Killers’ had me gripped. Focused around two serial killers, the protagonist gets a taste for blood when he kills two men in self-defence. A psychological horror in many aspects, with some gore added in. I would like to watch this again, when more alert and awake.
I was beyond tired by the fourth film, and to be honest I had given up trying to stay awake! However, everytime I stirred from slumber, the protagonist was slaying vampires to win back/protect his pregnant girlfriend who thinks he is good for nothing! This films unique feature was that it was entirely filmed using CGI.
I would definitley go to this event again, but conserve all my energy for the festival I had a busy day attending another event Tea Prince Butler Cafe – review here. I would also bring a blanket due to the theatre being very cold…a conspriacy theory to keep us sleepyheads awake, I am sure!
Additional to the horror night, my friend Aisha won tickets to Commitment, another film part of the Terracottta festival showing in the afternoon starring k-pop star T.O.P member of the Big Bang. The film was an enjoyable spy/action movie. Read her review here – couldn’t have summed it up better myself!
Keep updated with Terracotta and Third Window Films festivals and DVD releases
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