Fright - FrightFest World Premiere Review
Director: Warren Dudley
Starring: Gwyneth Evans, Daniel Tuite, Jill Priest, Jamie Martin
Written by: Warren Dudley
Cinematography by: Matt Cotton
Original Score by: James Cox
Synopsis:
The chilling story of a young woman and her struggles with crippling agoraphobia. It's 1937 and eighteen year old Emily lives in constant fear of the outside - and of her mysterious mother.
Thoughts:
Horror is one of the few genres that is constantly reinventing itself and finding new ways to scare the audience, whether it be through imaginative jump scares or original new ways to present an unsettling, atmospheric story. But sometimes it doesn't hurt to pay tribute to what came before and Warren Dudley does that really well with 'Fright', a solid homage to 50s and 60s horror classics.
It's 1937 and we first meet Emily (Gwyneth Evans) on the eve of her 18th birthday. Any other young woman would be excited for her big day, a defining moment in ones life, but Emily couldn't care less. She festers on the sofa, quiet, lonely, scared? But scared of what? Emily's mother tries but simply can't get much out of her daughter. Even the offer of a sweet treat, a delicacy back in the late 1930s, barely gets any reaction from Emily, who seems more concerned with doing her laborious chores.
It soon becomes apparent that Emily has an illness. One that stops her from leaving the house and experiencing the cold air of the outside world. Her agoraphobia terrifies her so much that when her mother attempts to drag her outside she screams in agony.
Emily sees things outside in the trees. She fears the shadows and the lingering feeling that something is creeping in through the door. Her mother fears that she is disconnecting from reality. She lives her life like a child, unable to look after herself and when the worst happens she falls into a depressive state, just waiting to die, until she finds something that changes her life forever.
Writer/Director Warren Dudley freely admits that 'Fright' is his attempt at paying respect to a special generation of horror films that still to this day live on and are regarded as some of the most influential of all time. 'The Haunting' and 'Psycho' are two that come to mind but it was a rewatching of Jack Clayton's 1961 classic 'The Innocents' starring Deborah Kerr that really kicked everything into gear.
'Fright' is basically a two person play but Gwyneth Evans eats up the majority of the screentime herself, a huge task for anyone, particularly when it's their debut feature film. She's riveting to watch and nails the posh English accent perfectly. She really captures the innocence and beauty of those female stars from war time.
Dudley and DoP Matt Cotton do a fantastic job at creating a haunting atmosphere. They're working in a an amazing dilapitated location, a gothic mansion that oozes macabre, and the duo are able to capture some gorgeous visuals through the use of stunning lighting and shadow play. There's a great sequence where Emily is climbing up the old staircase at night, she hasn't eaten in a long time so her body is a bit emancipated and she's in a fair bit of pain. The beautiful lighting captures her shadow as she struggles with each step and it reminded me of Charles Laughton and Stanley Cortez' work on 'Night of the Hunter'.
The pace might not be for everybody and thinking back there's not an awful lot that happens other than Emily doing her chores and sort of hanging around the house and hearing a voice whisper to her occasionally. I also think that the introduction of another character at the end kind of halts the film in its tracks a bit, but I do understand that it was important for Emily's resolution.
It's working within a smallish budget but if you're a fan of 50s and 60s "haunted house" or "ghost story" horror films then this little indie horror will be definitely worth your time.
Verdict: ⭐️⭐️⭐️½
-Gavin Logan
'Fright' recevied its World Premiere at FrightFest '24 on August 26th
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