Advent - FrightFest Halloween World Premiere Review
Director: Airell Anthony Hayles
Starring: Rasina Akexander, Cian Lorcan, Nicholas Vince, Cory Peterson
Written by: Airell Anthony Hayles
Produced by: Airell Anthony Hayles
Cinematography by: Vince Knight
Original Score by: Will Gold
Synopsis:
In a bid to gain more followers, a Youtuber obsessed with urban legends comes into possession of an infamously cursed advent calendar and plays a game against the devil in the run up to Christmas.
Thoughts:
It seems like in today's society everybody wants to be an influencer or a content creator of some kind. It feels like this obsession to become famous and to be watched by hundreds, thousands or even millions of people on various social media platforms is extremely dangerous and ill-fated. Is it worth the risk?
In 'Advent' writer/director Airell Anthony Hayles explores this obsession and ties it in with some alternative Christmas mythology but sadly the film never really gets going.
Rasina Alexander plays Hayley, a new Youtuber who has just cracked the 100 followers mark and is eager to keep growing her channel. With her partner Charlie (Cian Lorcan) they record videos about the occult and urban legends and with Christmas just around the corner, Hayley has a plan to record a series of videos involving a cursed advent calendar called the Krampus Calendar. Unlike a normal advent calendar, hidden behind each door isn't a tasty chocolate or seasonal image, it's a challenge that must be completed before opening the next door. Despite some hesitancy from Charlie, Hayley purchases the calendar from the dark web for an extortionate price and begins the challenge immediately.
The first few challenges don't seem like a big deal at all. Fairly mediocre and easy tasks for Hayley to complete but by the time she gets half way through the stress begins to build up and its obvious that Hayley is not herself. As she gets down to the last ten doors, there's a real shift in Hayley's demeanour and behaviour as the challenges become more extreme.
'Advent' has a great premise and Rasina Alexander and Cian Lorcan clearly have a fantastic rapport on screen. The chemistry is there and I enjoyed them as a duo. There's definitely an ambitious idea here but I think the director struggles a bit to fill the runtime with interesting scenes and I'm now wondering if this started as a short film that got stretched out to a feature. I quite liked the found footage aspect. What we are watching is all content recorded by Hayley and Charlie, with the exception of a talking head narration from the wonderful Nicholas Vince. His inclusion certainly gives the film a bit more gravitas as he has a soothing yet authoritative voice and presence.
I think for the most part the dialogue is well written and the story flows pretty well actually considering there's not an awful lot that happens but one of the negatives for me was the inclusion of graphics that popped up on screen every so often. It really dragged the film down and made it look and feel amateurish.
I liked the idea that Hayley was slowly being driven mad by her obsession to complete the daily tasks but the film is just lacking something to pull you in. I had no issues with Hayley and Charlies as characters but there is nothing for me to care about. She just opens a door each day and does the tasks. That's it. The end is supposed to be shocking and it is to a certain extent but it didn't really do much for me as there was no emotional connection.
Verdict: ⭐️⭐️½
-Gavin Logan
'Advent' received it's World Premiere at FrightFest Halloween on November 1st and arrives on UK Digital on November 25th from Miracle Media
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