FRIGHTFEST REVIEWS ARCHIVE
YOU ARE THE FILM
TUBI FRIGHTFEST LONDON - UK PREMIERE: YOU ARE THE FILM - A struggling playwright takes a trip to the cinema to watch a film about a struggling musician who decides to watch a film about a struggling playwright and multiversal madness ensues. Iain MacLeod reviews this offbeat Japanese comedy that somehow pulls in yakuza flicks, sci-fi sagas and a stealth Ardal O’Hanlon cameo that received its UK premiere at Tubi FrightFest London.
SPIDER ISLAND
TUBI FRIGHTFEST LONDON - WORLD PREMIERE: SPIDER ISLAND - A host of influencers descend onto a secluded tropical island to spread the word online, but the island's original inhabitants, of the eight legged variety, have other ideas. Iain MacLeod reviews Christopher Smith’s fun creature feature which received its world premiere at Tubi FrightFest London 2026.
NERVOUS
TUBI FRIGHTFEST LONDON - WORLD PREMIERE: NERVOUS - Abner Pastoll returns to FrightFest with his latest film NERVOUS, receiving its World Premiere as the opening film of Tubi FrightFest 2026. Iain MacLeod reviews the tale of a troubled woman in South Korea, suffering from a curse that blocks out male voices, leading her on a hallucinatory journey both visual and sonic that threatens her sanity and so much more.
MOTHER AND ME
Shot in just nine days in director Carson McKinnon’s hometown of Salt Lake City, this small-scale psychological horror delivers an intense and unsettling portrait of teenage oppression. Caylee Cowan excels as Casey, a sheltered aspiring artist trapped under the relentless control of her embittered mother, played brilliantly by Tara Janae Smith. With striking visuals, claustrophobic tension and a darkly disturbing atmosphere, Steven West reviews this compelling tale of a young woman beginning to discover a world beyond her mother’s control.
COMPLIANCE
Sam Cornell works as a crisis manager for a tech startup specialising in accommodation rentals on the verge of a very lucrative investment deal. When a customer is sexually assaulted in one of company's accommodations, Sam is called in to do damage control and make sure that no scandal affects the upcoming deal. But what she thinks is a delicate but cut-and-dried job soon spins out of control.
Robyn Fraser reviews this fast-paced and exciting thriller that cleverly uses found footage to explore misogyny, conspiracy theories, corporate greed and our struggle to understand who, exactly, is running things.
BAD KARAOKE
A cursed karaoke machine provides much in the way of blood and laughs as an unwitting covers band discover they have to sing for their lives. Steven West reviews this blood drenched, singalong comedy which just received its world premiere at Tubi London FrightFest.
GATOR FACE
A bunch of unsuspecting teenagers come face to face with an axe-wielding maniac wearing an alligators face in GATOR FACE. Iain MacLeod reviews this pleasingly unpretentious slasher throwback that willingly and lovingly indulges all the tropes of the sub-genre in pleasingly bloody and nasty fashion.
THE GLORIOUS DEAD
The Adams Family return with a doom laden tale set at the end of the world, where a grieving Sheriff struggles to deal with an increasingly Hellish day where the dead won’t stay dead, fleshy monsters stalk the woods and no-one can get a cup of coffee. Iain MacLeod reviews yet another distinctive film from the most reliable family in horror that is as funny as it is doom-laden.
MEAT KILLS
A naïve young animal rights activist finds herself caught between a radical army of activists and a vengeful pig farmer when a midnight protest spirals into a bloody nightmare. Martijn Smits’ unsettling horror turns the tables on both sides, creating a disturbing world where humans and animals are equally savage and disposable. Nina Romain reviews this graphic and thought-provoking Dutch horror that guarantees you’ll never look at a bacon butty the same way again.
GHOST IN THE CELL
A vengeful spectre stalks a corrupt Indonesian prison in Joko Anwar’s gleefully gory mix of extreme horror, absurdist comedy, political satire and unexpected dance numbers. Iain MacLeod reviews one of the festival’s most inventive, outrageous and accessible films, which delivers both skin-crawling scares and spectacular splatter.
HOME BODIES
A young brother and sister raised entirely within the confines of a futuristic house begin to question not only the nature of their existence, but each other as well in Casey Walker’s small scale sci-fi fable with big ideas. Iain MacLeod reviews this impressive and paranoid futuristic drama that receives its international premiere at Tubi FrightFest.
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SWEET VIOLENCE
A convicted killer released from prison attempts to rebuild his life while grieving families plot a brutal revenge, in this intense and darkly funny debut. Steven West reviews the quietly powerful Uruguayan thriller that balances grief, vengeance and deadpan humour before building to a gruelling climax, receiving its UK premiere at Tubi FrightFest
THE FLESH ITSELF
A trio of deserters from the Paraguayan War in the 1860’s find themselves hiding out in vast wooden shack where the owner, a cruel lopsided figure of a man seemingly toys with them while keeping his own terrible secret locked away. Iain MacLeod reviews this beautifully shot and carefully paced film that erupts into a ferocious squirm inducing horror with a killer surprise at the end.
THE ALICE PARADOX
When a physicist takes a forbidden journey through a wormhole, she’s forced to question everything she knows about the universe and herself. Robyn Fraser reviews the mesmerising, thoughtful and ambitious sci-fi that explores space, time, free will and human happiness on an intimate scale, receiving its World premiere at Tubi FrightFest
HOARDER
Community nurses Melissa and Eric arrive at a derelict farmhouse to give flu vaccinations, but quickly discover there’s something far more sinister among the clutter. Robyn Fraser reviews the cleverly plotted and genuinely disturbing horror that finds terror in poverty, isolation and the wreckage of a once-happy life, receiving its World premiere at Tubi FrightFest.
ITHAQUA
This wintry period horror detailing a fur trapper, played by Luke Hemsworth, facing an old, bloodthirsty evil in the Canadian wilderness receives its World Premiere at Tubi FrightFest. Iain MacLeod reviews an ambitious horror that impresses with both its period stylings and gory horror elements.
DEAD RESET
Stewart Sparke’s practical effects and gore soaked adaptation of his time loop video game receives its world premiere at Tubi FrightFest. Gore in the Store reviews a film that grips from the beginning up until its ruthless ending with its tight storytelling and evocative atmosphere that hearkens back to the glory days of genre filmmaking.
DRAG
A pair of estranged sisters soon find their amateur burglary going wrong in spectacular fashion due to an ill timed case of back injury. Lizzy Caplan and Lucy DeVito play the strained siblings who find themselves in a race against time before the owner (John Stamos) returns home. Iain MacLeod reviews this literally painfully funny black comedy that has more than a few other surprises in store.
INVOKING SCREAM
The sequel to the cult Chilean found footage shocker INVOKING YELL continues the saga of the cursed death metal band years after its predecessor. The past and the present collide with the discovery of a buried case of tapes and witchcraft guide of the band's singer, which brings her younger cousin face to face with the demonic evil that haunts her family.