Dead By Dawn 2001
In Association with
FilmHouse
30 March to 1 April 2001
Edinburgh
Friday 30th March
9pm
One cool thing that will keep people coming back year on year to events such as this is the indescribable Festival feeling, when a bunch of like minded fans converge in one place there is a cool vibe that fills the place with a strong sense of community, especially strong in Horror fans as we are usually made to feel like lesser film fans by critics who just don't get the genre, horror fans also come in many guises with some slagging of the exceptionally bloody spatterfest Premurtos and favouring more thoughtful or boring) horror like The Nameless. Whatever flavour of horror u liked there was plenty on the bill to satisfy!! I certainly recognized the majority of the people I saw from the year before and this added to the cool feeling the Fest has.
After a swift jaunt down from Aberdeen we were here again in Edinburgh looking forward to seeing some cool horror films . Being better organized than the year before, and having a place to sleep nearby at the Travel Inn, we had high hopes of lasting the weekend pretty well. After settling our gear into the room we headed straight to the excellent bar at the Filmhouse for some much needed lubrication.
11pm
The first, and only film on Friday night, was The Nameless by Jaume Balaguero who was supposed to be introducing the movie but couldn't make it at the last minute. I was hyped for this film after reading the program and was looking foreword to a great start to the Fest but was unfortunately left cold by a film which, although was good in places with an excellent opening sequence and some good suspenseful moments, was so slow and tedious for large sections losing half an hour would have done it no damage! Perhaps reading the book it was based on would lead to a better appreciation of this one. The smart thing to do would have been to get a good kip before the Saturday session, but with the bar having a late license till 3am every night of the fest it was too good to turn down, 4am bedtime it is then!
Sat 31st
1pm
The first movie of the day Hypnosis is the first of a few Japanese films being shown and expectations are high as I love the Japanese horror films I have seen, Evil Dead Trap and Organ are both weird and wonderful movies and I was looking foreword to more of the same. I certainly wasn't disappointed with this piece of cool Japanese horror which reaffirmed the festivals importance in my mind. Next up was the hotly anticipated Cutting Edge short film competition showing ten films all shot on low budgets by up and coming directors. This proved to be the most important addition the fest has seen and a reason to come back year on year alone. Not all the films were to my taste but they all showed a vision and grittiness that only short films can achieve, none of them were without some merit, however weird. I obviously had my favourite's but these are covered in the reviews. Following this was an extra short called" The Fragile" skin by the makers of one of the other shorts shown" Creepy Crawly".
The Horrible Doctor Hitchcock was next and was a great example of 60's horror with great overacting and unintentional humour when shown to a modern audience, unfortunately the print used was what can only be described as redovision with a very red tinge to the picture throughout, still very enjoyable stuff. It was now after 18:30 and a full day of movies had been enjoyed by all, time for a rest before the marathon all night session, I couldn't wait! Got something to eat and unexpectedly 2 hours sleep and was ready to go all night.
The All Nighter
23:45
Attic expeditions was about as weird a film as you could ever see, the Director Jeremy Kastan and producer Dan Gold gave a powerful speech before the showing and showed that there really are people making horror movies who have a genuine love of the genre. Full marks for a great if totally weird movie which was well worth watching. Next up was one of, if not the best short of the weekend, On edge was a rare treat. Doug Bradley (Pinhead from Hellraiser) is great as a psychotic who pretends to be a dentist!! with horrific results.
Uzumaki was a stand out film for the fest for a few reasons, it is the type of film that doesn't come along too often. Stylish, Inventive yet very original and weird in a way only Japanese films can be, far better than I expected and I can't wait to see it again on DVD, a format which will do such a beautiful film justice!
Schneider's 2nd stage was a very clever short starring Kenneth Branagh about a seemingly innocent man who is being framed for a murder he didn't commit. This one had a great twist in the tale which I didn't see coming for once, Unlike the over hyped and completely obvious (to me at least) ending in the Sixth Sence. Although at the end of the film I do remember kicking myself for not picking up on some things which seem dead giveaways later.
Visit the Website for more info