The film’s real ace though is Belen Rueda as Laura. It was revealed by the director after the film that she had shared a similar experience to the character she plays and she must have used that in her performance. Near the end of the film she lets out a cry of such tortured anguish that it was still reverberating in my head days later and the thought of it still has the power to move me to tears. To say too much about this film would spoil it but it delivers more shocks than any other film in the festival (it made the FrightFest crowd jump and that’s no mean feat) and yet shocks aren’t what it’s about. It plays with your emotions, not just your fears, and that’s what stays with you long after the movie has finished.
I stayed for the Q&A session after the film. I shouldn’t have, I needed to get to catch the coach home, but it just seemed rude to get up and walk out after seeing such a powerful film. Luckily my coach was delayed or I’d have been stranded in London overnight.
Looking back on the festival my fondest memories are of two films - The Orphanage and WAZ - and two filmmakers - Adam Green and Uwe Boll. It was a wonderful, if tiring and bum numbing, experience and I’ll be doing it all again next year.
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