So here’s my final thoughts on my trip to London last week. I got as far as Friday on the last post, so here we go with the last few days of my trip:
Saturday
This was the big day as far as FrightFest was concerned. We were up early in order to do a bit of shopping, and were in the Empire cinema by 1 o’clock. We had three films ahead of us that day. Tis probably the most amount of films I’ve ever watched in a cinema in the space of a day. Two had been my record up to that point. So what did we see?
You can check out culch.ie for the full list of films that I reviewed. Well, Brian Cox for a start. Bit blurry, but there he is, promoting his new film ‘Trick’r'Treat’:
Hierro
Great Spanish thriller, produced by the guy who produced Pan’s Labyrinth. If you’ve seen ‘The Orphanage’, the plot is similar enough, but the tone of the movie is quite different. A woman’s boy goes missing on a ferry on the way over to the island and a body turns up a few months later. The mother must return to the island to identify the body, and begins to go slightly loopy upon her arrival. This movie isn’t super natural as such, but more psychological. It’s based on the island of Hierro and is beautifully shot. There’s some really quirky ‘blink-and-you’ll-miss-it’ animation throughout, and the lead performances are very strong. Some marks are lost for some slightly confusing editing mid-way through the movie which can make it difficult to understand a few minor points, but for the most part, this is thrilling stuff. Watch out for the beautiful Elena Anaya who plays the very disturbed Maria. 8/10
Millenium: The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo
This movie actually won Best movie at the FrightFest Festival, and rightly deserved it. It’s a fantastic adaptation of the Stieg Larrson bestseller. On the surface, it’s a crime mystery about the disappearence of a young girl 40 years ago in a small Swedish town. It features elements of horror, drama, comedy and mystery and although it runs at well over 2 hours, you don’t feel it. The movie would be a mix of a thriller like Se7en and also has elements of the mystery in Dan Brown’s novels. Basically this movie has everything and I’d urge you to go see it. Noomi Rapace, who won best actor award for her role as the hacker, Lisbeth Salander is another one to watch. 10/10
Pontypool
Even I would admit, though it kills me to say it, that Zombies are becoming pretty cliche in horror now, and that it’s hard to find an original Zombie movie. But Pontypool is incredible. The plot is one of the most original that I have come across in horror in recent years. I shan’t say anything about it though, as I really don’t want to spoil anything for anyone. Suffice to say it’s thought provoking, brutal but also manages to be sweet and humorous when it tries. It’s set in Ontario and was shot on the RedOne camera. It made it straight into the Toronto Film Festival and has been doing very well on the festival circuit. This is a film to catch guys. 9/10
So as you can see, Saturday was a great day of movies!
Sunday
And it was time to go home 
Off to the airport at 11 and made our way slowly from the Underground to the Stanstead Express. The train wasn’t running, so we got a bus instead. In plenty of time for check-in, we had a few hours to wander around the duty-free and grab some food in Franky and Bennie’s (love that place for some reason 
) We arrived back in Dublin at 6ish and I was in bed by 9…
…next holiday is already booked: New York, 15th December.
Would love to hear your thoughts on London and New York. What are favourite spots, and shops, and any experiences you’ve had in two of the best Capitals in the world.
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