What's new in Odeon's this week : Thursday 25th August 2022.

The 2022 London FrightFest Film Festival begins on Thursday 25th August and runs through until Monday 29th August. FrightFest staged its first event in 2000 at the Prince Charles Cinema, off London's Leicester Square, with its August Bank Holiday weekend date remaining a fixture ever since. The objective of FrightFest was to provide the UK with a horror fantasy festival of similar stature to the market leaders in Europe, Sitges in Spain and Brussels in Belgium. FrightFest has since evolved into a community where audiences and guests alike travel from all over the world to be part of the event's unique atmosphere. As its name implies FrightFest's main focus is on the horror film genre, however, the event regularly features documentaries, science fiction and thriller films.

This years Opening Night film sees the World Premier of 'The Lair' from the UK as Directed by Neil Marshall, with the Closing Night film being the European Premier of 'Fall' from the USA and Directed by Scott Mann. 

There are numerous World Premier, International Premiers, European Premiers and UK Premier screenings happening at this years FrightFest out of the total 70+ films being showcased. Here, is a quick overview of those World Premiers.

* 'The Visitor from the Future', from France and Directed by Francois Descraques.

* 'Scare Package II : Rad Chad's Revenge', from the USA and Directed by Aaron B. Koontz, Alexandra Barreto, Anthony Cousins, Jed Shepherd and Rachele Wiggins.

* 'Night Sky', from the USA and Directed by Jacob Gentry.

* 'Midnight Peepshow', from the UK and Directed by Jake West, Airell Anthony Hayles, Andy Edwards and Ludovica Musumeci.

* 'She Came from the Woods', from the USA and Directed by Erik Bloomquist.

* 'Mastemah', from France and Directed by Didier D. Daarwin.

* 'Wolf Manor', from the UK and Directed by Dominic Brunt.

* 'The Price We Pay', from the USA and Directed by Ryuhei Kitamura and starring Emile Hirsch and Stephen Dorff.

* 'Terrifer 2', from the USA and Directed by Damien Leone.

* 'Burial', from the UK and Directed by Ben Parker and starring Harriet Walter and Tom Felton.

* 'Croc!', from the UK and Directed by Paul W. Franklin.

* 'The Eyes Below', from France and Directed by Alexis Bruchon.

* 'Raven's Hollow', from the UK and Directed by Christopher Hatton.

* 'Mean Spirited', from the USA and Directed by Jeff Ryan.

* 'Cult of VHS', from the USA and Directed by Rob Preciado.

* 'The Ghosts of Monday', from Cyprus and Directed by Francesco Cinquemani. 

* 'Sorry About the Demon', from the USA and Directed by Emily Hagins.

* 'Everybody Dies By The End', from the USA and Directed by Ian Tripp and Ryan Schafer.

* 'Hounded', from the UK and Directed by Tommy Boulding.

* 'Eating Miss Campbell', from the UK and Directed by Liam Regan.

* 'Cerebrum', from the UK and Directed by Sebastien Blanc.

* 'The Group', from the UK and Directed by Will Higo.

* 'Walking Against the Rain', from the UK and Directed by Scott Lyus.

* 'Bite', from the UK and Directed by James Owen.

* 'Powertool Cheerleaders vs. The Boyband of the Screeching Dead', from the UK and Directed by Pat Higgins.

* 'Daughter', from the USA and Directed by Corey Deshon and starring Casper Van Dien.

* 'Wolfkin', from Luxembourg and Directed by Jacques Molitor.

* 'The Ghost Writer', from the UK and Directed by Paul Wilkins.

* 'Stalker', from the UK and Directed by Steve Johnson.

* 'New Religion', from Japan and Directed by Keisho Kondo.

* 'The Once and Future Smash + End Zone 2', from the USA and Directed by Sophia Cacciola and Michael J. Epstein.

For all the other Premier screenings, plus details of the full line-up of other events all taking place in and round the 23rd London FrightFest film festival, you can go to the official website at : https://www.frightfest.co.uk/

Turning to this weeks latest release movies, of which there are seven to grace your big screen Odeon, we launch with a story of a father and his two teenage daughters who find themselves hunted by a rogue lion intent on proving that the African plains have just one apex predator. Then we turn to an Aussie film about a young girl who after witnessing a violent crime, summons an imaginary dragon to help process her anger and protect her on her journey into womanhood. This is followed by a Swedish offering that proves that food is the way to the heart in this story of love, food, friendship and second chances. Next up we have an Iranian film about a middle-aged couple and their two sons who embark on a road trip across the Iranian countryside to get to the Turkish border. Following on from this is a horror thriller concerning a young woman who is courted and swept off her feet, only to realise that a gothic conspiracy is unfolding around her. And we close out the week with two documentaries - the first about a pair of intrepid scientists and lovers who died in a volcanic eruption doing the very thing that brought them together - unraveling the mysteries of volcanoes by capturing the most explosive imagery ever recorded. The second details the 2020 assassination attempt of the Russian opposition leader and former presidential candidate in which he was poisoned with a military-grade nerve agent.

Whatever your taste in big screen film entertainment is this week - be it any of the seven latest release new films as Previewed below, or those doing the rounds currently on general release or as Reviewed and Previewed in previous Blog Posts here at Odeon Online, you are most welcome to share your movie going thoughts, opinions and observations by leaving your relevant, succinct and appropriate views in the Comments section below this or any other Post. We'd love to hear from you, and in the meantime, enjoy your big screen Odeon outing during the week ahead.

'BEAST' (Rated MA15+) - is an American survival thriller film Directed by Baltasar Kormakur whose prior Directorial outings take in the likes of his big screen debut 'Go LazyTown' in 1996 then 'A Little Trip to Heaven' in 2005, 'Inhale' in 2010, 'Contraband' in 2012, '2 Guns' in 2013, 'Everest' in 2015 and 'Adrift' in 2018. The film was released in the US last week, has so far recouped US$5M from its US$36M production budget and has generated mixed or average Reviews.

Dr. Nate Samuels (Idris Elba), a recently widowed husband returns to South Africa, where he first met his wife, on a long-planned trip with his two young daughters Meredith (Iyana Halley) and Norah (Leah Sava Jeffries) to a game reserve managed by an old family friend and fellow wildlife biologist Martin Battles (Sharlto Copley). However, what begins as a journey of healing soon turns into a fearsome fight for survival when a lion, a survivor of bloodthirsty poachers, with a craving for human flesh begins stalking them and killing anyone in its path.

'BLAZE' (Rated MA15+) - this Australian crime drama filmed in and around Sydney is Co-Written and Directed by Del Kathryn Barton in her feature film making debut. Here, twelve-year-old Blaze (Julia Savage) is raised by her caring father, Luke (Simon Baker). When she witnesses a brutal crime on the streets, Blaze is faced with conflicting emotions of debilitating fear and a desire for justice. As she spirals uncontrollably, Luke does his best to help her through this crisis, but to little effect. An unlikely saviour enters the picture, a dragon that provides solace and courage to Blaze as she finds a path forward. Also starring John Waters, Yael Stone and Josh Lawson. The film saw its Australian premier screening at the recent Sydney Film Festival and was released in the US in early June before its wider release in Australia this week.

'TUESDAY CLUB' (Rated M) - is a Swedish comedy romantic drama Directed by Annika Appelin in her feature film making debut and tells the story of Karin (Marie Richardson) who with Sten (Bjorn Kjellman) are celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary with a huge bash. While their friends toast to their happiness, Karin discovers that Sten has been unfaithful. Karin has spent her life taking care of her husband and their daughter, and now everything is shattered into pieces. An old friend talks her into joining a cooking class led by Henrik (Peter Stormare), a renowned chef. In the kitchen, amidst spices, amazing food, old and new friends, more than one of Karin’s long-lost passions are reborn. Suddenly, she finds herself in a position where she has to re-evaluate her life and the choices she has made.

'HIT THE ROAD' (Rated PG) - is an Iranian road comedy drama film Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Panah Panahi in his feature film debut. The film tells the story of an chaotic yet tender Iranian family on a road trip across the rugged landscape driving to the Turkish border to smuggle their young adult son out of the country, while bonding over memories of the past, grapple with fears of the unknown, fuss over their sick dog and generally getting on one another's nerves. Only the mysterious older brother remains quiet. The film has picked up eight award wins (including Best Film at both the London and Singapore Film Festivals) and a further eleven nominations including for the Camera d'Or at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. It was released in the US in late April this year, has so far grossed US$890K and is now released in Australia from this week. 

'THE INVITATION' (Rated MA15+) - this American supernatural horror film is Co-Written, Executive Produced and Directed by Jessica M. Thompson in only her second feature film making outing following 'The Light of the Moon' in 2017 although she has Directed a number of short films and six episodes of the TV series 'The End' in 2020. Here  then following the death of her mother and having no other known relatives, Evie (Nathalie Emmanuel) takes a DNA test, and discovers a long-lost cousin she never knew she had. Invited by her newfound family to a lavish wedding in the English countryside, she's at first seduced by the sexy aristocrat host but is soon thrust into a nightmare of survival as she uncovers twisted secrets in her family's history and the unsettling intentions behind their sinful generosity. Also starring Thomas Doherty, Hugh Skinner, Stephanie Corneliussen, Alana Boden and Sean Pertwee. The film opens Stateside this week too. 

'FIRE OF LOVE' (Rated PG) - is a Canadian and American Co-Produced documentary film Co-Written, Co-Produced and Directed by Sara Dosa whose prior documenary outings include her debut in 2014 with 'The Last Season' and 'The Seer and the Unseen' in 2019. The film follows the lives and careers of daring French volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft, who ultimately died in a 1991 volcanic explosion on Mount Unzen in Japan, via archival footage. The film has garnered widespread critical acclaim, has collected seven award wins and another eleven nominations from around the awards and festivals circuit, and has so far taken US$1.2M at the Box Office since its World Premier screening at the Sundance Film Festival back in January and its early July release in the US. 

'NAVALNY' (Rated M) - this American documentary film is Directed by Daniel Roher whose previous feature length doco's are 'Ghosts of our Forest' in 2017 and 'Once Were Brothers' in 2019, as well as helming several short documentary films since 2011. The film tells about the events related to the poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny and the subsequent investigation into the poisoning. On 20th August 2020, Navalny was poisoned with a Novichok nerve agent. Falling sick during a flight from Tomsk to Moscow, he was hospitalised in serious condition. Navalny was taken to a hospital in Omsk after an emergency landing there, and put in a coma. Two days later, he was evacuated to the Charite hospital in Berlin, Germany. The use of the nerve agent was confirmed by five Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) certified laboratories. Navalny blamed Russian President Vladimir Putin for his poisoning, while the Kremlin has repeatedly denied any involvement. The film has garnered universal critical acclaim, saw its World Premier screening at the Sundance Film Festival back in January this year where it picked up two awards, went on release in the US in mid-April and has so far grossed US$43K. 

With seven new release movie offerings this week to tempt you out to your local Odeon, remember to share your movie going thoughts with your other like minded cinephile friends afterwards here at Odeon Online. In the meantime, I'll see you sometime somewhere at your local Odeon in the coming week.

-Steve, at Odeon Online-