With Arrow Video FrightFest a little over a week away here’s our Top 5 film recommendations for the festival – all of these carry the 100% Duke seal of approval!

TERRFIFIED – book tickets here.

Demián Rugna’s brilliant scarefest should be a blueprint for Hollywood films to show them how exactly it is done – a brilliant thriller ride that grabs you from the first frame, this gem of a horror film starts out a with a woman who is hearing strange noises coming from the pipes in the kitchen – and builds into a trio-of-tales all of which culminate in an otherworldly invasion that will blow everyone’s minds. Trust me when I say you’re going to want to re-watch this as all the answers to the film are hidden within the plot.

ONE CUT OF THE DEAD – book tickets here.

From Japan comes Shinichirou Ueda’s complex love-letter to the magic of moviemaking. What starts off as a B-grade zombie flick gradually develops into a making of film that teems with the best of what cinema can offer: humanity, humour and a whole load of zombies. Perhaps boasting the best climax shot of any film in 2018, ‘One Cut of the Dead’ is the kind of indie film that comes out of nowhere and proceeds to amaze everyone that gets to see it.

BODIED – Book tickets here.

Joseph Kahn’s brutal razor-edged satire tells the story of a hapless college kid who finds himself embroiled in the world of battle rapping whilst researching his thesis. What starts of as curiosity soon becomes obsession as Adam rises through the ranks and slowly loses himself. When people talk about no-holds-barred cinema, BODIED should become the de-facto example: a lightning fast barrage of ideas delivered without mercy, tearing society apart from all angles. Funny, crude, unmissable, Joseph Kahn has made the most important film of the year.

TIGERS ARE NOT AFRAID – Book tickets here.

Issa López’s tale of Mexican orphans caught in the crossfire of the drug war is a film that is not only unique in its execution but is also brilliant in introducing to the world one of the most interesting voices working in genre cinema today. In what is her first pure genre film, López puts her heart, soul, mind onto the very fabric of the film, creating a heart-breaking world that teems with life – a fairy-tale drama that moves even the most sternest of hearts without ever resorting to mawkishness. Tigers are not Afraid represents fearless, brave cinema that should be seen by everyone.

ANNA AND THE APOCALPYSE – Book tickets here.

Combining high school teen movie, zombie film and musical….hold on? What? Yes ‘Anna and the Apocalypse’ is a zombie musical teen movie that displays a humanity both touching and urgent. Focusing on a school in Scotland during Christmas when a zombie outbreak happens, the film explores the fears and desires of the children through the prism of a musical – using kick-ass tunes only heightens the honest emotion on screen and with virtuoso performances the young cast deliver an experience that will forever count as a milestone in genre cinema.

BONUS

LIFE AFTER FLASH – Book tickets here.

So this is the Duke’s choice. Sam J Jones, the lead actor from Flash Gordon, has lead a life that is both full and unusual. The story of his career, of his big break, his losses and resurgence, may seem familiar if the man at the centre of it was not such a complex and interesting human being. Incorporating interviews with the majority of the cast, crew and fans, ‘LIFE AFTER FLASH’ is an exploration of what happens when the movie is over – it is a complex portrait of a man being both extraordinary in his resilience and familiar in his humanity. An entertaining, outrageous saga that brims with emotions, LIFE AFTER FLASH is an unmissable documentary for anyone who loves cinema and the people behind it who make it happen.