As drizzling rain hits the concrete, I walk along a string of busy restaurants. Turning the corner, I see the gorgeous Ritz Cinema, home of the Fantastic Film Festival. Tonight, Hell of a Summer, Finn Wolfhard and Billy Burke’s new 80s-inspired slasher, kicks off the festival.
My name marked off, I head upstairs to the pre-film party. The feeling is relaxed, lowkey and intimate. Cool blue lights spatter the walls, the DJ sips his ruby red cocktail, and friends catch up. Chatting about what films they have seen lately, buying each other drinks and having a laugh. What a brilliant way to start the night. Bit by bit, the time ticks towards the screening, and people grab one last drink. Beginning to trickle off into the theatre, not wanting to miss out on the good seats.
The ads run, popcorn is bought, and a good seat is picked. The room is loud with happy voices. The ads end, and a festival programmer comes out, hyping the crowd for the film and the fest. Telling us what is to come from the animated sperm movie to a retrospective on Lynn Ramsey, something for everyone. Leaving us excited and smiling, we all settle in as the lights go dim.
The film starts, and we are off with a bang, getting two gruesome deaths off the bat. Everyone is well-behaved at first, but slowly, as we get further into the absurd, cheesy, silliness, the audience leans into the fun. They begin to laugh louder at the jokes, quiet cheers, and giddy excitement over romance explodes into a series of theatre-wide rounds of applause and cheers. The film’s climactic moments are welcomed with this overwhelmingly joyful applause, it’s glorious. Everyone is having the time of their life watching the fun throwback to a simpler genre of horror film. It’s a film which alone would have been just good, but here with this cackle of excited strangers, it’s become special, turning into one of the best film-going experiences I have had.
Unable to stop myself from clapping along, I leave with a smile, and so does everyone else. What a wonderful way to spend a night. Excited for whatever comes next from these filmmakers and looking forward to the rest of what this festival has to offer, I wander back out into the drizzling rain and past the busy restaurants with a hop in my step.
Billy Newbery
Fantastic Film Festival
Until 16 May