The FrightFest 2012 Awards
Total Film dishes the gongs for the best and worst of FrightFest
Best Film
1. Berberian Sound Studio
2. Sleep Tight
3. A Night Of Nightmares
4. American Mary
5. Eurocrime!
Best Director
1. Peter Strickland ( Berberian Sound Studio )
2. Jaume Balagueró ( Sleep Tight )
3. Jen & Sylvia Soska ( American Mary )
4. Paco Plaza ( [Rec]3 Génesis )
5. Buddy Giovinazzo (A Night Of Nightmares)
Best Actor
1. Toby Jones ( Berberian Sound Studio )
2. Luis Tosar ( Sleep Tight )
3. Vincent D’Onofrio ( Chained )
4. Jack O’Connell ( Tower Block )
5. Ethan Hawke ( Sinister )
Best Actress
1. Katharine Isabelle ( American Mary )
2. Marta Etura ( Sleep Tight )
3. Rosie Day (The Seasoning House)
4. Elissa Dowling (A Night Of Nightmares)
5. Natasha Calis ( The Possession )
Scariest Film
1. V/H/S
2. A Night Of Nightmares
3. Sinister
4. Sleep Tight
5. Berberian Sound Studio
Best Death
1. Intestine blow-up balloon-dog ( Stitches )
2. ‘Modified’ (read: limbless) torso ( American Mary )
3. Zimmer frame machinegun ( Cockneys vs Zombies )
4. Carousel and barbed wire ( Tulpa )
5. One night stand loses his head ( Tower Block )
Best Scare
1. Ghost girl enters bedroom (Skype segment of V/H/S )
2. ‘I like you’ girl standing motionless in room (First segment of V/H/S )
3. Hands appearing through the walls as everyone loses their shit (Last segment of V/H/S )
4. What’s in the cake? (A Night Of Nightmares)
5. “Daddy, you scared me…” ( The Possession )
Best Monster (non-human)
1. The aliens ( Grabbers )
2. Razor-toothed, crouching, scuttling CGI thingy (After)
3. Peloquin ( Nightbreed: The Cabal Cut )
4. The monster under the bed (Under The Bed)
5. The demon ( The Possession )
Best Monster (human or variant thereof)
1. Cesar the Janitor ( Sleep Tight )
2. Bob ( Chained )
3. ‘I Like You’ girl ( V/H/S )
4. Frank ( Maniac )
5. Decker ( Nightbreed: The Cabal Cut )
Bleakest/Darkest Film
1. Remnants
2. The Seasoning House
3. Chained
4. Sleep Tight (for that ending)
5. Outpost II: Black Sun (for the slate-y, monotonous cinematography)
Best Dire-logue
1. “No one knows anything about him, except, they say, he’s a hermaphrodite” ( Tulpa )
2. “Beds are where people sleep the most” (Under The Bed)
3. “I’ve had a terrible day and my friend’s just committed suicide.” “You’ll be OK” ( Tulpa )
4. [Screaming] “Why have you put a fucking penny in my vagina?” (A Night Of Nightmares)
5. “Sorry I blew you off in the bus” (After)
Most Gratuitous Close-Up
Old bloke shaving chained woman’s pubes… in 3D (Paura)
Worst Film
1. The Inside
2. Outpost II: Black Sun
3. Hidden In The Woods
Best FrightFest Innovation
Introducing a Rediscovery Screen to showcase the vivid restorations of Hammer’s The Mummy’s Shroud, Rasputin, The Mad Monk and The Devil Rides Out , and Universal’s The Bride Of Frankenstein .
Most Surreal FrightFest Moment
1. Dario Argento bumming an after dinner cigarette then getting a headspin
2. Bumping into a stormtrooper in the foyer. He said, “Excuse me, Sir…”
3. Seeing a guy walking his ferret through Leicester Square. It was called Silva. We asked.
Best On-Stage Anecdote
By TF Icon Dario Argento. It involved Rutger Hauer, a bush, and a beautiful Russian girl…
Best Shout-out From An Audience Member
“TURN YOUR PHONE OFF, YOU C**T” (Woman near the back of the vast Empire cinema to someone near the front)
Best On-Stage Question
“You’ve just made Outpost III . When are you going to stop? Will you just go on and on? Surely it’s just the same film?” (FrightFest man Ian Rattray gets tough on Outpost II director Steve Barker)
Jamie Graham is the Editor-at-Large of Total Film magazine. You'll likely find them around these parts reviewing the biggest films on the planet and speaking to some of the biggest stars in the business – that's just what Jamie does. Jamie has also written for outlets like SFX and the Sunday Times Culture, and appeared on podcasts exploring the wondrous worlds of occult and horror.