So, I’m not long back from the UK premiere of the Cairnes Brothers’ splatter comedy 100 Bloody Acres, which had an enthusiastic reception from the ever-excellent crowds at Film4 FrightFest, Britain’s biggest (and best) celebration of all things horror and genre.
The massive 1300-seater main screen at the Empire Leicester Square was nudging towards 50% capacity for the (almost) midnight screening, with plenty of chuckles and more than a handful of hearty belly laughs. One scene in particular seemed to – ahem – ‘tickle’ FrightFesters, and gained a brief round of applause.
All in all, folks seemed to enjoy the film’s blend of blood and (funny) bone – although this Aussie couldn’t help but think it was chock full of references they’ll probably never get. I’m fairly certain I was the only one who laughed at Lindsay’s ‘Holler for a Marshall‘ jibe, and I’m not entirely sure that they realised that all the delightfully odd ditties that populated the soundtrack are all actual, real life songs that actually get played on real life radio stations in Australia. (Also, as an Adelaide Hills boy, I’m not sure I’ll be able to look the fair maidens of the Lobethal Fairyland Villiage in the eye ever again!)
Anyway, I could write a proper review, but aside from it being well past my bed time, I thought I’d leave the verdict in the hands of the experts, the hardened film nuts who make up the FrightFest crowd. So here’s a little timeline of what the F4FF Twitterati had to say about the UK debut of 100 Bloody Acres:
If all that praise hasn’t sufficiently whetted your appetite, I recommend that you wrap your peepers around the trailer:
100 Bloody Acres is in UK cinemas from October 11 (via The Works/Universal).
The Far Paradise 