While the latest Brit big budget horrors will be familiar to many movie goers, our homegrown horror can also be successful if shot with low budgets, such as the grainy reality of this year’s success story 28 Years Later, shot mainly on an Iphone.
FrightFest’s UK offerings this month include Blockhead, focussing on a failing novelist who thinks his muse appears to him in the form of a psychotic handyman, as well as He Kills At Night, featuring a mother who is abducted by a serial killer on Christmas Eve.
Other UK features include The Caretaker, set at an isolated school on a coast, run by a powerful family hiding a dark secret. The Haunting of Jack the Ripper House focusses on a gang of YouTubers who create paranormal ghost hunting vlogs, who are investigating the notorious killer’s home.
Festival co-director Ian Rattray says: “As always, it’s going to be a horrifically good five days for our fans. FrightFest will showcase over 70 features from across the world, including the popular UK new talent strand First Blood. Another terrific home-grown title is Marc Price’s The Arbiter, which will play on opening night and we know the audience will love it.”
Horrorfan Nina Romain talks to the UK writer and director Marc Price, (pictured above and below on set of The Arbiter, in centre with cap), a FrightFest veteran screening The Arbiter as his third feature there as a world premiere. He talks about about how needing to feed a friend’s cat lead to the inspiration for his film’s “bloodsoaked powder keg of fists, fury and treachery”…
What does it mean to be a part of FrightFest?
I love Frightfest’s audience. It was my first ever festival way back in 2009 with Colin, so to be back many years later is a lovely start to The Arbiter’s adventure. I started making films for under a hundred pounds; I think that sort of experience leaves a mark. So even a budget of sixty thousand pounds still feels like a lot to me. That’s what we made Dune Drifter for, which screened at Frightfest in 2020. The Arbiter had a bigger budget but was still way, way under a million, so credit for the budget and making it work has to go to my amazing producing partner Michelle Parkyn.
Although we are part of FrightFest I wouldn’t say The Arbiter is a horror; I think we fit into that nice little side category that the fest has always been generous with, and it’s an action for a large part. It’s set in a city, reduced to a battlefield run by rival gangs at night. In desperation, the remaining gang leaders gather to meet “The Arbiter”, a negotiator with a reputation for delivering order in chaos. So it’s The Warriors meets Reservoir Dogs in a bloodsoaked powder keg of fists, fury and treachery.
What’s your favourite Brit horror and what would you say is involved shooting successful indies or horrors?
My favourite British horrors would be Attack the Block, which has a great ensemble, an amazing idea and lots of heart, while the writing is efficient and brilliantly directed. Also 28 Days Later, which is one of the most punk rock films, in terms of the energy and ferocity of film making, with so much warmth bubbling under the surface.
What inspired you to write The Arbiter?
That [idea] developed into this set of rules where the police would stay away as long as the little gang society functioned according to certain conditions. It blossomed from there into something I initially spoke with the awesome Scott Adkins about writing and from there into this idea.
And in the end, I managed to get some spare keys and feed the cat. She was a bit grumpy with me!
How does it feel to see The Arbiter in FrightFest’s opening night?
It’s very exciting to be part of the opening night. I’m hoping it means there will be somewhere to grab a drink after. I’m going to need one, I think – screenings can test your nerve! But nearly all of the featured cast will be there, so we’ll have a fun time. I had the best time working with those guys. We’ve all become great friends and almost a year later the WhatsApp group is still very active with “Who’s going for drinks?” arrangements. I’m very lucky to have sustained some marvellous connections with incredible festivals, so we’ve reached out to see if our film is a good fit for some of their programming.
Favourite part to write or shoot?
I don’t remember much from the writing process. Film making is a strange thing when you sit back and observe the wave of emotions during that entire process. It’s excitement, then exhaustion creeps in mixed with intense determination and at the end of it you’re left with excitement again and hoping what you’ve made will click with an audience. I think one of the most fun sequences to shoot was the “big yellow room” section where the characters are being introduced to each other and the audience. Trying to find interesting ways to involve the camera to show their relationships developing was something I had a blast with. I was sad to leave that yellow room set – even after we covered it with fake blood.
Where to from here for The Arbiter… can we look forward to a sequel/prequel in 2026?
Ah, a perfect opportunity to paraphrase Jurassic Park: “Anything and everything can and does happen.” Though it won’t be the same working without the characters who die before the end. If there’s a prequel we won’t have a problem, but if there’s a sequel there will be a miraculous surge of twins in our war torn city so I can get the cast back!
FrightFest London runs from 21-25 August in five days of horror, sci-fi, thriller, and documentary films, plus four internationally-renowned short film showcases, in the two state-of-the-art Odeon cinemas on Leicester Square. More information is on: www.frightfest.co.uk
