Frightfest 2011: Panic Post-mortem

So here we are on the other side of the Panic Button world premiere at London’s Film4 Frightfest 2011. 

climbing the stairs to FrightFest 2011 – it all starts with the poster… i mean the screenplay, yes the screenplay dammit!

My crazy schedule of late meant I could only duck in to Empire screen 1 to check out one other movie during the weekend. And anyone who knows me won’t be surprised that movie was ‘The Wicker Tree’, with Robin Hardy’s 70s original being something of a lifelong obsession of mine. The man himself gave the film a fantastic and funny intro, full of the camp humour one would expect from him. The film itself is a curious mash-up of bawdy comedy, religious diatribe & country evangelistic music that (unlike the original) never quite gelled for me. I did get goosebumps during a brief cameo from the one & only Christopher Lee, but even that felt shoehorned in for shareholder value. The eclectic movie was strengthened by a smashing performance from Honeysuckle Weeks as ‘Lolly’ – she delivered some killer lines and moments (“all the way to 7,” hehehe) and is definitely one to watch.

Oh Chriiist! Oh Jeeesus Chriiist!  – The Wicker Tree

A brief interval gave me the chance to catch up with some old friends & to make a few new ones, then it was time to head on in for the World Premiere of ‘Panic Button’. Frightfest founder (and erstwhile Panic Button supporter – thanks Alan your cheque is in the post!) Alan Jones and producer/co-writer John Shackleton introduced the movie to a packed auditorium. My thanks to John for giving me a shout out during his intro, I was touched (your cheque is in the post too!). It was fun seeing the film on huge screen with a full-on sound mix, amidst a crowd of likeminded horror fans. There was lots of applause, laughs (in all the ‘right’ places) & a palpable feeling of rising tension during the finale (either that or my Premiere trousers were on too tight). Mr Shackleton took to the stage again for a Q&A after the end credits rolled, accompanied by the main cast members and director Chris Crow. My favourite moment was when an audience member asked (in all seriousness) if the film would be used in schools as an educational tool about the dangers of social networking. “We might have to tone Michael Jibson’s dialogue down a bit,” came the reply (Michael plays pottymouthed ‘Dave’ in the film 🙂 

Panic Button Q&A: L-R Chris Crow (director), Joshua Richards (Rupert Turner), Elen Rhys (Gwen), Jack Gordon (Max), Scarlett Alice Johnson (Jo), John Shackleton (producer)

The Empire foyer afterwards was buzzing, and cast and crew took to the red carpet for a press junket of photo calls and interviews – you can see them shine in the Frightfest Day 3 report below (coupla mins in to the video). It was a pleasure to finally meet some of the cast members & to catch up with some of the production team – also to meet the lovely Louise of UK distributor Showbox & raise a glass with some FrightFest friends before hometime.


A slew of reviews has since appeared online, with people Tweeting, Blogging and Facebooking about the movie. The response has been overwhelmingly positive, with a few naysayers out there (but you can’t please everybody). One negative Twitter response bemoaned the movie’s ‘unbelievable’ premise – i’d love to hear their thoughts on the premises for ‘Troll Hunter’, ‘Fright Night’ and of course… ‘The Wicker Tree’! Sorry, but I go to festivals like Frightfest year in, year out, expressly to see films with unbelievable premises – leave banal reality at home on the telly where it belongs. Rant over!


So, here are some of the post-FrightFest reviews for Panic Button. Positive or negative, huge thanks to the reviewers for taking the time to watch and comment on the film.

“A modern horror movie that is very much a product of our times. Just excellent.” (Adam Stephen Kelly, Screenjabber)

“One of the beauties of attending an event like Frightfest is settling in to watch a film with little or no expectations, only to come out buzzing at its conclusion. And boy does Panic Button fit that bill – a neat, taut, clever little chiller that deserves all the plaudits I can throw at it.” (Simon Fitzjohn, Movieramblings)

“Utterly preposterous, but Panic Button is gripping and a lot of fun.” (Shaun Munro, Whatculture!)

“An enjoyable, if completely ludicrous, social network thriller… It perfectly captures the paranoia about website privacy and data collection, and is thought-provoking where Hideo Nakata’s embarrassingly dated Chatroom was laughable.” (Becky Reed, ThisisfakeDIY)

“Helped by some strong performances from the cast this is a way above average chiller that has plenty of nasty twists to keep horror fans happy. Well worth seeing.” (James Whittington, Horror Channel)

I have tons more films to check out that I didn’t get time to see at the festival, including The Kill List, The Woman, The Theatre Bizarre and Troll Hunter, but for now they’ll have to wait cos that deadline looms. Until next time…