Four thrill-seeking friends tell scary stories around a campfire. Unbeknownst to them, these stories will have very real consequences. A film by James Bushe & Patrick Ryder and Greig Johnson, starring Richard Brake, Andrew Lee Potts, Bill Fellows, Rufus Hound, Jennifer K Preston, Katie Sheridan, Miles Mitchell, Dean Bone, Sally Collett, Samantha Neale, Jacob Anderton, Christopher Mulvin, Sarah Lewis Obuba, Alana Wallace, Davey Hopper, Greig Johnson, Daniel-John Williams, Steven Blades, Theo Preston, Jordaine Lincoln, Finbar Healy, and Liam Scarth.

Four thrill-seeking friends, Dan (Miles Mitchell), Donna (Sally Collett), Mark (Dean Bone), and Sally (Samantha Neale), hike to a remote site near the forest where they have booked a horror-themed camping trip through a website promising a once-in-a-lifetime experience. It seems they have been doing this every summer; their previous adventures include secret cinema, virtual reality, and escape rooms.

Mark leads the group to the middle of nowhere, which is supposedly their destination. However, there are no signposts or tents in sight to indicate that they’ve arrived at the campsite. Confused, the group wonders if they’re in the right place on the correct date. They scan the area, searching for any sign of the campsite. Suddenly, as they turn around, Darwin (Richard Brake) appears out of nowhere, startling them. With a mysterious smile, he welcomes them and assures them they are indeed in the right place. When Dan asks if any other campers have arrived, Darwin simply claims that they all canceled this morning. He then points out a spot for them to set up their tents and asks Mark to help him start the fire.

That night, around the campfire, Darwin shares the history of the ground they’re sitting on. In 1993, a hiking party discovered three skulls in the area, and the excavation that followed uncovered 3,500 bodies with no evidence or markings indicating who these people were. Darwin then tells them that an evil force lurked here in ancient times, searching for pain and misery, and that those bodies were presumably tortured and killed by this evil.

To kick off his mystery tour, he shows them a totem carved from wood. He explains that as part of the experience, each of them must throw the totem into the flames and tell a story that they fear as it burns. He claims this ritual feeds the evil, allowing them to communicate with the dead.

Mark is the first to share his fearsome story. It follows Daniel (Andrew Lee Potts), who finds himself in a dire situation after a presumably drug deal gone wrong in which he lost all the money. He’s being chased by his colleagues, Terry (Steven Blades) and Barry (Daniel-John Williams), who are demanding their money back. In a panic, Daniel flees and breaks into a warehouse to hide, but Terry and Barry quickly track him down. As Daniel tries to make his way to the emergency exit, Barry intercepts him and punches him in the face. Just when Daniel thinks things can’t get worse, he becomes terrified when he realizes they’re not alone in the warehouse, as he spots a creepy monster (Liam Scarth) lurking in the shadows.

Written and directed by James Bushe, SHADOWS features impressive monster design and an intriguing narrative, but the screenplay suffers from dull dialogue and illogical character behavior. While the plot twist is unexpected, it lacks consistency and continuity, making the conclusion feel unconvincing.

I half-expected the monster to be a shapeshifting creature that transformed into the protagonist, which would explain why he and the viewers experienced the events from a third-person perspective. In a sense, I kinda hoped the security guard, Jeff (Bill Fellows), would turn out to be the one keeping the monster locked away in the warehouse. This section is basically a psychological thriller rather than a full-fledged supernatural horror.

Hannah (Jennifer K Preston) and her son Charlie (Theo Preston) have just moved into a large house she inherited from her late mother, who passed away unexpectedly. While exploring the basement, Hannah discovers an old phonograph and brings it upstairs, only to find that it’s broken.

Strange things start happening on their first night in the house. Hannah wakes up to find Charlie missing from his bed and goes downstairs to look for him. To her shock, she finds him sitting at the dining table with a glass of water and a shadowy woman (Jordaine Lincoln) standing right behind him. As soon as she turns on the light, the shadowy figure vanishes. At first, Hannah thinks she must have imagined it, but then she becomes suspicious about how Charlie, who is shorter than she is, could have gotten a glass from the top shelf that she can barely reach. The supernatural occurrences only escalate from there. Strange thumping sounds emanate from the second floor, the broken phonograph starts playing music on its own, and Hannah keeps seeing the mysterious shadowy woman. Charlie even reveals that he talked to his grandmother in the kitchen. Bizarrely, Hannah doesn’t seem to consider leaving the house. If I were her, I would have run away on the first night!

Directed by Patrick Ryder from a screenplay he co-wrote with Christine Barber-Ryder, THE HIDDEN WOMAN relies too heavily on jump scare techniques built upon a thin storyline that follows a well-worn trope: the haunted house. The narrative suffers from illogical and unrealistic behavior by the protagonist. It would benefit from a glimpse into the evil spirit’s backstory, such as what exactly it wants or if it really is Hannah’s late mother, which I assume is not the case since Hannah clearly tells her son that his grandmother wasn’t a dancer. So was it the one who killed her mother? It’s just too confusing because the phonograph is already in the house when they arrive, not like she just bought it from a mysterious antique shop.

On their anniversary, Steve (Rufus Hound) really pushes his wife Cath (Katie Sheridan) to try polyamory with another couple at a cheap hotel. He wants them to swap partners with the good-looking Luna (Alana Wallace) and Marcus (Rick Snowdon). Cath tries several times to get Steve to drop the idea, but he refuses to budge. Steve’s determination is unwavering.

Before they begin, Luna hands Steve a black, capsule-shaped pill, promising that it will make him feel more special. Steve gladly lets Luna place it in his mouth. However, when Luna turns to Cath, Cath simply refuses to take the pill, asserting that she has to work tomorrow. Luna then takes Steve to her room. Little does he know that Luna harbors a sinister plan for him.

Written and directed by Greig Johnson, CROSS YOUR HEART isn’t quite as captivating as it hoped to be. While I admire the mask design, which looks incredibly unnerving, the story is somewhat forgettable, even though the cast does a decent job and delivers solid performances in their roles. I did expect a more twisted conclusion, as the premise seemed interesting enough to take the film in a completely different and memorable direction. Honestly, I thought there might be something like soul-swapping that could make him suffer even more than death.

Three friends, James (Jacob Anderton), Natasha (Sarah Lewis Obuba), and Matt (Christopher Mulvin), head out to catch a film together. At the cinema, just as they’re about to order some drinks and popcorn, they’re startled by a snack bar attendant named Gareth (Finbar Healy), who is an extremely tall man.

The film humorously illustrates this by raising the camera and tilting it down on them from Gareth’s perspective. When the viewpoint shifts to theirs, the frame only shows Gareth’s chest. The viewers never see Gareth’s face, which highlights just how massive he is. While Gareth is taking their order, the POS system malfunctions, and he has to call his supervisor, Mr. Robinson (Davey Hopper), to sort it out. When Mr. Robinson arrives, he not only complains about Gareth’s excessive use of the radio but also blames him for not operating the machine properly in front of everyone.

Before the film starts, James heads off to the loo. As he makes his way back, he accidentally witnesses Gareth, now wearing a mask, brutally murder Mr. Robinson at the snack bar after being fired. Shocked, James quickly races back inside to warn his friends. However, Gareth has a plan of his own; he grabs the manager’s keychain and uses a key to activate the shutters, closing off every exit.

Directed by Patrick Ryder & James Bushe, from a screenplay Ryder co-wrote with Christine Barber-Ryder, THE KEYCHAIN MAN is the most impressive of them all. I love that they save the best for last. From the screenplay that is both satirical and entertaining, to the memorable visceral kills that look uncannily realistic, which I’m guessing they probably received the highest budget for practical effects. The only part I didn’t like was the scene where the protagonist tries to warn his friends about a murderous maniac outside, then his friends turn into stereotypical annoying characters in the horror films who refuse to believe there’s even a slight chance it could be true.

LORE is an anthology film consisting of four short stories told by four characters. The film concludes with Sally safely returning home after a mysterious camping trip with her friends. The camera pans to a news broadcast on TV about a man named Gareth Small, who is the prime suspect in a cinema massacre that has left six people confirmed dead, suggesting that the stories they told around the campfire have somehow turned into reality. The filmmakers then surprise us with another revelation: their lives could also be affected by the stories told by other campers.

LORE premiered at FrightFest in London on 24 August 2023. It was set to release on Icon Film Channel on 26 August 2024. The film will receive a limited theatrical release in select UK cinemas on 27 September.

Icon Film Channel is a subscription-based streaming service in the UK that offers a curated library of over 400 acclaimed films, including blockbuster hits, cult classics, and award-winning cinema. With exclusive channel premieres for early home viewing of major new releases, Icon Film Channel is available on Amazon Prime Video in the UK and via a standalone app. Subscription plans start at £5.99/month after a 7-day free trial.