Lore – Frightfest 2023 Movie Review
Director: James Bushe, Patrick Michael Ryder, Greig Johnson
Writer: James Bushe, Patrick Michael Ryder, Christine Barber-Ryder, Greig Johnson (Screenplay)
Cast
- Andrew Lee Potts (The Witcher)
- Katie Sheridan (The Convent)
- Bill Fellows (Lady Macbeth)
- Steven Blades (All the Devil’s Men)
- Rufus Hound (Trollied)
Plot: Four friends arrange a ghostly excursion, their guide asks them each to tell the scariest story they have ever heard, but little do they know, those stories would have major consequences for them and others.
Runtime: 1 Hour 27 Minutes
There may be spoilers in the rest of the review.
Story: Lore starts when four friends go on a camping trip led by a guide. The guide encourages them to spend the night telling each other scary stories. What follows is the different twisted stories in their minds.
Verdict on Lore
Shadows
Shadows follows Daniel (Potts) on the run from a couple of gangsters. He finds shelter in an abandoned warehouse, as he looks to elude the men. However, what he finds brings a new nightmare for him to face.This is an interesting horror story, as it starts feeling like an action movie and moulds into a terrifying story. It has a great twist to the reality of what is happening and is a wonderfully created creature. (4/5)
The Hidden Woman
The Hidden Woman follows a mother and son that move into a new home. It doesn’t take long before they start hearing things around the home, leading them to look into the history of the home. However, what is really in the home will continue to haunt them.This takes us down a haunted house road, as we see the family dealing with a more horrific situation. It shows how things continue to get worse and the world unfolds around them. there is plenty of scares here, however, it feels more like an opening sequence of a much bigger horror. (3/5)
Cross Your Heart
Cross Your Heart follows a couple that is meeting up with another couple for a swinger’s night. While one is excited at the opportunity, his wife isn’t so sure. However, the night doesn’t go the way that he was expecting.This is a twisted tale that doesn’t hold back and leaves us shocked with how it ends up going. The best of the stories so far, because of how quickly it escalates. (5/5)
The Keychain Man
The Keychain Man follows three friends heading to the cinema. They are attending a midnight screening in a near-empty cinema when one of the employees gets fired. However, that employee decides to go on a killing spree on anyone they find at the cinema.This one takes me back to ‘The Last Showing’ with a horror set in a cinema. It is short and sweet against a monstrous opponent. This one has the best effects when it comes to kills, with the highlight in what we see. (4/5)
Lore follows the four friends who tell ghost stories as a tribute to the spirits of the woods. Each tale gives us a different idea of horror, but their creepy guide ends up taking down a dangerous path. This is an interesting wrap-around story that gets a well-paid-off outcome, even if things are not the scariest they could have ended up being.
Lore will be available exclusively in the UK on the Icon Film Channel from 26th August, in select UK Cinemas from 27th September and then on Digital Download from 21st October.
Final Thoughts –Lore is a fun horror anthology series.
