The elegiac neo-noir A Desert begins as a portrait of Alex (Kai Lennox) trying to lose himself in the desert as he retreads his own receding career as analogue photographer. But by the end it completely pulls focus to his wife Sam (Sarah Lind), who is now retracing Alex’s last known steps while she projects something of herself on to the blank canvas that he has left behind. I mention this not only because Joshua Erkman’s metacinematic feature debut is my favourite film at FrightFest 2024, and indeed of the year so far, but also because its careful drift from male to female gaze reflects a broader evolution in the festival itself.
The inaugural FrightFest, back in 2000, showcased just 17 features on its single screen, whereas now, for its 25th birthday, the genre festival shows more than 70 films across multiple screens – and it has also, over the years, grown in other ways. For while no film in its first year was directed by a woman, a quarter century on there are 16 female-helmed features in the line-up, reflecting not only changing demographics and tastes in both indie horror film production and audience (currently 45% female at FrightFest, and increasing every year), but also programming sensitive to such changes….