Sean Hogan, Andrew Parkinson, Simon Rumley/UK/ 2010

The opening film of Glasgow FrightFest, Little Deaths, written and directed by Sean Hogan, Andrew Parkinson and Simon Rumley, fuses sex and horror together in three short films, which plunge the depths of human depravity, science fiction and the paranormal, with slightly disappointing results.

Taking place in contemporary Britain, Little Deaths three shorts explore the themes of sex and death. In House and Home a wealthy couple abduct a homeless girl for their own amusement. Mutant Tool follows a recovering drug addict as she finds solace in a new rehabilitation therapy which has very sinister intentions. The final film, Bitch, shows a boyfriend leaving his controlling girlfriend, but not without getting revenge for her philandering ways.

Little Deaths’ format blends all three shorts almost seamlessly through similar themes and dark moments. While this style of film is very different to the often tired and worn style of horror movie making, the film’s overall content is somewhat lacking. Although each film is completely different in terms of characters, plot, storyline and direction, the weakness in Little Deaths lies in its inability to go beyond simple scare tactics, as so many violent acts that occurred in each film, such as sex, rape, murder, torture and humiliation. This led to an overall feeling that the film was trying too hard to be controversial, which was supported by a clumsy script, two dimensional characters and several lackluster performances. While this may seem harsh, there were moments and twists in Little Deaths that were original and witty, but they were sadly overshadowed by the film’s flaws. However, while Little Deaths was probably not the best opener for Glasgow FrightFest, it shows that the British horror film tradition is very much alive and well.