ARROW FRIGHTFEST (digital): Playhouse
FRIGHTFESTAs with many of the films coming through FrightFest this time around, Playhouse (2020) is another that feels more interesting in its conception than its execution. Fionn, and Toby both grew up in and around Freswick Castle as kids, so as a first project in which they get to capture the lore of the castle in which they grew up, is a total privilege. Filmed on location, we follow Jack Travis (William Holstead): a horror writer infamous for terrifying his audiences. Having newly moved into Freswick Castle with his estranged daughter Bee (Grace Courtney) , the cult of his ambition begins to manifest, as the historic walls of the fort begin to unravel dark cursed secrets. Can Jack realise the consequences of his work and save his daughter, or will he simply be left consumed by his own doing?
If you were to google “Freswick Castle”, you would see instantly how isolated it is from civilisation. To not talk about it, would be like discussing The Shining without mentioning ‘The Stanley Hotel’. You can feel how cold the walls are in every scene, and it sticks out like a big stone ice cube on its coastline. The nearest town (Wick) is 20 minutes drive away, and it is actually closer to John O’ Groats, so one can only imagine the lack of convenience for filming there. It is this, that the filmmakers play into. At its core, Playhouse is a haunted-house story, but it toys with the psychological impact of loneliness as opposed to the flashier elements of a ghost story like The Conjuring might. The motive of a horror writer feeling as though he is evincing the terror happening on screen is a distinctive concept not often seen. By having such a meaningful location to the directors, and to tell a story about a horror-writer, the film produces a particularly meta method of storytelling.
For a first feature, it would be cruel to call Playhouse terrible. It is certainly ambitious, but often, that comes at its own detriment. The script is simply not tight enough, and the filmmaking feels more akin to ‘Cowboy filmmaking’. The art of simply not having a plan beyond your concept. There’s too many subplots, and they give far too much time to side characters that simply don’t gel within their own isolation narrative. It affected the tone of the film, the horror itself became essentially non-existent, and the longer they gave to the side characters, the sillier the protagonists motives became. It isn’t unwatchable, but it is something to watch with caution. Much of the cast is talented, but the balance of screen time makes them incredibly difficult to invest yourself with.