Frightfest 2017: Double Date Review: Dir. Benjamin Barfoot

Double Date Review: Two friends find themselves at the mercy of two deadly femme-fatales in the maddeningly fun Double Date.

Earlier this year, moviegoers were treated to Jordan Peele’s brilliant horror-comedy Get Out. Keeping up the trend, Benjamin Barfoot makes his directorial debut with horror-comedy Double Date and it’s a wild, rollicking thrill ride. 

Danny Morgan – also behind the writing of the screenplay – stars as Jim, a 29-year-old virgin on the verge of turning 30 without any sexual luck. With his birthday nearing, Jim’s best friend Alex (Michael Socha) is adamant on helping is mate lose his virginity before he hits 30. When the pair end up bumping into two beautiful, mysterious girls – Kitty (Kelly Wenham) and Lulu (Georgia Groome), the night looks in favour of helping Jim on this conquest of his. However, what the two lads don’t realise is that they may have bitten off more than they can chew when these girls aren’t all they seem.

Horror-comedies can often be taxing to pull off; finding the right balance of horror and comedy is not easy – with most either only succeeding in one or the other; the likes of Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland and even the aforementioned Get Out are obvious examples. Whilst Double Date certainly leans more towards the comedic side than it does horror. There is a genuine edge of taut tension and sinister on-goings permeating every second of the run-time from the opening scene right to the last. This is a film that will make you feel uneasy; providing satisfactory edge of your seat chills and thrills. Barfoot opts for more suspense than outright jump scares but it works menacingly well and he toys with the tension brilliantly to create a genuinely haunting atmosphere. Of course, the film doubles down with the comedy and Double Date is easily one of the funniest films of the year too. Morgan’s writing is hilarious and the film consistently offers up a plethora of side-splitting humour.

The performances are all stellar too; there is veritable chemistry between Socha and Morgan who both radiate with charisma and heart and relate-ability and cement their on-screen friendship with such ease. Groome and Wenham are equally as impressive as our femme-fatales; brilliantly terrifying and unpredictable and clearly relishing the fun of playing such off-kilter, unsettling antagonistic roles. All four of them work magic together and really light up this film and make it as effortless and enjoyable a watch as it is.

And Barfoot brings his A-game to the direction, crafting such a refreshing and original film. There is an 80’s vibe to the visual aesthetic – popping with bright colours and some luscious and slick cinematography – and to the tone here too and Double Date very much feels like it pays homage to the brilliant genre pieces it’s clearly inspired by. Topped off with a soundtrack that is pulpy and psychedelic, Double Date is as bonkers and outrageous as you’d hope. But I mean that with high praise. This is a hilarious, chilling and wholly original film that is intoxicating and gorgeous and just delirious, maddening fun.

Double Date review by Awais Irfan, August 2017.

Double Date is currently playing as part of the Horror Channel Frighfest 2017 programme.