The Saturday of FrightFest is always a special day for new British filmmaking talent. The event carves time into its hectic schedule of horrors to allow fresh voices to screen their offerings as part of the First Blood strand. This year’s event saw films traverse science-fiction, self-help groups, and a monster-laden apocalypse before ending the festivities with Bite. Despite what the title might suggest, Bite, written and directed by James Owen, is not a vampire movie. Nor is it a werewolf or zombie film. Instead, it might just be the modern British answer to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre.
Nina (Shian Denovan) is a down and out criminal. It’s not a position or life that she wants to have, but she is forever dragged back down by her addict girlfriend Yaz (Nansi Nsue) After a job goes wrong, the women fall out and Nina is abandoned on the street. There she is picked up by the kindly Beryl (Annabelle Lanyon) who looks after her for the night. Upon returning home, Nina discovers that she’s the local crime boss’ next target. Now in dire need of escape money, Nina and Yaz devise a cunning plan. Believing Beryl to be an easy mark, the couple journey back to the property, but Beryl isn’t as innocent as she has first appeared.
Bite’s story is a well-worn and familiar one, however, the performances sell the story, helping it rise above being another carbon copy. As Beryl, Lanyon does phenomenal work as a doddering elderly woman. She sells the part so well. Aware of the type of film they are sat in front of, the audience is instantly suspicious of Beryl. Nina though, is not. Whilst on paper this might raise an eyebrow or two, in reality it makes sense for Nina to trust the older lady. Her initial ease is confounded by the prickly situation, a late night secluded bus stop complete with two leering drunks, from which Beryls saves her. The gratitude to be away from the tangible danger blindly leads Nina into an even worse foe. Although Nina’s initial decision can be forgiven as she does make it out of her first encounter, it is her decision to go back that makes little sense and is where the audience starts to drop off.
Once back indoors at Casa de Beryl, the atmosphere turns hostile. Nina’s return signals a change in focus and Bite is firmly in horror territory. Beryl isn’t working alone, she has a whole family surrounding her and this is where the comparisons to The Texas Chain Saw Massacre start to flood in. The unit are even craftier than the Sawyer clan and the realisation of how orchestrated they are gives pause for thought. Bite’s conclusion isn’t as impactful as that of Hooper’s classic, but Owen does manage to land enough to garner attention. A well thought reworking of a worn-out story, Bite has enough fresh ingredients to provide a tasty movie meal.
Bite
Summary
A fine final film in a strand full of new voices with exciting ideas, Bite presents a tried and tested genre story and explores it in an intriguing way.
Bite was reviewed at Arrow Video FrightFest.
