Worst Fears [2016]

There may well be a case of marmite herein. Either the work of McGillivray struck a chord back in the day, and maybe still does, or this anthology of shorts may fall upon youthful deaf ears. As it is, the gathering together as some form of portmanteau homage, of a large number of his cheap films that played various festivals over the years, might seem money for old rope. Moreover, the name dropping array of older thespians mixed with up and coming people he has gathered together over the years, might seem a thin premise upon which to hook the whole.But that'd be wholly negative and not in the spirit of the venture. This is enthusiastic film making, producing and scripting on a miniscule budget, whereof most of the people did the work for no recompense. The stacking up of varying tones of shorts is, as with many anthologies, hit and miss. Overall the feel is important, having a nostalgic taste for Hammers later tv work, Amicus, tales of the unexpected, etc. If there is a fault then the shortness of each tale is a little abruptly ending, twist endings that may not surprise jaded fans. Again, if you come to it open to the whole, then the accumulative effect is what sells it. To me at least.There is an insightful interview as an extra, which paves the way for contextual material...Add to this the mockumentary of approx half an hour, which is top notch in it's audacity and spiteful assault on the man. Proving that actors can often lie badly when co-erced for the camera, but directors can in fact be very convincing when they are asked to assassinate the character in question. After viewing this highly amusing disassembly of the David McGillivray icon/persona, we have another number of extras that equally fuel the fire of undermining the seriousness of the enterprise. These extras take apart the mockumentary, and indeed as meta-fiction, is amusing documenting too. The name Jake West here can perhaps hint at the quality involved. We come out of the other end having being taken for a carny ride that is David McGillivray and his participants, thespians or perhaps accessories is more pertinent. He clearly knows a lot of interesting people to aid and abet his slightly subversive world view. Additionally, there is a booklet, crammed with small print, pertaining to the films in the anthology. Some of the data is repeated in the extras, but nevertheless is a thorough & thoughtful extra that is becoming overlooked by larger companies looking to make a quick profit.So, although of low production values generally, the acting is very good indeed all round. Good to see people with some depth to their character even on such smaller works. Taken out of context some of the work may well be a little weak, but taken as a whole compilation, long after the event as it were, this is a thorough and entertaining way to be part of the Gillivray tainted britishness. One thing that should recommend it, is that it's almost guaranteed to have Mary Whitehouse turning in her grave in anger at his longevity. Guess she doesn't like marmite.

Dont bother these stories are very stupid.

rubbish

This is an anthology of seven tales similar to Creep Show with some whimsical tales, dark comedy, and twists. Host is not as cool and avoids bad puns. They were well directed and acted, clearly a professional production. The first tale of Suffolk witches I enjoyed. From there the stories started a slide downward into predicability and soft writing. Tales include Jinn and tonics.Guide: F-word, sex, no nudity

I was put off buying this for ages as I'd read it was shot on video, however eventually having read that it was Amicus like in nature, I bought it. The fact it's shot in video didn't bother me as much as I thought it would, just looks like 'Midsomer Murders' or something. The first story is by far the best with mad as a bat Fenella Fielding, and I thought I was in for something special, but it was not to be. The rest of it was terrible, and the links just made me cringe. A shame.