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An Ultimately Underwhelming Survival Film – Year 10 (FrightFest 2024)

A still from Year 10

Year 10 opens with a grand statement: “It was all over in a day.” The sweeping shots of barren landscape hint towards a ruined earth and societal collapse. What happened is never revealed, but it's an apocalyptic world we're familiar with; one that turns everyone's clothes to dull shades of brown. Directed by Benjamin Goodger, this horror feature stars Toby Goodger, Hannah Khalique-Brown, and Duncan Lacroix, as the anonymous survivors.

Sheltered in a hut concealed by mossy branches, a father, his son, and his son's girlfriend have persisted for 10 years after a catastrophic event. They scavenge for relics of the world ‘before', as cigarettes, biscuits, and unwrapped lollipops are now considered luxuries. But not everyone is satisfied with rare confectionery. Fighting off a gory infection and cannibal mobs, the trio has to survive by any means necessary.

Year 10 includes all the hallmarks of a horror: a hand clamped over a whimpering mouth as the antagonist stalks steadily closer, a baby's shoe slathered in mud, and abandoned vehicles with their doors left ominously ajar. These classic eerie images follow the recipe for unease, but the shock factor is significantly diluted as audiences have become desensitised to these clichéd motifs.

Without dialogue, the and sound become increasingly important and are subjected to an elevated degree of audience awareness. The scratching of dry grass as they brush past it during a hunt and the gruesome squelch of a bloody wound work well to establish an unnerving atmosphere. Dissonant chords heighten the frights, working overtime to account for the lack of blood-curdling screams. The horror staple of sustained notes of high-strung significance suitably denotes the feeling of dread evoked by an approaching omophagous horde.

Year 10 begins to build tension well, crafting scenes of hair-raising action. The yelps of a blood-thirsty pack of dogs hunting for someone to maul are chilling, yet a swift jump to safety often undercuts the weight of these edgy moments. The fight sequences have sections of thrilling choreography, and the prosthetic makeup adds an unsettling grisly realism.

These achievements would have been more impactful if we fully knew the stakes. A drawback of limited or non-existent dialogue is that viewers may not feel fully connected to the characters without access to their thoughts, feelings, or motives for inserting themselves into such danger. Although, the cast's acting adequately conveys moments of fear and underlying determination to live, much comprehension was lost due to this absence of communication.

Benjamin Goodger's Year 10 follows the formula of a trepidatious survival film but embraces an ill-suited stylistic choice that is ultimately detrimental to audiences' immersion.

Year 10 had its world premiere as part of the First Blood strain at FrightFest 2024 on Saturday, August 24.