With just four hours sleep under my belt, the second day of FrightFest 2001 dawned with the prospect of a particularly strong line up of films in the offing. Arriving at the Prince Charles in plenty of time I found a large and enthusiastic crowd already gathered.

Our enthusiasm was slightly dampened on hearing the news that the much anticipated Trouble Every Day would now not be shown due to what was being put down as "legal reasons" - it seems that director Claire Denis had mysteriously asked that the film not be shown and the organisers had no choice but to reluctantly pull it from the schedule. The good news is, though, that it's being replaced, at the audience's suggestion, by a screening of the excellent Canadian teen werewolf movie Ginger Snaps [2000].

Also disappointing was the first film of the day, the Australian Cubbyhouse. I've long had a soft spot for Australian horror and was hoping that Cubbyhouse was going to continue in the country's great tradition of those strange, offbeat offerings we'd all enjoyed during the 70s and 80s [the early Peter Weir movies, Patrick [1978], Razorback [1984] et al]. Sadly, it wasn't to be. Starring Joshua Leonard from The Blair Witch Project [1999], the Cubbyhouse is a tedious Satanism movie that merely steals all its best bits [and there aren't that many of those] from other, better films. The two featured kids are the least scary 'evil children' ever seen on screen and the completely predictable ending was signaled virtually from the start. If he's very lucky, director Murray Fahey might just see this one go straight to video where it belongs - it certainly won't be getting many more big screen outings.

During the break, I found Jon Casbard [aka DJ Lovely Jon] working the crowd outside the cinema, tirelessly handing out fliers for for his forthcoming Jigoku gig at the ICA. This excellent DJ collective use Italian horror, giallo and cop movie soundtracks to stunning effect during their shows which are always accompanied by a faultless selection of clips and trailers from some of Italy's most outrageous movies. The forthcoming show will again feature Spaghetti Western soundtrack legend Alessandro Alessandroni on guitar and seemed to be being received enthusiastically by the crowd - Jon ran out of fliers quickly and promised a return with more the following night for Battle Royale!

Sister Lulu was the next film on offer, a monochrome short about burial alive and a sadistic monastic order - OK, but nothing special. It was shown as a precursor to the big film of the day - Dario Argento's latest, Nonhosonno, The film has been released to mixed reviews - some find it a regressive step while others [myself included] believe it to be his best film in over a decade. This was going to be UK fans' first - and probably only - chance to see it on the big screen and it was one of the most highly anticipated films of the weekend. The organisers had hoped to get Argento himself over to introduce the film, but he was apparently sunning himself on a beach somewhere, taking a well earned holiday before starting work on his next film couldn't make it.

Although I'd already seen Nonhosonno many times on the excellent Medusa DVD, I was still looking forward to seeing it with an audience on the big screen. Sadly, a fault with the Prince Charles' sound system [quickly rectified it seems] gave the film an annoying hum throughout, though it only seemed to affect a small number of us sitting in the balcony. The print was also a bit splicy around the reel changes and the DVD remains the best way to see this excellent return to the brutal gialli of Argento's early days.

As it's done in so many other places, Nonhosonno split the audience. I didn't hear any overtly negative criticism of it, but the degree of enthusiasm with which it was met varied. No-one came out disappointed though and even those who found the story a let down were impressed by Argento's bravura technique [the outstanding murder on a train was singled out for particular praise] and by the sheer brutality of the film.

After the break, the hard-working staff of the Prince Charles gave us an unadvertised extra - a short, untitled skit they'd produced themselves, featuring Tim the projectionist talking about the ghost that supposedly haunts the projection booth as she puts in a camera-hogging appearance next to him. It was a nice gesture and mildly amusing - Alan Jones had already thanked the staff of the cinema earlier in the day, reporting that The Bunker's director, Rob Green, had been impressed by the quality of the presentation of the film the night before, claiming that he'd never seen the film look and sound so good. Ironically, no sooner had Alan sung the praises of the Prince Charles staff than the problems with Nonhosonno's sound set in - there were even a few seconds where the framing went awry following a reel change!

One of the big hits of last year's FrightFest had been the inexplicably popular Scary Movie and continuing the tradition, it's inevitable sequel, Scary Movie 2 [2001] was next on the menu. The film was introduced by the Wayans Brothers though in a way that many of the audience hadn't been expected - the Wayans boys had been in the UK several weeks before FrightFest and, cleverly, they'd been taped introducing their own movie! I wasn't looking forward to it, not being a fan of the first film, and it certainly lived down to my expectations. The first 15 minutes are great, a spot-on parody of The Exorcist [1973] that culminates in a three-way puke-fest as the the much vomited on priests get their own back on 'Regan,' but the Wayans' collection of knob, tit and fart gags soon runs out of steam and the rest of the film is, predictably, awful.

Next up came Guillermo del Toro's El espinazo del diablo [The Devil's Backbone] and to get us in the mood, weekend pass holders were given a few freebies on their way back in, including sets of illuminated red devil's horns! A quick raffle won some of us FrightFest programmes autographed by del Toro before his latest film - which sits between Mimic [1997] and the forthcoming Blade 2 [2002] in his filmography - was given its UK premiere. An intriguing collaboration between del Toro and Pedro Almodovar, this was the film I was looking forward to most today and I wasn't disappointed. In a speech written by on a brief trip to London earlier in the week [he was "pissed off" at having to rush back to the States to complete editing of Blade 2 and couldn't be with us today], del Toro acknowledged the debt of the great M.R. James on the film and certainly it's in his style of gentle, understated horror.

Set against the backdrop of the Spanish Civil War, it tells the tale of a young orphan boy, Carlos, who finds that his new home, a strange orphanage in the middle of nowhere, is being haunted by the ghost of a young boy, Santi. With superb performances, a great score and del Toro's best direction yet, El espinazo del diablo was the best film of the festival so far. Alan Jones, in his introduction, noted that this was the hardest film to get hold of for FrightFest but the quick and enthusiastic round of applause that greeted the end credits suggested that the hard work had been worth it - FrightFesters trooped out of the Prince Charles raving about its stunning photography, it's moody atmosphere and the outstanding performances. A remarkable film that deserves a much wider audience.

And that's where Day Two of FrightFest 2001 came to an end for me. There was still Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2 to come but, having seen it many times and having never really been impressed with it, I decided that another night with just four hours of sleep was not a good idea and called it a day. There were plenty of hardy souls that were sticking around for the first UK theatrical screening of Tobe Hooper's over-the-top follow up to his 1974 classic but for me, it was going to be difficult to top El espinazo del diablo.

Overall, Day Two of FrightFest 2001 was an improvement over the opening night. Even with the wonky sound during Nonhosonno [we also lost sound for a few seconds during El espinazo del diablo] it was great to see Argento on the big screen again and El espinazo del diablo more than made up for the predictably terrible Scary Movie 2. The only real disappointment was Cubbyhouse of which I'd expected much more. Still, a fabulous day and tomorrow holds the promise of Brotherhood of the Wolf, Dust and Battle Royale.
KEVIN LYONS