Mayhem Film Festival Reviews - Day 4
MUM, I'M ALIEN PREGNANT.
The final day of the festival kicked off with a screening of Sean Wallace and Jordan Mark Windsor's New Zealand Comedy – Sci-Fi - Horror MUM, I'M ALIEN PREGNANT.
Set in a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. Layabout, 30-something Mary, is still living with her mother, with no job, no friends and no social life. But following a chance encounter with her socially awkward new neighbour Boo, who may actually be half alien, judging by the strange deformity he has, she discovers that not only is she pregnant, but that it's growing at an alarming rate.
What follows is a series of exceptionally slapstick, not to mention “icky” series of events, as she is forced to deal with the side effects of bearing a part-alien offspring, as her condition baffles medical experts and causes havoc with the local doctors.
If you like gooey, body-horrors, you'll love this. Which also features quite a good cast, including Hannah Lynch (The Rule of Jenny Pen), Arlo Green (Cowboy Beebop), and “What We Do in the Shadows” alumni Yvette Parsons and Jackie Van Beek.
Set in a suburb of Auckland, New Zealand. Layabout, 30-something Mary, is still living with her mother, with no job, no friends and no social life. But following a chance encounter with her socially awkward new neighbour Boo, who may actually be half alien, judging by the strange deformity he has, she discovers that not only is she pregnant, but that it's growing at an alarming rate.
What follows is a series of exceptionally slapstick, not to mention “icky” series of events, as she is forced to deal with the side effects of bearing a part-alien offspring, as her condition baffles medical experts and causes havoc with the local doctors.
If you like gooey, body-horrors, you'll love this. Which also features quite a good cast, including Hannah Lynch (The Rule of Jenny Pen), Arlo Green (Cowboy Beebop), and “What We Do in the Shadows” alumni Yvette Parsons and Jackie Van Beek.
The film is being released to UK streaming outlets this month, so be sure to check it out.
View the Trailer on YouTube.
THE WHISPER
Second film of the Day was Uruguayan horror THE WHISPER, from Gustavo Hernández, who previously directed the cult horror Silent House.
Set in an old mansion, deep in the forests or rural Uruguay. Lucia is a young, 20-something girl, who appears to be fleeing a criminal past, not to mention a violent father. With her, is her younger brother, Adrian, who is non-verbal and appears to have some form of autism.
Hoping to lay low at the remote location, problems arise when they discover a bunch of criminal thugs operating out of some nearby buildings. When they discover Lucia and her Brother know about them, they plan to silence them. But what starts as a home invasion takes a very dark turn, when they find that they have more to fear from Lucia's younger brother, than the siblings have to fear from them.
Another slow burn horror, where you're aware that something isn't quite right about the whole situation, but it isn't till much later in the film all the pieces fit into place. Very suspenseful, with some great gore scenes and some very dark twists. This was another favourite of mine from the weekend and would definitely recommend watching.
The version shown at the festival was the original Spanish Language release of the film, but there is apparently an English dub.
Set in an old mansion, deep in the forests or rural Uruguay. Lucia is a young, 20-something girl, who appears to be fleeing a criminal past, not to mention a violent father. With her, is her younger brother, Adrian, who is non-verbal and appears to have some form of autism.
Hoping to lay low at the remote location, problems arise when they discover a bunch of criminal thugs operating out of some nearby buildings. When they discover Lucia and her Brother know about them, they plan to silence them. But what starts as a home invasion takes a very dark turn, when they find that they have more to fear from Lucia's younger brother, than the siblings have to fear from them.
Another slow burn horror, where you're aware that something isn't quite right about the whole situation, but it isn't till much later in the film all the pieces fit into place. Very suspenseful, with some great gore scenes and some very dark twists. This was another favourite of mine from the weekend and would definitely recommend watching.
The version shown at the festival was the original Spanish Language release of the film, but there is apparently an English dub.
View the Trailer on YouTube (Spanish)
View the Trailer on YouTube (English)
NEVER AFTER DARK
The penultimate film of Mayhem Film Festival, was eerie J-Horror NEVER AFTER DARK from American Director Dave Boyle (House of Ninjas, The Man from Reno).
A psychic-medium arrives at a remote hotel in the Japanese countryside, as the new owners think it's haunted and want her to investigate.
Whilst she does uncover evidence of a strange figure in one of the rooms, it soon becomes clear this is not a conventional spirit and it's going to take more than a conventional exorcism to get rid of it.
Not only this, but it seems there's a very real world threat, in the form of a former resident of the hotel, who may know more about the ghostly goings on than he's letting on.
Whilst I'm not usually into Japanese ghost stories, I actually found this one to be extremely gripping. If you like supernatural thrillers and Japanese horrors, then this one is definitely a must.
A psychic-medium arrives at a remote hotel in the Japanese countryside, as the new owners think it's haunted and want her to investigate.
Whilst she does uncover evidence of a strange figure in one of the rooms, it soon becomes clear this is not a conventional spirit and it's going to take more than a conventional exorcism to get rid of it.
Not only this, but it seems there's a very real world threat, in the form of a former resident of the hotel, who may know more about the ghostly goings on than he's letting on.
Whilst I'm not usually into Japanese ghost stories, I actually found this one to be extremely gripping. If you like supernatural thrillers and Japanese horrors, then this one is definitely a must.
The film comes to UK streaming outlets in November, so be sure to check it out.
View the Trailer on YouTube.
CRAWLERS
The festival closed with a screening of Angel Gomez Hernandez's arachnid comedy-horror CRAWLERS.
Best described as a cross between "Arachnophobia" and "Quarantine", the residents of a Los Angeles apartment block find themselves locked in by the authorities, after one of the tenants dies from a mysterious illness.
However, it seems that he didn't die of an infectious disease, but from a venomous spider bite and one of the culprits has followed him home. So, shortly afterwards, the other residents find themselves battling millions of the venomous creepy crawlies.
Whilst the authorities outside dither over calling a suitable exterminator, it seems the building manager, played by Mathilda Lutz (Revenge, Final Cut), with her arsenal of tools, may be their best chance of survival.
Whilst I couldn't help but notice similarities between this and the 2024 Sci-|Fi–Horror STING, which had a similar premise, I still found this to be bloody good fun. Definitely worth a watch, although not if your scared of creepy-crawlies.
Best described as a cross between "Arachnophobia" and "Quarantine", the residents of a Los Angeles apartment block find themselves locked in by the authorities, after one of the tenants dies from a mysterious illness.
However, it seems that he didn't die of an infectious disease, but from a venomous spider bite and one of the culprits has followed him home. So, shortly afterwards, the other residents find themselves battling millions of the venomous creepy crawlies.
Whilst the authorities outside dither over calling a suitable exterminator, it seems the building manager, played by Mathilda Lutz (Revenge, Final Cut), with her arsenal of tools, may be their best chance of survival.
Whilst I couldn't help but notice similarities between this and the 2024 Sci-|Fi–Horror STING, which had a similar premise, I still found this to be bloody good fun. Definitely worth a watch, although not if your scared of creepy-crawlies.
This one comes to UK Digital outlets in November and a Disc release is planned for December, so be sure to watch it when it's released.
Watch the Trailer on YouTube.
And thus concluded the Mayhem Festival for 2026. Thanks as always to Chris, Steve and Meli and of course, the staff of the Broadway Arts cinema in Nottingham and I look forward to seeing you all again next year.
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