Grimmfest 2025: ‘Past Life’ & ‘I See the Demon’ Review(s)

PAST LIFE

Stars: Aneurin Barnard, Jeremy Piven, Pixie Lott, Tim McInnerny, Nicholas Farrell, Emma Lau, Kate James, David Millstone | Written by Ray Bogdanovich, Dean Lines | Directed by Simeon Halligan

With a script by Ray Bogdanovich and Dean Lines (who penned 2022’s underrated Hounded), Past Life proves both ambitious and assured. Helmed by Simeon Halligan (White Settlers), best known as the driving force behind Grimmfest, the film is a slick, blood-soaked slice of psychological horror that knows exactly what it wants to be.

Past Life wastes no time making an impression. We first meet Jason Frey (Aneurin Barnard) amid the horrors of a Syrian prison, an experience that leaves him scarred long after his escape. Years later, he’s trying to rebuild a normal life with his pregnant wife Claira (Pixie Lott). But normality takes a sinister detour when the couple attend a live TV taping featuring a self-assured hypnotist (Jeremy Piven). What begins as a harmless parlour trick spirals into something nightmarish when Jason’s hypnosis session awakens terrifying memories, ones that don’t belong to him, but to a sadistic serial killer from the 1980s.

Part psychological descent, part mystery thriller, Past Life gleefully blends genres with confidence and flair. The interplay between Barnard’s tortured everyman and Piven’s magnetic showman keeps the story sharp and unpredictable. As Jason’s visions intensify, the audience is pulled between eras, slipping from modern Manchester to a grimy retro underworld rendered with unnerving authenticity. Halligan’s direction brings a palpable sense of dread, balanced by moments of sly humour and stylish visuals that echo giallo influences without resorting to imitation.

Shot across Manchester, the film’s urban texture gives it both character and charm. Locals will relish spotting familiar landmarks, captured through rich cinematography that makes the city pulse with cinematic life. Ultimately though, Past Life is a film that revels in its duality – grounded yet surreal, grim yet vibrant – and one that’s bound to get horror fans talking.

**** 4/5

I SEE THE DEMONS

Stars: Alexis Zollicoffer, Noah Kershisnik, Dave Martinez, Mallory Everton, Jon Heder, Archelaus Crisanto | Written by Martha Duzett, Jacob Lees Johnson, Davey Morrison | Directed by Jacob Lees Johnson

Jacob Lees Johnson’s I See the Demon starts out quietly enough, teasing its audience with the illusion of a talky indie drama before slowly tightening the screws into something far darker.

Lucy (Alexis Zollicoffer) thinks she’s in for a fun night when her boyfriend Ellis (Noah Kershisnik) surprises her with a birthday party. The mood is light, the chatter casual… until the unease creeps in. Strange sounds, flickers of movement, faces that don’t seem quite right. What begins as mild disorientation becomes full-blown terror as Lucy’s grasp on reality starts to crumble. The only person who seems to understand her unravelling state is Billy (Dave Martinez), her mother’s quietly observant carer, who becomes a strange anchor as her world collapses into repetition and dread.

The film’s single-house setting is an inspired choice –  its dated décor and narrow corridors lend a lived-in authenticity that amplifies the claustrophobia. Johnson uses this confined environment like a pressure cooker, pushing Lucy and the audience deeper into her fractured mind. Zollicoffer is extraordinary in the lead role, capturing panic, confusion, and heartbreak in equal measure. Her performance gives the story its emotional pulse, grounding the escalating madness in something painfully human.

There’s a persistent sense that something is off, even before the horror takes full shape. Johnson plays with that tension beautifully, layering in small details that gnaw at the edges of sanity. When the story finally leans into its sci-fi twist, it’s jarring but deliberate, a bold shift that trades pure fear for conceptual intrigue. Not everyone will love the transition, but it feels like the filmmaker’s confident statement rather than a misstep.

By its haunting conclusion, I See the Demon stands as a fascinating blend of psychological horror and speculative fiction. It’s tense, unnerving, and unafraid to take big swings. Some choices divide, but the vision behind them is undeniable, and Zollicoffer’s powerhouse turn makes the descent into madness utterly gripping.

**** 4/5

Both Past Life and I See the Demon screened on day one of this year’s Grimmfest.