Hostile Dimensions: Review
‘Hostile Dimensions’ follows Sam and Ash (Annabel Logan/Joma West – Death of a Vlogger), two documentary filmmakers who discover a door to alternate dimensions and use this to find a missing graffiti artist.
Director Graham Hughes already won me over with his fantastically creepy film ‘Death of a Vlogger’ back in 2019, so I was intrigued to know what his next feature film would be. And, after the positive feedback from ‘Hostile Dimensions’ London Frightfest Film Festival screening in 2023, the film only caught my attention more. Just like ‘Death of a Vlogger’, Graham Hughes delivers another fun and, at times, creepy film.
‘Hostile Dimensions’ does have a very small cast, consisting of only nine actors, but they’re all fantastic. Annabel Logan and Joma West have wonderful onscreen chemistry; right from the first scene, they detail their previous filmography in comparison to what they want to do next. Right from their first conversation onscreen, it’s clear that they have a history making films together and have done this work for years. But, as the film progresses, the struggles that they go through is also evident; their previous films haven’t done well, and Sam especially feels trapped. What she wants to achieve hasn’t yet happened and she’s losing hope that it will happen; the strange scenario is actually exactly what she might need in order to change her perspective on life and her goals. But both Sam and Ash’s drive to keep going with their investigation and discovery is both interesting and, at times, tense as they explore the different dimensions the door offers them.
Which is where the actual focus of the film comes in: the various dimensions featured in ‘Hostile Dimensions’. The film doesn’t reach its full potential in terms of what it could show, and only includes a small amount of them. But, considering the film’s 80-minute runtime, it does a good job at showing enough to fully demonstrate the purpose behind the door. Furthermore, the various dimensions are where the film’s humour and scares make their appearance, both of which are delivered perfectly. ‘Hostile Dimensions’ clearly knows the absurd plot it’s working with and embraces it, giving viewers some really funny or strange imagery, some of which include a very unique Giant Panda plushie, a talking dog and something that could easily belong in the video game ‘Minecraft’. It knows when the film needs to be funny, and the humour is brilliantly executed. But it also contains some fantastic scares and jumpscares and utilizes this beautifully; some scares occur when the subject jumps out and there are other scares that occur in the background of a scene. The film beautifully balances both styles of scares, as well as the humour, when telling its strange story.
‘Hostile Dimensions’ is yet another enjoyable delight from director Graham Hughes. The small cast are fantastic and comfortably carry the film on their shoulders. While a few more visually different dimensions could’ve been shown, it’s still interesting to see which ones the film does show. Not only that but this aspect is how the film brings out its humour and scares, both of which are great; it’s very funny when it needs to be and really creepy when it’s called for, which includes a couple of extremely well executed jumpscares. From ‘Death of a Vlogger’ to this, Graham Hughes is definitely one to follow and I look forward to seeing what his next feature film is.
