[FrightFest 2026]: Snapshot

Snapshot is a bold work with an ingenious hook. It is found footage purporting to be from the 1880s, filmed on a primitive device, and presented through a pinhole view. It restricts what we can see but is all the richer visually because of it. There are no modern films quite like Joseph Archar’s directorial debut and it’s all the better for it.

Written by Cathy Wippell, who also plays Minnie, Snapshot follows a band of all-female ghost-hunters (who work together at a London brothel) as they investigate a spate of murders they believe to be committed by a supernatural being (but which we learn early-on  are the works of Jack the Ripper). A rich roster of characters, mostly women, filter in and out of view as we see the world from Tamworth’s perspective (voiced by Tom Stourton). And what a great ensemble of performances there is here too, with many a performer given a moment to stand out.

There is a hint of Hitchcock to Snapshot, both in how the narrative plays out but also in a director purposefully making their life a bit difficult. And Snapshot is all the better for the restrictions placed on it by emulating the look and feel of early cinema. It is always visually engaging, the technical craft of the film enough to keep an audience watching, eager to uncover the mysteries that tie to real life acts of violence.

It’s an eerily atmospheric watch, Archar building tension with the limitations of what the camera can show and also in its habit of glitching and showing us hints of other scenes in snatches of images. It also benefits from a sense of humour, with a witty script from Wippell building a likeable roster of ghost hunters, which makes the darkness of the second half even more compelling. One could even read into this a deconstruction of the male gaze, as even though this is a film where the narrative is driven by women responding to acts of violence against their kin, all we see is determined by the unseen man behind the camera. Who controls the image is potently explored here.

Snapshot reminds viewers of the time-breaking delights of recent sci-fi gem Lola (2022), or video game epic Bioshock Infinite. But the film manages to do this whilst staying grounded in its own reality, all presented with a smack of authenticity that makes it a compelling watch. There are whispers of the supernatural here, but what really works is the sense that what we are watching should not have ever seen the light of day. This is an eerie treat that marks many involved as exciting talents to keep an eye on.

4 Screams out of 5