‘Scariest horror film’ that won’t ever join streaming gets rare UK screenings

A horror film lauded as ‘increasingly uncomfortable’ and ‘unique’ that will never be released on streaming services is coming to select cinemas in the UK.

It Doesn’t Get Any Better Than This is a found footage film directed by Nick Toti and Rachel Kempf, who have vowed it will only ever be shown in theatres.

The film stars the duo as filmmakers Nick (Toti) and Rachel (Kempf), who buy a haunted duplex to shoot their own indie horror movie.

After Rachel and her friend host a seance, strangers begin to gather outside the building in a trance, and their investigation leads them down a path of obsession and madness.

It Doesn’t Get Any Better Than This has won awards at Queer Fear Film Festival, Unnamed Footage Festival, and Salem Horror Fest, and screened at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.

While limiting the film to a theatrical-only run could have hampered its success, it has created a word-of-mouth frenzy that has left horror films clamouring to see it.

Toti and Kempf have a Google form available where people can request a screening of It Doesn’t Get Any Better Than This in their town, but there are no guarantees.

And those in the UK now have the chance, with screenings set to take place in London, Newcastle upon Tyne, Dumfries, Leigh, Bradford, and Truro on October 22.

It will then screen in Lancaster on October 29 and in Derby on November 22.

It Doesn’t Get Any Better Than This has been hailed ‘horror’s hottest ticket’ by Variety and ‘one of the scariest and most original films of the found-footage horror sub-genre you’ll ever see’ by Tull Stories.

In their review, Bloody Disgusting wrote: ‘A time when a never-ending deluge of content and screens are vying for attention, it’s increasingly difficult to get viewers fully invested in a movie.

‘It Doesn’t Get Any Better Than This theatrical-only release strategy creates an intimate, immersive environment for audiences to feel as vulnerable as the characters on screen. It doesn’t get any better than that.’

Dread Central said it is ‘an increasingly uncomfortable descent into the weird guaranteed to have you leaving the theatre chilled… it sucks the viewer in, waiting for the perfect time to strike.’

Rue Morgue called it ‘found footage at its most raw’, while Backlot Magazine said: ‘It offers a fresh twist on the genre by blending real-life footage with supernatural scares, and its indie spirit is commendable.

‘However, for more casual horror fans, the film may not leave a lasting impression. While it could have pushed the genre further, what it does deliver is still worth watching, especially for genre enthusiasts.’

Speaking to Variety, husband and wife team Toti and Kempf explained their reasoning to only allow their film to screen in cinemas.

‘I’ve been making movies for 15 years now, and almost every single movie I’ve made has been released for free on the Internet, and nobody has paid any attention to any of them,’ Toti began.

‘Nobody’s cared about any of them. So I was like, “Oh, well, this is something new.” It’s not like I haven’t tried to get people interested in the movies.’

He continued: ‘With this one, it was like, “Well, this is horror, so already there’s like more of a built-in audience for it,” which is a problem that pretty much every movie I’ve ever made has had.

‘We know there are found footage fans, especially, so we know we can connect with those people. But we realised that there’s also a gimmick there, and it’s a gimmick that can be exploited.

‘The movie getting really big was never the goal, but when the movie started getting more attention, there were certain sea change moments for us.’

It Doesn’t Get Any Better Than This is screening in venues across the UK. To request a screening, visit this link

Got a story?

If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.