FrightFest, the U.K.’s No. 1 horror and fantasy film festival, returns to The Odeon LUXE Leicester Square for its 2025 edition from Thursday August 21–Monday 25 August. With 69 feature films from across the world, from world premieres of fear fare to 4K restorations of beloved classics — along with four showcases of short films — the festival sports an abundance of terrifying treasures from 14 countries and 4 continents. Here are a few of the features that have our attention! The following information is from official press announcements.
The Rows
The Rows is set to have its International Premiere at this year’s FrightFest on 25th August.
Directed and written by Seth Daly (debut feature), The Rows stars Brindisi Dupree (Dr. Quarantine), Lara Pictet (Secret Identity, By Light of Desert Night), Marcus Woods (Empire, Fatal Attraction, Finding Nicole), Hans Heilmann (The Lord of All Future Space & Time, Well Past Midnight) Mary Montoya, Rynn Reigns, Douglas Fries and Seth Daly.
The Rows is a 35mm suspense-driven horror thriller about a little girl hiding from masked killers in a mysterious cornfield. A minimal dialogue 98 minute potboiler in the vein of No Country for Old Men, The Strangers, and The Town That Dreaded Sundown. Shot in Ohio on a micro-budget.
Seven-year-old Lucy wakes up in the middle of a mysterious cornfield. She has a bloody wound on her head and no memory of how she got there. Discovering a dead body and an abandoned gun in a nearby clearing, she is immediately confronted by three masked killers searching for her. Deadly games of cat-and-mouse ensue as Lucy tries to evade the gang while hunting for an exit from the seemingly endless corn. With night falling and the bad guys closing in, Lucy fights to stay alive… aided by her family dog and the uncanny golden creature who lives in the rows.
Talking about its Official Selection at FrightFest, director and writer Seth Daly commented, “The Rows was made for FrightFest and the cinematic aesthetic it celebrates. From the celluloid photography to the killer soundtrack, everything was crafted with the theatrical experience in mind. The audience will have a blast.”
Pig Hill
Empty Jug Productions in association with Concourse Media are delighted to share the news that their gory horror Pig Hill is set for its World Premiere at this year’s Frightfest on 23rd August.
Based on the novel by Nancy Williams, Pig Hill is directed by Kevin Lewis, best known for the smash hit Willy’s Wonderland, and stars Rainey Qualley (Shut In), Shane West (Salem), and Shiloh Fernandez (Evil Dead).
Shot on location in Meadville, Pennsylvania — the origin of the real urban legend — Pig Hill follows Carrie (Qualley), a woman haunted by a series of unexplained disappearances. As she investigates, she becomes entangled in the local lore of the “pig people,” uncovering a terrifying truth hidden in generations of myth. Alongside her new friend Andy (West) and her brother Chris (Fernandez), Carrie’s search for answers becomes a desperate fight for survival.
Commenting on the release, Pig Hill’s Director Kevin Lewis added, “I am so excited to premiere my film “Pig Hill” at FrighFest in August. The festival is of the best genre film festivals in the world and it is such an honor to have this punk-rock fever mind trip of a movie being shown to the most dedicated horror audiences that a filmmaker could possibly have . . . It is adapted from Nancy Williams’ novel and is a poignant story of obsession, love, and the terrible consequences of what happens when reality and fantasy blur. It is a tale of the remarkable power of the mind and how it will do anything to protect itself.”
Concourse Media represents worldwide rights and will be presenting the film to domestic distributors surrounding the FrightFest premiere.
Noseeums
Torchlight Studios and Odin’s Eye Entertainment are delighted to announce horror-thriller Noseeums will have its World Premiere at FrightFest London — The Dark Heart of Cinema, on Saturday, August 23, 2025, at West End’s famous ODEON Luxe Theatre in Leicester Square followed by a Q&A with Director and co-writer.
“I grew up watching horror films with my family and it was one of the things we could all enjoy together. To be able to premiere Noseeums with an audience of passionate genre film lovers is a dream come true” says Raven Carter, director and co-writer.
Noseeums, filmed in Florida (USA), is a fresh take on the horror genre exploring the loss of black land rights in the contemporary south.
When college student Ember is invited to join her white friends for a fun weekend at the country home of school Queen Bee Abigail, she finds the place unsettling and oddly familiar. Drawn to an unkempt grave in the backwoods, Ember begins to be plagued by buzzing, biting, vicious almost invisible, black bugs known throughout Florida as Noseeums. Along with this constant irritation, she starts having premonitions of grisly death and bewildering, chilling flashbacks. Soon, the shocking lore of the land becomes clear as restless spirits seek a festering retribution for past crimes, and Ember embraces long overdue vengeful acts.
The biting horror-drama, Noseeums, has already stung horror experts with comparisons to Get Out and Candyman, recognizing the impressive debut feature Hailing from Austin, Texas, the twenty-six year old MFA graduate of Florida State University (FSU) College of Motion Picture Arts, Raven will be in attendance at FrightFest, alongside Writer, Jason-Michael Anthony, in presenting the feature and participating in a Q&A following the screening.
“This is the first feature film from Torchlight Studios, produced in collaboration with FSU: “As a horror film festival enthusiast, I am proud to see our debut feature, Noseeums, in the Official Selection at FrightFest London, a prominent horror-genre driven festival, for its World Premiere.” Reb Braddock, Executive Director – Torchlight Studios.
Representing Worldwide Sales Rights, Michael Favelle of Odin’s Eye Entertainment had the following to say: “Noseeums delivers more than scares, it carries a cultural heartbeat that’s as compelling as its horror,” says Michael Favelle, CEO of International Sales company Odin’s Eye Entertainment. “Raven Carter’s storytelling blends atmosphere, urgency, and authenticity in a way that will resonate not just across America, but with audiences worldwide.”
Your Host
Benacus Entertainment in association with RNF Productions are delighted to announce that their dark and gruesome horror, Your Host, is set to have its World Premiere at this year’s FrightFest on 22nd August.
Directed by DW Medoff, Your Host stars Academy Award-nominee, Jackie Earle Haley (Watchmen, A Nightmare on Elm Street), Ella-Rae Smith (The Stranger), Jamie Flatters (Black Dog), David Angland and Joelle Rae.
Four 23-year-old friends go on a birthday retreat to a luxury cabin, while partying, they find a VHS Camcorder filming them from the woods. During the night they are drugged in their sleep by a man in all black who stays hidden in the shadows . . . but when they wake up, they find themselves in an abandoned factory transformed into a gameshow-like torture room. Their captor is a deranged host in an orange-velvet suit with a terrifying mask who forces the friends to play games and hurts them if they lose. In a twist of fate, it seems this is not random abuse. The host has a connection to one of the friends and he keeps it a secret. He gives them all a chance to admit it was them, to set three free and kill the one. When his target victim doesn’t come clean, the brutal games continue. To survive, they must play unique and deadly games that only a psychotic gameshow host could invent. The host laughs as the friends betray, hurt, and eventually start to kill each other. But the only way to escape . . . is to win.
Commenting on the film, Producer Seth Michaels has expressed his delight in Your Host‘s Official Selection at FrightFest. “It’s a true honour to have our world premiere at FrightFest, a festival that has showcased some of the most iconic and trailblazing films over the decades. We hope the audience connects with Your Host in the same powerful way they’ve embraced past genre-defining works.”
213 Bones
A group of anthropology students discover studying the past can be deadly in a slick and smart whodunnit horror. When they begin finding human bones scattered around their campus and personal property, it becomes clear they are being brutally targeted by a gruesomely masked maniac and late-night study sessions turn into a frantic race to solve the attacker’s identity before they all end up as a textbook homicide case. It’s left to Sheriff Bracco, Laurie the County Coroner and their teacher, Kelly, to help find out who the real bone crunching assassin is before another innocent becomes the next victim. Starring Colin Egglesfield, Dean Cameron, Toni Weiss, and Liam Woodrum.
The Red Mask
When outspoken queer screenwriter Allina Green is chosen to pen the final instalment of the legendary slasher franchise “The Red Mask,” anger, outrage, and online death threats from die-hard fans causes a rift in her relationship with reticent fiancé Deetz. Desperate for a creative breakthrough, the pair escape to a secluded Airbnb, where Allina concocts a dangerous game to play to unlock her writer’s block. But when two uninvited houseguests crash the scene, the weekend turns dark and a twisted contest devolves into a duel to the death in a love letter to the stalk and slash genre. Starring Inanna Sarkis, Helena Howard, Kelli Garner, and Jake Abel.
For more information, visit https://frightfest.co.uk/.
