CategoryFilm Festivals
Horror film festivals worldwide — lineups, awards and the titles that break out of the festival circuit.
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Canada’s Blood in the Snow Film Festival (BITS) presents another exciting hybrid version serving up homegrown horror features and shorts both on the big screen and online from November 21 – 26, 2022. Toronto’s Isabel Bader Theatre will host the live screenings, which include world premieres and festival favorites from this year. Online screenings will be available on Super Channel Fuse. Following is the official press announcement. Super Channel and Blood in the Snow Film Festival (BITS), a unique and imaginative showcase of contemporary Canadian horror films, are pleased to announce that a hybrid version of the BITS film festival will return again this November. The on-air portion of the festival features six harrowing horror films and a variety of bone-chilling shorts for fans across the country to enjoy nightly on Super Channel Fuse from November 21 – 26, including the World Premiere of The Devil Comes at Night from writer/director Scott Leaver. The in-theatre portion of BITS will be
Continue reading →
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Flowing Italian/Belgian coproduction Flowing (Piove, 2022)finds the city of Rome infected by steam that rises from the city’s manholes and through open drains in homes. The steam causes people to hallucinate and face their most negative emotions and darkest thoughts, driving them to violence. At the center of the story is the fractured family of father Thomas (Fabrizio Rongione) and his children, troubled teenage son Enrico (Francesco Gheghi), and young wheelchair-bound daughter Barbara (Aurora Menenti). Thomas blames Enrico for the automobile accident that claimed his wife’s life and crippled Barbara, and the father and son show open contempt for each other, so once that steam infects the pair, bad things are bound to happen. Director Paolo Strippoli invests his film, which won the Special Jury Mention Award at Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, with a strong sense of dread throughout, and no small amount of goo and gunk to permeate the visuals. The family trauma and drama is presented in a
Continue reading →
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Twin horror directors Jen and Sylvia Soska (American Mary, Rabid), known as the “Soska Sisters,” have unleashed the first teaser for On the Edge, their sixth film, third original production, and their first psychological erotic thriller. In the film, “Family man Peter (Aramis Sartorio) gets more than he paid for when he books a 36-hour session with the sadistic Mistress Satana (Jen Soska) who seems more intent on making him suffer for his sins. Is it blackmail? Is it torture? Or is it the Devil comes for his soul? Will Peter’s faith save him from his own personal Hell or is he already damned? A brilliant depiction of how Kink Culture can heal past trauma and be a source of shocking redemption.” On the Edge stars Jen Soska and Sylvia Soska, who also share writing, directing, and producing duties. The film also stars Aramis Sartorio, Ola Dada, Andrea Jin, Brianna and Alanna Finn-Morris, Ivan Decker, Mackenzie Gray, and Sophie Buddle.
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French comedy/thriller Stéphane from filmmakers Timothée Hochet and Lucas Pastor is a mockumentary about aspiring short-film director Timothée (Bastien Garcia) and Stéphane (Pastor), the unaware subject of Timothée’s documentary about “a loser.” The pair meet randomly while Timothée is shooting a short film, with Stéphane volunteering to provide some pyrotechnics. One red flag after another about Stéphane goes up and eventually Timothée finds himself staying the night on Stéphane’s private boat before sailing to the latter’s island home. Why Timothée would want to get further involved with the obviously strange Stéphane is a valid question, but this being both a comedy and a thriller, poor decisions make sense to advance this story, and to send things into weirder and more disturbing territory. Both characters are full of themselves in different ways, and lines are blurred about just who is in charge of the crazy wartime-themed short that Timothée wants to complete for a film festival. Hochet and Pastor deliver a
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
Codirectors Johannes Hartmann and Sandro Klopfstein have unleashed on the world Mad Heidi (Switzerland, 2002), the first Swissploitation film, and it is a bonkers blend of horror, action, and comedy, filled with blood, bare breasts, and cheese of both the comedic and edible kinds. Casper Van Dien chews up scenery like the ubiquitous cheese in the film as dictatorial President Meili, who has dreams of global domination and who owns the only legal cheese factory in Switzerland. His henchmen are developing a new type of cheese, which they discover turns men into mighty mutants — perfect for building an unstoppable army. Meanwhile, mountain girl Heidi (Alice Lucy in a super comic and physical performance) sees her boyfriend Goat Peter (Kel Matsena) — who got his nickname from his, ahem, special way with goats to produce superb cheese — and her grandfather slain by Kommandant Knorr (Max Rüdlinger), ruthless leader of Meili’s Nazi-like army. After some high-level training, Heidi is prepared
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
Your Love Is Mine Aficionados of “But is it horror?” films should find plenty to like about the Australian feature Your Love Is Mine, cowritten and codirected by Luke J.S. and Luke Wijayasinha-Gray. Emotionally distant bartender Violet (Senie Priti) and her mechanic boyfriend Sam (Lester Ellis Jr.) are in a troubled relationship, though both dream of escaping the doldrums of their small-town lives and moving to the big city. Violet is the more pragmatic, and pessimistic, of the couple, while Sam is more of the dreamer. When tragedy strikes one of them — no spoilers here — the other person comes up with a decidedly unusual and even bizarre plan, sending the film from romantic drama into more chilling territory. Your Love Is Mine certainly serves up some fear-fare overtones, but treads more in dark drama and even fantasy territory. Priti and Ellis Jr. are splendid in their lead roles, and the film’s supporting players provide added depth with solid
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
The classic fright-fare movie tagline “Not for the squeamish!” deserves to be resurrected for the horror comedy Feed Me (U.K., 2022), cowritten and codirected by Adam Leader and Richard Oakes (Hosts, 2020). This tale of a cannibal and his willing meat supply provides a good deal of gags of both the humorous and queasy varieties. Jed Freeman (Christopher Mulvin) is depressed to the point of ending it all after his wife succumbs to an eating disorder. Lionel Flack (Neal Ward), who knows of Jed’s grief, introduces himself at a bar and tells Jed that he can make all of his troubles disappear. Jed eventually agrees to being eaten by Lionel, and their extremely weird relationship begins. Ward is terrific as the deeply disturbed Lionel, stopping just short of scenery chewing at times, and at others, giving harrowing emotional performances. He goes all in, and he and Mulvin play off each other superbly. Production Designer Amy Lucas (as Amy Lukas), Propmaker
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
The Revelation There are several horror films set during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, but writer/director Chris W. Mitchell’s Dutch feature The Revelation (De Openbaring, 2022) is the first one to fully capture my attention and hold it throughout. One of the main reasons for that is the terrific performance by star Victor Löw as Jacob, a middle-aged man who becomes obsessed with the dangers of COVID-19 in its early stages, as lockdowns begin and people are deciding how to react to the rapidly spreading virus. Jacob falls into a rabbit hole of conspiracy theories that drive him to paranoia, as he quits his job to move in with his elderly mother (Leny Breederveld) and shield her from the outside world. His sister Magda (Monic Hendrickx) tries to talk sense into him, but is far too late as visions of his recently deceased father (Peter Bolhuis), who was a highly skilled animal skinner, and the ravings of a dubious
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesReviews
Sylvan shockers are in no shortage at Screamfest this year. Here’s a look at two of those woods-set features. Deer Camp ‘86 Combining supernatural cabin-in-the-woods elements with slasher fare, first-time director L. Van Dyke Siboutszen’s Deer Camp ‘86 (2022) goes for the jugular, along with several other body parts, in its tale of a group of Detroit friends who head out to the forest to open up the 1986 deer hunting season. They make an ill-fated stop at the bar, where nice guy of the group Wes (Noah LaLonde) falls hard for Native American bartender Star (Tina Manera) while the group is confronted by local racists. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Wes, Star is assaulted and murdered behind the bar before the group leaves. That’s doubly unfortunate, as every time a Native American woman in the area is killed, something attacks any hunters in the area, which Sheriff Paulson (Paul Wilson) puts down to bear attacks — though he knows better. Most
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
Prolific fear-fare director Charlie Steeds’ latest effort Freeze (U.K., 2022) is a Lovecraftian creature feature that punches above the weight of its budgetary limitations, resulting in a solid-looking, highly entertaining period piece. The crew of the HMS Innsmouth is on a mission to rescue the HMS Eibon, which was lost during its expedition to the North Pole. HMS Innsmouth’s Captain Mortimer’s (Rory Wilson) good friend Captain Streiner (Tim Cartwright) commanded the lost ship, so he is determined to learn the fate of his friend. Meanwhile, Crewman Redgrave (Jake Watkins) helps hide a woman stowaway named Carmen (Beatrice Barillá), whose brother was an officer on the Eibon. Tension heightens when crewman Spriggs (Ricardo Freitas) (who you just can’t wait to see get his) learns of this. Mortimer’s first mate McCullough (Johnny Vivash) warns the captain that sailing any further ahead in the ice will result in disaster, but Lieutenant Roth (David Lenik), whose father owns HMS Innsmouth, persuades Streiner to forge
Continue reading →
More from Film Festivals
EventsFilm FestivalsForeignMoviesNews
Canada’s Blood in the Snow Film Festival (BITS) presents another exciting hybrid version serving up homegrown horror features and shorts both on the big screen and online from November 21 – 26, 2022. Toronto’s Isabel Bader Theatre will host the live screenings, which include world premieres and festival favorites from this year. Online screenings will be available on Super Channel Fuse. Following is the official press announcement. Super Channel and Blood in the Snow Film Festival (BITS), a unique and imaginative showcase of contemporary Canadian horror films, are pleased to announce that a hybrid version of the BITS film festival will return again this November. The on-air portion of the festival features six harrowing horror films and a variety of bone-chilling shorts for fans across the country to enjoy nightly on Super Channel Fuse from November 21 – 26, including the World Premiere of The Devil Comes at Night from writer/director Scott Leaver. The in-theatre portion of BITS will be
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMovies
Flowing Italian/Belgian coproduction Flowing (Piove, 2022)finds the city of Rome infected by steam that rises from the city’s manholes and through open drains in homes. The steam causes people to hallucinate and face their most negative emotions and darkest thoughts, driving them to violence. At the center of the story is the fractured family of father Thomas (Fabrizio Rongione) and his children, troubled teenage son Enrico (Francesco Gheghi), and young wheelchair-bound daughter Barbara (Aurora Menenti). Thomas blames Enrico for the automobile accident that claimed his wife’s life and crippled Barbara, and the father and son show open contempt for each other, so once that steam infects the pair, bad things are bound to happen. Director Paolo Strippoli invests his film, which won the Special Jury Mention Award at Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, with a strong sense of dread throughout, and no small amount of goo and gunk to permeate the visuals. The family trauma and drama is presented in a
Continue reading →
EventsFilm FestivalsMoviesNewsThrillerTrailers
Twin horror directors Jen and Sylvia Soska (American Mary, Rabid), known as the “Soska Sisters,” have unleashed the first teaser for On the Edge, their sixth film, third original production, and their first psychological erotic thriller. In the film, “Family man Peter (Aramis Sartorio) gets more than he paid for when he books a 36-hour session with the sadistic Mistress Satana (Jen Soska) who seems more intent on making him suffer for his sins. Is it blackmail? Is it torture? Or is it the Devil comes for his soul? Will Peter’s faith save him from his own personal Hell or is he already damned? A brilliant depiction of how Kink Culture can heal past trauma and be a source of shocking redemption.” On the Edge stars Jen Soska and Sylvia Soska, who also share writing, directing, and producing duties. The film also stars Aramis Sartorio, Ola Dada, Andrea Jin, Brianna and Alanna Finn-Morris, Ivan Decker, Mackenzie Gray, and Sophie Buddle.
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
French comedy/thriller Stéphane from filmmakers Timothée Hochet and Lucas Pastor is a mockumentary about aspiring short-film director Timothée (Bastien Garcia) and Stéphane (Pastor), the unaware subject of Timothée’s documentary about “a loser.” The pair meet randomly while Timothée is shooting a short film, with Stéphane volunteering to provide some pyrotechnics. One red flag after another about Stéphane goes up and eventually Timothée finds himself staying the night on Stéphane’s private boat before sailing to the latter’s island home. Why Timothée would want to get further involved with the obviously strange Stéphane is a valid question, but this being both a comedy and a thriller, poor decisions make sense to advance this story, and to send things into weirder and more disturbing territory. Both characters are full of themselves in different ways, and lines are blurred about just who is in charge of the crazy wartime-themed short that Timothée wants to complete for a film festival. Hochet and Pastor deliver a
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
Codirectors Johannes Hartmann and Sandro Klopfstein have unleashed on the world Mad Heidi (Switzerland, 2002), the first Swissploitation film, and it is a bonkers blend of horror, action, and comedy, filled with blood, bare breasts, and cheese of both the comedic and edible kinds. Casper Van Dien chews up scenery like the ubiquitous cheese in the film as dictatorial President Meili, who has dreams of global domination and who owns the only legal cheese factory in Switzerland. His henchmen are developing a new type of cheese, which they discover turns men into mighty mutants — perfect for building an unstoppable army. Meanwhile, mountain girl Heidi (Alice Lucy in a super comic and physical performance) sees her boyfriend Goat Peter (Kel Matsena) — who got his nickname from his, ahem, special way with goats to produce superb cheese — and her grandfather slain by Kommandant Knorr (Max Rüdlinger), ruthless leader of Meili’s Nazi-like army. After some high-level training, Heidi is prepared
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
Your Love Is Mine Aficionados of “But is it horror?” films should find plenty to like about the Australian feature Your Love Is Mine, cowritten and codirected by Luke J.S. and Luke Wijayasinha-Gray. Emotionally distant bartender Violet (Senie Priti) and her mechanic boyfriend Sam (Lester Ellis Jr.) are in a troubled relationship, though both dream of escaping the doldrums of their small-town lives and moving to the big city. Violet is the more pragmatic, and pessimistic, of the couple, while Sam is more of the dreamer. When tragedy strikes one of them — no spoilers here — the other person comes up with a decidedly unusual and even bizarre plan, sending the film from romantic drama into more chilling territory. Your Love Is Mine certainly serves up some fear-fare overtones, but treads more in dark drama and even fantasy territory. Priti and Ellis Jr. are splendid in their lead roles, and the film’s supporting players provide added depth with solid
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
The classic fright-fare movie tagline “Not for the squeamish!” deserves to be resurrected for the horror comedy Feed Me (U.K., 2022), cowritten and codirected by Adam Leader and Richard Oakes (Hosts, 2020). This tale of a cannibal and his willing meat supply provides a good deal of gags of both the humorous and queasy varieties. Jed Freeman (Christopher Mulvin) is depressed to the point of ending it all after his wife succumbs to an eating disorder. Lionel Flack (Neal Ward), who knows of Jed’s grief, introduces himself at a bar and tells Jed that he can make all of his troubles disappear. Jed eventually agrees to being eaten by Lionel, and their extremely weird relationship begins. Ward is terrific as the deeply disturbed Lionel, stopping just short of scenery chewing at times, and at others, giving harrowing emotional performances. He goes all in, and he and Mulvin play off each other superbly. Production Designer Amy Lucas (as Amy Lukas), Propmaker
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
The Revelation There are several horror films set during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, but writer/director Chris W. Mitchell’s Dutch feature The Revelation (De Openbaring, 2022) is the first one to fully capture my attention and hold it throughout. One of the main reasons for that is the terrific performance by star Victor Löw as Jacob, a middle-aged man who becomes obsessed with the dangers of COVID-19 in its early stages, as lockdowns begin and people are deciding how to react to the rapidly spreading virus. Jacob falls into a rabbit hole of conspiracy theories that drive him to paranoia, as he quits his job to move in with his elderly mother (Leny Breederveld) and shield her from the outside world. His sister Magda (Monic Hendrickx) tries to talk sense into him, but is far too late as visions of his recently deceased father (Peter Bolhuis), who was a highly skilled animal skinner, and the ravings of a dubious
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesReviews
Sylvan shockers are in no shortage at Screamfest this year. Here’s a look at two of those woods-set features. Deer Camp ‘86 Combining supernatural cabin-in-the-woods elements with slasher fare, first-time director L. Van Dyke Siboutszen’s Deer Camp ‘86 (2022) goes for the jugular, along with several other body parts, in its tale of a group of Detroit friends who head out to the forest to open up the 1986 deer hunting season. They make an ill-fated stop at the bar, where nice guy of the group Wes (Noah LaLonde) falls hard for Native American bartender Star (Tina Manera) while the group is confronted by local racists. Meanwhile, unbeknownst to Wes, Star is assaulted and murdered behind the bar before the group leaves. That’s doubly unfortunate, as every time a Native American woman in the area is killed, something attacks any hunters in the area, which Sheriff Paulson (Paul Wilson) puts down to bear attacks — though he knows better. Most
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
Prolific fear-fare director Charlie Steeds’ latest effort Freeze (U.K., 2022) is a Lovecraftian creature feature that punches above the weight of its budgetary limitations, resulting in a solid-looking, highly entertaining period piece. The crew of the HMS Innsmouth is on a mission to rescue the HMS Eibon, which was lost during its expedition to the North Pole. HMS Innsmouth’s Captain Mortimer’s (Rory Wilson) good friend Captain Streiner (Tim Cartwright) commanded the lost ship, so he is determined to learn the fate of his friend. Meanwhile, Crewman Redgrave (Jake Watkins) helps hide a woman stowaway named Carmen (Beatrice Barillá), whose brother was an officer on the Eibon. Tension heightens when crewman Spriggs (Ricardo Freitas) (who you just can’t wait to see get his) learns of this. Mortimer’s first mate McCullough (Johnny Vivash) warns the captain that sailing any further ahead in the ice will result in disaster, but Lieutenant Roth (David Lenik), whose father owns HMS Innsmouth, persuades Streiner to forge
Continue reading →
