CategoryFilm Festivals
Horror film festivals worldwide — lineups, awards and the titles that break out of the festival circuit.
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Film Festivals
This year’s Popcorn Frights Film Festival, the seventh annual installment of this outstanding Florida horror film fest tradition, will be a hybrid experience offering both in-theater and virtual film offerings from August 12-19, 2021. After previously announcing the first wave of its incredible in-theater line-up, the fest now releases the equally amazing offerings for both more of its in-theater selections and its nationwide virtual version. You read that correctly — you can bring this highly acclaimed horror film festival right into your own home! The virtual program highlights include eight feature film World Premieres, Popcorn Frights’ first-ever Virtual Reality experience, a Sneak Preview of Alex Proyas’ new short film set in the DARK CITY universe, and a record-setting 68 film premieres! Following is the official press announcement. www.PopcornFrights.com July 15, 2021 // – The Ex North American Premiere Russia | 2021 | 87 Min. | Dir. Evgeniy Puzyrevskiy The screws are tightened in this wickedly entertaining, juicy supernatural-thriller about the
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsNews
Arrow Video FrightFest 2021 will see the United Kingdom’s largest horror and fantasy film festival return to the cinema, and it does so in huge way: with 25 films set to show on the main screen! With a schedule of films ranging from supernatural to slashers and monsters to murderous mayhem, there is something for every scare-fare fan. Following is the official press release. Arrow Video FrightFest, the UK’s biggest horror and fantasy film festival, is back at the Cineworld Leicester Square from Thurs August 26 – Monday 30 August, 2021 for five days of the very best of global genre cinema. The internationally renowned event leads the way in attesting to the versatility of the genre and, despite the interruptions caused by the pandemic, this year is no exception as the twenty-five films to be presented in the main screens are revealed. They include four world premieres and eight International / European premieres. Global events over the past eighteen
Continue reading →
ConventionsFilm FestivalsIndieParanormalReviewsThriller
The Northern Horror Fest will be held July 21, 2021, in Bergenfield New Jersey. The event will showcase independent horror/thriller films, one of the films that will be at Northern Horror Fest is the short horror Sanctuary and yours truly was lucky enough to get the chance to check it out thanks to the film’s director Lee Shorten (The Terror: Infamy, The Man in the High Castle)! Sanctuary follows Olivia (Harumy Tanajara) a young woman who believes she’s receiving warnings about the impending apocalypse by her dead brother by way of coins, all the while trying to convince her boyfriend/husband Thomas (Luke Sykes) the warnings are genuine. I’m going to keep this spoiler-free as much as possible as I do feel this film is worth checking out. Overall for a short, a lot was shown within that time to fill you in on the background of the character of Olivia and her unseen Brother. I like that the film does
Continue reading →
Film Festivals
Arrow Video FrightFest, the United Kingdom’s premiere horror and genre-film festival, will be back in cinemas again this year, and the super poster by artist Graham Humphreys reflects that return. Following is the official press announcement. Arrow Video FrightFest is proud to present Graham Humphreys’ stand-out poster design for 2021, which marks the 13th appearance for his iconic Monster. Graham revealed today: “”We have a happy monster this year. Though how happy a monster should be in a horror film festival raised the question, what would make the monster happy? Last year’s event was not ‘live’. This year, with a return to the social interaction that makes the festival such an important event in the annual calendar, it’s as if we have bypassed 2020 in a time machine, full throttle, into 2021. To celebrate – a bottle of champagne! Although the monster would probably prefer a full-blooded vintage…” This year’s annual Bank Holiday event, the UK’s largest celebration of genre
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsNews
As if The Fantasia International Film Festival’s first wave announcement wasn’t tantalizing enough, today’s second-wave announcement is mind blowing. With horror titles such as The Last Thing Mary Saw, All the Moons, and Hellbender (to name but a few) on tap alongside science fiction, dark comedy, thriller, and other horror-adjacent genres, Montreal’s premiere genre-film fest promises to be as can’t-miss as usual. Following is the festival’s official press announcement. The Fantasia International Film Festival will launch its 25th edition this summer as an exciting virtual event composed of scheduled screenings, on-demand library, panels, and workshops, taking place from August 5th to August 25th. The festival will be accessible across Canada, geo-locked to the country, and will maintain unique film admittance quantities in line with the cinema experience. Fantasia is thrilled to reveal a second wave of programming and will return in late July with a third and final line-up announcement, including features, virtual events, and juries. In celebration of Fantasia’s
Continue reading →
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French filmmaker Julia Ducournau made her debut back in 2016 with the critically acclaimed cannibal horror film Raw. She’s back with her next picture, Titane, starring Agathe Rousselle and Vincent Lindon. While details are still being kept quiet, Neon has released an intriguing first-look teaser trailer that teases a film filled with sex and violence. Instead of releasing the film’s plot, Neon has shared the definition of titane. “A metal highly resistant to heat and corrosion, with high tensile strength alloys, often used in medical prostheses due to its pronounced biocompatibility.” Titane will make its world premiere this July at Cannes. As soon as we learn more we will give you an update. In the meantime, check out the trailer. WARNING: NSFW The trailer contains nudity.
Continue reading →
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Ahead of the virtual Cannes Pre-Screening market, arthouse genre outfit Yellow Veil Pictures have added worldwide sales rights to Hellbender from directors Toby Poser, Zelda Adams, and John Adams, which is set to world premiere at the upcoming Fantasia International Film Festival. The film follows “16-year-old Izzy (Zelda Adams), who leads an isolated life on a lonely mountaintop due to a rare sickness. Questioning her illness and starving for companionship, Izzy sneaks down the mountain where she befriends the brazen older girl Amber (Lulu Adams). Just as Izzy finally begins to feel happiness, a drinking game involving a live worm unleashes a new kind of insatiable hunger within her. Confused and scared, Izzy appeals to her mother for answers but the family’s secrets are as old and dark as the bloodline from which they’re born.” Justin Timms, Yellow Veil Pictures Co-Founder, said, “Hellbender is unlike anything you’ve ever seen and we’re absolutely thrilled to team with the mad genius filmmaking
Continue reading →
Film Festivals
Washington’s North Bend Film Festival is back, and it is serving up a hybrid in-person and virtual version this July. Horror fans should look into titles such as We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, The Blazing World (reviewed here), Tailgate, and Cryptozoo. Following is the official press announcement. The North Bend Film Festival returns this summer with a hybrid festival taking place July 15-18, 2021. The in-person portion of the fest returns audience members to the historic art deco North Bend Theatre for a curated offering of feature film and short screenings, while both the virtual and physical programs will be complemented by special events, conversations with filmmakers, and immersive experiences. The majority of titles will be exclusive either to physical or virtual programs, with only a few overlaps making for a unique festival experience however you choose to attend. This year’s festival will open with the in-person screening of Swan Song, Todd Stephen’s ode to being singular in
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesReviews
How far would you go to help keep a sick loved one alive? How willing would you be to enable an addicted family member? At what point would you begin to say “Enough is enough” in either of these scenarios and actually act on it? These are just three of the questions explored in writer/director Jonathan Cuartas’ arthouse horror feature My Heart Can’t Beat Unless You Tell It To. Three siblings live a bleak existence in their suburban home. Thomas (Owen Campbell) is the youngest, and he needs human blood to survive. He isn’t a typical fright-fare vampire, though. He is weak, often barely able to move without the help of his siblings, and totally dependent on them to survive. His brother Dwight (Patrick Fugit) rounds up unsuspecting homeless people under the guise of driving them to a shelter, and then takes them home where sister Jessie (Ingrid Sophie Schram) does the nasty business of draining the victims’ blood into
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsReviews
Norwegian feature To Freddy (original title Til Freddy; 2020) finds the titular character, one of a group of friends planning a final camping trip after graduating university and heading into the workaday world, becoming increasingly paranoid after a box found randomly in the woods predicts that he will be killed by a member of their group. The film is a well-crafted thriller with horror overtones. Freddy (Nicolai Narvesen Lied) is worried about his future, and more than a little distrustful of social media, having recently abandoned it altogether after receiving targeted ads after a phone call. His friend Viljar (writer/director Viljar Bøe) finds a box containing birthday cards and messages anonymously addressed to Freddy. Curious, Freddy reads one that says one of his friends will kill him at a precise date and time during the camping trip, and that the trip cannot be cancelled. To prove the validity of this prediction, Freddy has instructions to perform specific games of chance
Continue reading →
More from Film Festivals
Film Festivals
This year’s Popcorn Frights Film Festival, the seventh annual installment of this outstanding Florida horror film fest tradition, will be a hybrid experience offering both in-theater and virtual film offerings from August 12-19, 2021. After previously announcing the first wave of its incredible in-theater line-up, the fest now releases the equally amazing offerings for both more of its in-theater selections and its nationwide virtual version. You read that correctly — you can bring this highly acclaimed horror film festival right into your own home! The virtual program highlights include eight feature film World Premieres, Popcorn Frights’ first-ever Virtual Reality experience, a Sneak Preview of Alex Proyas’ new short film set in the DARK CITY universe, and a record-setting 68 film premieres! Following is the official press announcement. www.PopcornFrights.com July 15, 2021 // – The Ex North American Premiere Russia | 2021 | 87 Min. | Dir. Evgeniy Puzyrevskiy The screws are tightened in this wickedly entertaining, juicy supernatural-thriller about the
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsNews
Arrow Video FrightFest 2021 will see the United Kingdom’s largest horror and fantasy film festival return to the cinema, and it does so in huge way: with 25 films set to show on the main screen! With a schedule of films ranging from supernatural to slashers and monsters to murderous mayhem, there is something for every scare-fare fan. Following is the official press release. Arrow Video FrightFest, the UK’s biggest horror and fantasy film festival, is back at the Cineworld Leicester Square from Thurs August 26 – Monday 30 August, 2021 for five days of the very best of global genre cinema. The internationally renowned event leads the way in attesting to the versatility of the genre and, despite the interruptions caused by the pandemic, this year is no exception as the twenty-five films to be presented in the main screens are revealed. They include four world premieres and eight International / European premieres. Global events over the past eighteen
Continue reading →
ConventionsFilm FestivalsIndieParanormalReviewsThriller
The Northern Horror Fest will be held July 21, 2021, in Bergenfield New Jersey. The event will showcase independent horror/thriller films, one of the films that will be at Northern Horror Fest is the short horror Sanctuary and yours truly was lucky enough to get the chance to check it out thanks to the film’s director Lee Shorten (The Terror: Infamy, The Man in the High Castle)! Sanctuary follows Olivia (Harumy Tanajara) a young woman who believes she’s receiving warnings about the impending apocalypse by her dead brother by way of coins, all the while trying to convince her boyfriend/husband Thomas (Luke Sykes) the warnings are genuine. I’m going to keep this spoiler-free as much as possible as I do feel this film is worth checking out. Overall for a short, a lot was shown within that time to fill you in on the background of the character of Olivia and her unseen Brother. I like that the film does
Continue reading →
Film Festivals
Arrow Video FrightFest, the United Kingdom’s premiere horror and genre-film festival, will be back in cinemas again this year, and the super poster by artist Graham Humphreys reflects that return. Following is the official press announcement. Arrow Video FrightFest is proud to present Graham Humphreys’ stand-out poster design for 2021, which marks the 13th appearance for his iconic Monster. Graham revealed today: “”We have a happy monster this year. Though how happy a monster should be in a horror film festival raised the question, what would make the monster happy? Last year’s event was not ‘live’. This year, with a return to the social interaction that makes the festival such an important event in the annual calendar, it’s as if we have bypassed 2020 in a time machine, full throttle, into 2021. To celebrate – a bottle of champagne! Although the monster would probably prefer a full-blooded vintage…” This year’s annual Bank Holiday event, the UK’s largest celebration of genre
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsNews
As if The Fantasia International Film Festival’s first wave announcement wasn’t tantalizing enough, today’s second-wave announcement is mind blowing. With horror titles such as The Last Thing Mary Saw, All the Moons, and Hellbender (to name but a few) on tap alongside science fiction, dark comedy, thriller, and other horror-adjacent genres, Montreal’s premiere genre-film fest promises to be as can’t-miss as usual. Following is the festival’s official press announcement. The Fantasia International Film Festival will launch its 25th edition this summer as an exciting virtual event composed of scheduled screenings, on-demand library, panels, and workshops, taking place from August 5th to August 25th. The festival will be accessible across Canada, geo-locked to the country, and will maintain unique film admittance quantities in line with the cinema experience. Fantasia is thrilled to reveal a second wave of programming and will return in late July with a third and final line-up announcement, including features, virtual events, and juries. In celebration of Fantasia’s
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesNewsThrillerTrailers
French filmmaker Julia Ducournau made her debut back in 2016 with the critically acclaimed cannibal horror film Raw. She’s back with her next picture, Titane, starring Agathe Rousselle and Vincent Lindon. While details are still being kept quiet, Neon has released an intriguing first-look teaser trailer that teases a film filled with sex and violence. Instead of releasing the film’s plot, Neon has shared the definition of titane. “A metal highly resistant to heat and corrosion, with high tensile strength alloys, often used in medical prostheses due to its pronounced biocompatibility.” Titane will make its world premiere this July at Cannes. As soon as we learn more we will give you an update. In the meantime, check out the trailer. WARNING: NSFW The trailer contains nudity.
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesNewsThriller
Ahead of the virtual Cannes Pre-Screening market, arthouse genre outfit Yellow Veil Pictures have added worldwide sales rights to Hellbender from directors Toby Poser, Zelda Adams, and John Adams, which is set to world premiere at the upcoming Fantasia International Film Festival. The film follows “16-year-old Izzy (Zelda Adams), who leads an isolated life on a lonely mountaintop due to a rare sickness. Questioning her illness and starving for companionship, Izzy sneaks down the mountain where she befriends the brazen older girl Amber (Lulu Adams). Just as Izzy finally begins to feel happiness, a drinking game involving a live worm unleashes a new kind of insatiable hunger within her. Confused and scared, Izzy appeals to her mother for answers but the family’s secrets are as old and dark as the bloodline from which they’re born.” Justin Timms, Yellow Veil Pictures Co-Founder, said, “Hellbender is unlike anything you’ve ever seen and we’re absolutely thrilled to team with the mad genius filmmaking
Continue reading →
Film Festivals
Washington’s North Bend Film Festival is back, and it is serving up a hybrid in-person and virtual version this July. Horror fans should look into titles such as We’re All Going to the World’s Fair, The Blazing World (reviewed here), Tailgate, and Cryptozoo. Following is the official press announcement. The North Bend Film Festival returns this summer with a hybrid festival taking place July 15-18, 2021. The in-person portion of the fest returns audience members to the historic art deco North Bend Theatre for a curated offering of feature film and short screenings, while both the virtual and physical programs will be complemented by special events, conversations with filmmakers, and immersive experiences. The majority of titles will be exclusive either to physical or virtual programs, with only a few overlaps making for a unique festival experience however you choose to attend. This year’s festival will open with the in-person screening of Swan Song, Todd Stephen’s ode to being singular in
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesReviews
How far would you go to help keep a sick loved one alive? How willing would you be to enable an addicted family member? At what point would you begin to say “Enough is enough” in either of these scenarios and actually act on it? These are just three of the questions explored in writer/director Jonathan Cuartas’ arthouse horror feature My Heart Can’t Beat Unless You Tell It To. Three siblings live a bleak existence in their suburban home. Thomas (Owen Campbell) is the youngest, and he needs human blood to survive. He isn’t a typical fright-fare vampire, though. He is weak, often barely able to move without the help of his siblings, and totally dependent on them to survive. His brother Dwight (Patrick Fugit) rounds up unsuspecting homeless people under the guise of driving them to a shelter, and then takes them home where sister Jessie (Ingrid Sophie Schram) does the nasty business of draining the victims’ blood into
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsReviews
Norwegian feature To Freddy (original title Til Freddy; 2020) finds the titular character, one of a group of friends planning a final camping trip after graduating university and heading into the workaday world, becoming increasingly paranoid after a box found randomly in the woods predicts that he will be killed by a member of their group. The film is a well-crafted thriller with horror overtones. Freddy (Nicolai Narvesen Lied) is worried about his future, and more than a little distrustful of social media, having recently abandoned it altogether after receiving targeted ads after a phone call. His friend Viljar (writer/director Viljar Bøe) finds a box containing birthday cards and messages anonymously addressed to Freddy. Curious, Freddy reads one that says one of his friends will kill him at a precise date and time during the camping trip, and that the trip cannot be cancelled. To prove the validity of this prediction, Freddy has instructions to perform specific games of chance
Continue reading →
