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Horror film festivals worldwide — lineups, awards and the titles that break out of the festival circuit.

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Horror Fuel

‘Sister Tempest’ Promises Surreal Chills, Alien Tribunals, and Cannibalistic Cravings

Writer/director Joe Badon unleashed his surreal mind-bender The God Inside My Ear in 2017, and it instantly became one of my top 10 films of that year, regardless of genre. The Louisiana filmmaker has just released the trailer for his sophomore feature Sister Tempest, and this outing looks to be equally as outré as his jaw-dropping debut. The film’s official synopsis states: “Anne Hutchinson’s troubled relationship with her missing sister is under alien tribunal. Meanwhile, her new roommate’s mysterious illness causes her to go on a cannibalistic killing spree.” The trailer promises intriguing new visions from Badon, and I’m also guessing some of the elements that made The God Inside My Ear so amazing will be in play for this film, too, including head-scratching (in the best way!) visuals, sequences that tread the fine line between nightmarish and dreamlike, a few nods to classic and obscure films from horror and other genres, and, naturally, the unexpected. Badon is also an

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Oct 6, 2019
Horror Fuel

New Clip Gives You A Taste Of Each ‘Are You Afraid Of The Dark?’ Episode

Nickelodeon’s Are You Afraid of the Dark? celebrated the return of the Midnight Society at New York Comic Con 2019 with a panel discussing the tale of how the iconic horror series has been reimagined for a new generation, by sharing stories from the making of the limited series and revealing an exclusive first-look clip. The panel featured stars Lyliana Wray (Top Gun: Maverick), Sam Ashe Arnold (Best. Worst. Weekend. Ever.), Miya Cech (Rim of the World), Jeremy Ray Taylor (IT Chapter Two) and Rafael Casal (Blindspotting), writer/executive producer BenDavid Grabinski and executive producer Matt Kaplan. Laura Prudom of IGN moderated. The panel featured a sneak peek clip of the upcoming Are You Afraid of the Dark? three-part limited series event, which is based on the ‘90s kids’ cult classic. Across the three hour-long episodes, the series follows members of an entirely new Midnight Society, who tell a terrifying tale of the Carnival of Doom and its evil ringmaster Mr.

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Oct 5, 2019
Horror Fuel

‘Are You Afraid Of The Dark?’ Event To Be Held At Beyond Fest

Beyond Fest, the highest-attended genre film festival in the US is excited to announce the premiere event of Nickelodeon’s Are You Afraid of the Dark?, the three-part limited series event sees the return of the Midnight Society, with Beyond Fest bowing the first two episodes on Monday, October 7th. Courtesy of Nickelodeon, the special screening is an all-ages, family-friendly event built specifically for fans young and old and free to all guests with tickets obtained via RSVP (seating is subject to availability on a first-come, first-serve basis, details below). Following the screening will be a special Are You Afraid of the Dark? panel with stars Lyliana Wray, Sam Ashe Arnold, Miya Cech, and Jeremy Ray Taylor, ACE Entertainment’s Spencer Berman, writer BenDavid Grabinski, and director Dean Israelite. Berman, Grabinski, and Israelite all serve as executive producers. The Are You Afraid of the Dark? panel will be followed by a 35mm screening of the ‘80s thrill-ride, The Gate, a film specially

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Oct 1, 2019
Horror Fuel

A Dark Family Secret Puts A Life In Danger In The ‘Dark Harbor’ Trailer

The trailer is here for director Joe Raffa‘s unsettling thriller Dark Harbor that tells the story of Olivia, a young mother on the verge of childbirth who finds her future threatened by a hidden darkness from her family’s past. For his latest feature, Raffa and executive producer Edwin P. Stevens enlisted the talents of Jessica Sipos (“Slasher”, “Chesapeake Shores”) and Joel McHale (“Community”, Ted) as the expectant parents. They are joined onscreen by Meagen Fay (“Grace and Frankie”, “Agent Carter”) and Brian Gallagher (“Outsiders”) as Olivia’s distant parents, as well as Xander Berkeley (“The Walking Dead”, Terminator 2) Reiko Aylesworth (“24”, “Scorpion”), Connor Trineer (“Star Trek: Enterprise”, “Stargate: Atlantis”), Sterling Hurst, and Nickolas Wolf. With the birth of her first child just days away, Olivia must return to her childhood home island off the coast of Maine, seemingly on the edge of the world, to face her narcissistic mother and attend her father’s funeral. Not long after, she uncovers a

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Sep 29, 2019
Horror Fuel

Nightmares Film Festival Announces 190 Film Lineup

If this is a Nightmare, horror fans won’t want to wake up. Closely-watched Nightmares Film Festival has outdone even its most legendary stuffed-to-bursting programs with 2019’s lineup, which will pack 190 of the world’s best features and shorts from around the world into this year’s four-day event, October 24th to 27th. We are so honored the world’s best genre creators trust us to present their work,” said co-founder and programmer Jason Tostevin. “This year, we have assembled more ‘better horror’ for our Nightmares audience than ever before.” Leading the lineup are 24 features from both beloved horror filmmakers and important new voices in genre film. Included are Hammer Films’s The Lodge, from the makers of Goodnight Mommy; Daniel Isn’t Real, from the producers of Mandy and The Greasy Strangler; VFW, from the director of Almost Human; Eat Brains Love, adapted from the popular novel; and closing night film Z, from the creators of It Stains the Sand Red and Still/Born.

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Sep 22, 2019
Horror Fuel

Scare-A-Con 2019 Ready to Unleash Horror in New York!

Scare-A-Con is coming to the Rochester Riverside Hotel, Rochester, NY on October 18 thru the 20th, and to shed Lucifer’s light on the whole arcane affair your’s cruelly recently had a chance to chat with the show’s promoter JV Johnson! Dan XIII: Please tell my revoltin’ readers how you came to be involved in that creepiest of conventions Scare-A-Con! JV: Once I discovered the world of horror conventions, I realized that there were many people who shared the same passions as I did. That revelation made me decide to bring a similar event to my town of Syracuse, NY. I owned & operated a group of radio stations there and I used those resources to have the first SCARE-A-CON in 2011. After a couple venue changes and the addition of the New England show, we have become one of the biggest horror conventions in the Northeast. DXIII: What can all of your faithful n’ fearsome fiends expect to experience at

Continue reading →
DanXIII
Sep 19, 2019
Horror Fuel

Movie Review (FilmQuest Film Festival): The Black String (2019)

Life goes from boring and lonely to maddening and terrifying for twentysomething Jonathan, the protagonist of director Brian Hanson’s The Black String, a terrific supernatural/body horror film with paranoia thriller and film noir elements. Jonathan, superbly portrayed by Frankie Muniz of Agent Cody Banks (2003) and the TV series Malcolm in the Middle (2000–2006), is a loner who lets life pass him by while working at what he calls a “lifestyle convenience boutique,” but what most of us refer to as a liquor store. His outgoing boss and friend Eric (Blake Webb of the American Horror Story [2011] TV series and Alienate [2016]) coaxes him into living life a bit more, which leads Jonathan to call a singles hotline number after seeing its seemingly personalized commercial on television. As a result, Jonathan winds up on a date with the fetching Dena (Chelsea Edmunson of 14 Cameras and Howlers, both 2018) and contracting a horrid looking rash from having unprotected sex

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Sep 18, 2019
Horror Fuel

Shudder Acquires Supernatural Horror ‘The Cleansing Hour’ Ahead of Sitges

Shudder, AMC Networks’ premium streaming service for horror, thriller and the supernatural, has acquired all rights in the US, Canada, the UK and Ireland to the supernatural horror feature The Cleansing Hour, starring Ryan Guzman (The Boy Next Door, Everybody Wants Some!), Kyle Gallner (American Sniper, The Haunting in Connecticut), and Alix Angelis (The Magnificent Seven, Love’s Last Resort). The film centers around millennial entrepreneurs, Max (Guzman) and Drew (Gallner), who run a popular webcast that streams “live exorcisms” that are, in fact, elaborately staged hoaxes watched by millions. However, their fortunes take a turn when during one of their webcasts, Drew’s fiancée becomes mysteriously possessed by a real demon that takes the crew hostage. In front of a rapidly growing global audience, the demon subjects the crew to a series of violent and humiliating challenges that expose dark secrets they have been hiding from each other. Fun, fresh, scary, THE CLEANSING HOUR grabs you and takes you on the

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Sep 16, 2019
Horror Fuel

History And A&E Announce Ghost Hunters And More To Host Panels At AlienCon

AlienCon®, the world’s first convention dedicated to seeking the truth about extraterrestrial existence and solving the mysteries of the universe, has announced new program details for the October 4-6 event in Dallas, Texas. A+E Networks previously announced celebrity guests at AlienCon Dallas will include HISTORY’s “Ancient Aliens” contributors Giorgio A. Tsoukalos, David Childress, Nick Pope, Caroline Cory, Jason Martell, John Brandenburg, Travis Taylor, and Jonathan Young. Now adding to the captivating line-up of expert voices are cast members from HISTORY’s upcoming nonfiction series, “The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch” (working title), who will be featured on two panels over the three-day event. “The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch” is executive produced by Kevin Burns, the creator and producer of HISTORY’s most popular series, including “Ancient Aliens” and cable’s #1 nonfiction series “The Curse of Oak Island”and will give viewers full, unprecedented access to one of the most infamous and secretive hotspots of paranormal and UFO-related activities on earth. The series will feature

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Sep 7, 2019
Horror Fuel

Movie Review (GenreBlast Film Festival): Bloodsucker’s Planet (2019)

Bloodsucker’s Planet screened at GenreBlast, which ran at the Alamo Drafthouse in Winchester, Virginia, from August 29– September 1. Fans of space opera creature features such as The Green Slime (1968) and Mario Bava’s Planet of The Vampires (1965; an obvious influence here) are sure to find loads to love about writer/director/cinematographer/editor/producer Mark Beal’s outrageously fun new film Bloodsucker’s Planet. In the distant future, the spaceship Argosy picks up a distress signal from the planet Mara. Captain McDermott (Allen Menefee) decides to have his crew investigate, with everyone heading down to Mara except second-in-command Clarissa (Leni Mex), who remains aboard the ship. Doc (Joel Jeremy Herrera), Paulina (Adrienne Dobson), and Danvers (Logan Hooks) have a look-see, during which time Danvers comes into contact with a small creature that looks like a tentacled bat. The planet’s sole human resident, Bartlett (Joe Grisaffi), has chosen to remain on Mara as caretaker for a large corporation that abandoned its mud farming industry years

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Sep 2, 2019

More from Film Festivals

Horror Fuel

‘Sister Tempest’ Promises Surreal Chills, Alien Tribunals, and Cannibalistic Cravings

Writer/director Joe Badon unleashed his surreal mind-bender The God Inside My Ear in 2017, and it instantly became one of my top 10 films of that year, regardless of genre. The Louisiana filmmaker has just released the trailer for his sophomore feature Sister Tempest, and this outing looks to be equally as outré as his jaw-dropping debut. The film’s official synopsis states: “Anne Hutchinson’s troubled relationship with her missing sister is under alien tribunal. Meanwhile, her new roommate’s mysterious illness causes her to go on a cannibalistic killing spree.” The trailer promises intriguing new visions from Badon, and I’m also guessing some of the elements that made The God Inside My Ear so amazing will be in play for this film, too, including head-scratching (in the best way!) visuals, sequences that tread the fine line between nightmarish and dreamlike, a few nods to classic and obscure films from horror and other genres, and, naturally, the unexpected. Badon is also an

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Oct 6, 2019
Horror Fuel

New Clip Gives You A Taste Of Each ‘Are You Afraid Of The Dark?’ Episode

Nickelodeon’s Are You Afraid of the Dark? celebrated the return of the Midnight Society at New York Comic Con 2019 with a panel discussing the tale of how the iconic horror series has been reimagined for a new generation, by sharing stories from the making of the limited series and revealing an exclusive first-look clip. The panel featured stars Lyliana Wray (Top Gun: Maverick), Sam Ashe Arnold (Best. Worst. Weekend. Ever.), Miya Cech (Rim of the World), Jeremy Ray Taylor (IT Chapter Two) and Rafael Casal (Blindspotting), writer/executive producer BenDavid Grabinski and executive producer Matt Kaplan. Laura Prudom of IGN moderated. The panel featured a sneak peek clip of the upcoming Are You Afraid of the Dark? three-part limited series event, which is based on the ‘90s kids’ cult classic. Across the three hour-long episodes, the series follows members of an entirely new Midnight Society, who tell a terrifying tale of the Carnival of Doom and its evil ringmaster Mr.

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Oct 5, 2019
Horror Fuel

‘Are You Afraid Of The Dark?’ Event To Be Held At Beyond Fest

Beyond Fest, the highest-attended genre film festival in the US is excited to announce the premiere event of Nickelodeon’s Are You Afraid of the Dark?, the three-part limited series event sees the return of the Midnight Society, with Beyond Fest bowing the first two episodes on Monday, October 7th. Courtesy of Nickelodeon, the special screening is an all-ages, family-friendly event built specifically for fans young and old and free to all guests with tickets obtained via RSVP (seating is subject to availability on a first-come, first-serve basis, details below). Following the screening will be a special Are You Afraid of the Dark? panel with stars Lyliana Wray, Sam Ashe Arnold, Miya Cech, and Jeremy Ray Taylor, ACE Entertainment’s Spencer Berman, writer BenDavid Grabinski, and director Dean Israelite. Berman, Grabinski, and Israelite all serve as executive producers. The Are You Afraid of the Dark? panel will be followed by a 35mm screening of the ‘80s thrill-ride, The Gate, a film specially

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Oct 1, 2019
Horror Fuel

A Dark Family Secret Puts A Life In Danger In The ‘Dark Harbor’ Trailer

The trailer is here for director Joe Raffa‘s unsettling thriller Dark Harbor that tells the story of Olivia, a young mother on the verge of childbirth who finds her future threatened by a hidden darkness from her family’s past. For his latest feature, Raffa and executive producer Edwin P. Stevens enlisted the talents of Jessica Sipos (“Slasher”, “Chesapeake Shores”) and Joel McHale (“Community”, Ted) as the expectant parents. They are joined onscreen by Meagen Fay (“Grace and Frankie”, “Agent Carter”) and Brian Gallagher (“Outsiders”) as Olivia’s distant parents, as well as Xander Berkeley (“The Walking Dead”, Terminator 2) Reiko Aylesworth (“24”, “Scorpion”), Connor Trineer (“Star Trek: Enterprise”, “Stargate: Atlantis”), Sterling Hurst, and Nickolas Wolf. With the birth of her first child just days away, Olivia must return to her childhood home island off the coast of Maine, seemingly on the edge of the world, to face her narcissistic mother and attend her father’s funeral. Not long after, she uncovers a

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Sep 29, 2019
Horror Fuel

Nightmares Film Festival Announces 190 Film Lineup

If this is a Nightmare, horror fans won’t want to wake up. Closely-watched Nightmares Film Festival has outdone even its most legendary stuffed-to-bursting programs with 2019’s lineup, which will pack 190 of the world’s best features and shorts from around the world into this year’s four-day event, October 24th to 27th. We are so honored the world’s best genre creators trust us to present their work,” said co-founder and programmer Jason Tostevin. “This year, we have assembled more ‘better horror’ for our Nightmares audience than ever before.” Leading the lineup are 24 features from both beloved horror filmmakers and important new voices in genre film. Included are Hammer Films’s The Lodge, from the makers of Goodnight Mommy; Daniel Isn’t Real, from the producers of Mandy and The Greasy Strangler; VFW, from the director of Almost Human; Eat Brains Love, adapted from the popular novel; and closing night film Z, from the creators of It Stains the Sand Red and Still/Born.

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Sep 22, 2019
Horror Fuel

Scare-A-Con 2019 Ready to Unleash Horror in New York!

Scare-A-Con is coming to the Rochester Riverside Hotel, Rochester, NY on October 18 thru the 20th, and to shed Lucifer’s light on the whole arcane affair your’s cruelly recently had a chance to chat with the show’s promoter JV Johnson! Dan XIII: Please tell my revoltin’ readers how you came to be involved in that creepiest of conventions Scare-A-Con! JV: Once I discovered the world of horror conventions, I realized that there were many people who shared the same passions as I did. That revelation made me decide to bring a similar event to my town of Syracuse, NY. I owned & operated a group of radio stations there and I used those resources to have the first SCARE-A-CON in 2011. After a couple venue changes and the addition of the New England show, we have become one of the biggest horror conventions in the Northeast. DXIII: What can all of your faithful n’ fearsome fiends expect to experience at

Continue reading →
DanXIII
Sep 19, 2019
Horror Fuel

Movie Review (FilmQuest Film Festival): The Black String (2019)

Life goes from boring and lonely to maddening and terrifying for twentysomething Jonathan, the protagonist of director Brian Hanson’s The Black String, a terrific supernatural/body horror film with paranoia thriller and film noir elements. Jonathan, superbly portrayed by Frankie Muniz of Agent Cody Banks (2003) and the TV series Malcolm in the Middle (2000–2006), is a loner who lets life pass him by while working at what he calls a “lifestyle convenience boutique,” but what most of us refer to as a liquor store. His outgoing boss and friend Eric (Blake Webb of the American Horror Story [2011] TV series and Alienate [2016]) coaxes him into living life a bit more, which leads Jonathan to call a singles hotline number after seeing its seemingly personalized commercial on television. As a result, Jonathan winds up on a date with the fetching Dena (Chelsea Edmunson of 14 Cameras and Howlers, both 2018) and contracting a horrid looking rash from having unprotected sex

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Sep 18, 2019
Horror Fuel

Shudder Acquires Supernatural Horror ‘The Cleansing Hour’ Ahead of Sitges

Shudder, AMC Networks’ premium streaming service for horror, thriller and the supernatural, has acquired all rights in the US, Canada, the UK and Ireland to the supernatural horror feature The Cleansing Hour, starring Ryan Guzman (The Boy Next Door, Everybody Wants Some!), Kyle Gallner (American Sniper, The Haunting in Connecticut), and Alix Angelis (The Magnificent Seven, Love’s Last Resort). The film centers around millennial entrepreneurs, Max (Guzman) and Drew (Gallner), who run a popular webcast that streams “live exorcisms” that are, in fact, elaborately staged hoaxes watched by millions. However, their fortunes take a turn when during one of their webcasts, Drew’s fiancée becomes mysteriously possessed by a real demon that takes the crew hostage. In front of a rapidly growing global audience, the demon subjects the crew to a series of violent and humiliating challenges that expose dark secrets they have been hiding from each other. Fun, fresh, scary, THE CLEANSING HOUR grabs you and takes you on the

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Sep 16, 2019
Horror Fuel

History And A&E Announce Ghost Hunters And More To Host Panels At AlienCon

AlienCon®, the world’s first convention dedicated to seeking the truth about extraterrestrial existence and solving the mysteries of the universe, has announced new program details for the October 4-6 event in Dallas, Texas. A+E Networks previously announced celebrity guests at AlienCon Dallas will include HISTORY’s “Ancient Aliens” contributors Giorgio A. Tsoukalos, David Childress, Nick Pope, Caroline Cory, Jason Martell, John Brandenburg, Travis Taylor, and Jonathan Young. Now adding to the captivating line-up of expert voices are cast members from HISTORY’s upcoming nonfiction series, “The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch” (working title), who will be featured on two panels over the three-day event. “The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch” is executive produced by Kevin Burns, the creator and producer of HISTORY’s most popular series, including “Ancient Aliens” and cable’s #1 nonfiction series “The Curse of Oak Island”and will give viewers full, unprecedented access to one of the most infamous and secretive hotspots of paranormal and UFO-related activities on earth. The series will feature

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Sep 7, 2019
Horror Fuel

Movie Review (GenreBlast Film Festival): Bloodsucker’s Planet (2019)

Bloodsucker’s Planet screened at GenreBlast, which ran at the Alamo Drafthouse in Winchester, Virginia, from August 29– September 1. Fans of space opera creature features such as The Green Slime (1968) and Mario Bava’s Planet of The Vampires (1965; an obvious influence here) are sure to find loads to love about writer/director/cinematographer/editor/producer Mark Beal’s outrageously fun new film Bloodsucker’s Planet. In the distant future, the spaceship Argosy picks up a distress signal from the planet Mara. Captain McDermott (Allen Menefee) decides to have his crew investigate, with everyone heading down to Mara except second-in-command Clarissa (Leni Mex), who remains aboard the ship. Doc (Joel Jeremy Herrera), Paulina (Adrienne Dobson), and Danvers (Logan Hooks) have a look-see, during which time Danvers comes into contact with a small creature that looks like a tentacled bat. The planet’s sole human resident, Bartlett (Joe Grisaffi), has chosen to remain on Mara as caretaker for a large corporation that abandoned its mud farming industry years

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Sep 2, 2019
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