CategoryFilm Festivals
Horror film festivals worldwide — lineups, awards and the titles that break out of the festival circuit.
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Film FestivalsMoviesReviewsTrue Crime
What do you get when you cross a serial killer saga, a road movie, a thriller, some comedy, a variation on an odd-couple buddy film, and a celebrity chimpanzee? In the case of He Went That Way (U.S., 2023), the answer is a film that lacks clear focus but is nevertheless entertaining throughout. He Went That Way features a title card that proclaims that the events in the film mostly happened. The real-life story involved animal trainer Dave Pitts and the actual chimpanzee Spanky traveling with hitchhiker and serial killer Larry Lee Ranes. Pitts gives an accounting of his tale during the end credits, which also feature a clip of Spanky performing in The Ice Capades. For the fictionalized version, animal trainer Jim (Zachary Quinto) is traveling America’s Route 66 with his beloved chimpanzee Spanky, who was once the toast of highly rated television variety shows and live performances but who has fallen out of favor in the film’s 1964
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesReviews
Imagine a horror film that combines elements found in Hiroshi Teshigahara’s classic Woman in the Dunes (Japan, 1964) with your favorite evil/feral child horror movie, add in a good deal of weirdness and mystery, and you’re only partially on your way to what writer/director Barney Clay’s The Seeding (U.S., 2023) holds in store for you. This harrowing work has stayed with me for days after watching it, and I’m certain that its grip will linger with me for quite some time. I’m only going to discuss the initial set-up, as viewers should go in as cold as possible. A man (Scott Haze) is in the desert to photograph an eclipse. A young teen boy appears to be lost, and the man attempts to help him, reluctantly following as the boy leads them further away from the main road. The boy disappears and the man is lost, with night and foul weather coming on. He finds his way to a chasm
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
Two strangers, one home in a trailer park, and one dark and stormy night make for one exciting feature destined for my Top 10 Horror Films of 2023 list in the Australian chiller You’ll Never Find Me (2023). Codirectors Josiah Allen and Indianna Bell have crafted a tense film ready to burst at the seams with suspense and dread. Patrick (Brendan Rock) tells whoever is knocking at his door as rain pours down heavily in no uncertain terms what they should do, which involves profanity and being unwelcome. The visitor (Jordan Cowan) is persistent, though, and Patrick reluctantly lets her in. From this simple premise, Allen and Bell — working from a screenplay written by Bell — deliver a slow burn film loaded with anxiety and mystery during which viewers know something is off but cannot figure out the motivations of each character — until a secret is revealed and a dizzying third act follows. You’ll Never Find Me is
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesReviewsThriller
Writer/director Olivia West Lloyd’s Somewhere Quiet is a drama/mystery feature with horror and thriller elements. Psychological fear and illusions vs. reality are in constant play. Meg (Jennifer Kim) was the recent victim of a kidnapping and naturally she is still suffering PTSD from the ordeal. Her significant other Scott (Kentucker Audley) is having difficulty with her state, including her distrust of him and her wanting to discuss the details of her kidnapping. The couple takes time away from their lives in the city to spend a quiet retreat at his rather remote family estate in Cape Cod. Not long after settling in, though, a woman named Madelin (Marin Ireland) makes her presence known. She is a brusque person who is immediately at odds with Meg. Scott and Madelin tell Meg that they are cousins, and here Somewhere Quiet begins to further cloud Meg’s grip on reality. Already prone to visions, hallucinations, and flashbacks, she now may or may not also
Continue reading →
EventsFilm FestivalsForeignMoviesNewsThriller
The 27th edition of the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN) takes place in Bucheon, South Korea, from June 29–July 9, 2023, and as always, Asia’s largest genre film fest offers well over 250 films from around the globe. With world, international, and Korean premieres of horror, science fiction, thriller, dark comedy, and related features and shorts, the fest is a cinephile’s dream. Here are six of the features that we can’t wait to watch — and with yours truly in attendance, expect BIFAN reviews right here at Horror Fuel. Following are descriptions of the films from the BIFAN website, where more information is available: http://www.bifan.kr/eng/ Nightmare (Norway, 2022) Mona and Robby are a young couple in love. Robby has just landed his dream job, and they’ve scored an amazing deal on a spacious flat. Never mind that it requires a bit of renovation and the neighbors’ constant fighting and screaming baby. Mona is suddenly plagued by night terrors which
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Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviewsSci-Fi
The Bystanders The invisible-to-people titular characters in director Gabriel Foster Prior’s U.K. science-fiction comedy The Bystanders aren’t exactly guardian angels, but they do have similar tasks in that they are assigned humans to watch over. If you get a positive-minded Bystander like rookie Peter Weir (Scott Haran), you could be in good shape, but if you’re stuck with a more jaded one such as Frank (Seann Walsh) — well, all bets are off. Peter, an anonymous office worker and a perennial second-place personality still stinging from a childhood chess championship loss, switches his charge Sarah (Georgia Mabel Clarke), a music label employee who is trying to get noticed at her job, with Frank’s ambitionless man-child Luke (Andi Jashy) in an effort to become Bystander of the Year. A budding friendship turns into rivalry, and Prior — who cowrote the screenplay with Jack Hughes — delivers a winning comedy of ill manners. Haran and Walsh have terrific comic chemistry together, and
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This year’s edition of the Tribeca Festival takes place in New York City from June 7th–18th, 2023, and the lineup is loaded with horror, science fiction, fantasy, dark comedy, and other genre delights! New and premiere films from around the world abound. Here are four slices of fright-fare from the fest that we here at Horror Fuel highly recommend. Official press and festival descriptions follow, with comments from yours truly in italics. You can check out full listings and ticket information at https://tribecafilm.com/festival. You’ll Never Find Me (Midnight) Official synopsis: An isolated man living in the back of a desolate caravan park is visited by a desperate young woman seeking shelter from a violent storm. As the savage storm worsens, these solitary souls begin to feel threatened — but who should really be afraid? A bold directorial debut from filmmaking duo Josiah Allen and Indianna Bell. I was privileged to get a sneak peek of You’ll Never Find Me, and
Continue reading →
EventsFilm FestivalsMoviesNews
The Chattanooga Film Festival has announced the final wave for its 10th anniversary edition, which takes place June 23–29, 2023, and what a lineup it is! Premiere galore from slashers to science fiction, special events aplenty, and much more. Following is the official press announcement. The Chattanooga Film Festival (CFF) is proud to announce its final wave for its 10th Anniversary event with a wave that boasts more feature film premieres alongside a LVCRFT laced slew of parties, pitch competitions, workshops, watch parties and more. Closing out the CFF After Hours block is the world premiere of filmmaker Andrew Adams‘ brilliant, tense, and timely millennial coming-of-rage story AMERICAN MELTDOWN. After the virtual screening, the audience will be able to tune in to a special chat with Adams and the rest of the team behind the film with filmmaker Aaron Moorhead. CFF 2023 will be the North American Premiere of director Tristan Barr’s cerebral Canadian sci-fi horror SUBJECT. Barr’s film also
Continue reading →
EventsFilm FestivalsMoviesNewsSci-Fi
Sci-Fi London Film Festival, which opens May 31st, serves up speculative cinema and chilling fare galore, from the horror of The Elderly to the mystery of UFO Sweden. Following is the official press announcement. Today the SCI-FI-LONDON FILM FESTIVAL 2023 launches its cosmic 23rd annual programme, which will run from Wednesday 31st May until Tuesday 6th June with seven days of fantastic film. It will showcase a fabulous line-up with 2 World Premieres, 10 UK Premieres, 6 World Short Premieres and 13 UK Short Premieres. Alongside the festival is also doing a classic screening of Peter Watkins’ THE WAR GAME with a live score! Opening this year’s festival on 31 May is the UK premiere of the exciting Swedish blockbuster, UFO SWEDEN by Victor Danell. It’s 1996, and a group of misfits in Norrköping spend their time investigating UFO sightings in Sweden. They debunk 99 per cent of the claims, but the remaining one per cent fuels their passion. Denise,
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesNews
Jeremy Piven (“Entourage”) is set to star in the upcoming supernatural action feature, Fight for Your Life, which is currently in production in Australia. The Golden Globe-winning star will play a soldier who wakes up in a mysterious cell and is forced to face an onslaught of deadly opponents in an ever-changing fight arena – his only goal being to survive long enough to return to his daughter. Directed by Luke Sparke (Occupation: Rainfall, Bring Him To Me), the film also features rising star Jamie Costa, who shot to viral fame in 2021 with his incredible portrayal of Robin Williams in a proof-of-concept short film for a proposed biopic, as well as his Star Wars fan film Kenobi. Costa stars in Sparke’s upcoming crime thriller Bring Him to Me. “Fight For Your Life places Jeremy in a morality battle with himself and a slew of opponents in a vast array of settings. I was drawn to do this film and
Continue reading →
More from Film Festivals
Film FestivalsMoviesReviewsTrue Crime
What do you get when you cross a serial killer saga, a road movie, a thriller, some comedy, a variation on an odd-couple buddy film, and a celebrity chimpanzee? In the case of He Went That Way (U.S., 2023), the answer is a film that lacks clear focus but is nevertheless entertaining throughout. He Went That Way features a title card that proclaims that the events in the film mostly happened. The real-life story involved animal trainer Dave Pitts and the actual chimpanzee Spanky traveling with hitchhiker and serial killer Larry Lee Ranes. Pitts gives an accounting of his tale during the end credits, which also feature a clip of Spanky performing in The Ice Capades. For the fictionalized version, animal trainer Jim (Zachary Quinto) is traveling America’s Route 66 with his beloved chimpanzee Spanky, who was once the toast of highly rated television variety shows and live performances but who has fallen out of favor in the film’s 1964
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesReviews
Imagine a horror film that combines elements found in Hiroshi Teshigahara’s classic Woman in the Dunes (Japan, 1964) with your favorite evil/feral child horror movie, add in a good deal of weirdness and mystery, and you’re only partially on your way to what writer/director Barney Clay’s The Seeding (U.S., 2023) holds in store for you. This harrowing work has stayed with me for days after watching it, and I’m certain that its grip will linger with me for quite some time. I’m only going to discuss the initial set-up, as viewers should go in as cold as possible. A man (Scott Haze) is in the desert to photograph an eclipse. A young teen boy appears to be lost, and the man attempts to help him, reluctantly following as the boy leads them further away from the main road. The boy disappears and the man is lost, with night and foul weather coming on. He finds his way to a chasm
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviews
Two strangers, one home in a trailer park, and one dark and stormy night make for one exciting feature destined for my Top 10 Horror Films of 2023 list in the Australian chiller You’ll Never Find Me (2023). Codirectors Josiah Allen and Indianna Bell have crafted a tense film ready to burst at the seams with suspense and dread. Patrick (Brendan Rock) tells whoever is knocking at his door as rain pours down heavily in no uncertain terms what they should do, which involves profanity and being unwelcome. The visitor (Jordan Cowan) is persistent, though, and Patrick reluctantly lets her in. From this simple premise, Allen and Bell — working from a screenplay written by Bell — deliver a slow burn film loaded with anxiety and mystery during which viewers know something is off but cannot figure out the motivations of each character — until a secret is revealed and a dizzying third act follows. You’ll Never Find Me is
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesReviewsThriller
Writer/director Olivia West Lloyd’s Somewhere Quiet is a drama/mystery feature with horror and thriller elements. Psychological fear and illusions vs. reality are in constant play. Meg (Jennifer Kim) was the recent victim of a kidnapping and naturally she is still suffering PTSD from the ordeal. Her significant other Scott (Kentucker Audley) is having difficulty with her state, including her distrust of him and her wanting to discuss the details of her kidnapping. The couple takes time away from their lives in the city to spend a quiet retreat at his rather remote family estate in Cape Cod. Not long after settling in, though, a woman named Madelin (Marin Ireland) makes her presence known. She is a brusque person who is immediately at odds with Meg. Scott and Madelin tell Meg that they are cousins, and here Somewhere Quiet begins to further cloud Meg’s grip on reality. Already prone to visions, hallucinations, and flashbacks, she now may or may not also
Continue reading →
EventsFilm FestivalsForeignMoviesNewsThriller
The 27th edition of the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival (BIFAN) takes place in Bucheon, South Korea, from June 29–July 9, 2023, and as always, Asia’s largest genre film fest offers well over 250 films from around the globe. With world, international, and Korean premieres of horror, science fiction, thriller, dark comedy, and related features and shorts, the fest is a cinephile’s dream. Here are six of the features that we can’t wait to watch — and with yours truly in attendance, expect BIFAN reviews right here at Horror Fuel. Following are descriptions of the films from the BIFAN website, where more information is available: http://www.bifan.kr/eng/ Nightmare (Norway, 2022) Mona and Robby are a young couple in love. Robby has just landed his dream job, and they’ve scored an amazing deal on a spacious flat. Never mind that it requires a bit of renovation and the neighbors’ constant fighting and screaming baby. Mona is suddenly plagued by night terrors which
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignMoviesReviewsSci-Fi
The Bystanders The invisible-to-people titular characters in director Gabriel Foster Prior’s U.K. science-fiction comedy The Bystanders aren’t exactly guardian angels, but they do have similar tasks in that they are assigned humans to watch over. If you get a positive-minded Bystander like rookie Peter Weir (Scott Haran), you could be in good shape, but if you’re stuck with a more jaded one such as Frank (Seann Walsh) — well, all bets are off. Peter, an anonymous office worker and a perennial second-place personality still stinging from a childhood chess championship loss, switches his charge Sarah (Georgia Mabel Clarke), a music label employee who is trying to get noticed at her job, with Frank’s ambitionless man-child Luke (Andi Jashy) in an effort to become Bystander of the Year. A budding friendship turns into rivalry, and Prior — who cowrote the screenplay with Jack Hughes — delivers a winning comedy of ill manners. Haran and Walsh have terrific comic chemistry together, and
Continue reading →
Amazon Prime VideoEventsFilm FestivalsMoviesNewsStreaming TV
This year’s edition of the Tribeca Festival takes place in New York City from June 7th–18th, 2023, and the lineup is loaded with horror, science fiction, fantasy, dark comedy, and other genre delights! New and premiere films from around the world abound. Here are four slices of fright-fare from the fest that we here at Horror Fuel highly recommend. Official press and festival descriptions follow, with comments from yours truly in italics. You can check out full listings and ticket information at https://tribecafilm.com/festival. You’ll Never Find Me (Midnight) Official synopsis: An isolated man living in the back of a desolate caravan park is visited by a desperate young woman seeking shelter from a violent storm. As the savage storm worsens, these solitary souls begin to feel threatened — but who should really be afraid? A bold directorial debut from filmmaking duo Josiah Allen and Indianna Bell. I was privileged to get a sneak peek of You’ll Never Find Me, and
Continue reading →
EventsFilm FestivalsMoviesNews
The Chattanooga Film Festival has announced the final wave for its 10th anniversary edition, which takes place June 23–29, 2023, and what a lineup it is! Premiere galore from slashers to science fiction, special events aplenty, and much more. Following is the official press announcement. The Chattanooga Film Festival (CFF) is proud to announce its final wave for its 10th Anniversary event with a wave that boasts more feature film premieres alongside a LVCRFT laced slew of parties, pitch competitions, workshops, watch parties and more. Closing out the CFF After Hours block is the world premiere of filmmaker Andrew Adams‘ brilliant, tense, and timely millennial coming-of-rage story AMERICAN MELTDOWN. After the virtual screening, the audience will be able to tune in to a special chat with Adams and the rest of the team behind the film with filmmaker Aaron Moorhead. CFF 2023 will be the North American Premiere of director Tristan Barr’s cerebral Canadian sci-fi horror SUBJECT. Barr’s film also
Continue reading →
EventsFilm FestivalsMoviesNewsSci-Fi
Sci-Fi London Film Festival, which opens May 31st, serves up speculative cinema and chilling fare galore, from the horror of The Elderly to the mystery of UFO Sweden. Following is the official press announcement. Today the SCI-FI-LONDON FILM FESTIVAL 2023 launches its cosmic 23rd annual programme, which will run from Wednesday 31st May until Tuesday 6th June with seven days of fantastic film. It will showcase a fabulous line-up with 2 World Premieres, 10 UK Premieres, 6 World Short Premieres and 13 UK Short Premieres. Alongside the festival is also doing a classic screening of Peter Watkins’ THE WAR GAME with a live score! Opening this year’s festival on 31 May is the UK premiere of the exciting Swedish blockbuster, UFO SWEDEN by Victor Danell. It’s 1996, and a group of misfits in Norrköping spend their time investigating UFO sightings in Sweden. They debunk 99 per cent of the claims, but the remaining one per cent fuels their passion. Denise,
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsMoviesNews
Jeremy Piven (“Entourage”) is set to star in the upcoming supernatural action feature, Fight for Your Life, which is currently in production in Australia. The Golden Globe-winning star will play a soldier who wakes up in a mysterious cell and is forced to face an onslaught of deadly opponents in an ever-changing fight arena – his only goal being to survive long enough to return to his daughter. Directed by Luke Sparke (Occupation: Rainfall, Bring Him To Me), the film also features rising star Jamie Costa, who shot to viral fame in 2021 with his incredible portrayal of Robin Williams in a proof-of-concept short film for a proposed biopic, as well as his Star Wars fan film Kenobi. Costa stars in Sparke’s upcoming crime thriller Bring Him to Me. “Fight For Your Life places Jeremy in a morality battle with himself and a slew of opponents in a vast array of settings. I was drawn to do this film and
Continue reading →
