| FrightFest, the UK’s biggest, best and most beloved community-driven horror & fantasy film festival, returns in a blaze of gory glory to the Cineworld Leicester Square, London, for its 24th edition, this year with pioneering technology & entertainment company Pigeon Shrine as its headline sponsor. The company is the brainchild of Tom Paton, working alongside industry finance veterans Jamie McLeod-Ross and Charley McDougall.
Running from Thursday August 24 – Monday 28 August, Pigeon Shrine FrightFest is a joyful big screen celebration of genre cinema, offering a carnival of carnage, a smorgasbord of shock and a tableau of terror. This year, over five days, audiences can explore the magic of menace, mayhem and mischief with seventy films programmed across four screens. There are twenty-five world, twenty-three International / European and twelve UK premieres, with fourteen countries represented, spanning five continents. |
Co-director Alan Jones comments: “FrightFesters will experience an amazing variety of films, in an eclectic line-up which serves as a powerful tool of democracy, activism, diversity, inclusivity and social awareness. As always, FrightFest is keen to show, through an open-minded philosophy, that the most unexpected and delightful discoveries happen when wide-ranging topics, different people and varied cultures come together in horror harmony”
Another 18-year-old making her FrightFest debut with the European premiere of possession thriller T BLOCKERS, is transgender filmmaker Alice Maio Mackay. Her Australian trans horror was shot with a predominantly queer, non-binary, and trans cast and crew. And transgender icon Eddie Izzard takes on the title role of Nina Jekyll in DOCTOR JEKYLL, a bold reimagining of Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic tale, which receives its World premiere.
This year’s line-up reflects the festival’s legacy in championing emerging and established voices from across the world and sees the return of many talented filmmakers discovered over the years. Xavier Gens (Frontiere(s), Cold Skin and The Divide) brings his latest French deadly blockbuster FARANG, writing/director duo Erik and Carson Bloomquist (She Came From The Woods) return with holiday slasher FOUNDERS DAY. FrightFest also welcomes back The Adams Family (acclaimed chiller The Deeper You Dig), who unveil their latest creation, WHERE THE DEVIL ROAMS, which follows a family of murderous sideshow performers. Plus, Marcel Walz, the cult director of Blind and Pretty Boy, is up to more splatter mischief with THAT’S A WRAP, as is Mexican bad boy Alex Kahuam, director of Forgiveness who brings us Ted Raimi on top form in FAILURE!, shot in one single take.
Other main screen titles include Paris Zarcilla’s breakout SXSW sensation RAGING GRACE, Bishal Dutta‘s impressive directorial debut IT LIVES INSIDE, shot through a unique diversity lens, Anthony Waller’s supernatural chiller PIPER, starring Elizabeth Hurley, underwater frightener THE DIVE, NEW LIFE, John Rosman’s tense thriller of apocalyptic proportions.
Scandinavian horror makes a welcome entry with Norwegian director Viljar Bøe’s riveting GOOD BOY, where puppy love isn’t quite what it seems, and in THE KNOCKING, the debut feature from Finnish directors Jonaas Pajunen and Max Seeck, family drama and damaged relationships enter new threatening realms of horror.
| This year there are three Discovery screens and films to look out for include quirky action comedy fantasy, MINORE, FrightFest’s first Greek entry, POUNDCAKE, a killer satire mixing stalk-and-slash with political discourse, edgy noir thriller WHAT YOU WISH FOR, hallucinogenic psychological horror BLACK MOLD, paranormal thriller SPOOKT, bloody sci-fi shocker THORNS, FrightFest Glasgow hit HERE FOR BLOOD and THE BLACK MASS, the highly anticipated true-crime directorial debut of genre staple Devanny Pinn.
The States, always brimming with genre talent, continues to provide sparkling examples of innovation including Zach Passero’s THE WEIRD KIDZ, where adventure, urban legend and horror blend into a wonderful comedic animated experience. There are also World premieres for Clare Cooney’s DEPARTING SENIORS, a deft melding of knife-edge terror with the horrors of high school, and Ariel Vida’s TRIM SEASON, inspired by the true story of missing women from Humboldt County, California. Plus, there ‘s an international premiere for Austin Jennings EIGHT EYES, which twists the into nightmarish new shapes. |
Pius, there is a special retrospective screening of Lewis Teague’s 1980 cult monster movie ALIGATOR and an exclusive IT FOLLOWS 4K RESTORATION World Premiere event.
EMPIRE STUDIO SCREEN (721)
Director: Joe Lynch. With: Heather Graham, Barbara Crampton, Bruce Davison, Johnathan Schaech. USA 2023. 100 mins.
THE DIVE (UK Premiere)
Director: Maximilian Erlenwein. With: Sophie Lowe, Louisa Krause. Germany 2023. 100 mins.
CHEAT (World Premiere)
Directors: Nick Psinakis, Kevin Ignatius. With: Corin Clay, Mick Thayer, Danielle Grotsky, April Clark. USA 2023. 85 mins.
Director: Bishal Dutta. With: Megan Suri, Neeru Bajwa, Mohana Krishnan, Betty Gabriel. USA 2023. 99 mins.
CREEPING DEATH (World Premiere)
Director: Matt Sampere. With: Monique Parent, Scott Lea, Matt Sampere, Delian Lincourt. USA 2023. 93 mins.
WHERE THE DEVIL ROAMS (European Premiere)
Directors: John Adams, Zelda Adams, Toby Poser. With: John Adams, Zelda Adams, Toby Poser. USA 2023. 90 mins.
NEW LIFE (European Premiere)
Director: John Rosman. With: Sonya Walger, Hayley Erin, Tony Amendola, Ayanna Berkshire. USA 2023. 85 mins.
FACELESS AFTER DARK (World Premiere)
Director: Raymond Wood. With: Jenna Kanell, Danny Kang, Danielle Lynn, Michael Aaron Milligan. USA 2023. 86 mins.
THAT’S A WRAP (International Premiere)
Director: Marcel Walz. With: Cerina Vincent, Monique Parent, Sarah French, Gigi Gustin. USA 2023. 94 mins.
Director: Mark Vesely. With: Lily Sullivan, Ling Cooper Tang, Ansuya Nathan, Erik Thomson. Australia 2022. 94 mins.
COBWEB (International Premiere)
Director: Samuel Bodin. With: Lizzy Caplan, Anthony Starr, Cleopatra Coleman, Woody Norman. USA 2023. 88 mins.
PANDEMONIUM (UK Premiere)
Director: Quarxx. With: Hugo Dillon, Ophelia Kolb, Arben Bajraktaraj, Manon Maindivide. France 2023. 95 mins.
HERD (World Premiere)
Director: Steven Pierce. With: Ellen Adair, Mitzi Akaha, Jeremy Holm, Corbin Bernsen. USA 2023. 96 mins.
FARANG (UK Premiere)
Director: Xavier Gens. With: Nassim Lyes, Olivier Gourmet, Loryn Nounay, Vithaya Pansringarm. France 2023. 96 mins.
TRANSMISSION (World Premiere)
Director: Michael J. Hurst. With: Vernon Wells, Felissa Rose, Dave Sheridan, Sadie Katz. USA 2023. 73 mins.
Director: Anthony Waller. With: Elizabeth Hurley, Mia Jenkins, Jack Stuart, Robert Daws. USA 2023. 105 mins.
THE SEEDING (European Premiere)
Director: Barnaby Clay. With: Scott Haze, Kate Lyn Sheil, Alex Montaldo, Charlie Avink. USA 2023. 94 mins.
COLD MEAT (World Premiere)
Director: Sébastien Drouin. With: Allen Leech, Nina Bergman, Yan Tual, Sydney Hendricks. UK/Canada 2023. 90 mins.
RAGING GRACE (English Premiere)
Director: Paris Zarcilla. With: Jaeden Paige Boadilla, Max Eigenmann, David Heyman, Leanne Best. UK 2023. 99 mins.
MANCUNIAN MAN: THE LEGENDARY LIFE OF CLIFF TWEMLOW (World Premiere)
Director: Takeshi Kushida. With: Akane Ono, Mone Shitara, Takuma Izumi, Shusaku Uchida. Japan 2023. 94 mins.
FOUNDERS DAY (International Premiere)
Director: Erik Bloomquist. With: Devin Druid, Emilia McCarthy, Amy Hargreaves, Catherine Curtin. USA 2023. 95 mins.
HOME SWEET HOME: WHERE EVIL LIVES (World Premiere)
Director: Thomas Sieben. With: Nilam Farooq, David Kross, Justus von Dohnányi, Olga Von Luckwald. Germany 2023. 84 mins.
THE EXORCIST
Warner Bros 50th Anniversary Exclusive Screening, hosted by Mark Kermode
Director: William Friedkin. With: Ellen Burstyn, Linda Blair, Max Von Sydow, Jason Miller. USA 1973. 122 mins.
CLOSING FILM – THE SACRIFICE GAME (European Premiere)
Director: Jenn Wexler. With: Mena Massoud, Olivia Scott Welch, Chloe Levine, Gus Kenworthy. USA 2023. 90 mins.
SUPER SCREEN (375)
EMPIRE STUDIOS DISCOVERY SCREEN 1
Director: Andy Edwards. With: Alina Allison, Kierston Wareing, Jamie Lomas, Faye Campbell. UK 2023. 80 mins.
LORE (World Premiere)
Directors: James Bushe, Patrick Ryder, Greig Johnson. With: Ben Crompton, Bill Fellowes, Richard Brake, Andrew Lee Potts. UK 2023. 87 mins.
Director: Mitch Jenkins. With: Simon Merells, Kemi-Bo Jacobs, Hermione Corfield, Darrell D’Silva. UK 2023. 83 mins.
TRIM SEASON (International Premiere)
Director: Ariel Vida. With: Alex Esoe, Bethlehem Million, Ally Ioannides, Marc Senter. USA 2023. 100 mins.
HOW TO KILL MONSTERS (World Premiere)
Director: Stewart Sparke. With: Lyndsey Crain, Arron Dennis, Fenfen Huang, Daniel Thrace. UK 2023. 95 mins.
DOCTOR JEKYLL (World Premiere)
Director: Joe Stephenson. With: Eddie Izzard, Scott Chambers, Lindsay Duncan, Simon Callow. UK 2023. 90 mins.
HERE FOR BLOOD (English Premiere)
Director: Daniel Turres. With: Shawn Roberts, Maya Misaljevic, Joelle Farrow, Dee Snider. Canada 2022. 100 mins.
THE CONJURING
Warner Bros 100th Anniversary Celebration Screening
Director: James Wan. With: Patrick Wilson, Vera Farmiga, Ron Livingston, Lili Taylor. USA 2013. 112 mins.
THE MOOR (World Premiere) *PART OF THE FIRST BLOOD STRAND
Director: Chris Cronin. With: Sophia La Porta, David Edward Robertson, Bernard Hill, Elizabeth Dormer-Phillips. UK 2023. 122 mins.
ISAAC (World Premiere) *PART OF THE FIRST BLOOD STRAND
Director: Tariq Sayed. With: Johnny Vivash, Catriona MacColl, Bosco Hogan, Kathryn Louise. UK 2023. 87 mins.
THE GLENARMA TAPES (International Premiere) *PART OF THE FIRST BLOOD STRAND
Director: Tony Devlin. With: Warren McCook, Emily Lamey, Ryan Early, Sophie Hill. UK 2023. 78 mins.
HAUNTED ULSTER LIVE (World Premiere) *PART OF THE FIRST BLOOD STRAND
Director: Dominic O’Neill. With: Aimee Richardson, Mark Claney, Antoinette Morelli. UK 2023. 78 mins.
Director: Diego López. With: Jaume Balaguero, Paco Plaza, Javier Botet, Manuela Velasco. Spain 2022. 85 mins.
ENTER THE CLONES OF BRUCE (European Premiere)
Director: David Gregory. With: Bruce Li, Bruce Le, Bruce Lo, Bruce Liang. US 2023. 93 mins.
THE BLUE ROSE (World Premiere)
Director: George Baron. With: George Baron, Olivia Scott Welch, Ray Wise, Logan Miller. USA 2023. 105 mins
SYMPATHY FOR THE DEVIL (European Premiere)
Director: Yuval Adler. With: Nicolas Cage, Joel Kinnaman, Kaiwi Lyman, Nancy Good. USA 2023. 90 mins.
Director: Alex Kahuam. With: Ted Raimi, Merrick McCartha , Noel Douglas Orput, Melissa Diaz. Mexico 2023. 87 mins.
Directors: Otto Baxter, Bruce Fletcher. With: Paul Kaye, Adeel Akhtar, Myanna Buring, Dexter Fletcher. UK 2023. 31 mins + 83 mins
SHORT FILM SHOWCASE 3 (Line-up to be announced)
IT FOLLOWS: 4K RESTORATIVE WORLD PREMIERE
Directed by David Robert Mitchell. With Maika Monroe, Mike Lanier, Jake Weary, Keir Gilchrist, Lily Sepe, Ruby Harris. USA 2014, 100 mins.
DISCOVERY SCREEN 2
Director: John Pata. With: Agnes Albright, Andrew Bailes, Jeremy Holm, Caito Aase. USA 2023. 92 mins.
SHORT FILM SHOWCASE 1 (Line-up to be announced)
WHAT YOU WISH FOR (European Premiere)
Director: Nicholas Tomnay. With: Nick Stahl, Tamsin Topolski, Randy Vasquez, Penelope Mitchell. USA 2023. 102 mins.
POUNDCAKE (International Premiere)
Director: Onur Tukel. With: Ron Brice, Eva Dorrepaal, Pia Paez, Onur Tukel. USA 2023. 90 mins
WEREWOLF SANTA (World Premiere)
Director: Airell Anthony Hayles. With: Emily Booth, Joe Bob Briggs, Mark Arnold, Katherine Rodden. UK 2023. 70 mins.
SPOOKT (World Premiere)
Director: Tony Reames. With: Christen Sharice, Hayley Leary, Erin Brown, Eric Roberts. USA 2023. 80 mins.
PIGEON SHRINE SPONSOR LIVE PODCAST DEBATE (Free event)
AI in Entertainment – Where Do We Go from Here?
TO FIRE YOU COME AT LAST (European Premiere)
Director: Sean Hogan. With: Mark Carlisle, James Swanton, Harry Roebuck, Richard Rowden. UK 2023. 43 mins.
THORNS (World Premiere)
Director: Douglas Schulze. With: Doug Bradley, Cassandra Schomer, Jon Bennett, Bob Shumaker. USA 2023. 91 mins.
TRIGGERED (UK Premiere)
Director: Richard Somes. With: Arjo Atayde, Julia Montes, Sid Lucero, Kokoy De Santos. The Philippines 2023. 112 mins.
Directors: David Redmon, Ashley Sabin. With: Yongman Kim, Isabel Gillies, Robert Greene, Eric Hynes. USA 2022. 88 mins.
THE BLACK MASS (International Premiere)
Director: Devanny Pinn. With: Jeremy London, Kathleen Kinmont, Lisa Wilcox, Jennifer Wenger. USA 2023. 85 mins.
ALLIGATOR (Retrospective)
Director: Lewis Teague. With: Robert Forster, Robin Riker, Henry Silva, Dean Jagger. USA 1980. 91 mins.
T BLOCKERS (European Premiere)
Director: Alice Maio Mackay. With: Lauren Last, Lewi Dawson, Etcetera Etcetera, Lisa Fanto. Australia 2023. 74 mins.
THE J-HORROR VIRUS (World Premiere)
Directors: Sarah Appleton, Jasper Sharp. With: Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Takashi Shimizu, Rie Inoo, Shinya Tsukamoto. UK 2023. 95 mins.
Director: Nick Vince. With: Nick Vince. UK 2023. 71 mins.
GOOD BOY (UK Premiere)
Director: Viljar Bøe. With: Gard Løkke, Katrine Lovise Øpstad Fredriksen, Nicolai Narvesen Lied, Viljar Bøe. Norway 2022. 76 mins.
DEPARTING SENIORS (World Premiere)
Director: Clare Cooney. With: Ignacio Diaz-Silverio, Yani Gellman, Ireon Roach, Maisie Merlock. USA 2023. 85 mins.
DISCOVERY SCREEN 3
Director: Austin Jennings. With: Emily Sweet, Bradford Thomas, Bruno Veljanovski. USA 2023. 86 mins.
THE WEIRD KIDZ (European Premiere)
Director: Zach Passero. With: Sean Bridgers, Ellar Coltrane, Angela Bettis, Brian Ceely. USA 2023. 80 mins.
THE KNOCKING (UK Premiere)
Directors: Joonas Pajunen, Max Seeck. With: Inka Kallén, Saana Koivisto, Olga Temonen, Mikko Leppilampi. Finland 2022. 87 mins.
THE GHOST STATION (UK Premiere)
Director: Yong-ki Jeong. With: Bo-ra Kim, Jae Hyun Kim, Shin So-yul. South Korea 2022. 80 mins.
HOSTILE DIMENSIONS (World Premiere)
Director: Graham Hughes. With: Graham Hughes, Stephen Beavis, Annabel Logan, Andy Stewart. UK 2023. 80 mins.
MINORE (European Premiere)
Director: Konstantinos Koutsoliotas. With: Davide Tucci, Efi Papatheodorou, Daphne Alexander, Apolon Bollas. Greece 2023. 111 mins.
1982: THE GREATEST GEEK YEAR EVER! (UK Premiere)
Director: Roger Lay Jr. With: Mick Garris, Barry Bostwick, Adrienne Barbeau, David L. Snyder. USA 2022. 140 mins.
Director: Larry Wade Carrell. With: Julian Sands, Brian Yuzna, Screaming Mad George, Richard Stanley. USA 2022. 80 mins.
Single tickets on sale now
For booking and programme details: https://www.frightfest.co.uk
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