Okay, UK, we do not want to hear from any of you that you could not find any cinematic horror-day delights next month. There's already so much going on and now our friends at Arrow Video FrightFest have announced their Halloween 2021 event!
Chock full of premieres attendees will get to see The Seed, Barbarians, The Possessed, Pennywise: The Story of It, Last Survivors, The Innocents, Amulet, Veneciafrenia and Miracle Valley. There's more on each film in the gallery below. Ticket information is linked in the press release that follows.
Arrow Video FrightFest announces line-up for Halloween 2021 event
Romola Garai amongst guests attending
Following on from its hugely successful August five-day event, Arrow Video FrightFest is back at the Cineworld, Leicester Square with a bumper two-day Halloween event on Friday 29th Oct and Sat 30th October, presenting nine fear-packed premieres from around the world. The monstrous movie marathon embraces World, International and UK premieres, as we journey through an unholy celebration of mayhem, menace and murder.
Kicking off the Black Friday gala ghoulishness is the UK premiere of THE SEED, a gut-bursting alien creature feature from Screen International ‘Star of Tomorrow’ director Sam Walker. Walker will be attending, alongside the main cast - Lucy Martin, Sophie Vavasseur and Chelsea Edge - and SFX maestro Dan Martin. This is followed by the UK premiere of BARBARIANS with Game of Thrones star Iwan Rheon. First-time director Charles Dorfman, who will be in attendance, alongside members of the cast, reveals his talent for Pinter-esque dialogue, multi-layered resonance and unsettling tone in this subtle shocker based around a birthday dinner party.
Bringing the evening’s thrills to a fitting climax is the UK premiere of THE POSSESSED. The director of Boar is back with a supernatural shocker inspired by true events and starring John Jarratt from Wolf Creek.
Scary Saturday begins with the UK premiere of hugely informative in-depth documentary PENNYWISE: THE STORY OF IT. With contributions from Stephen King, Tim Curry and Tommy Lee Wallace, this is packed with little known details and rare behind-the-scenes footage, You could say, this is IT!
Next up is the World Premiere of the uniquely visionary LAST SURVIVORS, an intense and ultimately tragic study of isolation and family bonds, starting Stephen Moyer and Alicia Silverstone. Director Drew Mylrea will be joining us.
The lonely, uncanny and often accidentally violent world of childhood is explored with chilling candour in THE INNOCENTS, which has its UK Premiere. Blind writer/director Eskil Vogt’s creepy art house horror has been winning major awards around the world.
Next up is the UK premiere of AMULET, the feature film debut of distinguished actor Romola Garai. Romola will be attending to discuss her freaky and frightening chiller, which marks her as an audacious new horror auteur on the scene..
The 9pm presentation is the UK premiere of VENECIAFRENIA, Spanish horror icon Álex de la Iglesia’s shocking fable about tourism, and the final film is the International premiere of MIRACLE VALLEY, the astounding directorial debut of Greg Sestero, survivor and star of the cult midnight movie The Room.
Alan Jones, FrightFest co-director, said today: “It’s that time of year again, so shake off those summer cobwebs, throw on your Michael Myers mask and embrace the horror fantasy genre as Arrow Video FrightFest brings you its latest Samhain celebration, with nine brand-spanking new features”.
Passes and tickets go on sale at noon on Saturday 2nd October.
Prices: Full pass - £69, Friday day pass - £30, Saturday day pass £50, single tickets - £15
(Online booking only and all the tickets are plus fees.)
FRIDAY 29 OCTOBER
18:00 THE SEED (UK Premiere)
Director: Sam Walker. With: Lucy Martin, Sophie Vavasseur, Chelsea Edge, Jamie Wittebrood. UK 2021. 91 mins.
Synopsis: Three girls head to a luxury house in the Mojave Desert for a chill out weekend and film a once-in-a-lifetime meteor shower for their social media channels. But when a strange creature suddenly lands in their swimming pool, what was intended to be Party Central escalates into a weird tale of horror, death and alien invasion. A cool, surreal and modern sci-fi take on the status of social media influences and the impact it can have on our minds.
20:30 BARBARIANS (UK Premiere)
Director: Charles Dorfman. With: Iwan Rheon, Tom Cullen, Catalina Sandino Moreno, Will Kemp. UK 2021. 90 mins.
Synopsis: Interweaving timely satirical commentary about modern masculinity, greed and social media influencer culture with the more brutal, violent and primal aspects of a home invasion chiller, ‘Game of Thrones’ star Iwan Rheon is the beta male who must rise up against alpha Tom Cullen as secrets are revealed, lives are ruined and chaos reigns. BARBARIANS with its deceptively simple initial premise wastes little time escalating into something altogether different, complex and horrifying.
22:40 THE POSSESSED (UK Premiere)
Director: Chris Sun. With: John Jarratt, Lincoln Lewis, Angie Kent, Lauren Grimson, Jade Kevin Foster. Australia 2021. 97 mins.
Synopsis: Jacob Chandler is just an ordinary man with an extraordinary gift. The epitome of the accidental exorcist Jacob and his nephew Liam have forged a career clearing demons from the bodies of their clients. Of late, something has changed as possessions have increased and when he meets Liam’s new girlfriend Atalie, he recognizes a like, untrained mind. Both must unite to uncover the multi-layers of deception to keep those he loves safe from death-defying harm.
SATURDAY 30 OCTOBER
10:30 PENNYWISE: THE STORY OF IT (UK Premiere)
Directors: John Campopiano & Chris Griffiths. With: Stephen King, Tim Curry, Tommy Lee Wallace, Seth Green, Richard Thomas. UK 2021. 120 mins.
Synopsis: Why did Stephen King’s epic bestseller IT become a major pop culture TV event? The two-part miniseries about small town pre-teen outcasts battling a predatory monster made clowns a horror movie staple and Tim Curry’s portrayal of the sinister shape-shifter Pennywise a scary classic. In this absorbing in-depth documentary, cast, crew and experts, including director Tommy Lee Wallace, teleplay writer Lawrence D. Cohen and ROCKY HORROR star Curry, shine an incisive spotlight on the trials and tribulations of bringing King’s tale of phobic terror to the small screen.
13:10 LAST SURVIVORS (World Premiere)
Director: Drew Mylrea. With: Stephen Moyer, Alicia Silverstone, Simon Lees, Drew Van Acker, Mark Famiglietti. USA 2021. 98 mins.
Synopsis: Troy and his son Jake have been living off the grid for over twenty years. Every day is a fight for survival with Troy warning his son of dire consequences should he go beyond the barriers of the woodland Utopia they have built together as all interlopers are dealt with in the most brutal fashion. But the sheltered and naive Jake is naturally becoming curious about life outside their isolated wilderness. And a chance encounter with a beautiful stranger is about to see their world unravel in a shocking flood of secrets, lies and home-grown horror.
15:35 THE INNOCENTS (UK Premiere)
Director: Eskil Vogt. With: Rakel Lenora Fløttum, Alva Brynsmo Ramstad, Sam Ashraf, Mina Yasmin Bremseth Asheim. Norway 2021. 117 mins.
Synopsis: During the dog days of a bright Nordic summer, a group of pre-adolescents living in a suburban high-rise complex are left to their own devices. Slowly they reveal their dark and mysterious psychic powers when the adults aren’t looking and before long their playtime takes a dangerous and deadly turn. Soon their capacity for cruelty, loyalty and self-sacrifice reaches a terrifying conclusion in this remarkable and gripping supernatural thriller.
18:30 AMULET (UK Premiere)
Director: Romola Garai. With: Carla Juri, Alec Secareanu, Imelda Staunton, Anah Rudin, Angeliki Papoulia. UK 2020. 99 mins.
Synopsis: Homeless soldier Tomaz is offered shelter at a decaying house. Soon he’s falling in love with his other lodger, Magda, who looks after her dying, invalid mother in the attic. But he can’t shake the feeling that something truly sinister is going in this stylized neo-gothic body horror, its mysteries rooted in war, sexual violence and ancient evil,
21:00 VENECIAFRENIA (UK Premiere)
Director: Álex de la Iglesia. With: Caterina Murino, Cosimo Fusco, Ingrid García Jonsson, Enrico Lo Verso, Silvia Alonso. Spain 2021. 100 mins.
Synopsis: Tourists are blighting Venice and their arrogant behaviour has unleashed the rage of The Floating City locals fed up with sightseers pouring off enormous cruise liners. To halt the invasion, some have got organized, giving free bloody rein to their instinct for survival. And as Carnival season begins a group of Spaniards arrive determined to have fun, oblivious to the problems around them and the fact they will soon be fighting for their lives.
MIRACLE VALLEY (International Premiere)
Director: Greg Sestero. With: Greg Sestero, Angela Mariano, Rick Edwards, Louisa Torres, Tom Franco. USA 2021. 90 mins.
Synopsis: David is an obsessive photographer who wants to snap a picture of an ultra-rare bird that will make his fortune. Invited with his girlfriend Sarah to a desert getaway close to the bird’s habitat, they meet Father Jake who befriends them and introduces the couple to a bizarre community lifestyle. Soon fortune, fame and mending their fading relationship takes a sinister turn at the hands of Father Jake’s cult where they face demons from the past, present and future.
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