Interview with Johannes Roberts

Bio:
Johannes Roberts was born on May 24, 1976 in Cambridge, England as Johannes Christopher Edward Roberts. He is a director and writer, known for Storage 24 (2012), F (2010) and Hellbreeder (2004).

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Ahead of the European premiere screening of THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DOOR at the Glasgow Film Festival, we asked the director Johannes Roberts to spill the beans…

Q: How did producer Alexandre Aja become involved with this project?

Bloody Frenchman! Ha. He had just produced a movie with them and they passed him the script. He really got the Pet Cemetery vibe. We worked very closely together to make sure thr script was as good as it could be. He would drive me mad on set! But he’s a great guy. We’ve become good friends.

Q: All your movies (F, STORAGE 24, next 47 METERS DOWN) are in the fantasy genre, why do you like it so much?

I love to be scared. It doesn’t happen much anymore but I admire a filmmaker so much when he can do it. But I also love fantasy storytelling. I read Lord of the Rings when I was ten and it blew me away. And then I discovered King and Carpenter.

Q: What was the starting point for THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DOOR?

There is a real village in the South of India called Bangrath which is supposedly the most haunted place in the world. It is totally abandoned and no one knows why. It is all fenced off with signs from the movement forbidding entrance after dark because supposedly the ghosts of the dead roam the place. That story fascinated me.

Q: What was the inspiration for the evil goddess Myrtu?

She was drawn from various Indian deities - particularly Kali. Bt of the Grudge in there as well! But basically I just wanted to cast Javier Bodet - I’d seen the stuff he’d done in Mama and it was crazy insane shit.

Q: Tell us about casting Sarah Wayne Callies from ‘The Walking Dead’ and Jeremy Sisto from ‘Law and Order

Ha! Sisto would kill you if that is how you thought of him - the guy from Law and Order. I am a huge fan of Sarah. Love the Walking Dead. She was just incredible. Got off the plane and went straight into filming in the slums. We had a blast. She got pretty ill though so you can see her getting thinner and thinner in the movie. Jeremy was a great laugh. I grew up on Six feet under so was very cool to have him in the movie. Oddly, by chance, all the crew and Jeremy had just come off filming the worst movie ever made called Air Force One is Down. He arrived on set, saw the crew and was like ‘oh fuck what have I got myself into.’

Q: How much of the film was shot in India?

It was all shot in Mumbai. The actual exterior of the house is where Rudyard Kipling was born. The interior as all shot at film city. We would get to work every day surrounded by all these Bollywood movies. I loved Mumbai. It’s a crazy crazy place.

Q: What had your previous forays into the genre taught you regarding filming this one?

Don’t make When Evil Calls.

Q: What were the challenges shooting THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DOOR?

Hahaha. Everything. EVERYTHING. It was crazy. I think I aged about 100 years making that movie. I loved it though. Mumbai is awesome. It’s sheer chaos and that suited me very well.

Q: Any recent horror movie you would loved to have directed?

I saw they just found a new director for IT - I really wanted to do that. It’s my favourite book.

Q: If you could bring a loved one back from the dead via an ancient ritual, would you?

For sure. What could go wrong?


THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DOOR screens as part of FrightFest Glasgow 2016 on Sat 27th Feb at the GFT Screen 1, 4.40pm. Johannes Roberts will be in attendance.

To book tickets: http://tickets.glasgowfilm.org/en-GB/categories/frightfest

Welcome to Dead Town - Book Release

You may recall recently I published a piece looking at new short comedy show Dead Town, well if not you can go check that out By Clicking Here

To accompany the new show they have also released a book called Welcome to Dead Town which is available now for Kindle and also as a paperback book.

Synopsis:
‘My name is John Diant. Tortured father to a teenage girl, friend to a retro smart arse and brother to a Spam loving Chuck Norris wannabe, only with less hair and a shitter beard. It has been several days since the outbreak and now my home town is nothing more than a dead town.’

Follow the zombie outbreak as it happens in the small industrial town of Runcorn in the North West of England, with journal entries from survivor John Diant bringing you the apocalypse from his perspective, whilst chapters bring you tales of survival from the town.

Welcome to Dead Town is the Amazon bestselling horror comedy series Death in a Northern Town 1, 2 and 3 told as one complete story.

Amazon Links:
Welcome to Dead Town - Paperback
Welcome to Dead Town - Kindle

And below is the trailer for the new online show which is released this Sunday at 9pm on their  YouTube channel

Trailer:

Interview with Can Evrenol

About:
Born and raised in Istanbul, Evrenol studied Film Studies and Art History at the University of Kent at Canterbury. Upon graduating, he has independently written, directed and produced short horror films, which won him several international awards, as well as being officially selected to more than 40 international genre film festivals around the world.

His feature debut film Baskin (2015), based on his 2013 short film of the same title, premiered at Toronto International Film Festival's Midnight Madness section, and awarded the Best Director at Austin Fantasticfest's New Wave Awards.

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Ahead of the UK premiere screening of BASKIN at the Glasgow Film Festival, we asked the director Can Evrenol a few pertinent questions…

Q: What were the challenges of elongating the BASKIN short film ideas into a full feature?

A brief history of Turkish genre cinema and the must-see movies virgins should see?
Please refer to the awesome award winning documentary "Remake, Remix, Rip-Off" (2014) for a brief history Turkish genre madness. Must see movies: "Man Who Saves The World aka Turkish Star Wars", "Tarkan vs Viking" and "Deathless Devil", tho be sure to have your fast forward button close. And last but not least "Dort Yanım Cehennem" whose english subttiles are done by Evrim Ersoy and I!

Q: BASKIN is visually and narratively very ambitious for your first feature…

I guess it is a continuation of the same visual and narrative journey that I've been experimenting and progressing on through my short films. I'm learning as I go.

Q: Lucio Fulci, HELLRAISER, ‘Hansel and Gretel’ … what were your other main inspirations for BASKIN?

Once Upon A Time in Anatolia, David Lynch, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Frontieres, Calvaire, Only God Forgives, Twilight Zone

Q: Ulas Pakkan’s electronic score really creates a fabulous mood. Was it always the idea to invoke an 80s vibe of creepy unease?

Yes it was actually. A mixture of that 80's feel and modern dark synth in the footsteps of Trent Reznor, Clint Mansell and Cliff Martinez

Q: BASKIN begins as an arthouse shocker and then turns hardcore gore – you seem to favour genre collisions and shifts?

It was always my intention to make a movie that begins a as a European arthouse festival film, slow, controlled and orchestrated. But as later progresses into the mad world of surreal horror and a visual attack on the audience. That's what I tried to experiment with Baskin.

Q: Alp Korfali’s cinematography is exceptional. Was the Nicolas Winding Refn vibe intentional?

Only God Forgives, Frontieres and I Saw The Devil were particularly the films that we studied together in terms of light.

Q: Let’s talk frogs…how many did you use and why?

Frogs are doom bringers in mythology. In Baskin, they lead the cops to their doom, in their nightmarish journey. They symbolise the film getting off it's tracks. We used quite a few, although if I had the budget I'd love to have hundreds more...

Q: Mehmet Abi cuts quite a strong impression as Father. Where did you find him and is he the new Michael Berryman? 

I found Mehmet Abi's headshot while randomly going through the old archives of a cast agency. I was just looking for a creepy looking extra for my short film, Baskin (2013). I noticed him right away when I arrived at the set. He was the centre of attention. Yet everybody was looking at him from a distance. I went straight to him, casually introduced myself, and shook his hand.Turns out that he's a car park attendant. No acting experience. He just enrolled at a cast agency 10 years ago and been waiting ever since.

When it was time for the feature, I wrote the Father character with him in mind. But it was obviously a huge gamble to give this most important role of my first feature film to a non-actor. I rolled the dice and sent him the script. Mehmet Abi told me that he would read the script during the religious holiday, while he visits his hometown Samsun. A couple days later he sent me, on my phone, some the scenes that he actually painted. I was flabbergasted. I loved it. I asked for more, and he painted some more. Soon after seeing these amazing paintings I said that's it, this is a much more special case than I thought... After the Turkish premiere of Baskin, his paintings were exhibited in "Bant", the coolest independent art gallery in Istanbul.

To prepare him for his character, I asked him to watch such films as Apocalypse Now, Hellraiser and Zeki Demirkubuz films. He loved them all. His feedback to me was pretty deep and poignant. I was touched. There and then, I trusted that we had a new Michael Berryman at hand! Today, whenever we are at a festival Q&A, it is my great pleasure to hear Mehmet Abi (Brother Mehmet) talk about Baskin...

Q: You already have the sequel written?

Yes we do have a crazy idea for a sequel actually, but currently I'm working on something else.

BASKIN screens at part of FrightFest Glasgow 2016 on Sat 27th Feb at the GFT Screen 1, 7.05pm. Can Evrenol will be in attendance.

To book tickets: http://tickets.glasgowfilm.org/en-GB/categories/frightfest

Competition: Win Five Dolls for an August Moon on Dual Format [Blu-Ray + DVD]

Five Dolls for an August Moon is out on Dual Format [Blu-Ray + DVD] on 1st February! and to celebrate we have a great competition for you and 2 copies to win.

Synopsis:
A weekend retreat on a private island should be a recipe for rest and relaxation unless you re appearing in a giallo by the master of the macabre, Mario Bava (Black Sunday, Blood and Black Lace)...

Wealthy industrialist George Stark (Teodora Corrà, Django the Bastard) has gathered a group of friends - played by a who's who of Italian genre cinema including William Berger (Faccia a faccia), Ira von Fürstenberg (The Fifth Cord), Edwige Fenech (Your Vice is a Locked Room and Only I Have the Key) and Howard Ross (The New York Ripper) - to his island retreat. He hopes to entice them into investing in a new project, but soon the sunbathing and cocktails parties give way to murder, as the corpses begin to pile up one by one.

Paying homage to Agatha Christie s Ten Little Indians, Five Dolls for an August Moon turns the style up to ten. Surrounded by beautiful women, stunning locations and flamboyant fashions and abetted by Piero Umiliani s equally exotic score Bava creates one of his most eye-catching movies, a visual tour de force.

Win This:
Five Dolls For An August Moon Dual Format [Blu-Ray + DVD]

To enter all you have to do is answer this easy question...

Competition Closed

Winners will be chosen randomly and will be informed via email.

Film news (UK): Horror Channel unleashes a fear-filled February of premieres

Sky 319 / Virgin 149 / Freesat 138 / Freeview 70

Horror Channel presents eight petrifying premieres for Friday and Saturday nights this February, including the UK TV Premiere of Daric Gates’ possession  thriller THE APPEARING and the Network premieres of Paul Hyett’s disturbing directorial debut THE SEASONING HOUSE, Stephen King’s psychological thriller SECRET WINDOW, starring Johnny Depp and Renny Harlin’s supernatural cult favourite THE COVENANT.

Other network premieres for Friday nights are: Christian Duguay’s dystopian Sci-Fi actioner SCREAMERS and Robert Heath’s Brit revenge shocker TRUTH OR DARE, whilst Saturday night’s exclusive line-up embraces haunting chiller DARKNESS FALLS and Simon West’s frenzied pulse-racer WHEN A STRANGER CALLS.

Be afraid.

Full details in transmission order:

Fri 5 Feb @ 10.55pm – SCREAMERS (1995) *Network Premiere

Based on Philip K. Dick's short story "Second Variety", this cult favourite stars Peter Weller as Cmdr. Joe Hendricksson, who sets out across the surface of Sirius 6B, hoping to settle a violent labour dispute at a remote mining outpost. However, the desert is riddled with deadly "Screamers", which Hendrickson helped create. These burrowing weapons, designed to protect the mines, have learned to replicate themselves and can also assume humanoid form. And now they have a new mission: to obliterate all life.

Sat 6 Feb @ 9.00pm – DARKNESS FALLS (2003) *Network Premiere

Kyle (Chaney Kley) must confront the painful memories of his mother’s brutal murder when
he is summoned back to Darkness Falls by his childhood sweetheart (Emma Caulfield), whose nine-year-old brother is having the same nightmares that drove Kyle to the brink of madness. When he returns, Kyle realises that the evil spirit who killed his mother is a vengeful spirit that has taken the form of the Tooth Fairy to exact vengeance on the town that lynched her a hundred and fifty years earlier. Directed by Jonathan Liebesman.

Fri 12 Feb @ 9.00pm – THE APPEARING (2014) *UK TV Premiere

A woman once possessed by a mysterious entity uncovers a shocking secret about her past and must face the demon that dwells inside of her.

Sat 13 Feb @ 10.50pm – WHEN A STRANGER CALLS (2006) *Network Premiere

City detective Michael (Will Wallace) relocates to a quaint, small town with his wife Rachel (Emily Brooks), following her emotional breakdown after the sudden death of their young daughter. Michael takes a job in the sheriff’s office and is asked to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a teenage girl. As the investigation deepens he discovers secrets which unlock the realms of the supernatural and nightmare terrors. How far will Michael and Rachel go to fight the dark forces and locate the missing girl?

A remake of Fred Walton's 1979 horror film of the same name, this contemporary re-imagining casts Camilla Belle as babysitter Jill Johnson, who thinks her latest job, in a hilltop luxury designer house, is a cushy number. But then the phone rings and each time an ominous voice asks, "Have you checked the children?" Jill phones the police, who inform her that the calls are coming from inside the house. Jill's quiet night of babysitting is about to turn into a nerve-shattering nightmare of suspense, horror and dread.

Fri 19 Feb @ 10.50pm –TRUTH OR DARE (2012) *Network Premiere

A group of teens at a party play a game of 'Truth or Dare'.  It gets out of hand when one of
the party-goers (Felix) is violently picked on by the others. A few months later the group are invited to a party that Felix is throwing at his parents' mansion. But when they arrive they are guided to a cabin further up the road, to find that Felix's brother is there instead. And he’s out for revenge for what the group did to his brother - sparking a terrifying sequence of events and a whole new twist on the game of Truth or Dare - where the truth can kill you.

Sat 20 Feb @ 9.00pm – SECRET WINDOW (2004) *Network Premiere

While in the process of an ugly divorce from his wife (Maria Bello), writer Mort Rainey (Johnny Depp) relocates to his remote cabin in upstate New York for solitude. Attempting to recover his mental health, Rainey has the misfortune of being found by John Shooter (John Turturro), a farmer who claims Rainey plagiarised his work. At first, Rainey ignores the accusations, but Shooter has no intention of quietly disappearing. The film is based on the novella Secret Window, Secret Garden by Stephen King,

Fri 26 Feb @ 9.00pm – THE COVENANT (2006) *Network Premiere

In the 17th century, five families with supernatural powers make a pact of silence. Eventually one power-hungry family is banished. The descendants of the four remaining families are heirs to tremendous power. Known as the Sons of Ipswich, the boys attend elite Spencer Academy. When a student there is found dead after a party, unravelling secrets threaten to shatter the pact that has protected the boys' families for centuries.
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Sat 27 Feb @10.45pm – THE SEASONING HOUSE (2012) *Network Premiere

Special make-up prosthetics and splatter genius Paul Hyett made his directorial debut with this harrowing exploration into tense claustrophobia, hard-hitting action and rollercoaster suspense. In a Balkan brothel, where girls kidnapped by soldiers in war-torn zones are prostituted to the military and civilians alike, Angel (Rosie Day) is the deaf mute orphan enslaved to care for the inmates. But unbeknownst to her captors, she moves between the walls and crawlspaces of the seasoning house planning her escape. This is psychological horror in the nerve-shredding Roman Polanski style but with an ultra-modern twist. Also stars Sean Pertwee and Kevin Howarth.

TV: Sky 319 / Virgin 149 / Freesat 138 | Freeview 70
www.horrorchannel.co.uk | twitter.com/horror_channel

Competition: Win Confined on DVD

Confined is out on DVD on 25th January! and to celebrate we have a great competition for you and 2 copies to win.

Synopsis:
CONFINED is an intense and claustrophobic thriller that follows troubled Streak (Louisa Krause Avas Possessions) who, in a last-ditch effort at getting her life together, takes a job working nights as a security guard at an abandoned luxury apartment building.

Stuck with Cooper (Jason Patric The Lost Boys), a perverse rent-a-cop as her partner, she tries to focus on the job at hand and not let the dark hallways play havoc on her delicate mental state. But as the night wears on and the shadows begin to move in the empty halls she realises the darkness inside her own mind might be the least of her worries.

Win This:
Confined [DVD]

To enter all you have to do is answer this easy question...

Competition Closed

Winners will be chosen randomly and will be informed via email.

Full Movie (USA Only) - Cyclotrode X (1946) - From The Paramount Vault

The evil Crimson Ghost threatens to short out the world in this Sci Fi adventure!

Edited-down feature version of the serial 'Crimson Ghost, The (1946)', in which the evil Crimson Ghost tries to make away with an atomic device capable of wreaking havoc throughout the world.

Dead Town - Official Teaser Trailer 2016

Jon Donnis Opinion:
I was contacted by director Peter Mckeirnon, and told about his new show Dead Town, a web based comedy horror show set in the North of England. It already sounds like the perfect mix, zombies and northerners! So I checked out the trailer (see below), and I liked it, so thought I would give the show a plug.

We live in a world of huge budgets, overpaid actors and so on, so any time we have an independent team trying to put together something new we should support them. For truly great comedy has to start somewhere. And without people taking a chance at something, we would never get anything.

So if you are a Zombie fan, and lets be honest, we all are really, whether your thing is Walking Dead or Ash vs Evil Dead, there is always space for a new show, and my pick for that spot is Dead Town. So watch the trailer below, check out their social media pages, and if you want to help click on the Indiegogo link and see if it floats your boat. Ok read the blurb, watch the trailer, that's an order!

Synopsis:
It’s the end of the world. The dead have risen and humanity is crumbling. In the small industrial town of Runcorn in the North West of England, John Diant, his survivalist, spam loving, apocalypse obsessed brother Butty and his retro, chain smoking smart arse best friend 80s Dave, are doing what needs to be done to survive – From both the living and the dead!

Based on the Kindle and iTunes bestselling comedy horror series Death in a Northern Town, Dead Town is a new web based ‘sick-com’ and will be coming to YouTube in January 2016.

Mixing comedy with extreme gore (plus other bodily fluids), Dead Town will follow the adventures of John and co, as they search for his missing daughter, Emily, on the mean streets of zombie infested Runcorn!

For a dead town, Runcorn has never been so alive!

Director: Peter Mckeirnon
Cast: Michael Green, Neil Gallagher, Karl Davies

Social Media
Facebook
Youtube Channel

How you can help
Indiegogo

FILM NEWS (UK): Film4 FrightFest celebrates 11th year at Glasgow Film Festival with record-breaking thirteen titles

FILM NEWS (UK): World, European & UK premieres dominate as Film4 FrightFest celebrates 11th year at Glasgow Film Festival with record-breaking thirteen titles

Natalie Dormer in THE FOREST

Kicking off with a special screening of THE FOREST with star Natalie Dormer in attendance, and finishing in racy rock-fuelled style with Sean Byrne’s THE DEVIL’S CANDY, the UK’s favourite horror fantasy event returns to Glasgow Film Festival with another stellar line-up to shock, chill and thrill. A record thirteen films will screen from Thurs 25 Feb to Sat 27 Feb 2016, alongside a selection of unmissable shorts, guest director Q & A’s, great give-aways and a sneak preview of Paul Hyett’s HERETIKS, with the popular director in attendance.

Official trailer:

The line-up starts at 9pm on Thurs 25 Feb with the UK Premiere of THE FOREST starring Natalie Dormer searching for her twin sister in Japan’s most haunted location, the fabled Sea of Trees. The ‘Game of Thrones’ star is making her first appearance at Glasgow Film Festival and is thrilled to be headlining this gala event the day before the film’s UK release.

Friday’s fearsome line-up kicks off with the UK Premiere of THE HEXECUTIONERS, Jesse Thomas Cook’s love letter to the rural horror genre, which is an atmospheric, tense and bloody treat. This is followed by the UK Premiere of Sonny Mallhi’s eerie, jittery and surprisingly moving ANGUISH, the creepiest and most resonant American independent horror since It Follows, Next up is the much-anticipated World Premiere of CELL. Starring John Cusack and Samuel L. Jackson, this adaptation of Stephen King’s acclaimed apocalyptic nightmare is a sobering reminder of the FrightFest mantra to ‘Turn Off Your Bloody Phone’!

The 9pm slot goes to THE MIND’S EYE, directed by Joe Begos. Begos’ directorial debut Almost Human was a FrightFest Glasgow 2014 highlight, so the organisers are thrilled he will be returning to present his second award-winning feature, a loving and thrilling tribute to iconic horror heroes David Cronenberg and Brian De Palma. Expect bloody fireworks, mutant mayhem and exemplary special effects. Rounding off the evening in gory style is the European premiere of Tyler MacIntyre’s PATCHWORK, a modern spin on Mary Shelley mythology, mixed with fun gore and a cheeky tone which will delight fans of classic 1980’s scream fests.

Sarah Wayne Callies in THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DOOR

Getting the packed Saturday programme off to a spine-tingling start is the Scottish Premiere of Roar Uthaug’s epic action-thriller THE WAVE, the most successful movie of the year in Norway, and a Scandinavian smash hit sensation. This is followed by the chiller compendium SOUTHBOUND, a uniquely solid, grim and gritty excursion into the dark side of the soul which is a shining example why Anthology horror is back in vogue.

The ‘horror tsunami’ continues with the jaw-dropping martial arts extravaganza SPL2: A TIME FOR CONSEQUENCES. Superbly entwining operatic outbursts of heart-stopping emotion, spectacular choreography and balletic bone-crunching violence, this was the third biggest box-office hit in Asia in 2015. Next up is the European premiere THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DOOR, directed by rising British talent Johannes Roberts. Roberts will be in attendance to discuss his eerie, evocative and sinister shock spectacular.

Hold on to your entrails as Saturday evening unfolds in gruesome style with BASKIN, Can Evrenol’s fiendish adaptation of his short film. Loaded with surreal chills, atmospheric dread, extreme gore and unsettling perversity. this marks the Turkish director as a bright talent on the international genre landscape and FrightFest is thrilled Can will be attending.

In 2008 Pascal Laugiers shocked the world with MARTYRS, which became one of the last decade’s most controversial horror movies. Now comes the UK premiere of the highly anticipated American version, produced by the house of Jason Blum and helmed by the Goetz Brothers. Be prepared for an equally unsettling ride!

To end this year’s carnival of carnage is an bloody explosion of heavy metal, murder and mayhem in the eagerly-awaited UK premiere of Sean Byrne’s creepy, brain-freezing THE DEVIL’S CANDY, an instant cult classic and one of the scariest ‘under the radar’ movies of the year.

Alan Jones, co-director, said today: “After its biggest year ever, raising the terror landscape bar in   August and our diversification into other major media platforms, FrightFest returns to its beloved Glasgow Film Festival with a programme that celebrates the ground-breaking, the innovative, the unique, the extreme but most essentially all that’s best and keynote about the action horror fantasy genre.  So please be seated for the frights of your lives!”

FrightFest Passes are £70 and available from noon on Tuesday Jan 12, 2016.  Passes cover all films on Fri 26 & Sat 27 Feb ONLY.

Tickets for ‘The Forest’ and individual tickets for the Fri/Sat films will go on sale Mon 25 Jan from 10am. Prices: £9.50 / £7.50 concessions.

To book tickets:
+44 (0)141 332 6535 / boxoffice@glasgowfilm.org / www.glasgowfilm.org/festival

Programme details
THURS 25 FEB – GFT Screen 1

THE FOREST (UK Premiere)
For centuries, the Aokigahara Forest at the northwest base of Mount Fuji has been linked with death and torment. Such strong associations have kept it a cultural marker for Japanese belief in the paranormal world. Legend speaks of the 'ubasute', spectres of old women abandoned by their families, and the 'yurei', spirits of lonely suicide victims. Now Sara (Natalie Dormer) is about to enter the sinister green canopy known as the ‘Sea of Trees’ hoping to find the answer to why her twin sister Jess has mysteriously disappeared. Ex-patriate journalist Aiden and forest path guide Michi are there to keep a protective eye on her. But as darkness falls, fear soon fragments Sara’s conscious as she faces the swelling legion of ghosts that prey on anyone who gets close.

Director: Jason Zada. Cast: Natalie Dormer, Taylor Kinney, Eoin Macken. USA 2016. 90 mins. 18. Icon Film Distribution


FRI 26 FEB – GFT Screen 1

13:30 THE HEXECUTIONERS (UK Premiere)
From the director of MONSTER BRAWL and SEPTIC MAN, and the writer of PONTYPOOL and HELLMOUTH, comes a nerve-shredding American Gothic tale of terror. Sanctioned euthanasia is now an industry and Malison is just starting assisting suicides for the Rite-To-Die company. After a distressing first call-out, she is paired with seasoned veteran Olivia and they head to the remote estate of Milos Somborac, on his deathbed wishing to expire via a Tibetan death ritual known as the Yotar Sky Burial. Soon the shocking reasons why this arcane method has been chosen become stark, staring clear as the demise-inducing duo find themselves fighting vengeful spirits determined to stop it.

Director: Jesse Thomas Cook. Cast: Liv Collins, Sarah Power, Wil Burd. Canada 2015. 95 mins. 18. Raven Banner Entertainment.

15:40 ANGUISH (UK Premiere)
Producer of THE STRANGERS, SHUTTER and AT THE DEVIL’S DOOR, Sonny Mallhi makes a dazzling directorial debut with this compelling supernatural chiller inspired by a true possession story. Teenage Tess has been suffering from anxiety since childhood and is on medication. But when the family moves to a small house in Texas it becomes clear her dissociative identity disorder condition might not be necessarily psychological when she becomes susceptible to spirits of the deceased - especially ghost girl Lucy killed in a tragic accident. Showcasing a breakout performance by Ryan Simpkins (TWIXT, SURVEILLANCE, HANGMAN) playing the withdrawn Tess.

Director: Sonny Mallhi. Cast: Ryan Simpkins, Annika Marks, Karina Logue. USA 2015. 91 mins. 18. Arrow Films.

18:30 CELL (World Premiere)
Best-selling horror author Stephen King brings his acclaimed apocalyptic nightmare to the big screen. When a powerful signal is broadcast across mobile networks worldwide, every cell phone user’s mind is dangerously re-programmed turning them all into instant zombie killers. With civilization crumbling as the bloodthirsty ‘phoners’ attack each other and any unaltered person in view, artist Clay Riddell (John Cusack) heads north through New England in search of his wife Alice and son Tom. He’s joined by a group of survivors, including Tom McCourt (Samuel L Jackson), and together they fight off the hyper-connected horde amidst the total chaos. Then they learn of ‘The Raggedy Man’ and his sinister flock and in their desperation for answers they go in search of him…

Director: Tod Williams. Cast: John Cusack, Samuel L. Jackson, Isabelle Fuhrman. USA 2016. 96 mins. 18. Signature Entertainment.

21:00 THE MIND’S EYE (UK Premiere)
Set in snowy 1990 New England, this violent revenge thriller follows Zack Connors, a telekinetic fugitive, who can move and destroy objects with his mind. Picked up by the authorities and admitted into a research institute run by the sinister Doctor Slovak, despite promises he’ll be reunited with his girlfriend Rachel with whom he shares similar abilities, the diabolical medic is using his patients to create a synthetic mind-control serum for his own power-crazed use. Steve Moore’s propulsive score infuses every elevated genre moment with epic vibes and Begos delivers with stylish panache and irresistible pizzazz.

Director: Joe Begos. Cast: Graham Skipper, Lauren Ashley-Carter, John Speredakos. USA 2015. 87 mins. 18. Thanks to Channel 83 Films and Site B.

23:15 PATCHWORK (European Premiere)
The spirits of RE-ANIMATOR and cult director Frank Henenlotter loom large over this incandescent comic horror.  Three young women out partying wake up in a strange laboratory to find themselves Frankensteined together in one body. Making matters worse is that bitchy professional Jennifer, ditzy airhead Ellie and weirdo Madeleine share a collective consciousness as well as body control. Barely able to keep it together, the women co-operate long enough to make an escape. But unable to come to terms with their new multi-persona, the women shift their focus towards tracking down the mad scientist responsible for their mutilation while also making peace with their former hang-ups. Can they put aside their differences long enough to exact the proper revenge?

Director: Tyler MacIntyre. Cast: Tory Stolper, Tracey Fairaway, Maria Blasucci. Canada/USA 2015. 86 mins. 18.


SAT 27 FEB – GFT Screen 1

10:00 14:15 THE WAVE  (Scottish Preview)
FrightFest alumni Roar Uthaug has gone from COLD PREY slasher genius and ‘Hellfjord’ hero to first class master of disaster.  In the small mountain community of Geiranger, geologist Kristian works at an early warning centre keeping an eye out for rockslides causing potential dangers. The last catastrophe was in 1905 and everyone knows it’s only a matter of time before the next Big One hits. And once the boulders start falling, the tight-knit population and the tourists it caters for has just 10 minutes to get to higher ground… So set your stopwatch now for inevitable and inescapable destruction to begin as nature fights back with drastically shifting scenery and a terrifying monster tsunami.

Director Roar Uthaug. Cast: Thomas Bo Larsen, Kristoffer Joner, Fridtjov Såheim. Norway 2015. 104 mins. Norwegian with subtitles. 18. Studio Canal.

12:10 SOUTHBOUND (UK Premiere)
Genre cinema is an art fuelled by teamwork and nowhere is this more self-evident than in this chiller compendium revealing a circle of death. From the creators of the V/H/S franchise come five interlocking tales of terror following the fates of weary travellers who confront their worst nightmares - and murkiest innermost secrets - over one long night on a desolate stretch of desert highway. You’ll witness two blood-soaked men on the run from supernatural horrors, an all-girl band taken in by a strange family, a man who has to perform emergency surgery with spooky 911 assistance, a home invasion and a rescue mission that goes horribly awry. The Cryptkeeper would be so pleased!

Directors: Roxanne Benjamin. David Bruckner, Patrick Horvath, Radio Silence. Cast: Kate Beahan, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Susan Burke. USA 2015. 89 mins. 18. Thanks to Studio Canal.

14:05 SPL2: A TIME FOR CONSEQUENCES (Preview)
A sequel in name only to the 2005 original KILL ZONE, director Soi Cheang recaptures its exhilarating energy and adrenaline-fuelled action by expanding into Thailand’s criminal underworld. Undercover Hong Kong cop Kit is sent to a hellish Thai prison after his cover is blown. As his supervising uncle Wah tries to discover his whereabouts, Kit learns the jail is the centre of an organ trafficking ring run by degenerate cutthroats. One of the few honest guards is Chai (ONG BAK superstar Tony Jaa in his finest role) whose dying daughter desperately needs a bone marrow transplant. And so the scene is set for an audacious turbo-charged thriller showcasing Hong Kong action filmmaking at its stunning best.

Director: Soi Cheang. Cast: Tony Jaa, Simon Yam, Jing Wu. China/Hong Kong 2015 120 mins. Mandarin Chinese with subtitles. 18. Jinga Films.

16:40 THE OTHER SIDE OF THE DOOR (European Premiere)
The latest production from visionary genre titan Alexandre Aja (SWITCHBLADE ROMANCE, THE HILLS HAVE EYES, MANIAC and HORNS) is an exotic tale of supernatural threat directed by Johannes Roberts (F, STORAGE 24, 47 METERS DOWN). Grieving over the tragic loss of their son Oliver in India where the family antiques business is based, Maria hears of a dark rite that will let her to say goodbye to her dead child and hopefully find closure. Without her husband Michael knowing, she travels to a remote temple where the veil between the netherworld and the living one is thinnest. But unable to contain her emotions she breaks the most important ritual commandment allowing the spirit of the evil goddess Myrtu to roam the earth once more. Now she must protect her daughter Lucy against sibling malevolence at all costs..

Director: Johannes Roberts. Cast: Sarah Wayne Callies, Jeremy Sisto, Javier Botet. UK/India 2016. 96 mins. 18. 20th Century Fox.

19:05 BASKIN (UK Premiere)
Can Evrenol’s homage to Coffin Joe, HELLRAISER, Dario Argento and H.P. Lovecraft is a terrifying and visceral tour-de-force of extreme violence and disturbing horror; Little do a police squad know when they respond to a call for backup at an abandoned building in the middle of nowhere that they will stumble upon a Black Mass being performed by a nightmare cabal of subhuman cannibalistic freaks with a penchant for imaginative blood ceremonies. This is a striking and innovative feature debut of clear future cult importance. directed by an emerging, unique filmmaker.

Director: Can Evrenol. Cast: Gorkem Kasal, Ergun Kuyucu, Muharrem Bayrak. Turkey/USA 2015. 97 mins. Turkish with subtitles. 18. Vertigo Films.

21:30 MARTYRS (UK Premiere)
With both detractors and defenders calling Pascal Laugiers’ MARTYRS a Sadean masterpiece, it was never going to be an easy task for Kevin and Michael Goetz to remake the film but they proclaim their vision is a reimagining of the source material rather than a slavish remake. Do they succeed? We dare you to find out as Lucie escapes from the warehouse where she was being held captive and brutalised. Leaving the orphanage a decade later with her best friend Anna, she’s determined to find the family who tortured her. But her urge for vengeance is the gateway to greater horrors as both girls must endure an even more unimaginable and debauched hell together.

Directors: Kevin & Michael Goetz. Cast: Bailey Noble, Troian Bellisario, Boriana Williams. USA 2015. 81 mins. 18. Altitude Films.

23:30 THE DEVIL’S CANDY (UK Premiere)
Seven years after taking the genre world by storm with THE LOVED ONES, Australian director Sean Byrne is back with an absorbing, unnerving and devastating ride into psychological trauma and satanic bedlam. Unfulfilled artist Jesse Hellman moves his wife and fellow metal music-loving teenage daughter Zooey into a rustic Texas home with a violent past. Soon his paintings start taking on a darker, disturbing and more prophetic turn as anxieties get ramped up by mortgage repayments, local gallery interest in his work and helping Zooey settle at her new school. Then the clearly unbalanced Ray appears on his doorstep wanting to move back where his parents tragically died. And when Ray sees Zooey, nothing prepares the family for the shocking chain of events in this sly, outstanding and refreshingly original chiller.

Director: Sean Byrne. Cast: Ethan Embry, Kiara Glasco, Pruitt Taylor Vince. USA 2015. 90 mins. 18. Icon Film Distribution.
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For further information:  www.frightfest.co.uk

Full Movie (USA Only) - Satan's Satellites (1952) - From The Paramount Vault

A hero battles foes on both sides of the atmosphere in this epic Sci Fi thiller.

Feature version of the 1952 serial "Zombies of the Stratosphere."