Southend’s Horror -On-Sea Film Festival Unveils 2020 Line Up

Horror-on-Sea will be returning to Southend once again in 2020 with its biggest blood-soaked line up of independent film as they celebrate their 8th Year. It remains one of the UK’s biggest independent film festivals and was originally formed to promote independent horror films, which are not normally given an opportunity to be played on the big screen.

Hosted at The Park Inn Palace Hotel (Southend-on-Sea) the festival will be running over two weekends from Friday 10th January to Sunday 12th January and Friday 17th January to Sunday 19th January. Screening over 36 Features and 62 shorts, many of these will include introductions by the filmmakers themselves.

As Festival Director (Paul Cotgrove) explains: “Since we started Horror-on-Sea eight years ago, it has gradually built up to become a major event within this particular aspect of the movie industry. Every year now, we receive submissions from both established and up-and-coming film makers and producers that we can easily screen six feature films per day of the event. For horror film lovers, that equates to a twelve-hour frenzied feast of slicing, dicing, drilling, killing and general murderous mayhem each day of the festival!”

Friday 10th January

10:00am Witch Tales (Cuentos De La Bruja)
1h 18m / 2019 / Peru / Mike T. Lyddon

+ Shorts
Souvenir – 12min / Spain / Dir – Luis Orti
Upir – 13min / France / Dir – Laura Rembault-Ribeiro

12.30pm Death Day – 1h 25m / 2018 / USA / Dir – J. Horton

+ Shorts
Boo – 15m / USA / Rakefet Abergel
The Appieorth – 9min / Spain / Dir- Eli Breeshaw

3pm The 16th Episode – 1h 33m / 2019 / USA / Dir – Jerome Cohen Olivar

+ Short
The Last Minutes – 11min / Spain / Dir – Bora Barroso

5.30pm Awoken – 1h 28m / 2019 / Australia / Dir – Daniel J. Phillips

+ Short
Strange Clown – 11min / USA / Dir – Michael Paul

8pm Nefarious – 1h 19m / 2019 / UK / Dir – Richard Rowntree [our review]

+ Shorts
Off Fleek – 6min / UK / Dir – Steven Dorrington
Shredders – 18min / UK / Dir – Darren A. Furniss

10:30pm Chickens Blood – 2019 / USA / Dir – Korey Jordan

+ Short
Lonnie Knutsengripper: Man, Myth and Movies – 10min / UK / Richard Rowbotham

Saturday 11th January

10:00am The Numbers – 48m / 2018 / UK / Dir – Andrew Elias

+ Shorts
Deliver Us from Evil – 4m / UK / Dir – Peter Boyce
Be Uncertain – 15min / UK / Jack Carrivick
Ruby Rain – 18min / UK / S N Sibley

12.30pm Live or Let Die – 1h 49m / 2019 / Germany / Dir – Manuel Urbaneck

+ Short
Nana – 10min / Spain / Bel Armenteros

8pm Exit (World Premier) – 1h 25m / UK / 2020 / UK / Dir Michael Fausti
+ Shorts
Clean as you Like – 15min / UK / Dir – Theresa Varga
The Cold Caller – 4min / UK / Dir – Lee Charlish

10:30pm Day of the Stranger (World Premier) – 1h 19m / 2020 / UK / Dir – Tom Lee Rutter

+ Short
Skeleton in the Closet – 11min / Finland / Dir – Tomi Malaki

3pm Bride of Violence – 1h 23m / 2018 / USA / Dir – Travis Mills

+ Shorts
Equals – 20min / Spain / Dir – Javier Yanez Sanz

5:30pm She Never Died – 1h 30m / 2019 / Canada / Dir – Audrey Cummings

+ Short
Cursed Granny – 19min / Spain / Suso Imbernon & Juanjo Moscardo Rius

Sunday 12th January

10am The Devil’s Familiar – 58m / 2019 / UK / Dir – Kieran ‘Ran’ Edwards

+ Shorts
Dark Soon – 5min / UK / Dir – Nina Romain
Dead Air – 17min / UK / Dir – Geoff Harmer
Jack – 17min / UK / James Wilsher

12:30pm Tenants (Inquilinos) – 1h 32m / 2018 / Mexico / Dir – Chava Cartas

+ Shorts
The Pit – 18min / UK / Dir – Jonathan Zaurin

3pm D-Railed – 1h 30m / 2018 / USA / Dir- Dale Fabriger

+ Shorts
Bitten – 11min / USA / Dir – Sarah K Reimers
Adam – 8min / UK / Dir- Gemma Paul

5:30pm The Truth Will Out – 1h 26m / 2019 / UK / Dir – Jessica Hunt & Sam Mason Bell

+ Shorts
Bleed for Me – 8min / UK / Dir – Sam Mason Bell
Degrade – 2min / UK / Dir – Sam Mason Bell
The Trade – 2min / UK / Dir – Sam Mason Bell

8pm I Scream on the Beach (World Premier) – 1h 27m / 2020 / UK / Dir – Michael Holiday & Alexander Churchyard

+ Shorts
Blood Shed – 14min / UK / Dir – James Moran
6 Shooter – 3min / UK / Dir – David Wayman

10pm Post Apocalyptic Commando Shark – 1h 23m / 2018 / USA / Dir – Sam Qualiana

+ Short
Retch – 5min / UK / Dir – Keir Siewert

Friday 17th January

10am Bloodsuckers Planet – 1h 7m / 2019 / USA / Dir – Mark Beal

+ Shorts
Night Owls (Noctambulos) – 8min / Spain / Dir – Romen Rivero
The Desolation Prize – 16min / Canada / Dir – Shane Day

12:30pm The Psychics – 1h 14m / 2018 / Norway / Dir- Tomas Sem Lokke- Sorensen

+ Shorts
My Brother Juan – 10min / Spain / Dir – Cristina & Jose Martin
I Confess – 7min / Spain / Dir – Saul Gallego Mateo

3pm The Final Ride – 1h 18m / 2019 / Canada / Dir- Mike McMurran

+ Shorts
Claudia – 9min / Spain / Dir – Miguel Angel Caro
Your Last Day on Earth – 13min / Spain / Dir – Marc Martinez Jordan

5:30pm The Lullaby – 1h 27m / 2017 / South Africa / Dir- Darrell James Roodt

+ Shorts
The Cabin – 11min / USA / Dir – Joe Grisaffi

8pm UK Haunters (World Premier) – 1h 32m / 2019 / UK / Dir – Dan Brownlie
+ Shorts
Diversion – 23min / UK / France / Dir – Matieu Megemont

10:30 Klaus – The Devil’s Primate – 1h 10m / 2019 / UK / Dir – S N Sibley

+ Shorts
Caged – 6 min / Northern Ireland / Dir – Mark Nugent

Saturday 18th January

10am One Must Fall – 1h 26m / 2018 / USA / Dir – Antonio Pantoja

+ Shorts
Big Man – 9min / UK / Dir – Ramman Gautam & Kaushy
Without Light – 17min / UK / Dir – Velton J Lishke

12:30pm A Stranger Among the Living – 1h 43m / 2019 / USA / Dir – Christopher Wesley Moore

+ Shorts
The Vampire of Soho – 8min / UK / Dir – Andy Edwards

3pm Echoes of Fear – 1h 30m / 2018 / USA / Dir – Brian Avenet-Bradley

+ Shorts
Bitter was the Dessert – 20min / Spain / Dir – Diego H. Kataryniuk

5.30pm Bite Night (World Premire) – 1h 35m / 2019 / UK / Dir – Maria Lee Metheringham

+ Shorts
The Rhythm – 8min / UK / Dir – Debbie Lane
Last Stop – 7min / UK / Dir – Steve Jolley

8pm PandaMonium – 1h 25m / 2020 / UK / Dir – Mj Dixon

+ Shorts
The Dead Ones – 19min / UK / Dir – Stefan Georgiou
The Front Door – 7min / UK /The Front Door / 7min / UK / Dir – Andrew Rutter

10:30pm The Hart Break Killer – 1h 9m / 2019 / USA / Dir – Sean Donohue

+ Shorts
Murderabiliac – 11min / USA / Richard Karpala

Sunday 19th January

10am Inner Ghosts – 1h 29m / 2018 / Portugal / Dir – Paulo Leite

+ Shorts
Long Pig – 8min / UK / Dir – Sam & Tom Connelly
One Touch – 14min / UK / Dir – Steven Lancefield

12:30am We Wait In the Woods – 46m / 2019 / UK / Dir – Joe Duncombe
+ Shorts
Deep Shock – 30min / UK / Dir – Davide Melini
Bleed – 10min / UK / Dir – Andre Harrison
The Lost reel – 14m / UK / Dir – Simon Cluett
Idle Hands – 5min / UK / Dir – Simon Cluett

3PM Monster Island – 1h 31m / 2019 / USA / Dir – Mark Atkins

+ Shorts
This Mourning – 15min / UK / Dir / Molly Brown
The Call of the Moon – 3min / UK / Dir – Richard Constable

5:30pm Millennial Killer – 1h 11m / 2019 / UK / Dir – Sam Mason Bell

+ Shorts
Slaypril Fools 82 – 10min/ UK / Dir – MJ Dixon
Trick – 9min / UK / Dir – MJ Dixon
Wink – 13min / UK / Dir – MJ Dixon

8pm The Barge People – 1h 20m / 2019 / UK / Dir – Charlie Steeds

+ Shorts
No Strings – 12min / UK / Dir – Pablo Raybould
Tolerance – 14min / UK / Dir – Paul Laight

10:30pm Blood Tulips – 1h 20m / 2019 / Holland / Dir – Randy Kent & John Luksetich
+ Shorts
Screaming – 2min / UK / Dir Richard Constable

You can find the full festival listing for both weekends below, but you can find more details and purchase tickets from the Horror-on-Sea website https://www.horror-on-sea.com/