Hallows Eve is nigh which means one thing, FrightFest Halloween! After Glasgow and last month’s frightfully successful August five-day event, Frightfesters end the year with the annual Halloween all dayer. Today we get a look at the line up for bumper all-day Halloween event. All happening on Saturday 29th October, with a six-pack of festive shockers from eroticism to Lovecraftian horrors.
The day will bring three World premieres, headlined by The Soska Sisters latest venture, On The Edge. The sisters depart medical horror, diving into new ground with a psychological erotic thriller. ‘The Twisted Twins’, Jen and Sylvia also star in the film, will be hosting the screening, alongside lead actor Aramis Sartorio.
American actor Joe LoTrugolo will also make his directorial feature debut Outpost. The film is also the second of the world premiere which is a violent, ever-twisting mountain-set nightmare stars Beth Dover as a fire lookout volunteer forced to face her past demons.
The third World premiere is Tripping The Dark Fantastic. An documentary on the life and work of award-winning composer Simon Boswell. The film comes complete with a live performance filmed at Earth, London. Simon’s work boasts the likes of Santa Sangre, Shallow Grave, Hardware to name a few.
Charlie Steed’s Freeze will get it’s international premiere. An H.P Lovecraft inspired horror, in which an Arctic expedition is attacked by bloodthirsty fish creatures. Death by lactose intolerance in exploitation horror comedy Mad Heidi. Featuring mutilation by Toblerone, fondue torture and cuckoo clock death traps as our intrepid Alpine heroine battles a human cheese-fuelled machinery of dystopian hate.
Fans of The Vigil will want to check out the international premiere of Oliver Park’s shocker, The Offering. Turning the European legend of ‘Abyzou: The Taker of Children’ into an edge-of-the-seat, emotional rollercoaster ride with eye-popping special effects.
Alan Jones, FrightFest co-director, said today: “We’re thrilled to announce our Halloween Saturday extravaganza. We’ve assembled a six-pack of shocks to make this year’s Halloween a happy haunting ground with all treats – no tricks – to sate your jaundiced appetites”
SATURDAY 29TH OCTOBER
10:45 TRIPPING THE DARK FANTASTIC (World Premiere)
Showcasing a live performance at Earth Theatre, London in 2021 and interviews with the artists he has collaborated with from over 35 years of scoring horror, fantasy and genre films, TRIPPING THE DARK FANTASTIC is a stunning record of musician Simon Boswell’s career. An exciting trip through such classics as PHENOMENA, DEMONS 2, STAGE FRIGHT, SANTA SANGRE, PERDITA DURANGO, LORD OF ILLUSIONS, SHALLOW GRAVE, HARDWARE and many others, peppered with interviews by the likes of directors Dario Argento, Alejandro Jodorowsky, the concert features Simon with his 12 piece band, Caduta Massi, filmed by acclaimed DOP Vince Knight.
Director: LG White. With: Simon Boswell, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Dario Argento, LG White. UK 2022. 93 mins.
13:10 FREEZE (International Premiere)
H.P. Lovecraft goes Arctic! On a rescue mission to the North Pole to retrieve an old friend and his lost expedition crew, Captain Mortimer gets more than he bargained for when his ship is frozen into the ice sheet and set upon by bloodthirsty fish-creatures. Mortimer and his surviving crew flee the ship, beginning a treacherous journey to find safety in an ice-bound desolate wilderness. Suffering from starvation, frostbite and a slow madness, they find shelter inside a snowy mountain, but are they as safe as they think, or have they entered the heart of the creatures’ lair?
Contains: threat, blood, gore and fantasy monster mayhem
Director: Charlie Steeds. With: Johnny Vivash, Ricardo Freitas, David Lenik, Jake Watkins. UK 2022. 90 mins.
Plus…GNOMES (Short) (UK Premiere)
Director: Ruwan Suresh Heggelman. With: Moïse Trustfull, Duncan Meijiring. 6mins.
Unknowingly, a girl enters the habitat of a tribe of killer gnomes during her daily run. Lured by mysterious glowing mushrooms, she’ll soon wish she’d stayed on her usual tracks.
Contains: Contains splatter / gore.
15:35 MAD HEIDI (UK Premiere)
From the producer of IRON SKY, an action adventure horror comedy and the first Swissploitation film ever made. In a dystopian Switzerland under the rule of a fascist cheese magnate, Heidi lives a simple life in the mountains protected by her grandfather. Soon her longing for personal freedom sparks a revolution after abduction by brutal government storm troopers. Escaping prison, and the roving eyes of muscle bound inmates, the naïve Alpine girl must battle a human cheese-fuelled machinery of hate.
Contains: comedy violence, splatter slapstick, offensive language, nudity and sexual innuendo.
Directors: Johannes Hartmann, Sandro Klopfstein. With: Casper Van Dien, David Schofield, Alice Lucy, Leon Herbert. Switzerland 2022. 92 mins.
18:00 OUTPOST (World Premiere)
Veteran character actor Joe Lo Truglio, most recently owning the cult sit-com ‘Brooklyn Nine-Nine’, makes a stunning feature debut as writer/director with this high concept, ever twisting mountain nightmare. Kate seeks recovery from a violent assault by taking a job as a fire lookout, but becomes increasingly overwhelmed by her isolation and tragic past. A story about pain, what happens when you run from it, how it always catches up and controls what you see, hear and governs what’s real. It commands what you do. If you don’t face your demons, the demons will come to face you.
Contains: domestic abuse, violence, serious threat, menacing suspense.
Director: Joe Lo Truglio. With: Beth Dover, Dallas Roberts, Dylan Baker, Ato Essandoh. USA 2022. 84 mins.
20:15 ON THE EDGE (World Premiere)
Family man Peter gets more than he paid for when he books a 36-hour session with the sadistic Mistress Satana who seems more intent on making him suffer for his sins. Is it blackmail? Is it torture? Or is it the Devil come for his soul? Will Peter’s faith save him from his own personal Hell or is he already damned? A brilliant depiction of how Kink Culture can heal past trauma and be a source for shocking redemption.
Contains: Strong language, sexual content, violence, sexual violence, nudity,
Directors: Jen & Sylvia Soska. With: Aramis Sartorio, Jen Soska, Sylvia Soska, Mackenzie Gray. Canada 2022. 114 mins.
23:00 THE OFFERING (International Premiere)
In the tradition of THE VIGIL comes the European legend of ‘Abyzou: The Taker of Children’. Hoping to reconcile with his orthodox father, Art, the son of a Chasidic funeral director returns home with his pregnant wife Claire. But his intentions are put to the test when the family morgue receives the body of a mysterious corpse containing an ancient entity with a sinister plan for his unborn child. Blending authentic Jewish demonology and deep Kabbalistic secrets with classic horror, THE OFFERING provides super shocks and an all-stops-out chilling climax.
Contains: supernatural threat, bloody imagery, body horror.
Director: Oliver Park. With: Nick Blood, Alan Corduner, Paul Kaye, Emm Wiseman. USA 2022. 93 mins.
