Following on from its frightfully successful August five-day event, FrightFest, the UK’s biggest genre film festival, is back at the Cineworld, Leicester Square with a bumper all-day Halloween event on Saturday 29th October, featuring a six-pack of festive shockers.
Embracing three World premieres, the line-up is headlined by The Soska Sisters’ latest venture, On The Edge. Taking a departure from medical horror, Jen and Sylvia delve into new ground with this tantalising psychological erotic thriller. ‘The Twisted Twins’, who also star in the film, will be hosting the screening, alongside lead actor Aramis Sartorio.
Also receiving its World Premiere is US actor Joe LoTruglio’s debut feature Outpost. This gripping, violent, ever-twisting mountain-set nightmare stars Beth Dover as a fire lookout volunteer forced to face her past demons. Both Joe and Beth will be in attendance for this gala screening.
The third World premiere at FrightFest is Tripping The Dark Fantastic, a documentary on the life and work of award-winning composer Simon Boswell, complete with a live performance filmed at Earth, London. The highly regarded composer, who can boast Santa Sangre, Phenomena, Shallow Grave, Hardware and Photographing Fairies, amongst his credits, will be in attendance.
Receiving its International premiere is Charlie Steeds’ H.P Lovecraft-inspired Freeze, in which an Arctic expedition is attacked by bloodthirsty fish creatures. It’s a chiller in every sense of the word! Leading members of the cast will be joining the FrightFest screening, including Johnny Vivash, David Lenik, Beatrice Barrila, Jake Watkins and Ricardo Freitas.
What’s the current exploitation hit on the fantasy festival circuit? Well, that would be Mad Heidi, an action adventure horror comedy featuring death by lactose intolerance, mutilation by Toblerone, fondue torture and cuckoo clock death traps as our intrepid Alpine heroine battles a human cheese-fuelled machinery of dystopian hate. And FrightFest welcomes actor Alice Lucy, Mad Heidi herself, to introduce the UK premiere, alongside the directors, Johannes Hartmann & Sandro Klopfstein, plus other leading cast and crew.
Completing the line-up is the International Premiere of The Offering. Director Oliver Park’s shocker, in the tradition of The Vigil, turns 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.”
Passes and tickets go on sale at noon on Saturday 1st October. Prices: Full pass: £55, single tickets: £15 + booking fees. Book here.
FULL LINE UP:
SATURDAY 29 OCTOBER
10:45 – TRIPPING THE DARK FANTASTIC (World Premiere)
Director: LG White. With: Simon Boswell, Alejandro Jodorowsky, Dario Argento, LG White. UK 2022. 93 mins.
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.
13:10 – FREEZE (International Premiere)
Director: Charlie Steeds. With: Johnny Vivash, Ricardo Freitas, David Lenik, Jake Watkins. UK 2022. 90 mins.
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
+ GNOMES (UK Premiere)
Director: Ruwan Suresh Heggelman. With: Moïse Trustfull, Duncan Meijiring. 6mins.
Contains: Contains splatter / gore.
15:35 – MAD HEIDI (UK Premiere)
Directors: Johannes Hartmann, Sandro Klopfstein. With: Casper Van Dien, David Schofield, Alice Lucy, Leon Herbert. Switzerland 2022. 92 mins.
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.
18:00 – OUTPOST (World Premiere)
Director: Joe Lo Truglio. With: Beth Dover, Dallas Roberts, Dylan Baker, Ato Essandoh. USA 2022. 84 mins.
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.
20:15 – ON THE EDGE (World Premiere)
Directors: Jen & Sylvia Soska. With: Aramis Sartorio, Jen Soska, Sylvia Soska, Mackenzie Gray. Canada 2022. 114 mins.
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,
23:00 – THE OFFERING (International Premiere)
Director: Oliver Park. With: Nick Blood, Alan Corduner, Paul Kaye, Emm Wiseman. USA 2022. 93 mins.
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.
View the full FrightFest Halloween programme here.
