Somebody alert society’s moral guardians, because the Midlands’ finest horror and fantasy festival returns to Birmingham’s Electric Cinema this summer with another mix of the cult, the classic and the completely insane.

Celebrate twenty years of smart quips and staking with a 20th anniversary Buffy the Vampire Slayer shindig; enjoy gourmand friendly screenings of The Wicker Man and From Dusk Till Dawn, experience some of the best new horror around with critically acclaimed features Hounds Of Love, The Ghoul and It Comes At Night and discover more about one of Birmingham’s most famous art exhibits – Jacob Epstein’s Lucifer statue.

Throw in Japanese anime, a Godzilla double bill, remastered classics, the annual late night party, short films and a journey through ‘pre-Code’ 1930s horror cinema (with STARBURST’s very own Jon Towlson), and you’ve got one wickedly perverse line-up:

Quatermass & The Pit (12A): Friday 28th July, Saturday 29th July & Wednesday 2nd August

Preview screening: The Ghoul (15) + director Q&A: Friday 28th July

Shock & Gore Party: Dawn of the Dead (18) vs. Shaun of the Dead (15): Friday 28th July

Buffy the Vampire Slayer: 20th Anniversary (15): Saturday 29th July

Hounds of Love (18): Saturday 29th July

Multiple Maniacs (18): Saturday 29th July

The Witches (PG): Sunday 30th July

Raising Cain: The Director’s Cut (15): Sunday 30th July

Conjurer’s Kitchen presents The Wicker Man: The Final Cut (15): Sunday 30th July

Taxi Driver (18): Sunday 30th July to Thursday 3rd August

The Living Dead at the Manchester Morgue (18): Sunday 30th July

Godzilla (1954) (PG): Monday 31st July

King Kong vs. Godzilla (1962) (PG): Monday 31st July

Shock & Gore 2017 Short Film Showcase (18): Tuesday 1st August

Martyrs (18) + intro by Alex Davis: Tuesday 1st August

Synthetic Flesh/Rotten Blood: The Turn to Gruesomeness in American Horror Films (1931-1936) (18): Wednesday 2nd August

Very Bad Things (18): Wednesday 2nd August

Jacob Epstein: Rebel Angel (12A) + intro: Thursday 3rd August

From Dusk Till Dawn (18) with Woodford Reserve: Thursday 3rd August

Genocidal Organ (15): Thursday 3rd August

It Comes At Night (15): Friday 4th to Sunday 6th August

Further Info & Tickets at www.shockandgore.co.uk, plus you can find the festival on Twitter @ShockGore.