Cine-Excess Welcomes Maverick Directors

cine-excess mavericks ti west

The 16th Cine-Excess International Film Festival takes place in Birmingham from October 18th to 23rd, with in-person events and online access. The theme of the festival this year is ‘Reframing the Monsters Outside: Mavericks, Rebels, and Rule Breakers in Cult Film’ and includes some very exciting guests.

Guests of honour include American writer-director Ti West (House of the Devil, X, Pearl), who will be the recipient of this year’s Cine-Excess Lifetime Achievement Award. Ti West joins the Cine-Excess family of previous award winners, which includes Roger Corman, Catherine Breillat, Dario Argento, Franco Nero, Joe Dante, and Pam Grier. Commenting on his award nomination West stated:

“I am honoured to be recognised by Cine-Excess. To be included in the company of so many great filmmakers that I admire is very humbling. I look forward to being able to interact with many of the University students.” 

Ti West joins Cine-Excess on Saturday, October 22nd at 8.30pm for a live stream interview conducted at the Midlands Arts Centre, which will be followed by a screening of his acclaimed retro horror film X (2022).

Also attending in person is British director Peter Strickland (Berberian Sound Studio, In Fabric, Flux Gourmet), whose films continually push the boundaries of cinema experimentation and are much-loved here at STARBURST HQ. As the recipient of the Cine-Excess 2022 Innovator of Horror award, Strickland will attend a special screening of his 2012 film Berberian Sound Studio at the Birmingham Electric Cinema on Friday, October 21st at 7pm. 

Additionally, Peter Strickland will participate in an onstage discussion of his work at the Midlands Arts Centre on Saturday, October 22nd at 5pm, which includes a screening of his current film Flux Gourmet.

  

Cine-Excess 16 also welcomes celebrated Canadian filmmakers Jennifer and Sylvia Soska (American Mary [2012], Rabid [2019], On the Edge [2022]), who return to the festival in their role as Birmingham City University Honorary Fellows via a live stream. The Soska Sisters will be tasking MA Film Distribution students to devise marketing strategies for potential new remakes of horror film classics. This special panel will take place on Thursday, October 20th at 5pm.

As part of the event, Cine-Excess 16 will also be running the curated screening season Cult Mavericks on Screen. This highlights the work of new filmmakers from the UK, USA, Canada, Spain, Australia and Pakistan.

Also running across this year’s festival is the themed conference Reclaiming the Monsters Outside: Mavericks, Rebels and Rulebreakers in Cult Film, in which international academics discuss how maverick filmmakers seek to connect with underrepresented communities.

The Cine-Excess International Film Festival is led by Xavier Mendik, Professor of Cult Cinema Studies at Birmingham City University’s Institute of Creative Arts.

The festival also draws in the talents of established film festival programmers including Paul McEvoy (co-founder of FrightFest) and Natasha Marburger (The Los Angeles International Film Festival). Its annual schedule includes visiting filmmakers, a programme of UK film premieres alongside an online conference for international film scholars.

Cine-Excess 16 takes place at the Birmingham Electric Cinema, Midlands Arts Centre, Mockingbird cinema, and online from October 18th – 23th.

A full schedule of the Cine-Excess Film Festival and Conference can be found here https://www.cine-excess.co.uk/cine-excess-16-2022.html.

Tickets for the event are available here https://www.cine-excess.co.uk/tickets.html.

Found Footage Ghost Story MISTER HOWL Illustrated Novel Crowdfunding

mister howl

Mister Howl, the latest graphic novel from T.W. Burgess, known for the indie hit Malevolents and Early Haunts, is currently crowdfunding on Kickstarter and is close to smashing the initial target.  

The premise of Mister Howl is:

A book containing old photos of film footage and notes is unearthed in a private lockup, forgotten for over twenty years.

As the reader turns the pages, a story soon becomes apparent. A young boy, confined to his bedroom, bearing witness to a horrific haunting in an adjacent city block. 

The boy’s only means of recording the supernatural occurrences, his camcorder and photographs. But the medium is far too basic to record the incidents clearly. The horror lying almost concealed between the shadows and the scanlines

Now, after 20 years you’re invited to bear witness to these cursed frames too.

Mister Howl will be a 100+-page Found Footage illustrated novel/art book, following a transcript of Jay’s documenting of the haunting as observed from his bedroom window. The reader is thrown into the centre of this haunting mystery, giving a whole new angle to following a traditional ghost story.

For more information, and join in on the Kickstarter, head over here.

New BARBARELLA Movie in Development

Barbarella

We’ve gotten close to a new Barbarella adaptation several times over the years, with the likes of Drew Barrymore and Rose McGowan both coming close to slipping on the space boots in 2000 and 2008 respectively. High-profile filmmakers Robert Rodriguez and Nicolas Winding Refn have also been attached along the way, the latter having envisioned it as a TV series for Amazon in 2014 with James Bond writers Neal Purvis and Robert Wade on scripting duties. Despite all the best efforts none of these projects ever escaped Development Hell, but it isn’t stopping Hollywood from having yet another crack at it…

Following on from her celebrated roles in the award-winning HBO double-whammy of Euphoria and The White Lotus, Sydney Sweeney (below) is the latest contender to follow in the footsteps of Jane Fonda, and will also produce the film. There’s currently no writer or director attached, but with Sweeney sweeping awards season recently we’re certain they’ll be a rush of major talent falling over themselves to join her on the adventure.

As with previous attempts to revive the property, this Barbarella won’t technically be a remake of the classic 1968 Roger Vadim vehicle and will instead look to the original source material for inspiration – Jean-Claude Forest’s 1962 French comic book series.

Will Sweeney prevail in resurrecting the iconic space heroine, or will her project go the way of the dozen other attempts? With so much potential in the source material, we’re hoping for the former – wouldn’t it be nice to have another space franchise to look forward to that doesn’t have the word Wars or Trek in its title! We’ll update on this new Barbarella as it develops…

Did you know that the original BARBARELLA made it into our recent TOP 100 COMIC BOOK MOVIES OF ALL TIME mega feature? Well, it did – look at her right there on the cover below! If you didn’t pick the issue up when it was released, we still have a limited number of copies left in the official STARBURST store. Click HERE to be whisked there and treat yourself to one before stock runs out!

Kitschies Winners Announced

The Winners for 2021’s Kitschies have been announced. The Kitschies are a “prize for the year’s most progressive, intelligent and entertaining novels containing elements of the speculative and the fantastic”. The award is famous for its unique Tentacle trophies. You can find out more about each prize via the award’s sponsor, Blackwell’s Books, here.

The awards were announced via a special ceremony online on 12th of October, 2022. The winners are below:

The Red Tentacle (Novel)

The Golden Tentacle (Debut)

The Inky Tentacle (Cover Art)

  • The Seep by Chana Porter, Cover Art by Julia Lloyd  (Vintage)

The Glentacle (Special)
A discretionary award in memory of Glen Mehn, aka The Glentacle, for services to the SF/F community. 
This year it was awarded to Ra Page, who is the CEO and Founder of Comma Press, a not-for-profit publisher and development agency specialising in short fiction from the UK and beyond.

New WICKER MAN Remake in Development

You’d think ‘the powers that be’ would have learnt their lesson back in 2006 when Neil LaBute’s ill-advised remake crashed and burned at the box office, but here we are again! Though that colossal misfire has admittedly gone on to gain a small cult following of its own thanks solely to the sensationally deranged central performance by Nicolas Cage (“Not the bees! NOT THE BEES!”), one thing was made clearly evident – some movies should simply remain untouched. Even the director of the original Robin Hardy himself felt the ire of fans when he tried to cash in with his “spiritual sequel” The Wicker Tree in 2011. Rightly so. It was rubbish.

If you can get behind the idea of revisiting The Wicker Man once more, then we already have a small bit of promising news in that the wonderful Andy Serkis is involved via his production company The Imaginarium, who will be developing the remake. Can you picture the actor being able to resist bagging one of the two iconic roles (Sgt. Neil Howie or Lord Summerisle) for himself? Neither can we, and we’re certainly open to either. Also interesting is that this version will actually be a TV series, allowing for a much deeper exploration of Summerilse’s shady shenanigans.

Misfits fans will be delighted to learn that the beloved British show’s creator Howard Overman is overseeing The Wicker Man. Overman has gone on to amass some serious writing credentials on such genre-winners as Merlin, Atlantis, Future Man, and most recently War of the Worlds, which has just finished its third season on Epix (and is coming October 19th to Disney+ in the UK). All signs point to the project being in pretty safe hands at this point.

Little is known as to the approach Overman is taking with the story, but the quotes given to Deadline (who broke the news) describe the series as “bold, shocking, and unique” (we should bloody hope so!), that will “explore the same themes of sacrifice, superstition, and ritual that were at [The Wicker Man’s] core”. It’s also been confirmed that the action will take place in present day, rather than revisit the ‘70s setting.

We’ll have more on The Wicker Man as it develops. In the meantime, join us around the Maypole as we pay tribute to the King of the Harvest in hope that he gifts a bountiful new TV show with which to nourish us!

Exclusive: Tense Clip from Allegorical Horror TAKE BACK THE NIGHT

The award-winning horror film Take Back the Night, the debut feature from writer/director Gia Elliot is out now on Blu-ray from Arrow Video and we have an exclusive clip to whet your appetite…

Finding herself the victim of a violent monster attack, Jane launches a vigilante campaign to hunt the beast that tried to kill her. But her troubling history of drug use and mental illness bubbles to the surface, causing her family, community and the authorities to question her account. Alone in her fight, Jane starts to doubt her own memory of the attack… and to wonder if the monster exists at all.

Fuelled by formidable female talent both in front of and behind the camera, Take Back the Night is a terrifying suspense thriller that’s both an eye-opening exposé and a powerful rallying cry.

SPECIAL EDITION CONTENTS

• High Definition Blu-Ray (1080p) presentation

• Original 5.1 DTS-HD MA surround audio

• Optional English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing

• Audio commentary by writer-director Gia Elliot and Alexandra Heller-Nicholas author of Rape Revenge Films: A Critical Study

• Please Don’t Say the Word ‘Monster’ on National Television, a visual essay by film critic Emma Westwood

• Trauma and Space, a visual essay by film critic Cerise Howard exploring the idea of ‘safe spaces’, sanctuary and vulnerability in Take Back the Night

• What is a Body?, a visual essay by film critic Justine Smith examining bodily autonomy and perception in the digital age

• #MonstersAreReal, a visual essay by film critic BJ Colangelo looking at survivor unity, sexual violence, and social media

• Theatrical trailer

• Image galleries

• Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Nicole Rifkin

FIRST PRESSING ONLY: Illustrated collector’s booklet featuring a round table discussion of the film by Anna Bogutskaya, Alexandra Heller-Nicholas and Valeria Villegas Lindvall, plus a double-sided fold-out poster featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Nicole Rifkin.

You can check out the full harrowing trailer below…

Take Back the Night is available now to stream on ARROW and to buy on Blu-ray from Arrow Video

Meet Uncle Fester in New Trailer for WEDNESDAY

wednesday netflix

Though the series won’t arrive until well after the Halloween season has wrapped (which we have to admit is a tad curious), Netflix has given Addams Family fans an early treat with the unveiling of the new incarnation of Uncle Fester in this great second trailer for Wednesday.

We won’t spoil the surprise upfront if you haven’t seen the promo yet, but we’re certainly very happy to see this particular comedy legend join the fabulous cast! 

Synopsis:

WEDNESDAY – starring Jenna Ortega in the title role, alongside Catherine Zeta-Jones, Luis Guzman, Gwendoline Christie, Christina Ricci and more – is a sleuthing, supernaturally infused mystery charting Wednesday Addams’ years as a student at Nevermore Academy. Snap snap.

Tim Burton’s WEDNESDAY will premiere on November 23rd.

Check Out An Exclusive Clip from Sci-Fi Thriller VESPER

vesper exclusive clip

Vesper is a new sci-fi thriller heading to cinemas and on-demand from October 21st, and we have an exclusive clip to share below…

Set after the collapse of Earth’s ecosystem, this immersive and powerful sci-fi thriller follows Vesper (Raffiella Chapman, His Dark Materials), a headstrong 13-year-old girl surviving in the remnants of a strange and dangerous world with her ailing father, Darius (Richard Brake, Game of Thrones). When Vesper finds the mysterious Camellia (Rosy McEwen, The Alienist), alone and disoriented after a crash, she agrees to help find her missing companion in exchange for safe passage. Vesper soon discovers brutal neighbour Jonas (Eddie Marsan, Sherlock Holmes) is searching for Camellia, who harbours a life-changing secret. Forced into a dangerous adventure, Vesper must rely on her wits and bio-hacking abilities to unlock the key to an alternate future.

Here’s the exclusive clip, ‘Creations’:

You can also watch the trailer for Vesper here:

Vesper is directed by Kristina Buozyte and Bruno Samper (Vanishing Waves), who also co-wrote the film with Brian Clark (Not Funny, The Happiest Day of the Year). You can catch it in cinemas and on-demand on October 21st.

FrightFest Team Up with The Damned to Premiere Concert Film

damned frightfest

Back in 2019, seminal punk band The Damned performed a special show at the London Palladium named A Night of a Thousand Vampires. Now, the concert film of that performance will debut as part of FrightFest’s Halloween celebration.

The film, directed by Martin Gooch (Death), will premiere at Cineworld Leicester Square on October 27th ahead of the official release of the film and live album on 28th. Following the premiere screening, there will be a Q&A with band members Dave Vanian, Captain Sensible, Paul Gray, Monty Oxymoron, and also director Gooch.

Ian Rattray, Co-director of FrightFest says: “We’re thrilled to be hosting this special screening in partnership with THE DAMNED, one of the greatest British rock bands ever. It will indeed be a night to remember for those of us amongst the living… and the undead!”

With the band and audience in full vampire attire, A Night of A Thousand Vampires sees David Vanian transform from Dracula into Nosferatu, ‘Neat Neat Neat’ morph into ‘Bela Lugosi’s Dead’, and fire-eaters and trapeze artists dazzle to a set that includes classics such as ‘Wait For the Blackout’ and rare performances of appropriate covers like ‘People Are Strange’ and ‘Eloise’.

Now in its 22nd year, FrightFest is holding their Halloween extravaganza on Saturday 29 Oct with screenings including The Soska Sisters’ On The Edge, Joe LoTruglio’s debut feature Outpost, documentary premiere Tripping The Dark Fantastic and many more. The spooky celebrations start early this year, with The Damned’s exclusive premiere on Thursday, October 27th.

Tickets for THE DAMNED A NIGHT OF A THOUSAND VAMPIRES premiere are on sale now.

Tickets cost £15 + transaction fees.

pics: Dod Morrison