Film
news (UK): Film4 FrightFest marks 15th year at new home with
record 64 films, embracing 13 world and 38 UK & European premieres
Film4 FrightFest 2014, returning for its 15th year, unveils its biggest
line-up ever. From Thurs 21 August to Monday 25 August, the UK’s leading
event for genre fans will be at the Vue West End, Leicester Square,
to present sixty-four films plus twenty shorts across five screens. There are
sixteen countries representing five continents with a record-breaking
thirty-eight UK or European premieres and eleven world premieres.
Are
you ready for a monstrous and memorable mayhem of killer claws, cannibalism,
cult classics, murderous musicals, chiller thrillers, graphic novel action and
sick celluloid masterpieces? Then prepare yourself for the biggest, strongest
and most eclectic must-see programme in Film4 FrightFest’s history.
From
the opening night turbo-driven thrill-ride THE GUEST to the UK
premiere of the closing night mesmeric sci-fi fantasy THE SIGNAL,
FrightFest has netted the latest works from genre big-hitters such as Eli Roth
(THE GREEN INFERNO), Alan Moore and Mitch Jenkins (SHOW PIECES), Tommy
Wirkola (DEAD SNOW 2: RED VS. DEAD), Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller (SIN
CITY: A DAME TO KILL FOR), Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo (AMONG THE
LIVING), Fabrice Du Welz (ALLELUIA), Nacho Vigalondo (OPEN WINDOWSand EXTRATERRESTRIAL),
John McNaughton (THE HARVEST), Adam Green (DIGGING UP THE MARROW), Nicolas
McCarthy’ (HOME), Lucky McKee and Chris Sivertson (ALL CHEERLEADERS DIE),
Adrian Garcia Bogliano (LATE PHASES), Greg Mclean (WOLF CREEK 2), Eduardo
Sanchez (EXISTS) and Milan Todorovic (NYMPH).
Plenty
of genre movies have been garnering massive critical attention from other
signature festivals which FrightFest has embraced, including: the moving
and charming LIFE AFTER BETH, the laugh-out-loud crowd-pleaser ZOMBEAVERS,
Jennifer Kent’s utterly beguilingTHE BABADOOK, the extraordinary German
slasher THE SAMURAI, the ‘Glee’-ful STAGE FRIGHT, the Hollywood rags
to witches STARRY EYES, the hugely entertainingHOUSEBOUND, the
unique R100, the cult of the damned FAULTS, the Kiwi
corker I SURVIVED A ZOMBIE HOLOCAUST and Jay Weisman’s sci-fi
mindbender SHOCKWAVE DARKSIDE 3D
Film4
FrightFest has always shone a spotlight on British talent and this year is no
exception - sharply spearheaded by Luke Hyams’ unusual X MOOR, Phil
Hawkins’ THE LAST SHOWING, featuring horror icon Robert Englund in his
best starring role in years, Adam Spinks’ creature feature THE EXPEDITION,
John Shackleton’s supernatural horror THE SLEEPING ROOM, Ivan Kavanagh’s
sinister THE CANAL, Oliver Frampton’s urban nightmare THE FORGOTTEN,
Jeremy Wooding’s wild western BLOOD MOON, Edward Boase’s spooky THE
MIRROR and Simeon Halligan’s truly shocking WHITE SETTLERS.
Discovering
and nurturing new talent from across the globe has always at the heart of
FrightFest’s manifesto and this year’s ever-popular Discovery Strand is
testament to this, boasting thirty-eight films which includes THE HOUSE AT
THE END OF TIME, the first ever horror movie from Venezuela, Matthew, A.
Brown’s startling neo-noir revenge thriller JULIA, Casey La Scala’s
rapture survival THE REMAINING, Chad Archibald’s
maniac-franchise-in-the-making THE DROWNSMAN, the mumblecore
insidious CREEP, the intestinal gag-filledBAD MILO!, the
shattering TRUTH OR DARE, the surprising ALTERGEIST, the king of the
hill PRESERVATION, the bodysnatching HONEYMOON, Lowell Dean’s
hilarious midnight movie WOLFCOP, the cyber chiller THE DEN, the
Australian urban legend LEMON TREE PASSAGE, Ben Wagner’s intimate DEAD
WITHIN, the giallo-infused ANOTHER, the inevitable WRONG TURN 6 and
Ate de Jong’s psycho-sexual horror DEADLY VIRTUES.
Plus
there some brilliant documentaries receiving their UK premieres: Alexandre O.
Philippe’s Zombie culture reveal, DOC OF THE DEAD and Erik Sharkey’s
touching portrait of Drew Struzan, DREW: THE MAN BEHIND THE POSTER. There
is also the World Premiere of David Gregory’s LOST SOUL – THE DOOMED
JOURNEY OF RICHARD STANLEY’S ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU.
The
retrospective selection this year includes restored versions of Stanley
Kubrick’s THE SHINING, Wes Craven’s A NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET, Jorg
Buttgereit’sNEKROMANTIK and Giulio Paradisi’s cult exploiter THE VISITOR,
each with significant talent attachment and presented by writer, critic,
broadcaster Kim Newman.
Plus there is a special presentation of James Ward’s mind-bending
horror-sci-fi COHERENCE by THE DUKE MITCHELL FAN CLUB @ FILM4 FRIGHTFEST in
addition to their infamous, insane in-house party.
With
a record number of female directors showing their work this year in both the
main sections and in the short film showcases, the return of the ‘Shortcuts To
Hell’ competition in association with Horror Channel and Movie Mogul, the ‘Turn
Off Your Bloody Phone!’ entries and the usual bloody red carpet gathering of
stars, directors and surprise guests, Film4FrightFest continues to be the
single most important event of 2014 in the UK genre calendar.
This
year’s guest list and the Short Film Showcase entries will be announced soon.
Alan
Jones, Festival co-director, said today: “Everything genre-wise you’ve been
hearing about - and a whole lot you haven’t yet - has been included in the
programme to ensure our move to the Vue will be the most exciting and
game-changing genre event of the year. Humbly, we cannot overestimate how much
work has been done by Team FrightFest in planning this move in every detail to
ensure your complete satisfaction with the venue arrangements, the operating
duties and the comprehensive multi-levelled programming. While everything looks
to be changing, nothing is fundamentally changing in terms of retaining our
unique, all-inclusive atmosphere and the wellbeing of everyone who attends.”
Julia
Wrigley, Head of Film4 Channel, added: “It’s fantastic to be back for our
eighth year of fear as headline sponsors of Film4 FrightFest. For us, it’s
still a great place to get reacquainted with favourite filmmakers and make
exciting discoveries, many of which end up on the channel. We can’t wait to
settle into a new venue to see what the team has in store for us, while our
FrightFest fortnight on Film4 allows viewers to invite the horror and
excitement into their own home.”
Festival
& day passes go on sale from 28 June. Tickets for Individual films are on
sale from 19 July.
Bookings: www.myvue.com/Frightfest
08712
240 240 (24 hour booking line)
Screens
5, 6 & 7 will house the main event while the Discovery strands will play in
Screens 3 & 8.
For
full programme details go to: www.frightfest.co.uk
To
download images: http://www.cloutcom.co.uk/picture-gallery/film4-frightfest-2014/
@film4frightfest
#F4FF14
Editors
notes:
Dubbed
“the Woodstock of Gore” by director Guillermo Del Toro, FrightFest was created in
2000 by film producer Paul McEvoy, journalist and broadcaster Alan Jones and
film distributor/booker Ian Rattray. Greg Day, the festival’s long standing PR,
became a joint director in 2007. From its cult roots at the Prince Charles
Cinema it has grown to become one of the genre’s most vibrant, credible and
recognisable brands, helping to launch the careers of directors such as Simon
Rumley, Christopher Smith, Eli Roth, Neil Marshall and Simon Hunter. Apart from
the annual 5-day event in London, FrightFest has an ever-growing strand at the
Glasgow Film Festival, hosts a nationwide Halloween horrorthon and showcases special
screenings throughout the year.
Film4
Channel Channel
4’s free-to-air film channel, is the UK’s number one film channel, and the UK’s
4th biggest digital channel. It screens a mix of major
Hollywood and British films, independent and world cinema, timeless classics
and cult favourites as part of an innovative schedule that features regular
themed strands and seasons – ‘Great films you know, great films you don’t’. It
also showcases the films made by Film4 Productions, including the award-winning
12 Years a Slave, Under the Skin, A Field in England and Starred Up.
Formed in May 2003, Vue Entertainment is
a world class operator and developer of modern state-of-the-art multiplex
cinemas. Following the recent acquisition of the Apollo UK circuit in May 2012,
the takeover of CinemaxX in July 2012 and the acquisition of Multikino in May
2013, Vue is now operating over 1,300 screens across 146 multiplex cinemas in
the UK, Ireland, Germany, Denmark, Portugal, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and
Taiwan. For further information visit www.myvue.com
No comments:
Post a Comment