Arrow Video FrightFest returns to Leicester Square for another Bank Holiday of horrors. Running from Thursday 25th to Monday 29th August, the festival will screen five days of back-to-back films that all explore and celebrate the dark heart of cinema. After last year’s tentative steps back to an in-person festival, which was contained entirely within Cineworld Leicester Square, FrightFest will once again branch out, spreading to The Prince Charles Cinema, facilitating even more horrific movie delights. THN are pleased to announce that we will be supporting the festival as a media partner again. We can’t wait to share a ton of interviews and reviews with our readers, but what films will we be covering?
Today FrightFest has revealed the line-up, save for one mystery film still to be confirmed, and there are some excellent morsels for audiences to sink their teeth into. This year’s event will open with the latest film from Neil Marshall, The Lair. Marshall has a long history with FrightFest and so it seems only right that he gets the honour of launching the 2022 edition. The director will also bring a stunning 4k restoration of his debut Dog Soldiers to the festival, making this year a must-attend event for fans of the director.
This year FrightFest will end on a literal high with the European premiere of Scott Mann’s Fall. The teaser trailer landed online recently and presents a nerve-shredding, anxiety-ridden nightmare. The story places two friends trapped 2000 feet up on an abandoned radio tower and the IMAX screen seems like the perfect, or more accurately, most stomach-churning, place to watch it.
Other films from the announcement that have caught our attention include Travis Stevens latest project A Wounded Fawn. Following in the wake of both The Girl on the Third Floor and Jakob’s Wife we at THN have not so patiently been waiting for this one all year. Hypochondriac, from Addison Heimann, is currently this writer’s favourite film from the genre festival circuit so far and I’m thrilled to be able to watch it again amongst the FrightFest family. Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead’s Something in the Dirt is sure to be another highlight of the festival, the duo having not set a foot wrong in their careers thus far.
With Piggy, Sissy, Deadstream, Swallowed and Family Dinner a few more excellent inclusions, it’s safe to say that this year is once more jam-packed full of some super special genre offerings. Read the official Arrow Video FrightFest press release below for the entire list of titles:
Arrow Video FrightFest, the UK’s most popular horror and fantasy film festival, is back at London’s Cineworld Leicester Square and the Prince Charles Cinema from Thursday August 25 – Monday 29 August for five days of the very best of global genre cinema.
Celebrating its 23rd blockbuster edition with thirty-two world, twenty-two International / European and eighteen UK premieres, the world renowned event leads the way in attesting to the versatility of the genre and this year is no exception, with seventeen countries represented, spanning five continents.
One of this year’s special guests, making a welcome return, is horror icon Dario Argento, introducing the UK premiere of his latest giallo DARK GLASSES, which compares to the extreme thrillers he pioneered in the 1970s with THE BIRD WITH THE CRYSTAL PLUMAGE and DEEP RED.
This year’s main screen line-up is chock-a-block with shock and awe, grindhouse style classics Ryûhei Kitamura’s sensational THE PRICE WE PAY and John Swab’s extraordinary CANDY LAND, the UK premiere of buzz title BARBARIAN, starring Georgina Campbell and Bill Skarsgård, the World premiere of Dominic Brunt’s hair-raising WOLF MANOR, the Sundance sensation PIGGY, Travis Steven’s Tribeca hit A WOUNDED FAWN, Cannes Film Festival opener FINAL CUT, the French remake of ONE CUT OF THE DEAD, and H4Z4RD, the turbo-charged, splatter action movie of the year.
It’s a rich year for ambitious and quirky sci-fi movies and the main screens light up with Mali Elfman’s warm-hearted science fiction epic NEXT EXIT, the sensational sci-fi horror hybrid THE VISITOR FROM THE FUTURE, Quentin Dupieux’s quirky comedy time travel fantasy INCREDIBLE BUT TRUE and SOMETHING IN THE DIRT, Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead’s fusion of DIY science fiction, pre-apocalyptic vibes and overwhelming paranoia. The visionary dream-weavers will be attending the festival, as will Brea Grant, here as director of twisted rock horror TORN HEARTS and star of NIGHT SKY, Jacob Gentry’s provocative indie science fiction fantasy.
Other main screen World premieres include TERRIFIER 2, continuing the gory misadventures of Art the Clown, MIDNIGHT PEEPSHOW, a twisted portmanteau threesome exploring the nightmare side of psychosexual fantasy, horror anthology sequel SCARE PACKAGE II: RAD CHAD’S REVENGE, Andy Mitton’s menacing supernatural horror, THE HARBINGER, Erik Bloomquist’s coming-of-age horror SHE CAME FROM THE WOODS, starring Cara Buono and stylish psychological chiller MASTEMAH from director Didier Daarwin, who will be attending. Also attending is THE CHAMBER director Ben Parker, for his latest thriller BURIAL. He will be bringing along the cast, including Tom Felton.
The documentary strand is as bright and bold as ever and FrightFest welcomes French cult icon Brigitte Lahaie, who will introduce the fascinating in-depth Jean Rollin documentary ORCHESTRATOR OF STORMS. The subversive and explicit is also explored in CULT OF VHS, which takes a trip down Memorex lane to nostalgically relive the allure and passion for straight to video titles and yes, those Video Nasties. Another cult favourite is Chucky, who is the subject of Kyra Gardner’s LIVING WITH CHUCKY. Kyra, daughter of FX designer Tony Gardner, explores what it was like growing up amongst this creative family of stars, eccentrics, technicians and a serial killing doll.
Blood-thirsty hounds, rampaging reptiles, a teacher-eating pupil and a gore-filled talent show…Brit horror hits a bloody sartorial vein this year with the World premiere of HOUNDED, starring Samantha Bond and Larry Lamb, Liam Regan’s EATING MISS CAMPBELL, Pat Higgins’ POWERTOOL CHEERLEADERS VS. THE BOYBAND OF THE SCREECHING DEAD and Paul W. Franklyn’s CROC! Also, there are outings for Paul Wilkins’ THE GHOST WRITER, Steve Johnson’s STALKER, and Christopher Hatton’s RAVEN’S HOLLOW.
Plus, we have the UK’s ‘First Blood’ class of 2022 – THE CREEPING, starring Sophie Thompson, Scott Lyus’s apocalyptic vision WALKING AGAINST THE RAIN, BITE a horror story of entrapment and cannibalism, Will Hugo’s THE GROUP and CEREBRUM starring Steve Oram.
The festival has a proud track-record for the depth and diversity of its Discovery Stand and this year three screens will be devoted to bringing the best new films from around the world. From Luxembourg there is the savage thriller WOLFKIN, from Mexico and Peru is the much anticipated HUESERA from director Michelle Garza Cervera and FrightFest’s first entry from Cyprus is the World premiere of paranormal thriller THE GHOSTS OF MONDAY. Other World premieres in the Discovery strand include Japan’s bold, unique fantasy NEW RELIGION from director Keishi Kondo, the subversive mockumentary EVERYBODY DIES BY THE END, and DAUGHTER, which marks the distinctive feature film debut for Corey Deshon and stars Casper Van Dien.
Plus, there are UK premieres for erotic spookfest HYPOCHONDRIAC, real-time black comedy thriller HOLY S**T!, gruesome murder mystery THE BREACH, serial killer drama THE LAST CLIENT, SUPER Z, which injects new blood into the zombie genre, FAMILY DINNER, which puts gut-punching shocks on the menu and THE ONCE AND FUTURE SMASH + END ZONE 2, Sophia Cacciola and Michael J. Epstein’s spoof documentary and END ZONE sequel in a double bill that is simply fake GRINDHOUSE heaven.
FrightFest was one of the first festivals to focus on the fresh and delightful work of Austin-based director Emily Hagins when it premiered MY SUCKY TEEN ROMANCE in 2011. Now she’s back big time with SORRY ABOUT THE DEMON, a supernatural horror comedy that is movingly funny. Having always embraced dedicated genre directors returning with new films we also welcome back Patrick Rea with his haunting domestic abuse chiller THEY WAIT IN THE DARK, Eric Pennycoff with THE LEECH, starring FrightFest favourite Graham Skipper, BUTTBOY’s Tyler Cornack with TINY CINEMA, a weird, fun and twisted look at humanity, and Alexis Bruchon with THE EYES BELOW, the second in his noir trilogy following THE WOMAN WITH LEOPARD SHOES.
The monstrous and macabre line-up of films go on with a record entry of International and European premieres, which includes BITCH ASS, Bill Posley’s black exploitation horror, with Tony Todd, Tom Ryan’s award-winning frightener SPLINTER, kickass rocking gore-fest PUSSYCAKE, dark Faustian morality tale THE SUMMONED, home-invasion thriller, WHO INVITED THEM?, psychological family horror THE ONES YOU DIDN’T BURN, Spain’s EVERYONE WILL BURN, starring SEXY KILLER’s Macarena Gomez, John Ainslee’s human flesh-eating DO NOT DISTURB, ew body horror SWALLOWED from Carter Smith (THE RUINS), Grégory Beghin’s survival horror DEEP FEAR, and packed shocker NIGHT OF THE BASTARD , from Erik Boccio and London May, creators of the multi-award winning BRUTAL REALITY, INC. Plus, the live streaming age is given deadly digital treatment in Hannah Barlow’s SISSY, Joseph Winter’s DEADSTREAM and twisted social media thriller FOLLOW HER. Director Sylvia Caminer will be attending.
There are plenty of special events taking place this year – THE DEVIL’S HOUR is an upcoming six-part mind-bending thriller for Amazon Prime Video and FrightFest will be hosting a special exclusive preview with talent in attendance. The cast and crew will also be gracing the FrightFest stage for a special exclusive preview of WRECK, an upcoming comedy horror series coming soon to BBC Three. And even more talent will be on display when director Simon Sheridan reveals exclusive footage from his upcoming saucy 70s documentary series, KEEPING THE BRITISH END UP!
For the first time ever Alan Jones and national treasure Mark Kermode bring their stage show DUELLING EGOS: AN AUDIENCE WITH ALAN AND MARK to the Prince Charles Cinema, and Alan also takes the stage in his role as artistic director of the Trieste Science+Fiction Festival, to introduce the World premiere of CONTROL, the first Canadian sci-fi thriller to use real-time virtual production tools, and which will also play at Trieste.
Could it get any better? Well, yes, after three years THE DUKE MITCHELL FILM PARTY is back, so expect trailers, scary PSA’s, delightful celluloid discoveries but most importantly: utter chaos. There’s also a welcome return of the ARROW VIDEO PODCAST with co-host Dan Martin live at FrightFest to chat to the great and the bad.
Finally, there’s an extra pre-festival treat this year…Do you know your Cronenberg from your Carpenter? Your Pinhead from your Pumpkinhead? THE EVOLUTION OF HORROR, the UK’s biggest horror podcast, will be hosting a special horror pub quiz on Wednesday night at the Phoenix club. So come join host Mike Muncer and podcast pals for the ultimate evening of horror trivia!
Festival co-director Paul McEvoy said today: “We are absolutely delighted with this year’s fantastic Arrow Video FrightFest line-up. This is the wildest and most diverse selection we have ever assembled. The mix includes a stunning variety of the latest must-see SF, thriller, fantasy and horror titles from around the world. With a vast array of premiere screenings, special events and incredible guests the Cineworld Leicester Square and The Prince Charles Cinema will be the ONLY places for film lovers to be over the late August Bank Holiday weekend and we cannot wait to unleash our prime selections to our wonderful audience.”
Arrow Video FrightFest is pleased to announce two new presenting sponsors – SHUDDER and 101 FILMS. The Super screen at the Cineworld Leicester Square will be known as The Shudder Screen and the three Discovery screens will be known as 101 FILMS Discovery Screens 1, 2, & 3.
Passes on sale from Sat 16th July, noon. Single tickets on sale from Sat 23 July, noon. For booking and programme details: https://www.frightfest.co.uk
