FrightFest has seen horror fans from all around the world, flock to London for a Bank Holiday weekend of terror, for the last twenty years. Earlier this year however, in light of the current climate, the FrightFest team made the painful decision to postpone their annual August festivities. They promised an extended October event in its place and we all thought that that was that. But you can’t keep a good thing down, and news broke that a more slimmed-down online version of the festival would take place over the usual August Bank Holiday weekend. The news was a welcome respite for those of us that prefer the darker heart of cinema, and today the team have officially announced the twenty-five films that will form the first ever digital edition of FrightFest.
The event will open on Thursday 27th August with something that we’ve all become accustomed to during the last few months, a live-streamed online quiz. Taking on the role of Quizmaster will be Mike Muncer, host and producer of ‘Evolution of Horror’ – the UK’s #1 horror movie podcast. Once everyone’s brain cells have been suitably exercised, the films will begin with Sky Sharks. Directed by Marc Fehse, and starring Tony Todd and Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, the film promises undead Nazi’s riding upon modified flying sharks.
Friday will host four films – There’s No Such Things as Vampires, 12 Hour Shift, Triggered, and I am Lisa. Saturday will expand to eight films – The Columnist, The Horror Crowd, Blind, Dark Place, Don’t Click, The Honeymoon Phase, They’re Outside and Playhouse. Sunday’s line-up includes – Two Heads Creek, Aquaslash, Skull: The Mask, Evil Dead documentary – Hail to the Deadites, Hall, and Clapboard Jungle: Surviving the Independent Film Industry. In addition to those six features, there will also be a live panel titled, ‘Horror in Lockdown’, which will look at the effects that the pandemic has had on the genre. Sunday will end with a screening of A Ghost Waits, a film which screened at FrightFest Glasgow. It’s a chance for those whom couldn’t make it to Glasgow to catch the film, and those that were at Glasgow should know that this is a slightly different version of the film. So no early night for anyone. Finally, on Monday, the final five films will play; they are – AV: The Hunt, The Swerve, Dark Stories, Blinders, and Enhanced, a film described as being in the tradition of X-Men.
Fans of the short film showcases fret not, as they will be available to watch on demand. Arrow Video will also be presenting one of their popular podcasts with co-hosts – filmmaker and journalist Sam Ashurst and SFX guru Dan Martin. In addition to all this, the FrightFest team have promised all the usual sneak previews and trailers, as well as a plethora of surprise guest introductions and Q and A’s.
Passes and tickets will go on sale Saturday 1st August, and details on how to access the event and choose which films to watch are on the FrightFest website – www.frightfest.co.uk. All film screenings will be geo-locked to UK audiences, and will only be accessible from within the United Kingdom.
