‘Who’s Watching’ to open this years Soho Horror, full line-up revealed

Christmas is just around the corner, which means out favourite event of the year – Soho Horror Film Festival – is nearly upon us. Now entering into it’s sixth year, the festival will run in person from 22nd – 24th November, with a virtual version arriving a week later, 28th November – 1st December. Today, festival director Mitch Harrod has revealed the line-up for both events, read on to see what dark delights have been cooked up.

Find your fear this winter as the award-winning Soho Horror Film Festival returns with its mammoth 2024 hybrid edition. Spread over two consecutive weekends and boasting two distinct film programmes: the festival returns to the Whirled Cinema, Brixton for its 6^th in-person event, followed by a 4 day long online home-invasion of unique film screenings and special events. Boasting over 80 films, spanning from 17 countries, the footage has truly been found… and it’s bigger and scarier than ever before.   

In honour of the 25^th anniversary of the seminal genre classic The Blair Witch Project, the festival will feature a strand showcase of contemporary found footage excellence. Opening the festival is the International Premiere of Tim Kasher’s voyeuristic and provocative WHO’S WATCHING, a cripplingly creepy character study of infatuation that boasts an unforgettable performance from Zachary Ray Sherman. True crime heads will love the LONGLEGS meets LAKE MUNGO meets Lovecraft documentary STRANGE HARVEST: OCCULT MURDER IN THE INLAND EMPIRE from Grave Encounter’s Stuart Ortiz; and fellow found footage auteur Koji Shiraishi (NOROI) returns to formal filmmaking in his unbelievably twisting haunted shocker HOUSE OF SAYURI, which has it’s U.K. Premiere at the festival. 

The virtual festival also features found footage frights with the UK Premiere of Johannes Grenzfurthner’s Reich controversial SOLVENT, cult fleeing desert trek THE BUILDOUT, Egyptian tomb raiding THE CEREMONY IS ABOUT TO BEGIN, Canadian camping nightmare THE STICKMAN’S HOLLOW and the mind-melding multi-format meta-cinema meltdown that is Matt Warren’s DELICATE ARCH, having its European Premiere. 

More Burkittsville brilliance comes at the in-person festival, which will feature a one-of-a-kind Blair Witch mini-museum alongside an immersive lore treasure hunt; while the virtual festival will host a special live episode of the Development Hell Podcast discussing the long lost unmade Blair Witch sequels. And to top it off, the festival is running a short film bumper competition themed to the legendary film; so don’t hide in the corner and become the next Heather, Mike or Josh. 

Beyond that strand, both editions of the festival are stacked with more highlights than there are Amityville sequels. Playing in London: monolithic creatures and existential dread in the U.K. Premiere of THE COMPLEX FORMS, gruelling heroine hyperviolence in Can Evrenol’s anti-revenge opus SAYARA and joyous grindhouse fusion unlike anything you’ve ever seen before in the Estonian West End musical massacre CHAINSAWS WERE SINGING. Blood continues to flow liberally when a kidnapping goes awry with the Onetti brothers’ 1978, as children at the end of the world come of age with Isaac Ezban’s sobering PARVULOS, and the festival is set to be joined by Gore Things Podcast for a special live presentation about penis trauma in cinema: DICKSTRUCTION. 

Queer horror flourishes in typical festival tradition, it’s National Lampoon’s: Murder in Toronto with the European Premiere of the hilarious MOTHER FATHER SISTER BROTHER FRANK, Michael Varrati makes his feature debut with the International Premiere of THERE’S A ZOMBIE OUTSIDE, the U.K. Premiere of the sombre sapphic maternal horror BIRTHRITE which won the Best Film Audience award at Popcorn Fright, and featuring a truly breakout performance from SISSY’s Daniel Monks serving absolute terror and soul breaking emotion in Timothy Marshall’s IN THE ROOM WHERE HE WAITS. And then closing the in-person festival is a whiplash double bill of diametric opposites: nail biting tension in the English Premiere of Jack Clark & Jim Weir’s feral bachelor party nightmare BIRDEATER, and absolute puppet party perfection with Steve Kostanski’s FRANKIE FREAKO.

And for those attending the virtual festival, the tricks and treats are just as plentiful. Receiving their European Premieres are the 90s set resurrection ritual two-hander LIZZIE LAZARUS from Aviv Rubinstien, time loop tummy tickler SOMEONE DIES! and Benjamin Wong’s supernatural emotional wrecking ball BA. Eldritch terrors come in the form of cosmic conspiracy theory in Nils Alatalos VOIDCALLER, and in more bowel breaking splatter in SCARED SHITLESS. 

Festival alumni and favourites Christopher Bickel, Alice Maio Mackay and Graham Skipper return with their latest films, respectively: cursed record cult madness of PATER NOSTER AND THE MISSION OF LIGHT, podcast serial killer hunter CARNAGE FOR CHRISTMAS and Christmastime mortality meditation THE LONELY MAN WITH THE GHOST MACHINE. And lastly the virtual festival will also host a strand celebrating the intersection of video games and horror with a live panel discussion on the subject as well as the International Premieres of Fabio Forte’s virtual reality Bava-esque dark fantasy THE WITCH GAME and Aussie action and low-fi Lovecraft in THE WAVES OF MADNESS from Jason Trost, the world’s first ever side scrolling movie. 

So strap on your cameras and get ready to find your fear, as tickets, festival passes and online passes are on sale now! The Soho Horror Film Festival will run from 22^nd-24^th November at the Whirled Cinema in Brixton, London. The online Sohome Horror Film Festival will run from 28^th November to the 1^st December. Full details on all the films on show, festival accessibility and ticket options can be found at www.sohohorrorfest.com