FrightFest, the UK's biggest horror and fantasy film festival, returns to the Odeon LUXE Leicester Square and the ODEON Luxe West End this August for its annual five-day celebration of all things genre.
Running from August 27 to August 31, FrightFest, now sponsored by Tubi, will showcase a record-breaking eighty-two features across five screens, including the popular ‘First Blood’, Documentary, and Retrospective strands. This year there are twenty-four world premieres, with sixteen countries represented, spanning four continents.
Opening this year's fest is the World Premiere of Abner Pastoll’s Nervous, a “subversive, cross-cultural tale of psychological alienation and dangerous obsession” that follows s a woman losing her ability to hear men’s voices. Following the opener is Yeon Sang-ho's (Train to Busan) latest zombie horror Colony, which will be accompanied by a 10th anniversary screening of Train to Busan and its sequel, Seoul Station.
Other titles from Asia include Ghost in the Cell from Indonesian horror maestro Joko Anwar (Satan's Slaves, Impetigore), as well as Lee Sang-min's Salmokji: Whispering Water, currently the highest grossing South Korean horror movie of all time. Cult Japanese comedy-horrors Crazy Lips and Gore from Outer Space will also be screened in brand new remasters from the original negatives.
Closing the fest is the UK Premiere of Marion Le Corroller’s debut feature Species, a “darkly comic sci-fi body-horror with a deeper allegorical message about workplace burn-out” which features FX by special make-up effects designer Pierre-Olivier Persin, who won an Oscar (and, more importantly, a FANGORIA Chainsaw Award) for The Substance.
Creature feature fans will delight in the World Premiere of Spider Island from Triangle and Creep director Christopher Smith, Padraig Reynolds' homage to 1970s creature feature exploitation, Gator Face, and James Nunn's survival thriller Hungry, where Louisiana bayou tourists are stalked by a ravenous, territorial hippopotamus.
Lulu Wilson returns as the titular lethal anti-hero in Jenn Wexler’s The Last Temptation of Becky, described as the “biggest, bloodiest and most unhinged instalment” in the action thriller saga, with the late, great Tony Todd making his final onscreen appearance in Terrifier team produced anthology, The Pitchfork Retreat.
Other highlights in this year's festival include The Glorious Dead, the latest from the incredible Adams Family, Spider One's meta-slasher Big Baby, Hammer's new period survival horror Ithaqua, anti-capitalist anthology Grind, Larry Fessenden’s graveyard monster mash Trauma, or Monsters All, Casper Kelly's trippy comedy-horror Buddy, Patricio Valladares’ Chilean sequel to Invoking Yell, Invoking Scream, Alice Maio Mackay's latest, Our Effed Up World, Sarah Appleton's Charles Band documentary Full Moon Rising, cryptid sequel Frogman Returns, and so, so much more (seriously, this thing is STACKED).
For the full FrightFest lineup, as well as pass and individual ticket info, head over to the official site right here.
