2017 Films Announced: The Lure, Pool Party Massacre, Red Christmas + More!

February 18, 2017 - The Fright Night Theatre Film Festival is excited to officially unveil its slate of 2017 official selections. This year`s roster is a roller coaster program featuring some of the most exciting, anticipated, and flat-out insane new indie horror, cult, and exploitation genre films that genre fans have been dying to see! From carnivorous singing mermaids to cat-themed serial killers to one of the most famous movie monsters of all time, the 2017 Fright Night Theatre Film Festival offers 7 feature films and 16 shorts guaranteed to chill, thrill, and kill horror fans, cult film aficionados, and genre junkies of all stripes. All the cinematic carnage goes down March 24-26 at the Staircase Theatre in Hamilton, ON. Scroll down this page for more info on the films and trailer and poster links.

7 DEADLY FEATURE FILMS

THE LURE (POLAND) 

HORROR * MUSICAL * MONSTERS
== Hamilton Premiere == 

Trailer Poster

Forget La La Land! The true must-see musical of the year is the bloody, bold, and genre-defying sensation The Lure. A pair of carnivorous mermaid sisters are drawn ashore in an alternate '80s Poland to explore the wonders and temptations of life on land, and indulge their taste for human flesh. Their tantalizing siren songs and otherworldly aura make them overnight sensations at a risque nightclub where debauched glitz and glam put the bonds of sisterhood to the test. Featuring stunning musical numbers and effects, savage sexuality, and an original new-wave soundtrack, The Lure is a twisted take on The Little Mermaid that has been a fan favorite at festivals like Sundance, Fantasia, and Toronto After Dark.

RED CHRISTMAS (AUSTRALIA) 

HORROR * SLASHER* EXPLOITATION
== Ontario Premiere == 
Trailer Poster

Starring and produced by genre star DEE WALLACE (The Howling, Cujo, The Hills Have Eyes), the stylish and over-the-top Red Christmas makes its Ontario debut the FNTFF! A cloaked stranger interrupts the Christmas Day festivities of a strong willed matriarch (Dee Wallace) who is celebrating with her dysfunctional family. When the stranger goes on the offensive, the family is subjected to an un-silent night of holy terror in which the cinematic carnage that follows will shock naughty and nice alike. Christmas comes early this year, and it's not black. It's very, very red.

LONG LIVE THE KING (USA) 

CLASSIC MONSTERS * DOCUMENTARY
== Hamilton Premiere == 
Teaser Poster

84 years since his first rampage through New York, King Kong still reigns supreme as one of the most enduring and fascinating movie monsters ever created, but what makes him so special in the hearts of movie monster fans? Presented in LONG LIVE THE KING's charming and riveting documentary style, you will join influential Hollywood directors like Joe Dante (Gremlins), actors and writers like Doug Jones (Hellboy) and Dana Gould (The Simpsons), monster movie historians and collectors like Bob Burns, and modern special FX masters like Greg Nicotero (The Walking Dead), Tom Woodruff Jr (Aliens), Chris Walas (The Fly), and more as they discuss the influence King Kong had on their lives and careers. Long Live the King is a big-hearted celebration of the 8th Wonder of the World just in time for Kong's return to the big screen. Will put a smile on the face of monster kids everywhere, young and old.

POOL PARTY MASSACRE (USA) 

HORROR * SLASHER * COMEDY
== Canadian Premiere == 
 Poster

Like, OMG. This is the Worst. Pool. Party. Ever! When Blair, a high maintenance young socialite, invites some friends over to her parents' house for an intimate pool party, they are unaware that a serial killer is hiding inside the house...with a surprising assortment of power tools. What starts out as a relaxing summer day by the pool quickly turns into a nightmare as the unknown killer begins to stalk and murdering the young girls one by one. In this hilarious homage to 80s slashers from hot up-and-coming horror writer/director Drew Marvick, Pool Party Massacre is a refreshingly smart yet tongue-in-cheek mashup of Slumber Party Massacre meets Mean Girls. Definitely a pool-side treat for fans of bodacious, blood-soaked bikini body counts. Starring LeeAnna Vamp, Alexis Adams, Mark Justice

WHO'S WATCHING OLIVER? (USA) 

SERIAL KILLER * EXPLOITATION
== Ontario Premiere == 
Poster

Take a bit of lovable naiveté from Forrest Gump and crash it head-long into the debraved and sleazy violence of Patrick Bateman in American Psycho, and you get Who's Watching Oliver?. Who's Watching Oliver? is the story of a mentally unstable loner living in Thailand who wanders the streets at night looking for women to defile and dismember in front of his webcam to satisfy the psychotic cravings of his deranged and manipulative mother. His only savior and possible way out of a life of depravity and humiliation comes in the form of the beautiful Sophia. Or will she end up like all the beautiful women in his life: cut up into little pieces?

BLOOD HUNTERS (CANADA) 

HORROR * DRAMA * CREATURE FEATURE
== Ontario Premiere == 
Trailer Poster

Award-winning Canadian director Tricia Lee returns to the FNTFF with Blood Hunters, a character-driven horror film about a single mother who wakes up in a medical facility to find that everyone is dead and she's nine months pregnant. And to make matters worse, strange blood-hungry creatures are lurking in the darkness. Mysterious, terrifying and emotionally gripping, Blood Hunters features an outstanding ensemble cast featuring Julian Richings (Man of Steel, The VVITCH, Cube), Lara Gilchrist (Battlestar Galactica), Mark Taylor (Flashpoint), and Torri Higginson (Stargate: Atlantis).

CAT SICK BLUES (AUSTRALIA) 

HORROR * EXPLOITATION * CULT FILM WEIRDNESS
== Canadian Premiere == 
Trailer Poster

Destined to go down in Fright Night Theatre history as one of the most f*cked up films we've ever screened, CAT SICK BLUES is the sordid story of Ted, a man pushed to into a traumatic mental breakdown following the death of his beloved cat who believes he can bring his feline friend back from the dead by dressing up like a cat and collecting 9 human lives. Insane. Offensive. Prosthetic Cat Penis. None of these words come close to describing the unbridled madness that is destined to make CAT SICK BLUES a certifiable cult hit. See it here first!

16 SHOCKING SHORTS

BORN AGAIN (USA) - Canadian Premiere
Dir. Jason Tostevin

Five bumbling satanists experience a true "holy shit moment" when their scheduled demonic summoning goes awry. Stars multiple FNTFF award-winning actress Ellie Church (Harvest Lake, Plank Face).

CHEWED (CAN) - World Premiere

Dir. Mike Trebilcock

An anthropologist seeks to settle the score using the powers of an ancient Aztec god with an appetite for revenge. Written and directed by Hamilton's own Mike Trebilcock (leader of the Canadian 90s Juno-winning punk-pop band, The Killjoys) and starring John Migliore (The Friday Night Death Slot).

CURVE (AUSTRALIA) - Hamilton Premiere
Dir. Tim Egan

Clinging to a smooth, curved surface high above a sentient abyss, a girl tries to cover the few feet back to safety without losing purchase and falling to her death. A terrifying, white-knuckle experience, especially for those afraid of heights.

DEATH METAL (USA) - Hamilton Premiere
Dir. Chris McInroy

A metalhead gets too cocky shredding on a satanic guitar with a life of its own. Throw up the horns for hilariously gory and over-the-top heavy metal horror action.

THE FISHERMAN (SPAIN) - Hamilton Premiere
Dir. Alejandro Suárez Lozano

Mr Wong is a third generation fisherman in Hong Kong, struggling to keep this tradition alive. One night, he decides to leave the crowded waters of Victoria Harbour, and fish in calmer waters. His luck changes when he makes a monstrous catch of something that does not belong to this world.

FLIES IN MAY (AUSTRALIA)
Dir. Caroline Jiang - World Premiere

In this creepy animated short, a young, shy girl named May, is bitten on the chest by a fly. As the days pass, the bite grows into a monstrous, parasitic maggot. As May struggles with the uncontrollable growth of the maggot, her negligent parents remain oblivious.

JASON (CAN)

Dir. Greg Kovacs - World  Premiere

A little boy gleefully journeys into darkness only to discover his true calling. From the director of O CHRISTMAS TREE (Winner: Best Short Audience Choice - Fall 2016)

JUST JUSTICE III: KUNG FU KARATE ANNIHILATOR (SPAIN) - Ontario Premiere
Dir. Rafael Dengrá

Welcome to the year 1988. Violent gangs of murderers dressed as savage punks control the World. To restore order, scientists create a one-man nuclear weapon of precision kung fu ass kicking, expert motorbike riding, and supreme face-ripping justice: CHUCK LEE BRONSON. Riffing off a host of 80s sci-fi like The Terminator and Mad Max, cult flicks like Escape from New York and The Warriors, and kung fu / action movies like Enter the Ninja and Death Wish, JUST JUSTICE III: KUNG FU KARATE ANNIHILATOR is an offensive, obsessive, and excessive and out-of-its-mind pop culture genre blender of attention deficit disorder destruction from the director of Brutal Relax.

KASKA (GERMANY) - Canadian Premiere
Dir. Alexander Dannhauser

A ghastly shadow creeps through the ruins of a dark postwar city. A small, spider-like robot sneaks into the few remaining houses, in search for victims. A dark fantasy with a lot of heart -- literally.

PEEPHOLE (CAN) - Hamilton Premiere
Dir. Doug Cook

A shady motel manager films his guests through a peephole in the wall of suite 12. On one particular night, he gets in over his head when he witnesses something sinister on the other side.

POLICY (USA) - Canadian Premiere
Dir. Donavon Thompson

A young boy who won't put down his phone buys a ticket to a movie and gets the show of a lifetime. In fact, it may just be his last.

PYOTR495 (CAN) - Hamilton Premiere
Dir. Blake Mawson

Set one evening in present day Moscow, 16 year-old Pyotr is baited by an ultra-nationalist group known for their violent abductions and anti-gay attacks bolstered by Russia’s LGBT propaganda law, but Pyotr has a dangerous secret his attackers could never have accounted for.

STUDDED NIGHTMARE (CAN) - Hamilton Premiere
Dir. Jean-Claude Leblanc

The chair of a man who committed suicide induces nightmarish and erotic fantasies in its new owners and rives them to live out shocking visions of her own violent deaths. Winner Best Short (Blood in the Snow Canadian Film Festival 2016)

UNDRESS ME (CAN) - Canadian Premiere
Dir. Amelia Moses

Alice, a socially awkward freshman, desperate to fit into the typical college lifestyle, begins to experience a mysterious and gruesome physical deterioration after an encounter at a frat party.

WHEN SUSURRUS STIRS (USA) - Hamilton Premiere
Dir. Anthony Cousins

A man finds purpose in his meaningless life when he becomes Host to an otherworldly parasite named Susurrus. A body horror tale like no other. 

YOUR DATE IS HERE (USA) - Canadian Premiere
Dir. Zak White & Todd Spence

After dusting off an old Mystery Date-style board game, a mother and daughter realize the game holds more evil than amusement.