Hexploitation Film Festival: Feb 20-22, 2020

 

THE HEXPLOITATION FILM FESTIVAL RETURNS TO HAMILTON FOR THREE NIGHTS OF MANIACS, MONSTERS, AND MURDER!

 

ABOUT THE 2020 FESTIVAL

The Hexploitation Film Festival (HXFF) is the only festival dedicated to horror & exploitation genre cult cinema in the greater Hamilton, ON area. The annual competitive film festival will screen 7 feature films and 14 shorts over the course of three exciting nights of genre film mayhem at the Staircase Theatre located at 27 Dundurn St. N in western Hamilton. The HXFF promises the best in envelope-pushing indie horror & exploitation film-making designed by fans, for fans.

If you're planning to attend the festival, please join the Official HXFF 2020 Facebook Event and invite your friends. To get major announcements, sign up for the HXFF Mailing List.

IMPORTANT FESTIVAL DATES

FEB 20-22, 2020: SEE THE FULL SCHEDULE

TICKET PRICES

 $12.00 regular single admission. If you’re planning on seeing multiple movies, sign up for a Friday (Feb 21) or Saturday (Feb 22) pass! 3-Day Festival Passes are also available ($65.00) or upgrade for the best value and get a 3-Day VIP Pass ($84.00)

ORDER TICKETS

VENUES

All Screenings will take place at the Staircase Theatre (27 Dundurn St. N).

The Staircase Cafe Theatre i located at the cross roads of highways 8, 2 and 403. For locals the simplest directions are “one block north of King Street on Dundurn, in the old Hydro building, yah the big brick thing that looks like a school.” For hard core Hamiltonians the simplest directions are “its the big brick building you can see from the King Street Tim Horton’s drive through.” Please call for directions if needed. 905.529.3000

SOCIAL MEDIA

Stay connected to all things HXFF by following our social media feeds:

- Facebook
- Twitter
- Instagram

Hexploitation Film Festival: March 23-25 (Hamilton, ON) - Horror, Exploitation, Cult Films!

The Hexploitation Film Festival is coming March 23 - 25 to the Staircase Theatre (27 Dundurn St. N.) in Hamilton, ON for three days of Horror, Exploitation, and Cult genre film mayhem!

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IMPORTANT TICKET INFORMATION (updated 3/16/18)

• Advance Sales of Friday and Sunday Passes ($15.00 ea.) End on 3/22/18 at 11:55pm (ET) 

• Online Sales of Individual Film Tickets will Remain Open for the Duration of the Festival

• Individual Film Tickets can also be purchased at the door for $11.00 (cash or credit card * subject to additional service charge)

• Please print your online tickets from Universe.com and bring them to the event to check in and redeem your admission or pick up your pass. 

The HILARIOUS HOUSE OF FRIGHTENSTEIN 48TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION (March 24th) is FREE. No passes or tickets are required. General admission seating - first come, first served.

EVENT SCHEDULE

FRIDAY, MARCH 23, 2018- OPENING NIGHT!

7:30 pm: I WISH I WISH (Canadian Premiere!)
2017, DIR. EDUARDO M. CLORIO, 83 MIN. MEX
== DIRECTOR IN ATTENDANCE FOR Q&A ==
*Subtitled in English*

Five cousins ​​discover a diabolical board game that grants their deepest desires, they just have to be prepared to lose the most valuable things in their lives to see their wishes come true. Screens with short film LATCHED by Justin Harding and Rob Brunner

50% SOLD OUT

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9:45pm: CHARISMATA (Ontario Premiere!)

2017, DIR. ANDY COLLIER & TOOR MIAN, 96 MIN. UK
== DIRECTOR IN ATTENDANCE FOR Q&A ==

Psychological horror about a rookie police detective whose sanity begins to unravel as she investigates a series of brutal ritualistic murders. When the chief suspect takes a personal interest in her, a game of cat and mouse ensues which sees Rebecca's grasp on reality beginning to spiral out of control. Screens with short film A DOLL DISTORTED by Niall Shukla

60% SOLD OUT
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SATURDAY MARCH 24, 2018

10:00am: HILARIOUS HOUSE OF FRIGHTENSTEIN 48TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION

== SPECIAL GUEST MITCH MARKOWITZ IN ATTENDANCE ==

 The Hexploitation Film Festival invites you and your family to join us on March 24th for a free Saturday Morning Cereal Buffet as we celebrate this historic made-in-Hamilton series with a special screening of two original episodes  It'll be fiendishly funny fun for the whole family

FREE EVENT

12:00pm: THE LEGACY OF FRIGHTENSTEIN PANEL and Q&A

Hexploitation Film Festival director Aaron Allen moderates a panel discussion about the history and cultural legacy of The Hilarious House of Frighteinstein and its origins in Hamilton. Panel guests include Mitch Markowitz (co-producer and co-star), Stacey Case (filmmaker, musician, and Frightenstein Super Fan), and Chris Alexander (filmmaker, film critic, and composer)

FREE EVENT

3:30pm: HORROR SHORT FILM SHOWCASE

VARIOUS - 90 MIN
== FILMMAKERS IN ATTENDANCE FOR Q&A ==

A program of the best in indie horror, exploitation, and cult genre shorts from Canada and around the world including local Hamilton filmmakers. This block includes:

• BIT BY BIT (dir. COLIN BAXTER)
• BANSHEE (dir. ADAM O'BRIEN)
• BUZZ CUT (dir. JON RHOADS & MIKE MARRERO)
• FUN (dir. GREG KOVACS)
• HUMAN CATTLE (dir. CARLOS HENRIQUES & PHIL PATTISON)
• JULIETTE (dir. LORA D'ADDAZIO)
• MAKE A STAND (dir. CAMILLE AIGLOZ, SIMON ANDING, MICHIRU BAUDET, MARGO ROQUELAURE, DIANE TRAN DUC, LUCY VALLIN)
• MY FIRST TIME (dir. ASAF LIVNI)
• STAY (dir. DAVID MIKALSON)
• WE SUMMONED A DEMON (dir. CHRIS MCINROY)
• ZANDAVI LIVES (dir. MICHAEL PEREIRA)

7:00pm: THE HERETICS (Hamilton Premiere!)

2017, DIR. CHAD ARCHIBALD, 90 MIN. CAN

== FILMMAKERS IN ATTENDANCE FOR Q&A ==

A notorious cult kidnaps a young girl, and sacrifice themselves by the light of the locust moon. The next morning the girl awakes, caked in dried blood and surrounded by corpses...but safe - or so she thinks. Years later, the locust moon is about to rise again and the girl is captured once more by a surviving member of the cult. She is taken to a remote cabin where she learns that a demon has been growing inside of her all these years, and before the dawn it will rise. Screens with short SCRAPS by Christopher Giroux

70% SOLD OUT

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9:45pm: RETURN TO RETURN TO NUKE'EM HIGH (aka. Vol.2) - Hamilton Premiere!

2017, DIR. LLOYD KAUFMAN, 84 MIN. USA
== TROMA MERCH FOR SALE & PRIZES! ==

In Volume 2 of Troma's two-part event film RETURN TO NUKE'EM HIGH, Lauren and Chrissy, two lesbian lovers, must face and defeat not only the mutant glee-club Cretins who have taken over Tromaville High but also the corrupt and evil forces of the Tromorganic Foodstuffs Conglomerate which threatens to destroy Tromaville... and the world! Screens with short TERMITATOR by Camille Monette, Roxane De Koninck, and Keenan Poloncsak

65% SOLD OUT

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11: 59pm: THE VELOCIPASTOR (Canadian Premiere!)

2017, DIR. BRENDAN STEERE, 70 MIN. USA

After losing his parents, a priest travels to China, where he inherits a mysterious ability that allows him to turn into a dinosaur. At first horrified by this new power, a hooker convinces him to use it to fight crime. And ninjas. Screens with short THE JERRY SHOW by Stephen Stull

60% SOLD OUT

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SUNDAY, MARCH 25, 2018- CLOSING NIGHT!

4:00pm: BLOODSUCKA JONES VS. THE CREEPING DEATH (Canadian Premiere!)
2017, DIR. JUSTIN ARMAO, 96 MIN. USA

The baddest mofo with the killer afro -- Bloodsucka Jones -- and his gorgeous sidekick Vanessa must help a couple of idiots fight an army of zombies unleashed by an evil group of vampires. Screens with short film LUNCH LADIES (a Clarissa Jacobson production directed by J.M. Logan).

40% SOLD OUT

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7:00pm: RUIN ME (Canadian Premiere!)
2017, DIR. PRESTON DEFRANCIS. 87 MIN. USA

Alexandra reluctantly tags along for Slasher Sleepout, an extreme event that is part camping trip, part haunted house, and part escape room. But when the fun turns deadly, Alex has to play the game if she wants to make it out alive. Screens with short BON APPETIT by Erenik Beqiri.

40% SOLD OUT

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NEW NAME: HEXPLOITATION FILM FESTIVAL

Fright Night Theatre Film Festival Announces Rebranding, Changes Name to
HEXPLOITATION FILM FESTIVAL

Effective immediately, the Fright Night Theatre Film Festival is now the HEXPLOITATION FILM FESTIVAL: a three-day celebration and showcase of the best in new indie Horror & Exploitation genre films from Canada and around the world. The newly christened Hexploitation Film Festival (HXFF) will take over the Staircase Theatre in Hamilton, Ontario from March 23-25, 2018 with a competitive festival program of no-holds-barred cinematic thrills, chills, and kills. Submissions for feature-length and short films open August 1st exclusively on FILM FREEWAY

The Hexploitation Film Festival programming team, including festival director and organizer Aaron Allen whose passion for horror and controversial exploitation cult films led to the Hexploitation rebrand, is hard at work curating the annual competitive festival program as well as special one-off screenings packed with more monsters, maniacs, and murder! Horror fans and genre junkies can expect down-to-earth Q&A's with local and visiting filmmakers, themed parties and special events, and a community-driven experience organized by fans for fans.

In years past, the festival has been home to numerous world, national and regional premieres of such exciting and acclaimed indie films as THE BABADOOK, THE LURE, POOL PARTY MASSACRE, CAT SICK BLUES, RETURN TO NUKE'EM HIGH VOL. 1, ATTACK OF THE LEDERHOSENZOMBIES, KILLER RACK, BRACKENMORE, CIRCUS OF THE DEAD, BONEJANGLES, NIGHT OF SOMETHING STRANGE, THE BARN, and HARVEST LAKE.

The Hexploitation Film Festival has also been thrilled to host many visiting filmmakers such as George Mihalka (MY BLOODY VALENTINE), Gregory Lamberson (JOHNNY GRUESOME), Brian K. Williams (SPACE BABES FROM OUTERSPACE), Scott Schirmer (HARVEST LAKE), Justin M. Seaman (THE BARN), as well as post-screening Skype Q&As with filmmakers such as Lowell Dean (WOLFCOP) and Andy Palmer (THE FUNHOUSE MASSACRE).

“We live in an era where big studio blockbusters have pushed smaller innovative and envelope-pushing horror films from multiplex screens,” said festival director and lead programmer Aaron Allen. “At the same time, we’ve seen the development of a streaming distribution culture that has eroded the communal magic of the theatre-going experience and turned movie-watching into an isolated activity. The Hexploitation Film Festival seeks to preserve the best parts of the theatre-going experience by seeking out unique horror & cult exploitation films and providing an intimate and interactive theatrical experience that brings emerging filmmakers together with the local arts community and our great fanbase of horror and genre movie lovers.”

Raise a little Hex at the Staircase Theatre 

March 23 - 25, 2018