The Final Hex: Hexploitation Film Fest Farewell Tour - Dates and Events Announced!

 

After 15 years of thrills, chills, and kills, Hamilton, Ontario's Hexploitation Film Festival is being retired. To send off Hamilton's longest-running festival and screening program dedicated to horror and genre films, we invite you to The Final Hex: Hexploitation Farewell Tour with dates across the month of April. The Final Hex is the distillation of what we do best: curating entertaining B-Movie oddities, showcasing bold new independent horror and genre films from local filmmakers, hosting interactive prize giveaways, and bringing bona fide horror classics to the big screen.

To celebrate the Hamilton community, The Final Hex is rolling out in partnership with other film screening series and across multiple venues and including Farside Hamilton, The Staircase Studio Theatre, The Way of the Sword Film Talk Series at The Westdale, Crypt Cinema at Doors Pub, and the historic Playhouse Cinema.

We are offering both free, pay-what-you-can, and ticketed film events. Our final schedule of cinematic monsters, maniacs, and murder and venue / ticket information is below:

Wed. April 3, 2024 | 9:00pm

• B-MOVIE BINGO

MASTERS OF THE UNIVERSE

USA| 1987| 105 min |

FREE

@ Farside Hamilton

288 James Street North (at Barton)

Hamilton, Ontario 

 

*Interactive Prize Giveaway!*

The Hexploitation Film Festival brings back it interactive B-Movie Bingo game to The Farside Hamilton! Witness He-Man and Skeletor battle for the universe while filling out custom-made Bingo cards featuring dialogue or events that happen in the film. Create a straight line and win a prize! One Bingo-card per attendee. 

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Sat. April 6, 2024 | 9:00pm

• HXFF Presents:

HERE FOR BLOOD (w/ short film DUCK AND COVER)

CAN| 2022| 100 min | NR

@ The Staircase Studio Theatre

27 Dundurn St. N

Hamilton, Ontario

A rowdy pro-wrestler filling in for his girlfriend on a babysitting job gets more than he bargained for when a cult of masked intruders descends on the home. "Here For Blood may possibly be the best horror comedy wrestling movie done yet. It’s a heart-pounding roundhouse punch of a good time." - Film Threat

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Thu. April 11, 2024 | 7:00pm

• Hexploitation Film Festival &

The Way of the Sword Presents:

TOP KNOT DETECTIVE

JPN/AUS| 2017| 90 min | NR

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@ The Westdale

1014 King St. W

Hamilton, Ontario

A fascinating and funny documentary-style look at the obscure and hilariously insane Japanese TV show "Top Knot Detective" that became a cult hit in Australia in the 90s, bringing to light for the first time the shocking "true" crime behind-the-scenes drama. A love letter to lost media and cult TV and film oddities.

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Wed. April 17, 2024 | 8:30pm

• Crypt Cinema &

HXFF Present:

MURDER BY PHONE

CAN| 1982| 95 min | NR

PYWC / FOOD DONATION

@ Doors Pub

56 Hess St. S

Hamilton, Ontario

*Interactive Prize Giveaway!*

Play along with your phone!

A deranged killer is murdering people over the phone with deadly sound waves while a local professor rushes around Toronto trying to stop him. When the killer calls on-screen, randomly chosen audience members will receive a call to their own cellphones and a chance to win prizes! If you die, you get a runner-up prize! If you survive, you walk away with the grand prize!

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Fri. April 19 & Sat. April 20, 2024

• Playhouse Cinema &
HXFF Present:
DAWN OF THE DEAD
USA| 1978 | 127 min | R
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@ The Playhouse
177 Sherman Ave. N.
Hamilton, Ontario

THE FINAL HEXPLOITATION SCREENINGS EVER! 

Long heralded as one of the greatest, most influential horror films of all time, this ferocious cinematic shocker has been one of the most requested theatrical revival titles from fright fans the world over for the last 30+ years. Unlike other cinematic favorites, George A. Romero’s DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978) is still not available on any streaming platform, nor on cable, and has been out-of-print on DVD and BluRay in the U.S. for over a decade, so the hunger to watch it just keeps growing among its ravenous fans. Furthermore, the cult following for the film has grown exponentially since its release and is so large now it is estimated that over 80% of DAWN OF THE DEAD’s fans have never experienced this legendary epic in a theatre. That all changes starting this year!

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OFFICIAL AFTERPARTY

Sun. April 21, 2024 | 8:00pm - 11:30pm

• HXFF Presents:

FIRST JASON LIVE AT DOORS TACO AND METAL BAR

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@ Doors: Taco Joint & Metal Bar

56 Hess St. S

Hamilton, Ontario

First Jason Live at Doors Pub! Movie screening with Live commentary by the Ari Lehman -- the first Jason Voorhees himself. Followed by live sets by First Jason and musical guests Blood Opera & 30 immolated ; 16 returned 

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THE FINAL HEX: 2024 Hexploitation Film Festival Farewell Tour

 

Hello friends,

After 15 years of thrills, chills, and kills, The Hexploitation Film Festival is coming to an end…but not without one last scream. THE FINAL HEX Farwell Tour will bring the Hexploitation's unique program of monsters, maniacs, and murder to a series of venues throughout Hamilton all culminating in not-to-be-missed screenings in April 2024. Participating venues and events to be announced soon!

I joined Fright Night Theatre, as it was called when it debuted in 2009, as part of the group Horror in the Hammer. Horror in the Hammer was a collective of horror fans and creatives in Hamilton, ON, Canada, who were organizing and creating horror-related art and events such as the annual Hamilton Zombie Walk and Charity Food Drive as well as Fright Night Theatre a monthly screening series at The Staircase Theatre (27 Dundurn St. N). The first screening was a double-feature of Stuart Gordon's H.P. Lovecraft adaptations (From Beyond and Dagon) on June 24, 2009. The joy I experienced in our ability to bring people together and curate a selection of films to delight, amuse, and horrify had me hooked! I stayed on with Fright Night Theatre, eventually becoming the head of programming in December 2012. I expanded Fright Night Theatre into the Fright Night Theatre Film Festival in 2014 and then we became the Hexploitation Film Festival in 2017. In these 15 years, I've done so much and have had the privilege to meet and work with so many amazing, talented individuals and provide a springboard for the careers of Canadian and international artists.

All things, however, must come to an end. We will be closing the coffin lid on the Hexploitation Film Festival this April. Details about participating venues, films, tickets, and more are coming very soon. 

To all our fans and supporters, thank you for being a part of this adventure with us. We hope you'll join us for the Final Hex; you're not going to want to miss this!

All the bloody best,

Aaron Allen

Director: Hexploitation Film Festival

Festival Passes & First Wave Announcement Coming January 6

Next week, on Monday, January 6th, the Hexploitation Film Festival will be announcing its first wave of official selections. At the same time, VIP passes, 3-Day Passes, and daily passes will go on sale at 8:30am ET

This year, the Hexploitation Film Festival is offering its fans the chance to obtain entry to all three days of the festival, our after party, and must-have festival merch at a great discount with our 3-Day Pass VIP Package.

The package will include:

•  ALL SCREENINGS! Guaranteed seating to all three days of screenings at HXFF (Feb 20-22, 2020)

• AFTER PARTY ACCESS! A ticket to our official closing night after party at This Ain't Hollywood, featuring live horror rock from Chris Alexander, Blood Opera, and the world premiere performance from Hamilton's own Sematary Spawn! 

• Our new 2020 HXFF T-shirt

• A screen print of our 2020 HXFF Poster, printed by No Guff Studio

• One of our brand-new HXFF logo Embroidered Patches.

Tickets and our first film reveals will go live at 8:30am EST on Monday, January 6th.

Submissions Open for 2019 Hexploitation Film Festival

Hey all you fabulous makers of freaky films! The Hexploitation Film Festival in Hamilton, ON is now accepting submissions for its 2019 Festival Season! 

The Hexploitation Film Festival returns to the Staircase Theatre: February 21 - 23, 2019.

In addition to the festival itself, we will be celebrating a decade of screening horror films in Hamilton.

Enter your film at Film Freeway by clicking on the button below, before the Final Deadline of November 30, 2018.

HXFF 2018 - AUDIENCE CHOICE AWARD WINNERS

2018 AUDIENCE CHOICE 
AWARD WINNERS

Each year, the Hexploitation Film Festival places the power to choose the festival's top award winners in the hands of its audience members. Audience members in attendance vote for every short and every feature, and the the film from each category with the highest score is crowned BEST SHORT or BEST FILM of the festival. 

We are proud to announce the following Audience Choice Winners for our 2018 season.

BEST SHORT 
*AUDIENCE CHOICE*

Camille Monette, Roxane De Koninck, Keenan Poloncsak, 2017

Four douche-bags embark on a weekend of partying and debauchery at a cabin in the woods, unaware that they will be disturbing the humanoid-termite mutant: Termitator.

WINNER OF MOST GORE FILM @ SPASM FILM FESTIVAL 2017 IN MONTREAL

WINNER OF PUBLIC'S CHOICE INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION @ COURTS MAIS TRASH 2018 IN BRUSSELS

BEST FILM 
*AUDIENCE CHOICE*

Brendan Steere, 2017

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.

WINNER: FUNNIEST FILM @ HXFF 2018

WINNER: BEST ACTOR @ HXFF 2018

WINNER: BEST MONSTER @ HXFF 2018

Congratulations to this year's winners!

See the full list of 2018 HXFF Award Winners

CONTEST: ADVANCE SCREENING tickets to see THE STRANGERS: PREY AT NIGHT

CONTEST! 

ENTER TO WIN: ADVANCE SCREENING tickets to see THE STRANGERS: PREY AT NIGHT

See the upcoming sequel to horror cult hit THE STRANGERS before its wide-release!

“A road trip to visit relatives takes a dangerous turn when a family arrives at a secluded mobile home park that's mysteriously deserted -- until three masked psychopaths show up.”



THE STRANGERS: PREY AT NIGHT stars Bailee Madison (Tv’s GOOD WITCH), Christina Hendricks (MADMEN, THE NEON DEMON), and Martin Henderson (SMOKIN’ ACES)

THE STRANGERS PREY AT NIGHT opens in theatres on March 9. One (1) lucky HXFF fan will win a pass for two to see an advance screening of the film, Monday March 5, 2018 at 7:00PM at the Scotiabank Theatre in Toronto, ON (259 Richmond St W, Toronto, ON M5V 3M6) 

HOW TO WIN:

Email info@hexfilmfest.com with THE STRANGERS in the subject line and include the following:

1) Your full name.

2) Indicate consent (write yes or no) to sign up for the HXFF email list for future fest and contest updates and news

3) Answer this question: WHAT FILM ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO AT THE 2018 HEXPLOITATION FILM FESTIVAL? (see schedule)

Contest closes at 11:59PM, Wednesday, February 28, 2018. 
Contest open to residents of Ontario, Canada, the age of 18 or over.  ONE ENTRY PER EMAIL. MULTIPLE ENTRIES WILL BE DELETED.

Winners will be chosen at random and contacted on Thursday, March 1, 2018.

Passes courtesy of Elevation Pictures​s TARO PR​ Strangers: Prey At Night​

FULL 2018 LINEUP & SCHEDULE REVEALED

The Hexploitation Film Festival is proud to bring announce our full 2018 lineup of thrills, chills, and kills coming this March 23 - 25 at the Staircase Theatre (27 Dundurn St. N.) in Hamilton, ON. 

Feature films just added to the schedule include the Hamilton Premiere of Canadian killer pagan cult horror tale THE HERETICS, the Ontario Premiere of UK police thriller CHARISMATA, the Canadian Premiere of extreme weekend getaway gone wrong RUIN ME, and the Canadian Premiere of grindhouse horror spoof THE VELOCIPASTOR. These films join our first wave of announced features: Troma's RETURN TO RETURN NUKE'EM HIGH (aka VOL. 2), Mexican fright film I WISH I WISH, horror-comedy BLOODSUCKA JONES VS. THE CREEPING DEATH, as well as a our highly anticipated special event: THE HILARIOUS HOUSE OF FRIGHTENSTEIN 48th Birthday Celebration and panel event featuring Special Guest Mitch Markowitz.

BROWSE COMPLETE DIRECTORY OF ALL 2018 OFFICIAL SELECTIONS

Scroll down to see the complete day-to-day schedule and to buy tickets to screenings at the 2018 Hexploitation Film Festival. Click film names for more information.

If a film is listed as Sold Out in advance, you can still try for tickets in person by joining the Rush Line at the venue; you will be issued a number on a first come, first served basis. After an empty seat count, a few mins before the show, any spare tickets will be issued to Rush Line number-holders in the order they were received.

Seating is limited. Avoid disappointment at the door; buy your Tickets & Passes now!

All screenings are Restricted to Adults Age 18+ with the exception of all THE HILARIOUS HOUSE OF FRIGHTENSTEIN 48TH BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION, which is free and all-ages.

FRIDAY, MARCH 23, 2018- OPENING NIGHT!

7:00 pm: I WISH I WISH (Canadian Premiere!)
2017, DIR. EDUARDO M. CLORIO, 83 MIN. MEX
*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

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9:45pm: CHARISMATA (Ontario Premiere!)

2017, DIR. ANDY COLLIER & TOOR MIAN, 96 MIN. UK
**Director & Producer 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

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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

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)

3:30pm: HORROR SHORT FILM SHOWCASE

VARIOUS - 90 MIN

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 PERIERA)

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

2017, DIR. CHAD ARCHIBALD, 90 MIN. CAN

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

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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

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

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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

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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).

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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.

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