Full Lineup & Schedule Coming February 20

The wait is almost over! On February 20, we will reveal the full lineup and schedule for the 2018 Hexploitation Film Festival in Hamilton, Ontario (March 23-25).

Advance 3-Day Festival Passes are 50% Sold Out

Get 3-Day Festival Passes

Formerly known as the Fright Night Theatre Film Festival, the Hexploitation Film Festival (HXFF) has carved a bloody name for itself as Hamilton, ON's only screening event dedicated to premiering and showcasing the best in indie horror, exploitation, and cult genre entertainment. If you're looking for shocking gross weirdness, scary tales of terror, and sexy n' silly B-movies choked full of maniacs, monsters and murder, then this is the festival for you.

Just look at the films already confirmed for this year's festival!

RETURN TO RETURN TO NUKE'EM HIGH (aka. Volume 2)
|| HAMILTON PREMIERE || FEATURE FILM
2017, DIR. LLOYD KAUFMAN, 84 MIN. USA

Return to Return Nuke 'Em High (aka Volume 2) is the continuation of Lloyd Kaufman's two-part indie event film, the first part of which took home our coveted BEST FILM - AUDIENCE CHOICE award in 2014. Lauren (Catherine Corcoran) and Chrissy (Asta Paredes), two lesbian lovers, must face and defeat not only the mutant Cretins who have taken over Tromaville Highschool but also the corrupt and evil forces of the Tromorganic Food Stuffs corporation which threatens to destroy not only Tromaville... but the world! Boobs! Blood! Farts! Slime! Mutant Ducks! The last film appearance of Lemmy Kilmister! Grab your festival pass today to guarantee enrollment for Return to Return to Nuke'em High (aka Volume 2).

I WISH  I WISH

(Deseo Deseo)
|| CANADIAN PREMIERE || FEATURE FILM
2017, DIR. EDUARDO M. CLORIO, 82 MIN. MEX

Five cousins reunite while cleaning out their recently deceased grandmother's estate. Hidden amongst the junk, they discover a curious board game titled "I WISH I WISH (Deseo Deseo)" that promiseds to make their dreams come true for a price. The rules are simple: each player may ask for 3 wishes that will be fulfilled after completing a challenge presented by the game. If they carry it out they will have what they desire otherwise there are extreme consequences. For those who have chosen not to fulfill the challenge, the game releases a vicious creature to enforce punishment. They soon discover that the only way to survive is to keep playing, even if it means only one will make it out alive.

BLOODSUCKA JONES vs. THE CREEPING DEATH

|| CANADIAN PREMIERE || FEATURE FILM
2017, DIR. JUSTIN ARMAO, 96 MIN. USA

The baddest mofo with the killer afro -- Bloodsucka Jones (Preston Gant) -- and his gorgeous sidekick Vanessa must help a couple of idiots fight an army of zombies unleashed by an evil group of vampires. Bloodsucka Jones is back bigger and more hilarious than ever. More gorgeous girls! More graphic violence! More giggles and guffas! Bloodsucka Jones vs. The Creeping Death is a rapid-fire, free-wheeling exercise in comedy destined for cult film status.

FIRST WAVE - SHORT FILMS

Screening March 23-25 at the HXFF

HUMAN CATTLE 

|| SHORT FILM || 2017, DIR. CARLOS HENRIQUES & PHIL PATTISON, 9 MIN. CAN

The Amazon is a beautiful place to visit but you wouldn’t want to die there! Three sexy teenagers take a fun-filled trip out to the Amazon for an exciting getaway filled with seductive pleasures and forbidden desires. Failing to hear the canoe tour guide’s (Mitch Markowitz, The Hilarious House of Frightenstein) warnings about the evils that lurk in the Jungle, they will now have to fight for survival against trigger-happy bounty hunters, blood-thirsty Cannibals and massive flesh-eating monsters. Featuring gruesome gore and crazy creature FX by Hamilton's The Butcher Shop FX Studio, HUMAN CATTLE is a non-stop, action-packed, all you can eat buffet that critics are calling a “Full-Throttle Balls Out Mind Melter!” (Chris Alexander, ShockTillYouDrop.com).
We dare you to come along for the ride!

BUZZCUT

||HAMILTON PREMIERE|| SHORT FILM

2017, DIR. JOHN RHOADS & MIKE MARRERO, 8 MIN. USA

Jane is just a girl trying to get some loving from her girlfriend Melanie who refuses to have sex until Jane's awful haircut is fixed. While Jane is in the process of having her head shaved, the apocalypse happens and her barber is reduced to a pile of ash leaving Jane's hair in even worse condition. She must navigate the crumbling world, fighting zombies and demons along the way to find a barber who can finish her buzzcut so she can get laid before she dies.

LATCHED

||HAMILTON PREMIERE|| SHORT FILM

2017, DIR. JUSTIN HARDING & ROB BRUNNER, 16 MIN. CAN

A choreographer pursues creative inspiration at a cottage retreat while attempting to wean her demanding toddler — and unknowingly awakens a vile fairy corpse in the process. When she discovers the creature’s terrifying intentions, she will have to put her creativity to good use to lure the repugnant beast.

FIRST FILMS ANNOUNCED!

The Fright Night Theatre Film Festival is excited to announce its first wave of official selections for our Fall program: September 30 - October 1st

Following on the heels of a hugely successful Winter edition, the Fright Night Theatre Film Festival (Hamilton, Ontario's horror, cult, and exploitation genre film fest) returns this Fall with a new slate of killer film premieres guaranteed to push the boundaries of spectacle and imagination (not to mention good taste).

NIGHT OF SOMETHING STRANGE

|| Canadian Premiere! ||

*Gross-Out Body Horror Comedy*

The FNTFF is very proud to present the Canadian Premiere of Jonathan Straiton's award-winning and fan-acclaimed teenage sex comedy / zombie gore fest: NIGHT OF SOMETHING STRANGE

Five teenage friends set out for the beach on their Spring Break vacation. Good times are cut short when one of the group contracts a deadly sexual transmitted disease during a bathroom stop. But this is no ordinary STD! When they stop for the night at an isolated motel, the STD virus starts running rampant, turning those infected into sex-crazed and oozing living dead mutants. 

Hot off its award wins for Best SFX, Best Actor, and the Jury Award for Best Film at the Crimson Screen Horror Film Festival, NIGHT OF THE SOMETHING STRANGE is an uncomfortably hilarious and gleefuly disgusting tour de force of comedy, action, and gross-out gore that takes the meaning of bad taste to a whole new level.

NOVA SEED

|| Hamilton Premiere! ||

*Animated Action/Fantasy/Sci-Fi Adventure*

From the gross to the gorgeous, the FNTFF is honoured to also announce the Hamilton Premiere of NOVA SEED from Hamilton-born animator Nick DiLiberto.

Enter a fantasy world of pure imagination and exhilarating action. Deep below the surface of a desolated world, the Mad Doctor Mindskull has discovered a way to use the planet’s power of creation as a weapon. With humanity unable to fight back, they enlist the aid of an outlaw bio-engineered N.A.C (Neo Animal Combatant). But will the N.A.C turn against the humans who shun him, and what is the mystery of the Nova Seed's power?

Years in the making, NOVA SEED was produced in 2D, hand-drawn frame by glorious frame. NOVA SEED is a Heavy Metal meets Ralph Bakshi experience that embodies the true spirit of DIY independent film-making. Destined to be a cult classic, NOVA SEED has already reaped acclaim at Toronto's WTFilm Fest and the Toronto Animation Arts Festival International.

7 feature films and 20 shorts will screen this fall as part of the Fright Night Theatre Film Festival. Submissions officially close August 13 and the full lineup will be revealed in early September.

To submit your feature or short, visit https://filmfreeway.com/festival/FrightNightTheatre

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Non-Competitive Shorts Lineup Announced

On the heels of yesterday's competitive lineup reveal, today we are excited to announce the official selections in our non-competitive shorts programme.

Choice Cuts (USA)

A duo of violent kidnappers bite off more than they can chew when their latest victim turns the tables on their dinner plans. (Dir. Jeff Meyers and Keith Jefferies)

Crazy Golf (UK)

While on a date at an amusement arcade, Reed and Lucy begin a game of Crazy Golf that takes a dark turn somewhere around the 10th hole where horror is par for the course. (Dir. Chloe Phillipou)

The Cyborg (USA)

In this charming interview, Oneion (CII-001YN) the Cyborg tells the story of how his life was saved by Cybernetics Industries International. (Dir. James Heyes)

Dark Therapy (USA)

A vampire seeks psychiatric treatment for a phobia that impacts his way of life. (Dir. Chad Eric Smith)

Deathbox (Canada)

A lonely, conflicted hobo lives an existence defined by a dark, insatiable need. On this day, he crosses paths with a mysterious man, who’s also defined by an all-consuming, singular drive. (Dir. Michael Pereira)

Isolated (Chile)

After finding himself in a wrecked taxi, Evan tries to piece together the puzzle of his memory while dealing with a dangerous threat in a seemingly deserted city. (Tomas Vergara)

Japanese Doctor Who (UK)

A found clip on old video tape from the 1970's or 80's that looks like a strange Japanese version of Doctor Who. (Joshua Kahan)

Laughing Out Loud (Canada)

A woman, completely immersed in all forms of electronic social networking, is thrown into a situation where she only gets one last chance to send one last text message to one last person. (Dir. Daniel Clements)

Letting (USA)

In the middle of the night a little girl awakens to discover the doll she fell asleep with has disappeared, but what she finds next is terrifying. (Dir. Hannah Neurotica)

Mitten (Canada)

An elderly man discovers a lost mitten and begins a paranoid search for its owner. (Dir. Amanda Row)

My Favorite Holiday (USA)

An enthusiastic home owner celebrates Halloween by decorating the outside of his house and making his own special candy. But there's a trick to those treats... (Dir. Josh Mruz, Anthony Cousins)

Out of the Box (Canada)

Two men volunteer for an experiment. All they have to do is not open the box. Simple, right? (Dir. Seb Godin).

Pig Boy (Canada)

Documentary filmmakers get too close to their subject: the dealer of a strange new drug. (Dir. Chad Magnant)

Repossession (Canada)

Lindsay is a typical university student living in a house with her friends … except her best friend and roommate is possessed by a demon. (Dir. Jessica Marshall)

The Revenant (France)

A young man believes that he can beat death through sheer will power alone, and one he succeeds he decides to make the Grim Reaper's job even more complicated. (Dir. Victor Druillet and Norman Jangot)

Shhh (Canada)

Shhh is a dark fairy tale about a young boy, Guillermo, who uses his imagination to overcome his monstrous bully at night. Tired of being scared, Guillermo eventually takes matters into his own hands. (Dir. Shervin Shoghian
and Freddy Chavez Olmos).

Shit's About to Get Dark (USA)

"What's the worst thing you can think of?" With those words, five friends kick off a hilariously filthy game of shock value one-upsmanship that culminates unexpectedly in real-life horror. (Dir. Stephen Stull)

Top Hat (UK)

Graham, the nervy Saturday Boy at a late night dry cleaners, is greeted by a deeply mysterious customer who manages to surprise him and turn his terrible first day around for the better. (Dir. Michael Middleton-Downer)

Uncommon Enemies (Canada)

A hard-boiled US Sergeant and a chatterbox Nazi must join forces to destroy a sexy, French vampire in World War II France. (Dir. Alex Hatz)

Vampire-Killing Prostitute (USA)

Raven, a vampire hunter who poses as a prostitute, joins a rogue priest and his team in a mission to save the world and exact revenge on the blood sucker who killed her father. (Dir.
Jordan Mears)

Congratulations to all our non-competitive shorts!

THE BABADOOK AND THE SHUTTERBUG MAN TO LAUNCH 2015 FRIGHT NIGHT THEATRE SEASON

Fright Night Theatre is thrilled to announce the launch of its 2015 competitive screening with the Hamilton Premiere of THE BABADOOK and the World Premiere of THE SHUTTERBUG MAN.

Fright Night Theatre returns to the beautiful Staircase Cafe Theatre for its seventh sin-sational season of horror movie and genre film screenings, beginning with one of the hottest supernatural horror thrillers of the year: THE BABADOOK.

Fans, audiences, filmmakers, and critics around the world are all raving about THE BABADOOK, the acclaimed debut horror feature from Australian filmmaker Jennifer Kent. Following a phenomenal festival run including two sold-out screenings at the 2014 Toronto After Dark Film Festival, THE BABADOOK is our first official selection of 2015. THE BABADOOK comes to the big screen on Saturday, February 7th, 2015. Advance tickets are now available for purchase online. Order early to avoid disappointment. BUY TICKETS

We've paired up this highly anticipated Australian hit with the World Premiere of THE SHUTTERBUG MAN, the new short from Canadian animator Chris Walsh narrated by Barbara Steele (Black Sunday).

For a night of thrilling terror tales, spine-chilling cinematic specters, and good-old-fashioned horror movie scares, look no further than FRIGHT NIGHT THEATRE!

THE BABADOOK - TRAILER




THE SHUTTERBUG MAN - TEASER



THE BABADOOK 

|| Hamilton Premiere! ||

Saturday, February 07, 2015

8:00pm - The Staircase Theatre (27 Dundurn St. N.)

ONE SCREENING ONLY!

Directed by Jennifer Kent
(AUSTRALIA) 2014, 93 mins
Principal Cast: Essie Davis, Noah Wiseman, Daniel Henshall, Tim Purcell

Screens With Short Film: THE SHUTTERBUG MAN || World Premiere ||  (dir. Chris Walsh)

$11 (advance) / $13 (at the door - cash only)

Advance Tickets: BUY ONLINE

Door Tickets from: 7:00pm. Seating from 7:15pm
Join Facebook Event

FEATURE: DESCRIPTION

Amelia, a single mother haunted by the death of her husband, struggles to discipline her ‘out of control' 6-year-old son who is plagued by dreams of sinister monsters. When a disturbing storybook called Mister Babadook mysteriously appears in their home, his hallucinations spiral out of control and as he becomes more unpredictable and violent. But when Amelia begins to see glimpses of a sinister presence all around her, it slowly dawns on her that the thing her son has been warning her about may be real. Praised by critics and filmmakers around the world, The Babadook is a beautifully spooky, richly metaphorical, and intensely terrifying achievement in cinematic terror. Without a doubt, an unforgettable film experience not to be missed!

SHORT: DESCRIPTION

Horror movie legend Barbara Steele (Black Sunday) narrates this dark and creepy stop-motion horror film about a twisted photographer whose passion for taking morbid photos transforms him into a disfigured child-like nightmare. Featuring horrifying hand-crafted stop-motion animation and a spooky score by Fangoria's Chris Alexander.

YOU GOTTA SEE THIS! Praise for THE BABADOOK

"I've never seen a more terrifying film than THE BABADOOK." - William Friedkin (director of The Exorcist)
"A flat-out masterpeice" - Indiewire
"One of the strongest, most effective, horror films of recent years" - Empire
"Truly frightening" - Total Film
"An intensely emotional white-knuckle shocker" - Radio Times
"There goes your peaceful night's sleep" - Time Out NY
"Intelligent, unsettling, classic" - Stylist
"Horror at its very best" - The Sunday Mirror
"Beautiful and petrifying" - Daily Telegraph

VENUE

 IMAGES

The Babadook

The Shutterbug Man