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

HXFF 2019 AWARD WINNERS

2019 AWARD WINNERS

The Hexploitation Film Festival is proud to announce the following Feature Film & Short Film Award Winners for our 2019 season, as voted by the HXFF programmign team.

~~ SHORT FILM AWARDS ~~

MILK (2018, DIR. SANTIAGO MENGHINI)

** BEST HORROR SHORT **
** BEST CANADIAN SHORT **

BITTEN (2018, DIR. SARAH K REIMERS)

** BEST COMEDIC SHORT **

MAW (2018, DIR. JASPER VRANCKEN)

** MOST SHOCKING  SHORT **

THE WORLD OVER (2018, DIR. HEATH C. MICHAELS)

** BEST SCI-FI SHORT **

HAMMER DOWN (2018, DIR. DAN PASTO)
** BEST ANIMATED SHORT**

~~ FEATURE FILM AWARDS ~~

FRAMED (2018, DIR. MARC MARTÍNEZ JORDÁN)

** MOST SHOCKING FILM **
** BEST SPECIAL FX **
**ACHIEVEMENT IN MAKEUP FX ** 
** BEST ACTOR (Alex Maruny) **
** BEST SUPPORTING ACTRESS (Júlia Molins) **
** BEST WRITING (Marc Martínez Jordán & Jaume Cuspinera) ** 

CRYSTAL EYES (2017, DIR. EZEQUIEL ENDELMAN & LEANDRO MONTEJANO)

** SCARIEST FILM **

** BEST VILLAIN **

** BEST DIRECTOR (Ezequiel Endelman & Leandro Montejano) **

** BEST ACTRESS (Erika Boveri) **

** BEST MUSICAL SCORE (Pablo Fuu)** 

FP2: BEATS OF RAGE (2018, DIR. JASON TROST)

** FUNNIEST FILM **

** BEST VISUAL FX**

THE ISLE (2018, DIR. MATTHEW BUTLER-HART)

** BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY (Pete Wallington) **

** BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR (Conleth Hill) **

WOLFMAN'S GOT NARDS (2018, DIR. ANDREW GOWER)

** BEST DOCUMENTARY **

CREATURE FROM CANNIBAL CREEK (2019, DIR. JOHN MIGLIORE)

** BEST MONSTER **

Congratulations to all this year's winners!

Audience Choice Award Winners to be Announced March 9th

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.

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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Hamilton's Fright Night Theatre Film Festival begins on Friday!

MARCH 24 - 26, 2017

The Staircase Theatre (27 Dundurn St. N.)

Hamilton, ON

Killer musical mermaids! Cat-Obsessed Serial Killers! Blood-Thirsty Beasts!

+ More Monsters, Maniacs, and Murderers!

Hold on to your butts, horror fans! The Fright Night Theatre Film Festival kicks off its 2017 season on Friday, March 24 for three nights of thrills, chills, and kills at the Staircase Theatre.

Featuring a program of seven new horror, cult, and exploitation feature film premieres and an already sold-out short film block, tickets to this year's fest are going fast! Don't miss all the movie mayhem. Avoid disappointment at the door by purchasing your advance tickets online HERE.

Advanced ticket sales end on Mar 23 at 11:59pm!

• 3-Day Festival Pass: $60.00 (while supplies last)
• Special Sunday Pass (Long Live the King + Blood Hunters): $15.00
• Individual Film Tickets: $11.00 ea.

FILM FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

Click on film titles for more information

FRIDAY, MARCH 24 - OPENING NIGHT!

7.30 PM - POOL PARTY MASSACRE (USA) || CANADIAN PREMIERE||  Directed by Drew Marvick Poster

What starts out as a relaxing summer day by the pool for a group of high-maintenance socialites quickly turns into a gory nightmare as the unknown killer begins to stalk and murder the young girls in increasingly bloody ways. This hilarious homage to 80s slashers from hot up-and-coming horror writer/director Drew Marvick is 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.

Screens with short film JUST JUSTICE III KUNGFU KARATE ANNIHILATOR directed by Rafael Dengrá

9.45 PM - THE LURE (POLAND) - OVER 50% SOLD OUT || HAMILTON PREMIERE||  *subtitled in English* Directed by Agnieszka Smoczynska Trailer Poster

In an alternate version of 1980s Poland, a pair of mermaid sisters come ashore and join an adult night club as strippers and singers. While one seeks love with humans the other hungers to dine on the human population of the city. The Lure is a bloody, bold, and genre-defying sensation featuring stunning musical numbers, special effects, and savage sexuality. Starring Marta Mazurek, Michalina Olszanska, Kinga Preis. 

Screens with short film WHEN SUSSURRUS STIRS directed by Anthony Cousins

SATURDAY, MARCH 25

3.30 PM - HORROR SHORT FILM SHOWCASE Experience a curated program of horrific and hilarious short films from around the world including the World Premieres of local shorts CHEWED (dir. Mike Trebilcock) and JASON (dir. Greg Kovacs). The FNTFF puts a freaky and fun spotlight on local and international filmmakers working in the fields of cinematography, animation, special effects, makeup, and script-writing. (Approx 104 min.) 7.00 PM - WHO'S WATCHING OLIVER (USA) || ONTARIO PREMIERE||  Directed by Richie Moore Poster WHO'S WATCHING OLIVER tells the story of a mentally unstable loner lost in a life of depraved violence forced upon him by his psychopathic mother. His only savior and possible way out of a life of sleazy violence 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?  Screens with short film FLIES IN MAY directed by Caroline Jiang. 9.45 PM - RED CHRISTMAS (AUSTRALIA) || ONTARIO PREMIERE||  Directed by Craig Anderson 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 makes victims of naughty and nice alike. Screens with short film BORN AGAIN directed by Jason Tostevin. 11.59 PM - CAT SICK BLUES (AUSTRALIA) || CANADIAN PREMIERE||  Directed by Dave Jackson Trailer Poster A man pushed to a traumatic mental breakdown following the death of his beloved cat 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. Screens with short film DEATH METAL directed by Chris McInroy. SUNDAY MARCH 26 4.00 PM - LONG LIVE THE KING: THE LEGACY OF KING KONG (USA) || HAMILTON PREMIERE||  Directed by Frank Dietz and Trish Geiger Trailer Poster Feature documentary about the enduring popularity of the character King Kong, and how the 1933 film has inspired countless artists, writers and filmmakers. Featuring interviews with Joe Dante (Gremlins), Doug Jones (Hellboy), Dana Gould (The Simpsons), Bob Burns (monster movie historian and collector), Greg Nicotero (The Walking Dead) and more. Screens with short film POLICY directed by Donavon Thompson.

7.00 PM - BLOOD HUNTERS (CANADA) || ONTARIO PREMIERE||  Directed by Tricia Lee Trailer Poster

A ward-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. Starring Julian Richings (Man of Steel, The VVITCH, Cube), Lara Gilchrist (Battlestar Galactica), Mark Taylor (Flashpoint), and Torri Higginson (Stargate: Atlantis).

Screens with short film UNDRESS ME directed by Amelia Moses.

SCHEDULE & TICKETS to Fright Night Theatre Film Fest Mar 24-26 Now Available!

Tickets and the full screening schedule are now available for the 2017 Fright Night Theatre Film Festival: Mar 24-26 at the Staircase Theatre in Hamilton, ON.

Join us for three nights of thrills, chills, and kills! Grab your 3-day festival pass or individual tickets on the Schedule Page.