Before Hellraiser, horror legend Clive Barker raised hell with his script for Rawhead Rex, the big screen adaptation of his story from his Books of Blood. Now, 30 years later, the George Pavlou directed Rawhead Rex is returning to theaters with a brand new 4k restoration, and the Hexploitation Film Festival is proud to host its Canadian Premiere - Friday, August 25 @ 8:30pm.
RAWHEAD REX - New 4K Restoration || CANADIAN PREMIERE ||
1986, DIR. GREG PAVLOU, 89 MIN. IRELAND / USA/ UK
Screens with short filmDEATH METAL (USA) || Director: Chris McInroy
Date: Friday, August 25, 2017 Time: Doors @ 8:00pm / Film @ 8:30pm Tickets: $10 (online - advance*) / $12 (at door - cash only) Location: Staircase Cafe Theatre (27 Dundurn St. N.)
RAWHEAD REX is the gruesome story of an ancient demon unleashed from hell after a millennia to rip shit up across the rural towns of Ireland and the American Historian who tries to stop him. Featuring rubber monster suits, misty fields, decapitated heads, optical lasers, and a "baptism" scene you have to see to believe! Only the kind of cult film weirdness that could be cooked up in the 80s. Hilariously awful or awfully hilarious: you decide!
*online tickets subject to a $1.09 service fee ea.
Tonight, the 2017 Fright Night Theatre Film Festival wraps its final day with two monstrous movies that are to die for! *Special Sunday Pass: $15 for both films* 4:00pm (Elaine Mae Theatre, 25 Dundurn St. N.)
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.
Tickets: $11.00 ea. (cash-only at the door) 6:00pm (Staircase Theatre, 27 Dundurn St. N.)
2017 Fright Night Theatre Film Festival Award Winner Announcement
Join us as we announce the winners of our FNTFF Awards including winners in our short film and feature film categories.
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.
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
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
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 STIRSdirected by Anthony Cousins
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.)
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The Fright Night Theatre Film Fest returns this Fall to Hamilton, Ontario (September 30 - October 01) at the Staircase Theatre for two nights of horror, cult, and genre film mayhem - now offering more monsters, more maniacs, and more murder!
Poster art by Trevor Henderson
This Fall, the FNTFF will be pushing the boundaries of horror, imagination, and good taste with a premiere-studded festival featuring 7 feature films and 21 shorts by visionary creators, exciting independent talent, and emerging student filmmakers from seven different countries.
Check out all the horror, cult, and exploitation madness that awaits with our full feature film lineup!
FEATURE FILMS
BRACKENMORE
|| WORLD PREMIERE! ||
*Supernatural Suspense-Thriller* UK
The FNTFF is proud to host the world debut of directing duo Chris Kemble and J.P. Davidson's suspenseful thriller from the UK: BRACKENMORE
After the untimely death of an uncle she never knew she had, a young woman must return to her ancestral home on a tiny rural village in Ireland where she soon discovers that the suspicious townsfolk and secluded estate of her dead family is harboring a dark and ancient secret.
Set against the backdrop of one of the most beautiful landscapes in the world Brackenmore weaves together an exploration of occult ritual with the darkness of human drama.
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ATTACK OF THE LEDERHOSENZOMBIES
|| NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE! ||
*Alpine Action and Hilarious Zombie Comedy Gore* AUSTRIA
Strap on your skis and get ready to hit the slopes with the flesh-hungry undead in the hilarious, quirky, and blood-soaked zombie comedy ATTACK OF THE LEDERHOSENZOMBIES
A trio of young, professional stunt snowboarders are stuck at a remote mountain ski resort where an all-night aprés-ski party soon turns into a hellish nightmare after an ill-fated scientific experiment unleashes an epidemic of zombies and mutant wildlife. But who can tell the drunken partygoers apart from the zombie threat?
Dominik Hartl's Attack of the Lederhosenzombies is a gleefully gut-filled splatter comedy in the vein of Dead Alive and Evil Dead 2 where everything from snowboards to machine guns become weapons against the yodeling undead.
NIGHT OF SOMETHING STRANGE
|| Canadian Premiere! ||
*Gross-Out Body Horror Comedy*
USA
Prepare to be offended! The FNTFF is bringing Jonathan Straiton's award-winning and fan-acclaimed teenage sex comedy / zombie gore fest NIGHT OF SOMETHING STRANGE to Canada.
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.
Winner of 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 gleefully disgusting tour de force of comedy, action, and gross-out gore that takes the meaning of bad taste to a whole new level.
PLANK FACE
|| Canadian Premiere! ||
*Intense Survival Horror in the Woods* USA
Bandit Motion Pictures, Scott Schirmer and Brian Williams, the creators of HARVEST LAKE (winner of 10 FNTFF awards), unleash their wild sides with their latest crowdfunding indie-horror success: the violent and psychologically disturbing PLANK FACE.
While on a camping trip, a man is captured by a family of feral, wood-dwelling cannibals who want to make him one of their tribe. Can he successfully hold on to his humanity, or will he find their wild, depraved ways too enticing? Co-starring Ellie Church (Frankenstein Created Bikers, Harvest Lake)
Hot off the FNTFF Canadian Premiere of Harvest Lake earlier this year, we are just foaming at the mouth to showcase the latest from Bandit Motion Pictures.
BONEJANGLES
|| Canadian Premiere! ||
*B-Movie Horror Spoof* USA
In what would have been in another decade a straight-to-VHS B-movie, the brand new horror spoof BONEJANGLES makes its Canadian Premiere at the FNTFF and brings with it a gratuitous cameo from Phantasm's Reggie Bannister.
To safely deliver the unstoppable masked slasher-killer Bonejangles to a nearby asylum, a rag-tag group of police officers must first survive a hellish pit stop: a cursed town where the dead rise from their graves. Hometown boy turned cop, Doug, must find the courage to face Bonejangles, an undead horde, a succubus witch, and - worst of all - prove to his high school sweetheart that he has what it takes to be the hero.
Bonejangles is a goofy micro-budget homage to 80's horror sequels and cult trash cinema that's equal parts chuckles and chills.
THE DARK TAPES
|| Canadian Premiere! || *Radical Found Footage Horror Anthology* USA
Written, produced, and directed by Michael McQuown, THE DARK TAPESexemplifies the indie spirit of the FNTFF. It's a zero-budget film with 100% real scares and smarter twists than most big Hollywood blockbusters.
A genre-defying mixture of horror, sci-fi, and mystery told as an anthology of found footage tales. Ghosts, spirits, creatures, demons and more from the paranormal world collide with the rational lens of the found footage camera. Could the supernatural exist in our everyday lives and have a plausible, scientific basis? The Dark Tapes explores this and more with surprising, sometimes shocking results that will leave you questioning what could be real. Starring an up and coming ensemble group of actors such as Brittany Underwood (TV star of Hollywood Heights, One Life To Live & Youthful Daze), Cortney Palm (Sushi Girl, Zombeavers) and Emilia Ares Zoryan (Amazon's Bosch: Season 2).
Fans of horror anthologies and found footage films like Blair Witch, Grave Encounters, and Paranormal Activity will dig this latest foray into sinful cinéma vérité.
NOVA SEED
|| Hamilton Premiere! ||
*Animated Action/Fantasy/Sci-Fi Adventure* CANADA
From the gross to the gorgeous, the FNTFF is honoured to also host 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 and drawn by hand, frame by glorious frame. NOVA SEEDis 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.
SHORT FILMS
The FNTFF is also thrilled to present 21 horror, sci-fi, and genre shorts as part of our fan-favorite short film program:
THE BIRCH (UK) || Director: Ben Franklin and Anthony Melton
A bullied schoolboy takes drastic measures against his tormentor, summoning an ancient being in the woods using a spellbound book passed down through the generations of his family.
At Salt’ n Sugar, a popcorn bar in the middle of nowhere, Lily, a bored waitress, is going to turn her life around when two fishy strangers show up in the bar.
BUNKER GAME (FRANCE) || Director: Lionel Compte
A man is holding a young girl prisoner in a bunker. He makes her play a game of Connect 4. If she wins, she is allowed to eat.
CARTAPHILUS (CANADA) || Ontario Premiere || Director: Luke Freeman
On the frontiers of the wild west, an immortal cowboy hunts a demon bandit.
GRAVEYARD SHIFT (CANADA) || North American Premiere || Director: Carlos Schvepper
In this comedic animated short, a gravedigger extremely committed to his work finds the body parts of people he has buried have suddenly gone missing. Freaky Frankenstein fun ensues.
HADA (SPAIN) || Director: Tony Morales
On the night Daniel loses his last baby tooth, he doesn't want to be left alone. He is afraid that his imaginary friend Sam will appear and he will be visited by Hada, the tooth fairy. As he clings to his flashlight, Daniel soon comes to realize that the things lurking at the edge of the dark are sometimes better left unseen.
HIDE: BLOODY MARY (USA) || Canadian Premiere || Director: Evan Sweet
Surrounded by the dark woods, a man plays a game of Bloody Mary within the confines of his lonely cabin.
INTO THE MUD (SPAIN) || Director: Pablo Pastor
A young woman wakes up naked in the middle of the woods. After the initial confusion and verifying that she's hurt, she discovers a fisherman and hunter who will not easily let his new prey escape. Let the hunt begin.
IT'S ALL IN YOUR HEAD (CANADA) || Director: Greg Jeffs
A bedtime story about the monster in the closet that's not what you expect.
Bree, a dishonest 9-year-old, receives a terrifying visitor after a parenting lesson goes horribly wrong.
THE MONSTER (UK) || Director: Bob Pipe
Trying to resurrect his washed up film career, an iconic monster takes a part in a modern day slasher film. A true gent, he finds the medium distasteful, but falls in love with his leading lady.
MONSTERS(USA) || Ontario Premiere || Director: Steve Desmond Jenn lives in an underground bunker with her family, protected from the monsters that now ravage the world. This is the day that she goes outside…
NASTY (UK) || Director: Prano Bailey-Bond
It's 1982. Twelve-year old Doug is drawn into the lurid world of VHS horror as he explores the mysterious disappearance of his father.
NEVER TEAR US APART (CANADA) || Hamilton Premiere || Director: Sid Zanforlin
When two friends approach a small cabin in the woods, the sweet-natured old folks they’re looking for turn out to be crazed back woods cannibal killers.
NIGHTTIME IS COLD AND LONELY LIKE A MOTEL ALONGSIDE A DESOLATE ROAD (CANADA) || Director: Aya Akl
Private dick Al Mackey needs to solve the case of Ms. Beverly's missing Maltese necklace while struggling to keep his sanity.
POLTERHEIST (UK) || Canadian Premiere || Director: David Gilbank
Two small time criminals kidnap a psychic medium and force her to contact the gang boss they murdered in an attempt to find a buried a stash of cash.
REDHEAD (USA) || Director: Joe Zerull
A dark comedy from the point of view of a recently decapitated head.
ROADSIDE ASSISTANCE (USA) || Ontario Premiere || Director Bears Fonte
A mysterious woman stranded by the side of the road hitches a ride with a passing stranger – neither of them is who they seem.
SHELL(GERMANY) || Director: Daniel Ahrens
A fully animated experimental short film about the horrors of cancer.
THE STYLIST (USA) || Ontario Premiere || Director: Jill Gevargizian Claire is a lonely hairstylist with an unnerving desire to escape her disappointing reality. When her final client of the evening arrives with the request to look perfect, Claire has plans of her own.
TIK-TIK (CANADA) || Director: Larica Perera
Fearful villagers gather at the beside of a woman nearing labour as they prepare for the presence of a sinister creature.
