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 Picturess TARO PR Strangers: Prey At Night
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).
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.
Attention filmmakers! Our earlybird deadline for the 2018 Hexploitation Film Festival closes December 1st!
Submit your feature-length or short horror, cult, and genre films before the end of the month to take advantage of reduced submission fees. Join the hundreds of filmmakers who are already in the running for early selection offers.
Earlybird Deadline: December 1, 2017
Standard Fee: $10 USD (features) / $5 USD (shorts) Student Fee: Free (with proof of student status)
The Hexploitation Film Festival is the only festival dedicated to horror & exploitation genre cult cinema in the greater Hamilton, ON and proudly accepts entries via FilmFreeway.com, the world's best online submission platform. FilmFreeway offers free HD online screeners, unlimited video storage, digital press kits, and more. Click to submit with FilmFreeway.
What filmmakers are saying about the HXFF
"By far one of the best festivals I have ever had a film play at|- Drew Marvick (writer/director Pool Party Massacre)
"Loads of fun!" - Craig Anderson (writer/director Red Christmas)
"This is a top festival run by people with a deep passion for the horror genre" - David Gilbank (writer/director Polterheist)
HXFF in the Press
"Aaron Allen [festival director] is Hamilton's unofficial horror meister, or, if you prefer, our master of misery, perhaps even guru of gore … earl of eerie, duke of dark, lord of the lurid, sultan of slash." - The Hamilton Spectator
"[T]he historical Canadian city of Hamilton (located just half an hour outside of Toronto), is a hotbed for horror." - Shock Till You Drop
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.
Special Guest: Greg Lamberson
This Friday, August 25, the brand new Kino Lorber restoration of George Pavlou and Clive Barker's Rawhead Rex will have its Canadian Premiere at the Staircase Theatre in Hamilton, ON (27 Dundurn St. N) presented by the Hexploitation Film Festival. We will also be joined by special guest and indie-horror icon Greg Lamberson (Johnny Gruesome, Killer Rack, Slime City)
(advance tickets close August 25, 2017 - 6:30 pm) FULL SCREENING DETAILS 8:00pm - Doors Open * Showcase of classic Clive Barker movie trailers and interview clip in Main Theatre * Collect free raffle tickets and purchase additional tickets for prizes including:
Horror Art Prints, Pins, and Merch by Ghoulish Gary Pullin
Pool Party Massacre Blu-ray & T-Shirt Prize Pack
8:30pm - Short Film: DEATH METAL
8:35pm - Feature: RAWHEAD REX
New 4K Restoration
|| CANADIAN PREMIERE ||
1986, DIR. GREG PAVLOU, 89 MIN. IRELAND / USA/ UK
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.
10:00pm - Post-Film PostMortem w/ Greg Lamberson
Indie horror film icon, author, and friend-of-the-festival Greg Lamberson and HXFF director Aaron Allen will engage the audience in an on-the-fly dissection and discussion of RAWHEAD REX.
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.
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.”
