FrightFest, the horror fantasy event returns to Glasgow Film Festival for its 13th year, from Thursday March 1, to Saturday March 3, 2018.
This year’s bold line-up, once again housed at the iconic Glasgow Film Theatre, embraces the latest horror, fantasy and sci-fi discoveries from ten countries, spanning four continents, reflecting the world-wide popularity of the genre.
Ghost Stories remains one of the scariest stage shows ever seen and on Thursday night FrightFest kicks off with a special screening of Andy Nyman and Jeremy Dyson’s smash hit phenomenon. Starring Martin Freedman, Paul Whitehouse, as well as Nyman, this unforgettable screen adaptation terrifies in a whole new thrilling and chilling dimension. Jeremy and Andy will be attending. This is followed by the Scottish premiere of Brian O’Malley’s supernatural romance The Lodgers, a masterful Irish set Gothic ghost story, starring Charlotte Vega and David Bradley.
Friday’s line-up lunges into vampiric action with the UK premiere of Dragos Buliga’s The Wanderers: Quest of the Demon Hunter, an inspired modern twist on Transylvanian mythology. This is followed by the world premiere of writer/director Kelly Greene’s pastiche gem Attack of the Bat Monsters. If you liked The Love Witch, this is your new retro-perfect jam and Kelly will be in attendance. Next up is the UK premiere of The Ravenous, writer/director Robin Aubert’s surreal and wickedly humorous addition to the Living Dead canon.
The 8.45pm presentation is the UK premiere of the powerfully gripping Cold Skin. At the vanguard of French extreme cinema, director Xavier Gens made his name with Frontiere(s) and The Divide. Now he brings us a stunning adaptation of Albert Sánchez Piñol’s acclaimed novel that’s part H.P. Lovecraft, part Joseph Conrad and Xavier will be at the festival to discuss his film. Rounding off the evening is the European premiere of Primal Rage, a creature feature that blows the lid off traditional Bigfoot mythology. Special effects guru/director Patrick Magee has created an intelligent, cunning primitive warrior being guaranteed to terrify.
Getting the Saturday program off to a demonically hellish start is the UK premiere of Paul Urkijo’s visually breath-taking fantasy The Blacksmith and the Devil a vivid Basque fairy-tale, produced by Spanish legend Alex de la Iglesia, This is followed by the European premiere of supernatural chiller Pyewacket, a beautifully paced, dread-filled study of occult belief by writer/director Adam MacDonald. Next up is the UK premiere of Friendly Beast, Gabriela Amaral Almeida’s intense shocker, which explores the latent evil within us all.
Climb on board for a fiendishly tense slay-ride as the evening programme kicks off with the UK premiere of director Adam Marcus’ savvy seasonal shocker Secret Santa. Marcus will be joined onstage by some of the cast and producers. Following this is the much anticipated UK premiere of Tigers Are Not Afraid, an unflinching South of the Border cautionary fable, an audacious mix of Pan’s Labyrinth and Narcos, which firmly announces director Issa López as a rising star of Mexico’s New Wave cinema.
This year’s global celebration of the genre ends on an adrenalin-fuelled high with the European premiere of Neil Mackay’s ultra-violent, action-packed thriller Sixty Minutes to Midnight. Actor Arnold Sydney Junior and producer Frank Leraci will be in Glasgow to introduce the movie.
Alan Jones, FrightFest co-director, said today: “With our bold choices and the quality of programming, FrightFest is once again positioned to deliver at our beloved second home in Glasgow. It’s no surprise to us that the genre has just had its biggest and most successful year. If you’ve ever attended one of our events, you’ll know exactly why. For FrightFest will always create a communal space where the pure enjoyment of the occasion is paramount and a vital shared experience. Welcome to our Pleasure Dome, FrightFest- Glasgow-style”.
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