Dead by Dawn International Horror Film Festival, returns to Filmhouse, in Edinburgh, Scotland, for it’s 26th Edition, April 18 to 21 with cult favorite, director Jeff Lieberman as the Guest of Honor. Jeff will host a retrospective of his films Blue Sunshine, Remote Control, Just Before Dawn, Squirm and Satan’s Little Helper.
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The Brooklyn Horror Film Festival added five more features to the 2018 lineup, including the North American Premiere of Paulo Leite’s supernatural thriller INNER GHOSTS and Danishka Esterhazy’s dystopian women-led satire LEVEL 16. The 2018 Brooklyn Horror Fest runs October 11th to 18th with events and screenings at Nitehawk Cinema, Syndicated, LIU Kumble Theatre, Videology, Wythe Hotel Cinema and IFP’s Made in NY Media Center.
INNER GHOSTS (North American Premiere)
Brazil/Portugal | 2018 | 89 Min | Dir. Paulo Leite
To call Dr. Helen’s research “revolutionary” would be one hell of an understatement. Hoping to find a cure for brain diseases, Helen has developed a theory that such ailments can be treated by testing on ghosts, all of whom, of course, don’t need brain functions in order to act. As Helen sees it, if she can tap into how ghosts do that, she can figure out a way to get brain disease patients to communicate through their souls. Lofty, indeed. But after Helen’s young daughter dies suddenly, she puts her research on hold, refusing to connect to the afterlife anymore. Before long, a stranger’s request sends Helen back to the spirit world; as it turns out, though, something evil has been waiting there for her.
Fans of INSIDIOUS, take note: INNER GHOSTS delivers the same kinds of supernaturally charged goods. Writer-director Paulo Leite’s impressive debut fuses heavy science with a Lin-Shaye-like hero, nightmarish demons, otherworldly twists and a third act that’s as relentlessly assaultive as it is audaciously off-the-wall.
LEVEL 16 (East Coast Premiere)
Canada | 2018 | 102 Min | Dir. Danishka Esterhazy
Co-Presented by The Future of Film is Female
Having spent their entire lives trapped in a prison-like school, the teenage girls of Vestalis Academy must follow a strict educational system that enforces conforming to “The Feminine Virtues.” They are forced to follow the school’s rules for fear of extreme punishment – with the light at the end of the tunnel being adoption to a loving upper class family. Sixteen-year-olds Vivien and Sophia, who have reached the final level of the school are on the cusp of adoption, until they learn the horrifying truth about the academy.
Canadian filmmaker Danishka Esterhazy crafts a cold female-centric satire featuring striking imagery of a dystopian society. Loaded with charismatic performances, LEVEL 16 is an intense and cerebral experience like no other. Sure to get under your skin by the finale, Esterhazy will take you on a journey through the past, complete with characters named after classic Hollywood stars to express a sharp, feminist critique.
The Night Shifter
Brazil | 2018 | 110 Min | Dir. Dennison Ramalho
You know that old expression, “Dead men tell no tales”? Well, don’t tell that to Stênio, a well-meaning family-man whose life is, prior to understanding the falsehood of that old expression, a mess. His wife can’t stop reminding him that their situation is dire thanks to financial stresses and general marital discord; even worse, when he’s working as a mortician, mean-spirited paramedics make it their second job to routinely make fun of Stênio. Weirdly enough, his reprieve comes from the corpses he works on, all of whom can communicate with him. But when one specific stiff reveals a big secret, Stênio finds himself, as well as his family, under attack, turning his world into a living hell courtesy of the undead.
Blending dark humor with visceral scares and buckets of gore, Brazilian filmmaker Dennison Ramalho (“J is for Jesus” in ABCS OF DEATH 2) makes his feature debut with the kind of full-throttle horror film that’s directly engineered for a thrill-seeking festival audience. No-holds-barred in its hardcore nature, THE NIGHT SHIFTER goes all out in its depiction of one man’s inner rage being exposed by the should-be deceased.
TENANTS (New York Premiere)
Mexico | 2018 | 88 Min | Dir. Chava Cartas
Picking up the pieces after a traumatic event, Luzma and Demián move into a new apartment complex. Before they’re even unpacked, strange interactions with the secretive landlord and a disturbed handyman quickly put a dash on the young couple’s hopes for a fresh start. To make matters worse, Luzma begins to suffer from terrible hallucinations and Demián seems less and less himself. There’s something truly wrong with this apartment.
Mixing traditional haunted house tropes with region specific mythology to great effect, TENANTS explores the dark extremes of local religious practices of Santería and Brujería witchcraft. Part ROSEMARY’S BABY with a little AMITYVILLE HORROR, Mexican director Chava Cartas first foray into horror carves out a space in religious horror all its own.
TUMBBAD
India | 2018 | 109 Min | Dir. Rahi Anil Barve, Adesh Prasad
Throughout his young life, Vinayak has heard the legend surrounding his family’s home: There’s a demon guarding his family’s treasure and he best not challenge it. But when his great-grandmother dies, Vinayak inherits both the fortune and the creature protecting it. Fast-forward to adult Vinayak and his ingenious idea: Slowly but surely, he’ll sneak pieces of the treasure out by tricking the demon in various way, a plan he’s carried out successfully for years. That is, until his greedy family inadvertently angers the demon. Once that happens, all bets are off.
TUMBBAD is not only a truly scary-as-hell horror film, but it’s an ambitious blend of historical drama, supernatural creativity, creature feature insanity and character-driven tension.
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Fantastic Fest returns for its 14th year with more offbeat and brilliant cinema and revealed the first waves of films featured at the upcoming festival. Fantastic Fest will present the World Premiere of the bone-chilling World War II horror-thriller OVERLORD, produced by J.J. Abrams’ Bad Robot, with director Julius Avery and stars Jovan Adepo, Wyatt Russell, Pilou Asbaek, John Magaro and Mathilde Ollivier in attendance. This exhilarating, nerve-shredding ride tells the story of American paratroopers dropped into occupied France on the eve of D-Day who discover a secret Nazi lab carrying out terrifying and bizarre supernatural experiments.
Fantastic Fest alumni return to the festival in a dual threat that promises to shock, awe and conquer audiences. First up APOSTLE sees Gareth Evans’ (THE RAID) take on the folk horror genre with Dan Stevens as a mysterious man infiltrating a sinister cult headed by Michael Sheen to rescue his sister with eye-gouging results. Then, Timo Tjahjanto pits Joe Taslim against Iko Uwais (THE RAID) in THE NIGHT COMES FOR US, an action thriller where the body count breaks new records in bone-crunching fights, venomous violence and dynamic destruction!
Fantastic Fest’s mission to bring the best of genre continues to flourish with a worldwide group of films headed to Austin for a celebration unlike any other. Leading the pack is returning comedic genius Quentin Dupieux (RUBBER) with his unexpected tale of a police interrogation during a murder investigation over the course of one night in the North American Premiere of KEEP AN EYE OUT. Director Alejandro Fadel’s cerebral Cannes shocker MURDER ME, MONSTER will also have its North American Premiere at the festival. Sensational shot-on-16mm psychotropic horror LUZ will be in Austin for its U.S. Premiere, and the thrilling Swedish independent blockbuster THE UNTHINKABLE will blast the audience with its European take on a nation-under-siege big-budget spectacle at its World Premiere.
Other Fantastic Fest highlights include a focus on global female genre filmmakers who are blasting through the silver screen with distinctive and brilliant features. From Ukraine, Marysia Nikitiuk explores the clash between old world values and young love in a visually charged fusion of genres in WHEN THE TREES FALL. Spain’s Sonia Escolano turns up the tension in her mesmerising treatise on religion, faith and belief in HOUSE OF SWEAT AND TEARS. Isabella Eklof brings her Sundance critical hit HOLIDAY to the fest all the way from Denmark. And finally, alumna Amanda Kramer makes an unforgettable mark with her distinctive debut LADYWORLD, a post-apocalyptic, daring probe into the darkest reaches of the teenage female mind.
Fantastic Fest turns its eye to South Korea and explores the Korean Quota Quickies, a period in the 1970s which saw filmmaking flourish despite stifling ideological censorship thanks to a quota system which required a strict number of local productions be made for each of the foreign films imported. Although most of these were rushed productions, clever directors used the system to their advantage to sneak strange and daring content past producers, directors and censors. Fantastic Fest is going to present two very rarely seen films from the period: BANGREUMYEON from director Kim Ki-Young, one of Park Chan-Wook’s directing idols, and QUIT YOUR LIFE from director Park Nou-Sik, who provided the literal roadmap for all Korean revenge movies to come.“To be able to highlight a period of Korean cinema that is largely unknown in North America is a brilliant opportunity to not only re-discover what shaped the modern Korean cinema we all know and love, but also a great way to tap into the sheer electric creative force running through the films as shaped by the strict authoritarian environment they were created in,” says FF Creative Director Evrim Ersoy. The festival will also bring the best of modern Korean cinema to the festival including Lee Chang-dong’s critical Cannes hit BURNING.
AGFA (the American Genre Film Archive) triumphantly returns to the festival with a trio of restorations all receiving the World Premiere treatment. ‘80s shot-on-video epic BLOOD LAKE is restored from the 1” master tapes and arrives alongside a double bill of I WAS A TEENAGE SERIAL KILLER and MARY JANE’S NOT A VIRGIN ANYMORE, celebrating the punk riot grrrl feminist cinema of Sarah Jacobson, both in brand new 2K preservations. Plus the highly-anticipated World Premiere of MANIAC, restored lovingly from the once-thought-lost 16mm negatives into 4K; with director William Lusting in attendance!
A bizarre trio of animation from across the world arrives at the festival to showcase the most daring, dangerous and unique styles. From Japan and the demented mind of Ujicha comes VIOLENCE VOYAGER, a stop-motion cornucopia of mesmerising madness. From Chile, directing duo Cristóbal León and Joaquín Cociña’s breathtaking WOLF HOUSE, featuring perhaps the most inherently sinister and chilling story in any film this year. And finally, from Czech Republic and building on the great Czech puppet animation tradition arrives Aurel Klimt’s delightfully untrue but entertaining story of the first dog in space, LAIKA.