2 min readThe internationally-recognized Grimmfest returns to Manchester on 3-6 October with horror, cult, and fantastic cinema from around the globe…with the full line-up now announced! It includes a horror monster for everyone: witches, werewolves, satanists, serial killers, cannibals, creature features, ghosts, vampires, and zombies abound.
Entering its second decade, Grimmfest 2019 will host the UK, European, or Northern UK premieres of 40 feature and short films - all at the ODEON Great Northern Warehouse, in central Manchester.
A quick review of this year’s programme emphasizes the prominence of women in horror both in front of and behind the camera. Lupita Nyong’o continues her horror reign in the zom-com Little Monsters, while Helen Hunt returns to horror in the tense twisting and turning I See You. Pollyanna McIntosh will present her directorial debut Darlin’ and Abigail Blackmore will be in attendance at the screening of her anthology film Tales from the Lodge. Women continue to dominate behind the camera in Audrey Cummings’s vicious She Never Died, Jen and Sylvia Soska’s highly-anticipated remake of Rabid, and Chelsea Stardust’s splatter-satire Satanic Panic (pictured below - Arden Myrin as GYPSY).
Since the horror genre represents and speaks to our physical, political, economic, and social fears, audiences can take an international tour of current anxieties and discourses with a handful of films, including: Russia’s ‘splatterpunk’ comedy Why Don’t You Just Die! and nightmarish Quiet Comes the Dawn, Argentina’s claustrophobic 4x4 and from the US: existential revenge drama Every Time I Die, as well as The Wretched. These are just some examples! Indulge in the UK’s dark comedy A Serial Killer’s Guide to Life, Australia’s WWII creature feature Blood Vessel, Canada’s postmillennial Edgar Allan Poe-adapted Harpoon (pictured below), and Ireland’s supernatural comedy Extra Ordinary too!
In this era when remakes, reboots, children’s films, and superheroes dominate the cinema screens, this is an opportunity to discover new independent horror cinema that often struggles to find theatrical distribution. And the above are just some of the highlights of this four-day fest of horror and cult delights!
Grimmfest is also a monstrously good deal. The £90 Full Festival Pass will not only give guests four days of unlimited access to film screenings and Q&As, but also includes a devilishly good swag bag and the opportunity for autographs from special guests such as Pollyanna McIntosh! How can you resist?
Go to grimmfest.com to check out the full schedule and to purchase full festival passes, day passes, and individual film tickets.
Grimmfest
3 – 6 October 2019
Odeon Manchester Great Northern
235 Deansgate, Manchester, M3 4EN
By Heather O. Petrocelli
