On the 30th and 31st October, Manchester’s purveyors of cutting-edge horror content Grimmfest (Manchester’s international horror film festival) will be hosting two online evenings packed with horror film premieres – meaning audiences far and wide can join from home!

How will it work? Tickets holders will be able to tune in from 6pm each evening and watch the specially curated selection of horror movies (featuring over four hours of material each night!) with the ability to even pause, stop and restart content! And Grimmfest are certainly pulling out all the stops by treating viewers not just to exciting horror picks, but proper film premieres – adding all-the-more to the special cinema experience. Bold new content is much more likely to spook than something predictable, after all…

Grimmfest The dark and delightful line-up opens with two feature film UK premieres; the first being the bold and bloody satire Beast Mode, exploring the crassness of celebrity culture with some cruel twists, delivered by an all-cult-star-cast…. and some monsters too! Homewrecker is the second film, an exploration of an uneasy relationship between two yoga classmates that turns toxic, directed by Zach Gayne. This is social awkwardness, turned savage.

There will also be a selection for short films for each evening, so even more variety! Cottonmouth will bring the intensity of night terrors to the screen in its UK premiere, whilst the perils of parenting are explored in the English premiere of Shhh. Air B&B horror is the contemporary subject of In The Mirrors which will be having its international premiere, whilst fans of supernatural thrillers can feast on Abracitos. The Shade will also have its international premiere, and with a world premiere there is the nightmarish “Home”.

Halloween night itself the 31st October, then follows with two more feature film premieres and a selection of shorts to get audiences in the spooky mood! Urban myths come together with raw reality lessons in the UK premiere of Bad Candy, an anthology movie ideal for the season. Alternative music fans may well delight at the other offering of the evening – Spare Parts – a film that sees an all-girl punk band faced with having to fight to the death in a modern-day gladiatorial arena, complete with a high-adrenaline soundtrack! Expect gaudiness, gore and plenty of gusto!

Halloween evening’s short film selection includes a dark tale of body disposal in the form of Pelican Milkshake, the fearful side of false promises in Re-home, and alienation-turned-liberation in A Witch Is Born. Fancy some grisly comedy? Green Cobra may be the answer, a funny-frightful flick following the antics of a hitwoman, whilst there is also macabre farce in the countryside in the form of The Doe. All these films are premiering in the UK for the first time!

These two evenings of intense and evocative horror mark a fitting follow-on from Grimmfest's impressive 2020 Online Edition which took place earlier in October, and marked the festival’s twelfth year, in new virtual circumstances (an innovative measure in response to the Covid-19 pandemic circumstances). Read more about the 2020 edition and the award winners at their website

Dare to be scared? Tickets for the Halloween horror evenings are available online, with full details here: https://halloweenhorrornights.eventive.org/welcome