Grimmfest, one of the UK’s leading cult and genre film festivals, will take place at the Odeon Great Northern cinema in Manchester, from Thursday 3rd – Sunday 6th October 2019.
This year, the festival will host 21 feature films and 19 short films, including six European premieres, 17 UK premieres, two English premieres and 15 Northern UK premieres.
European premieres will include Audrey Cummings’ laconically brutal She Never Died (the follow up to 2015 horror hit He Never Died), claustrophobic Argentinian thriller 4X4 and Australian WWII set creature feature, Blood Vessel. UK Premieres will include Hollywood cultist horror 1BR, Canadian mind bender Dead Dicks, existential revenge drama Every Time I Die and Russian sleep experiments in Quiet Comes the Dawn.
Other premieres will include Irish comedy horror Extra Ordinary, UK director Adam Randall’s devious, perception-challenging thriller I See You, starring Helen Hunt, and British self-help-through-slaughter satire A Serial Killer’s Guide to Life.
2019 sees the festival’s strongest ever line-up of films from women directors and screenwriters or driven by strong female characters. The opening night offers three female-helmed features: Audrey Cummings’ She Never Died; outrageous splatter-satire Satanic Panic, from debuting director Chelsea Stardust and Fangoria films; and Abigail Blackmore’s droll UK comedy horror Tales from the Lodge, with cast and crew including Abigail and actress Kelly Wenham expected in attendance.
The focus on women in horror will continue with a guest line-up that includes Pollyanna McIntosh (Jadis from The Walking Dead), who will be presenting her directorial debut Darlin’, a follow up to the infamous The Woman; and the Soska Sisters (American Mary) will be hosting a screening of their much-anticipated reimagining of the Cronenberg classic, Rabid.
And if classic monsters are your thing, there’re werewolves in the UK premiere of Loom, vampires in the UK premiere of The Shed and the European premiere of Blood Vessel, and to close the festival, Lupita Nyong’o (Black Panther, Star Wars) takes on the zombie hordes in the regional premiere of Little Monsters.
This year, all films in Grimmfest’s official selection will be competing for 14 awards, including Best Feature Film, Best Short Film, Best Director, Best SFX and Best Cinematography. The awards will be judged by a select jury headed up by actress and horror genre icon Barbara Crampton.
When: 3rd – 6th October 2019
Where: Odeon Great Northern cinema in Manchester
£: Festival passes cost £16 – £90. Individual tickets cost £8.50 each or £7 for concessions
More info: grimmfest.com
Leave a comment