Tales of Halloween
Just in time to warm up South Florida for Halloween, comes the Popcorn Frights Film Festival. It marks the region’s first film festival dedicated to the horror film genre. All movies will be Florida premieres. It will take place from Oct. 1 through Oct. 4, and all screenings are at 11pm and feature shorts, creating a grindhouse kind of experience for every screening. Some films feature big names from the horror genre, from directors like Neil Marshall (The Descent) to actors like Kurt Russell.
The festival was put together by two experts of the film programming scene, Miami Jewish Film Festival executive director Igor Shteyrenberg and Marc Ferman, a local film critic and host of many vintage movie screenings at Popcorn Nights at Miami’s O Cinema. The festival will unfold at O Cinema’s Wynwood location. The line-up, which appropriately kicks off with an omnibus of horror shorts called Tales of Halloween, was announced Monday. We were given permission to share their press release below, which reveals the full line-up, schedule and ticket details with some handy links.
For immediate release Monday, August 10, 2015
SOUTH FLORIDA’S FIRST AND ONLY HORROR FILM FESTIVAL KICKS-OFF THIS OCTOBER
MIAMI, FL – Horror fans will soon rejoice as South Florida’s first and only genre film festival, the Popcorn Frights Film Festival, launches October 1-4, 2015 at the O Cinema Wynwood, premiering four acclaimed and highly anticipated international films, and an additional six shorts. “We’re thrilled to present such an array of cool, twisted, beautiful, mind-bending, horrifying, and hilarious films for our inaugural genre festival,” said Co-Founders & Co-Directors Igor Shteyrenberg & Marc Ferman. “We scoured the globe for the freshest and craziest films to present for our community of film lovers, and this first incredible selection of films just gives a small taste of the fun that will be in store as our Festival grows in future editions.”
The program for the first annual Popcorn Frights Film Festival is a fearsome feast filled with vampires, werewolves, psycho slashers, cannibals, and all the sinister things that go bump in the night. Opening Night will see the Florida Premiere of Tales of Halloween, an anthology film featuring shorts by the likes of Neil Marshall (The Descent), Luck McKee (May), and Darren Lynn Bousman (Saw II), while the closing night highlight will be Bone Tomahawk, starring Kurt Russsell, Matthew Fox, Patrick Wilson, David Arquette, and Sid Haig in a horrific Western about how the west was truly won…against savage cannibals!
Other buzzy entries in the lineup include the Florida Premieres of Howl, An American Werewolf in London-inspired creature feature, and the genre-bending supernatural shocker Diabolical, starring Ali Larter (Final Destination, Heroes). In addition to these feature films, the Festival will also present six award-winning short films as part of its official program, notably “The Night of the Slasher,” a remarkable shot-in-one-take short with nods to the slasher genre’s roots, and the eerie stop motion animated film “The Shutterbug Man,” which features a voice over narration by the queen of horror Barbara Steele.
NIGHT OF THE SLASHER (SHORT FILM)
Night of the Slasher
The Festival’s Opening Night on Thursday, October 1st will kick-off with an under the stars courtyard reception courtesy of Pollo Tropical. The reception will be exclusive to the Festival’s Badge Holders. LOCATION: All films will screen at 11pm at the O Cinema Wynwood (90 NW 29th Street).
TICKET SALES: Festival Premiere Badges are on sale for a limited time for $45, and single screening tickets are available for $12. To purchase badges or tickets and view the Festival schedule, visit www.popcornfrights.com MORE INFORMATION: Follow the Popcorn Frights Film Festival on Facebook (/popcornfrights) or Twitter (@popcornfrights) for updates with the latest information about the Festival. Join the conversation using the hashtag #popcornfrights on social media.
FESTIVAL LINEUP
October 1st
TALES OF HALLOWEEN, Florida Premiere Directed by Darren Lynn Bousman, Axelle Carolyn, Adam Gierasch, Andrew Kasch, Neil Marshall, Lucky McKee, Mike Mendez, Dave Parker, Ryan Schifrin, John Skipp, Paul Solet
US | 92 minutes | 2015
Ten tales of terror unfold in a sleepy suburb on All Hallows Eve as ghouls, imps, aliens, goblins, demons, axe murders, and serial killers roam the witching hour. Join our celebration of all things Halloween with a host of dreaded nightmares directed by the cream of the scream industry crop.
INVADERS, Florida premiere Directed by Jason Kupfer
US | 7 minutes | 2014
It’s Thanksgiving and two would-be robbers are planning a quick heist. But they might get more than they bargained for.
October 2nd
THE DIABOLICAL, Florida Premiere Directed by Alistair Legrand
US | 86 minutes | 2015
Ali Larter (Final Destination, Heroes) stars in this genre-bending supernatural shocker as a single mother trying to protect her two young children from an increasingly strange and intense presence tormenting their quiet suburban home. Seeking help from her boyfriend, they embark on a hunt to destroy the violent spirit.
THE SHUTTERBUG MAN, Florida Premiere Directed by Chris Walsh
Canada | 5 minutes | 2014
An all-out stop motion horror short that’s heavy on shadows and atmosphere and narrated by the queen of horror Barbara Steele.
Howl
HUSH, Florida Premiere Directed by Michael Kehoe
US | 6 minutes | 2015
A young college graduate babysits an 8 year old girl during a terrible storm, only to realize their house is possessed by a malevolent entity.
October 3rd
HOWL, Florida Premiere Directed by Paul Hyett
UK | 95 minutes | 2015
Make-up effects master Paul Hyett (Dog Soldiers, The Descent) creates a lycanthropic horror tale about a group of passengers on a midnight train who find themselves under attack by a terrifying pack of werewolves. As his effects background might imply, Hyett completely eschews CGI beasts and takes a more American Werewolf-inspired practical approach that is unlike anything the silver screen has seen before.
BAD GUY #2, Florida Premiere Directed by Chris McInroy
US | 10 minutes | 2014 This outrageously gory comedy follows a struggling hitman whose upward mobility lands him at the dreaded position of Bad Guy #2 – a prominent but ultimately expendable character in the bad guy pantheon – leaving him no choice but to up his game or die violently at the hands of his emotionally erratic boss. NIGHT OF THE SLASHER, Florida Premiere Directed by Shant Hamassian US | 12 minutes | 2015 Every slasher has rules for selecting his prey. But tonight’s prey might have the upper hand.
October 4th
Bone Tomahawk
BONE TOMAHAWK, Florida Premiere Directed by S. Craig Zahler
US | 95 minutes | 2015 Kurt Russell stars in this character driven and horrific Western about a group of men (including Patrick Wilson, Matthew Fox, and Richard Jenkins) who set out to rescue a local woman and a young deputy who have been kidnapped by a tribe of cannibalistic troglodytes. This is a men-on-a-mission Western full of all the genre staples we love, but with the added joys of brutal horror such that, by the end of the film, you will understand how the west was truly won…against savage cannibals!
CROW HAND!!!, Florida Premiere Directed by Brian Lonano US | 3 minutes | 2014 The title says it all!
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ABOUT POPCORN FRIGHTS FILM FESTIVAL
Popcorn Frights Film Festival presents the very best genre films from across the world as it celebrates the art of horror. As the first and only horror/genre festival in South Florida, its mission is to premiere films from emerging and established filmmakers enabling the industry and general audiences to experience the power of storytelling through genre film. The inaugural Popcorn Frights Film Festival will occur October 1-4, 2015.
~ Hans Morgenstern | The Independent Ethos | www.indieethos.wordpress.com
