The likes of Barbara Crampton, Rick Wakeman, James Cosmo, Toyah Willcox, Neil Marshall and Bernard Rose are just a few names set to grace this year’s FrightFest red carpet.
With the legendary Scream Queen Barbara Crampton appearing in no less than four features (WE ARE STILL HERE, ROAD GAMES, SUN CHOKE, TALES OF HALLOWEEN) at this year’s festival it’s no surprise that she will be welcomed with open arms as Film4 FrightFest’s special guest icon. Aside from introducing all her films, she’ll be talking about her amazing and extensive career during a special interview event, hosted by Alan Jones, on Sunday, August 30th.
Commenting on her impending visit to London she said, “To say that I am overjoyed, excited and eager to attend FrightFest as a guest is putting it mildly. This festival has been on my radar for some time and to be included and have four films screening is a welcome nightmare from which I hope never to wake.”
FrightFest also celebrates the prolific and enduring artist Graham Humphreys, who will be on hand to discuss his career designing posters in the DRAWING BLOOD event on Sunday, August 30th. Film4’s own Catherine Bray will be hosting a special DIY FILMMAKING panel discussion.
FrightFest will also have the pleasure of welcoming British writer/director Bernard Rose. The director such highly acclaimed cult horrors as PAPERHOUSE and CANDYMAN makes a triumphant return to the fear forefront with his reboot of FRANKENSTEIN.
As has always been the case, both the opening and closing films will boast stellar line-ups. In attendance for CHERRY TREE will be director David Keating and leading cast members Anna Walton, Naomi Battrick, Sam Hazeldine, Patrick Gibson and Minnie Phipps. For TALES OF HALLOWEEN there will be three of its directors – FrightFest veteran Neil Marshall, Axelle Carolyn and Mike Mendez.
The eclectic mix of guests also includes AAAAAAAAH! debut director and actor Steve Oram and his co-stars rock legend Toyah Willcox, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Boosh-meister Noel Fielding and Alice Lowe; Director Corin Hardy will be taking time out of prepping his reboot of THE CROW to present THE HALLOW; director, and ‘Emmerdale’ soap opera legend, Dominic Brunt, will be there with his latest thriller BAIT, alongside leading cast members Joanne Mitchell and Rula Lenska and Paul Hyett will be introducing the world premiere of his creature feature HOWL with attendances put in from cast members including Rosie Day and Ed Speelers. HAWK THE SLAYER director Terry Marcel will also be in attendance with star Ray Charleson and composer Rick Wakeman and for CAPTAIN KRONOS: VAMPIRE HUNTER, Brian Clemens sons, Sam and George Clemens, will attend, alongside Hammer Horror legend Caroline Munro.
Quite the horde of directors will be making their way to the festival this year. Over at the main screens are NINA FOREVER directors Ben and Chris Blaine, CURVE director Iain Softley, ROAD GAMES director Abner Pastoll, DEATHGASM director/writer Jason Lei Howden, JERUZALEM directors Doran and Yoav Paz, NIGHT FARE director Julien Seri, SOME KIND OF HATE director Adam Egypt Mortimer, THE DIABOLICAL director Alistair Legrand and WE ARE STILL HERE director Ted Geoghegan.
With the expansion of the Discovery Strand comes a record number of directors supporting their films. These include SUMMER CAMP director Alberto Marini (interview coming to Scream next week), Director Valentin Javier Diment, who will be coming from Argentina to present THE ROTTEN LINK and Nathan Ambrosioni, the 14-year-old French director of HOSTILE, who, legally won’t be allowed to watch his own movie.
The long list of directors continues with Mark Murphy (AWAITING), Adam Levins (ESTRANGED), Russell Freidenberg (WINDWALKERS), Liam Regan (BANJO) Jaron Henrie-McCrea (CURTAIN), Benjamin J Cresciman (SUN CHOKE), Ruth Platt (THE LESSON), Eugene McGing (THE UNFOLDING), April Mullen (FARHOPE TOWER), John Fallon (THE SHELTER) and Paul Goodwin (FUTURE SHOCK! THE STORY OF 2000AD), who is attending alongside regular FrightFest guest, producer Sean Hogan.
FrightFest will also be saying welcome back again to HANGMAN director Adam Mason, alongside MOST LIKELY TO DIE director Anthony DiBlasi, NEVER LET GO director Howard Ford and WORRY DOLLS director Padraig Reynolds.
Whilst the list of attending actors and actresses will continue to grow, the line-up so far includes Diana Vickers (AWAITING), Abigail Hardingham and Cian Barry (NINA FOREVER), Andrew Simpson (ROAD GAMES), James Cosmo, Amy Manson and Nora-Jane Noone (ESTRANGED), J.LaRose and Castille Landon (WIND WALKERS), Laurence R. Harvey and Dan Palmer (BANJO), Angela Dixon (NEVER LET GO), Robert Hands, Evan Bendall, Martin Pryca and Michaela Prchalova (THE LESSON) and GODDESS OF LOVE star, co-writer and producer Alexis Kendra.
Key producers and writers attending include DEATHGASM producer Sarah Howden, producers Junyoung Jang and Guillaume Benski (ROAD GAMES), producer Shaked Berenson (JERUZALEM), WIND WALKERS producers Strath Hamilton, Marcy Hamilton, Heather Rae and Dori Sperko, CURTAIN producer/co-writer Carys Edwards, III producer Frank Ellrich, THE SHELTER Exec. Producer Berge Garabedian and CONTRACTED: PHASE 2 writer Craig Walendziak.
We’ll leave you with the recently unleashed promotional trailer for the festival, packed to the rafters with some of the hottest horror movies I’ve had the pleasure of catching this year:
Single tickets cost £13.25 and go on sale Saturday 25 July at noon and will only be available online here
Screens 5, 6 & 7 will house the main event while the Discovery strands will play in Screens 3 & 8. The Discovery at The Prince Charles cinema strand will be in Screen 1.
Whilst you are here, why not enjoy a few interviews and reviews for a selection of the films that will be screening at this year’s festival:
BITE
Elma Begovic video interview
THE DIABOLICAL
Ali Larter interview
Review
WE ARE STILL HERE
Barbara Crampton interview
Ted Geoghegan interview
Review
STUNG
Benni Diez video interview
Review
SUN CHOKE
Sarah Hagan & Sara Malakul Lane interview
Ben Cresciman interview
Review
III
Pavel Khvaleev, Aleksandra Khvaleeva & Frank Ellrich interview
HANGMAN
Jeremy Sisto interview
Words: Howard Gorman (@HowardGorman)
