It’s that time of year again. The nights are drawing in, the skies are increasingly overcast, the weather is disturbingly unpredictable. There’s something dark coming. Grimmfest 2015 is almost upon us. And as ever, Grimmfest will be welcoming a handful of horror cohorts as guests to the event. This years line-up includes (from the press release):
THUR 1st Oct
For our opening night, we’ll be proving that it really is Grimm Up North, with our showcase of Northern shorts. This will feature the world premiere of THE BOX, which marks the directorial debut of SFX make-up guru, SHAUNE HARRISON, who has worked on everything from HELLRAISER 3, through to HARRY POTTER, THE AVENGERS, WORLD WAR Z and STAR WARS, and now runs his own Make-Up Academy here in Manchester. Shaune will be joining us, alongside the film’s stars. DOMINIC BRUNT, best known for his role in EMMERDALE,but increasingly known in genre circles as a go-to director for gritty, intense, critically-acclaimed horror features BEFORE DAWN and BAIT, and JOANNE MITCHELL, Dom’s partner and creative collaborator, writer, producer and star of both films.
Our gala headline opening feature will be the North West Premiere of nerve-racking rural shocker THE HALLOW. We’ll be joined by director CORIN HARDY, who has just secured directorial duties on the upcoming CROW reboot on the strength of his work here and star JOSEPH MAWLE, a familiar face to genre fans, following his work in GAME OF THRONES, RIPPER STREET, SENSE8, ABRAHAM LINCOLN: VAMPIRE HUNTER, and THE AWAKENING.
FRI 2nd Oct
For our second day, we’re proud to be presenting the UK premiere of GERMAN ANGST, a portmanteau of peculiarly Teutonic tales of terror, from some of that country’s most controversial directors, and we’ll be welcoming DENIS LYONS, star of the visceral and disquieting central story, “Make A Wish”, to introduce and talk about his experiences on the film.
For our North West Premiere screening of the acclaimed woodland witchcraft shocker, CHERRY TREE, we’re delighted to be joined by the film’s screenwriter and producer, BRENDAN MCCARTHY. This is Brendan’s second collaboration with director David Keating, following the acclaimed WAKEWOOD, which relaunched the Hammer brand, but Brendan’s name should also be familiar to genre fans for his work as a producer on such previous Grimmfest favourites as STITCHES and OUTCAST. Brendan will be joined by two of the film’s stars, NAOMI BATTRICK, familiar to TV audiences from such shows as CROSSING LINES, STONEMOUTH and WATERLOO ROAD, and SAM HAZELDINE, one of the stars of Grimmfest favourite THE MACHINE, and a familiar face in such gritty TV shows as PEAKY BLINDERS and RIPPER STREET.
SAT 3rd Oct
For Saturday, we’ll have some real-life horrors, in the form of acclaimed documentary THE NIGHTMARE, exploring the terrifying phenomenon of Sleep Paralysis. One of the film’s subjects, STEVE PAYTER will be joining us to share some of his unsettling dream experiences.
The evening sees us joined by another SFX maestro turned director, PAUL HYETT, who follows up his acclaimed debut THE SEASONING HOUSE with the gripping “Werewolves On A Train” shocker, HOWL, receiving its North West Premiere at Grimmfest. We’ll also be be welcoming back HOLLY WESTON, one of the film’s stars. Holly was at the very first Grimmfest, as the star of our Festival Directors SIMEON HALLIGAN and RACHEL RICHARDSON-JONES’ own feature film debut, SPLINTERED, the film that started it all – so she can truly be said to have been there at the beginning.
SUN 4th Oct
We’ll be celebrating the new remastered release of HELLRAISER with author, anthologist and Hellraiser expert PAUL KANE. Paul’s latest novel, the outrageous, genre-splicing SHERLOCK HOLMES AND THE SERVANTS OF HELL sees the great detective matching wits with the Cenebites. So no doubt Paul is going to have some very interesting things to show us.
Our closing film this year is the World Premiere of the visually stunning, conceptually-challenging speculative Sci-Fi epic DMX; a startling fusion of theology, quantum physics, psychedelia, and martial arts action that is truly headspinning. We are delighted to announce that the film’s visionary director, ANDREW GOTH will be joining us to introduce the film.
As per last year, we’ll be at Grimmfest 2015 bringing you all the news and reviews as it happens. Keep checking in over the weekend of October 1st – 4th for all our updates!