Abertoir Horror Festival, Wales' biggest horror festival, returns to Aberystwyth for its 19th year.
Abertoir Horror Festival Announce Full Line-Up.
For those of you who aren't aware of this festival, Abertoir is an annual horror and horror film festival held in the Aberystwyth Arts Centre in Ceredigion, Wales in November.
As well as screening new big-budget horror films, classic and independent films form a large and important part of the festival line-up. Each year a short film competition is held, which showcases horror and fantasy short films from around the world. In addition to film screenings, the festival regularly features concerts, theatre shows and masterclasses in its line-up. Abertoir is a long-standing member of the Méliès International Festivals Federation.
The festival's main focus this year will be round killer animals and vengeful nature. Taking place at Aberystwyth Arts Centre this November, the event has had to expanded to a larger auditorium in Aberystwyth Arts Centre. Which of course, comes with the added benefit of a much bigger screen!
“We’ve been truly blown away by the support for this year’s event, and we’re grateful to have been able to move to a bigger auditorium so we can accommodate even more audience members this year.” - Gaz Bailey, Abertoir Horror Festival Director.
The film festival is set to take place 14th - 17th November 2024, with multiple screenings of both horror classics, modern horror masterpieces and an array of shorts and indie horror films. You never know, could end up watching the next Terrifier here. Additionally there'll be various events and Q&A sessions with multiple guests.
A highlight of this year’s festival is the return of renowned Italian composer and
musician Fabio Frizzi and his band, who’ll be performing his live, composer’s cut
version of the iconic soundtrack to Lucio Fulci’s Zombie Flesh Eaters. The film will screen with all the original dialogue and bone-crunching sound effects that make the film so loved by fans around the world, but the score, expanded into a brand new experience, will be played live by Frizzi and The Frizzi2Fulci Band
alongside it.
Welsh premieres at the festival include Dead Talents Society, a hilarious and
acclaimed ghost film from Taiwan; Seeds, the directorial debut from Indigenous
Canadian filmmaker Kaniehtiio Horn; and the UK premiere of Decibel, which
explores the potential horror of AI technology.
The rest of the classic film line-up at this year’s Abertoir explores the natural horror
theme, and includes Phase IV, the sole directorial credit for iconic designer Saul
Bass; Grizzly, a supposed Jaws rip-off which replaces the shark with a bear; and
Godzilla vs. Hedorah, one of them most horrific films in the franchise’s 70-year
history.
“We started thinking about the nature horror theme back before last year’s festival. We’re hoping that through a mix of fun and more serious films and events, people will have the chance to reflect on this pressing theme.” - Nia Edwards-Behi, Abertoir Festival Co-Director
Other guests include author Robin Ince, who will be presenting some of his favourite animal pulp fiction books, in honour of the 50 th anniversary of the publication of James Herbert’s Rats, and Aberystwyth University’s Professor Joanne Hamilton will bring science to the fiction, guiding the audience through the terrifying world of parasites.
Head over to their website for more info and to get tickets. You can also see the full line-up summarised below.
Thursday 14th November
Phase IV screening - 16:30
On a scientific expedition in the Arizona desert, a biologist, E.D. Hubbs and his cynical assistant, mathematician James Lesko, discover a town that has been deserted after an attack by an army of highly evolved ants.
Sit back and enjoy a smorgasbord of everything we love about killer animal movies, in the inimitable style of John and Kate Probert!
The Wailing screening - 19:45
Three young women, from different times and countries, are being haunted by an unknown entity.
Frankie Freako screening - 22:00
Conor sees no way out until one night he catches a bizarre TV ad for a hotline hosted by a strange dancing goblin: Frankie Freako.
Grizzly screening - 23:45
A seemingly indestructible and super-sized grizzly bear develops a taste for human meat and rampages through a busy national park.
Friday 15th November
The Island Between Tides screening (UK Premiere) - 10:00
A young woman follows a mysterious melody onto a remote tidal island.
Short Film Competition: Part 1 - 11:50 Each year Abertoir invites filmmakers from across the globe to submit short films for the Abertoir Short Film Competition.
Abertoir are delighted to welcome back festival veteran Gavin Baddeley to take this class on the most bizarre and macabre lore concerning all creatures great and small.
Exorcismo screening with Q&A - 15:00
This brand new documentary explores the eye-opening history behind Clasificada S, and the distinctive shockers that subverted the values of the former dictatorship.
Decibel screening with Q&A (UK Premiere) - 18:00
When a struggling singer songwriter gets the opportunity of a lifetime to work with a tech-obsessed music producer, she finds not everything is as she imagined it to be.
Robin Ince: Bibliomaniac Untamed - 20:15
Robin Ince loves books, as we’ve seen before at Abertoir. Can you imagine his excitement when he found out this year’s theme?
Indera screening (UK Premiere) - 22:00
Joe and his daughter Sofia accept a handyman job in a remote home run by an old Javanese woman.
Godzilla vs Hedorah screening - 23:45
The King of the Monsters, Godzilla, must face-off with an alien life-form that arrives on Earth and steadily grows by feeding on industrial waste.
Saturday 16th November
Short Film Competition: Part 2 - 10:00
Each year Abertoir invites filmmakers from across the globe to submit short films for the Abertoir Short Film Competition.
Children of the Wicker Man screening with Q&A (UK Premiere) - 12:00
50 years on from the making of The Wicker Man (1973), director Robin Hardy’s lost papers come to filmmaker son Justin.
Nicko and Joe’s Bad Film Club - 16:30
Comedians Nicko and Joe know terrible cinema better than anyone, and we like to drag them here in order to demonstrate some true cinematic shit for you, complete with their own, very special, very silly live commentary.
Mini Pub Quiz - 19:00
Quizmaster Gaz is back again with this year’s horror trivia bonanza.
Zombie: Composer’s Cut Live - 20:30
The film will feature all the original dialogue and bone-crunching sound effects, with the expanded and reinterpreted score played live alongside it.
Grafted screening - 23:59
When Wei is shunned by her social butterfly cousin Angela and her glamorous friends, she immerses herself in her late father’s research into a revolutionary skin grafting procedure that could help her.
Sunday 17th November
Return of the Fly screening - 10:00
15 years after the events of The Fly, Philippe Delambre, Andre’s son, and his uncle François attempt to create a matter transmission device on their own.
Short Film Competition Part. 3 - 11:45
Each year Abertoir invites filmmakers from across the globe to submit short films for the Abertoir Short Film Competition.
Join Prof. Jo Hamilton to explore some of nature’s most fascinating and horrifying parasites and why the horror of the silver screen may not be as fictional as we think.
Seeds screening (UK Premiere) - 15:00
Ziggy is offered her first gig as an online influencer, promoting for Nature’s Oath, a seed and fertilizer company.
Suzzanna screening with Q&A - 17:20
David Gregory (Enter the Clones of Bruce) unearths the legacy of the Scream Queen who has begun to emerge as one of the most compelling icons in cinema history.
Slugs screening - 19:50
Giant slugs are breeding in the sewers beneath town, and they’re making a meal of the locals!
Dead Talents Society screening - 21:40
Being human is challenging, but being dead is just as difficult.
The final programme is live now and can be found on the website (schedule
subject to change).
Festival passes can be bought from Aberystwyth Arts Centre or online HERE, as can individual tickets for Fabio Frizzi’s live performance. Single film tickets will be available soon.
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