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From Page To Scream at FrightFest
During FrighFest I'll be appearing on a panel organised by the Den Of Geek, called From Page To Scream, from 1pm - 2pm on Sunday, 25 August at the Prince Charles cinema, Leicester Square, London.
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Hallowe'en Sessions update
I’m back from FrightFest in London, my annual pilgrimage to sample the best (and sometimes, the worst) of horror cinema being made in the world today. While there I was lucky to meet up with most of my co-conspirators for The Hallowe’en Sessions: writers Kim Newman, Paul McAuley, Anne Billson, writer/director Sean Hogan, and producer Josh Saco. Alas, I didn’t get to see Stephen Volk on this trip. It turns out there will be a horror festival going on in London at the end of October, and The Hallowe’en Sessions is being folded into this wonderful mix. It’s called The 13th Hour Horror Festival, and here’s the brochure for it,…
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a weekend of horrors
I’m back from my trip to London for the horror film festival FrightFest, and I had a lovely time. The weather was great, mostly, and I avoided the occasional showers. When I wasn’t watching movies, I strolled around Soho in the sun, bought a bowler hat, and met up with mates who’ve moved to the city. This year I tried a new strategy in relation to the festival: don’t watch everything. There have been FrighFests in the past where I have attended every single screening over the five days. It’s not recommended, and impossible now since there are two streams of programming. This year I skipped all the late films,…
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FrightFest 2008 Roundup
Another year, another FrightFest. Here are a number of horror movie clichés I could do without in the future: A blood-covered girl being chased in the woods as a hook to start a film A woman being captured, locked up, and tortured Stating at the beginning “Based on actual events” Yuppies being menaced by psycho assailants Creepy mirror scenes that aren’t scary enough Comedy horror flicks that have more gore and rubbery intestines than story or funny lines Oh gosh, the bad guys are kids! The countryside is occupied only by crazies – even if you escape, you can be guaranteed you’ll fall back into their clutches just as you…
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magnifique
I finished the re-writes on the story I wrote earlier in the month and I’ve sent it out to a market. I have to keep rolling the dice. I watched the terrific low-budget French horror film, Maléfique (2002), today. I saw the film originally at the London horror film festival, FrightFest a number of years ago, where the director, Eric Valette, gave a Q&A afterwards. The film made a lasting impression on me, so I was delighted it got a DVD release. The lads behind FrightFest have shown considerable foresight and have established their own DVD label, FrightFest Presents. Maléfique is the second title in their catalogue of horror flicks.…
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moving forward
I had a fantastic, if tiring, trip to London and saw a lot of great flicks, along with some mediocre offerings. Overall it was an excellent weekend that started, and ended, with strong films. I’ve an extensive review of the whole affair over on Babblogue. There’s no point repeating myself. I was chuffed to briefly meet Brad Anderson, a talented director I’ve been praising since I viewed his creepily atmospheric film, Session 9. What impressed me the most about his new project, The Machinist, was his meticulous direction. Throughout the film I noted how he framed his shots, and when he chose to track, pan, or keep the camera stationary.…
