Monday 25 August 2008

The Dead Outside

A neurological pandemic has consumed the population. Drug-resistance has mutated the airborne virus into a ravaging psychological plague, rendering the dying infected scared, paranoid and violent. In the stark aftermath two survivors come together at the isolated Braehead farm in desperate circumstances: April, a young mysterious girl with a dark secret past has survived alone for months; Daniel, a man desperate and bereaved, clings onto some hope in the outside world. When enigmatic stranger Kate turns up, they are confronted with a new enemy even deadlier than the one beyond their barbed wire secure perimeter. As Daniel clings to his own sanity, he finds the true enemy lies much closer to home. Directed by broadcast promo genius Kerry Anne Mullaney in spare style with a dark aesthetic edge and undercurrent of seething menace, this Scottish shocker is a jolting mood piece confirming her rising star North of the Border.

93 minutes

Director: Kerry Anne Mullaney

Starring
Alton Milne
Sandra-Louise Douglas


UK 2008

Film4 FrightFest Short Film Showcase

THE AMAZING TROUSERS (11 minutes)
Director: William Felix Clark
Starring: Kris Marshall, Alice Eve, David Bamber
A meek bank clerk enters into a Faustian pact with a sinister tailor, agreeing to trade his legs after one year in return for enjoying wealth and success wearing a pair of red trousers.

THE CHEST (5 minutes)
Director: Can Evrenol
A Turkish boy turns up at his family home with a chest. What he does with what’s inside is not for the squeamish.

HE DIES AT THE END (4 minutes)
Director: Damian McCarthy
You know what’s going to happen. But will you withstand the shock?

A BREAK IN THE MONOTONY (4 minutes)
Director: Damien Slevin
In the animated aftermath of a zombie outbreak, a Jack Lord/Hawaii Five-0 lookalike walks the streets.

PSYCHO HILLBILLY CABIN MASSACRE! (15 minutes)
Director: Robert F. Cosnahan III

The Snakes and Skulls Club are initiating a new member. Welcome to the Axes of Evil!

HOMEWORK (7 minutes)
Director: Ariane Lippens
Even aliens have science projects.

TOTAL FURY (12 minutes)
Director: Francois Simard, Yoann-Karl Whissell, Anouk Whissel
ln unscrupulous boy lures a girl into the woods. Where’s Arnold Schwarzenegger when you need him the most?

ANYONE THERE? (10 minutes)
Director: Holger B. Frick
A beautiful woman alone in an apartment, the burning question "Is anyone there?

DVD (15 minutes)
Director: Ciro Altabas
Zombies, Ninjas and Cyborgs are the three things that will always improve any movie, especially one with its own menu, extras and director commentary.

NORMAN J WARREN PRESENTS: HORRORSHOW (30 minutes)
Welcome, Fright Festers, to the HORRORSHOW. Presented by a master of 70s British horror, it’s a blood-drenched anthology showcasing five tales of terror to delight the darkest side of your soul.

Over the course of 30 gore-spattered minutes you'll encounter the NEON KILLER; purveyor of a legendary and sadistic crime spree that has eluded two grizzled detectives - until now. THE FLEA finds a psychotic vampire hunter trying to coax his erstwhile partner back into the fold for one last slaying, in a disturbing, contemporary take on the vampire myth. THE INCURSION finds an intruder turning up more than he bargained for in a house full of dark secrets. THE INITIATION invites you to take a trip far outside the city limits to a place where arcane rituals have replaced all reason and sanity. And in SMILE, a young woman is left with a lasting impression of a failed relationship.

From the deranged minds of five up and coming UK directors, HORRORSHOW is a riotous concoction of 80s sleaze, 70s giallo, English gothic and rural horror, wickedly twisting familiar genre trappings with sly humour and some diabolically inventive splatter.

The Disappeared

(UK premiere)

Matthew blames himself for the mysterious disappearance of his younger brother Tom. He was partying at his London council flat when Tom went missing. With police at a dead end, Matthew starts hearing chilling voices on the recording of a news conference and begins questioning his sanity. Blamed and ignored by his troubled father, he visits a clairvoyant who reveals a history of missing children in the area. When his best friend Simon's sister is also abducted, the ghostly voices guide him to the shocking truth. For in an underground labyrinth he is confronted by a satanic killer and terrifying knowledge that dark forces are manipulating destiny. In the tradition of The Omen and The Sixth Sense comes a superbly acted and thrilling British supernatural shocker. Bound to attract critical attention and key awards, The Disappeared will put debut director Johnny Kevorkian on the genre map as a major discovery.

96 minutes

Director: Johnny Kevorkian

Starring
Harry Treadaway
Greg Wise
Tom Felton
Alex Jennings
Ros Leeming

UK 2008

Distributor: Jinga Films

Mirrors

(UK Premiere)

Do Mirrors reflect what you really are? From Alexandre Aja, the acclaimed director of Switchblade Romance and The Hills Have Eyes, comes a stunning re-imagination of the 2003 South Korean horror hit Into The Mirror. Ben Carson is a troubled ex-cop relegated to security guard duty at a high-end department store after a botched hostage rescue attempt ended his career in law enforcement. The fashionable store has its own tainted past due on a fire that resulted in horrific fatalities. Now mysterious deaths of employees and customers are occurring beside the floor mirrors. Ben begins to suspect supernatural powers at work and starts to investigate the strange and eerie events. He discovers that there are murderous reflections out for revenge using the mirrors as a gateway and offering a whole lot more than seven years' bad luck.

90 minutes

Director Alexandre Aja

Starring Kiefer Sutherland
Amy Smart
Cameron Boyce Erica Gluck

USA 2008

Distributor: 20th Century Fox

Death Race
(UK premiere)

Eat Jason Statham's dust. A penitentiary full of hardened felons has inspired their sadistic jailers to create a grisly sport ripe for lucrative kickbacks. Now, in the post-industrial wasteland of tomorrow, those adrenaline-fuelled inmates, a global audience hungry for televised violence and a mega-massive arena combine for the brutal Death Race. Three-time speedway champion Jensen Ames is an expert at survival in this harsh landscape. Just as he thinks he's turned his life around, the ex-con is framed for murder he didn't commit and forced to don the mask of the mythical driver 'Frankenstein'. In a monster car fitted with machine guns, flame-throwers and grenade launchers he must win the most twisted cannonball run on Earth against the most vicious criminal adversaries, or rot away in prison for life. Juggernaut action, turbo-driven thrills and spectacular car crashes feature in director Paul WS Anderson's fast and furious, hit and run blockbuster.

100 minutes [TBC]

Director: Paul WS Anderson

Starring
Jason Statham
Tyrese Gibson
Joan Allen
Robin Shou Robert LaSardo

USA 2008

Distributor: Universal Pictures