The recently revealed line-up for the 14th year of Mayhem Film Festival might just be the best yet...
The three words that every horror fan in Nottingham wants to hear: Mayhem. Is. Back. Not just that, but the full line-up has been revealed, and it's every bit as eclectic, intriguing and terrifying as you could ever have dreamed. Running between 11-14 October, the 14th edition of the annual horror, sci-fi and cult film festival promises to be one of the best ever...
Day One - Thursday 11 October
7.30pm - Anna and the Apocalypse (2017) + Q&A with director John McPhail
Director: John McPhail
Starring: Ella Hunt, Malcolm Cumming, Sarah Swire
Running time: 92 mins
A zombie apocalypse threatens the sleepy town of Little Haven - at Christmas - forcing Anna and her friends to fight, slash and sing their way to survival, facing the undead in a desperate race to reach their loved ones. But they soon discover that no one is safe in this new world, and with civilization falling apart around them, the only people they can truly rely on are each other.
Screening will include a Q&A with director John McPhail
10pm - Nightmare Cinema (2018)
Directors: Joe Dante, Mick Garris, Alejandro Brugués, Ryûhei Kitamura, David Slade
Starring: Mickey Rourke, Richard Chamberlain, Adam Godley
Running time: 119 mins
Five strangers converge at a haunted movie theater owned by The Projectionist (Mickey Rourke). Once inside, the audience members witness a series of screenings that shows them their deepest fears and darkest secrets over five tales.
Day Two - Friday 12 October
2.15pm - The White Reindeer (1952)
Director: Erik Blomberg
Starring: Mirjami Kuosmanen, Kalervo Nissilä, Åke Lindman
Running time: 74 mins
A newly wed woman goes to the local shaman to get some help with her lovelife, but instead gets turned into a white reindeer vampire.
3.45 pm - Piercing (2018)
Director: Nicolas Pesce
Starring: Christopher Abbott, Olivia Bond, Laia Costa
Running time: 81 mins
A man kisses his wife and baby goodbye and seemingly heads away on business, with a plan to check into a hotel, call an escort service, and kill an unsuspecting prostitute.
6.15pm - Nightshooters (2018)
Director: Marc Price
Starring: Jean-Paul Ly, Doug Allen, Rosanna Hoult
Running time: 100 mins
A film crew led by stuntman Donnie come to witness a Gangland hit, and have to fight for their lives to survive the night.
Screening will include a Q&A with director Marc Price
8.30pm - Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich (2018)
Director: Sonny Laguna, Tommy Wiklund
Starring: Charlyne Yi, Thomas Lennon, Michael Paré
Running time: 90 mins
All hell breaks loose when a strange force animates the puppets up for auction at a convention, setting them on a bloody killing spree that's motivated by an evil as old as time.
10.30pm - Mandy (2018)
Director: Panos Cosmatos
Starring: Nicolas Cage, Andrea Riseborough, Linus Roache
Running time: 121 mins
Mandy is set in the primal wilderness of 1983 where Red Miller, a broken and haunted man hunts an unhinged religious sect who slaughtered the love of his life.
Day Three - Saturday 13 October
12pm - One Cut of the Dead (2017)
Director: Shin’ichirô Ueda
Starring: Takayuki Hamatsu, Yuzuki Akiyama, Harumi Shuhama
Running time: 96 mins
Things go badly for a hack director and film crew shooting a low budget zombie movie in an abandoned WWII Japanese facility, when they are attacked by real zombies.
2pm - Prospect (2018) UK Premiere
Director: Chris Caldwell, Zeek Earl
Starring: Sophie Thatcher, Pedro Pascal, Jay Duplass
Running time: 98 mins
A teenage girl and her father travel to a remote moon on the hunt for elusive riches. But there are others roving the moon's toxic forest and the job quickly devolves into a desperate fight to escape.
4pm - Number 37 (2018) UK Premiere
Director: Nosipho Dumisa
Starring: Irshaad Ally, Ephram Gordon, Amrain Ismail-Essop
Running time: 100 mins
Entrapped in his apartment, Randal Hendricks, a recent paraplegic, is given a gift of binoculars by his devoted girlfriend. But Randal is in financial debt to Emmie, a sadistic loan shark. After witnessing a powerful criminal commit murder while observing his neighbours, he initiates a treacherous blackmail scheme.
6.45pm - Short Film Showcase
A collected of some of the best horror and sci-fi short films, including the UK premieres of Richard Littler’s Dick and Stewart: I Spy With My Little Eye, Kevin Sluder’s Heartless, Jorge Malpica’s Ulises and the world premiere of Hunted by Owen Tooth.
9pm - The Devil’s Doorway (2018)
Director: Aislinn Clarke
Starring: Lalor Roddy, Ciaran Flynn, Helena Bereen
Running time: 76 mins
In the fall of 1960, Father Thomas Riley and Father John Thornton were sent by the Vatican to investigate a miraculous event in an Irish home for 'fallen women', only to uncover something much more horrific.
Screening will include a Q&A with director Aislinn Clarke
11pm - Demons (1985) + Chowboys
Director: Lamberto Bava
Starring: Nicoletta Elmi, Michele Soavi, Natasha Hovey
Running time: 88 mins
A group of random people are invited to a screening of a mysterious movie, only to find themselves trapped in the theater with ravenous demons.
Screening will be preceded by the UK Premiere of Astron-6's short film Chowboys
Day Four - Sunday 14 October
12pm - Inayashiki (2018) UK Premiere
Director: Shinsuke Sato
Starring: Noritake Kinashi, Nayuta Fukuzaki, Mari Hamada
Running time: 127 mins
Ichiro Inuyashiki, an elderly man, regains consciousness from an explosion to discover that he is now a cyborg with incredible powers. Deciding to use his newfound gifts to do good, he soon realises that he must combat Shishigami Hiro, a teenager who also survived the explosion, only to utilise his newfound powers to commit acts of merciless cruelty, becoming the most wanted criminal in the country during the process.
2.30pm - The Field Guide to Evil (2018)
Director: Ashim Ahluwalia, Can Evrenol, Severin Fiala, Veronika Franz, Katrin Gebbe, Calvin Reeder, Agnieszka Smoczynska, Peter Strickland, Yannis Veslemes
Starring: Birgit Minichmayr, Claude Duhamel, Jilon VanOver
Running time: 117 mins
A feature-length anthology film. They are known as myths, lore, and folktales. Created to give logic to mankind's darkest fears, these stories laid the foundation for what we now know as the horror genre.
4.45pm - The Witch in the Window (2018)
Director: Andy Mitton
Starring: Arija Bareikis, Alex Draper, Zach Jette
Running time: 77 mins
When Simon brings his twelve year-old son, Finn, to rural Vermont to help flip an old farmhouse, they encounter the malicious spirit of Lydia, a previous owner. And now with every repair they make - she's getting stronger.
6.15pm - The Flinterrogation
Author David Flint’s quiz has become a staple of Mayhem over the years, and 2018 is no different. Hosted in Broadway’s Cafébar.
7.15pm - The Nightshifter (2018)
Director: Dennison Ramalho
Starring: Cláudia de Oliveira, Fabiula Nascimento, Bianco Comparato
Running time: 110 mins
Stênio, the nightshifter of a morgue, has the ability to communicate with the cadavers that are brought to him every night.
9.30pm - What Keeps You Alive (2018)
Director: Colin Minihan
Starring: Hannah Emily Anderson, Brittany Allen, Martha MacIsaac
Running time: 98 mins
Majestic mountains, a still lake and venomous betrayals engulf a female married couple attempting to celebrate their one-year anniversary.
Full festival passes and day tickets are available from the Mayhem Film Festival website and the Broadway Cinema box office
You can also keep up to date with the latest Mayhem news on their Twitter
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