A scream worthy line-up of titles has been released for Sheffield horror film festival Celluloid Screams, held at the Showroom cinema from 23-26 October. The festival’s 17th edition will feature a terrifying array of premieres, previews, short films, classic screenings and special guests.
The festival begins with the UK premiere of Queens of the Dead directed by Tina Romero, putting a queer spin on her father’s legacy – the legendary George A. Romero – as drag queens and club kids face a zombie outbreak at a drag show.
This fabulous theme is continued across the festival with Night of the Living Drag, a live drag show performed by Sheffield’s Cryptid Queers, and a 40th anniversary screening of Return of the Living Dead.
The festival will feature a further seven premieres this year, includinggory revenge comedy Hacked: A Double Entendre of Rage Fuelled Karma, heart-warming documentary Silver Screamers, anti-corporate satire Head Like a Hole, a remake of the 1980s fantasy cult classic Deathstalker, and high-concept mind-bender It Ends. UK premieres of the Japanese suspense thriller Confession and South Korean supernatural chiller Noise will continue the festival’s commitment to world cinema.
Other flicks include Mother of Flies, a new film from prolific indie auteurs the Adams Family, Man Finds Tape, the rare contemporary horror movie that finds a fresh approach to the found footage format, UFO thriller Descendent,and Kier-La Janisse’s The Occupant of the Room, which will be accompanied by an extended Q&A with Kier-La Janisse in conversation.
Sticking with tradition, the festival will offer its infamous ‘secret film’ on Friday 24 October, where the title is not revealed until the start of the film. The festival will close on Sunday 26October with Alpha by Julia Ducournau.
This selection of new films will be supported by retrospective screenings including Return of the Living Dead, Martyrs, Tales from the Cryptic and Scared Safe; Volume 2.
Attending the festival will be filmmaker guests such as John Adams and Lulu Adams (Mother of Flies), Shane Brady and Emily Zerche (Hacked), Stefan MacDonald-Labelle (Head Like a Hole) and Chris McInroy, who will introduce a curated selection of his shorts – Blood and Guts: The Films of Chris McInroy.
This year’s short film programme, curated by Polly Allen, highlights a huge range of filmmaking genres. With a strong emphasis on home-grown talent, the festival will showcase new films from names such as Mattie Do (The Sleeping Beauty) and Justin Benson and Aaron Moorhead (Jacques the Giant Slayer).
Full festival passes and day passes are available from showroom cinema website. Individual films and events tickets will be released from Friday 26 October.
For more information, the full programme and tickets, visit Celluloid Screams’ official website https://www.celluloidscreams.com/ or follow their socials. https://www.instagram.com/celluloidscreams/
