The Irish Film Institute is hosting an online 'Horrorthon' this October so film fanatics can scare themselves silly from the comfort of their own homes.
An annual event, it's usually hosted at the IFI headquarters in Dublin. Determined not to let the occasion pass by, organisers have decided to go virtual this year so people can still celebrate some of the scariest spooky season flicks but in a safe, socially distant way.
Streaming on the IFI's new video-on-demand platform, the festival opens just ahead of Halloween on October 22. Featuring a jam-packed schedule, this year's event has 22 different films from around the world. As well as a specially recorded Q&A with legendary director Joe Dante - whose work includes classics such as Piranha, Innerspace and Gremlins.
Opening with Uncle Peckerhead, a raucous horror/comedy about a man-eating demon, Cork-based movie Caveat will follow on Friday 23rd. Filmed down in Bantry, it tells the tale on a man suffering from memory loss who accepts a job caring for a woman in an isolated and abandoned house. Spooky, no?
Speaking ahead of this year's festival, Horrorthon spokesman Mick Fox said:
"The main goal was not to disappoint anyone by not having a festival this year, but to fight on, and make it the best event possible, and that's exactly what it is. Everyone's in for a great time!"
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Here's what's on the cards for the 2020 event:
Thursday, October 22nd
- 6:30pm Uncle Peckerhead
- 9pm Red Screening
Friday, October 23rd
- 1pm Breeder
- 3:45pm I Am Toxic
- 6pm Asylum: Twisted Horror and Fantasy Tales
- 8:40pm Caveat
Saturday, October 24th
- 1pm Violence Voyager
- 2pm The El Duce Tapes
- 3:20pm Butchers
- 6pm An Evening With Joe Dante
- 7pm The Deep Ones
- 8:30pm Death Ranch
Sunday, October 25th
- 1pm Anonymous Animals
- 2pm Purgatory Road
- 3pm Ropes
- 5:30pm The Special
- 7pm Clapboard Jungle: Surviving the Independent Film Business
- 8pm Ten Minutes to Midnight
Monday, October 26th
- 1pm Short Film Showcase
- 2pm The Quarry
- 3:40pm The Oak Room
- 6pm The Curse of Valburga
- 7pm The Brain That Wouldn't Die
Individual online screenings cost €7.50, with multi-film value packages also available. Find more info
here.
Header image via Instagram/Irish Film Institute
