Skip to main content

Festival coverage

Abertoir

5 November – 10 November 2013

The Strange Colour Of Your Body's Tears
The Strange Colour Of Your Body's Tears

Sometimes they come back... We were glad to see, in 2013, that Abertoir, Wales' premier horror film festival, had returned for another year, and it was as full of scares and shivers as ever. Some of the freshest work in horror, attracting praise all round the world, was on offer there, plus there was a great selection of classic work, including a Peter Cushing retrospective.

View complete schedule

Other years (12)

Box office and information

Latest reviews

  • The Mummy
    Review preview for The Mummy

    It’s really Lee’s performance which gives the film its soul.

    Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
    In pursuit of a mummified princess, archaeologists accidentally restore her vengeful high priest to life.
  • All Cheerleaders Die
    Review preview for All Cheerleaders Die

    When it comes to action, the physical abilities of the cheerleaders make them genuinely scary predators.

    Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
    A gang of cheerleaders embark on a supernatural path of vengeance.
  • Painless
    Review preview for Painless

    There is a great story in here somewhere.. but the combination of the two narratives - presented as tonally and visually distinct from one another - does not entirely work.

    Rebecca Naughten · 2.5 out of 5
    Gothic horror entwining the story in 1930s Catalonia of a group of children who cannot feel pain, with a man searching for his biological parents in the present day.
  • Madhouse
    Review preview for Madhouse

    A decidedly postmodern piece that nevertheless retains an emotional punch thanks to the sterling efforts of its two leads.

    Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
    Trouble ensues when a former horror movie star, long incarcerated in a psychiatric institution, returns to the fray.
  • The Machine
    Review preview for The Machine

    What James has tried to do is film a Hollywood Blockbuster on an independent British budget, and it shows.

    Neil Mitchell · 2 out of 5
    A cybernetics expert tries to create an android super-soldier.
  • The Strange Colour Of Your Body's Tears
    Review preview for The Strange Colour Of Your Body's Tears

    For all that its often said "they don't make them like they used to" this is very, very close.

    Andrew Robertson · 3.5 out of 5
    A woman's disappearance forms the central mystery in this visually stylish neo-giallo.
  • Blood Glacier
    Review preview for Blood Glacier

    Though essentially a familiar monster movie / survival horror story, Blood Glacier is so well put together that it feels fresh and punches well above its weight.

    Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
    Scientists investigate a glacier from which a mysterious toxic liquid is leaking.
  • Zombie Flesh Eaters
    Review preview for Zombie Flesh Eaters

    Although the editing sometimes jars, Fulci juggles smooth, elegant camera moves with nimble handheld work to get the balance of dramatic build-up and visceral action just right.

    David Graham · 4 out of 5
    A woman searching for her father stumbles on an island of the undead.
  • City Of The Living Dead
    Review preview for City Of The Living Dead

    City Of The Living Dead lacks the sophistication of Fulci's later films about Hell, coming across as significantly more camp, but it still has plenty going for it.

    Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
    After a psychic has a disturbing vision, she and her reporter friend race to rescue the inhabitants of a town where a priest's suicide has released a terrible evil.
  • Frankenstein
    Review preview for Frankenstein

    There's still lots to appreciate here beyond its status as a historical artefact.

    Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
    An early reimagining of the Mary Shelley classic in which an ambitious scientist gets more than he bargained for.

A–Z of Abertoir 2013 reviews