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Festival coverage

Abertoir

19 November – 24 November 2019

Blood Machines
Blood Machines

Wales' premiere scarefest returned in 2019, opening with a rare 3D screening of much-loved science fiction classic It Came From Outer Space. There was a live comedy performance by Robin Ince in tribute to his favourite classic horror films, and Inseminoid director Norman J Warren attended to discuss his work with fans.

The festival runs from 19 to 24 November.

Other years (12)

Box office and information

Latest reviews

  • Sator
    Review preview for Sator

    The superimposition of the Sator narrative atop material Graham had already filmed with a different story in mind gives it the depth of folklore and a disjointed aspect which contributes to its disturbing effect.

    Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
    A malevolent spirit menaces a troubled family.
  • Color Out Of Space
    Review preview for Color Out Of Space

    The mood here is increasingly grim.

    Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
    A meteorite lands in the frontyard of a family who have moved to a farm... and begins to mutate everything it touches.
  • Vivarium
    Review preview for Vivarium

    Lorcan Finnegan never allows us to lose sight of the absurdity of the situation, nor of the real life absurdities that it points up.

    Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
    In search of a starter home, a young couple follow a mysterious estate agent and get trapped in a strange housing development.
  • Blood Machines
    Review preview for Blood Machines

    Narratively slight but stylistically lush.

    Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
    Two space hunters are tracking down a machine trying to free itself. After taking it down, they witness a mystical phenomenon: the ghost of a young woman pulls itself out of the machine, as if the spaceship had a soul.
  • The Nightingale
    Review preview for The Nightingale

    A film that looks back, that gazes also into you.

    Jennie Kermode · 5 out of 5
    A young convict in a penal colony seeks revenge.
  • Why Don't You Just Die
    Review preview for Why Don't You Just Die

    The characters are beautifully drawn and the performances finely balanced in a film with a lot more going on upstairs than its preoccupation with violence might suggest.

    Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
    A dark action comedy about a group of people brought together in the apartment of police detective Andrei: his resentful daughter, an angry thug and a cheated cop. Each one of them have a reason to want revenge.
  • Come To Daddy
    Review preview for Come To Daddy

    This is one film that's really going to test the mettle of Wood's mainstream fanbase.

    Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
    After receiving a cryptic letter from his estranged father, Norval travels to his dad’s oceanfront home for what he hopes will be a positive experience. If only he’d known the dark truth about his old man beforehand.
  • The Original
    Review preview for The Original

    Michelle Garza Cervera's hard-hitting film combines an elegant sense of aesthetics with emotional intelligence and insight.

    Jennie Kermode · 4.5 out of 5
    A couple's love is tested by illness and the treatment that follows it.
  • Blood & Flesh: The Reel Life & Ghastly Death Of Al Adamson
    Review preview for Blood & Flesh: The Reel Life & Ghastly Death Of Al Adamson

    A touching story of commonplace horror wrapped up in the trappings on Tinseltown, this is a thoroughly researched and carefully assembled piece of work that will intrigues fans of the director and newcomers alike.

    Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
    A documentary about the uncommon life and unthinkable murder of the legendary no-budget exploitation filmmaker and the communities he inhabited in Seventies California.
  • Lake Michigan Monster
    Review preview for Lake Michigan Monster

    Loosely assembled from cardboard, string and panache.

    Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
    An eccentric ship captain and a crew of specialists plot revenge against a mysterious creature of the deep.

A–Z of Abertoir 2019 reviews