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Abertoir · 2019

Abertoir 2019

Features

Programme

23 films · 15 reviews

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8

An old man, fated to collect souls for eternity, seeks atonement after trading his daughter's soul.

(Country: South Africa; Year: 2019; Director: Harold Holscher; Writer: Harold Holscher; Stars: Inge Beckmann, Garth Breytenbach, Keita Luna, Tashmano Sebe, Chris April)

Achoura

Four childhood friends are reunited when one of them surfaces after 20 years, forcing them to confront a creature straight out of a spine-chilling Moroccan legend.

(Country: Morocco, France; Year: 2018; Director: Talal Selhami; Stars: Sofiia Manousha, Younes Bouab, Omar Lofti, Iván González)

Alien (The Eighth Passenger)

Review preview for Alien

Scott wrings out every last drop of suspense from the film.

Scott Macdonald · 5 out of 5
Ridley Scott's fabulously frightening grimy spaceship classic.

(Country: UK; Year: 1979; Director: Ridley Scott; Writer: Dan O'Bannon, Ronald Shusett; Stars: Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Ian Holm, John Hurt, Harry Dean Stanton, Yaphet Kotto, Veronica Cartwright)

Full review

Blood & Flesh: The Reel Life & Ghastly Death Of Al Adamson (Sick! Savage! Sensual! The Reel Life And 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.

(Country: US; Year: 2019; Director: David Gregory; Stars: Al Adamson, Stevee Ashlock, John Bloom)

Full review

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.

(Country: France; Year: 2019; Director: Raphaël Hernandez, Savitri Joly-Gonfard; Writer: Raphaël Hernandez, Savitri Joly-Gonfard; Stars: Elisa Lasowski, Noémie Stevens, Joëlle Berckmans, Anders Heinrichsen)

Full review

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.

(Country: United States; Year: 2019; Director: Richard Stanley; Writer: Scarlett Amaris, Richard Stanley, based on the story by HP Lovecraft; Stars: Nicolas Cage, Joely Richardson, Q'orianka Kilcher, Tommy Chong, Madeleine Arthur, Brendan Meyer, Julian Hilliard, Elliot Knight, Melissa Nearman, Nicolas Cage, Joely Richardson, Q'orianka Kilcher, Tommy Chong, Madeleine Arthur, Brendan Meyer)

Full review

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.

(Country: Canada; Year: 2019; Director: Ant Timpson; Writer: Toby Harvard; Stars: Elijah Wood, Madeleine Sami, Stephen McHattie, Ona Grauer, Michael Smiley, Martin Donovan, Raresh DiMofte, Garfield Wilson, Simon Chin, Alla Rouba)

Full review

Diner

After applying for a part time job, a young woman is sold to a restaurant with fortress-like walls. Trapped within, she has no choice but to work as a waitress for the owner, a genius chef who also happens to be a retired assassin.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2019; Director: Mika Ninagawa; Stars: Tatsuya Fujiwara, Tina Tamashiro, Masataka Kubota)

Death Line (Raw Meat)

Review preview for Death Line

Could be a treat for discerning genre fans.

Paul Griffiths · 3 out of 5
Cult horror re-emerges after 30 years down the tube.

(Country: UK; Year: 1972; Director: Gary Sherman; Writer: Ceri Jones; Stars: Donald Pleasence, Norman Rossington, David Ladd, Sharon Gurney, Hugh Armstrong, June Turner, Clive Swift, James Cossins, Christopher Lee)

Full review

Event Horizon

Review preview for Event Horizon

Way too inspired for the end result to be intentional.

Gator MacReady · 3 out of 5
Deep space rescue mission crew are tormented by evil from another dimension.

(Country: US/UK; Year: 1997; Director: Paul WS Anderson; Writer: Philip Eisner; Stars: Laurence Fishburne, Sam Neill, Kathleen Quinlan, Joely Richardson, Sean Pertwee)

Full review

First Love (Hatsukoi)

Set over one night in Tokyo, we follow Leo, a young boxer down on his luck as he meets his ‘first love’ Monica, a call girl and an addict but still an innocent. Little does Leo know, Monica is unwittingly caught up in a drug-smuggling scheme, and the two are pursued through the night by a corrupt cop, a yakuza, his nemesis, and a female assassin sent by the Chinese Triads.

(Country: Japan, UK; Year: 2019; Director: Takashi Miike; Writer: Masaru Nakamura; Stars: Masataka Kubota, Nao Omori, Shota Sometani, Sakurako Konishi, Becky, Jun Murakami, Sansei Shiomi, Seiyo Uchino)

Flesh And The Fiends

A scientist employs two apparent grave-robbers, Burke and Hare, to obtain bodies for his research.

(Country: UK; Year: 1960; Director: John Gilling; Stars: Peter Cushing, Donald Pleasence, George Rose, Billie Whitelaw)

Inseminoid

A crew of interplanetary archaeologists is threatened when an alien creature impregnates one of their members, causing her to turn homicidal and murder them one by one.

(Country: UK; Year: 1981; Director: Norman J Warren; Writer: Nick Maley, Gloria Maley; Stars: Robin Clarke, Jennifer Ashley, Stephanie Beacham, Steven Grives, Barrie Houghton, Rosalind Lloyd)

It Came From Outer Space

Review preview for It Came From Outer Space

An early entry in the Cold War paranoia science fiction canon, this film is also one of the most unusual.

Jennie Kermode · 3.5 out of 5
An astronomer suspects something is very wrong when, following an apparent meteor impact, the local townsfolk start behaving strangely.

(Country: US; Year: 1953; Director: Jack Arnold; Writer: Harry Essex, Ray Bradbury; Stars: Richard Carlson, Barbara Rush, Charles Drake)

Full review

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.

(Country: US; Year: 2018; Director: Ryland Brickson Cole Tews; Writer: Ryland Brickson Cole Tews; Stars: Ryland Brickson Cole Tews, Erick West, Beulah Peters, Daniel Long, Wayne Tews)

Full review

The Magnificent Obsession Of Michael Reeves

A documentary about the brilliant horror director who helmed Witchfinder General and died from an accidental overdose at the age of just 25.

(Country: UK; Year: 2019; Director: Dima Ballin; Stars: Ian Ogilvy, Tom Baker, Gavin Baddeley, Ingrid Cranfield)

The Monster Club

Pausing to admire a window display of his own books, a distinguished horror writer is attacked by a desperate vampire. Apologising, the vampire then takes him to the Monster Club and tells him three tales of terror.

(Country: UK; Year: 1981; Director: Roy Ward Baker; Stars: Vincent Price, Donald Pleasence, Richard Johnson, John Carradine, Britt Ekland, Patrick Magee)

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.

(Country: Australia; Year: 2018; Director: Jennifer Kent; Writer: Jennifer Kent; Stars: Sam Claflin, Damon Herriman, Aisling Franciosi, Ewen Leslie, Charlie Shotwell, Matthew Sunderland, Harry Greenwood, Sam Smith, Michael Sheasby, Ben McIvor, Baykali Ganambarr, Luke Carroll, Claire Jones, Magnolia Maymuru, Dallas Mugarra)

Full review

Planet Of The Vampires (Terrore Nello Spazio)

Review preview for Planet Of The Vampires

Filmed by the incomparable Mario Bava, it features stunning cinematography.

Jennie Kermode · 3 out of 5
The crews of twin spaceships find themselves in trouble on an alien world where their dead colleagues mysteriously return to life.

(Country: Spain, Italy; Year: 1965; Director: Mario Bava; Writer: Mario Bava, Alberto Bevilacqua; Stars: Barry Sullivan, Norma Bengell, Ángel Aranda, Evi Marandi, Stelio Candelli, Franco Andrei, Fernando Villena, Mario Morales)

Full review

Prince Of Darkness

Review preview for Prince Of Darkness

With its well-paced build-up, its ominous soundtrack, and Carpenter's trademark handling of tension, Prince Of Darkness certainly earns its place on the margins of the horror canon.

Anton Bitel · 3.5 out of 5
I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by Satan.

(Country: US; Year: 1987; Director: John Carpenter; Writer: John Carpenter, Martin Quatermass; Stars: Donald Pleasence, Lisa Blount, Victor Wong, Jameson Parker, Alice Cooper, Peter Jason, Dennis Dun, Susan Blanchard, Anne Marie Howard, Ann Yen)

Full review

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.

(Country: US; Year: 2019; Director: Jordan Graham; Writer: Jordan Graham; Stars: Michael Daniel, Rachel Johnson, Aurora Lowe, Gabriel Nicholson)

Full review

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.

(Country: Ireland, Belgium, Denmark; Year: 2019; Director: Lorcan Finnegan; Writer: Lorcan Finnegan, Garret Shanley, Garret Shanley; Stars: Imogen Poots, Jesse Eisenberg, Jonathan Aris, Olga Wehrly, Danielle Ryan, Senan Jennings, Molly McCann, Eanna Hardwicke, Shana Hart, Imogen Poots, Jesse Eisenberg, Jonathan Aris, Olga Wehrly, Danielle Ryan, Senan Jennings)

Full review

Why Don't You Just Die (Papa, sdokhni)

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.

(Country: Russia; Year: 2018; Director: Kirill Sokolov; Writer: Kirill Sokolov; Stars: Aleksandr Kuznetsov, Vitaliy Khaev, Evgeniya Kregzhde, Michael Gor, Elena Shevchenko, Igor Grabuzov, Aleksandr Domogarov, Ilya Gavrilenkov, Vasiliy Kopeikin, Ilya Kostyukov, Aleksandr Kuznetsov, Vitaliy Khaev, Evgeniya Kregzhde, Michael Gor, Elena Shevchenko)

Full review