FrightFest
The Sadness: a Conversation with Rob Jabbaz - FrightFest 2021
updated
The latest French blockbuster from Xavier Gens, director of FRONTIERE(S), HITMAN, THE DIVIDE, COLD SKIN and ‘Gangs of London’. Sam is an exemplary prison inmate. But during a day of official leave, his past catches up with him and a fatal accident means only one choice: escape. Five years later, he has rebuilt his life in Thailand with the family he’s always dreamed of. But local godfather Narong forces him to plunge into crime again. When Sam wants to halt everything, Narong attacks his family... And Sam will stop at nothing to hunt his executioner down.
Hosted by Stuart Wright
FrightFest TV crew:
Camera Op: Leah Clarke
Producer: Mark Scullion
Thank you to everyone involved.
FrightFest welcomes back MUTE WITNESS director Anthony Waller to the genre. Liz Haines and her daughter Amy move to Germany, where she takes up the position of history teacher at the Hamelin International School. The annual Pied Piper pageant is celebrated the day after their arrival, which Liz revels in, but Amy finds macabre. Soon, Liz is plagued by nightmare visions, and gradually, a dark secret in her past is uncovered by the restless spirit of the Piper, the cruel and vengeful minister of harsh justice who seeks out the guilty and punishes them by taking away their children.
Hosted by Stuart Wright
FrightFest TV crew:
Camera Op: Leah Clarke
Runner/Assistant: Tom Sibley
Producer: Mark Scullion
Thank you to everyone involved.
Jamie and her wife, Alex, try to save their failing marriage by taking an isolated canoe trip in rural Missouri. After Alex breaks her leg, the women find themselves trapped in Jamie’s small hometown overrun by virus-infected ‘Heps’. Worse, Alex gets scratched by one of the afflicted. After witnessing personal and gruesome horrors, she attempts to sneak away with Alex, only to be betrayed by one of her only connections. Now caught between the group that saved her, a competing militia, and the growing ‘Hep’ threat, is there any chance she can save Alex and finally escape?
Hosted by Stuart Wright
FrightFest TV crew:
Camera Op: Leah Clarke
Producer: Mark Scullion
Thank you to everyone involved.
On a weekend trip to Scotland, four ‘scare’ loving friends book a ghostly horror-themed camping excursion. That night around the campfire, Darwin, their strange and creepy guide, encourages them to tell the most twisted stories they fear and burn a totem to help feed the evil living there. Tales of sinister spirits, demons lurking in the shadows and the truest forms of malevolence emerge. Little do they know that the stories they relate to will have major consequences for them all. Some of the most unbelievable stories might be based on fact and should never be told.
Hosted by Stuart Wright
FrightFest TV crew:
Camera Op: Leah Clarke
Producer: Mark Scullion
Thank you to everyone involved.
The highly anticipated directorial debut of genre staple Devanny Pinn, who has appeared in over eighty horror movies, sharing the screen with such icons as Linda Blair, Danny Trejo and Sid Haig. A true-crime thriller based on events in Florida during the winter of 1978, it unfolds over a 24-hour period and centres on a serial killer in the lead-up to his ultimate, deranged killing spree. Presenting a harrowing and unsettling portrayal of the twisted mind of a notorious murderer, Pinn also explores the devastating consequences of his violent actions on the victims and survivors alike.
Hosted by Stuart Wright
FrightFest TV crew:
Camera Op: Leah Clarke
Producer: Mark Scullion
Thank you to everyone involved.
From Samuel Bodin, director of the acclaimed Netflix horror series ‘Marianne’, comes the US box-office hit inspired by the short story ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ by Edgar Allen Poe. A mysterious, constant tap plagues eight-year-old Peter from inside his bedroom wall – a tapping his parents insist is all in his imagination. His concerned schoolteacher starts enquiring after Peter shows clear evidence of trouble at home. But as Peter’s fear intensifies, he believes his parents could hide a terrible, dangerous secret and questions their trust. And for a child, what could be more frightening than that?
Hosted by Stuart Wright
FrightFest TV crew:
Camera Op: Leah Clarke
Producer: Mark Scullion
Thank you to everyone involved.
WORLD PREMIERE - A FrightFest favourite guest and one of the UK's shining beacons in the queer horror scene is actor/director Nicholas Vince. Most well known for his debut role as the Chatterer in Clive Barker's HELLRAISER and Kinski (Moon Face) in the cult shocker NIGHTBREED, Vince took to the stage in 2019 with his autobiographical one-man-show ‘I Am Monsters!’ Both a resoundingly nostalgic and relatable tale of growing up in love with horror and an essential discourse on the turmoil of 'growing up gay' under draconian Thatcherian rule where the closet was always safest, this is the superb movie adaptation.
Hosted by Stuart Wright
FrightFest TV crew:
Camera Op: Leah Clarke
Producer: Mark Scullion
Thank you to everyone involved.
EUROPEAN PREMIERE - From writer/director John Rosman, a deadly cat-and-mouse game based in the Pacific Northwest. Elsa is a brilliant ‘fixer’ assigned to capture a mysterious woman on the run. As the snare of the pursuit tightens, Elsa must fight her secret battle with the deadly disease ALS to stay on top of the explosive case before it reaches an apocalyptic endgame. As their two stories interlink, the stakes ratchet up, and their journeys uncover the deep truths of what it means to be alive. And that can only come through the power of acceptance and hope.
Hosted by Stuart Wright
FrightFest TV crew:
Camera Op: Leah Clarke
Producer: Mark Scullion
Thank you to everyone involved.
From multi-tasker Andy Edwards, writer, director and/or producer of IBIZA UNDEAD, MIDNIGHT PEEPSHOW, THE GHOSTS OF MONDAY and GRINDSPLOITATION. Before returning to university, Frankie wants one last night out in her coastal hometown. But it's not just friends, family and ex-boyfriends that don't want to see her leave... Local bogeyman Mr. Punch is stalking the town and knows just the way to do it. As the carnage escalates, Frankie and friends must fight to stay alive in this seaside-gothic, end-of-the-pier slasher, the first instalment in what Edwards hopes will become the first UK horror franchise in the Jason/Michael/Freddie/Jigsaw tradition.
Hosted by Stuart Wright
FrightFest TV crew:
Camera Op: Leah Clarke
Runner/Assistant: Tom Sibley
Producer: Mark Scullion
Thank you to everyone involved.
An unpredictable allegorical biopic from a filmmaker with Down Syndrome charts the life of a horned baby through years in captivity and ultimate revenge. Fusing horror, dark comedy, an evocative soundtrack and a foul-mouthed monster, a macabre story of a misunderstood child on a path to controlling their own life. Plus, a documentary on how 35-year-old director Otto Baxter uses his short film to explore his birth, adoption and epic battles. During the filmmaking process, Otto’s birth mother died, and he confronted life in the real world, including his future role in society.
FrightFest TV crew:
Camera Op: Leah Clarke
Producer: Mark Scullion
Thank you to everyone involved.
INTERNATIONAL PREMIERE - From fraternal writing/director duo Erik and Carson Bloomquist, who scored a big hit at FrightFest 2022 with the summer camp shocker SHE CAME FROM THE WOODS. Now they focus on the holiday slasher with FOUNDERS DAY, a contemporary murder mystery set during a heated mayoral election on the eve of a quaint New England town’s tricentennial. A mischief-laden, blood-soaked splatter-fest in the SCREAM and SAW franchises tradition, this is a slasher for the world we are living in right now. Let the speculation on who’s behind the mask begin.
Hosted by Paul McEvoy.
FrightFest TV crew:
Camera Op: Leah Clarke
Runner/Assistant: Tom Sibley
Producer: Mark Scullion
Thank you to everyone involved.
CLOSING FILM - EUROPEAN PREMIERE - It's bad enough that elite boarding school students Samantha and Clara can't go home for Christmas. But things take a deadly turn for the worse when a murderous gang of cult killers arrive, intent on summoning a demon. What must the girls do to survive the night? The second shocker from director Jenn Wexler (remember the 2018 FrightFest smash THE RANGER?) is another wild and thrilling ride offering fresh takes on timeless horror themes. A tribute to the beauty and boldness of classic 1970s horror, anchored in an unlikely friendship between outsiders, it's time to play THE SACRIFICE GAME.
Hosted by Paul McEvoy
FrightFest TV crew:
Camera Op: Leah Clarke
Producer: Mark Scullion
Thank you to everyone involved.
FIRST BLOOD - WORLD PREMIERE - Claire was just a child when her best friend was abducted and murdered. Twenty-five years later, Bill, the dead boy's father, has a plan to learn the truth about what really happened. With the help of psychic Eleanor, they venture deep into a haunted moor to find his son’s supposed resting place. But they find more than just the ghosts of dead children; something dark and evil stirs at their presence and beneath their feet. What happens when so much grief and guilt are left unresolved after a terrible crime that affects lives and relationships?
Hosted by Ian Rattray
FrightFest TV crew:
Camera Op: Leah Clarke
Runner/Assistant: Tom Sibley
Producer: Mark Scullion
Thank you to everyone involved.
WORLD PREMIERE - Remember director Alex Kahaum at the FrightFest 2021 launch of his FORGIVENESS? He said he’d be back with his new film, and here it is! FAILURE features a tour-de-force performance from cult superstar Ted Raimi as 56-year-old James caught between a rock and a hard place. Due to a massive debt with his bank, James is given one hour to choose between financial ruin or murder to protect his family. Shot in one single take with no cuts, no tricks and no excuses, FAILURE! is a smart genre-bending thriller from an exciting new voice on the Mexican scene.
Hosted by Paul McEvoy
FrightFest TV crew:
Camera Op: Leah Clarke
Runner/Assistant: Tom Sibley
Producer: Mark Scullion
Thank you to everyone involved.
ENGLISH PREMIERE - A bold coming-of-age story. Joy is an undocumented Filipina immigrant struggling to do her best for her daughter Grace when she secures the perfect job; taking care of an extremely wealthy but terminally ill old man. The position pays well and guarantees a roof over their heads, but soon, Joy realises everything is not as it seems. Something is festering beneath the surface, threatening all they have worked for. Deeply personal, striking a skilful balance between socio-political commentary and spooky scares, Paris Zarcilla’s breakout SXSW sensation is a nightmarish fever dream from an exciting new voice.
Hosted by Alan Jones
FrightFest TV crew:
Camera Op: Leah Clarke
Runner/Assistant: Tom Sibley
Producer: Mark Scullion
Thank you to everyone involved.
EUROPEAN PREMIERE - FrightFest welcomes back The Adams Family, who brought their acclaimed chiller, THE DEEPER YOU DIG, to us in 2019. Composed of John Adams, Toby Poser, and their daughter, Zelda, the family of filmmakers also hit big in 2021 with HELLBENDER and now unveil their latest creation set in the harsh Depression-era America, exploring a dark, eerie journey filled with suspense, thrills, and chills. Venture into a nightmare alley with the Adams pack as they trace a family of murderous sideshow performers travelling around the world on the dying carnival circuit on a bloody search for eternal life.
Hosted by Alan Jones.
FrightFest TV crew:
Camera Op: Leah Clarke
Runner/Assistant: Tom Sibley
Producer: Mark Scullion
Thank you to everyone involved.
UK PREMIERE - The latest French blockbuster from Xavier Gens, director of FRONTIERE(S), HITMAN, THE DIVIDE, COLD SKIN and ‘Gangs of London’. Sam is an exemplary prison inmate. But during a day of official leave, his past catches up with him, and a fatal accident means only one choice: escape. Five years later, he has rebuilt his life in Thailand with the family he’s always dreamed of. But local godfather Narong forces him to plunge into crime again. When Sam wants to halt everything, Narong attacks his family... And Sam will stop at nothing to hunt his executioner down.
FrightFest TV crew:
Camera Op: Leah Clarke
Runner/Assistant: Tom Sibley
Producer: Mark Scullion
Thank you to everyone involved.
CLOSING FILM - EUROPEAN PREMIERE - It's bad enough that elite boarding school students Samantha and Clara can't go home for Christmas. But things take a deadly turn for the worse when a murderous gang of cult killers arrive, intent on summoning a demon. What must the girls do to survive the night? The second shocker from director Jenn Wexler (remember the 2018 FrightFest smash THE RANGER?) is another wild and thrilling ride offering fresh takes on timeless horror themes. A tribute to the beauty and boldness of classic 1970s horror, anchored in an unlikely friendship between outsiders, it's time to play THE SACRIFICE GAME.
Hosted by Stuart Wright
FrightFest TV crew:
Camera Op: Leah Clarke
Runner/Assistant: Tom Sibley
Producer: Mark Scullion
Thank you to everyone involved.
The feature debut from child actor/writer/director George Baron, star of ‘Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp’, is a genre-bending, surrealist pastel noir inspired by the Golden Age of Hollywood and the sinister mysteries that lie in the underbelly of Tinseltown. Set in the 1950s, Baron plays Detective Dalton and Olivia Scott Welch (‘Fear Street’) Detective Lilly, two rookie cops determined to solve a seemingly clear-cut homicide, only to find themselves in an alternate reality of their worst nightmares. Inspired by David Lynch (BLUE VELVET, ‘Twin Peaks’), Ann Biller (THE LOVE WITCH), Leslie Gore, Bobby Vinton and Bernard Herrmann.Description of the film
Hosted by Stuart Wright
FrightFest TV crew:
Camera Op: Leah Clarke
Producer: Mark Scullion
Thank you to everyone involved.
WORLD PREMIERE - The feature debut from child actor/writer/director George Baron, star of ‘Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp’, is a genre-bending, surrealist pastel noir inspired by the Golden Age of Hollywood and the sinister mysteries that lie in the underbelly of Tinseltown. Set in the 1950s, Baron plays Detective Dalton and Olivia Scott Welch (‘Fear Street’) Detective Lilly, two rookie cops determined to solve a seemingly clear-cut homicide, only to find themselves in an alternate reality of their worst nightmares. Inspired by David Lynch (BLUE VELVET, ‘Twin Peaks’), Ann Biller (THE LOVE WITCH), Leslie Gore, Bobby Vinton and Bernard Herrmann.
Hosted by Paul McEvoy
FrightFest TV crew:
Camera Op: Leah Clarke
Runner/Assistant: Tom Sibley
Producer: Mark Scullion
Thank you to everyone involved.
From Errementari director Paul Urkijo Alijo comes the Basque The Lord of the Rings, based on the graphic novel by J. L. Landa and J. Muñoz. Christian nobleman Eneko must fulfil his promise to his late father to protect and lead his people into the new era. To do so, he must recover his father's body, buried next to Charlemagne's treasure. However, despite his faith, he needs the help of his childhood friend, the pagan Irati. On this mythological and magical mission, the two young men venture into a strange forest where "Everything that has a name exists".
Hosted by Paul McEvoy
FrightFest TV crew:
Producers: Chris Simons & Ian Rattray
Camera Ops: Chris Simons & Ian Rattray
Edited by Ian Rattray
Rosenkreuz Manor. Sigrun Fink, desperate for information about her biological family, starts a new position as a nurse to the ageing, ill and eccentric Baroness Heidenreich. For a shared longing binds them together: the old lady’s memory contains the secret to Sigrun's true identity; the nurse’s lifeforce holds the key to the future for the Baroness. On the path to self-discovery, Sigrun is confronted with the sinister world of folklore occultism, carried out by the Baroness and her sinister groundskeeper Otto. On opening an unearthly, pagan abyss in which every moral and principle will be tested.
Hosted by Greg Day
FrightFest TV crew:
Producers: Chris Simons & Ian Rattray
Camera Ops: Chris Simons & Ian Rattray
Edited by Ian Rattray
It’s the tongue-in-cheek, extreme splatter, campy comedy horror shocker of the year! When his girlfriend is swamped with college exams, Tom O'Bannon, a rowdy pro-wrestler struggling to make ends meet, agrees to fill in as a last-minute replacement for her well-paying babysitting job. Tom arrives at an isolated family home where he meets the precocious 10-year-old Grace. But what starts off as a quiet night of pizza and video games quickly spirals into bloody, violent, demonic chaos as Tom and Grace find themselves fighting for their lives when an otherworldly cult of masked intruders descend on the home.
Hosted by Paul McEvoy
FrightFest TV crew:
Producers: Chris Simons & Ian Rattray
Camera Ops: Chris Simons & Ian Rattray
Edited by Ian Rattray
Unfriended, Dashcam, Deadstream and now director Travis Bible's Instant Found Footage comedy horror where four social media influencers must decide if Internet fame is worth the danger in real-time. Bros Spicy Steve and Chad team up with a pair of beauty tip streamers to visit the supposedly haunted Devil's Manor, the former home to a Satanic Cult. Things don't go well. Soon they're forced to wonder if it's all a prank created by other streamers, by each other, or if there is something more sinister at hand… And as the violence ramps up… so do the views and likes.
Hosted by Paul McEvoy
FrightFest TV crew:
Producers: Chris Simons & Ian Rattray
Camera Ops: Chris Simons & Ian Rattray
Edited by Ian Rattray
“There is but one God. And his Shadow...” Grace is summoned to the Mount Saviour convent deep in the Scottish Highlands following the mysterious death of her priest brother. Refusing to believe he committed suicide and determined to discover what really happened, Grace starts her own investigation as the nuns prepare a consecration ceremony to purify the holy site. Soon she inadvertently shines a light on murder, sacrilege and a disturbing truth, relating to the forgotten years of her own childhood, intertwined with that of the convent’s holy order and the secret it’s charged with protecting.
Hosted by Stuart Wright
FrightFest TV crew:
Producers: Chris Simons & Ian Rattray
Camera Ops: Chris Simons & Ian Rattray
Edited by Ian Rattray
From Matthias Hoene, director of Cockneys Vs Zombies and the producers of 47 Metres Down, a twisty thriller that will chill you to the bone. During a stormy night in the Scottish Highlands, two criminal brothers on the run seek refuge in a desolate farmhouse. But after taking the resident family captive, they find the house holds even darker secrets. Colour Out Of Space star Joely Richardson plays the fearsome family matriarch who will stop at nothing to protect her kin and the shocking mysteries surrounding their existence.
Hosted by Alan Jones
FrightFest TV crew:
Camera Ops: Chris Simons & Ian Rattray
Producers: Chris Simons & Ian Rattray
Based on director Andrew Bowser's viral character, Onyx, who has racked up 300 million plus views online and has over a million TikTok followers. Fledgling occultist Marcus J. Trillbury (Onyx) attends a black magic ritual at his idol Bartok the Great's dark mansion. But terrible things begin to happen, and it soon becomes clear that Bartok's intentions are way more nefarious. As Marcus battles to keep his soul, a question of great destiny looms. Is he doomed to remain a nobody, or will he rise to defeat Bartok and save his fellow Satanist followers from damnation?
Hosted by Paul McEvoy
FrightFest TV crew:
Camera Ops: Chris Simons & Ian Rattray
Producers: Chris Simons & Ian Rattray
Hosted by Stuart Wright
FrightFest TV crew: Chris Simons
Producer: Ian Rattray
And thank you to everyone involved.
Hosted by Stuart Wright
FrightFest TV crew: Chris Simons
Producer: Ian Rattray
And thank you to everyone involved.
Hosted by Stuart Wright
FrightFest TV crew: Chris Simons
Producer: Ian Rattray
And thank you to everyone involved.
Hosted by Stuart Wright
FrightFest TV crew: Chris Simons
Producer: Ian Rattray
And thank you to everyone involved.
Hosted by Stuart Wright
FrightFest TV crew:
Camera Op: Chris Simons
Producer: Ian Rattray
And thank you to everyone involved.
Hosted by Stuart Wright
FrightFest TV crew:
Camera Op: Chris Simons
Producer: Ian Rattray
And thank you to everyone involved.
Hosted by Stuart Wright
FrightFest TV crew:
Camera Op: Chris Simons
Producer: Ian Rattray
And thank you to everyone involved.
Hosted by Stuart Wright
FrightFest TV crew:
Camera Op: Chris Simons
Producer: Ian Rattray
Hosted by Stuart Wright
FrightFest TV crew:
Camera Op: Chris Simons
Producer: Ian Rattray
And thank you to everyone involved.
Hosted by Stuart Wright
FrightFest TV crew:
Camera Op: Chris Simons
Producer: Ian Rattray
And thank you to everyone involved.
Hosted by Stuart Wright
FrightFest TV crew:
Camera Op: Chris Simons
Producer: Ian Rattray
And thank you to everyone involved.
Hosted by Stuart Wright
FrightFest TV crew:
Camera Op: Chris Simons
Producer: Ian Rattray
And thank you to everyone involved.
Hosted by Stuart Wright
FrightFest TV crew:
Camera Op: Chris Simons
Producer: Ian Rattray
And thank you to everyone involved.
Hosted by Stuart Wright
FrightFest TV crew:
Camera Op: Chris Simons
Producer: Ian Rattray
And thank you to everyone involved.
Hosted by Stuart Wright
FrightFest TV crew:
Camera Op: Chris Simons
Producer: Ian Rattray
And thank you to everyone involved.
Hosted by Stuart Wright
FrightFest TV crew:
Camera Op: Chris Simons
Producer: Ian Rattray
And thank you to everyone involved.
Hosted by Stuart Wright
FrightFest TV crew:
Camera Op: Chris Simons
Producer: Ian Rattray
And thank you to everyone involved.
A special thanks to the interviewees, attendees, volunteers and everyone else.
Images: Julie Edwards and social media.
Hosted by Stuart Wright
FrightFest TV crew:
Camera Op: Leah Clarke
Runner/Assistant: Tom Sibley
Producer: Mark Scullion
And thank you to everyone involved.
Best friends Becky and Hunter find themselves at the top of a 2,000-foot radio tower.Best friends Becky and Hunter find themselves at the top of a 2,000-foot radio tower.
Hosted by Stuart Wright
FrightFest TV crew:
Camera Op: Leah Clarke
Runner/Assistant: Tom Sibley
Producer: Mark Scullion
And thank you to everyone involved.
A small group of Russian soldiers have the task of taking Hitler's discovered remains back to Stalin in Moscow.
Hosted by Stuart Wright
FrightFest TV crew:
Camera Op: Leah Clarke
Runner/Assistant: Tom Sibley
Producer: Mark Scullion
And thank you to everyone involved.
When a cursed amulet turns their rival boy band act into a screeching gang of zombies, a group of cheerleaders must learn to use their wits, friendship and assorted power tools before a TV talent show takes a turn for the apocalyptic.
Hosted by Stuart Wright
FrightFest TV crew:
Camera Op: Leah Clarke
Runner/Assistant: Tom Sibley
Producer: Mark Scullion
And thank you to everyone involved.
In 1970, Mikey and William both portrayed football cannibal Smash-Mouth in the influential cult hit, End Zone 2. Now, 50 years later, only one can wear the mask.
Hosted by Stuart Wright
FrightFest TV crew:
Camera Op: Leah Clarke
Runner/Assistant: Tom Sibley
Producer: Mark Scullion
And thank you to everyone involved.
When a cursed amulet turns their rival boy band act into a screeching gang of zombies, a group of cheerleaders must learn to use their wits, friendship and assorted power tools before a TV Talent show takes a turn for the apocalyptic
Hosted by Stuart Wright
FrightFest TV crew:
Camera Op: Leah Clarke
Runner/Assistant: Tom Sibley
Producer: Mark Scullion
And thank you to everyone involved.


