Belfast International Horror Festival

Bride of Frankenstein
2022-10-30 14:00 - 15:30 (Europe/London) | The Strand Arts Centre, 152-154 Holywood Road, Belfast, United Kingdom
Join BanterFlix at the Strand Arts Centre for a screening off James Whale’s Bride of Frankenstein starring Boris Karloff and Elsa Lanchesteron as part of the Dark Hedges International Film Festival.

After recovering from injuries sustained in the mob attack upon himself and his creation, Dr. Frankenstein (Colin Clive) falls under the control of his former mentor, Dr. Pretorius (Ernest Thesiger), who convinces him to build his monster a mate.

Local writer Victoria Brown will introduce the film with a short presentation about the queer subtext within Whale’s filmmaking

What We Do in the Shadows (In Dreams Are Monsters Season)
2022-10-29 20:00 - 23:00 | The Black Box Belfast, 18-22 Hill Street, Belfast, Antrim, BT1 2LA, United Kingdom
Join BanterFlix at the Black Box in Belfast for an Unholy masquerade Ball and a screening of Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi’s What We Do in the Shadows.

Viago, Deacon, and Vladislav are vampires struggling with the mundane aspects of modern life, like paying rent, keeping up with the chore wheel, trying to get into nightclubs, and overcoming flatmate conflicts.

So when a camera crew decides to follow their day-to-day lives as they prowl the streets of Wellington in New Zealand what’s the worst that could happen?

So dress to impress as there are prizes for the best-dressed witch or vampire on the night as local cosplayer HedgeScout hosts this ghoulishly fun event

Cosplayer’s Joanne Alexander and Graham Alexander will host our screening

Screening as part of In Dreams Are Monsters: A Season of Horror Films, a UK-wide film season supported by the National Lottery and BFI Film Audience Network. indreamsaremonsters.co.uk

Irish Ghost Stories
2022-10-29 18:00 - 19:00 | The Beanbag Cinema, 23, Donegall Street, Belfast, Antrim, BT1 2FF ·, United Kingdom
Join BanterFlix for a screening of Eugene Mcpeake’s Irish Ghost Stories at the Beanbag cinema as part of the Dark Hedges International Film Festival.

A short anthology of six individual traditionally themed Irish ghost stories.

This film is part of the new cinema strand of the festival’s programme

Feed Me
2022-10-29 16:00 - 18:00 | The Beanbag Cinema, 23, Donegall Street, Belfast, Antrim, BT1 2FF ·, United Kingdom
Join BanterFlix for a screening of Adam Leader and Richard Oakes’ Feed Me at the Beanbag cinema as part of the Dark Hedges International Film Festival.

Following the death of his wife, a broken man spirals into an abyss of night tremors and depression and finds himself in the home of a deranged cannibal who convinces him to take his own life in the most horrific way imaginable.

This film is part of the new cinema strand of the festival’s programme

The Creeping
2022-10-29 14:00 - 15:30 | The Beanbag Cinema, 23, Donegall Street, Belfast, Antrim, BT1 2FF ·, United Kingdom
Join BanterFlix for a screening of Jamie Hooper’s The Creeping at the Beanbag cinema as part of the Dark Hedges International Film Festival.

Due to a traumatic childhood experience, Anna hasn’t returned home for many years. With her ailing grandmother, Lucy, suffering from worsening symptoms of dementia, Anna moves home to look after her.

Soon after, strange things begin happening. Though benign at first, events soon escalate into a nightmarish fight for life against a malevolent presence.

She discovers the ordeal is linked to a dark family secret, a tragic past that’s haunted Anna her whole life… and Lucy’s fading memories could be the key to solving the mystery and surviving the nightmare.

This film is part of the new cinema strand of the festival’s programme

A Life on the Farm
2022-10-29 12:00 - 13:15 | The Beanbag Cinema, 23, Donegall Street, Belfast, Antrim, BT1 2FF ·, United Kingdom
Join BanterFlix for a screening of Oscar Harding’s documentary A Life on the Farm at the Beanbag cinema as part of the Dark Hedges International Film Festival.

When filmmaker Oscar Harding’s grandfather passed away in the rural English county of Somerset, his family inherited an extraordinary videotape – a feature-length home movie from neighbour Charles Carson, which can best be described as “Monty Python meets The Texas Chainsaw Massacre”.

But there’s so much more to the man than his bizarre videos – Charles was an inventor, an outsider artist, and a pioneer of death positivity, to name just a few of the filmmaking farmer’s achievements.

Charles’ life and work are examined by those who knew him best, as well as a whole new generation of fans who have been inspired by the legacy he left behind.

A Life On The Farm is an exploration and celebration of Charles Carson and his movies, rescued from obscurity, which presents a moving and laugh-out-loud document of a time and place in danger of being lost to history.

This film is part of the new cinema strand of the festival’s programme

Fright Night (1985)
2022-10-28 21:15 - 23:00 | Queen’s Film Theatre, 20 University Square, Belfast, Antrim, BT7 1PA, United Kingdom
The Dark Hedges Film Festival presents Tom Holland’s Fright Night as part of their 2022 programme and In Dreams Are Monsters season.

17-year-old Charley Brewster (William Ragsdale) is a fan of both traditional horror films and horror TV series, Fright Night, hosted by former movie vampire hunter Peter Vincent (Roddy McDowall).

One evening, Charley discovers that his new neighbour Jerry Dandrige (Chris Sarandon) is a vampire who’s responsible for the disappearance of several locals. When no one believes him, Charley decides to get the help of washed-up television vampire killer Peter Vincent, to stop Jerry’s killing spree.

A member of the festival’s team will introduce the screening of this cult classic, just in time for Halloween.

Screening as part of In Dreams Are Monsters: A Season of Horror Films, a UK-wide film season supported by the National Lottery and BFI Film Audience Network.

Powertool Cheerleaders Vs The Boyband of The Screeching Dead
2022-10-28 19:00 - 21:00 | The Beanbag Cinema, 23, Donegall Street, Belfast, Antrim, BT1 2FF ·, United Kingdom
Join BanterFlix for a screening of Pat Higgins Powertool Cheerleaders Vs The Boyband of The Screeching Dead at the Beanbag cinema as part of the Dark Hedges International Film Festival.

A fun, feminist horror comedy musical set in the backdrop of a TV talent competition, all about friendship and pursuing your dreams no matter what – even in the eye of a Zombie apocalypse.

This film is part of the new cinema strand of the festival’s programme

Short Film Competition Finalists 2022 (International)
2022-10-27 20:15 - 22:30 | The Strand Arts Centre, 152-154 Holywood Road, Belfast, United Kingdom
Join BanterFlix at the Strand Arts Centre as they showcase the International finalists for their Dark Hedges Film Festival’s 2022 short film competition.

Bram Stoker's Dracula (In Dreams are Monsters)
2022-10-26 20:00 - 23:00 | The Belfast Barge, Lanyon Quay, Belfast, Antrim, BT1 3LG, United Kingdom
Join BanterFlix at the Belfast Barge as they transform it into The Demeter for one night only for a screening of Francis Ford Coppola’s Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) to celebrate the film’s 30th anniversary as part of the BFI’s In Dreams Are Monsters season.

Gary Oldman plays Dracula whose lonely soul is determined to reunite with his lost love. He travels to England to seduce his barrister Jonathan Harker’s (Keanu Reeves) fiancée and soon begins a reign of terror.

Anyone who pre-books a ticket will receive a free print by local artist Chris Ellis commissioned specially for this event.

Screening as part of In Dreams Are Monsters: A Season of Horror Films, a UK-wide film season supported by the National Lottery and BFI Film Audience Network. indreamsaremonsters.co.uk

Short Film Competition Finalists 2022 (Irish)
2022-10-25 20:15 - 22:30 | The Strand Arts Centre, 152-154 Holywood Road, Belfast, United Kingdom
Join BanterFlix at the Strand Arts Centre as they showcase the Irish finalists for their Dark Hedges Film Festival’s 2022 short film competition.

Prince of Darkness
2022-10-24 21:00 - 23:00 | The Sunflower Public House, 65 Union Street, Belfast, BT1 2JG, United Kingdom
Join BanterFlix at the Sunflower Open House In Belfast for a special screening of John Carpenter’s Prince of Darkness on the opening night of this year’s festival as they celebrate the film’s 35th anniversary.

A group of graduate students and scientists uncover an ancient canister in an abandoned church, but when they open the container, they inadvertently unleash a strange liquid and an evil force on all humanity.

An American Werewolf in London/ The Howling (Double Bill)
2021-10-31 19:00 - 23:00 | The Black Box Belfast, 18-22 Hill Street, Belfast, Antrim, BT1 2LA, United Kingdom
Join us at the Black Box in Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter on Halloween night for a double-bill screening of two iconic werewolf movies, John Landis’ An American Werewolf in London and Joe Dante’s The Howling.

In Landis’ An American Werewolf in London David and Jack, two American college students backpacking through Britain are attacked by a large wolf late one night. David survives with a bite, but Jack is brutally killed. As David heals in the hospital, he’s plagued by violent nightmares of his mutilated friend, who warns David that he is becoming a werewolf and soon enough his warnings come true.

In Joe Dante’s The Howling Dee Williams’ television reporter Karen is sent to a remote mountain retreat to recuperate after surviving a brutal attack, but she soon discovers that the residents may not be what they seem.

Doors open at 6:30 pm with the first film beginning promptly at 7 pm after a brief introduction by a member of the festival’s team. There will be a brief intermission between each screening.

Anyone who pre-books a ticket for our double-bill screening will receive a print we’ve specially commissioned local artist Chris Ellis (Ellistration) to celebrate the occasion.

Running Order

The Howling – 7 pmAn American Werewolf in London – 8:45pm

Frankenstein (90th Anniversary)
2021-10-31 16:10 - 17:30 | The Strand Arts Centre, 152-154 Holywood Road, Belfast, United Kingdom
Join us at the Strand Arts Centre for a one-off screening of James Whale’s Frankenstein starring Boris Karloff on Halloween as we celebrate the film’s 90th anniversary.

A member of the festival’s team will introduce the film prior to the screening

Blade
2021-10-30 19:00 - 21:00 | Movie House Cinemas City Side, 100-150 York Street, Belfast, Antrim, BT15 1WA, United Kingdom
Date: Saturday 30 October 2021

Time: 7 pm

Venue: Movie House Cinemas, Cityside

Running Time: 120 minutes

More Info

Before Black Panther, there was Blade!

Travel back to 1998 as the Dark Hedges Film Festival screens Stephen Norrington’s Blade as part of Black History Month.

The film stars Wesley Snipes as the aforementioned Blade, a half-vampire, half-mortal man determined to protect the human race from a group of blood-sucking vampires led by Stephen Dorff’s Deacon Frost.

Blade was the first film to feature a black superhero and as such was a trailblazing achievement back in 1998, laying the foundations for the Marvel Cinematic Universe as we know it today.

Bring Out The Fear
2021-10-29 19:00 - 21:30 | Movie House Cinemas City Side, 100-150 York Street, Belfast, Antrim, BT15 1WA, United Kingdom
Date: Friday 29 October 2021

Venue: Movie House Cinemas Cityside

Time: 7 pm

Running Time: 87 minutes

More Info

Fresh from receiving its world premiere at FrightFest London earlier this year the Dark Hedges International Film Festival is Fresh is proud to include Richard Waters’ Irish horror Bring Out The Fear within our programme.

Rosie and Dan are a couple in a doomed relationship. Deciding to call it a day in the least acrimonious way possible, they decide to take one last walk in a favourite destination, the local forest. But suddenly the endlessly winding paths lead nowhere, the trees never seem to end, the sun never sets and a sinister presence starts stalking and tormenting them, trying to drive them insane…

There is no escape but what exactly are they hiding?

Short Film Competition (Irish Finalists)
2021-10-28 20:00 - 22:00 | The Strand Arts Centre, 152-154 Holywood Road, Belfast, United Kingdom
Join us at the Strand Arts Centre as we showcase the Irish finalists for our Dark Hedges Film Festival’s 2021 short film competition.

Audience members will be asked to vote for their favourite short as part of the festival’s ‘Audience Choice’ award and the winner will be announced on the festival’s closing night along with the winning short that has been selected by our festival’s jury.

Finalists

Belfast 1912 (Dominic O’Neill)A Christmas Drop (Stephen Canty)Qu’est-ce Que c’est (Ian Brew)Afterlife (Daniel Butler)The Cancer Monster (Michael Costello)Breach (Nathan Patrick Hughes)She Cries At Night (Stephen Parker)Family Tree (Emmet O’Brien)Terrible Things (Ciarán Hickey)Where Still Waters Lie (Adam O’Keeffe)

Short Film Competition (International FInalists)
2021-10-26 20:00 - 22:30 | The Strand Arts Centre, 152-154 Holywood Road, Belfast, United Kingdom
Join us at the Strand Arts Centre as we showcase the International finalists for our Dark Hedges Film Festival’s 2021 short film competition.

Audience members will be asked to vote for their favourite short as part of the festival’s ‘Audience Choice’ award and the winner will be announced on the festival’s closing night along with the winning short that has been selected by our festival’s jury.

Finalists

Relict (Ilya Polyakov) – United StatesThe Thing That Ate The Birds (Sophie Mair & Dan Gitsham) United KingdomFamiliar (David Ellison) – United KingdomWIch (Anthony Williams) – United StatesSmiles (Javier Chavanel) – SpainInside Voices (Kiko Morah) – NetherlandsThe Haunted Swordsman (Kevin McTurk) – United StatesSwipe (Niels Bourgonje) – NetherlandsMalediction (Thomas Bauer) – GermanyClout (Ariel Hansen) – Canada

Alien (1979)
2021-10-25 21:00 - 23:00 | Movie House Cinemas City Side, 100-150 York Street, Belfast, Antrim, BT15 1WA, United Kingdom
On their voyage home to Earth, the crew of the deep space tug Nostromo are awakened from stasis when their ship’s computer detects a distress signal coming from a nearby planet. While investigating the desolate landscape, one of the crew (John Hurt) is attacked by an alien creature that latches to his face and is rushed back to the Nostromo to receive medical treatment. Ripley (Sigourney Weaver), the ship’s warrant officer, advises that her injured colleague can’t be brought aboard due to quarantine regulations – but her orders are ignored, inadvertently bringing the Nostromo under threat from a mysterious extra-terrestrial life form with violent and lethal survival instincts.

Winner of the 1979 Academy Award® for Visual Effects Scott’s film would go on to spawn a vast franchise of films, novels, comic books, video games, and toys and would have a lasting effect upon the Sci-Fi genre even to this day!.

Alien remains a visceral, captivating and poetic blend of sci-fi and horror that deserves to be seen on the big screen!

Remember, in space, no one can hear you scream!

Alien On Stage
2021-10-25 19:00 - 20:30 | Movie House Cinemas City Side, 100-150 York Street, Belfast, Antrim, BT15 1WA, United Kingdom
When a group of Dorset Bus Drivers put on an amateur dramatics adaptation of Ridley Scott’s Alien little did they know they’d end up performing on London’s West End, but that’s exactly what happened when fate whisked them from their local village hall to a sold-out London theatre to perform their accidental comedy masterpiece for one night only.

With wobbly sets, awkward acting and dodgy special effects, will their debut in London’s glittering West End be all right on the night? And where is the Alien? It’s behind you!

Danielle Kummer and Lucy Harvey’s documentary is a must-see for fans of Scott’s 1979 original.

Host
2020-10-31 21:15 - 22:30 | Queen’s Film Theatre, 20 University Square, Belfast, Antrim, BT7 1PA, United Kingdom
Join the Dark Hedges International Film Festival at the QFT for a special, spooky Hallowe’en screening of one the most chilling and suspenseful horror films to come to the big screen in recent years.

An American Werewolf In London
2020-10-31 19:30 - 23:00 | The Black Box Belfast, 18-22 Hill Street, Belfast, Antrim, BT1 2LA, United Kingdom
Join us at the Black Box in Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter as we turn the venue into The Slaughtered Lamb for one night only as they team up with the Belfast Film Festival to host a screening of John Landis’ An American Werewolf in London on Halloween Night.

The film will close this year’s Dark Hedges International Film Festival and will be accompanied by screenings of the winning shorts within our Irish and International short film competition.

Fright Night
2020-10-30 21:30 - 23:00 | Queen’s Film Theatre, 20 University Square, Belfast, Antrim, BT7 1PA, United Kingdom
The Dark Hedges Film Festival is celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Tom Holland’s Fright Night with a screening at the Queen’s Film Theatre on Friday 30th October (9:30pm).

So join us at the QFT for this screening of a cult horror classic as part of the festival’s programme just in time for Halloween.

The Lodge (Irish Premiere)
2020-10-28 20:30 - 23:30 | Movie House Cinemas City Side, 100-150 York Street, Belfast, Antrim, BT15 1WA, United Kingdom
Join us at the Movie House Cinema’s City Side site in Belfast for the Irish premiere of Veronika Franz and Severin Fiala’s atmospheric horror movie, The Lodge.

The Deep Ones (Digital Player)
2020-10-26 19:00 - 2020-10-27 22:00 | Dark Hedges Digital Player
The Dark Hedges Film Festival is proud to screen Chad Ferrin’s The Deep Ones.

Based on the iconic creations from the work of HP Lovecraft Ferrin’s feature sees a married couple rents a beachside Airbnb only to be surrounded by peculiar neighbours and occurrences. They soon discover to be in the grips of a mysterious cult and their ancient sea god.

Described by horror filmmaker Brian Yuzna as “Dagon meets Rosemary’s Baby with a dash of Society in Chad Ferrin’s stylish and slyly satiric Lovecraftian nightmare, with great old school monsters, a fantastic score by iconic composer Richard Band, and a wonderful appearance by genre favorite Kelli Maroney! This one is a labor of love!”

International Short Film Finalists 2020
2020-10-24 19:30 - 2020-10-31 23:30 | Antrim
A showcase of the International finalists for the Dark Hedges Film Festival’s short film competition.

Bad Candy
2020-10-24 19:30 - 21:00 | Antrim
Bad Candy follows local Halloween stories of both myth and lessons learned in the community of New Salem. With its annual Psychotronic FM Halloween show, reenactment radio DJs Chilly Billy and Paul weave the tales of the supernatural of years gone by. In this small town it’s a grimy ending for most, but will a few good souls survive?

Irish Short Film Finalists (2020)
2020-10-24 19:00 - 2020-10-31 23:30 | Antrim
A showcase of the Irish finalists for the Dark Hedges Film Festival’s short film competition (2020).

Showcase of the Irish finalists for the Dark Hedges Film Festival’s short film competition (2020).

American Psycho (35mm)
2020-10-24 10:30 - 11:00 | The Strand Arts Centre, 152-154 Holywood Road, Belfast, United Kingdom
Join us at the Strand for the opening night of the Dark Hedges Film Festival as we celebrate the 20th anniversary of Mary Harron’s American Psycho with a 35mm screening on Saturday 24th October.
