Festival Line-Up Features Over 70 Film Premieres
From 16 Countries During 9 Nights of Terror
In its fifth year, Popcorn Frights will premiere 73 films (including 10 world premieres), embracing 16 countries, and bringing together established filmmakers and emerging new voices to its annual celebration of all thing’s horror from August 8-16. The Southeast United States largest gathering of genre films and fans will take place at the historic Savor Cinema in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Here’s a look at some of the fantastic films that will be shown Aug 8-9…
Thursday, Aug 8 at 9:15
World Premiere
THE HAUNT
Featuring the attendance of directors Scott Beck and Bryan Woods
The latest chiller from the creators of the acclaimed A Quiet Place present another deliciously gory scarefest for horror fans to eat up. On Halloween, a group of friends encounter an “extreme” haunted house that promises to feed on their darkest fears. But the night turns deadly as they come to the horrifying realization that some nightmares are real. Horror connoisseurs will sweat, squirm, and relish every splatterific minute of it.
Preceded by the short film: OTHER SIDE OF THE BOX (Directed by Caleb J. Phillips): A couple receives a mysterious package from an old friend. Florida Premiere!
Friday, Aug 9 at 7:00pm
South Florida Premiere
BLOODLINE (US)
Seann William Scott (Goon, Final Destination) goes full serial killer in Blumhouse Productions’ (Get Out, Halloween) dementedly furious and darkly comic take on Dexter and American Psycho! He’s not hearing any “Kill-kill-kill-ma-ma-ma” voices in his head, but this film certainly does draw inspiration from Friday the 13th and the dangerous relationship between mother and son. Evan Cole (Scott) is a quiet social worker with a seemingly perfect life: a loving wife, a healthy baby boy, and a meaningful job where he helps troubled teens. It’s where the helping comes in that poses a problem for Evan’s wholesome way of life. See, Evan is a serial killer who violently tortures those that are causing his patients harm. For a while, Evan manages to conceal his twisted double life from his wife, but when his overbearing mother (Dale Dickey, True Blood) comes to visit, the cracks in Evan’s well-mannered façade burst open with a flood of blood and bodies. This is one tale that won’t leave the bloodhounds thirsty!
Preceded by the short film: WILD LOVE (Directed by Caleb J. Phillips): The heart has its reasons of which nature knows nothing. South Florida Premiere!
Friday, August 9 at 9:00pm
World Premiere
THE DARE (U.K., U.S., Bulgaria)
Featuring the attendance of director Giles Alderson and writer Jonny Grant
Why see THE DARE? Because it has teeth and it cuts to the bone! A young man is jolted back to consciousness as he awakens to find himself chained inside a dark torture chamber. There is someone else in the room. Three other chained victims, abducted strangers, who are forced to piece together the clues created by the deranged captor that has brought them together to engage in a twisted battle to solve a puzzle to their past…or die a gruesome death. How far would you go to survive! Like James Wan’s Saw and Dario Argento’s inventively nasty gialli, The Dare fuses an intricate thriller plot with gruesome horror sensibility. The former sucks you in, the latter chews you up and spits you out.
Preceded by the short film: THE DESECRATED (Directed by John Gray): A young morgue attendant encounters an unwelcome visitor. South Florida Premiere!
Friday, Aug 9 at 11:15pm
Southeast US Premiere
BLISS (US)
With his previous films, Almost Human and Popcorn Frights’ 2015 film The Mind’s Eye, director Joe Begos won the hearts of horror lovers through his stylistic nostalgia and inhibition-free penchant for brutality. Upping the ante, BLISS roars with searing visuals, kinetic energy, an endearing nastiness, a ferociously all-in lead performance, all the while harkening back to the grimy days of New York City grindhouse cinema, when films like Abel Ferrara’s The Driller Killer and Bill Lustig’s Maniac were the norm. In his new daringly psychedelic thriller, a brilliant painter facing the worst creative block of her life looks to reignite her creative juices by letting loose — as in, taking every drug in sight and tearing through raucous house parties and heavy metal bars. After a few nights spent with her debauchery-loving friends, though, she notices changes within herself. On the plus side, she’s finally painting again, but she’s also developing a strange desire for blood. As someone who has never been able to control her vices in the first place, she is quickly and violently consumed by this bloodlust, spiraling into a hallucinatory hellscape of drugs, sex, and murder in the sleazy underbelly of Los Angeles.
Preceded by the short film: LOOM (Directed by Kevin Rothlisberger): A weekend romance between two lovers suddenly turns to horror when they are taunted and abused by a group of local bullies. But just when the bullies think they have the best of them, someone decides to show their teeth releasing the bloodthirsty beasts within. East Coast Premiere!
For more information and a complete list of films, please visit:
TICKET SALES:
Festival All-Access Badges are on sale for a limited time for $99 per person and $169 for couples, and single screening tickets are available for $12. To purchase badges or tickets and view the Festival schedule, visit www.popcornfrights.com
LOCATION:
All films will screen at Savor Cinema (503 SE 6th St, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301).
MORE INFORMATION:
Follow the Popcorn Frights Film Festival on Facebook (/popcornfrights), Twitter (@popcornfrights), or Instagram (@popcornfrights) for updates with the latest information about the Festival. Join the conversation using the hashtag #popcornfrights on social media.
*Note: PromoteHorror.com continues to be proud sponsors of the Popcorn Frights Film Festival, and hope that you will help us in supporting this fantastic festival.
