IFI Horrorthon 2014 promises to be the most terrifying in its “17-year brain-splattered, intestine-tangling history".
For five hair-raising days in the run-up to Halloween there’ll be nowhere to hide at the IFI from master of the exploitation flick, Frank Henenlotter, and rising star of the ‘scream queens’, Jessica Cameron.
The iconic Vincent Price will be explored in a new strand called IFI Horrorthon Honours. Vincent Price (1911-1993) had over 200 credits to his name and a career that spanned over 50 years. The prince of the sinister gothic face and wheedly, menacing voice is recalled with screenings of The Abominable Dr. Phibes (1971), Theatre of Blood (1973) on 35mm and House of Usher (1960).
There is a fearful nod towards the occult with a live-accompanied screening of the 1922 silent film Haxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages. Highlights of new horror include The Editor, a demented send-up and Monsters: Dark Continent - Gareth Edwards’ follow-up to 2011 IFI Horrorthon hit Monsters.
This year’s Irish contributions include veteran Irish horror director Jason Figgis’ The Ecstasy of Isabel Mann and newcomers Amy Carroll, Conor Dowling and Eoin O’Neill’s The Light of Day.
Sci-fi horror is the genre for a number of the films, with Coherence looking particularly interesting and almost Buñuel-esque. A dinner party goes off kilter as a passing comet causes a convergence of parallel realities.
Also being shown is The Samurai, a horror "with a queer sensibility that isn’t all in the subtext". Plus watch out for the documentary, Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Dr. Moreau.
A total of 38 features, many of them Irish premieres, will be shown throughout this year’s event. Individual tickets are on sale at the IFI Box Office, or phone 01 679 3477; online at www.ifi.ie
Special passes range from one to five days, for the festival which runs from October 23-27.
Watch the trailer for Coherence:
