Opening on Friday 14 January and running through Saturday 15 and Sunday 16, and then again from Friday 21 to Sunday 23 January 2022, Horror-on-Sea will showcase more than 36 feature films, over 70 short movies and provide a showcase for 10 world premieres.
The festival’s Director and creator, Paul Cotgrove from The White Bus, has once again hand-picked a programme of the very best – and indeed some of the worst – new films spanning the horror genre – from perennial-favourites zombies, vampires and monsters, to cursed demonic clowns, serial killers and a very, very bad Santa.
Whether sharksploitation is your thing, or kitchen horror (yes, it exists), Horror-on-Sea is the very definition of ‘all killer, no filler’.
As Paul explains: “Since we started Horror-on-Sea ten years ago, the festival has built up to become a major event within this area of the movie industry. So much so, that I now receive submissions from film makers and producers from around the world, meaning that we can easily screen up to seventeen films each day, which equates to over twelve-hours of slicing, dicing, drilling, killing and general murderous mayhem from ten in the morning to gone ten at night!”
As befits its reputation as an international showcase for young writers, directors and producers, this year’s programme will give an audience to films from the UK, Canada, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Russia, Finland, Ukraine, India, Ireland, and of course, the USA.
There are also a number of films made right here in Essex – All Dressed in White, The Allotment, Black Death, Don’t Open the Box, Off the Hook, See What She Did, Helium Mary, Sausages, All Consumed and Locked.
As always, there is a chance for burgeoning film makers to learn from one of the masters of horror and local legend, Pat Higgins.
Higgins will relate how a Twitter exchange about a ridiculous title got out of control. With no warning at all, Powertool Cheerleaders vs the Boyband of the Screeching Dead went from tongue-in-cheek tweet to ‘go’ project in the space of an afternoon. Join Pat as he reminisces about the making of his new gore-soaked project and once again demonstrates why he is renowned as one of the wildest indie horror directors in the country.
Once again, the festival will be hosted by Southend’s iconic Park Inn by Radisson Palace hotel – which overlooks the town’s world-famous pier and seafront – and is supported by visitsouthend.co.uk.
Tickets are on sale now and, unlike the Mr Punch’s sausages, the prices are very tasty! Tickets are available from just £7 per film, from £32 for a Day Pass and, for serious fans, a Mega Festival Pass – that gets you into everything – offers unbeatable value deal at £130 for the entire festival.
For a full list of all the films, the festival schedule and pre-ordering tickets and passes stalk over to www.horror-on-sea.com or call the festival hotline on 07754 391 163. Please note that all films are strictly Certificate 18.