News

The FrightFest London 2025 line-up has been announced, I’ve spent some time poring over the sixty-odd movies which will play there in August and, in the spirit of the growing excitement surrounding next month’s festivities, I’ve been asked to pick the ten movies I’m looking forward to the most.

Okay, I’ve picked eleven. Apologies, I’ve ruined the piece already. Anyway, on with my choices.

10 films we’re looking forward to at FrightFest 2025

1. Above the Knee

Viljar Bøe’s latest follows a man who is convinced his leg doesn’t belong to him and wants to cut it off. Bøe’s previous appearance at FrightFest in 2023 with Good Boy should give you more than a hint as to how dark this could get. I’m still immensely proud of appearing in the credits of that utterly warped relationship drama and I expect Above The Knee to...

The 26th year serves up some delicious treats

James Demonaco’S The Home And Kurtis David Harder’S Influencers To Open And Close 26Th Edition.

Be prepared for the weird, the wild and the wonderful as FrightFest 2025, the UK’s No.1 horror & fantasy film festival, returns to The Odeon Luxe Leicester Square for its annual five-day extravaganza, taking over seven screens, including the two at the Odeon Luxe West End.

Running from Thursday August 21 – Monday 25 August, FrightFest will showcase sixty-nine features from across the world, embracing twenty-five main screen premieres and forty-four Discovery Screen titles, including the popular ‘First Blood’ strand, the latest genre documentaries, and a 4K restoration retrospective of one of the most game-changing British shockers ever. Plus, there’s the regular short-film strand, now extended to four showcases - to be announced later. This year there are nineteen world premieres, with fourteen countries represented, spanning four continents.

FrightFest, the number one horror and fantasy film festival in the UK, is back this year for its annual five-day extravaganza. Running from August 21 to August 25, 2025, FrightFest will showcase 69 features from across the world, including 19 world premieres from 14 countries and four short film showcase. This year, the festival returns to The Odeon Luxe Leicester Square and Odeon Luxe West End, taking over seven screens total for horror and genre filmmaking galore.

Festival co-director Alan Jones said, “FrightFest in its 26th year remains the UK’s Number One destination for genre fans. The 2025 event will be epic in every sense, celebrating the inventive, transgressive and diverse. So, join us for an event that has consistently remained in the Top Ten of The World’s Best Fantasy Festivals list”.

The Home

The festival opens with the UK premiere of The Home from director James DeMonaco, creator of The Purge franchise. It’s...

FrightFest 2025 returns to London’s Odeon Luxe Leicester Square from 21 to 25 August with a heady mix of world premieres, restored classics and electrifying genre films. And excitingly, this year Love Horror will be media partners for the event!

The festival opens with the UK premiere of James DeMonaco’s The Home and closes with Kurtis David Harder’s social-media nightmare Influencers, bookending five days of horror, fantasy and dark fantasy across seven screens. Full Festival Passes go on sale Saturday 12 July at noon, with day tickets available from Saturday 19 July.

Opening night sees comedian-turned-thesp Pete Davidson as Max in The Home, a tense tale of community service gone wrong at a retirement home under siege by unseen terrors. The closing night screening of Influencers brings Shudder’s hit series to the big screen as social-media chameleon CW manipulates followers into perilous games of Fomo. These two high-profile premieres are joined...

Exclusive: UK genre festival FrightFest has revealed its 2025 lineup with the event opening with Pete Davidson horror The Home.

The event, which runs between August 21–25 at The Odeon Luxe Leicester Square for its annual five-day extravaganza, will showcase sixty-nine features, including nineteen world premieres.

From director James DeMonaco, creator of The Purge franchise, actor-comedian Davidson plays Max in The Home, a rebellious twenty-something sentenced to community service at a quiet retirement home. Roadside/Lionsgate is releasing in the U.S. later this month.

The festival will close with Kurtis David Harder’s Influencers, which is being distributed by Shudder in the U.S. Set in southern France, it sees a young woman’s fascination with murder and identity theft send her life into a whirlwind of chaos.

Among the lineup, returning filmmakers include Erik Bloomquist who will be on hand with his latest chiller, Self-Help; Simon Rumley returns with Crushed...

The UK’s Film Seekers is launching sales on English-language, Thailand-set kidnapping thriller Crushed from UK director Simon Rumley, ahead of the EFM.

Crushed recently wrapped principal photography after a four-week shoot in Bangkok.

A British pastor and his family’s faith and resilience is tested when their young daughter is kidnapped, and embark on a desperate search with local authorities to find her.

The production stars Steve Oram, Sahajak Boonthanakit and French-Thai newcomer, Margaux Dietrich. Tom Waller of Bangkok-based De Warrenne Pictures produces on behalf of the UK’s Screenprojex. Doug Abbott ofScreenprojex is an executive producer, along withSteveJaggi and Lionel Hicks.

In his latest podcast/interview, host and screenwriter Stuart Wright talks with filmmaker turned novelist Simon Rumley about his debut novel The Wobble Club and “3 Films That Have Impacted Everything In Your Adult Life”, which include:

Stand By Me Taxi Driver Gremlins

“3 Films That Have Impacted Everything In Your Adult Life” is about those films that made you fall in love with film. The guest selects their trio of movies and we talk for 5 minutes, against the clock. When the alarm goes off for five minutes we move on to the next film.

Powered by RedCircle...

Directing films is hard enough in itself, but getting films made at all is another story. "Development Hell" is unfortunately a very real place and many people grow frustrated and disillusioned with the process, often leaving the industry altogether. Spending all of your time and energy on something that's this risky, with the added potential to ruin you financially and in other ways, is just not feasible or advisable. This year we've seen several directors take their ideas to another medium. Richard Raaphorst finally released his apocalyptic zombie epos Worst Case Scenario, but as a graphic novel, not as a film. Anna Biller published her first novel this year: Bluebeard's Castle. And now we get Simon Rumley's The Wobble Club, which is indeed not a...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Pageman Productions is thrilled to confirm that following their hugely successful UK Premiere at FrightFest Glasgow, the gory, action-horror Here For Blood will be now heading to London for Pigeon Shrine FrightFest on 25th August 2023. Directed by Daniel Turres, Here For Blood stars Shawn Roberts, best known by horror fans for his role as Albert Wesker in the Resident Evil film franchise, as well as Joelle Farrow (Under The Banner of Heaven) & Maya Misaljevic. When his girlfriend, Phoebe, 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. What starts off as a quiet night of pizza and video games quickly spirals into bloody, violent chaos as Tom and Grace find themselves fighting for their lives...

Reminiscent of the Quentin Tarantino / Robert Rodriguez collaboration Grindhouse with its throwback features and faux trailers for non-existent movies, filmmaker and artist Pat Tremblay’s new book Terror in the Ailien Realms: Transdimensional Horror Movie Posters & Their Film Reviews consists of posters for and reviews of movies that have never existed!

An explanation of what this book is all about was provided in a press release (via Variety), “Drawn by the deep nostalgia of roaming video rental stores to find cool movies to watch by judging what its VHS box’s artwork would entice or beguile, filmmaker & artist Pat Tremblay has created a series of horror movie posters with the assistance of AI. He then proposed to talented individuals within the horror movie scene to write imaginary reviews for them. The result is a captivating mixture of styles, ranging from the enigmatic and alluring to the outrageously hilarious. The dimensional...

We're fans of director Simon Rumley at this here site, and for good reasons. The man has written and made several great films, whether he dabbled in drama, genre, or both, and personally I hold his thriller Red, White and Blue to be one of the most underrated films of this century. Check my review if you want to know more. One of the things we like about his writing is that he always humanizes his characters. People aren't portrayed as black or white, and while everyone in his films and scripts is flawed, Simon Rumley manages to make you empathize with them anyway. So what's he up to now? He's trying something else and has written a novel, called The Wobble Club. And he...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

The Fantasia International Film Festival brought its 25th edition to a close on Wednesday, August 25th with the sold-out in-person screening of Takashi Miike’s The Great Yokai War – Guardians, bowing for its International Premiere at the festival, and the unveiling of this year’s esteemed award winners.

Once again responding to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, Fantasia took up a hybrid format for the 2021 festival, returning to Festival Scope and Shift72 for our Canadian geo-locked virtual component and holding in-person screenings at Montreal’s historic Cinéma Impérial and the Cinéma du Musée. Across digital and physical screenings, the festival boasts over 100,000 in viewing numbers that include ticket sales, badge purchases, and streamed events. More than a record-breaking 500 journalists from around the world were accredited for Fantasia, which also saw a heightened industry presence with numerous distribution and sales acquisitions being announced out of the fest, including pick-ups by Shudder,...

Korean director Hong Eui-jeong’s debut feature “Voice of Silence” stood out at Montreal’s Fantasia Film Festival as the year’s best film from its Cheval Noir main competition section. The film, about two men who clean up after an organized crime organization, has enjoyed an impressive international festival run, having built up strong buzz as a project when it was selected to Venice’s Biennale College Cinema program in 2016.

“In a film festival that’s known as a melting pot of genres, ‘Voice of Silence’ feels like an excellent representative for the top prize in the Cheval Noir section. It’s earnest and sincere in tone but also unpredictable and experimental, impossible to pin down, and truly idiosyncratic,” said the jury in a statement accompanying the announcement.

Basque filmmaker Igor Legarreta was honored as the year’s best director for his sophomore effort “All the Moons,” a 19th...

Films by the writer-director included ‘The Disappeared’, starring Tom Felton.

Genre film director Johnny Kevorkian has died at the age of 48.

The filmmaker had a heart attack on November 4, according to sources close to him.

Born in Cyprus, Kevorkian studied film at London’s University of Westminster before making several shorts that were selected for film festivals including Edinburgh and Los Angeles.

Kevorkian made his feature directorial debut in 2008 with The Disappeared, a psychological horror thriller starring Harry Treadaway and Tom Felton. Co-written and produced by Kevorkian, it was sold to more than 30 territories and secured a US release through...

To celebrate the home entertainment release of Once Upon a Time in London which will be available on DVD from the 10th June 2019, we have a copy of the DVD up for grabs, courtesy of Signature Entertainment!

Gateway Films, Ratio Film & Signature Entertainment presents Once Upon A Time In London, starring Leo Gregory, Terry Stone, Jamie Foreman, footballer Jamie O’Hara, Union J’s Jj Hamblett, legendary boxer Joe Egan, Geoff Bell, Holly Earl, Nadia Forde, Kate Braithwaite, Roland Manookian, Josh Myers, Andy Beckwith, Ali Cook, Doug Allan, Justin Salinger, and Laura Carter (Celebrity Big Brother). Comedian Simon Munnery, and boxers Steve Collins and Frank Buglioni round out this amazing cast from all strata of the entertainment and sports worlds.

Once Upon a Time in London charts the epic rise and legendary fall of a nationwide criminal empire that lasted for three action-packed decades from the late 1930s. The one-time...

In his latest podcast/interview, host Stuart Wright talks to director Simon Rumley about his new film Once Upon a Time in London, which is on limited release across the UK now.

Once Upon a Time in London charts the epic rise and legendary fall of a nationwide criminal empire that lasted for three action-packed decades from the late 1930s. The one-time friends and partners in crime turned bitter enemies oversaw a fledgeling East End and Soho underworld responsible for brutal protection rackets, vicious lawbreaking, shocking corruption and glamorous associations, which paved the way for the notorious Kray twins to exert their dominance over the capital’s gangland realm.

Once Upon a Time in London stars Leo Gregory, Terry Stone, Holly Earl, Josh Myers, Nadia Forde, Roland Manookian, Andy Beckwith, Geoff Bell, and Jamie Foreman.

Roses are red, violets are blue, Elvira and Cavitycolors have a bloody valentine for you. Cavitycolors' new Elvira Valentine's Day shirt will be available today at 5 p.m. Est. Also: Birth of the Silver River: A Disambiguation event at the famous Stanley Hotel and VOD release details for FrightFest documentary Beneath the Dark Heart of Cinema.

Cavitycolors' Elvira Valentine's Day Shirt Details: "Roses are red, now you're dead! This Thursday at 5 P.M. Est, we're unleashing a brand new Valentine's Day design featuring the Queen of Halloween, Elvira!

This stunning new art by Devon Draws will be available on Tees, Long Sleeves, and Ladies slouchy tanks. Be ready to treat a loved one (or yourself) to something extra spooky on the 14th...... or else."

To check out more from Cavitycolors and to pick up the shirt tonight at 5pm, head over to:

www.cavitycolors.com

---------

Birth of the Silver...

Come Sail Away: Marsh Gets Morose with Tale of Doomed Sailor

Director James Marsh tackles the tragedy of amateur sailor Donald Crowhurst in The Mercy, his first theatrical feature since his 2014 Oscar winning portrait of Stephen Hawking in The Theory of Everything. Starring Colin Firth as the doomed competitor (who is nearly twenty years older than Crowhurst at the time of his death), Marsh’s film arrives shortly after Simon Rumley’s 2017 Crowhurst, which covers the same ground, but thanks to the headlining Oscar winners of Firth and Rachel Weisz, the latter film is destined to reach a wider audience.…...

Though it originally ran for just six episodes in 2004, the U.K. TV series “Garth Merenghi’s Darkplace” — an inspired spoof of supernatural anthology shows, among other things — has acquired a still-growing cult following. Its principal collaborators have all forged interesting careers since, with two recently making their feature writing-directing debuts. Released last year, cast member Alice Lowe’s “Prevenge” was a macabre piece about a unbalanced woman who starts believing her unborn child is ordering her to kill. “Darkplace” co-creator/star Matthew Holness’ new “Possum” is also about madness, being a psychological horror in which nearly all the terrors (both seen and unseen) may simply be figments of a severely withdrawn protagonist’s haunted imagination.

In script terms, Holness straddles the line between “minimalist” and “underdeveloped.” There are times when it feels like “Possum” (named after a creepy children’s rhyme much recited here) would have had its slender...

Here’s the latest episode of the The Filmmakers Podcast, part of the ever-growing podcast roster here on Nerdly. If you haven’t heard the show yet, you can check out previous episodes on the official podcast site, whilst we’ll be featuring each and every new episode as it premieres.

For those unfamiliar, with the series, The Filmmakers Podcast is a podcast about how to make films from micro budget indie films to bigger budget studio films and everything in-between. Our hosts Giles Alderson, Dan Richardson, Andrew Rodger and Cristian James talk how to get films made, how to actually make them and how to try not to f… it up in their very humble opinion. Guests will come on and chat about their film making experiences from directors, writers, producers, screenwriters, actors, cinematographers and distributors. They also shoot the breeze about their new films, The Dare, World of Darkness,...

In his latest interview/podcast, host Stuart Wright talks to writer/director Simon Rumley about his new film – the isolating, tragedy at sea that is the true story of flawed Great British adventurer Crowhurst.

1968: An inexperienced sailor enters a round the world race which he fears he won’t be able to complete yet alone win. In order to save his dignity, he decides to cheat to come last but things don’t go according to plan.

Crowhurst was theatrically released in UK by Studio Canal 23rd March 2018 and will be available via Amazon Prime soon after. For the very latest follow the movie’s twitter account @crowhurstmovie and/or Studio Canal’s website www.studiocanal.co.uk...

MaryAnn’s quick take… A little bit psychedelic, a little bit queasy, a little bit experimental, a lot existential, this is a jarring, visceral portrait of the around-the-world sailor in over his head. I’m “biast” (pro): nothing

I’m “biast” (con): nothing

(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto) women’s participation in this film

(learn more about this)

So this is the other film about Donald Crowhurst, the amateur sailor whose participation in a then-world-famous 1968–9 round-the-globe solo race didn’t pan out like he’d hoped it would. The UK branch of French distributor StudioCanal snapped up this tiny indie because it had its own Crowhurst film, the much bigger star-powered The Mercy, in the offing, turning the competition into a partner (sort of); Crowhurst has now been released in the UK — the sailor’s home country — mere weeks after The Mercy. But this...

There’s something rather endearing about Simon Rumley’s small budget biopic in which he details the mental unravelling of yachtsman Donald Crowhurst, just before his disappearance whilst trying to solo circumnavigate the globe in 1968.

Released a mere 6 weeks after James Marsh’s The Mercy, which pretty much told the same story, albeit with a bigger budget and bigger stars (Colin Firth and Rachel Weisz play the doomed sailor and his wife Clare), Crowhurst offers a flawed, yet deeply engaging story about a weekend sailor who cheated his way into winning the first Sunday Times Golden Globe prize by lying about his whereabouts during the race. Crowhurst was eventually declared winner by default when his competitors withdrew from the race one by one, however the sailor never made it back home to collect his prize and is believed to have killed himself out of the sheer embarrassment of being found out.

From 26th March, through Alarm Pictures, Simon Rumley’s award-winning Fashionista will be available to rent and own on digital HD across cable, internet, and satellite platforms including iTunes, Amazon, SkyStore, Xbox, Sony, Google, Rakuten, Chili and Vubiquity (Virgin Media).

Described as an “hypnotic exploration of identity, body image and transformation” and a “sleekly demented De Palma-esque nightmare”, the film is set in the vintage clothing world of Austin, Texas, and tells the story of April (Amanda Fuller) and Eric (Ethan Embry), a 30-something couple who run a vintage clothing store. Business is booming, but cracks are showing in the relationship. When April’s growing fears about Eric’s infidelity prove true, she begins an affair with sharp-dressed playboy Randall (Eric Balfour), a narcissistic control freak with a chic modernist mansion and some pretty extreme sexual appetites. April is launched out of the frying pan and into the furnace as...

Colin Firth and Rachel Weisz can’t save this dramatisation of a tragic real-life yachting adventure from foundering

The somewhat dispiriting real-life story of Donald Crowhurst, the amateur sailor who in 1968-9 lost his pride, his mind and then his life in a single-handed yacht race to circumnavigate the world, has long exerted a fascination for film-makers. Nicolas Roeg once tried to film the story. In 2006, the documentary Deep Water explored the tragedy. And this big-budget take on the tale, buoyed up by the star power of Colin Firth and Rachel Weisz, was made at the same time as a smaller rival project, Crowhurst by Simon Rumley.

One can see the attraction of the story to director James Marsh: Crowhurst (Firth) has a similar maverick eccentricity and forceful self-belief to that of high-wire walker Philippe Petit, the subject of his documentary Man on Wire. But for all its technical prowess – the sound design,...

The latest from provocative filmmaker Simon Rumley, the obsession-fueled thriller Fashionista arrives today on VOD via Freestyle Digital Media. This writer was a big fan of the film after checking it out during last year’s Fantasia Film Festival, so I jumped at the chance to speak with the film’s star Amanda Fuller about her incredibly complex performance in her latest collaboration with Rumley (the duo previously had teamed together on Red, White & Blue).

During our interview, Fuller discussed the appeal of her character, April, a woman so driven by clothes and textiles that her mania begins to spill over into other aspects of her life, and the toll that the role took on her during production on Fashionista. Fuller also chatted about working with her co-stars Ethan Embry and Eric Balfour, collaborating with Rumley, and much more about her experiences making the film as well.

So great to speak with you today,...

The 37th Cambridge Film Festival, taking place 19th – 26th October 2017, has announced its full programme of 92 feature-length films, 127 shorts, with 18 UK premieres and 4 World premieres representing titles from 33 countries. As ever the festival presents a typically diverse programme and for those, like us here at Nerdly, who wish to venture into the weird and wonderful world of cinema, the festival has programmed a selection of features and accompanying shorts at Arts Picturehouse cinema under the “Lates @Aph” strand.

For more info check out http://www.cambridgefilmfestival.org.uk

Icelandic horror Rift directed by Erlingur Ottar Thoroddsen and starring Björn Stefánsson, Sigurður Þór Óskarsson, Guðmundur Ólafsson is the first late-night treat on Friday 20/10 (and again on Monday 23/10). After receiving a strange, distressed phone call from his ex-boyfriend, Einar. Gunnar drives up to the isolated cabin where Einar is holed up and they begin to dissect the remains of their broken relationship.

"It's the most wonderful time of the year!" The spooky, Halloween goodness has only just begun! The clothing store Unique Vintage recently teamed up with Nerdist for a Ghoul Gang photo that's featured in today's Horror Highlights. Also: Razor Reel Flanders Film Festival 2017, Coma Ward board game details, Mortal Kombat hits New York Comic Con 2017, Final Girls Berlin Film Fest's call for submissions, and release details and a trailer for Bunnyman Vengeance.

Unique Vintage's Ghoul Gang Photo Shoot: "Bring on the gothic glamour! Leading up to Halloween, Unique Vintage is celebrating the spookiest season with Nerdist for a special photo shoot promoting their Ghoul Gang t-shirt and Creepy Collection of retro clothing. Whether you're the daughter of Dracula or a Mistress of the Dark, this collection has something for you!

Inspired by the best-selling t-shirt, the Ghoul Gang includes: Bizarre States podcast host Jessica Chobot as Morticia Addams; Nerdist Editor-in-Chief...

Chiefly known for his inventive indie horror and thriller work, Brit director Simon Rumley’s take on the tragic true story of maritime adventurer Donald Crowhurst is notable for several reasons. One is a rare executive producer credit for that grand old alchemist of British cult cinema, Nicolas Roeg (Walkabout, Don’t Look Now, Bad Timing), who once tried to film this story himself. Roeg is a key influence on Rumley, not just on the hallucinatory visuals of Crowhurst but also on his stylish 2016 psycho-noir Fashionista.

World-premiered last week at Oldenburg International Film Festival, Crowhurst is also newsworthy because it coincides...

The sophomore year of the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival is shaping up to be a good one. With a first wave of titles that boasted Can Evrenol's Housewife and Tragedy Girls even more cinematic magic has been added to this year's festival.    Coming to Brooklyn on the second weekend in October are additions like Joe Lynch's Mayhem, German flick Cold Hell, Erlingur Thoroddson has followed up Child Eater with his new flick Rift. Simon Rumley's reunion with his Red, White & Blue star Amanda Fuller Fashionista pays a visit to the festival as well.    In the selection of short films there are some familiar names as well. Our own Izzy Lee has her latest short film For a Good Time Call... in the fest. Gus Cooper's...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Not even a year has passed since The Brooklyn Horror Film Festival emerged as a must-attend genre festival, but year two is already looking to cement such talk. We Got This Covered reported from the trenches last October, where I served as one of the festival’s inaugural judges. The films were strong and the drinks stronger, only increasing excitement for year two. Fast-forward to September 2017 and the countdown clock has just about run out. Something we couldn’t be happier for.

Birth.Movies.Death. was lucky enough to announce Brooklyn Horror’s first wave, including buzzed-about highlights such as Tragedy Girls (one of my favorites from SXSW) and Sequence Break (a Fantasia Fest favorite for me). You’ve also got Housewife, Baskin director Can Evrenol’s sophomore feature, among other notable selections. Be sure to peruse Wave 1’s sacrificial offerings, but that’s old news – are you ready for Round 2? I know,...

From July 13th through August 2nd, the 2017 Fantasia International Film Festival offered attendees over 400 short, experimental, and feature-length film projects, which is just a mind-blowing fact to me. Over the course of several weeks, I had the opportunity to check out two titles that had been garnering some buzz as of late on the festival circuit—Better Watch Out and Fashionista—and they both delivered very unique but equally thrilling viewing experiences for this writer.

Better Watch Out: A delightfully depraved holiday treat, Chris Peckover’s Better Watch Out is one of those rare genre experiences where the less you know going into it, the more satisfying the payoffs are in this biting and darkly comedic spin on the holiday classic Home Alone. But don’t expect toy car shenanigans, slippery ice-covered stairs, or anyone slapping their face in horror after using dad’s aftershave— screenwriter Zack Kahn has more wicked intentions for viewers,...

Simon Rumley makes challenging films. Not for all tastes, certainly, but for those who want their genre cinema with a finely-honed sophistication in character and drama. His latest, Fashionista, is part relationship drama and part addiction character study, and it is not beyond wandering into some sinister back alleys. Those who stay for (or make it to) the end credits will notice that the director dedicates the picture to British cinematographer and auteur director, Nicolas Roeg; one of cinema's great experimenters who is, remarkably, still with us at age 88. Roeg's 1980 picture, Bad Timing, serves as the starting point for Fashionista, but the director's filmography in general is a helpful guide to Rumley's fractured narrative structure and sensory-driven editing. Amanda Fuller, reuniting with the...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Throughout his career, Simon Rumley has consistently pushed himself as a filmmaker, and his latest cinematic endeavor, Fashionista, is yet another example of the writer/director evolving as a visual storyteller, as his unforgettable mystery thriller unconventionally explores the darker sides of desire and obsession. Featuring an outstanding ensemble including Amanda Fuller, Ethan Embry, Alex Essoe, and Eric Balfour (amongst others), Fashionista recently played as part of the Fantasia International Film Festival’s impressive 2017 slate.

Recently, Daily Dead spoke with Rumley about his approach to Fashionista, and he discussed how he viewed the project as his statement on consumerism and also chatted about reuniting with Fuller (who starred in Rumley’s Red, White & Blue) to take on her challenging role in this film. Rumley also talked about collaborating with Fashionista producer Tim League and how he managed to assemble the rest of his top-notch cast.

It’s great to speak with you,...

With only four weeks till the start of the festival, Frightfest organisers have announced not only some of the guests set to appear over the August Bank Holiday weekend, but also the addition of another film to the line-up! The 150 plus guest-list this year is as vibrant and eclectic as ever, with nearly 40 of the films represented… New to the film line-up is Jackals, Kevin Greutert’s potent blend of horror thriller, home invasion terror and murder cult chiller, which stars Stephen Dorff and Deborah Kara Unger. The film is scheduled for Saturday 25th August, 4pm and 4.30pm in the main screens at the Cineworld Leicester Square.

Check out the new festival trailer and guest details below:

From the press release:

It’s been five years since Don Mancini and Fiona Dourif raised the Empire roof with Curse Of Chucky and this year they are joined by the irrepressible Jennifer Tilly...

Horror fans will be reunited with their favorite Good Guys doll when Cult of Chucky is released on home media beginning October 3rd, but those attending Horror Channel's FrightFest 2017 can encounter the deadly doll on August 24th when the seventh film in the Child's Play franchise makes its world premiere:

Press Release: Back in the heart of London’s West End for its 18th ‘adults-only’ anniversary, the world renowned horror and fantasy film festival will take place at the Cineworld Leicester Square and The Prince Charles Cinema from Aug 24 - Aug 28 2017, taking over five screens to present 64 films including 20 World, 22 European and 18 UK Premieres. Fourteen countries are represented spanning five continents, reflecting the current global popularity of the genre.

The opening night attraction is the global premiere of Universal Pictures Home Entertainment’s criminally entertaining Cult Of Chucky, with writer and director Don Mancini and stars Jennifer Tilly and Fiona Dourif in attendance,...

21st edition of Montreal genre festival to also screen Atomic Blonde, Good Time and world premiere of 4K restoration of Suspiria.

Fantasia International Film Festival has unveiled its full programme for its 21st edition, which runs from July 13-August 2 in Montreal.

This year’s edition will close with the international premiere of South Korean historical drama A Taxi Driver, starring Snowpiercer’s Song Kang-ho, with director Jang Hoon in attendance.

Fantasia will also host the North American premiere of Cannes Competition title Good Time, starring Robert Pattinson, and a special screening of David Leitch’s Atomic Blonde with Charlize Theron in the festival’s Action! section.

Its Action! section will also feature two films starring Scott Adkins - Boyka: Undisputed and Savage Dog - who will be in attendance at this year’s festival, as well as the North American premiere of the restored 3D version of James Cameron’s classic Terminator 2: Judgment Day. For the first...

Back in the heart of London’s West End for its 18th ‘adults-only’ anniversary, the world renowned horror and fantasy film festival will take place at the Cineworld Leicester Square and The Prince Charles Cinema from Aug 24 – Aug 28 2017, taking over five screens to present 64 films including 20 World, 22 European and 18 UK Premieres. Fourteen countries are represented spanning five continents, reflecting the current global popularity of the genre.

The opening night attraction is the global premiere of Universal Pictures Home Entertainment’s criminally entertaining Cult of Chucky (pictured above), with writer and director Don Mancini and stars Jennifer Tilly and Fiona Dourif in attendance, alongside the iconic deadly doll of destruction himself. Mancini said today:

It’s a true pleasure to be hosting the world premiere of Cult Of Chucky at FrightFest. I have fond memories of unveiling Curse Of Chucky there in 2013 so it’s great to be returning to the...

Maverick director recalls the first time he saw the 1973 horror masterpiece

The post Simon Rumley on The Exorcist appeared first on ComingSoon.net.

Simon Rumley (director of Red, White & Blue, Fashionista & Crowhurst) has begun a six week shoot on the brutal gangster thriller Once Upon a Time in London – for Gateway Films – which dramatises the violent reign of two of London’s most notorious gangsters, Billy Hill (Leo Gregory) and Jack ‘Spot’ Comer (Terry Stone), charting the legendary rise and fall of a nationwide criminal empire that lasted until the mid-fifties and which paved the way for the notorious Kray Twins and The Richardsons.

Director and co-writer Simon Rumley commented:

Having spent the last decade or so writing and directing thematically disparate but collectively extreme dramas, it makes absolute sense for me to progress to the gangster genre where love, lust, greed, paranoia, betrayal and violence are every day occurrences. The story of Jack Spot Comer, Billy Hill and their respective battles to become King of London’s Underworld has remained one of Britain’s most dynamic,...

Simon Rumley directs story of notorious criminals Billy Hill and Jack ‘Spot’ Comer.

Once Upon A Time In London, a British gangster drama from director Simon Rumley (The ABCs Of Death), has begun a six-week shoot in the English capital.

The film will tell the story of notorious criminals Billy Hill (played by Leo Gregory, pictured) and Jack Comer (Terry Stone), who were active in London’s organised crime scene from the 1920s to the 1950s.

An eclectic cast has been lined up for the feature, including Holly Earl, Dominic Keating, Geoff Bell, Jamie Foreman, Doug Allen, Andy Beckwith, Roland Manookian, Justin Salinger, Kate Braithwaite and Laura Carter.

Joining them are comedian Simon Munnery, boxers Frank Buglioni, a current British light heavyweight belt holder, Joe Egan, footballer Jamie O’Hara, singers Nadia Forde and Jj Hamblett (from band Union J), and magician Ali Cook.

Gateway Films (Anuvahood, The Messenger) is the lead production outfit on the project...

Following its world premiere last year at the SXSW Film Festival, Johnny Frank Garrett’s Last Word is now out on home media (including DVD and VOD platforms) from Momentum Pictures, and to commemorate the film's release, we caught up with director Simon Rumley in our latest Q&A feature to discuss adapting the tragic real-life story, the film's shooting schedule, what initially drew him to the project, and more.

Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions for us, Simon. What drew you to the real-life story of Johnny Frank Garrett?

Simon Rumley: My pleasure! I first watched the documentary called The Last Word by Jesse Quackenbush, which is an amazing viewing experience. Jesse’s an attorney, so it dealt much more with the legalese of the situation and thus the unfairness of the trial and the multiple inconsistencies that were put forward by the prosecution. I...

One flick we cannot wait to see is Simon Rumley’s supernatural vengeance thriller Johnny Frank Garrett’s Last Word, and it’ll be here before you know it. Right now though we have an exclusive clip for you! You want to talk… Continue Reading →

The post Exclusive Clip: Johnny Frank Garrett’s Last Word appeared first on Dread Central.

In Simon Rumley’s supernatural vengeance thriller Johnny Frank Garrett’s Last Word, when a young man is executed for committing murder, he leaves behind a curse letter in which he promises to take vengeance on all those connected to his trial. The thriller, starring Green Lantern‘s Mike Doyle, Bitch Slap‘s Erin Cummings, Devin Bonnée, and The Boondock Saints‘ Sean Patrick […]...

Featured in today's Horror Highlights, we have Splathouse podcast's discussion of the 2001 movie The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra, DVD release details for The Abduction of Jennifer Grayson, the SXSW Film Festival poster for Atomic Blonde, details on The Mason Brothers' upcoming theatrical run, a Q&A with Fashionista director Simon Rumley, and a look at the short film Nightmare.

Splathouse Podcast Discusses The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra: From Splathouse: "Sleepy skeletons, spirited space aliens, and super-scientists are the focus of this week's show! That's right, we're profiling Larry Blamire's excellent comedy "The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra".

Two of the film's featured performers, Brian Howe ("Westworld") and Fay Masterson ("50 Shades Darker"), stop by to talk about their careers and their work on "Lost Skeleton..."

Our good friend Sarah Jane (aka @fookthis on Twitter and Letterboxed, and she of the Talk Film Society) stops by with her cinematic picks for fans of “Lost Skeleton.

Ahead of the UK premiere of his latest film Fashionista at Horror Channel FrightFest Glasgow, Simon Rumley reveals why he’s a fan of drugs in film and his planned foray into London gangster land…

Fashionista finds you back in Austin after Red White and Blue. What excites you about Austin so much? Could Fashionista have been set anywhere else?

I had such a great experience on Red White & Blue for so many different reasons that it was only natural that, at some point, I’d return to Austin. With Tim League (exec producer), Paul Knauss (co-producer) and Karen Hallford (casting director) I’ve got a great bunch of friends who also happen to be great collaborators and they form the core of both films’ Austin based crew and most probably without them neither films would have happened. Beyond that, I love the unique style of Austin, the food, the music,...

Momentum Pictures Johnny Frank Garrett’S Last Word Directed by Simon Rumley Hits VOD On March 14, 2017 Johnny Frank Garrett’S Last Word Based on a true story, a nun was murdered in her convent bedroom in Amarillo, Texas on Halloween 1981. The police arrested a young man, Johnny Frank Garrett, who always maintained his innocence but he …

The post Trailer debut: Simon Rumley’s Johnny Frank Garrett’S Last Word to VOD 3/14 first appeared on Hnn | Horrornews.net - Official News Site...

In Simon Rumley’s supernatural vengeance thriller Johnny Frank Garrett’s Last Word (read our review), when a young man is executed for committing murder, he leaves behind a curse letter in which he promises to take vengeance on all those connected to his trial. The thriller, starring Green Lantern‘s Mike Doyle, Bitch Slap‘s Erin Cummings, Devin Bonnée, and The Boondock […]...

Following its world premiere last year at the SXSW Film Festival, Johnny Frank Garrett’s Last Word is coming to VOD platforms this March courtesy of Momentum Pictures, and we have the release details, trailer, and poster for the new film from Simon Rumley.

Momentum Pictures will release Johnny Frank Garrett’s Last Word on VOD platforms beginning March 7th.

Directed by Simon Rumley (The ABCs of Death, Red White & Blue) from a screenplay by Tony Giglio (Chaos), Ben Ketai (The Forest) and Marc Haimes (Kubo and the Two Strings), Johnny Frank Garrett’s Last Word stars Mike Doyle (The Invitation, Jersey Boys),Sean Patrick Flanery (Powder, The Boondock Saints), Erin Cummings (Late Phases, Bitch Slap), and Devin Bonnée (Fashionista).

Synopsis: “Based on a true story, a nun was murdered in her convent bedroom in Amarillo, Texas on Halloween 1981. The police arrested a young man, Johnny Frank Garrett, who always...

One flick we cannot wait to see is Simon Rumley’s supernatural vengeance thriller Johnny Frank Garrett’s Last Word, and it’s finally coming our way in just a few weeks. You want to talk about spooky? Look up the actual events… Continue Reading →

The post Johnny Frank Garrett’s Last Word Spoken on VOD This March appeared first on Dread Central.