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Episodic tale spanning the decades from the 60s to the 00s is a little unoriginal but is delivered with toxic wit

Although there’s a fair amount of seasonally appropriate snow on display, this horror feature represents a stonking slice of counter-programming for the festive season, given there is nothing merry in the least about it. That said, there are sly flashes of tongue-in-cheek humour throughout from married co-writers Aaron Fradkin (also the film’s director) and Victoria Fratz Fradkin (one of the film’s leads). Consequently, Beezel is an impishly nasty machine for jump scares and creepy just-seen imagery using old-fashioned practical effects. It’s not a terribly original work but does create its own toxic, hypnagogic atmosphere.

Using a mini-museum’s worth of audiovisual recording technology to capture footage – starting with Super8 and advancing to recent digital cameras – the Fradkins create an episodic work that spans several decades.

Stars: Lejon Woods, Bob Gallagher, Nicolas Robin, Victoria Fratz Fradkin | Written by Victoria Fratz Fradkin | Directed by Aaron Fradkin

Beezel, the latest horror movie released under the “Dread” banner, is a chilling exploration of supernatural horror set in a cursed New England home that has endured decades of sinister occurrences. Directed by Aaron Fradkin and co-written with Victoria Fratz Fradkin, the film centres on the malevolent force of Beezel, a blind, ancient witch lurking beneath the house and tormenting its residents through multiple timelines.

From the outset, the movie wastes no time plunging into its eerie setup. At just 82 minutes long, it’s a tight, fast-paced experience that doesn’t linger on unnecessary exposition. Instead, it jumps between timelines, revealing the history of the house and the sinister force lurking beneath its floorboards. Each timeline brings a new layer of dread, and as the pieces fall into place, the full...

One of a clutch of alluring films at this year’s Grimmfest, I was hopeful that Beezel would stand as a reminder that sometimes, the simplest stories can be the most effective. Directed by Aaron Fradkin, the film plunges us into a traditional, no-nonsense horror experience that channels the raw, blood-soaked thrills of old-school genre classics.

Drawing subtle comparisons to Evil Dead and its cellar-dwelling Deadites, Beezel manages to deliver a deeply unsettling tale with a fresh twist on the haunted house narrative, while sidestepping the trend of over-complicating its premise.

Fradkin, who co-wrote the film with Victoria Fratz, smartly dials into the staple primal fears that keep audiences glued to their seats: the fear of the unknown, the hidden dangers beneath the floorboards, and the sense that something truly evil is lurking just out of sight. What’s fascinating about Beezel is how it taps into this unease, immersing...

Today marks the opening of Grimmfest 2024, one of the UK’s most exciting genre festivals, and we had the chance to chat with Victoria Fratz, producer of the witchy horror film Beezel, which makes its international premiere at the festival today. Victoria, known for her work alongside Aaron Fradkin at Social House Films, has been creating a stir in the horror community with their unique approach to crafting chilling narratives. Beezel is no exception, delivering a terrifying journey through a cursed New England home and spanning over six decades of eerie, interconnected stories.

Using different formats of “found footage” ranging from Super-8 to VHS to modern-day digital, Beezel captures the evolution of its cursed household while diving into the various forms of documentation people have used throughout time. The film brings to life the sinister story of an eternal witch, thirsty for the souls of the living, and the influence...

Ahead of Beezel's theatrical and VOD release, we have an exclusive clip you can watch right now!

"Epic Pictures’ specialty horror label Dread presents Beezel, the tale of a sinister secret hiding beneath the floors of a cursed New England home. Beezel will have a limited theatrical run beginning September 20, and on September 24 the film will be available to rent or purchase on video-on-demand (VOD).

Beezel was written by horror filmmaking duo Social House Films, composed of writer/director Aaron Fradkin and writer/star Victoria Fratz Fradkin. The duo’s previous project, The Ballerina, amassed over 19 million views on YouTube and was featured in Season 7 of Bloody Bites TV. Social House Films was also highlighted as one of the leading independent horror filmmakers in GQ’s article “The Most Exciting Horror Filmmaking is Happening on YouTube.”

Horror fans have been anxiously awaiting Social House Film’s second feature, Beezel. The...

The latest edition of the Popcorn Frights Film Festival is underway, unleashing movie premieres, repertory screenings, and horror celebrations with much more still to come.

Opening weekend kicked off with a variety of repertory screenings of Psycho Cop Returns, Maniac Cop 2, Maniac, Society, the “lost” cut of Return of the Living Dead 3, and more with the filmmakers in attendance. It also came with a slew of brand new premieres from emerging filmmakers.

Here’s a round-up of some of Popcorn Frights 2024’s feature offerings so far…

Beezel

Director Aaron Fradkin explores the enduring, grisly horrors lurking within the bowels of a New England home via an experimental triptych. Co-written with Victoria Fratz, Beezel begins with an appropriately gnarly child death in the ’60s, shot on Super 8, kicking off three different experiences with witchy terror stretched over six decades. Fradkin puts heavy emphasis on scare-crafting, ensuring every second...

With Val's release to select theaters today, we have an exclusive clip from this horror comedy just for Daily Dead readers!

"Fin is a criminal on the run, wanted for the murder of his boss and the accidental shooting of an officer. He breaks into the home of a high - class escort, only to discover that you get more than you bargain for with Val, short for “Valefar” - a demon who offers to make all his problems disappear if he agrees to follow her rules. But in Val’s world there are no accidents, and as Fin meets her other “customers”, he learns that Val was expecting him all along, and it isn’t easy to escape Val’s dungeon"

Director: Aaron Fradkin Writers: Aaron Fradkin & Victoria Fratz (Electric Love) Cast: Misha Reeves (The Willows), Zachary Mooren, Erik Griffin, Sufe Bradshaw, Kyle Howard, John Kapelos Genre: Horror, Comedy...

US release via Dread label set for October.

Epic Pictures has acquired worldwide rights to the completed horror-comedy Val starring John Kapelos and will launch sales at the virtual Cannes market later this month.

Aaron Fradkin directed from a screenplay he co-wrote with Victoria Fratz, with whom he collaborated on dating comedy Electric Love.

Val centres on a criminal on the run who unwittingly enters the lair of a demon posing as a high-class escort who it turns out has been expecting him.

Besides Kapelos, whose credits include The Shape Of Water, the cast includes Kyle Howard, Sufe Bradshaw, Erik Griffin,...