While the US and UK celebrate Halloween, Cape Town has something much more fun and scary happening at the end of October – Horrorfest. THERESA SMITH gets the lowdown:
Now in its 15th year, the annual South African Horrorfest is a film festival that runs at the Labia over nine days, from 29 October 2019.
Horrorfest co-creator Paul Blom says holding an analogue film festival at a time when people can get hold of pretty much anything online makes sense because you cannot get most of the independent, off–the-wall movies you will see at this festival, online. And as for the rest, you would never get the chance to see them on a big screen.
The film festival is a delicious mix of serious documentary, cheesy comedy horror, some great schlock horror and actual serious, scary horror. The whole point though, is bringing together the community of people who like watching horror in all its guises.
“We grew up with cinema, it’s a cultural, community thing. It’s always more fun if a bunch of people watch something together. If it’s a horror movie, you usually laugh when you get a fright, after the fright comes that release,” explains Blom.
A tradition started many years ago, is to provide the soundtrack to an old silent horror movie and this year they give The Phantom Carriage the Makabra treatment on 2 November. This year the Makabra Ensemble will feature members from Lark, Terminatryx, Mr Sakitumi, Isobel, V.O.D, The Damned Crows plus special guests, from Gauteng Sara Eksteen of Polar Dust and Cape Town stalwart Keaton Anthony aka Grimehouse and one half of New Hero.
Horrorfest also has some genuine firsts, like the 3 November preview screening of Dr Sleep, based on the Stephen King book which follows the now grown up Danny Torrance (played by Ewan McGregor) who was the little boy in The Shining. And just in case anyone needs a refresher, The Shining will screen on Halloween Night, 31 October. The Phantom Carriage also has a link to The Shining – watch out for the axe versus door moment.
The film festival kicks off with the free literature night on Tuesday 29 October. The Bloody Parchment chapter is of course the literary part of the festival, with live reading sessions, the short story competition and this year the launch of Nerine Dorman’s new book, The Company of Birds.
A world first
The films start on Wednesday 30 October with a special double feature (for the price of one ticket) of 1978 shocker I Spit on Your Grave, and the documentary Growing up with ‘I Spit on Your Grave’, the documentary made by director Meir Zarchi’s son.
South African-born actress Maria Olsen had contacted Blom, explaining that Zarchi had finally made a direct sequel, I Spit on Your Grave: Deja Vu, in which she had a role and was he interested in showing it at Horrorfest.
“She put me into contact with the producers and they were keen for us to screen it. They said the director’s son had also made a movie, about growing up with the legacy of I Spit on Your Grave. We said we’d be keen to screen whatever we could, and they offered the original movie too. So we squeezed it in and decided to screen all three,” said Blom.
So, for the time ever in the world, the original movie, direct sequel and documentary about the first movie (which was originally entitled Day of the Woman, just so you know) will screen at one festival.
Sunday 3 November is also the world premiere of Last Sacrament, with filmmakers in attendance. Produced by the makers of Hell Trip, Last Sacrament was filmed in Joburg and directed by Patrick Garcia.
Just for Laughs … or not
The film festival ends off with a new twist this year. The Curse of the Swamp Creature is a pretty standard schlocky B-movie but comedian Rob van Vuuren and satirist Karen Jeynes will be on hand to provide live commentary, just like you do at home when the film is particularly bad, except they’re professional and shouldn’t break out laughing … too much.
In between there’ll be chances to dress up and win prizes, a Rocky Horror Picture Show participation screening, and several batches of short film and serious documentaries, like Blood & Flesh: The Reel Life and Ghastly Death of Al Adamson (about an American B-Movie director found murdered under his floor). Or catch Clownado (crazy clowns travel by tornado causing mayhem) or maybe The Velocipastor (crazy indie movie with a priest afflicted with the power to turn into… a dinosaur!)
“We wanted to end Horrorfest with a laugh, as some of the movies are quite serious,” said Blom.
What: Horrorfest
Where and when: Labia Cinema from 29 October to 7 November 2019
Tickets: You can read the full list of films, watch trailers and book at Quicket
WS
