Genre Gems and Gore Galore Await at Black Sunday 2025

The Black Sunday Film Festival is back with blood on its boots and a mission to celebrate the boldest voices in genre cinema. Now in its sixth edition, the Essex-based event has announced a striking line-up for 2025, running from 1st to 3rd May at Colchester’s Firstsite. Championing independent horror, dark sci-fi, psychological thrillers and everything in between, the festival has carved out a reputation for unearthing daring new work from both the UK and beyond. This year’s programme is no exception.

Opening night sets the tone with three wildly different but equally provocative features. Kaye Adelaide’s The Rebrand makes its UK debut, turning influencer culture inside out in a mockumentary that promises satire with bite. That’s followed by Mary Beth McAndrews’ Bystanders, an unflinching revenge thriller that left festival audiences reeling during its previous run on the circuit. The triple-bill concludes with the Essex premiere of Krazy House, from Dutch provocateurs Steffen Haars and Flip Van der Kuil, starring Nick Frost and Alicia Silverstone in what’s being billed as an anarchic genre mashup.

The party continues on Friday, and not just at the bar. Jonathan Zaurin’s Derelict gets its Essex premiere, offering a meditation on isolation laced with unease. Danny Villanueva’s What Happened to Dorothy Bell arrives for its UK premiere, tapping into the growing resurgence of found footage horror with a uniquely disturbing twist. 7 Keys, directed by Joy Wilkinson, brings a sharp, SXSW-certified thrill ride to local audiences, while Sayara, from Baskin’s Can Evrenol, pulls no punches with its brutal depiction of revenge.

Later that evening, Scott Goldberg’s The Forest Hills will screen in what is set to be a poignant moment for fans of classic horror, marking the final film appearance of Shelley Duvall alongside Edward Furlong. The film’s UK premiere promises a reflective and unsettling watch, steeped in psychological dread.

Saturday opens with Never Have I Ever, the debut feature from Damon Rickard, known for his hard-hitting shorts. Kati Kelli’s Girl Internet Show: A Kati Kelli Mixtape, already a hit at Fantastic Fest, continues the festival’s proud tradition of spotlighting experimental talent. It’s joined by Stream, another found-footage chiller, this time from Sergio Pereda. Rounding out the day is The Severed Sun, Dean Puckett’s deeply atmospheric folk horror steeped in ancient myth and rural paranoia.

As always, the festival’s final act remains a closely guarded secret, with Arrow Video presenting the now-traditional Cult Film Secret Screening to close the weekend in fittingly unpredictable fashion.

The festival isn’t just about features. Black Sunday continues to support short-form talent with an impressive roster of 17 international and domestic shorts screening across the programme. Returning alumni such as David Yorke (Eric) with Nervous Ellie and Panad Productions (The Girl With The Haunted Vagina) with Fisitor will be joined by new voices like Olivia J. Loader with Hallowed, and Richard Rowntree with Gory Hole. From the surreal (Fluid – France) to the grotesque (Prettify – Finland) and the quietly devastating (The Mannequin – Sweden), the global reach of the shorts block reflects the breadth of modern horror storytelling.

Festival Director Scott Lyus and the team continue to grow the Black Sunday Film Festival’s reputation as a vital platform for boundary-pushing genre cinema. For those who crave the strange, the shocking, and the subversive, Black Sunday 2025 looks set to deliver in spades.

Tickets are on sale now, and with a line-up this packed, early booking is advised. For more information and tickets, visit: blacksundayff.com/