Spooky Screenings and Movie Madness – Halloween 2010

This year there are literally loads of cinema’s showing frightening films to celebrate Halloween and horror movies during the spookiest month of the year.

With freaky films, festivals, special events and monster marathon all nighters’ right through the witching hour itself horror film fans are spoilt for choice when it comes to how to celebrate all Hallows eve.

 Below are some of the best on offer handpicked by us here at LoveHorror happening across the country.


Festivals

If you find yourself up north at the end of October head straight for Manchester’s art deco Dancehouse cinema for the Grimm Up North Festival. Stating on the 28th it runs right until the 31st with featuring short films, exhibitions, computer games and lectures the fest also has a whole host of brand new horror films from across the globe.

On Halloween itself they take the audience on an international terror tour starting with Finale from the USA followed by South Korean revenge thriller Bedevilled, Aussie Neanderthal gore in Primal and ending the day and the festival with Mexican cannibal drama We Are What We Are before heading out to party the night away as Zombie Aid host a Halloween parade through Manchester from 6pm, followed by the Grimm Up North Awards Party at the Odder Bar from 8.30pm, where the winners of the festival will be announced. An after party at The Ruby Lounge and The Haunted House Party continues till 3am.

Special Events

So many spooky special events are happening in London this October beginning with the Barbican being beset by boobs and blood in a bonkers Japanese double bill on the 29th with RoboGeisha and Big Tits Zombie 3D a special shlockfest of cheese that will have you laughing and wincing all the way through.

For more serious scares The Roxy in Brixton is trotting out a trio of foreign horror films with Suspiria, Let The Right One In and [Rec] all on Halloween night with a party upstairs afterwards. And if you fancy a good ol’ fashioned fancy dress party why not head to The Bloody Prom Night on Friday 29th October with live music from Walking Wounded, DJ sets, a burlesque show, creepy cocktails and prize giveaways.

The Screen on the Green has two great out doors screenings the first on Saturday the 30th, the glorious Ghostbusters at St Lawrence Ground in Canterbury with the film starting at 6pm there will be a funfair, fancy dress competition and music all followed by a fireworks display, who could ask for more!

On Halloween itself head over to The Old Deer Park in Richmond where alongside the circus which will be there all weekend, they will be showing Edward Scissorhands. If the film or the clowns don’t freak you out expect some spooky surprises to help festivities along.

The BFI will be bringing the Halloween Screen to the Southbank with two truly classic chillers John Carpenters The Thing and Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining. As if that’s not enough the movies will be shown either side of a Psychoville Halloween special followed by a Q&A with director Matt Lipsey and show star Reece Shearsmith, and a screening of Flipside Mysterious Britain – a collection of rare and obscure footage compiled especially for the event including an exorcism, witchcraft in Norfolk in the 60s, interrogations of UFO-believers and other oddities.

Not only is all that on offer but October is alight with amazing inventive special cinematic events which bring a whole other level to horror this Halloween.

See Film Differently starts things off with a howling good screening of American Werewolf in London on Halloween night at the resting place of the wolf after the first attacks, London Zoo. Don’t worry you wont be sitting in straw as the zoo will be outfitted with high quality seating and enough food to keep a pack of wolves happy. The exclusive event will also feature an exhibition of costumes and key photography from the film as well as, according to the website, “key talent and personalities linked with this iconic piece of cinema”, could they mean the legend that is John Landis? Who knows!

Another set of screening which are a little out of the ordinary come courtesy of the Jameson Cult Film Club with a Dracula Spectacular in Liverpool and Chills in the Chapel in Islington. On October 28th they will be transporting the audience to a gothic world with a walk through a real life graveyard to the haunted chambers of St Georges Hall where they will be screening the original Hammer Horror classic Dracula.

Meanwhile between the 29th and 31st over in Islington in the Union Chapel they will be screening a series of spine tingling terrors with Quatermass and the Pit, The Amityville Horror and Psycho. All the screenings will have after parties themed with the feature where you can get yourself a stiff drink to calm your nerves.

All Nighters

For the full on frightening film fanatics there are an array of all nighters taking place on Halloween itself. The Electric Cinema in London hosts the Electric Vintage 80s Horror All-Nighter showing some of the best horror films ever starting with John Carpenter’s The Thing followed by Re-Animator, Sam Rami’s insanely excellent sequel Evil Dead 2 and ending with Poltergeist a creepy climax to an amazing all nighter.

For a more up to date movie marathon head over to the IMAX Halloween All Nighter where they will be screening five 3D. Staring at 11.30 with some teen terror and gory comedy with The Hole 3D and Piranha 3D the movies get a little more menacing with Resident Evil: Afterlife 3D,? My Bloody Valentine 3D?and the finale The Final Destination 3D

Last but no means least Frightfest returns with an all mighty all nighter packed starting on the 30th and taking you into Halloween with nasty new movies with an international edge. Japanese revenge thriller Confessions kicks the night off followed by highflying supernatural shocker Altitude and haunted house horror The Silent House. The midnight madness slot goes to the world premiere of Choose with killer shark’s in The Reef and wilderness survival Black Water. A retro classic in Ivan Reitman’s Cannibal Girls brings some laughs and gore to the floor with Rare Exports ending the event, a Christmas tale like no other you have ever seen.

So that concludes LoveHorror’s compilation of this years Halloween events and with so many special screenings, all nighters and festivals featuring fantastic horror films old and new it’s a pity Halloween only comes once a year.

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Alex Humphrey

Alex studied film at the University of Kent and went on to work for Universal Pictures in their Post Room gaining an inside look at the movie industry from the very bottom. Constantly writing reviews in everything from local magazines to Hip Hop sites Alex honed his critical skills even spending a brief period as a restaurant critic. Read more

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