Black Sunday Film Festival Returns This Weekend

Colchester horror fans have one more chance to turn this weekend into a full-day genre marathon. Black Sunday Film Festival takes over Firstsite on Saturday 24 October with a programme of independent features, short films, regional and UK premieres, plus the return of its secret cult screening to close the night.

The one-day Halloween event opens with the Essex premiere of A Ghost at Gilmore House, Oliver Mitchell’s supernatural mystery about a teenager researching the decades-old murder of paranormal investigator Lucy Carter. What begins as a school project soon exposes a darker truth behind the legend surrounding the house. The feature will screen alongside Dean Bertram’s short Halloween Bird.

Science-fiction then takes over with the Essex premiere of William Brooke’s The Alice Paradox. Shot on anamorphic lenses, the film follows physicist Alice Narcissi after an experiment with a wormhole sends her into an alternate version of the recent past, where history has taken a radically different course. Its screening also includes Sam Dixon’s short Lift.

The day’s biggest premiere comes with Heritage, receiving its UK debut. Directed by Baptist Agostini-Croce, the 70-minute found-footage horror follows Marie and Daniel as they return to Corsica 15 years after leaving to visit their elderly grandfather. Picking up the family camcorder to record the reunion leads them towards something buried in the family’s past. Heritage screens with Liam Alexander O’Brien’s Rare, a previous 666 Award winner.

Later, Chris Schwab’s Dracula: The Night Around Us receives its Essex premiere. The modern reworking of Bram Stoker’s story follows Dr John Seward, a disillusioned doctor working in an asylum for the criminally insane, whose life becomes entangled with Mina, her daughter Lucy and an ancient evil lurking beneath Los Angeles. The film previously won Best Feature at Portland Horror Film Festival before making its UK premiere at Tubi FrightFest. Victor Basallote’s short Happy accompanies the screening.

Black Sunday’s traditional closing slot remains firmly under wraps, with the festival promising another “stone-cold cult classic” in a rare big-screen appearance. The mystery title will only be revealed when the audience is in place, adding one final surprise to a day built around discovery.

Day passes are available for those wanting to see the full programme, with the discount applied automatically when standard tickets for every screening are added to the basket.

Black Sunday Film Festival takes place at Firstsite, Colchester, this Saturday 24 October 2026. Single tickets and day passes are available now, so book before the weekend if you want to catch A Ghost at Gilmore House, The Alice Paradox, Heritage, Dracula: The Night Around Us and the festival’s secret cult classic on the big screen. Get your tickets and passes now here: firstsite.uk/event_categories/black-sunday-festival/