Rhyller Thriller 4 Returns With Packed Programme and Special Guests

With just days to go until Rhyller Thriller 4: Fear the Old Ways, organisers have revealed a wave of new guest announcements and programme details as the North Wales horror festival prepares to welcome audiences back to Rhyl for three days of independent film, cult classics and live events.

Running from 31 July to 2 August, this year’s edition builds on the festival’s reputation for championing grassroots horror while expanding its guest line-up with actors, authors, make-up artists and creature performers whose careers span film, television and gaming.

Among the latest additions is Hugh Ross, whose genre credits include Nightbreed, Patriot Games, Hannibal Rising and Phyller Thriller. Also joining the festival is creature performer Spencer Wilding, recognised for his work across Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, Doctor Who, The Wolfman, Victor Frankenstein and The Toxic Avenger.

Fans of Clive Barker’s world will have plenty to look forward to as special effects make-up artist Geoff Portass and award-winning horror author Paul Kane both appear for a screening and Q&A centred on Hellbound: Hellraiser II. Portass helped create the iconic look of Pinhead and has also worked on productions including Lifeforce, The Lair of the White Worm, Highlander and Nightbreed. Kane, meanwhile, is widely known for his extensive writing on the Hellraiser mythology and his original horror fiction.

Also confirmed is filmmaker Graham Humphreys, who will appear for an in-conversation event following a screening of his documentary Captured Souls. Creature performer and actress Luisa Guerreiro, whose credits include The Toxic Avenger, The Witcher, Baldur’s Gate III and Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag, rounds out the latest guest announcements.

Beyond the guest appearances, the weekend programme features Welsh horror showcases, multiple Little Drops of Horror short film blocks, screenings of The Witch, Pet Sematary, Hellbound: Hellraiser II, Onibaba, Marginalia, Viy, Weedkiller and several filmmaker discussions and Q&A sessions spread across the three-day event.

Festival organisers have also launched a new Community Ticket Initiative, an effort aimed at making the event more accessible while helping combat social isolation. More than a dozen complimentary tickets have already been distributed to horror fans across North Wales who were unable to attend because of financial circumstances. The scheme reflects one of the festival’s wider ambitions of building a welcoming local community around independent genre cinema, something that feels increasingly important for smaller regional events.

With the programme now complete, attention turns to welcoming both returning supporters and first-time visitors through the doors. There is always a familiar atmosphere at Rhyller Thriller, though each edition seems to grow in its own way, and this year’s line-up suggests the organisers are continuing to widen the festival’s reach without losing sight of its independent roots.

Rhyller Thriller 4: Fear the Old Ways takes place from 31 July to 2 August 2026 in Rhyl, North Wales. Tickets are on sale now via Eventbrite: eventbrite.co.uk/e/rhyller-thriller-4-fear-the-old-ways-tickets