A Bristol film festival is helping to revive Bristol's IMAX cinema with the return of its Halloween cinema screenings. Cinephiles will have the chance to watch some horror classics this October on the biggest cinema screen in the region.
Forbidden Worlds Film Festival is dedicated to screening repertory fantasy, action, science-fiction and horror films from around the world and celebrating the creatives who made them. The festival - scheduled for Friday, October 28 to Sunday, October 30 - will host its screenings at the former Bristol IMAX, situated in Bristol Aquarium, which boasts a 19m x 15m screen - one of the biggest in the South West.
Speaking on the line-up, Tessa Williams of the festival programming team commented: “I am really excited that we’ve been given this opportunity to use the former Bristol IMAX again for a horror-themed festival for Halloween weekend. Horror is one of my favourite genres and we’ve programmed some absolute classics that aren’t often seen on the big screen.
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"You especially won’t want to miss the original Halloween, which I believe is the greatest horror film of all time. I can’t wait to see it on the biggest screen in the city with the festival audience!”
Well-known, vintage titles include Sam Raimi’s gonzo horror-comedy Evil Dead II , which is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year, the original 1978 Halloween from the legendary John Carpenter and cult classic Fright Night from 1985.
Horror fans will also be able to see some under-screened spine-tinglers including Boris Karloff and Elsa Lanchester in Bride of Frankenstein, Vincent Price in The Tingler, the unclassifiable Shaw Brothers insanity of The Boxer’s Omen in a brand-new restoration, martial arts star Sonny Chiba as a lycanthrope detective in the Japanese actioner Wolf Guy, golden age slasher The Slumber Party Massacre, and plenty more.
Ticket holders will be treated to specially curated introductions, guest speakers and the return of Forbidden Worlds festival beer courtesy of New Bristol Brewery. Halloween costumes are actively encouraged and there may be prizes for the best dress-up on the day.
Early bird weekend tickets have already sold out but the general weekend release is available for £75 for all three days. Day passes for Friday, Saturday and Sunday are individually priced at £20, £35 and £30 respectively, giving you access to all the films programmed on that specific day. Individual film tickets will be released in a few weeks.
Forbidden Worlds festival schedule
Friday (October 28)
- 4.30pm: Night of the Eagle (12A)
- 7.30pm Evil Dead II (18) (Subtitled)
- 9.45pm: The Tingler (15)
Saturday (October 29)
- 12.30pm: Bride of Frankenstein (PG)
- 2.30pm: The Craft (15)
- 5pm: Halloween (15) (Subtitled)
- 8pm: Elvira: Mistress of the Dark (15)
- 10pm: The Slumber Party Massacre (18)
Sunday (October 30)
- 2pm: Sugar Hill (18)
- 4.15pm: The Boxer’s Omen (18)
- 7.30pm: Fright Night (18) (Subtitled)
- 10pm: Wolf Guy (18)
Forbidden Worlds Film Festival on October 28-30 located at IMAX Bristol, Anchor Road, Bristol, BS1 5DB. Tickets available through the festival's website
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