Broadway
MAYHEM HORROR FILM FESTIVAL
THU 27 - MON 31 OCTOBER 2011
“An impressive line-up, clearly collated by people with an affection for the horror genre” Metro.
This years MAYHEM FILM FESTIVAL kicked off in style with an exclusive BAFTA look at one of the years most anticipated films, The Awakening. A stunningly creepy debut from Nick Murphy this haunted house yarn put new twists on the genre thanks to a script co-written with Stephen Volk – also at the festival for a special screening of cult TV favourite Ghostwatch.
“A wonderful event.” Fanboy Confidential
Mayhem drew in bigger crowd than ever before thanks to a line-up of new releases, previews, premiers and special screenings of classics that had everyone at the bar discussing things across five, fear filled days making it one of the biggest festival events in the calender.
“Mayhem once again had a fine selection of special guests.” Platform
Five days gave the festival the chance to screen more and a chance to make room for some incredibly original examples of independent cinema.
That meant screenings of films like the Grand Guignol inspired anthology The Theatre Bizarre, with producer Carl Daft in attendence and a special on-screen intro from directors Buddy Giovanazzo, Richard Stanley and David Gregory. The film had a line-up of cult stars as impressive as it's line-up of directors, topped with a brilliantly effective performance from Udo Keir (Flesh for Frankenstein).
“Once again the most enjoyable horror fest of the year. Perfect venue, friendly atmosphere, and of course top programming. Great to see so many screenings sold out.” FAB Press
And with us also for a special screening of the independently produced The Wicker Tree was it's creator, Robin Hardy, best known for the original Wicker Man, Hardy was here to talk about his new work and even hint at more horrors (and laughs) to come.
“Mayhem becomes more and more fun every year... the event has such a good vibe... it feels more like a long party.” Strange Things Are Happening
The Devil's Business is a low budget film, but one that is really making waves and garnering great notices – so it was great to welcome producer Jennifer Handorf and director Sean Hogan to the Broadway and a packed house who loved this gripping psychological horror film that was part Dennis Wheatley and part Harold Pinter.
"A bag of tricks and treats of gore, horror and thrills for film fans." Left Lion
And there was more, including hugely controversial and challenging portmanteau horror from Little Deaths, serial killer drama with A Horrible Way to Die and the thrilling The Whisperer in Darkness a worthy homage to HP Lovecraft shot entirely in Mythoscope! A series of indies proving once and for all that they can hold their own against any big budgeted studio film.
“A delightfully devilish weekend of weirdness. Mayhem is a creepy collection of fearful features, preview screenings, scary shorts, midnight movies and gruesome guests not to be missed” BBC Nottingham
But Mayhem is also about classic cinema – and this year two astounding films unspooled across the big screen. A late night screening of Vincent price in Theatre of Blood drew a great crowd of fans and people new to all the brilliant black comedy that the film had in store and a sold out screening of 1960 French masterpiece Eyes Without A Face proved again what an essential piece of cinema this truly is. With it being 100 years since the birth of Vincent Price, Mayhem also sold a special festival ale, Mathew HOPkins, Witchfinder GenerALE to celebrate the Vincentennial.
"The festival was everything I’d hoped it would be, and more... high quality selection and certainly enough wrongness to gratify the most hardened of horror fans." Cinefantastique
The highlight of the festival, as it is every year, is probably the chance to sit back and discover the talents of the future with Mayhem's Scary Shorts – a showcase of all the best new short work out there from around the globe and closer to home. This years highlights included The Pack from Owen Tooth, the sinister The Water's Edge and the hilarious Banana Motherf*cker from Portugal.
And in between exclusive screenings of new Asian cinema like Helldriver, or envelope pushing Revenge: A Love Story and Tomie: Unlimited, hilarious anti-Christmas horror from Dick Maas's Saint and super scary supernatural ghost story The Last Employee, Mayhem also hosted an amazing Live Experiment from festival regulars The Thrill Laboratory.
“A blast; screenings, exclusive events and a live experiment from a haunted location.” Stalknslash
And Mayhem ended it's fifth day with a Halloween treat for all fans of literature and film. Nottingham Writer's Studio presented a series of readings in a free event in the Cafe Bar that included special screenings of three classic horror stories from TV, from MR James and Ray Bradbury, read by Robert Powell, Tom Baker and Christopher Lee. And then Mayhem closed proceedings with an exclusive screening of The Human Centipede 2: Full Sequence, a film the festival had spent the summer campaigning to get released.
In between screenings, a packed bar, stalls from FAB Press and The Monster Store as well as a laser maze from Hackspace kept the festival buzzing and the crowds busy. This years Mayhem was a great success thanks to massive support from filmmakers, funders, sponsors, the excellent venure and of course, a brilliant audience.
Mayhem returns for a series of screenings over the new year before the main festival at Halloween 2012.
