Frightfest Glasgow To Host Long-Awaited Premieres of Clown and The Asylum

The Glasgow arm of the UK’s annual, celebrated Film4 Frightfest will unfold over three nights this February, boasting the UK premieres and seeming first public screenings of two long-awaited fright films in the process: Jon Watts’ Eli Roth-produced Clown and Marcus Nispel’s rock ‘n’ roll exorcism horror The Asylum (formerly Backmask). 

Celebrating its tenth year, the Film4 Frightfest Glasgow kicks off Thursday, February 26^th with a special screening of Brad Anderson’s recent Poe-based period piece, Eliza Graves (aka Stonehearst Asylum). The fest gets underway in earnest and in full on Friday, February 27^th with 70s set possession picture The Atticus Institute; Mischa Barton-starrer The Hoarder; the manic Australian zombie film Wyrmwood; the Katharine Isabelle led 88; and the aforementioned European Premiere of The Asylum.

Saturday continues with the UK Premiere of Clown; an exciting retrospective premiere of Mario Bava’s beloved Blood and Black Lace; the World Premiere of Blair Witch Project doc, The Woods Movie; Belgian serial killer thriller The Treatment; Jaume Balaguero’s fourquel [REC]: Apocalypse; and Jay Dah’s Canadian horror film There Are Monsters.

It’s a seemingly stellar slate, indeed, with the big envy being Clown. Famously produced as a feature by Eli Roth after filmmaker Jon Watts crafted a faux trailer for a nonexistent Roth film of the same name, Clown has seen its release delayed in the U.S., with little word from Dimension Films on when we might see it. This news comes just as Watts’ second feature, Cop Car is about to World Premiere at the Sundance Film Festival. Clown is currently available in other international territories, with a UK DVD date set for March 2^nd.

Find the full schedule for FrightFest Glasgow, below. For tickets and more info, visit Frightfest. 

Programme details

THURS 26 FEB – GFT Screen 2

21:00 ELIZA GRAVES (UK Premiere)

Synopsis: When young Doctor Edward Newgate (Jim Sturgess) arrives at Stonehearst Asylum in search of an apprenticeship he is warmly welcomed by superintendent Doctor Lamb (Ben Kingsley). At first, intrigued by Lamb’s modern methods of treating the insane, a series of events and warnings from the stunningly beautiful Eliza Graves (Kate Beckinsale) lead him to make a shocking discovery. It’s a revelation that exposes Lamb’s medical utopia and pushes Edward to the limits of his conscience. Nobody is who or what they appear to be. Based on the Edgar Allan Poe story ‘The System of Doctor Tarr and Professor Fether’.

Director: Brad Anderson  Screenwriter: Joe Gangemi 112 mins USA 2014 

Cast: Kate Beckinsale, Ben Kingsley, Jim Sturgess, Michael Caine

 

FRI 27 FEB – GFT Screen 1

13:00: THE ATTICUS INSTITUTE (European Premiere)

Synopsis: Dr. Henry West (William Mapother) founded The Atticus Institute in the 1970s to study telekinesis, clairvoyance E.S.P. and other unexplained psi-related phenomena. Thousands of subjects were tested using scientific methods many of whom showed abilities defying explanation by known physical laws. But just after West published the promising results of their research work, the small facility was mysteriously shut down in November 1976 by a concerned US Government. The reason? They met Judith Winstead (Rya Kihlstedt) whose supernatural abilities tested far beyond anything ever before witnessed.

Director: Chris Sparling Writer: Chris Sparling 92 mins  USA 2015

Cast: William Mapother, Rya Kihlstedt, Rob Kerkovich

 

16:00 THE HOARDER (World Premiere)

Synopsis: When Ella (Mischa Barton) discovers her Wall Street banker boyfriend is renting a secret storage unit, she suspects he’s using it to hide an affair. Enlisting the help of her best friend Molly (Emily Atack) she breaks into the facility only to discover something more terrifying instead. Now trapped in a darkened building with a group of neurotic strangers who start disappearing one by one, Ella soon uncovers even worse horror in the dank depths. Her life or death battle to escape eternal enslavement is about to begin….

Director: Matt Winn  Screenwriters: James Handel, Matt Winn, Chris Denne  84 mins  UK 2015

Cast: Mischa Barton, Robert Knepper, Charlotte Salt

 

18:30 WYRMWOOD  (UK Premiere)

Synopsis: A post-apocalyptic zombie invasion, caused by a wayward comet, turns personal for Barry, an Oz mechanic (Jay Gallagher) when his sister Brooke (Bianca Bradey) is abducted by a sinister team of gas-masked soldiers for flesh-eating experiments by a mad scientist. Sporting MAD MAX-style designs, a glorious sense of humour, energetic execution, new and outrageous zombie lore and KC and the Sunshine Band, this super-fresh spin on a favourite genre is a raucous riot of black comedy, catastrophic carnage and over-the-top splatter.

Director: Kiah Roache-Turner  Screenwriters: Kiah Roache-Turner, Tristan Roache-Turner

98 mins  Australia 2014

Cast: Jay Gallagher, Bianca Bradey, Leon Burchill 

 

21:0088 (World Premiere)

Synopsis: Gwen (Katharine Isabelle) arrives disheveled at a mysterious roadside diner. But who is she really because she has no idea where she is or how she got there in such an anguished state. Split between two timelines, Gwen gets taken on a violence-fuelled journey into death and destruction and becomes the most wanted woman in Tennessee seeking out the person responsible for her lover’s murder.

Director: April Mullen  Screenwriters: Tom Doiron, April Mullen 88 mins  Canada 2015

Cast: Katharine Isabelle, Christopher Lloyd, Michael Ironside

 

23:15 THE ASYLUM (BACKMASK) (European Premiere)

Synopsis: Six teens throw a party in a rundown building and find a vintage record. Talk turns to ‘backmasking’ – subliminal messages recorded onto a music groove heard only when the track is played backwards – and they play the vinyl for a giggle. Soon a seemingly malevolent entity has infiltrated the group, wreaking havoc. However the spirit is actually trying to convey a message and the real source of horror is something – or someone – much closer to home.

Director: Marcus Nispel  Screenwriters, Marcus Nispel, Kirsten Elms 90 mins  USA 2015

Cast: Stephen Lang, Brett Dier, Brittany Curran

 

SAT 28 FEB – GFT Screen 1

11.00 CLOWN (UK Premiere)

Synopsis: When the entertainer hired for his son’s sixth birthday party is a no-show, doting father Kent dons a clown outfit himself. But after the festivities, he finds he can’t take it off – the bulbous nose is stuck to his face, the frizzy wig glued to his hair and the make-up permanently etched on his features. Too late he learns the costume is the skin of an ancient demon and his family must race to break the curse before the transformation into a homicidal killer with outsize shoes is complete.

Director: John Watts Screenwriters: Christopher D. Ford, John Watts 102 mins  USA / Canada 2014

Cast: Peter Stormare, Eli Roth, Laura Allen

 

13:30 BLOOD AND BLACK LACE (Retrospective Premiere)

Synopsis: Six models at Contessa Cristina Como’s chic Rome fashion house are tortured and violently murdered by a ghost-like masked psychopath for a telltale diary containing incriminating scandal. A chiller way ahead of its time and considered the main evolutionary starting point for the entire giallo genre that would inspire Dario Argento, this key masterpiece of menace is presented here in all its restored glory.

Director: Mario Bava  Screenwriters: Mario Bava, Giuseppe Barilla, Marcello Fondato 88 mins  Italy 1964 (Subtitled)

Cast: Cameron Mitchell, Eva Bartok, Lea Lander

 

16:00 THE WOODS MOVIE  (World Premiere)

Synopsis: In October 1997, a group of filmmakers ventured into the Maryland woods to produce a low budget independent horror movie. THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT would become a global phenomenon and began the ‘found footage’ genre that remains a potent force today. Now for the first time you can see how that record-breaking groundbreaker came into being. From never-before-seen recordings of pre-production meetings, audition tapes and test footage to the actual shooting, first preview screenings and marketing at the Sundance Film Festival, all the key personnel guide you through the discussions and decisions that minted a shock sensation classic.  

Director: Russell Gomm  Screenwriter: Russell Gomm  84 mins  USA 2015

Cast: Edward Sanchez, Daniel Myrick, Gregg Hale

 

18:30 THE TREATMENT/DE BEHANDELING (UK Premiere)

Synopsis: Nordic Noir turns frighteningly Flemish in Belgium’s top-grossing film of 2014 based on the serial-killer chiller by acclaimed British author Mo Hayder. Inspector Nick Cafmeyer (Geert Van Rampelberg) is haunted by the unsolved disappearance of his younger brother. A known sex offender was questioned but quickly released who now takes fiendish pleasure in tormenting Nick. Now another similar case comes to disturbing light involving a missing juvenile and Nick’s real nightmare begins…

Director: Hans Herbots  Screenwriters: Mo Hayder, Carl Joos 125 mins  Belgium 2014 (Subtitled)

Cast: Geert Van Rampelberg, Ina Geerts, Johan van Assche

 

21:30 [REC]: APOCALYPSE (UK Premiere)

Synopsis: Picking up the intense action immediately after [REC] 2 – expanding on the mythos from all three predecessors, plus referencing cult genre classics – TV reporter Ángela Vidal (Manuela Velasco) is extracted from the cursed apartment building and taken to a high-security quarantine facility aboard an oil tanker. There, in the bowels of the dark and desolate ship, Dr. Ricarte (Héctor Colomé) is experimenting with the infectious virus to find a cure before another living dead outbreak occurs. 

Director: Jaume Balagueró  Screenwriters: Jaume Balagueró and Manu Diez  Spain 2014  96 mins

Cast: Manuela Velasco, Paco Manzenado, Héctor Colomé

 

23:30 THERE ARE MONSTERS (UK Premiere)

Synopsis: Monsters are taking over the world, slowly, quietly and efficiently, but you won’t see them coming until it’s far too late! Four film students embark on a road trip to obtain promotional interviews for their college. However en route they witness a series of odd events, strange behaviour, shocking actions and what seems to be surplus of twins. Their well-ordered universe literally changes before their camera lenses uncovering a terrifying secret lurking just under the seemingly calm urban landscape. 

Director: Jay Dahl  Screenwriter: Jay Dahl  Canada 2014  96 mins

Cast: Matthew Amyotte, Jason Daley, Michael Ray Fox