Celluloid Screams at Showroom Cinema
Tom Grieve, Cinema Editor
Celluloid Screams celebrates its 15th anniversary this October with a stunning festival line up filled with killer clowns, freaky monsters and portals to hell. Indeed, Sheffield’s Horror Film Festival is back with a bang this Halloween season, inviting audiences to experience brand new short and feature films, alongside some big screen classics and special events.
Highlights for 2023 include a visit from British writer, comedian and podcast host Adam Buxton who is bringing a special Video Nasties edition of Bug, his sell out BFI music video show, to the festival. There is also a virtual appearance from actor and director Alex Winter who will be conducting a Zoom Q&A following a showing of his 90s cult classic Freaked.
If you’re into cult classics, how about 35th anniversary screenings of Killer Klowns from Outer Space and Hellbound: Hellraiser 2? Meanwhile we’re intrigued by the 2023 addition of a late night mystery 35mm grindhouse movie, which joins two secret films on the schedule. Audiences won’t know what they’re about to watch until the curtain comes up – are you brave enough?
There’s plenty of new films too, after all, this is a festival that premiered the likes of Paranormal Activity and The Witch. Amongst others included on the roster this year is T Blockers, a meta sci-fi B-movie about a young trans filmmaker dealing with the twin horrors of the alt-right and ancient worm-like parasites. Meanwhile, we also like the look of the opening night UK premiere, horror comedy We Are Zombies.
The best film festivals are often as much about getting together with like minded film fans as they are about the movies themselves. This year’s fest includes a horror market featuring the likes of Arrow Video and Fab Press, in addition to an art exhibition dedicated to the horror posters of Vice Press. Finally, the closing night karaoke party promises terrors of its own…
