Grimmfest at Odeon Great Northern

Tom Grieve, Cinema Editor
Nightmare Cinema

Grimmfest at Odeon Great Northern, Manchester 1 — 7 October 2018 Tickets from £8 — Book now

Grimmfest returns this October for a tenth anniversary edition, which looks back at its ghoulish origins, whilst surveying the current state of genre cinema. At this point the festival of horror, cult and fantastic film is firmly ensconced as one of the reliable highlights of Manchester’s film calendar, but the Grimmfest team aren’t resting on their laurels, instead pushing forward with the very first Grimmfest Awards. In order to fight the misconception that genre film is all-male affair, this year’s festival jury will be made up exclusively of women and the shorts programme will focus on female creators.

Along these lines, guest of honour at Grimmfest 2018, and recipient of the first Grimmfest Lifetime Achievement Award, is cult actress Barbara Crampton (Body Double, Chopping Mall). Crampton will introduce a screening of classic horror film, Re-Animator, as well as two of her new films: gory sequel, Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich (described in The New York Times as “Certifiably bonkers and cheerfully offensive.”) and supernatural, cabin-in-the-woods thriller, Dead Night.

Fans meet the cast & crew of “Double Date”, Grimmfest 2017. Photography by Olivia Lennon.

To mark the Grimmfest’s tenth anniversary there will be a festival preview night at Stockport Plaza on Monday 1st October. The festival launched as ‘Grimm Up North’ originally, and the preview programme has a northern flavour in acknowledgement of those roots. Festival Directors Simeon Halligan and Rachel Richardson-Jones’s debut feature, the dark psychological horror fable, Splintered screens in a new, remastered cut. There will also be three new shorts films from the North West, alongside a special family-friendly screening of CBBC and DHX’s horror anthology Creeped Out.

Of course it’s the programme of new films that fans look for, and this year’s slate doesn’t disappoint. Johnny Kevorkian returns to the festival — his film The Disappeared appeared at its very first iteration — with claustrophobic sci-fi, Await Further Instructions. Whilst, anthology film Nightmare Cinema stars Mickey Rourke as the projectionist in a haunted picture palace which invites audiences to witness five terrifying tales. Each tale is the work of a different director; excitingly, Gremlins’ and The Howling’s Joe Dante takes his turn behind the camera.

Anna and the Apocalypse

With a packed four days of shorts and features, there’s too much to list here, but audiences might want to look out for Issa López’s magic-infused Mexican film Tigers Are Not Afraid, which has been steadily gaining festival buzz elsewhere. Similarly, festival closer and Scottish high-school zombie musical, Anna and the Apocalypse arrives in Manchester with rave reviews fresh from FrightFest. All selected films are in the running for the new Grimmfest Awards and the festival is pwith film financing group BCL to offer £40,000 worth of post-production services to each of the winners of the Best Film and Best Director categories.

Grimmfest at Odeon Great Northern, Manchester 1 — 7 October 2018

Book Now

What's on: Cinema

Cinema
MIF23: Jenn Nkiru

Visionary filmmaker Jenn Nkiru turns her attention to Manchester with a brand new short film.

free entry

Culture Guides

Music

We go all in on festivals, with a round-up of everything from city-spanning giants to grassroots gems you may not know about.

Exhibitions

There's no rest for the art lover - this month brings outdoor sculpture, musings on water, political drawings and Liverpool Biennial 2023!

Classical Music

Summer's classical music calendar is filling up nicely! Read our top picks of concerts happening in Manchester and the North.

Winnie the Pooh at Manchester Opera House
Families

The sun has finally got his hat on! Enjoy our top picks of family-friendly events and activities, both indoors and outdoors.

Gerry Potter (credit Lee Baxter)
Literature

Books are big this summer, with festival readings, poetry slams, creative writing activities and famous faces all putting in an appearance.

Food and Drink

All signs point toward June being a scorcher of a month, so let’s take a look at all things summery food and drink.

Tours and Activities

From literary activities to brilliant independent shops, keep your minds and homes filled with the good stuff this month.

Theatre in Manchester
Theatre

Check out our updated guide for lively theatre festivals, rip-roaring rooftop circus and dreamy outdoor shows.