Grimmfest – Manchester’s Horror Film Festival

Grimmfest is returning to Manchester in its 10th year to celebrate independent horror, sci-fi and fantasy films. It takes place on the 4^th-7^th of October at the Odeon Manchester Great Northern. The festival promises to be a thrilling weekend.

Festival coordinators, Simeon Halligan and Rachel Richardson-Jones created Grimmfest 10 years ago to showcase horror films to a greater audience. This included Splintered which the pair directed and was their film debut. To celebrate the 10^th anniversary the film will be re-shown on the 1^st of October at the festival’s preview night at the Plaza Cinema in Stockport.

Over the weekend there will also be screenings of short films with F-ratings. A film is given this rating for supporting fair representation of women and is a rating I’m glad is being used throughout Grimmfest. A film with an F-rating must have a female director or a female writer. A ‘triple F-rating’ which is the system’s gold star can also be awarded to films which include significant female characters.

The film opening the festival is Re-Animator which features Barbara Crampton, this year’s Grimmfest Lifetime Achievement Award winner. Due to it being the only classic film shown, it will help pave the way for exciting new releases. At The Mancunion, we will be covering Summer of ‘84, Piercing and The Cleaning Lady. However, other notable releases include: Nightmare Cinema, Puppet Master: The Littlest Reich, Girls With Balls and Await Further Instructions, which are sure to please and excite all horror-lovers in attendance.

With hours of feature films and short films being shown – with many including post-showing Q&A sessions with the cast and crew – over the weekend, you will be spoilt for choice. Take a look at their website, http://grimmfest.com/grimmupnorth/2018/09/grimmfest-2018-schedule/ for more information about the films being shown.