WELCOME TO IFI
HORRORTHON 2024!
The time is nigh for the Irish Film Institute’s annual celebration of everything that lurks in the shadows, creeps through the hallways, and haunts the darkened corners of your vision. This year’s festival promises an eerie mix of fresh frights, both Irish and international, alongside classic gems seldom seen on the big screen. With documentaries and filmmaker talks, a Horror Pub Quiz, live DJs, and the IFI Café Bar serving up specially curated plates and cocktails across the weekend, we’re bringing you the biggest celebration of in-cinema scares in Ireland this Halloween season. Fans of genre icons, retro romps and unexpected thrills will enjoy: John Farrelly’s An Taibhse - the first Irish-language horror; films about Christopher Lee and Indonesian scream queen Suzzanna; four cult classic J-horrors; the European premiere of the remake of notorious ‘80s melt movie Street Trash (on 35mm); a rare screening of the Halloween TV cut (exclusive this season to the IFI); and a deadly Dublin City Council Bram Stoker Festival and Slaughterhouse collaboration for our Saturday spectacular of late events SLAUGHTERHOUSE OF HORRORS!
THURSDAY, OCTOBER 24TH
TEST SCREENING (19.00)
CLARK BAKER 92 mins
Oregon, 1982. Four teens suspect that a mysterious upcoming screening at their local cinema is the finale of George Lucas’s trilogy, only to discover something far more sinister in this witty homage.
HALLOWEEN (TV EDITION) (21.00)
JOHN CARPENTER 100 mins
Don’t miss this extremely rare opportunity to see on the big screen this expanded version of John Carpenter’s timeless classic first premiered on US television in 1981, longer by twelve minutes.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 25TH
THE LIFE AND DEATHS OF (12.00)
CHRISTOPHER LEE
JON SPIRA
90 mins
Featuring the likes of Joe Dante and John Landis, this innovative and commendably balanced documentary mixes footage and interviews new and old in a fitting tribute to a remarkable man and career.
TO THE DEVIL A DAUGHTER (14.00)
PETER SYKES
95 mins
Hammer’s Dennis Wheatley adaptation sees writer John Verney (Richard Widmark) asked to help rescue a young girl (Nastassja Kinski) from the clutches of cult-founder and excommunicated priest Michael Rayner (Christopher Lee).
CURE (16.05)
KIYOSHI KUROSAWA 111 mins
Our J-Horror strand kicks off with this story of a detective investigating a series of violent murders, each committed by people who confess to their crimes but cannot explain them.
DEAD MAIL (18.30)
JOE DEBOER, KYLE MCCONAGHY 106 mins
When a bloodied note crosses the desk of postal worker Jasper (Tomas Boykin), who specialises in delivering dead letters, he is drawn into the world of its sender and his kidnapper.
STREET TRASH (20.45)
RYAN KRUGER 104 mins
We are delighted to present, on 35mm, the European premiere of this remake of the notorious ‘80s melt movie, in which a group of misfits discovers a plan to eradicate the homeless.
DOUBLE BILL: (22.40)
MESSIAH OF EVIL / THE LIVING DEAD AT MANCHESTER MORGUE
WILLARD HUYCK, GLORIA KATZ / JORGE GRAU 183 mins
This double bill of dark, eerie, and rarely screened films of the 1970s brings us to a California town in the grip of a mysterious cult, and a zombie infestation in the Lake District.
DOUBLE BILL: (22.50) SCARED SHITLESS / MERMAID LEGEND
VIVIENO CALDINELLI / TOSHIHARU IKEDA 186 mins
This double bill pairs a new comedic creature feature about a pair of plumbers hunting something slimy through the pipes with an ‘80s Japanese title in which a grieving widow seeks bloody vengeance.
DOUBLE BILL: (23.00)
DEUS IRAE / TRAUMATIKA
PEDRO CRISTIANI / PIERRE TSIGARIDIS 172 mins
Deus Irae sees a group of excommunicated priests using violence as well as prayer to carry out exorcisms, while Traumatika sees a family haunted by a curse down through the generations.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 26TH
NOROI: THE CURSE (12.50)
KÔJI SHIRAISHI 115 mins
One of the most effective films in the ‘found footage’ subgenre, Noroi:
The Curse sees an investigator of the paranormal embroiled in increasing danger as he uncovers hard evidence of demonic activity.
SECRET CLASSIC (15.30)
This slot offers the audience the opportunity to see on the big screen, almost certainly for the first time, a film overlooked on release whose stature has grown over the years.
AN TAIBHSE
(17.50)
JOHN FARRELLY 92 mins
The first-ever Irish language horror film sees the father-and-daughter caretakers of a remote mansion take up residence in the harsh winter months, accompanied by an uninvited and unwanted guest.
The screening will be followed by a Q&A with director John Farrelly and cast members.
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 27TH
SUZZANNA: THE QUEEN OF BLACK MAGIC (12.00)
DAVID GREGORY 88 mins
From the team that brought IFI Horrorthon documentaries on Richard Stanley’s Island of Dr. Moreau, Al Adamson, and Bruce Lee knock-offs comes another fascinating story, on the enigmatic queen of Indonesian horror.
BODY DOUBLE (13.45)
BRIAN DE PALMA 114 mins
Brian De Palma’s thriller offers an idiosyncratic take on Hitchcockian voyeurism that brings eroticism to the fore. Starring Melanie Griffith, it has gained a dedicated following in the four decades since its release.
RING (16.05)
HIDEO NAKATA 96 mins
One of the best-known and most influential J-Horrors, Hideo Nakata’s superb chiller centres on a cursed videotape responsible for the death of its viewers seven days later.
SURPRISE FILM (18.15)
Be sure to book your ticket early to see a film that could be a preview of something eagerly anticipated, or a treat from an obscure corner of the globe.
RAVENOUS (20.45)
ANTONIA BIRD 101 mins
Featuring a cast of familiar faces and a soundtrack collaboration between Damon Albarn and Michael Nyman, this cult classic sees cannibalism take hold in a nineteenth-century U.S. Army outpost.
MONDAY, OCTOBER 28TH
THE ‘BURBS (13.00)
JOE DANTE 102 mins
Joe Dante’s black comedy features an all-star cast including Tom Hanks, Carrie Fisher, and Bruce Dern, amongst others, whose suspicions and prejudices run riot when a strange new family moves into the neighbourhood.
PULSE (15.15)
KIYOSHI KUROSAWA 119 mins
Kiyoshi Kurosawa’s dread-filled film is a deeply unsettling techno-horror in which the ghosts of the dead find a way back to the world of the living through the internet.
PARVULOS (17.45)
ISAAC EZBAN 119 mins
Following a viral pandemic that has devastated the global population, three young brothers forced to raise themselves in a destroyed world keep one of its greatest dangers locked in their basement.
DEMON HUNTER:
TIME 2 KILL (20.20)
ZOE KAVANAGH 111 mins
We are delighted to close this year’s festival with the special advanced screening of Zoe Kavanagh’s longawaited sequel to her 2016 debut. Taryn Barker (Niamh Hogan) returns, fighting to save the world from demonic control.
SPECIAL EVENTS
HORROR TABLE QUIZ (FRIDAY 25TH, FROM 22.00)
Join us in the IFI Bar for a horror-themed quiz sure to test the knowledge of even the most ardent fan. Bragging rights are up for grabs, with spot prizes and a cash prize also on offer to those brave enough to take on the challenge (€20.00 per table of 4. Hosted by Derek O’Connor).
SLAUGHTERHOUSE OF HORROR (SATURDAY 26TH, FROM 20.30)
IFI Horrorthon, in collaboration with Dublin City Council Bram Stoker Festival and Slaughterhouse, presents SLAUGHTERHOUSE OF HORRORS, a wideranging celebration of the genre. Storytelling platform Seanchoíche will host a special event on the theme of ‘The Horror Within,’ two of Ireland’s most prominent directors of horror Kate Dolan (You Are Not My Mother) and Lee Cronin (Evil Dead Rise) will screen their early shorts and discuss their careers to date, and there will be a thirty-fifth-anniversary screening of Mary Harron’s Stephen King adaptation, Pet Sematary. The night will culminate with a party in the IFI foyer with HONEYPOT presenting a new soundtrack to the Swedish silent classic Häxan (Benjamin Christensen, 1922).
20.30 – Seanchoíche: The Horror Within (€25.00)
20.40 – Pet Sematary: 35th Anniversary Screening (€18.00)
20.50 – In Conversation (€20.00)
Entry to all events includes admission to Häxan
MORE INFORMATION
Visit www.ifi.ie/horrorthon to see the full programme and book tickets.
IFI, 6 Eustace Street, Temple Bar, Dublin 2 Bookings: 01 679 3477
@IFI_Dub
@IrishFilmInstitute
@IrishFilmInstitute
@IrishFilmInstitute
@IFI_Dublin
IFI MEMBERSHIP
Become an IFI Member and get discounts on tickets, double loyalty points, and more! Your membership also helps support the IFI’s work in preserving and restoring Ireland’s film heritage. Only €40.00 (€25.00 concession).
BOOKING INFO
All screenings are €14.00 (unless otherwise indicated). (IFI Membership is required for all films. If you are not an IFI Member then a membership fee of €1.50 will be added to each IFI Horrorthon ticket price, and a Festival Membership fee of €5.00 will be added to each IFI Horrorthon ticket bundle).
TICKET BUNDLES*
Full Festival Pass (All 5 Days)**:
€160.00 (IFI Member) / €165.00 (Non-Member)
10-Film Deal:
€100.00 (IFI Member) / €105.00 (Non-Member)
5-Film Deal:
€60.00 (IFI Member) / €65.00 (Non-Member)
*Ticket bundles and Festival Pass are not applicable for SLAUGHTERHOUSE OF HORROR events.
**The Festival pass will cover all films except in instances where film times clash, so you must choose which title you want to see. These passes can only be booked inperson or by calling the IFI Box Office on 01 679 3477.
IFI CAFÉ BAR
RESTAURANT: MON-SUN 12.30-21.30
BAR: MON-SUN UNTIL LATE
Join us in the IFI Café Bar for devilishly delicious Horrorthon specials. We’ll be dishing up thematic delights to keep you fueled all festival long. With tempting beer, cocktails, and brunch, lunch and dinner options for our most fearless audience of the year – dig in if you dare!
Programme notes: Kevin Coyne.