It goes without saying the entire selection for this years fest deserve recognition for their talents as film makers and artists. So narrowing this down to just a handful of award winners has been extremely difficult for this year’s judges panel!
With that said, lets take a look at all the incredibly deserving award winners from the 2024 Dead Northern Horror Film Festival!
Best Feature Film – Kill Your Lover
Directing duo Alix Austin and Keir Siewert delivered a gnarly, grotesque, and emotionally raw feat of tainted love, where body horror and a cerebral narrative collide together to create the must-see ‘Kill Your Lover’.
From the initial setup right up until the credits begin to roll, the entire film is slick with an uncomfortable sense of intimacy. Intimate through its nature of chronicling a toxic relationship. Intimate through its portrayal of up close and personal graphic body horror, and intimate in how it feels as if we have been positioned to voyeuristically gaze like a fly on the wall as Dakota and Axel experience the terrifying motions of their damning monstrosity.
Kill Your Lover is a standout feature and deserving winner that speaks to the creator’s exhilarating storytelling talents. From Austin’s incredible short horror ‘Sucker’ (2022), to Siewert and Austin’s team effort on the anthological entry ‘It’s Inside’ in Isolation (2021), it is a sure thing that this duo is one to watch.
(Directors Alix & Kier celebrating along side Cinematographer Oscar Garth)
Dead Northern Award (Best northern Submission) – All This Time
Writer and director Rob Worsey delivered a standout, complex and thought-provoking second feature that, alongside his zombie-themed feature debut, Among the Living (2022), proves that Worsey is a talent to be watched.
The film dabbles in equal amounts of trepidation, theatrical drama, and gothic horror to form an unholy trinity of emotively triggered fear. For instance, as we see Grace come to terms with the disturbed histories that lie in wait, not once does the film become gimmicky in its scares; instead, bouts of unease are stirred, and waves of darkness are weaponised, collectively espousing a film that is as tonally rich as it is visually impactful.
Worsey’s uncanny ability to stir tension and assemble well-crafted scares that linger like a troubling night-terror are at an all-time high throughout All This Time – A worthy winner of the Best Northern submission to the 2024 fest.
(Writer & Director Rob Worsey, Producer Kate Worsey with cast members Emily Rose Holt and Lyndsey Craine)
Best International Feature Film – The Stickman’s Hollow
The Stickman’s Hollow resembles a multifaceted labyrinth, feeding its complex story bit by bit, acting like a serpentine. It is the slow feed of a terrifying story, the intricate weaving of eerie details and the intimate mode of filmmaking that make this found footage horror unmissable and the jury’s top international submission for 2024.
Composing the heart of the film is all of the plentiful mystery, mythology and lore, which is made all the more effective due to its detailed backstory. The Stickman’s Hollow is based on a chilling true story from Director Jack Cox’s childhood of girl who became lost in the local Vancouver woods. And the story goes… the lost child was presumed to be dead, but after a year had passed there were reported sightings of a feral child roaming the forest and eating the remains of animal carcasses. Found near the spotted sightings were strange carvings of male figures, which all point to sinister misdeeds.
Whilst The Stickman’s Hollow is a fictional story, Cox based the tale on the countless, spine-chilling questions that arise when one thinks of a story of such calibre. What happened to the missing girl? How did the carvings come about? And why do missing persons cases in the backwoods go unsolved? Fictional or not, this is nightmare fuel!
Amplifying the intensity is the fact that the filming location is that of where the backstory occurred, conjuring a level of dread that is often difficult to capture on screen. Adding to the unease felt is the film’s found footage fashion that immediately immerses and stirs a level of uncomfortable immediacy. The suspense brought forth, the anxiety formulated and the foreboding alarm mould together throughout this noteworthy expedition into The Stickman’s Hollow.
Unfortunately the team couldn’t make the fest but look out for our interview with cast an crew coming soon to our socials and YouTube channel!
Best Short Film – Skulk
Claire (Elina Gavare) wakes in the night to the sound of screaming foxes. She remains annoyed yet unfazed at the common disturbance, that is, until she sees a strange figure outside her window. It’s not unusual to hear the screeching cries of foxes in the dead of night, with their innate raspy, almost-painful sounding screams being the nocturnal anthem of the British public.
However, does it ever cross one’s mind that what they think are foxes calling out could be human screams or something even worse? This is precisely what director Max Ward so effectively conveys in Skulk. In the wee small hours of the night, the mind plays tricks on us, and with imaginations running wild, our worst nightmare seems only around the corner, or in the case of Skulk, maybe it’s already inside…
This masterfully delivered short won over the jury with it’s fantastic performances, downright creepy cinematography and perfect delivery of horror.
Fresh Meat Award – The Bloke in the Boot
Northern city boy Mogg (Jude Pollitt) accidentally kills his driving examiner (Stewart James Barham) after a failed test, leaving him to call his lifelong friend Gaps (Oliver Barry-Brook). With a body stuffed in the boot, the pair embark on a road trip to Wales to dispose of the mess. Part situational horror, part traditional British comedy as we join Mogg and Gaps on what can be defined as one of the most stressful types of road trips.
This thoroughly entertaining short acts as an exaggerated imitation of Northern British bonds and colloquialisms, which are built upon by the film’s self-deprecating humour, which is sure to provide belly laughs amidst the dramatic thriller roots additionally explored. Another specificity not to miss is The Bloke in the Boot’s genuinely admirable visual work that displays the grand cinematic views that the UK has to offer.
With the brazen duo’s antics, the unapologetically hilarious British cynicism, and the impressive displays of the countryside’s landscape, The Bloke in the Boot stood out to the jury this year as an immensely talented group of filmmakers to keep your eye on.
(Cast member Jude Polllitt-Berthereau & Director Taylor Caddick celebrating their win on the Sunday of the fest)
Best Cinematography – The Rising of the Sap
Produced by the BFI is Susie Jones’ The Rising of the Sap, a folk horror short following Bea’s (Darci Shaw) unwitting journey into ‘The Rising’ and her mother Elizabeth’s (Joanna Scanlan) fight to stop it. Where this film flourishes is the performances, which work to elevate Jones’ outstanding story following the darkness found lurking within the human condition.
As the film unravels, the folkloric elements intertwine with the character study of Bea’s fascinations and Elizabeth’s troubles to create a horror saturated with paranoia, isolation, manipulation and deception. Adding to the thought-provoking narrative is the film’s masterly composition of evocative imagery that is both gritty and visceral yet charmingly suave and ultimately became the panel’s favourite for Best Cinematography of 2024.
Congratulations to the team and particularly Paul Mortlock – cinematographer on the production.
Best Performance – Becca Hirani – The Monster Beneath us
Bursting with tales of losing control and challenging reality, all entwined with a hint of familial trauma and ladened with a haunting gothic aesthetic that bodes stunning imagery and a grippingly tense atmosphere is Sophie Osbourne’s The Monster Beneath Us.
The Monster Beneath Us’ cunning ability to rouse great terror inch by inch is a testament to the film’s sundry charms, from the evocative performances and the thoughtful milieu of designs that echo the time period all the way through to the atmospheric soundscape that conspires with the harrowingly toned cinematography
Becca Hirani’s performance as Lady Grace Abbington captured the Jury’s attention for her fantastic portrayal of a mother consumed with grief and loss.
(Becca posing with her award on the Sunday of the fest)
Best Supporting Performance – Ellen Jane Thomas – Scopophobia
Scopophobia’s female driven cast with fleshed out, complex characters, gnarly (and unbelievably gory) practical effects, powerful scoring, immensely captivating visuals and directorial dynamics all amalgamate together to create one hell of a horrifying and wicked elixir pot that is a testament to the brilliance of independent horror filmmaking.
It’s within this elixir pot we see an outstanding performance from Ellen Jane Thomas as Mia!
(Ellen celebrating the win at the Dead Northern Awards party)
Best Special Effects – Black Hole Barry
Prior to Scott’s (Michael Batten) boyfriend Robin (Joseph Potter) moving in, he ventures out for one last wild night of freedom. Unbeknownst to him, his secret philandering will soon result in an almighty reckoning. The exceptional results of this demonic horror are a testament to independent filmmaking, with its extremely unique and unorthodox exaggeration of adulterous characters being a hilariously dark and twisted spin on genre cinema.
It was the uniquely designed demon that grabbed the attention of the Jury for this years special effects award!
(The Black Hole Barry team grabbing a photo before their screening at the fest)
Bloody Good Death Award – Little Brown Bird
On the shortest day of the year, the overworked farmer Kate (Eliza Butterworth) must care for her ailing father (John Rhys-Davies), who has dementia and is convinced that something is hunting them. Little Brown Bird is an emotionally charged film that tackles the living loss of a loved one through dementia, with the relationship between Kate and her father being a focal point for the affective narrative to flourish.
In tandem with the riveting, poignant story is the film’s moving scoring, which has a softness akin to a lullaby that works to further the dimensional relationship between the father-daughter bond amidst an air of uncertainty and mystery.
Without spoiling this fantastic film there is a whole bunch of gnarly kills that stood out to the jury and left us thoroughly entertained!
(Director Peter Rogers with his newly won trophy)
That’s a wrap on Dead Northern 2024, see you again next year!
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