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Dead Northern Festival News and Reviews News

Dead Northern 2024 – Award winners!

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!

Want more top horror lists and reviews? Check out our blog here..

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Dead Northern Festival News and Reviews Reviews

Dead Northern 2024 Festival Review – Strike

The housebound Francine (Gracie LeClere) is gifted a case of matches by her controlling husband, Sebastian (James Viller), who owns various match manufacturer factories. However, she soon discovers that this gift holds a great curse as a dead girl, Vera (Amy Anderson), is resurrected each time a match is lit. 

Britain circa the late 19th century was host to the ‘Matchgirl Strikes’, where the working women from London match factories instigated industrial action against unfair, frankly diabolical working conditions. Mark Patterson’s Strike is set against this monumental moment in history that seems rather fitting for the contemporaneous period. The synthesis of a period piece with a secondary narrative layer of a toxic relationship, combined with a mysterious air of supernatural power, is precisely what makes Strike the dramatic, compelling slice of cinema it is. 

Patterson lays emphasis on Francine’s relationship with the controlling Sebastian, with the patriarchal figure stripping any agency away from his wife, isolating her from not just her abilities but also her potential. In a sense, Francine herself is akin to a ghost, with her true self and ability invisible in the eyes of her husband.

The delicate subject is handled with great respect by the stellar casting of both Viller and LeClere, the latter of which added such autonomy to her evolving character. The caveat of Francine’s story is that she is a wheelchair user, which for the tyrannical Sebastian means that he has further hold over his supposed beloved. LeClere herself is an ambulatory wheelchair user, meaning that she could give credence to the tenderness that her character requires. 

The layered corpus of Strike explores the aspect of hauntology and how the symbolic presence of a ghostly apparition can act as a figurative vessel. The manifestation of Vera is one of great significance, as Patterson dismisses an archetypal ghostly disturbance in favour of the formation of a meaningful bond between Francine and her newfound, unexpected companion. 

Strike distorts what is normally prophecy in terms of supernatural horror, with the film’s surprising story making continuous bold choices – which all collide to benefit and enrich this unmissable, important and stirring horror short feature. 

You can catch the film Sunday 29th September at this years festival, tickets here!

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Dead Northern Festival News and Reviews Reviews

Dead Northern 2024 Festival Review – The Black Quarry

Released by HorrorWeb Productions is The Black Quarry, a wild and sinister exploration into the dark side. The black metal band “Drown the Priest” travels to an abandoned quarry to shoot a music video as intense as their signature hardcore sound.

Unbeknownst to the band members, the lead singer has menacing motivations for using the defunct space as the location. However, what lurks beneath the quarry proves to be more malevolent than his twisted intentions. 

This featurette serves as proof that director Corey Jason Trahan’s passion for all things horror and rock is no exaggeration as this epic and fiercely savage film is a whole experience. The Black Quarry hones in on its irreverent tone, with the absurd extremity of the characters and plot laying down a darkly humorous undertone that allows for the gritty, gnarly horror to glare through in devilishly rogue waves. 

It would be sinful not to mention the practical effects that are straight out of a vibrant, bloody and graphic splatter B-movie from the 1980s – in the best way possible!

The film is host to a whole smorgasbord of gory effects that range from brutal face-pulls, decapitations and neck slits, all of which are brilliantly stomach-churning as the viewer is a witness to a whole bunch of sinew-showing, blood-spurting, entrail grabbing barrage of squeamish fun. To indirectly quote Drown the Priest guitarist Devon (Zach Beesley)- it is “metal as fxxk”.

You can catch the film Sunday 29th September at this years festival, tickets here!

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Dead Northern Festival News and Reviews Reviews

Dead Northern 2024 Festival Review – Fear Cabin: The Last Weekend of Summer

Fear Cabin: The Last Weekend of Summer does not simply toy with expectations with a horror-cum-cabin fright fest. Instead, it completely dismantles and excitingly remixes events, creating a wild ride that goes full throttle from beginning to end. 

A motley crew of friends head out to a remote cabin in the woods for a weekend of fun, drinking and standard debaucheries; however, the trip soon turns far from ordinary when the group begins to experience a world of terror as an unexpected guest joins them. 

Director Brian Krainson delivers a pure, bone-chilling tale that offers a lineup of assorted frights, from ghouls and entities that create bumps in the night, all the way to displays of witchcraft and devilry that mingle to summon a dense, sinister atmosphere that unleashes bouts of havoc throughout the deadly weekend trip. Ultimately, the film’s acts of portrayed evil acts as pathways for the various motifs to rip through and percolate the unsettling rhetoric. Whilst the film’s spirit is rife with a nexus of intricate themes such as survival, isolation and fragility amidst moments of ghostly fear and so forth, what Fear Cabin: The Last Weekend of Summer ensures is that it does not become excessively heavy with all of its dense threads. 

Although the jolting horror antics take centre stage throughout the film, Krainson infuses touches of light humour and strong writing to balance the grave velocity of what is at play throughout the narrative. It’s for this reason that the characters remain multidimensional rather than just channels for horror to seep through. Accordingly, the film builds upon the robust character arcs that surface from the group’s dynamic, with the escalating sense of panic and dread fueling waves of tension as the reality of the horrifying situation evolves and reaches a menacing peak. 

The suspenseful flow of mystery is made all the more ominous on account of the cabin setting, which almost becomes a character within itself. The quiet backdrop of a rural cabin immediately forbodes in response to how the solitude of isolation can highlight an uneasy hostility. For instance, as the haunting antics unravel, the group grapple with the vulnerability that such a remote setting in tune with nature and all of its dark history provides. There is no immediate safety net outside of a typical suburban brick-and-mortar, and classically (but nevertheless still spine-tinglingly sinister), no one can hear you scream!


Fear Cabin: The Last Weekend of Summer is a fresh take on a beloved haunted cabin story that pays homage to the quintessential beauty of eerie, lodge-based horror but with a distinct, innovative flair that speaks to Krainson’s stellar filmmaking capacities. The film’s nuanced approach has great fun in pulling the plug and wiping away what we expect, alternatively delivering high-impact, unexpected thrills that both provide ample shrieks as we jump during startling moments, as well as experience lingering spells of dread and horror, akin to a troubled haunting that has the ability to stand the test of time.

You can catch the film Friday 27th September at this years festival, tickets here!

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Dead Northern Festival News and Reviews Reviews

Dead Northern Festival 2024 Review – All This Time


All This Time chronicles the infinite time loop that Grace (Emily Rose Holt) has found herself trapped in. Joined by an elusive vampire, Elias (Dan de Bourg), Grace must unravel a string of veiled secrets to escape the treacherously eerie time glitch and return to normality.

Writer and director Rob Worsey delivers 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. 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.

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. 

As teased above, All This Time is steeped in a gothically minded atmosphere where the isolation of grandness meets a shadowy, stunningly designed sense of unmistakable dread. In its iconographical form, All This Time employs its grandiose setting, impressive costume design and haunting, moody lighting to showcase its gothic roots, which all combine to create a film that is worthy of watching with the volume off just to absorb the sheer ‘look’ of it all. 

Matching the mysterious ambience is the film’s brilliant performances from the likes of Rose Holt and de Bourg, alongside the excellent Emma Pallant. Independent cinema has a habit of bringing about the most spiffing of exhibitions of talent, with All This Time being no exception to this rule. Throughout the entire runtime, the executions are all acted out with such compelling authenticity that draws the audience in and has them hanging on to every last word.

Shifting onto the horror elements, All This Time makes use of its groundhog-like narrative to conjure a sting of anxiety that innately wizzes up an unnerving sense of being trapped, contained and unable to make sense of everyone and everything.

On a theoretical plane, this inability to flee has the power to be suffocating and grim, but Worsey boldly propels this notion by infusing a vampiric spin. Fanged fiends, bloodsuckers, ‘The Count’, Dracula – however these immortal creatures have been cinematically developed before, All This Time, decides to take a unique spin on the vampire tale through its utilisation of a character-study based approach to storytelling. Keeping spoilers tightly under wraps – what can be commended is how the film continuously toys with the motives of the characters. Rarely do we know what to believe and who to trust throughout the running enigma of it all.

In total, All This Time will both move and provoke, pervade and resonate. Ultimately, this is not a film to be missed.

You can catch the film Friday 27th September at this years festival, tickets here!

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Dead Northern Festival News and Reviews Reviews

Dead Northern 2024 Festival Review – Kill Your Lover

Directing duo Alix Austin and Keir Siewert deliver a gnarly, grotesque, and emotionally raw feat of tainted love, where body horror and a cerebral narrativisation collide together to create the must-see ‘Kill Your Lover’. 

Strained couple Axel (Shane Quigley Murphy) and Dakota (Paige Gilmour) have long lost the passion that oozed from their early days together; with Dakota now desperate to break free and put an end to her partner’s controlling hold. However, whilst on the cusp of delivering him the bad news, Axel falls ill with a monstrous infection, one that spews poison, splinters skin and turns its host into a corrosive mess – and worst of all…it’s contagious. 

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.

The private, immediate view the audience experiences feels disturbed, as if we are that of a prying eye. It is this precise dark, troubling anxiety that makes Kill Your Lover’s stirring approach so effective. As much as the film is a splattery gore fest, Austin and Siewert manage to penetrate the layers of fleshy horror and create a tone that is ripe with metaphors into destructive, venomous kinship and feeling inescapable dread at the hands of someone you once used to unconditionally love. 

The film’s continuous lashings of affective energy also transfers itself into the sophisticated aesthetic that manages to balance obscure bloodiness whilst not faltering to unwarranted butchery – which for a film of such calibre would take away from the complex emotive aura. For instance, as the film escalates to the point of sheer horror-filled pandemonium as the treacherous infection spreads, an array of brilliant effects come to fruition. The makeup and design is gruesome, ghastly and macabre in the most unique way possible. The gravity of the fearsome visuals is made all the more nightmarish at the hands of the crafty and powerful performances from leads Gilmour and Quigley Murphy, both of whom excel at portraying depthful, intricate and complicated characters. 

Kill Your Lover is a standout feature 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. 

Catch the film Saturday 28th September at the 2024 festival, tickets and details here.

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Curiosity Corner Dead Northern Festival News and Reviews Events

Mad About Horror at Dead Northern 2024!

We’re thrilled to announce that Mad About Horror will be an official sponsor of our Film Festival event in York  27th – 29th Sep 2024!

Mad About Horror are the leading online retailer in the UK and Europe for specialist horror masks and collectibles. As the largest official European retailer of Trick or Treat Studios, they bring the latest US releases to the UK and Europe, offering a wide array of masks, collector’s items, and replica props.

In addition to their partnership with Trick or Treat Studios, Mad About Horror showcases a vast selection of leading collectible brands including NECA, Mezco and Sideshow as well as niche brands such as Black Heart Models, Pallbearer Press, Infinite Statues. 

They also have a huge range of Halloween animatronics, masks and decorations. Renowned for sourcing the latest Halloween props and animatronics from the US, Mad About Horror pride themselves on retailing items that are rarely available this side of the pond.

With an extensive product range specialising in all thing’s Horror and Halloween, Mad About Horror serves as the ultimate one-stop shop for horror fans. Their passion for the genre is evident in their commitment to staying up to date with latest releases and engaging with the horror community. 

Looking to bring the thrill of the big screen home? Explore their Horror-movie section, featuring a wide array of collectibles, officially licensed masks, and an exclusive selection of Waxwork Records for soundtrack enthusiasts. Whether you’re expanding your horror collection or hunting for the perfect gift, Mad About Horror has everything you need to recreate the cinematic horror experience.

Shop with them now by clicking here

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Events Reviews

Event special -The Moor Review

Epitomising looming doom amidst a backdrop of murky greys and even murkier secrets is The Moor, a new and unmissable horror directed by Chris Cronin and written by Paul Thomas. Weaponising the beauty and dread of slow-burn terror, combined with the dramatic performances and startling dark narrative, equips the film with mystery and intrigue, making it one of 2023’s Frightfest’s best screeners. 

The film begins in ‘God’s Own Country’, also known as Yorkshire, in 1996. Youngsters Claire (Billie Suggett) and Danny (Dexter Sol Ansell) hatch a plan to steal sweets from a corner shop, with Danny distracting the shopkeeper whilst Claire fills her bag. Claire successfully leaves (treats acquired); however, Danny never leaves the shop. A compilation of archival footage and newspaper clippings show that Danny’s disappearance was only a notch in the belt of a long line of child abductions in the area. Now, 25 years on, the man supposedly behind the tragedies is set to be released from prison, leaving Danny’s still distraught father, Bill (David Edward-Robertson), hellbent on finding his son’s remains to close the situation once and for all. With the help of Claire (now played by Sophia La Porta), her podcast, and a curious crew, they set off into the Yorkshire Moors to decode this grand mystery once and for all.

The complex backdrop is rife with a pitch-black horrific context of missing persons, death and unresolved trauma, making for a sorrowful feature that is reminiscent of the plague conjured by grief and heartbreak. Although all of these intense emotions speak to the film’s ability to tug on the affections of viewers and their own fears of losing someone, what is perhaps the most stringent element to diffuse from the fantastic smorgasbord of thematics is The Moor’s exhibition of the ‘unknown’. Much of the film toys with the mystery of what is dubbed as the Summer of Fear, the year that all of these strange disappearances happened. Despite the perpetrator’s conviction, there are too many occurrences that do not sit straight, which catalyses the primary storyline of Bill and Claire, uncovering the dark truth behind it all. 

Little is known, and little is revealed until the very end, leaving the viewer sat in trepidation, stewing at the thought, and imagining a plethora of horrid scenarios; essentially, Cronin employs our dark imaginations and forces us to manifest horridness throughout the film. In keeping with this ‘thiller-ific’ psychological torture is how The Moor captures and presents its melodic meaning on screen. The cinematography takes advantage of the rural British countryside and all of its folkloric, haunting discourse to showcase not just visually captivating shots of foggy greenery and daunting skies but also intimate shots of the characters as their psyches are ripped apart and shattered by the horrors of The Moor. 

All of the carefully composed mayhem throughout would not be the same without the showstopping performances from the cast, particularly from the characters of Claire and Bill. They each embrace the cryptic tone of the film, carefully expressing immense emotions to pair perfectly with the big reveals. Their emotions are consistently raw and authentic, managing to not fall into the trap of being caricatures of grief.

Adjacent to the stellar staging is the film’s homegrown feel that amplifies the effective eerieness cultivated throughout British horror. The actual Moors residing in the north of England are home to a barrage of lore, with the lush, heathered Moors being at the centre of many ghost stories and legends. Cronin’s clever use of fabled trickery forces us, especially those familiar with the Moor landscape, to re-examine the depth and capabilities of those horrific tales that keep you up at night – does something unexplainable truly lurk amidst these strange disappearances…?


How The Moor bares its true bones is akin to a smouldering fire, delivering an impactful thwack of an exposition but then turning down the heat and letting it simmer and bloom until it reaches a scorchingly shocking end. This film is a gem that commands captivation and promises a visceral and uncanny journey into the great unknown.

We’ll be screening Chris Cronin’s incredible feature THE MOOR, which has wowed festival audiences worldwide since its debut at Frightfest in August. This is one of the final opportunities to experience its haunting beauty in cinemas, so don’t miss the chance to see one the best UK horror films of the past few years on the big screen.

Chris will also be attending to have an intimate Q&A with horror fans after the screening – GRAB YOUR TICKETS HERE

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Dead Northern Festival News and Reviews Events

Dead Northern 2024 – Early bird tickets available now!

The Dead Northern Horror and Fantasy Festival is coming back in 2024 – Expect a huge line up of new feature films, classic feature films, short films from some of the worlds best up and coming horror film makers, Q&A’s, live music, awards and our signature HORROR THEMED LIVE EVENTS.

Dead Northern is a Film Festival that pushes the boundaries and puts the FESTIVAL in the Film Festival! VIP Weekend Passes, day passes and individual screening tickets are available.

Details of the full line up released August 2024, limited VIP tickets available at a discount until 31 May 2024.

Grab your tickets here…

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Curiosity Corner Dead Northern Festival News and Reviews Events Reviews

The Ultimate Guide to Dead Northern Horror Film Festival 2023

Here’s your guide to every screening, event and dark delight at this years Dead Northern Horror and Fantasy Film Festival 2023!

Friday – 29th September

As you join the queue in to the city screen with your fellow horror lovers, check in at our front desk with Josh, Gareth and Dave and grab your festival pass.

Head through to the main lobby and pick up any provisions you need with Cath and the team at City Screen Picture house, and head up to Screen one for your first day of spooky screenings…

11:00am – Student Short Films

‘Swine’ – one of the brilliant short films you can see in this showcase
  • A King in Yellow -A brother attempts to bring his sister’s sense of hearing back by performing an occult ritual involving vinyl records.
  • …And Again, And Again – Opening right amidst the action, a knife wielding maniac pursues his terrified victim home. Bloodshed ensues, but things are far from what they appear to be…
  • Serpentine Petrol Product reel No.7 ”Skin Cream” – A snake oil salesman with the latest in beauty products: A skin cream that melts away your skin.
  • Swine – Witness the death of society as two powerful men, driven entirely by their greed, gorge themselves on pork and wine before revealing their true nature.
  • Ariane’s Baby – Ariane is a single and lonely woman who craves love after a history of abusive relationships. The birth of her child represents a chance to start everything anew and form her own happy family, but she worries about not being up to the task.
  • Morto Rossa – A dance school organizes a mysterious casting to select a dancer for a future show. Suzie, after passing the audition, will be chosen as the lucky one.
  • The Machine – Alexis is a college student in her early 20s. One night while gathering with her friends she takes interest in the pinball machine in the arcade room…
  • Lucid – Lucid follows a protagonist, Wes, who becomes obsessed with the concept of lucid dreaming and spirals into a chase for power in his sleep.
  • Yokai In My House – Miyako a girl in her 20’s inherits a house in Japan. Unbeknown to her it is haunted by the Mokumokuren. Will she survive the night or will she succumb to the same fate as her predecessor?

12:30pm – ISAAC (Feature film) -Sci-fi Horror – Northern Premier with Q&A

In the near future a company specialising in cellular meat trial its synthetic technology in a bid to create the perfect child. Nicholas and Sarah are guinea pigs to this trial and are provided with a seemingly healthy son, after losing their own child to a genetic disease. As their new son, Isaac, develops he becomes increasingly violent and dangerous, leaving the parents with no choice but to lock him away and keep him hidden while they try to uncover the truth as to what is driving him insane.

2:30pm – The Good Times (Mini Feature) – Post Apocalyptic Horror

Fantastic short feature film, made by brilliant local talent and filmed in and around York!

A young man lives alone in a dystopian future, trying to survive a post-apocalyptic world and his own conscience.

3:15pm – Free Spirits (Mini feature) – Horror Comedy

Image preview

One bashful vicar… One haunted nudist camp… Prepare to get the willies. In this paranormal comedy from the makers of 2018 festival-hit Paul Is Dead, BAFTA-nominee Spencer Jones leads a star cast (alongside veteran actors from ‘Hot Fuzz’, ‘Game Of Thrones’ & ‘Spaced’) as Rev Howard Lee Jr, a bashful local vicar who is called upon to save a haunted nudist camp from the prudish poltergeist covering their privates.

4:00pm – Folk Horror and Mystery Short Films

Kicking off our Folk Horror themed afternoon is a mixture of eerie short films…

‘Find You Here’ Folkloric Horror set at an abandoned scare attraction
  • Kiddo – On a rickety bus trundling through wilting countryside, a mysterious older woman named ‘Kiddo’ and a cohort of overexcited teenagers meander towards Wonderland, a theme park like no other. Sinister secrets await as Kiddo and her compatriots face off with their hosts and draw closer to discovering the truth of their journey.
  • Creulon – High in the mountains above the sleepy town of Creulon, a charismatic Radio DJ and a malicious Serial Killer share a sinister connection.
  • No Such thing – An obsessed alcoholic and his reluctant grandson search the Mourne Mountains for the fabled Banshee. Synopsis: Decades after his Father’s death, Paddy’s search for the mythical ‘Banshee’ is unwavering. Conor loved his grandfather’s stories when he was a child, but now an adult, he’s tired of the camping trips and the unhealthy obsessions. As the two set off into the mountains, their real struggle isn’t a ghost story, but their own decayed relationship.
  • The Wyrm of Bwlch Pen Barras – Early one winter morning in the rural town of Rhuthun in North Wales, three men are called upon once again to carry out a terrible assignment on the Bwlch Pen Barras mountain pass. Shot on 16mm by cinematographer Sean Price Williams (Good Time, Her Smell) and featuring a score by Cian Ciaran and Dafydd Ieuan from The Super Furry Animals, The Wyrm of Bwlch Pen Barras is a Welsh language folk horror film about modern Wales, rooted in the country’s rich mythology.
  • The Lure – Late at night, a lone fisherman discovers he is not the only one hoping to hook something.
  • Find You Here – Find You Here is a gnarly piece of folkloric horror about what happens when a toxic couple find themselves at an abandoned scare event built on evil land. Will they survive the night?
  • My Dreams Have Been Dark of Late – A knight finds himself at the mercy of his armour.

BREAK

A chance to come out of the darkness and find nourishment before the second half of day one…

6:00pm – Folk Horror Panel (Hosted by London Horror Society)

One of the chats talks from Dead Northern 2022

Chris and the team from LHS will be joining us all weekend and bringing some special guests from across the film industry for a good old chat about Friday afternoons theme ‘ FOLK HORROR’.

7:00pm – Sins of the Father (Feature Film) – UK Premiere – Folk Horror

After the death of his father, Aden and his mother, Sarah, find themselves responsible for the sale of his family home – a place they thought they’d left behind. When Sarah’s friends arrive to help, the task seems almost manageable. However, as they clear out the house, they uncover secrets in Sarah’s past and the sinister nature of the cultivated community Aden was raised in…. And his father’s family is not so eager to let the sins of the past go unpunished.

9:00pm – The Wicker Man (50th Anniversary Screening)

The Wicker Man at 50: how the strange 1970s British film became a cult classic

One of the original trilogy of British Folk Horror films that established the sub genre, join us in a celebration of the iconic film on a very special anniversary.

The plot centres on the visit of a police officer, Sergeant Neil Howie, to the isolated Scottish island of Summerisle in search of a missing girl. Howie, a devout Christian, is appalled to find that the inhabitants of the island have abandoned Christianity and now practise a form of Celtic paganism. The Wicker Man is well-regarded by critics. Film magazine Cinefantastique described it as “The Citizen Kane of horror movies”, and in 2004, Total Film magazine named The Wicker Man the sixth-greatest British film of all time. It also won the 1978 Saturn Award for Best Horror Film. The final scene was number 45 on Bravo’s 100 Scariest Movie Moments, and during the 2012 Summer Olympics opening ceremony, it was included as part of a sequence that celebrated British cinema. The film brought the wicker man into modern popular culture.

10.00pm – Till Late – Welcome Social with London Horror Society (Pitcher and Piano)

For those ready to party and meet some like minded horror folk, head just 30 seconds across the road to Pitcher and Piano where we welcome horror fans to the 2023 festival!

Whether you’re a seasoned horror aficionado or a curious newbie, at our indie horror mixer you’ll have the perfect opportunity to connect with friendly and talented people, and share your passion for all things spooky!
The mixer will run from 10:00pm till late, giving you plenty of time to grab a drink, mingle and make new friends in the horror community.


See you there!

Hosted with our friends from London Horror Society!

Saturday – 30th September

Freshly bleary eyed from day 1, we’ll be welcoming you back to the City Screen (Bloody Mary in Hand) for day 2 of the fest!

11:00am – Satanic & Spooky Short Films

Opening Saturdays is a fantastic group of short films celebrating everything ghostly and demonic!

‘The Unquiet Dead’ jump scares and amazing practical effects in this scary short film!
  • La Nueva – Maria is the new teacher who arrives at an old religious school. On her first day, she will have to teach a group of rebellious kids who are part of a punishment class. An unexpected event will turn the classroom into a real hell.
  • Death Date – Boy Meets Girl on the Day of His Death
  • Fuse – An electrician finds himself stalked by a ghostly presence as he attends a night call at an elderly woman’s house.
  • Sylvie Made it – In hell, the dead work in call centers under the illusion of earning a place in heaven by satisfying the living. This is not worth the money for some, except when their loved ones suddenly disappear for heaven…
  • The Unquiet Dead – A therapist treats an unstable young woman who claims to be harassed by an assortment of malevolent spirits – who are demanding something from her.
  • Ghost Insurance – Stressed about the supernatural? Paul is selling ghost insurance policies, but one family isn’t convinced.

12:30pm – Haunted Ulster Live (Feature film) – Norther Premiere with Q&A – Paranormal Mockumentary

On Halloween night 1998, TV veteran Gerry Burns, teams up with popular children’s presenter Michelle Kelly to investigate poltergeist activity in a haunted house in Belfast. A seance causes the broadcast to descend into chaos. When the youngest child is mysteriously abducted by an unseen force, the two presenters must face their greatest fears on live TV.

2:30pm – Creature & Body Horror Shorts

‘The Heritage’ sure to creepy an gross you out in equal measures
  • The Heritage – After growing up adopted, a man makes a gargantuan discovery when meeting his biological father.
  • Dead Skin – Disgruntled teenager Jess has an itch she just can’t scratch and she’s willing to do whatever it takes to be rid of it.
  • Wormies – In 1980s suburbia, a distant family is forced to come together when the Summer’s hottest new toy, a cute aquatic pet, mutates into a repulsive monster.
  • Dinghy – After barely making it ashore onto the English coastline, a refugee and the man who smuggled him seek safety after a treacherous channel crossing, both pursued by and summoned to a place of darkness.
  • Growing Horns – On the verge of adulthood, Alva is studying meat cutting at a butchering school. Alva is severely bullied and her fellow students turn her daily life into torment. To control at least one aspect of her life, Alva has stopped eating. As the bullying escalates and her hunger grows, Alva begins to lose control of herself and sees red.
  • Forever – Shani and Amar are two half-dead girls, being sex-trafficked with a high price tag. When the thugs transporting them head to get food, the pair are hungry too and escape. They dodge the men in the shadows, but with hunger and dawn rising something has to give.

4:00pm – Video Shop Tales of Terror (Feature film)- Northern Premiere – Anthology Horror

A sinister video shop holds the key to a collection of terrifying VHS related tales, told by a collective of the best UK indie horror filmmakers including MJ Dixon (Pandamonium), Michael Fausti (Exit), Andrew Elias (The Numbers), Tom Lee Rutter (Day of the Stranger), Sam Mason Bell (The Millenial Killer) & Alexander Churchyard (The Allotment). With fake trailers from Tony Mardon & Geoff Harmer.

Horror legends Dani Thompson (My Bloody Banjo), Laurence R. Harvey (The Human Centipede II) join the cast, along with Martin W Payne (Monstrous Disunion), Hannah Paterson (Horrorscopes: Vol 1), Ayvianna Snow (Vampire Virus), Annabella Rich (Hacker), Chris Mills (Terror at Black Tree Forest), Cy Henty (Cleaver: Rise of the Killer Clown), Eve Oliver (Mask of Thorn), Charlie Bond (Powertool Cheerleaders vs The Boyband of the Screeching Dead), James Hamer-Morton (Dead Air) & Glyn Angell (Tales From the Great War).

BREAK

Saturday is all about pacing yourself so have a wonder around our Bizarre Bazaar marketplace in the City Screen basement and refresh your eyes for some unmissable evening events!

7.30pm- Spirits with Spirits (Live event) Sponsored by Sinners Gin

Dead Northern horror & fantasy events, entertainment news, fashion and lifestyle brand | Dead Northern

Back by popular demand Dead Northern’s resident ghost whisperer Paul Forster will be sharing some of York’s dark secrets and spooky stories and invite the audience to tell some of their own.

Partnered with a campfire cocktail courtesy of our sponsor Sinners Gin, who will have mixologists creating you delicious drinks throughout the spooky event.

9:00pm – How to Kill Monsters – Northern Premiere with Q&A (Feature film)

Our first ever fully sold out feature at the festival, and a brilliant gore fest to round of the second day of screenings!

The sole survivor of a blood-drenched massacre must team up with a rag-tag bunch of rookie cops and lawbreakers to fight off an invasion of monsters from another dimension. With a menagerie of monsters realised entirely with practical effects and buckets of fake blood and guts thrown in for good measure, HOW TO KILL MONSTERS will scratch the itch of horror fans craving a throwback popcorn horror movie that delivers thrills, kills and laughs in equal measure.

11:00pm – Awards party

No photo description available.

Fresh out of the sold out screening and Q&A, VIPs and filmmakers will head down into the main lobby to celebrate all the amazing creators at this years festival for one hell of a party!

Awards, live music and lots of new horror pals made, you’ll stumble home after (just about) surviving day two of Dead Northern 2023.

Sunday – 1st October

For festival goers looking to recover from Saturday night or just fuel up, there will be some amazing brunch available to keep you going for the final day!

11:00am – Thriller Short Films

‘Shut’ a spine tingling short film screening as part of the thriller shorts

Suspense filled thrillers kick of our final day, and are sure to keep you on the edge of your seat!

  • Caterpillar – Luke’s world is rocked when a stranger shows up claiming to be his partner. Luke descents into madness as he struggles to get the bottom of who the imposter is while also experiencing his own terrifying metamorphosis.
  • Shut – When Jonas visits his father after a long time, he’s shocked to find him in a confused state. Has his father’s mental state badly deteriorated or is something more sinister going on?
  • Morgue – Working the late shift at an old city morgue, the night porter passes the time playing pranks on the corpses. His usual party tricks come to an horrific end when after a delivery of eight new bodies earlier in the day, they vanish in the middle of a power cut…
  • Illusion – A delicious dinner, a stage, a magic show – what can go wrong? When Lisa accompanies the nice magician home after the show, she has to learn that some tricks are better not to be questioned.
  • The Family Man – Roger is the perfect Family man, but he keeps secrets , secrets that must be buried deep.

12:45pm – Dead Talks (Live Event)

Way back when we first started Dead Northern in 2020 we wanted to bring our own live horror podcast to the event, finally 4 years later we pilot ‘Dead Talks’.

Talks from industry professionals on spooky subjects, all will be revealed when you take your seat…

1:30pm – Dead on the Vine (Feature film) – Northern premiere with Q&A – Thriller

As two men leave a small rural town one of them has a seizure forcing the other to pull into the nearest place – A vineyard. The women owners are deep into prep for a make or break wine tasting but the men are welcomed in. But after recovering from his seizure one man throws a violent spanner into the works, leaving his friend and the women with choices that may destroy not only their business but themselves.

3:30pm – It be an Evil Moon (Feature film) – UK Premiere with Q&A – Werewolf horror

Brilliantly endearing feature from first time director Ben Etchells.

Set in the highlands of Scotland and Northern England, a disgraced scientist develops a hair growth formula derived from pickled wolfsbane which turns him into a bloodthirsty werewolf.

5:30pm – Music Videos

Fantastically disturbing ‘Flesh’ one of many brilliant northern submissions this year
  • Crooks Heart of Vengance – The story of a scientist inventing the key to eternal life. A couple of thugs steal his invention and leave him and his daughter for dead. In order to come back to life he sells his soul to the devil. Armed only with a heart of vengeance, and an Axe, he hunts down the crooks one by one. . . . They picked the wrong man to kill!!
  • Hoodie On – The fantasies of a serial killer. A car driver going fast on the highway. A murder has been committed.
  • Old Flames – A haunting portrayal of a recovering addict learning to live with her demons.
  • Subvisions – Flesh – Joshua is walking his dog into a dark tunnel and is attacked by a gang of carnivorous old people. They want his flesh.
  • The Windstorm
  • Candlestick Maker – Alien Chicks

BREAK

Almost reaching the end of Dead Northern 2023 and your final chance to enjoy the fantastic venue and city we call home for the weekend. Grab yourself some scran and then settle in for a brilliant final double feature!

7:00pm – Perfectly Good Moment (Feature film) – UK Premiere – Sci-fi Thriller

This psychosexual thriller asks the question: what happens when the things that make your relationship passionate and exciting are the same things that make it toxic? Ruby and David have been together on-and-off for 8 years, since she was 19 and he 34. Six months after Ruby last ran out on him, she has returned. Once the initial bliss of the reunion wears off, old toxic patterns re-emerge. Is David too demanding and controlling or is Ruby just too sensitive? Is Ruby as delicate and demure as she appears to be…or is there something more sinister behind the surface? Why did Ruby really come back? Perfectly Good Moment is Lauren Greenhall’s narrative directorial debut. It features Broadway star Stephen Carlile in his cinematic debut and Amanda Jane Stern (1 Angry Black Man, Lifetime’s Amish Witches). It marks Stern’s first feature screenwriting credit, and boasts an original score by Mdou Moctar’s Mikey Coltun.

8:30pm – Puzzle Box (Feature film) – UK Premiere – Found Footage Horror

Puzzle Box follows the story of a struggling drug addict, Kait (Boyé), and her younger sister, Olivia (Denne). Running from a violent incident in her past and not wanting to go back to rehab, Kait flees to a remote house in the woods to self-rehabilitate, where Olivia joins her to document the process. But they quickly find that the house isn’t what it seems and the internal layout is constantly changing, trapping them inside an inescapable puzzle box of a house. As they attempt to solve the mystery and find a way out, they discover there are far worse things in this house to be afraid of.

We hope you brought a spare pair of trousers… DN Alumni Jack Dignan returns with a punchy found footage horror leaving you terrified just before we send you back home on Sunday night!

Check out the full festival programme and get your tickets here!!