Popcorn Frights Returns with a Vengeance for its Biggest Year on August 12-18, 2016
MIAMI, FL – Popcorn Frights Film Festival, Florida’s leading international genre film festival, celebrates its second year in Miami this August 12-18, 2016, presenting a record 16 features and 17 short film premieres at the landmark O Cinema Wynwood theater.
“We’re thrilled our Popcorn Frights Film Festival returns with a vengeance for its second year to bring the best and finest in international fear to the dark heart of Miami. Bigger, bolder, bloodier, our program embraces everything outstanding about the horror genre as it aims to excite and unforgettably frighten audiences,” said Festival Co-Founders and Co-Directors, Igor Shteyrenberg and Marc Ferman.
“Since the beginning of cinema as an art form, filmmakers have made films that frighten and terrify their audience proving that the suspense of a good scare can be as enjoyable and cathartic a cinematic experience as a laugh or a cry. O Cinema is delighted to be partnering with Popcorn Frights Film Festival to bring the best in horror and genre filmmaking to South Florida audiences,” stated Kareem Tabsch, Co-Director of O Cinema.
The line-up for the second annual Popcorn Frights Film Festival serves up a fearsome feast with the monstrous, the macabre, and the must-see. Opening Night features a spine-tingling double-bill presenting the Florida Premieres of the critically-acclaimed films Fear, Inc., and The Blackcoat’s Daughter, starring Kiernan Shipka (“Mad Men”), Emma Roberts (“American Horror Story”), and original music composed by the legendary Elvis Perkins.
Other buzzy titles in the lineup include Evolution, an astonishingly beautiful and mesmerizing blend of body horror and surreal fantasy, the genre-bending shocker I Am Not a Serial Killer starring Max Records (Where the Wild Things Are) and Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future, Piranha 3D) in a tour de force performance, the nightmare fueled Antibirth that features dynamite acting from Natasha Lyonne (“Orange Is the New Black”) and Chloe Sevigny (Boys Don’t Cry), Under the Shadow, a tense and atmospheric thriller set in a haunted Tehran apartment during the terrifying final days of the Iran-Iraq War, and the East Coast Premiere of Abattoir, Darren Lynn Bousman’s (Saw II) unsettling new nightmare centered on a mysterious haunted house.
Encompassing the ever-burgeoning independent arena, this year’s increased number of films straddle the arthouse and grindhouse, including The Mind’s Eye, a mainline shot of hyper-violent-telekinetic-carnage reminiscent of David Cronenberg’s Scanners, the East Coast Premieres of Beyond the Gate starring the Frist Lady of Fright Films, Barbara Crampton (Re-Animator, From Beyond), and the audaciously twisted and shocking Pet featuring a remarkably dark turn by Dominic Monaghan (The Lord of the Rings), and Mickey Keating’s (Darling) latest descent into insanity, Carnage Park, that braids crime caper and survival story into one demented thrill ride.
Rounding out the program is the US Premiere of the gripping found footage thriller Man Vs, the North American Premiere of the supernatural horror thriller The Devil’s Doll, the action-packed post-apocalyptic vampire tale Daylight’s End, the visually stunning homage to the famed Italian Giallo genre, Francesca, and the retro throwback to classic 80s VHS horror flicks, The Barn.
Popcorn Frights prides itself on providing a fertile ground for new and exciting filmmaking talent, and this year will present 17 extraordinary short films, including SXSW award-winners Manoman and Night Stalker, as well as The Puppet Man starring John Carpenter, and Portal to Hell, which features one of Roddy “Rowdy” Piper’s (They Live) final performances.
TICKET SALES:
Festival Premiere Badges are on sale for a limited time for $120 per person and $180 for couples, and single screening tickets are available for $12. To purchase badges or tickets and view the Festival schedule, visit www.popcornfrights.com
LOCATION:
All films will screen at the O Cinema Wynwood (90 NW 29th Street, Miami, FL 33127).
MORE INFORMATION:
Follow the Popcorn Frights Film Festival on Facebook as Popcorn Frights or on Twitter (@popcornfrights) for the latest information. Join the conversation using the hashtag #popcornfrights on social media.
NOTE FROM BILLY CRASH:
The above is a press release from Popcorn Frights Film Festival, which is the brainchild behind the phenomenal Promote Horror website. As Jonny Numb and I often say on THE LAST KNOCK podcast, no one promotes horror like they do. Whether film, novels, art, or comic books, Promote Horror has every avenue covered in every medium, and they are always ahead of that bloody curved blade – so to speak. Definitely visit their site. As for their second venture into Popcorn Frights Film Festival, there’s no doubt they know exactly what they’re doing, especially since it’s South Florida’s first and only horror film festival. If you can, visit the venue and get a first shot at seeing some amazing horror films, and if you’re looking to promote your own horror material, there’s no better way than becoming a sponsor of the festival. Check out the Popcorn Frights Film Festival site for more information. Many thanks to Promote Horror for all of their generous support of Crash Palace Productions and THE LAST KNOCK over the years. I am beyond grateful, and wish Promote Horror, Popcorn Frights Film Festival, and O Cinema, continued success.