How to Horrorthon: Darcie Faccio talks us through the IFI Festival

We’re living in the Golden Age of Irish Horror and we’re dead excited about it. Throughout October we’re celebrating Samhain with interviews, reviews and retrospectives, that show how Ireland has risen to the top of the horror hierarchy.

Film festival programmes tend to be tied to a locale, especially in Ireland. Our calendar celebrates the films of the French, the best and latest of Japan, Poland, East Asia. Embassies get involved in sharing their nation’s cinema, while across the island local festivals proudly share the best of filmmakers starting from their area outwards.

Horror though lives in the hearts of film fans of all areas, and film festivals like the IFI Horrorthon provide a lightening rod for lovers of the genre. From October 24-28, the 2024 Horrorthon will offer an exciting range of scares in cinema. If you want to know where to begin booking your tickets, we’ve got the view from the inside. Guiding us through some festival highlights, Programmer Darcie Faccio told Film In Dublin about the aims for this year’s edition:

IFI Horrorthon has been bringing horror to Dublin audiences now for over 25 years, an
enduring legacy. In 2024 we wanted to celebrate that legacy with a blend of past & present for seasoned Horrorthoners while introducing the fest to first-time audiences and newcomers. Part of this is the introduction of a new strand honouring key subgenres, hoping to give fans both longtime and new a chance to see some landmark films on the big screen.

One of the first announcements for this year’s festival was a strand for J Horror In Focus. Suspenseful, strange and psychological, Japanese horror is some of the best in the world, and the IFI Horrorthon will offer four classics of the genre this year.

This year we are exploring a fave of the Horrorthon team – J-Horror, with a selection of 4 titans of the genre – Ringu, Pulse, Cure & Noroi: The Curse. There are interesting parallels between Japanese and Irish horror, both having deep roots in folklore and the oral storytelling tradition. Interestingly enough, an Irish folklorist Lafcadio Hearn compiled a selection of Yōkai as early as 1904 in his book Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things.

J-Horror is a favourite of mine because of how it excels in depicting everyday scenarios slowly unravelling into nightmares, bridging the gap between reality and the supernatural. It latches on to a sense of dread that is both culturally specific and universal. The themes of isolation, the struggle for human connection in the digital age and the unknowable nature of evil in Kurosawa’s Pulse and Cure are as relevant to 2024 audiences as they were when they were first released for example.

This selection has already proven to be really popular with Horrorthon audiences with tickets for Noroi already selling out and the rest likely to do so. Thrilled to see these films get the love they deserve!

The infectious energy of horror fanatics, the state of delirium from late night cinema viewing and the madness of the movie’s subject matter, Midnight Movies are a highlight of any festival. The Horrorthon will present a series of scary pairings, with double bills featuring cults and curses, zombie infestations and exorcisms, vengeful widows, prowling plumbers and more.

The late-night double feature is always a fan fave of the fest. I’m personally excited to see two of the more rarely screened films on our line-up – Messiah of Evil, an unsung and truly unique gem of gothic filmmaking with visually haunting cinematography that calls out to be seen on the big screen. That’s back-to-back with The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue, an Italian cult classic zombie splatter fest of the video nasties era with effects by frequent Lucio Fulci collaborator Gianetto De Rossi. Running at the same time we also have the comedic creature feature Scared Shitless doubling up with Mermaid Legend, an 80s horror that continues our J Horror theme. Our third double bill is Argentinian exorcism horror Deus Irae and Traumatika, shot with an innovative multiple first-person POV. Regardless of what audiences choose, they are in for a treat and all the usual fun that comes with the infamous Horrorthon late nights.

As always we have a carefully curated selection of some of the best new horror films on offer. Opening film Test Screening, a must for those desperate for another fix of Brian Yuzna style body horror after The Substance. SXSW festl fave Dead Mail is unique and bizarre with an incredible score and stand-out performance from character actor John Fleck and Párvulos, a shocking and dystopian coming of age which guarantees to be amazing with a crowd!

This year the festival is pairing with some fellow horror fans. Cult horror cultivators Slaughterhouse Dublin and Dublin club night made by and for gay girls (and friends) Honey Pot Club are part of the programme, which also shares blood this year with the annual Bram Stoker Festival. And some of the biggest names in Irish horror will be sharing their expertise.

We’re trying something new this year – bringing event cinema to Horrorthon in collaboration with Slaughterhouse Film Club and the Bram Stoker Festival. A trio of immersive experiences including Seanchoiche bringing us a Horror themed storytelling event, Pet Semetary anniversary screening and horror director masterclass with Kate Dolan and Lee Cronin (which is now sold out) Following these events everyone will convene in the IFI foyer for an afterparty with a scoring of 1922 film Häxan by HoneyPot Djs.

With these four events, the Slaughterhouse are going all out for their own biggest event ever as they take over the IFI. Tickets for events across the Horrorthon are going fast, but with Darcie’s recs fresh on your mind, you can book your bits now at https://ifi.ie/horrorthon/.

About Luke Dunne

Luke is a writer, film addict and Dublin native who loves how much there is for film fans in his home county. In 2016 he founded Film In Dublin to share everything that's happening in the fair city of film and beyond.

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