Big screams need a big cinema screen, and where else is bigger than the former IMAX in the Aquarium? Forbidden Worlds Film Festival will be taking over the gigantic screen this Halloween. The horror film festival will showcase some truly frightening films.
The three-day horror-themed film festival, from October 28 to 30, will feature a mixture of Halloween classics and bizarre curios. The programme will feature well-known and celebrated titles including Sam Raimi’s gonzo horror-comedy Evil Dead II, which is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year; the original 1978 Halloween from the legendary John Carpenter; and cult favourite Fright Night from 1985.
Horror fans will also be able to see some lesser known horrors including Boris Karloff and Elsa Lanchester in Bride of Frankenstein; Vincent Price in The Tingler, the unclassifiable Shaw Brothers insanity of The Boxer’s Omen in a brand-new restoration; martial arts star Sonny Chiba as a lycanthrope detective in the Japanese actioner Wolf Guy; and golden age slasher The Slumber Party Massacre.
“I am really excited that we’ve been given this opportunity to use the former Bristol IMAX again for a horror-themed festival for Halloween weekend,” said Tessa Williams of the festival programming team. “Horror is one of my favourite genres and we’ve programmed some absolute classics that aren’t often seen on the big screen. You especially won’t want to miss the original Halloween, which I believe is the greatest horror film of all time.”
This will be the Forbidden Worlds Film Festival’s second event, following their inaugural festival in May. Over 1,100 admissions attended, celebrating 40 years of the local video shop 20th Century Flicks with a series of films from 1982. The horror film festival is encouraging anyone wanting to double down on the spooky season to dress up. There may even be prizes for the best costume.
Bristol IMAX opened in 2000, before closing in 2007. Bristol Science Centre now uses the cinema as an auditorium. It still occasionally screens films for special occasions, however. These screenings will not fill the full size of the former Bristol IMAX screen, however. But the projected image size will still be very large. Weekend and day passes are available now.