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 two-day horror-themed film festival, from October 13 to 14, will feature a selection of retro ‘popcorn horrors’. Many of these films found their audiences on VHS and DVD, so now is a unique opportunity for horror fans to see them on the biggest screen in the South West. Promising a demon car, a killer tree, giant bugs, plenty of spiders, and alien invaders, this year’s Big Scream has something for everyone!
Expect to see B-movie homage Night of the Creeps; Guillermo del Toro’s sci-fi monster movie Mimic; a 40th-anniversary screening of John Carpenter’s Stephen King adaptation Christine; Amblin’s ‘family friendly’ spider-fest Arachnophobia; body-snatching actioner The Hidden; and the late William Friedkin’s unfairly maligned killer-tree spectacular The Guardian.
Co-programmer Anthony Nield says of the line-up, “We wanted to keep things punchy for this year’s Big Scream, and so we settled on two nights of triple-whammy horror thrills. All of the films were made to be screened to the biggest crowds on the biggest screens, though many have only seen them at home on their televisions, and we are more than happy to oblige.”
Launched in May 2022, Forbidden Worlds Film Festival is Bristol’s first genre film festival dedicated to screening repertory fantasy, action, science-fiction and horror films from around the world. Over 1,100 admissions attended the inaugural festival, which celebrated local video shop 20th Century Flicks.
“It’s a fortuitous and spooky sign that this year the festival starts on Friday the 13th,” says festival director Ti Singh. “While we won’t be showing any films from the Vorhees-starring franchise, we have a great selection of horror films from supernatural vehicles, to alien monsters to killer tree demons!”
As always, New Bristol Brewery will be bringing a unique selection of beers including The Forbidden Sesh – their Forbidden Worlds Festival-branded IPA – for punters to enjoy, while Espensen Spirits will be providing a range of exciting horror-themed cocktails. 404 Bakes will also be providing a range of gourmet hot dogs to enjoy during the movies.
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. However, the projected image size will still be very large. Weekend and day passes are available now.