Horror on Sea film festival returns to Southend following two year covid hiatus – Echo

MORE than 100 horror films will be packed into one blood curdling weekend when the much loved annual Horror-on-Sea Festival returns to Southend in the new year.

Yes folks, the UKs largest independent horror film festival will run across two weekends and follows a two year hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Opening on Friday January 14 the festival runs through Saturday 15 and Sunday 16, and then again from Friday 21 to Sunday 23 January 2022.

It promises more than 36 feature films, 70 short movies and provides a showcase for 10 world premieres.

The festivals director and creator, Paul Cotgrove from The White Bus cinema, has once again hand-picked a programme of the very best and indeed some of the worst new films spanning the horror genre from zombies, vampires and monsters, to cursed demonic clowns, serial killers and a very, very bad Santa.

Paul said: Since we started Horror-on-Sea ten years ago, the festival has built up to become a major event within this area of the movie industry. So much so, that I now receive submissions from film makers and producers from around the world, meaning that we can easily screen up to 17 films each day, which equates to over 12 hours of slicing, dicing, drilling, killing and general murderous mayhem from ten in the morning to gone ten at night!

As befits its reputation as an international showcase for young writers, directors and producers, this years programme will give an audience to films from the UK, Canada, Brazil, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Russia, Finland, Ukraine, India, Ireland, and of course, the USA.

There are also a number of films made right here in Essex All Dressed in White, The Allotment, Black Death, Dont Open the Box, Off the Hook, See What She Did, Helium Mary, Sausages, All Consumed and Locked.

As always, there is a chance for burgeoning film makers to learn from one of the masters of horror and local legend, Pat Higgins.

Higgins will relate how a Twitter exchange about a ridiculous title got out of control when a tongue-in-cheek tweet went to 'go' project in the space of an afternoon. You can join Pat as he reminisces about the making of his new gore-soaked project and once again demonstrates why he is renowned as one of the wildest indie horror directors in the country.

Once again, the festival will be hosted by Southends Park Inn by Radisson Palace hotel and is supported by visitsouthend.co.uk.

Tickets are on sale now from 7 per film, from 32 for a day pass and, for serious fans, a Mega Festival Pass - that gets you into everything at 130 for the entire festival.

For a full list of all the films, the festival schedule and pre-ordering tickets and passes stalk over to http://www.horror-on-sea.com or call the festival hotline on 07754 391 163. Please note that all films are strictly Certificate 18.

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Horror on Sea film festival returns to Southend following two year covid hiatus - Echo