Horror film festival set for Hen & Chickens
Jo Mousley (centre) in Polterheist, which will run at the Unrestricted View film festival on November 2. Image: Unrestricted View - Credit: Archant
It’s the season to get spooky, and an independent film festival celebrating the best of the horror genre is about to launch in Islington.
A still from Scarlet Vultures, a short film directed by Kyle Martellacci which will play on October 30. Image: Unrestricted View - Credit: Archant
Unrestricted View begins on October 29 at the Hen & Chickens Theatre, ushering in seven days of spine-tingling, blood-curdling cinema which will span everything from horror features to shorts and web stories.
The festival was first set up in 2016 to give emerging filmmakers a chance to display their talents.This year’s Unrestricted View is curated by James Wren, artistic director at the theatre on St Paul’s Road.
“Each year the festival has got a bit bigger, with more and more filmmakers submitting their work and taking part. The aim is to expand to other venues next year while very much keeping our independent roots and feel.”
The festival begins a week on Monday with a screening of Killers Within, a 100-minute, fight-for-survival story submitted by Irish directors Paul Bushe and Brian O’Neill.
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Eight Little Terror sessions will be a feature of the festival, with each one made up of a collection of short films packed in to 90-minute screenings.
Halloween is something of a warm-up for Unrestricted View as they press play on Book of Monsters – a film about an 18th birthday which descends into a bloodbath – with four more nights of horror to come thereafter.
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Thursday’s offering sees a Whose Death is it Anyway? live show – a title that suggests a comical aspect to the festival. I ask Wren if that’s the case.
“Yes! We have two live shows at this year’s festival – the first is Fright Club on October 30.
“Whose Death is it Anyway is an improv show where the audience gets to decide who lives and who dies.”
With a wide variety of filmmakers’ work on show, Unrestricted View has become an important resource for those working in the horror genre.
“Festivals like this are vital for up-and-coming talent,” adds Wren.
“Without the funds and experience there is little or no chance of these filmmakers getting in to the big festivals. These festivals are where their contacts are made and their talents are grown.”
Tickets for each screening cost £8, with filmmakers and audience members able to gather in the pub below to share their views after the screenings.
Unrestricted View Film Festival runs between October 29 and November 4 at the Hen & Chickens Theatre. For more details and tickets, click here.
