The opening and closing films for Arrow Video FrightFest 2019, the festival’s 20th anniversary, have been announced.
Proceedings will open with the UK premiere of Ant Timpson’s edgy Come to Daddy starring Elijah Wood, Stephen McHattie, Martin Donovan and Michael Smiley.
Written by The Greasy Strangler co-writer Toby Harvard (based on an idea by Timpson), Elijah Wood puts in a career best performance as thirty-something Norval, who receives an out-of-the-blue invitation to visit his perpetually uncaring dad, As his fatherās growing animosity towards him reaches a dark fever pitch. this hilarious, inventively gross, core-shocking adventure moves smartly towards its uncompromising and unexpected finale.
The festival will close with the World Premiere of Abner Pastollās A Good Woman is Hard to Find starring Sarah Bolger. The superbly crafted Belfast-based crime story sees Bolger playing a recently widowed mother of two desperate to know who murdered her husband in front of their young son, rendering him mute. Coerced into helping low-life drug-dealer Tito (Andrew Simpson from Road Games) stash narcotics stolen from the local Mr. Big, sheās forced into taking drastic action to protect her children while learning the awful truth about her spouse.
Co-director Alan Jones commented: āFrightFestās 20th year celebration year is all about honouring our past while looking towards an exciting future for the genre. Our opening attraction marks the debut feature of someone we have grown up with; producer Ant Timpson, who has consistently provided top notch fantasy fare throughout our formative two decades. Our world premiere closer is Abner Pastollās dark and dazzling thriller āA Good Woman Is Hard To Findā. Pastoll impressed with his previous FrightFest entry āRoad Games/ and is now set to expand his mainstream appeal big time. Past friends, present family and future frights ā thatās FrightFest 2019.ā
Arrow Video FrightFest, the UKās biggest genre film festival, runs from Thursday 22nd August to Monday 26th August at the Empire Cinema, Leicester Square and the Prince Charles Cinema.
The full line up will be announced on Thursday 4th July. Festival & day passes go on sale from Saturday 6th July. Tickets for individual films are on sale from Saturday 20th July.
For more information and tickets head over to www.frightfest.co.uk.