IN DREAMS ARE MONSTERS regionally and nationally explores how these monstrous bodies have been represented on screen over the last hundred years and how they have been reclaimed by new voices in horror filmmaking. IN DREAMS ARE MONSTERS is supported by National Lottery, BFI Film Audience Network and the ICO. The BFI’s annual blockbuster returns in full force on big screens across the UK following hugely successful previous blockbusters including JAPAN in 2021.

• Bristol Black Horror Club will be celebrating Blaxploitation horror by presenting a day of activity dedicated to the genre. The highlight will be a special 50th anniversary screening of Blacula, the first studio-made horror film by a Black director, and the first time a Black vampire had appeared onscreen. The film will be followed by a live panel discussion including the director himself, William Crain, making his first ever UK appearance.   

• Encounters Film Festival (Bristol) will curate a touring programme of contemporary, international shorts from their archive to explore the politicised body theme and how horror can give a voice to marginalised communities. Launching during the festival in Bristol, each film will be accompanied by a filmmaker Q&A with Encounters Head of Programme, Ren Scateni, who will also produce a thought piece on the collection.
  • Keep an eye on the website for details 

• Curzon (Clevedon) will be hosting an immersive screening of John Carpenter’s The Fog (1980) in the historic 110 year old cinema. Projection mapping techniques will allow the film to expand from the screen and into the audience’s space with ghostly projections and haze and fog machines. A digital radio station will run live in the build up, and Bristol’s DJ Cheeba will also produce a thematic DJ set after the event.
  • Mark your calendars for Fri 4 Nov. Keep an eye on the website for details. 

• Watershed’s (Bristol) Home is Where the Horror Is will be an immersive all-nighter event, produced in partnership with Bristol Black Horror Club. The inherently experiential nature of the genre will be emphasised through incorporating a live, immersive experience, developed in partnership with immersive horror studio Stormjar. Titles will include: Demons (Lamberto Bava, 1985) and Land of the Dead (George A. Romero, 2005) , Tales from the Hood (Rusty Cundieff, 1995) and more.
  • Join the all-nighter on Sat 10 Dec. Keep an eye on the website for details. 

• Exeter is infamous as the last place in England where women were hung as witches. Multi-artform venue Exeter Phoenix will draw on this dark history through a series of features, short films, immersive walks, live scores and zines, to explore the themes that have influenced Folk Horror through the ages. Events include an immersive short film screening at the site of Exeter Castle and a live score screening of Häxan (Benjamin Christensen, 1922).
  • Four events will be delivered over October and December. Keep an eye on the website for details. 

• Visit The Roses creepy Cabin in the Woods (Drew Goddard, 2011) installation in Tewksbury before an immersive screening of the modern horror classic. The venue will shape an experience of spine-tingling ambience for audiences in Glouste. Alongside this, screnings include The Craft (Andrew Fleming, 1996) and celebrate ParaNorman‘s 10th Anniversary (Chris Butler, Sam Fell, 2010).
  • Cabin in the Woods is screening from Tue 25 Oct. Tickets coming soon to the website.

• Forbidden Worlds Film Festival returns with a three-day horror-themed film festival at the former Bristol IMAX with a selection of cult and classic horror. The programme will feature a 35th anniversary screening of Sam Raim’s Evil Dead II, John Carpenter’s original 1978 masterpiece Halloween and cult favourite Fright Night (Tom Holland, 1985), as well a Universal Horror classic, Shaw Brothers insanity, and much more!
  • The festival will be held from Fri 28 to Sun 30 Oct. Keep an eye on the Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for details. 

• South West Silents is marking the 100th anniversary of  F W Murnau’s Nosferatu (1922) with a screening of the fully restored version, the way the incredible film is meant to be shown: on the big screen with live musical accompaniment. This special event also features an introduction and Q&A by author and film historian Sir Christopher Frayling There will be a BSL signer at this event on Mon 21 Nov.
  • Book tickets via St George’s now.  

• Plymouth Arts Cinema lies in a city located on the very edge of Dartmoor which has a rich tradition of folkloric tales of witchcraft and myth. The Season of the Witch takes a look at how horror cinema has become modern-world folklore to explore how witches have evolved on screen and how the dynamics of that kind of power reflect changing ideas around feminism, fear of the countryside and the use of ‘magic’.
  • Screenings, talks and workshops which centre on the archetype of the Witch take place across October and November – keep an eye on the website for details. 

• Taking a programme on UK tour, Independent film exhibitor and award-winning subtitler Matchbox Cine will bring renowned film writer, film programmer, producer and director Kier-La Janisse for a screening and Q&A tour. The tour will coincide with the publication of the new, updated edition of her seminal book House of Psychotic Women. Each event will be delivered in partnership with local genre festivals; Dead by Dawn, Grimmfest, Mayhem Film Festival, Celluloid Screams and Abertoir Film Festival. The London’s event will be partnered with The Final Girls at BFI Southbank.
  • Keep an eye on the Website for details

• Film Noir UK are presenting two special double bills highly the work and influences of Val Lewton (1904-1951). Remembered chiefly for the magnificent series of low budget film: subtle psychological studies which blurred the lines between the characteristic of both horror and film noir.

  • Two special curated double bills showcases the best of Val Lewton’s work during and after his period at RKO: find tickets here.

    Sat 19 Nov: Cat People (1942) and The Seventh Victim (1943)

    Sat 3 Dec: The Curse of the Cat People (1944) and The Spiral Staircase (1946)

     

See indreamsaremonsters.co.uk for full UK-wide listings 

Introducing the programme, BFI Executive Director of Public Programmes & Audiences, Jason Wood: 

“Monsters have always been a part of us – in the stories we tell ourselves, our collective imagination, and our shared nightmares. Radical ideas, innovative stylistic choices, considered and impassioned social commentary have been the foundations of horror filmmaking throughout film history. This is a genre which has given voice to the unheard, a platform to the ignored and provided community to those excluded from the mainstream. Horror is the genre of our times; it speaks both to and for everyone.”

Programmer Michael Blyth:

 “Over the last two years, fear has been what’s united us. The pandemic has upended our relationship with our bodies, our idea of home and social interactions. Alongside social discontent and instability, over the last decade we have seen horror increasingly embraced by audiences and critics alike.”

Programmer Kelli Weston:

“IN DREAMS ARE MONSTERS will focus on the mythological, otherworldly and supernatural, charting how horror imagery became the folklore of the 20th century and look at how on-screen monsters have been used to reflect the world around us.”

Programmer Anna Bogutskaya:

“Watching a horror film, at its best, is a full-body experience, affecting you physically and emotionally. We wanted to include films of different tones and flavours so anyone could find the flavour of horror that will scare them the most.”