Festival Review: Forbidden Worlds Film Festival, The Big Scream
On the 11th – 12th October, I went back to Bristol’s IMAX cinema for Forbidden Worlds annual spooky version of their festival, The Big Scream! The theme this time around? Stranger Danger!
Showing on the enormous 19 metre x 15 metre screen, the festival included films such as I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997), The Hitcher (1986) and When a Stranger Calls (1979), as well as an array of amazing horror short films.
It was amazing to be back in the IMAX, now aptly renamed as the Bristol Megascreen, on behalf of City Girl Network and getting to share in such a successful event that really encourages originality, spectacle and fun.
City Girl Rating: ★★★★★
Location: Bristol Aquarium, Anchor Rd, Bristol BS1 5TT
Ticketing Options: Weekend passes, day passes, and individual screenings.
Average Price: Starting from £5.00 for individual screenings, with day and weekend passes available as well. Prices vary depending on the length of the festival and expected popularity of the films.
Bonus points: The festival always has some local vendors including Bristol Brewery who brew themed beers and ales for the festival and Jim’ll Paint It is usually in attendance selling themed t-shirts and posters. This year also featured a stall from The Haunted Bookshop, a new spooky venue in Stokes Croft for all your witchy and horror needs!
Perfect for: Film lovers, self-proclaimed nerds and those who are seeking new experiences.
The Festivities
The theme for this Forbidden Worlds Film Festival was ‘Stranger Danger’, the tagline ‘Don’t answer the phone! Don’t stop your car! Don’t open the door!’. If you’ve seen Scream, basically don’t do what Drew Barrymore did.
The festival included films six feature length films, each proceeded by a horror short, five of which were created by Bristol-based or Bristol-born filmmakers. While the festival was a little shorter this time around, I have to say that the film selection was top tier!
The Details
The festival itself always has a pretty easy-to-follow process for enjoying yourself. The website is incredibly informative with a list of all the films on offer and the dates and times they will be shown, an extensive FAQ section, and buying tickets is very simple.
Forbidden Worlds Film Festival happens twice a year, once with more general films set around a specific theme and then another around Halloween (The Big Scream) which has a more spooky vibe. It is definitely a film festival for adults. They do sometimes show some family friendly films earlier in the day, but more often than not, the films being shown have adult themes, lots of action, gory practical effects and…swearing! Gasp!
Once you arrive at the Bristol Megascreen, you are given your festival pass or your individual screening tickets will be scanned, you can peruse the vendor stalls, grab yourself a drink or snack, and then find yourself a seat ready for the film to begin. This year they expanded on the stalls with a Forbidden Worlds merch stand and a Tarot Card reader was present to do readings for anyone who might dare!
There are breaks between films, usually between 15-30 minutes and then longer breaks for lunch (if the screenings have started in the morning) and dinner. The location of the Bristol Megascreen makes it very easy to pop to the beautiful Bristol harbourside and enjoy one of its many cafes and bars and the location is just a short walk to taxi ranks near the Hippodrome and many local bus routes for getting to and from the festival.
And then you just sit, watch and repeat!
Friday
First up on the Friday was The Shout (1977), a film I can only describe as absolutely bananas. A random man in a long black coat shows up in a very 1970’s village, befriends a man and his wife, proceeds to take over the couple’s house, has an affair with the wife and kills people by shouting really loudly (yup), a trick he learned in the Australian outback. I would say “you couldn’t write this stuff”, but someone did.
Second on the bill was The Hitcher (1986) starring the amazing Rutger Hauer (Blade Runner). I’d only seen the 2007 remake of this film starring Sean Bean which I actually thought was pretty decent…until seeing the original. I think I prefer the ending in the remake, but either way Robert Harmon’s Hitcher is far superior, a tour-de-force of a film in terms of suspense and intensity.
And then Friday’s last screening was Opera (1987), a film by Italian director Dario Argento who is famous for his film ‘Suspiria’. Honestly, this one wasn’t fully for me but if you like a body count in a horror film, this might still make you happy because no one is safe, especially people’s eyeballs.
Saturday
Saturday started with a screening of Cure (1997), a Japanese neo-noir psychological horror which has been recognised as one of the most significant horror films of the nineties in more recent years. I sadly missed this one due to other commitments but the description and trailer looked incredible so I made sure to see it after the festival was over, and WOW! If you like the feeling of “what the hell did I just watch and can we dissect every aspect of the film” then this one is for you.
The second film was I Know What You Did Last Summer (1997). I have seen this film probably over 30 times and when I sat down to watch it, all I could hear was people around me saying they had never seen it, my partner included. I couldn’t believe it! The film feels so iconic to me in popular culture, especially with the parody film that was made of it, ‘Scary Movie’ (2000). But maybe that’s my millennial brain talking. I have to say, what an experience it was being in a room of people watching it for the first time, hearing everyone laugh at Ryan Phillippe yelling at Jennifer Love Hewitt, watching everyone react to all of the jump scares, laughing at Freddie Prinze Jr’s pretty privilege level of acting, laughing at Jennifer Love Hewitt asking “What are you waiting for?”, laughing at Johnny Galecki doing anything other than being Leonard in the Big Bang Theory…there was lots of laughing.
And then to round off the weekend we had When a Stranger Calls (1979), a film about a babysitter who keeps being called on the landline (scary enough as it is), and on each call she is asked if she has “checked on the children”. She contacts the police, scared out of her mind, only to be told that the calls are coming from within the house…duh duh duh! The premise was simply delicious, simple and effective and the ending was so intense! A really great, well-paced film to end a fabulous weekend.
The Experience
I have attended every Forbidden Worlds Festival and The Big Scream is the version that I like the most! I am a huge horror fan, I think the genre has its own themes and things that it does well like gore and jump scares, but you can do anything under the umbrella of horror – romance, sci-fi, comedy, faux-documentary – and that makes it so exciting. It’s a genre that is rich in concepts and ideas, in storytelling and mystery, and the choice of films that the team behind Forbidden Worlds Festival pick are always so unique and really capture what the horror genre can do.
Much like the Short Films Showcase at the festival earlier this year, the horror shorts being shown before each feature length film was an amazing addition to the festival. My favourite was definitely ‘Tapped’, a short film by Benjamin Brewer which was a cautionary tale of going on a date with someone from an app and they turn out to be a serial killer. It was well made, well-acted and had some fun twists and turns along the way too.
Overall, this was a fantastic experience once again and I couldn’t recommend it enough. If you are a film fanatic like me, a horror fan, or if you just want to dip your toe into the weird and wonderful world of film, this is the festival for you! You can see a little or see it all, attend alone or with a big group of friends, but however you choose to experience Forbidden Worlds Film Festival, I guarantee that you will have a great time and see some amazing films that will stick with you beyond the rolling of the credits.
Best Film I Saw
The Shout (1977) – this film was insane but it will never leave my brain, and I kind of love that.
Best Extra Features
Tarot card reading – a really cool and unique experience to do while at the festival.
The Haunted Bookshop stall – I picked up some amazing pins and a great book!
Reviewed by Amy Evans
Disclaimer: I was gifted my festival pass for an honest review. All photos were taken by me.
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