Around this time of year genre fans set out on their annual pilgrimage to the DARK HEART OF CINEMA as FrightFest opens its doors once again!
Opening night last year and an iconic breed of horror monster preceded the return of the homicidal Chucky, and a wholesome family gathering. To launch our coverage of the 14th instalment that will run in anticipation of, during, and take in the aftermath of our own personal journey into THE DARK HEART OF CINEMA, HeyUGuys turned to the filmmakers behind last year’s opening film: The Ford Brothers.
Whilst HeyUGuys would like to express our thanks to John and Howard for personally penning the following prologue, we do remain concerned regarding their casting choices… “Zombies, man, they creep us out…”
HeyUGuys…
Quite honestly, FrightFest has been the shining light in the entire film making process for us. It represented the culmination of several years’ work, and a lot of pain on some of the most difficult shoots imaginable. Then, to see the results of that effort with such a great crowd of genuine fans; the very people we made these films for, makes all that pain worthwhile.
FrightFest is the most important festival in this country for the genre, and in some respects it’s a vital component in keeping independent filmmaking alive. It’s now become almost impossible to market low budget films, due to the erosion to almost extinction by internet piracy. Unlike Hollywood films that can release en masse, low budget films have to gradually make their way out, and so all too often piracy takes hold and destroys their chances. FrightFest blasts the word out there for these films to anyone who is interested in giving them a fighting chance.
We are living in an era where film piracy, and illegal downloads have pretty much killed off the financial viability of independent filmmaking, which will eventually lead to a total lack of investment in such films, and ultimately all that will be on offer is the big popcorn Hollywood blockbusters. So we all need to embrace and celebrate FrightFest for its support and nurturing of this unique and vital part of cinema and its future film makers.
We will never forget that moment, walking into the Empire 1 for the very first screening of ‘The Dead.’ The atmosphere was so intense and exciting that you could almost cut through it with a bloody great machete! It was like a football stadium of horror fans all supporting the same team. Even some of the non-horror fans who had been ‘dragged’ along, turned out to have a far greater time than they imagined. For us, after enduring the horrors that we did making ‘The Dead’, it was literally the antithesis of everything we had experienced up until that point. It really was the jet fuelled launch pad for The Ford Brothers in the horror genre, and we will always remain grateful for that. Then, to be chosen as the opening film with ‘The Dead 2’ was off the scale for us – absolutely mind blowing.
We cannot recommend enough that anyone, horror or non-horror fans alike, must taste the FrighFest experience. You’re guaranteed an amazing and surprising time, where film makers can meet their audiences direct, and vice versa, and where you will get to see movies as they should be seen – on the big screen… The way they are meant to be seen.
Long live FrightFest!
THE FORD BROTHERS.
