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At all times Extra Horror to Watch – 2024 Sitges Movie Competition is Underway
by Alex Billington
October 4, 2024
It is October which suggests it is time to have a good time horror and all of the magnificent style cinema. Now underway in Spain is the 57th Sitges Movie Competition, nonetheless considered THE greatest horror movie pageant in all of Europe. It is also the oldest horror pageant on this planet, with the very first pageant happening in 1968. That is my sixth year back to Sitges, and I am glad to be on the town. Sitges is a small seashore city situated simply half-hour by prepare from Barcelona in Catalonia. The official Catalan title of this fest is Competition Internacional de Cinema Fantàstic de Catalunya, which simply interprets to Sitges Worldwide Implausible Movie Competition of Catalonia. Now that I am primarily based in Europe, it is a lot simpler for me to attend Sitges as an alternative of TIFF or Implausible Fest or Fantasia or Past Fest or Telluride Horror Present (among the greatest style fests in North America). I am glad Sitges normally performs one of the best movies from these fests for everybody right here in Europe to feast upon. And so now we start, diving into horror and sci-fi and thrillers and motion and all the pieces enjoyable from all corners of the world.
It is all the time fascinating to see simply how completely different “implausible” movie festivals (aka “style festivals”) are from the common movie festivals (like Sundance or Cannes or NYFF). Other than screening a wholly completely different set of movies (a few of that are fairly tough however nonetheless very enjoyable to look at), the audiences are completely different, the vibes are completely different, the entire expertise seems like a bunch of geeky buddies renting a cabin collectively and watching the weirdest stuff they will discover. Sitges is an iconic style pageant as a result of it has been round for therefore lengthy – and yearly tons of individuals from throughout Spain (and Europe) journey to this seashore city to geek out over all of the bizarre and wacky and gross and scary and freaky cinema. Sitges has programmed a grand complete of 228 movies this yr (full selection here), displaying loads of classics (The Texas Chain Noticed Bloodbath and Night time of the Creeps) in addition to all the most recent buzzy style choices (The Substance and Cuckoo and Unusual Darling and Terrifier 3 and Presence). Even the city itself will get into it, with their annual Zombie Stroll on Saturday evening & horror-themed decorations in every single place, to not point out particular cubicles promoting tons of geeky film merch.
What am I excited to look at this yr? My most anticipated movies at Sitges 2024 embrace: Get Away the brand new horror comedy starring Nick Frost (trailer here); Joseph Kahn’s icky new creation Ick which simply premiered at TIFF Midnight Insanity; Amy Adams turning right into a canine in Nightbitch which I am simply completely satisfied is screening anyway (trailer here); Zero from the identical Congolese filmmaker behind the badass Saloum; a Spanish sci-fi thriller referred to as Luna about astronauts caught on the Moon; this unusual new horror The Rule of Jenny Pen with John Lithgow and Geoffrey Rush; Steven’s daughter Destry Allyn Spielberg’s directorial debut Please Do not Feed The Youngsters a couple of virus outbreak; the extraordinary French one-long-take thriller MadS (trailer here). Plus catching up with V/H/S/Past, Oddity, Useless Skills Society and few others. A few of my different faves & hits from festivals earlier within the yr are additionally displaying: Cuckoo, A Completely different Man, Cloud, Diplodocus, Ghost Cat Anzu, Love Me, In the meantime on Earth, Memoir of a Snail, Plastic Weapons, Presence, Sauvages, U are the Universe, Your Monster. There’s one thing for everybody! Except you do not like horror or sci-fi or motion, then possibly there is not a lot, however hey this fest is all concerning the craziest cinema creations.
Though it looks like movie fests are going via a tough time proper now, the present should go on. They’re nonetheless bringing within the movies, they’re nonetheless internet hosting screenings, they’re nonetheless having a celebration yr after yr. Sitges appears to be lacking a number of large movies within the line-up (why no The Platform 2 when The Platform was one of many largest hits of 2019 on the pageant?) however they nonetheless have loads to look at anyway. Even when I see some stinkers, even when I am not watching 5 movies a day, Sitges continues to be a gorgeous place to be. And I all the time take pleasure in being within the midst of all these Spanish film geeks, cheering each large second in each film, celebrating the facility of cinema irrespective of how disgusting or bizarre it will get. As traditional, observe my updates on Twitter @firstshowing. I will be posting opinions and different recaps on the location because the fest continues over the following 10 days. You possibly can view my pictures on Instagram @abillington. I additionally listing each movie I’ve seen on my Letterboxd @firstshowing, in order for you extra ideas on what I am watching. And now – time to take pleasure in some solar earlier than the following screening.
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