Final DayGaz Bailey describes a year in the life of the Abertoir Horror Festival team

Well, this is the final day of Abertoir

2010.   It’s been such a wonderful

privilege to see the festival grow over

the five years, and a real pleasure to

have such a hard-working team here.  We therefore thought you’d like an

insight into what it takes to keep our

humble festival in check over the year. 

My favourite fest hangout is BIFFF in

Brussels, and I religiously make the journey over there to start scoping out new possible titles (and drink Belgian

beer).  Watching an average of 30 films in

a 6 day period might sound excessive to some, but to me it seems like I’m not trying hard enough - the hangovers don’t

help.  But it doesn’t just stop there, once

I’m back we’re all over the internet checking out reviews, sending begging letters to filmmakers to let us see their

films, and trying to explain why getting

screened at Abertoir is far more important than Cannes (after all, when have Cannes ever had the nerve to wire up seats to vibrating motors?).

By this time, I realise I’m neglecting my

duties as a human and are reminded by my colleagues of the need to shave, shower and generally stop watching

films.  Well, stuff them, because the films

keep coming!  We’ve had great movies

sent to us from all over the world, from

countries I never even knew existed (although they probably never knew we

existed either).  I’ve also learnt to love

and forgive those kind filmmakers who enthusiastically report that have never been to this particular part of England

before……  Grrrrr…..

So, after what seems like a million hours of films and shorts, the team here

whittles them down to a manageable 3 weeks worth. We sit back in horror, and

then whittle them down to a mere 5 days.  None of this repetitive rubbish that Hollywood loves to churn out, we’re always looking for something new and fresh. We eventually come up with our final lineup: it’s decided, sorted, printed,

and signed off.  "en after announcing it,

we sit back and see how far it can alter from the original plan…..

But the highlight of course is when the festival starts, and someone actually pays good money for what we’ve been

working on the whole year.  Whether it’s

one ticket, or the whole festival, it’s a great feeling to hear someone say they enjoyed the festival… it just about gives

me the strength to do it again next year.  "anks folks!

DAY 5 DYDD

ABERTOIR

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Daily TweetsA selection of the weeks’ Tweets

dpm74Does anyone know what day of the week it is? Bit hazy... #Abertoir2010

HayleyR1989Just attended a really insightful & informative masterclass @Abertoir with Nicholas David Lean,discussing the realities of the film industry

dpm74Vampires was excellent, highly recommended #Abertoir2010

sheffhorrorfestVampires was great to see again - just as funny as the first time #Abertoir2010

Hellbound_Heart!e M R James event at #abertoir2010 was fab - even creepier than my hangover...

Dion_ScrollsMR James production at the Abertoir festival was unbelievably good. Proper review will be coming with full details but I am so glad I went

ShockHorrormagHeading to Abertoir festival in Wales tomorrow to promote Shock Horror, can't wait!

Daily PicksBy Nia Edwards-Behi

!is afternoon our regular guest

Paul Shallcross will be performing

an especially commissioned score

in accompaniment to !e Cat and

the Canary.

!is evening’s very special event

sees Robin Hardy return to

Abertoir after his appearance

here five years ago, to give us a

sneak peek of !e Wicker Tree.

Our closing film this year is set to

put everyone in a festival mood,

with bad Santa tale Rare Exports.

Stick around then for our closing

ceremony, when the winner of the

short film competition will be

revealed, and posters will fly

through the air…!

Review: The Cat & the CanaryBy Nia Edwards-Behi

Paul Leni is one of horror’s

forgotten masters, starting as he

did in German expressionism,

and then moving on to the early

days of Universal’s horrific

heyday. Although not my

favourite Leni film (that honour

lies firmly with !e Man Who

Laughs), !e Cat and the Canary

is a superb old dark house film,

with a wonderful thread of

humour running throughout.

Review: Rare ExportsBy Rhys Thomas Fowler

A last-minute find for the

Abertoir team, we discovered this

gem in Sitges just last month.

Turning the traditional Santa-tale

on its head, not only is Father

Christmas real, but he’s also evil.

With its stunning location and

dark tone, this is a perfect end to

a brilliant festival.

The Wicker Man Five years on from Robin Hardy’s visit to Abertoir’s first festival, Karen Oughton discusses The Wicker Man

When a young girl is reported missing from an

isolated farming community, Edward

Woodward’s police officer, Sergeant Howie, puts

his own life in jeopardy in order to find her.

!is brief synopsis belies the beauty and quiet

menace of Robin Hardy’s landmark horror

feature. From the moment the film opens with

the realistic shot of the plane landing in the bay

with its superimposed and hauntingly

overbearing folk-style background music, !e

Wicker Man is about control, morality and reality

– and whether or not we deal our own fate.

We follow Sergeant Howie’s attempts to find the

child in a photograph whom the locals claim

never existed, despite leaving Howie cryptic clues

as to her whereabouts. We share his

compounded confusion the Christian happens on

the locals’ religious rites, which veer from the

raunchily raucous to the palpably menacing. !at

!e Wicker Man remains eerily ageless is

testament to its cinematography and design. We

may think we are modern and resistant to the

symbolism of ‘hokey’ horror images, but we have

seen the merrily mischievous Green Man on

public house signs before the pandemonium

heralded by the final bell. We understand.

What sets !e Wicker Man apart, however, is the

superb screenplay, direction and acting. A

charismatic cast including Christopher Lee (as

Lord Summerisle) tears our loyalties, as while a

character may be rendered a villain by his killjoy

conservativism, the piece’s aggressors are so

plausible when defending their beliefs that the

film’s conclusion is extremely cathartic and

utterly fitting. We, too, may catch ourselves

wondering whether there is magic, metaphysical

justice or just madness at work. !e final image

of the blazing son going down over the hillside

will burn into your conscious forever.

Yesterday’s Audience Vote

Vampires

Exorcismus

I Spit on Your Grave

Today’s Schedule

Short Film Competition 11.00amPART TWO

Abertoir celebrates the third year of its short film competition. Narrowed to a shortlist of just

twenty-four films, this year’s entrants have the exciting prospect of having their films

considered alongside winning short films chosen at other film festivals across Europe. Now a

member of the European Fantastic Film Festivals Federation, Abertoir is delighted to be

awarding the winning short film (subject to criteria) a nomination for the Méliès d’Or. As always

the audience decide!

The Silent House 1.30pm

Guaranteed to make you jump out of your seat, !e Silent House is a creepy tale shot in a single

take. Laura and her father arrive at a remote cottage on the eve before their contract to

renovate it begins. !ey are left with just one instruction - don’t go upstairs.

The Cat and the Canary 3.30pmPLUS LIVE PIANO ACCOMPANIMENT BY PAUL SHALCROSS

Annabelle and her family spend the night in their uncle’s haunted mansion where they are

stalked by a mysterious figure. A classic silent horror film adaptation of John Willard’s 1922

black comedy play of the same name.

Robin Hardy 5.45pmTHE WICKER TREE PREVIEW

In 2006, Wicker Man director Robin Hardy came to Aberystwyth for a talk about his new book

Cowboys for Christ. His appearance was the entire reason Abertoir was born. Now, on our fifth

anniversary, and on the closing day of the festival, we are honoured and privileged to be

welcoming Mr Hardy back to the stage to talk about his latest film !e Wicker Tree and screen

footage from his brand new film.

Rare Exports 7.30pmFOLLOWED BY CLOSING CEREMONY

In the depths of the Korvatunturi mountains, 486 metres deep, a team of experts are drilling

for something. When a herd of reindeer is brutally ripped apart and children start to disappear,

it appears the Christmas stories of Santa could not be more wrong.

For more details, buy your Festival Programme at the festival reception.