Official Competition: Competition and Festival Award
Five international feature films were curated by the BRUGGGORE jury and have the chance to win the “Eye of the Beholder” award and CHF 5,000 prize money. The winning film is chosen by the audience. The award will be presented on Saturday, April 27, 2024, at 8:30pm at Cinema Excelsior. All films in the competition will be shown as Swiss premieres.
ABERRANCE (Baatar Batusk, Mongolia, 2022): With ABERRANCE, the first horror film produced in Mongolia makes it into the Official Competition. Erkhmee and Selenge, an estranged couple from the city, retreat to a cabin deep in the Mongolian wilderness. Uncanny neighbors, frivolous friends and dark, invisible forces are at work and new problems are constantly emerging. ABERRANCE impressed the jury with exciting image compositions and sophisticated camera movements and settings, which give the film a unique look. That is true independent cinema!
BEST WISHES TO ALL (Yûta Shimotsu, Japan, 2023): A young nurse from Tokyo returns to her grandparents in her rural home. Strange things start to happen in seclusion and soon the behavior of the grandparents becomes more and more obscure and frightening. The film impresses with its dense atmosphere of discomfort. Shimotsu doesn't need jump scares to make her neck hair stand up. Instead, the film gives you just the right amount of time to leave you groping in the dark, presenting new, unbelievable events over and over again and creating lasting discomfort.
LAST STRAW (Alan Scott Neal, USA 2023): Waitress Nancy is tending a remote diner when she is confronted with unpleasant guests. A quiet night shift turns into a relentless fight for survival. Alan Scott Neal's feature film debut keeps you constantly on your toes. His main character Nancy (heavily cast with Jessica Belkin) has to defend himself against threatening superiority, but in no way falls into a victim role. A brutal game of cat and mouse in which the mouse quickly learns how to use cunning and kitchen equipment even against cats.
WE ARE ZOMBIES (François Simard, Anouk Whissell, Yoann-Karl Whissell, USA 2023): In 2064, humanity coexists with zombies. They are used as free workers and should a family member become a zombie, a mega corporation will take care of the further use in research with dignity. The ideal business model for three former Group employees: They snatch the ex-residents away from the Group and sell them for other purposes. WE ARE ZOMBIES is the third feature film by the directing trio RKSS (Roadkill Superstars). With a charismatic cast and handmade special effects, this extraordinary zombie film impressed the jury.
YOU'LL NEVER FIND ME (Josiah Allen, Indianna Bell, Australia, 2023): Patrick lives alone in a trailer in the most remote part of a remote trailer park. During a violent storm, there is a knock on his door and an unknown young woman seeks shelter from the forces of nature. Strange noises can be heard, hypothermic dialogues take place and the discomfort spreads slowly and inexorably. The first work by directing duo Josiah Allen and Indianna Bell is set out as a chamber play in a caravan and draws its menacing power from the unknown and the fantastic acting duo.
The five films in the Official Competition will each be shown twice and accompanied at least once by an online Q&A with the directors. The exact times and dates will be announced on the website. The audience receives a voting card before the screening and can rate the films.
24 Swiss premieres, exclusives and rarities
In addition to the Official Competition, a further 19 films will be shown as Swiss premieres and some exclusively in Switzerland. Fans of Splatter and Gore will get their money's worth with ALL YOU NEED IS BLOOD (USA 2023, Bucky Le Boeuf, Cooper Roberts), DESTROY ALL NEIGHBORS (USA 2024, Josh Forbes), HOW TO KILL MONSTERS (UK 2023, Stewart Sparke), SCHLITTER (France 2023, Pierre Mouchet), THE SIN (South Korea 2023, Han Dong-Seok) or VERMINES (France 2023, Sebastien Vanicek).
There is exciting suspense at CANCELED (Sweden 2023, Oskar Mellander), CLAWFOOT (USA 2023, Michael Day), STOPMOTION (UK 2023, Robert Morgan) or TRIM SEASON (USA 2023, Ariel Vida).
The Greek production MINORE (2023, Konstantinos Koutsoliotas) and the French film LE VOURDALAK (2023, Adrien Beau) are particularly noteworthy and take new, unconventional paths in the horror genre.
The fourth edition of the festival will also present a balanced mix of rarities and genre favorites. The Italian classics are represented by BUIO OMEGA (1979, Joe D'Amato), THE NEW YORK RIPPER (1982, Lucio Fulci) and ZOMBIE HOLOCAUST (1980, Marino Girolami). THE BURNING (USA 1981, Tony Maylam) is an often underrated slasher who can easily keep up with FRIDAY THE 13TH.
Things get weirder but also funnier with BLOODSUCKING PHARAOHS IN PITTSBURGH (USA 1991, Dean Tschetter) and HELL COMES TO FROGTOWN (USA 1988, Donald G. Jackson, R.J. Kizer). Both films are rarities, released directly on video cassette back then and have only recently been prepared for cinema in restored versions.
Swiss exploitation cinema with film talk
In the presence of director Paul Grau, the film MAD FOXES (Switzerland/Spain 1981) will be presented with a film talk. The film is an almost forgotten representative of exploitation cinema in the 70s and 80s and shows that back then there was also a subculture of low-budget filmmakers in Switzerland who attracted international attention with wild productions. The film talk and screening will take place on Saturday, April 27, 2024, 3:30pm, at Cinema Excelsior.
Claudio Simonetti's Goblin set live SUSPIRIA by Dario Argento
On Thursday, April 25, at 20:00, the Italian prog rock legends and virtuoso sound inventors will play an exclusive Swiss live show at Salzhaus Brugg. Claudio Simonetti's Goblin set Dario Argento's masterpiece SUSPIRIA (Italy 1977) live to music. They then play a best-of concert with iconic pieces from their 40-year career. With a BRUGGGORE four-day pass or Thursday pass, you get tickets for the concert at half price. The regular pre-sale price is CHF 50.- and includes sea tickets: ticket link
