There is a sacred day on the horizon, well situated on the date of the 3rd of March, in the year of our beastly Lord 2024. Upon the evening of that day, at six pm, shall screen The Slave and the Sorcerer, the latest fantasy horror epic to emerge from Scotland’s premier independent horror film studio, Hex Studios, known for past works such as the notorious ‘Owlman’ starring Lord of Tears, The Unkindness of Ravens, and that adventurous tape your mum made in the Burger King restroom in 1988.
All incredible feats, none of which compares to the privilege of premiering the 1980s tribute to Sword and Sorcery that is The Slave and the Sorcerer. Directed by Lawrie Brewster, it is also described as ‘A Romeo Franco film’, in tribute to the film’s retro Italian exploitation sensibility, seemingly apt when we consider the gorgeous ladies on display alongside the pecs of our hero, Tyrol the Slave, played by Scottish beefcake Chris Black.
At 6:06 pm, the film will screen at the Romford Horror International Film Festival (HorRHIFFic), in London, on the third of March, in a horror extravaganza that stretches from the 29th to the 3rd of March. The festival, also known by the acronym HorRHIFFic, is a fastly up-and-coming horror film festival with a reputation for supporting independent films, comparable to the positive reputations of the former Starburst International Film Festival, which was in Manchester, and the Horror-On-Sea Film Festival in Southend.
The delectable Megan Tremethick, known also as Miss Amicus, will be appearing alongside Lawrie Brewster at the event, who will be doing his best to accommodate his BMI in a new suit! He will also be joined by Hex Studio stalwart Stephen Kerr, who appeared in Hex Studio’s The Devil’s Machine, and For We Are Many, as well as two upcoming Hex Studios projects, currently in production. If you get him drunk at the bar, he might just tell you more about those movies too.
HorRHIFFic this year has other guests too, many of them a little more fabulous than Lawrie Brewster (who received the accolade of being the 94th most powerful cultural figure in Scotland by List Magazine). Those individuals include fantastic figures from the glory days of British Horror, including Ian McCulloch of ‘Zombie Flesh Eaters’ fame, and Hammer goddesses Caroline Munro and Pauline Peart.
Across the four days of screenings is an epic roster of classic Horror films, as well as the latest independent horror feature films and shorts from cult classics such as The Entity, and Possession to new works such as Punch, directed by Andy Edwards and Watch Me Sleep directed by John Williams, famous for his spectacular music score for the science fiction classic, Barbarella – (that might not be entirely accurate).
The events run early each day, until late at night and represent a four-day trip into a horror miasma as terrifying as a late-night venture into Milton Keynes, but as entertaining as a second date with Christina Ricci, or a first, or fourth. In fact, nothing is comparable to a date with Christina Ricci except perhaps waking in a sea of strawberry tarts made by Fife bakery Stewart’s, along with a limitless appetite. Basically, it’s a good thing, so go get your tickets to attend HorRHIFFic over here!
