Returning this November 24th to the 26th to the Whirled Cinema, Brixton is Soho Horror Festival, closely followed by the online Sohome Horror Fest broadcasting the horror directly into your home on November 30th to December 3rd. Expertly curated by pillar of the horror community and festival director Mitch Harrod, who also happens to be a fantastic and thoroughly entertaining compere for the in-person event, both weekends of the Soho Horror Festival is jam packed with festive frights, squishy goo-soaked body horror and more transgressive terrors than you can shake an exorcist’s cross at. Here are ten films that you should not sleep on, screening at this year’s Soho Horror Festival.
1. Cannibal Mukbang, Dir: Aimee Kuge
IN PERSON ONLY – SOHO HORROR FEST 2023
Shy and looking for love, Mark quickly becomes smitten with the outgoing and mysterious Ash, who somehow, much to his surprise, reciprocates the attraction. But as his feelings for her intensify, so does his unexpected submersion into Ash’s biggest love: the wild world of mukbanging. And with it, lots of bloodshed
2. Satan Wants You, Dir: Sean Horlor and Steve J. Adams
IN PERSON ONLY – SOHO HORROR FEST 2023
Satan Wants You tells the untold story of how the Satanic Panic of the 1980s was ignited by Michelle Remembers, a lurid memoir by psychiatrist Larry Pazder and his patient Michelle Smith. Supported by the Catholic Church, the bestselling book relied on recovered-memory therapy to uncover Michelle’s childhood abduction by baby-stealing Satanists. Amplified by law enforcement and America’s Daytime TV boom, satanic rumors spread through panic-stricken communities across the world, leaving a wave of destruction and wrongful convictions in their wake. This film digs deep into the roots of moral panics and cult conspiracies, showing how these events still affect and distort our reality today.
3. The Coffee Table, Dir: Caye Casas
IN PERSON ONLY – SOHO HORROR FEST 2023
Jesus and Maria are a couple going through a difficult time in their relationship. Nevertheless, they have just become parents. To shape their new life, they decide to buy a new coffee table. A decision that will change their existence.
4. Godless: The Eastfield Exorcism, Dir: Nick Kozackis
IN PERSON ONLY – SOHO HORROR FEST 2023
Lara is having horrific visions …. and they’re getting worse. Her psychiatrist believes that the key to her treatment is to find the source of her trauma, hidden somewhere in Lara’s past. Ron, Lara’s husband and a devout Christian man, has other plans. He believes that the problem is a spiritual one and an exorcism is the only way to save her soul. Spurred on by a ruthless exorcist and a congregation of zealots, they’ll put an innocent woman through hell while trying to send her to heaven.
5. Frogman , Dir: Anthony Cousins
IN PERSON ONLY – SOHO HORROR FEST 2023
During a family trip many years ago a young Dallas historically catches footage of a local legend: the Frogman. Now, 32, Dallas is a listless wannabe filmmaker who has been crashing at a friend’s house for far too long. After receiving endless ridicule online and claims that the footage is a hoax, Dallas convinces his best friend Scotty and his former best friend Amy to join him in going back to this town to get irrefutable proof of the Frogman. Will these three finally get the proof Dallas so desperately needs? Or will they croak before the credits roll?
6. Saint Drogo, Dir: Michael J. Ahern, Ryan Miller, Brandon Perras
IN PERSON ONLY – SOHO HORROR FEST 2023
From the team behind Death Drop Gorgeous (2020), Saint Drogo portrays a disconnected couple as they take an impromptu trek to the gay mecca of Provincetown, Massachusetts during the offseason to rekindle their relationship. Caleb, one half of the couple, becomes worried about an ex who had been working in the town for the summer but seems to have gone missing. As nightmares plague Caleb, he becomes more steadfast in his search, but the more he persists, the closer he nears an unspeakable horror lurking in the town.
7. T-Blockers, Dir: Alison Maio Mackay
ONLINE EVENT ONLY – SOHOME HORROR FEST 2023
Ancient parasites rise from a small town, taking the most fearful and susceptible hosts. A young filmmaker finds herself as the only one who can sense the possessed resistance before the horror escapes and spreads. An ode to sci-fi and horror B-movies of the past, T Blockers is a commentary on the far right as well as family, friendship and love amongst the LGBTQIA+ community.
Review from Frightfest
8. Beaten To Death, Dir: Sam Curtain
ONLINE EVENT ONLY – SOHOME HORROR FEST 2023
After a desperate choice, a man named Jack falls down a path that leaves him beaten and bruised as he struggles against man, nature and his own insanity. Stranded in the middle of nowhere after barely surviving a horrific assault, Jack encounters one local after another and quickly learns that a sick game of cat and mouse is about to begin. Battling the deranged country psychos and the harsh landscape, Jack must go to extreme lengths to survive.
9. Santastein, Dir: Manuel Camilion & Benjamin Edelman
ONLINE EVENT ONLY – SOHOME HORROR FEST 2023
Deck the halls with bows of horror! When Max Causey was six, he accidentally killed Santa. 12 years later, Max rectifies his mistake by resurrecting him, but soon realizes the creature he created is a bloodthirsty killer and it’s headed right to his friend’s Christmas party.
10. Ghoulsbumps
ONLINE EVENT ONLY – SOHOME HORROR FEST 2023
A special short film showcase curated and presented by everyone’s favourite ghouls from Ghouls Magazine.
For schedule, film lineup and Sohome Horror Film Festival passes, visit https://www.sohohorrorfest.com/
Instagram: @sohohorrorfest
X: @sohohorrorfest
