Melbourne Horror Film Society

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The ] are a not-for-profit organisation, who regularly hold screenings of horror classics (the 'good' and the 'bad') at the multi-purpose venue, 1000 £ Bend %%, located on 361 Lt Lonsdale Street, Melbourne. Each screening begins at 7.30pm.



The 2011 film program has just been released for the first half of the year and includes some inspired choices - including international releases, which are perfect for watching on a big screen with an enthusiastic crowd of horror fans!

On the 19th January, 2011 witness the acclaimed Candyman (1992), which is based on the short story "The Forbidden" by Clive Barker. Bloody Disgusting! , cited this film as featuring one of The Top 13 Slashers in Horror Movie History ! Certainly no easy feat!

Candyman is directed by Bernard Rose and features a score by Phillip Glass. This cult classic stars Virginia Madsen, Tony Todd and Xander Berkeley, and it was eventually followed by two sequels - Candyman 2: Farewell to the Flesh (1995) and Candyman 3: Day of the Dead (1999). Highly recommended!



On the 23rd February, 2011, Braindead (1992), the full-throttle zombie horror-comedy directed by Peter Jackson, is receiving some well-deserved attention, (it was known as Dead Alive in the USA). However be aware that Braindead is also regarded as pretty gory, in fact Bloody Disguising proclaimed the cult feature film to be " the single goriest horror film ever made- period ."This film is surely going to be a lot of fun with an enthusiastic audience!



On the 30th March, 2011, revisit the origins of British horror with Night Of The Demon (1957), directed by Jacques Tourneur. This feature film stars Dana Andrews, Peggy Cummins and Niall MacGinnis and is based on the M. R. James story "Casting the Runes". This feature film is notable as Martin Scorsese cited it as one of the 11 Scariest Horror Movies of All Time !



On the 27th April, 2011, there is a special double bill - The Australian feature films Long Weekend (1978) and Body Melt (1993). Long Weekend was remade in 2008 by Australian filmmaker James Blanks and starred James Caviezel and Claudia Karvan - the original starred John Hargreaves and Briony Behets.



Long Weekend,which was discussed in Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! (2008) isn't a strict horror film - it is better described as a paranoid thriller, as the narrative details how a young married couple go on a weekend camping trip; however as tensions between the couple are on the rise, simultaneously, a bizarre series strange supernatural events begin to occur.



Body Melt is at the opposite scale of Long Weekend, as Body Melt is seemingly inspired by the cult flicks Bad Taste (1987) and Braindead - both directed by Peter Jackson. Body Melt is a uniquely Australian take on this genre of film, and it was directed Phillip Brophy and stars Gerard Kennedy and Andrew Daddo. This horror comedy-sci-fi picture, as with Peter Jackson's earlier works, is of a satirical tone and should be a lot of fun to watch with the horror film buffs.



On the 25th May, 2011 revisit Scanners (1981), from the original master of 'body horror' David Cronenberg! This classic sci-fi horror feature stars Jennifer O'Neill, Stephen Lack, Michael Ironside, and Patrick McGoohan. Since it's release almost thirty years ago, this film has grown in popularity amongst academics and the horror community; on it's theatrical release, (alongside Cronenberg's earlier works, Shivers (1976), Rabid (1977) and The Brood (1979)), it was regarded as " cronenberg reviews&hl=en&ei=n-oKTYkeztdxjf6Z5go&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=6&ved=0CEoQ6AEwBQ #v =onepage&q&f=false deplorable exploitation ." My, how the times have changed!



The film was followed by two sequels; Scanners II: The New Order (1991) and Scanners III: The Takeover (1992).




On the 29th June, 2011 Sheitan (2006), starring Vincent Cassel, Olivier Bartélémy and Roxane Mesquida and directed by Kim Chapiron, is screening. Sheitan was released alongside a number of horror feature films produced in France - many receiving international acclaim; for example Haute Tension (2003), Them (2006), Frontier(s) (2007), Martyrs (2008) and most recently La Horde (2009).



To become a member of the - contact the organisation thorough their website ;

Mini Membership - which allows for admittance to three consecutive film screenings is only $20.

Full Membership - which allows for admittance to twelve consecutive film screenings is only $70.

Keep up to date with the film program and special events through Facebook and Twitter .

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