At Halloween a silent horror film festival is ready to scare you at the Hippodrome Bo’ness all weekend long.
Ghouls and ghosts and things going bump in the night will terrify audiences brave enough to go along on 30 and 31 October. There are six spooky screenings leading up the conclusion of the early Swedish horror film Häxan from 1922.
The full programme is below but special mention must be given to the double bill of Frankenstein (1931) and Bride of Frankenstein (1935) on Sunday afternoon. With these legendary films, British director James Whales is rewardingly unfaithful to Mary Shelley’s famous source novel of a mad scientist who creates a new life from the body parts of the dead. With a liberal use of humour and exaggerated, expressionistic visual style these films transcend the horror genre and become two of the most deceptively complex ‘creature features’ ever conceived.
The Hippodrome’s Halloween activity will conclude with the finale of HippFest’s fourth Taste of Silents season on Sunday 31 October with early Swedish horror Häxan (1922), with live accompaniment from Jane Gardner and Hazel Morrison. An enthralling mix of documentary and fiction, this early horror film explores the history of witchcraft from its earliest days through to present. It shows representations of evil in a variety of ancient and medieval artworks, offers vignettes illustrating a number of superstitious practices, demonology, and Satanism, and presents a spine-chilling narrative about the persecution of a woman accused of witchcraft.
Musician Jane Gardner commented on the film: “Häxan is one of the weirdest and most unsettling films I’ve seen – thankfully with regular injections of the director’s irreverent humour! Drawing from Medieval beliefs, in particular those depicted in ancient art works, there are scenes of torture, potion-making, demons, devil worship, a witch giving birth to monsters, a spell which leaves a man unable to close his screaming mouth, and lots more gruesome stuff. The final chapter comments upon contemporary (1920s) treatment of women with mental illnesses whose behaviour or manner would have been regarded as witchcraft in the past.”
Audiences at Paranorman are invited to wear their creepiest costume to enter the Hippodrome Halloween competition, but fancy-dress isn’t just for kids! Come to the double-bill dressed in a Hammer Horror inspired outfit, or your most gruesome outfit in tribute to the Evil Dead trilogy to be in with the chance of winning free Hippodrome tickets. The café / bar will be serving a macabre menu of refreshments and the projectionist has a few surprises in store to enhance the ultimate Hippodrome horror experience.
Tickets for the double-bill of Frankenstein/Bride of Frankenstein, and for Evil Dead 2 are are £7.20 (£5.60 for concessions, £4.50 for 16-25-year-olds). Tickets for the HippFest Taste of Silents screening are £10 (£8 for concessions, £4.50 for 16-25-year-olds).
HippFest will return to the Hippodrome for its full festival programme 16 – 20 March 2022.
The Hippodrome Silent Film Festival was launched at the Hippodrome in Bo’ness in 2011 and has since become a key annual event in the cultural calendar, drawing audiences from across the UK. The event is organised by Falkirk Community Trust with key funding from Creative Scotland and Falkirk Council.
For tickets and programme information for the Taste of Silents season visit www.hippfest.co.uk
Paranorman
Sat 30 Oct 11:00 & Sun 31 Oct 12:00
£7.20 | £5.60 | Jeely Jar 2-4-1 offer on Sat 30 Oct
Dir. Chris Butler & Sam Full / USA / 2012 / 1h 32m
With: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Anna Kendrick, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, John Goodman
Frankenstein / Bride of Frankenstein Double-Bill
Sat 30 & Sun 31 Oct 14:30
£7.20 | £5.60 (conc.) | £4.50 (16-25 years)
Dir. James Whale / USA / 1931 & 1935 / b&w / 1h 10m & 1h 15m / 20m interval
With: Colin Clive, Boris Karloff, Elsa Lanchester.
Evil Dead 2
Sat 30 Oct 21:00
£7.20 | £5.60 (conc.) | £4.50 (16-25 years)
Dir. Sam Raimi/ USA / 1987 / 1h 24m
With: Bruce Campbell, Sarah Berry, Dan Hicks, Denise Bixler
Häxan
With live accompaniment by Jane Gardner (piano) and Hazel Morrison (percussion)
Sun 31 Oct 19:30
£10 | £8 conc. | £4.50 (16-25 years)
Dir. Benjamin Christensen | Sweden | (1922) | N/C 15 | 122mins | Danish with English intertitles
With: Benjamin Christensen, Elisabeth Christensend and Maren Pedersen
Screening material courtesy of Svensk Filmindustri
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