Abertoir
The International Horror Festival of Wales

Director, producer, distributor, actor: Roger Corman is quite possibly one of the most important people to ever work in the film industry.  His career has spanned decades as a champion for independent film and his output is unrivalled.  In particular, it’s his remarkable direction for American International Pictures that has most closely associated him with many of Vincent Price’s finest films. Roger Corman is responsible for what makes cinema great, and it’s truly an honour to welcome him to Abertoir this year!

Robin Ince is probably best known for the Sony Gold award winning Radio 4 series The Infinite Monkey Cage, but when he is not being kept rational by Brian Cox, he has an obsession with vampires, ghouls, shadmocks and dark arts. With Johnny Mains, he edited two anthologies of horror stories, Dead Funny and Dead Funny Encore. He has made documentaries for the BBC about hollow earth theory, the apocalypse and Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds. He is also the author of Bad Book Club, a celebration of Guy N Smith's Killer Crabs books, and I'm a Joke and So Are You, a book about creativity, mental health and death. He has just finished a 77 date world tour Wirth Brian Cox, playing to over 250,000 people. He is the winner of the Time Out outstanding achievement in comedy award, The Francis Crick science journalism award and was nominated for Best Live show at the British Comedy Awards.

Aldo Lado is a name familiar to any fan of the giallo.  His first feature, Short Night of the Glass Dolls (which he also wrote), is frequently cited as an important entry in the genre, and it’s no surprise to see his second, Who Saw Her Die?, with its distinctive Morricone score and stark, haunting imagery, equally respected.   In the early 80s, his cult film Night Train Murders was placed high on the Video Nasties list in the UK – which earns a mark of respect from us all at Abertoir.

Brea Grant is a filmmaker/writer best known for her Emmy-nominated work on the Netflix series, EastSiders. In addition to 12 Hour Shift, she wrote/starred in the SXSW 2020 feature Lucky, directed by Natasha Kermani. She has written a number of comics including her most recent graphic novel entitled MARY about the fictional descendent of Mary Shelley. She started in the film industry as an actress and has appeared on shows like Heroes, Friday Night Lights, and Dexter, as well as horror films like Halloween II and the recent indie favorite, After Midnight.

Alexandre has written and directed numerous award-winning films and documentaries, many of which take on the role of unpacking the most influential works of master filmmakers, including 78/52 and Memory: The Origins of Alien.

A filmmaker very much in control of his art, Canadian filmmaker Anthony Scott Burns is fast making a mark in genre cinema. Anthony is also highly respected in the music world, under the title Pilotpriest, dedicating himself to the synth-wave genre where he’s developed a following in his own right.

His latest film Come True, which brings together his own hypnotic score and visionary eye in one dark and electrifying horror, made waves at the Fantasia International Film Festival this year.  We are delighted to be closing the festival with Come True, and welcoming Anthony to discuss it after the film.

Silent film pianist Paul Shallcross is a staple part of the Abertoir Horror Festival, bringing his in-depth knowledge and passion for the silent era to the fore in his regular performances for classic silent horror films. He has toured many different venues around the UK playing many different kinds of music, but his association with Abertoir always brings him back.

Nicko and Joe have been confusing, disturbing and delighting audiences with their unique brand of comedy since 2004. Their infectious enthusiasm on stage and twisted creativity in their writing has resulted in many comparisons being made to other artists. These range from the surreal group They Might be Giants to Trey Parker and Matt Stone, creators of South Park.

Gavin Baddeley is an English writer specialising in the devilish and decadent, Gothic and macabre, with a special interest in the darker fringes of history. In addition to penning numerous books in these areas, he’s written for numerous, diverse periodicals and newspapers, ranging from The Observer and Knave, to Metal Hammer and Medieval History magazine. He has also made annually appearing at Abertoir part of his varied career, so let’s hope evil keeps giving him plenty more topics to share with us.

Kristen McGorry is a scriptwriter who has somehow managed to turn her passion for playing games into a career.

Most recently she has been writing Viking hack-and-slasher Assassin's Creed Valhalla and a VR B-Movie campfest Drop Dead. 

Dellamorte is a DJ who has been involved in more scenes and genres than we can reasonably list here. From Northern soul nights to being co-founder of long-running London breakbeat night Rocksteady, to lighting up late night radio as part of cult electronica trio Codex Machine. More recent times you could find him playing to local audiences on a regular basis, as well as at music festivals all over the UK – but for now, you can catch him here.