We want to make sure that everyone’s happy before diving into our programme of films and events. We appreciate that everyone’s different – some of you will want to go in cold, while others might want a little warning in case of distressing content.
The guide below outlines, broadly, the themes and content of the films and events that are screening at the festival. It does not specify particular narrative or plot points, however do be aware there are potential spoilers.
Please presume that all films screened at Abertoir are likely to contain a degree of violence, gore, nudity, blasphemy, and bad language. We have not specified any of these in the guide below.
We presume that everyone watching the festival is over the age of 18. Where there is no BBFC rating we presume a blanket advisory rating of 18+, anything different is noted below.
This guide is not designed to be exhaustive. Please bear in mind that we might have missed something if it’s been a while since seeing a film and writing this guide! For events we do our best to note what we can but very often due to the live nature of the events providing thorough content advice isn’t possible.
We do not have reliable/consistent information regarding flashing or strobe lights (where we have it is noted below). Please get in touch with us directly if this is of particular concern and we can do our best to collate the information.
If you have anything more specific you’d like to know about that isn’t listed below, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with Nia by email on nia@abertoir.co.uk, via social media or in-person.
Each list is in alphabetical order.
FEATURES
Children of the Wicker Man (Justin Hardy, Dominic Hardy & Chris Nunn, UK 2024, 86 minutes) – contains references to and discussions of adultery, child neglect, on-going personal trauma as a result.
Dead Talents Society (John Hsu, Taiwan 2024, 110 minutes, English subtitles) – several references to and depictions of suicide (in a mostly comedy setting); car accident.
Decibel (Zac Locke, USA 2024, 76 minutes) – no additional notes.
Exorcismo (Alberto Sedano, Spain 2024, 120 minutes, some English subtitles) – archive footage of animal cruelty including bull fighting and donkey throwing; references to fascism and Nazism; child nudity; bestiality (fake); self-harm; vomiting; sexual violence; horse birthing.
Frankie Freako (Steven Kostanski, Canada 2024, 80 minutes) – scene of hanging.
Godzilla vs. Hedorah (Yoshimitsu Banno, Japan 1971, 85 minutes, English subtitles) (PG) – no additional notes.
Grafted (Sasha Rainbow, New Zealand 2024, 96 minutes) – discrimination and racism, grief theme, self-esteem theme, fake facial differences, self-harm, needles.
Grizzly (William Girdler, USA 1976, 89 minutes) (15) – racist language; dead deer (unbloody, used as bait); beheading of a horse (fake).
Indera (Ming Jin Woo, Malaysia 2024, 99 minutes, English subtitles) – insect violence (real); decapitation of a goat corpse (real); pigeon murder (off-camera); child endangerment; child abuse (inc. corporeal punishment); pregnancy and birthing distress; death in childbirth; worms; eye trauma.
Phase IV (Saul Bass, USA 1974, 84 minutes) (12A) – no additional notes.
Return of the Fly (Edward Bernds, USA 1959, 80 minutes) (12A) – grief theme; animal manhandling (guinea pig, rabbit); car crash; reference to pteronarcophobia (fear of flies).
Seeds (Kaniehtiio Horn, Canada 2024, 80 minutes) – violence against cat (fake), one instance of a racial slur; generational trauma theme.
Slugs (Juan Piquer Simón, Spain 1988, 89 minutes) (18) – strong focus on slugs (and worms); animal violence: slugs (real scene of dissection, real scenes of killing slugs, other implied/fake violence); hamster (real hamster but unclear to what extent the harm/distress is staged); fatphobia; sexual assault.
Suzzanna (David Gregory, USA 2024, 90 minutes) – references to rape, abortion, incest; frequent scenes of distressing births; ableism; snakes; family conflict. (Note this refers to a mix of film clips as well as documentary footage.)
The Island Between Tides (Austin Andrews & Andrew Holmes, Canada 2024, 99 minutes) – drug misuse; reference to suicide; depiction of hanging.
The Wailing (Pedro Martín-Calero, Spain/Argentina/France 2024, 107 minutes, English subtitles) – strong flashing lights; self-harm; adoption theme; reference to abortion; sexual assault; reference to suicide; hanging.
Zombie Flesh Eaters (Lucio Fulci, Italy 1979, 91 minutes) – eye trauma; close-up scenes of worms/bugs.
SHORTS
Affentanz – Hunter (Cyprian Hercka, Germany 2023, 9 mins, subtitled) – no additional notes
Bath Bomb (Colin G Cooper, Canada 2024, 10 mins) – no additional notes
Black Hole Barry (Alejandro Alberola, UK 2024, 10 mins) – infidelity theme
Collection Only (Alun Rhys Morgan, UK 2023, 12 mins) – references to long-term illness; grief theme
Crimson Harbor (Victor Bonafonte, Spain 2024, 8 mins) – flashing images/seizure warning.
Dagon (Paolo Gaudio, Italy 2024, 6 mins) – no additional notes
Dark Mommy (Courtney Eck, USA 2023, 13 mins) – dead birds; child endangerment (off-screen).
Deliverance (Kaljeven Singh Lally, UK 2024, 10 mins) – child endangerment
Dummy! (Francesca Pazniokas, USA 2024, 14 mins) – strong theme and depiction of body dysmorphia; disordered eating; parental abuse; matricide.
Eldritch Karaoke (Joe Loftus, Ireland 2024, 5 mins) – grief theme; depiction of burning
Fisitor (Llŷr Titus, UK 2024, 15 mins, subtitled) – grief theme; depiction of long-term illness/caring.
Henry’s Hand (Laura Gilda Maiullari, Lilith Eva Föhn & Oleksandra Gorshevikova, Switzerland 2024, 5 mins) – no additional notes
It Came From Inside (Jackson Rees & Aura Sandoval, USA 2024, 12 mins) – vomiting; alien birthing scene
Moon Alone (Heejin Kang, Canada 2024, 3 mins) – loneliness theme
Outside Noise (Ethan Evans, UK 2024, 8 mins) – no additional notes
Paspocalypse (Jasper ten Hoor & Ivan Hidayat, Netherlands 2024, 6 mins, subtitled) – mannequins
Poppy’s Saturn (Nicole Tegelaar, Belgium 2023, 15 mins, subtitled) – sexual trauma theme
Réel (Rodrigue Huart, France 2024, 4 mins, subtitled) – no additional notes
Saint Maria’s Way (Chris Turner, UK 2024, 7 mins) – police misconduct; stalking
Strange Creatures (Nicholas Payne Santos, USA 2023, 7 mins) – grief theme; loss of a sibling
The Cost of Flesh (Tomas Palombi, France 2023, 10 mins, subtitled) – long-term illness theme; paralysis
The Gourd, The Brad and The Ghostly (Jillian Terwedo-Malsbury, USA 2023, 10 mins) – dead cat (off-screen)
The Mannequin (Emelie Dahlskog, Sweden 2023, 14 mins) – no additional notes
The Visitor (Tony Morales, Spain 2024, 10 mins, subtitled) – no additional notes
Thirsty Thursday (Jeff Oliver, USA 2024, 15 mins) – themes of consent and toxic masculinity
Triptych (Sophia Ray, UK 2024, 15 mins) – no additional notes
VHX (Alisa Stern & Scott Ampleford, USA 2024, 5 mins) – no additional notes
Wake (Sean Carter, USA 2023, 13 mins) – allusions to/themes of dementia; medical setting
EVENTS
Zombi: The Composer’s Cut, performed lived by Fabio Frizzi and The F2F Band – eye trauma, close-up scenes of worms/bugs
Robin Ince: Bibliomaniac Untamed – currently unknown
Nicko and Joe’s Bad Film Club – currently unknown
Teatro Probert Presents: Can a Shark Roar? – currently unknown
Parasites from Zoology to Zombies: When Nature Bites Back – currently unknown
Occult Zoology: 101 – a presentation by Gavin Baddeley – currently unknown
Mini Pub Quiz – currently unknown (ask Gaz on the day!)