Fabio Frizzi
Legendary Italian film music composer Fabio Frizzi is known throughout the world for his remarkable and unparalleled films scores, particularly those for the films of Lucio Fulci. Throughout a career that has spanned over 40 years, his most notable scores are for Zombie Flesh Easters, City of the Living Dead and The Beyond, which have made him a household name for lovers of horror worldwide.
The F2F Band
The Frizzi2Fulci band are talented players and performers selected personally by Fabio Frizzi to join his band. The band is Francesco Saguto (guitar), Riccardo Rocchi (guitar), Federico Tacchia (drums), Paolo Castellani (keyboard), and Roberto Fasciani (bass).
Robin Ince
Robin Ince is many things. A comedian, an author, a broadcaster and a populariser of scientific ideas. The Guardian once declared him a ‘becardiganed polymath’ which seems about right. Robin is also devoted to cult film and pulp literature, making him a perfect fit for Abertoir and going some way to explain why he can usually be found skulking around the second hand bookshops of Aberystwyth in mid-November.
Alberto Sedano
Film producer, curator and archivist. Since 2021, he’s been in charge of Spanish Film Acquisitions of Severin Films, as well as researching and locating film elements, managing film restoration projects and producing Bluray extras. He regularly curates film programs for cinemas, museums and other cultural venues and he’s been a jury member and consultant of diverse international film festivals, co-production forums, and public funding programs. EXORCISMO is his first feature film as a director.
Dominic Hardy
Professor Dominic Hardy is the son of Wicker Man director Robin Hardy, as well as being the executor for Robin’s estate. He is professor of history and historiography of art of Québec-Canada at UQAM, and director of the LAB-A, digital lab for the study of art histories in Québec. He is also a specialist of satire in the visual arts.
John Probert
John Llewellyn Probert is the author of 22 published books, the latest of which are The Frightfest Guide to Mad Doctor Movies (FAB Press) and the Amicus-style portmanteau novel How Grim Was My Valley (NewCon Press), which is set in his homeland of Wales. He is also the author of the popular Dr Valentine series, the first volume of which won the British Fantasy Award. He reviews new cinema and Blu-ray releases at his site, House of Mortal Cinema, and is a regular columnist for the magazines Weird Fiction Review and Nightmare Abbey in the US and We Belong Dead in the UK. Coming up next is a new novel, more Dr Valentine, another short story collection and more film books. He tries to fit in some sleep where he can.
Kate Probert
Kate Probert was born to the wail of the Wendigo and the whisper of warp engines. So it’s no surprise that her writing embraces both the mythic and the speculative. She is the author of two forthcoming film books, one on The Descent and one on Orca. In the realm of fiction she is better known by her nom de plume, Thana Niveau, author of the short story collections Octoberland, Unquiet Waters, and From Hell to Eternity, as well as the novel House of Frozen Screams. Her work has appeared in numerous anthologies, and has frequently been reprinted in the Mammoth Book of Best New Horror. She has been shortlisted three times for the British Fantasy award. She is not from Wales, but a land far across the ocean, where it is hot and beset by hurricanes and tornadoes. She shares her life with John Llewellyn Probert, in a crumbling gothic tower filled with arcane books and curiosities. And toy dinosaurs.
Gavin Baddeley
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.
Kaniehtiio Horn
Kaniehtiio Horn is an actress, writer, producer, and now director, with her feature debut, SEEDS, an Indigenous genre-bending horror which she also wrote, produced, and stars in. Horn’s other credits include Lionsgate’s thriller, ALICE, DARLING, Peacock’s hit comedy series RUTHERFORD FALLS, FX’s Emmy-nominated series RESERVATION DOGS, and her award-winning performance in the cult comedy series LETTERKENNY, the latter for which she served as producer on its spinoff, SHORESY. Her prolific acting work has also included appearig in The Theatre Bizarre, The Strain, The Man in the High Castle….and even the computer game Assassin’s Creed III. She will be joining us virtually from Canada for a live Q&A after the film.
Prof. Joanne Hamilton
Joanne is a Professor of Zoology and Parasitology in the Department of Life Sciences at Aberystwyth University. Her research focuses on host-parasite interactions in a wide variety of systems including blood-sucking insects and nematodes and trematodes of medical and veterinary importance. She is also a Fellow of the Royal Society for Biology and the current President of the British Society for Parasitology. She promises that she will draw on all these decades of learning to make sure her presentation for us is as disgusting as possible.
Matt Wise
Matt Wise is a US- born, London based writer/producer. He has worked as development executive in the entertainment industry for 15 years- including as Director of Publishing for horror juggernaut Blumhouse. Decibel (Co-written with his writing partner Stephen Christensen) is his first feature.
Nicko & Joe
Nicko & 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, ranging from They Might be Giants to Trey Parker and Matt Stone, creators of South Park.
Surprise Guest!
Abertoir wouldn’t be complete without a surprise – so how about a surprise guest! We’re going to have a lot of fun this year when we reveal who this person is – and we’re absolutely sure you’ll be delighted you were in the right place at the right time when we do it! Just be sure you try and attend as much as you can….