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 this guide is compiled by us manually and we might have missed something, especially if it’s a brief moment or a specific trigger. 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
A World War II Fairytale: The Making of Michael Mann’s The Keep (Stewart Buck & Stéphane Piter, UK 2025, 90 mins) – references to the Holocaust; images of Nazism including concentration camps.
Bokshi (Bhargav Saikia, India 2025, 142 mins, English subtitles) – homophobia, bullying, animal violence (chicken, goat, both off camera), child endangerment, flashing images, misogyny.
Eyes Without a Face (15) (Georges Franju, France 1960, 90 mins) – medical themes, grief theme, ableism, implied experimentation on a dog, references to suicide, dog attack.
Mag Mag (Yuriyan Retriever, Japan 2025, 113 mins, English subtitles) – bullying, suicide, stalking, domestic violence, child endangerment, fatphobia.
Mārama (Taratoa Stappard, New Zealand 2025, 89 mins, some English subtitles) -animal violence (whaling, fake), grief theme, colonialism theme, sexual and domestic violence, child endangerment, infanticide, Black face, racism and racist caricatures, homophobia, suicide, implied incest, reference to death in child birth.
Mystery Film (XXXXXXXX XXXXXXXX, USA 2025, 90 mins) – sustained animal threat/violence (fake); Rabies theme; needle; animal carcass (mongoose, unclear if real); grief theme, reference to death by cancer.
Noise (Kim Soo-jin, South Korea 2024, 93 mins, English subtitles) – features an ‘inauthentic’ portrayal of deafness; suicide (hanging); loss of a child (RTA, off-screen);
Phenomena (18) (Dario Argento, Italy 1985, 116 mins) – features an inauthentic wheelchair user; extensive scenes of creepy crawlies (insects, maggots, spiders); car accident; implied sexual assault; animal endangerment (chimp performer); scenes of medical examination/medical language; bullying; ableism; needles; vomiting; burning; drowning.
Queens of the Dead (Tina Romero, USA 2025, 98 mins) – flashing images; homophobia; transphobia/dead naming.
Reflection in a Dead Diamond (Hélène Cattet & Bruno Forzani, Belgium/Luxembourg/Italy/France 2025, 87 mins, English subtitles) – flashing images; burning; millipede.
The Bride of Frankenstein (PG) (James Whale, USA 1935, 75 mins) – dead children; drowning; brief hanging; medical/eugenics theme.
The Crazies (18) (George A. Romero, USA 1973, 104 mins) – child endangerment; house fire/burns; virus/contagion theme and scenes of quarantine; incest; sexual assault.
The Degenerate: The Life & Films of Andy Milligan (Josh Johnson & Grayson Tyler Johnson, USA 2025, 109 mins) – fatphobia; misogyny; dead rabbit, chicken; vomiting; references to homophobia; suicide; hanging; references to end of life and death due to AIDS; grief; references to euthanasia.
The Ghost (Riccardo Freda, Italy 1963, 100 mins) – pervasive ableism; killing of a dog (off-screen); euthanasia; burning; suicide; strangulation.
The Invisible Half (Masaki Nishiyama, Japan 2025, 106 mins, English subtitles) – xenophobia theme; bullying theme; suicide; references to self-harm.
The Keep (18) (Michael Mann, UK/USA 1983, 96 mins) – Nazism; antisemitism; ‘inauthentic’ portrayal of a Jewish character and a wheelchair user; scene of attempted rape.
The Old Dark House (PG) (James Whale, USA 1932, 71 mins) – anti-Welsh sentiment; ableism and ableist caricatures.
Theatre of Blood (15) (Douglas Hickox, UK 1973, 104 mins) – Blackface (in archive footage), Jew-face, and ableist caricature in Shakespearean performance context; reference to and depiction of suicide; domestic violence; gay stereotyping; death of dogs (off-screen but their very unrealistic heads are seen).
Theatre of Horrors: The Sordid History of Paris’ Grand Guignol (David Gregory, USA 2025, 87 mins) – medical themes; reference to rape; infanticide; hanging; references to suicide; references to war and trauma; references to Nazism.
Touch Me (Addison Heimann, USA 2025, 100 mins) – descriptions of sexual assault inc. child molestation, incest; needles; references to growing up care experienced; references to child neglet; reference to death in childbirth; references to cult membership; references to child loss; manipulation, coercion and dependency theme; self-esteem/mental health theme.
SHORTS
Amira (Javier Yañez Sanz, Spain, 15:00) – child endangerment
Beyond the Sea (Vladimir Scavuzzo, Italy, 06:34) – drowning
Bug (Ali Masoumi, Iran, 06:07) – no additional notes
Canto (Guilherme Daniel, Portugal, 15:00) – no additional notes
Carmageddon (Tarun Thind, UK, 12:54) – nationalism/racism theme
Cosmic Crash (James Smith, Germany, 01:40) – no additional notes
Dolores (Cecilia Delgadillo, Mexico, 08:51) – child endangerment
Don’t Be Afraid (Mats Udd, Sweden, 14:57) – flashing images, grief theme, loss of a child
Elevation (Matteo Macaluso, Italy, 14:40) – grief theme
Glory Hole (Andoni Fernandez, Spain, 15:00) – genital mutilation
Grandma is Thirsty (Kris Carr, UK, 14:30) – bullying
Imposter Syndrome (Jennifer Rosquiez, Mexico, 12:31) – reference to and depiction of therapy, self-harm
In (Van Poynton, Ireland, 03:00) – no additional notes
Inebriated (Max r Lincoln, UK, 11:35) – addiction/alcoholism theme
Into The Stand (Mackenzie Hamilton, Canada, 14:41) – references to alcoholism and sobriety
Not too bad (Anna Carbonell Lacárcel, Spain, 12:23) – racism
Obey! (Jordan Wippell, USA, 11:07) – dog death (off-screen)
OK / NOT OK (Pardeep Sahota, UK, 12:49) – depiction of anti-immigration sentiments
Planetagatik (Eneko Muruzabal Elezcano, Spain, 09:35) – no additional notes
Precious (Sean Frost, UK, 14:08) – no additional notes
Speak with the Dead (Stephanie Paris, USA, 12:12) – reference to child loss, spouse loss
Terminus (Ashley Butcher, Belgium, 10:24) – marital discord, domestic violence/murder of a spouse, ill-health
The Birdwatcher (Ryan Mackfall, UK, 13:40) – no additional notes
The Face (Andreas Mortensen, Sweden, 08:02) – domestic violence theme
The Fairy Moon (Craig Williams, UK, 12:25) – road accident
The Newcomer (Zoe Cleland, Canada, 14:13) – depression and suicide theme throughout, implied hanging
Unravelling (Aimie Willemse, UK, 08:03) – references to and depiction of chronic illness
Voyeur (Maryam Hashempour, Iran, 05:52) – stalking/misogyny theme
EVENTS
Garth Marenghi’s This Bursted Earth – unknown
Simon Boswell – LIVE! – unknown; show features film clips
Victoria Price on Vincent’s 20 Golden Years of Gothic – unknown
Nicko & Joe’s Bad Film Club – unknown, but always features adult and at times tasteless humour!
The Gothic in Film – Prof. Stacey Abbott – unknown
Bats in the Belfry: going gothic for fun and profit! – a presentation by Gavin Baddeley – unknown
Gothic in Games: Chapter Two – a presentation by Kristen McGorry – unknown
Mini Pub Quiz – currently unknown (ask Gaz on the day!)