On Thursday 17th July Grimmfest will conclude its John Carpenter season with the classic 1980’s horror film ‘The Thing’. Following hugely popular screenings of ‘They Live’, ‘Escape From New York’ and ‘Big Trouble In Little China’ the chance to see what is without doubt one of the most influential and popular horror films of all time is certain to attract the biggest audience yet. In anticipation of this stunning finale we sat down with Greg Walker, one of the team behind the growing Grimmfest empire, to find out why Carpenter was an obvious choice when choosing to hold a season of classic films.
“The great thing about John Carpenter’s films is that they are perfect examples of 80’s cheese while still taking themselves 100% seriously and that’s why I personally love them and why we at Grimmfest wanted to give fans the chance to see them on the big screen,” said Greg. “The problem though was how to narrow it down to just the four films. We wanted to show the Kurt Russell classics as they really define Carpenter’s career but it was also an excuse to get They Live on the big screen again. This is a personal favourite and hugely underrated, and it perfectly typifies the sheer cheese of the decade with the iconic bubblegum line and the ridiculously lengthy back alley fight scene in combination with excellent political commentary.”
“I think it’s important these days to preserve the big screen experience too. With the domination of VOD, home cinema and tablets a lot of people are forgetting how great it is to see films like this on the big screen with the amazing scores belting out through the speakers surrounded by people laughing and screaming. It’s a celebration of amazing films, regardless of genre.”
With this season drawing to a close and despite more screenings scheduled through the summer it is impossible not to think of Grimmfest 2014 which once again will dominate horror fan’s minds in the first week of October. As the highly anticipated line-up is yet to be announced we tried to prise some details from Greg while we had the chance, and asked why he thought horror festivals were so popular.
“I think a lot of it is in the extreme escapism that exists in horror, and the passion that affords. It infects everyone from a young age and makes people want to keep pushing the boundaries of what they can handle. Anyone can sing a tune or have a little cry, but it’s not too often you come across shape-shifting aliens in The Arctic like in The Thing is it?”
“As is the case every year fans can expect a bigger and better Grimm in 2014. We’re looking at an amazing selection of films from around the world and have some top notch premieres and guests lined up. They’ll be some huge surprises too and we can’t wait to share it with everyone!”
The Grimmfest team have always sought out the best in new genre films and filmmakers but with the recent John Carpenter season they have confirmed their commitment to bringing some of the best and most important horror classics to the screen. At heart they are true fans themselves and for the rest of us that can only be a good thing!
For more information and tickets details: http://grimmfest.com/grimmupnorth/
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