Horror in the Caves returns for Halloween 2021

Like one of those scuttling crawlers from The Descent, Bristol Film Festival is the latest local fest to emerge blinking into daylight after nearly two years of festering lockdown. In celebration, the organisers propose to drag you right back down to the pits of hell with them for the first time since 2019; ‘hell’ in this instance being Redcliffe Caves, the venue for the Festival’s ever-popular Halloween Horror in the Caves strand. And, yes, of course they’ll be screening The Descent again. They always do. And it always sells out.

There are easier ways of returning to the surface after Bristol Film Festival’s screening of ‘The Descent’ in Redcliffe Caves

Should the prospect of a cave horror screened in cave not appeal, there’s plenty more underground fun to be had on the weekend of October 29-31. Take your pick from classic horror (John Carpenter’s The Thing, the director’s cut of The Exorcist, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Dario Argento’s Suspiria, the 1931 versions of Universal’s Frankenstein and Dracula), modern horror (A Quiet Place Part II, Midsommar, The Lighthouse, The Babadook) and even a horror comedy (What We Do in the Shadows).

If you’d prefer to be terrified above ground, they’re taking over Bristol Museum on October 28 for a family friendly screening of Hocus Pocus followed by a late-night outing for the fabulously goaty The Witch.

And if you simply can’t wait, the Festival’s autumn season kicks off at Arnos Vale Cemetery on October 20 & 21 with Corpse Bride, Batman, Sleepy Hollow, Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow and Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Yep, Johnny Depp has obviously not (yet) been cancelled in Bristol, as he stars in four of these.

Encouragingly, most of the initial screenings have already sold out. “Our audience has returned in droves and we’ve been overwhelmed by the response to being back after 18 difficult months,” Festival Director Owen Franklin tells us.

This chap from ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ is very much looking forward to seeing you in Arnos Vale Cemetery

Anyone who’s missed out will be overjoyed to learn that the festival returns to Arnos Vale Cemetery for another batch of spooky screenings on November 4 & 5: Coraline, Crimson Peak, The Nightmare Before Christmas, James and the Giant Peach, The Devil’s Backbone and Pan’s Labyrinth.

Get far out with ‘Interstellar’ at the Planetarium

There’s plenty for those peculiar people who don’t like horror movies too. The Festival’s series of screenings of classic movies at iconic locations returns with Pixar’s Up and Oscar winner La La Land at Clifton Observatory (Oct 23), The Naked Gun with a beer tasting at The Station (Oct 27), Airplane! beneath the wings of Concorde at Aerospace Bristol (Nov 10), Back to the Future with live performers at the City Museum (Nov 25) and Battleship Potemkin with live music in Bristol Cathedral (Nov 16). In the cellar at Averys wine merchants, you can sip along with A Room with a View (Nov 5), Casablanca (Nov 6) and indie comedy Bottle Shock (Nov 26). Science fiction selections at the Planetarium from Nov 12-14 this year are WALL-E, The Terminator, Gravity and Interstellar. In fact, Interstellar has proven so popular already that the fest has now announced additional screenings on Nov 26 & Dec 3. And there’s even more at the Planetarium on December 4: The Iron Giant and Guardians of the Galaxy.

Vesty avenger Bruce Willis returns for a booze-off with the Eurobaddies in ‘Die Hard’

Is it too early to think about Christmas? Not if you intend to get tickets for the Festival’s festive events before they sell out. They’ve got two screenings of the first Harry Potter flick, Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, at Clifton College on December 11. Hardy perennials Elf and Love, Actually return to the Bristol Museum on Dec 16. And finally, it’s back to Averys wine cellar for more boozy screenings. Those who wish to drown their sorrows with Bridget Jones can do so on Dec 21, when Bridget’s Jones’s Diary will be up on screen. And back by popular demand after multiple sell-outs in 2019 are two screenings (so far) of Die Hard, with a brutal showdown between macho, vesty American wines and smooth yet sinister German wines (Dec 22).

Go here for the full programme and ticket details.

Main pic: The Descent