Shock and gore as Fear Screen film series will terrify audiences in Cork 

Audiences can immerse themselves in a world of terror when the captivating Fear Screen series at the Triskel Cinema kicks off on March 6. 

This marks the Cork International Film Festival’s third year showcasing spine-chilling horror films within the atmospheric embrace of Triskel. With CIFF’s unwavering dedication to enthralling Cork audiences year-round, this Fear Screen season promises to deliver four films that will leave you on the edge of your seat.

Si Edwards, CIFF Programme Manager, says Fear Screen is an opportunity to see horror films that have rarely been seen by Irish audiences.

"It’s great to bring Fear Screen back for a third year, and this time around, we have the opportunity to look at early works by directors who impacted horror in very different ways - Ulli Lommel and Dario Argento.”

These were responsible for two truly chilling experiences.

The Tenderness Of Wolves, released in 1973 and directed by Lommel, set in wartime Germany, is inspired by the real story of Fritz Haarman, a cannibal and serial killer who murdered and cannibalised over 20 young men in Hanover in the early years following World War I.

The film was produced by Ranier Werner Fassbinder, a major player in the New German Cinema movement, and stars Kurt Raab as Haarman. Raab, like many of the other actors in the film, regularly collaborated with Fassbinder.

The film was nominated for an award at the 23rd Berlin International Film Festival and has become a cult classic. Despite its grizzly subject, it touches on loneliness and isolation, regular themes in both Fassbinder and Lommel’s work.

The Bird With The Crystal Plumage, by Italian director Argento, a master of the Italian horror genre, was released in 1970. It stars Tony Musante as Sam, an American writer in Rome, who witnesses an attempted murder in an art gallery. Police believe the attacker to be a notorious serial killer, but when the trail goes cold, the writer decides to investigate the case, making himself a prime target for the killer.

The film, which has a score by the great Ennio Morricone, was based on a 1949 pulp novel, The Screaming Mimi, by Frederic Brown. However, Argento made several changes to his adaptation.

One of the finest examples of the Italian film genre, giallo, this predominantly mixes murder mystery with psychological horror and slasher elements.

The Fear Screen programme also includes a Polish and a French film, which Edwards says will surprise Cork audiences.

“We also bring a true Cannes-winning Polish classic to Cork for a rare outing, whilst unleashing the full horror of arguably Béatrice Dalle’s strongest performance on our audience in Inside. Those who only know Dalle from Betty Blue are in for a shock.”

Mother Joan Of The Angels, made in Poland by Jerzy Kawalerowicz, won the Special Jury Prize at the 1961 Cannes Film Festival. It is set in 17th-century Poland and is loosely based on a novella inspired by a true story that happened in a French town in the mid-1600s.

Kawalerowicz is a major Polish filmmaker, and the film is regarded as one of the finest examples of classic Polish filmmaking.

It follows a priest who is sent to a remote convent to investigate a series of reported demonic possessions. A nun, Mother Joan, claims eight demons inhabit her body. As the priest confronts these dark forces, he must choose whether to compromise his purity in order to save the convent from malevolence.

It inspired English director Ken Russell’s 1971 film, The Devils.

Inside is the most recent film in the programme. This French film, directed by first-time filmmakers Julien Maury and Alexandre Bustillo and released in 2007, is the goriest in this year’s Fear Screen line-up. It is banned in Germany, even after it was censored to remove some of the more violent scenes. The gore will be a draw for many horror fans.

The film focuses on Sarah, who is widowed while pregnant. As her due date nears, she encounters a strange woman who brings terror to Sarah’s life with bloody consequences.

As Edwards explains, in addition to the feature films playing in Triskel Cinema, a series of short films will be available to view on CIFF’s Digital Festival Platform throughout March.

“Topping it all off, our online focus on French Fear will allow viewers to see the short film debut by Titane director Julia Ducournau, forming a tryptic of body horror goodness.’

In Junior, a 13-year-old girl goes through a strange metamorphosis after a bout of stomach flu. Directed by Ducournau, she would later win a Palme d’Or at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival.

In Sweet Tooth, by Joséphine Darcy Hopkins, Madelaine, the daughter of a middle-class woman who provides manicure services, accompanies her mother to a client’s house. Upon arrival, she is confronted by three girls her age who invite her to play a challenging board game with unexpected consequences.

In Evil Seaweed by Antonin Peretjatko, a scientist collecting green algae samples on a French beach collapses and dies. Panic ensues in the village as he is not the first to suffer an algae-related incident, leading locals to suspect something is amiss with the green seaweed.

Information on the online programme can be found at www.corkfilmfest.org and the Fear Screen Film Season in Triskel Cinema. 

See www.triskelartscentre.ie.