BOAR Opening Night Gala
BOAR writer/director Chris Sun, actor John Jarratt, MONSTER FEST’s Neil Foley and actor Roger Ward.
BOAR actors Roger Ward, Melissa Tkautz, Simone Buchanan & Griffin Walsh. BOAR writer/director Chris Sun with THE LAST HOPE’s writer/director/actor Leigh Ormsby and producer/cinematographer/actor Glenn Ellis. Cameron Cairnes, Colin Cairnes, Roger Ward, Mark Hartley & Cherease Kingdon.THE SCREAMING MEANIES performing live.Josh Collins with MONSTER FEST festival directors Grant Hardie & Neil Foley.Simon Harcourt, Nathan Armstrong & Simone Michelle O’Dea.

Check out more photos from the BOAR Q&A and Opening Night Gala.

THE LAST HOPE & TARNATION World Premieres
THE LAST HOPE producer/stunt coordinator/actor Vlady T, writer/director/actor Leigh Ormsby, producer/cinematographer/actor Glenn Ellis and actor Daniel Reader.
THE LAST HOPE writer/director/actor Leigh Ormsby and producer/cinematographer/actor Glenn Ellis with FATAL VISIONS’ Michael Helms.TARNATION actress Daisy Masterman and writer/director Daniel Armstrong with Q&A host FATAL VISIONS’ Michael Helms.

Check out more photos from the THE LAST HOPE & TARNATION Q&As.

VIDEO HOARDERS Pop-Up Installation

MONSTER FEST’s Jarret Gahan with VIDEO HOARDERS series creator and host Rob Taylor.

Check out more photos from our VIDEO HOARDERS Pop-Up Installation.

THE VIPER’S HEX & LOST GULLY World PremieresTHE VIPER’S HEX actors Yoji Yamada, Kenji Shimada, Saya Minami along with writer/director team Addison Heath & Jasmine Jakupi . LOST GULLY actors John Brumpton and Adele Perovic along with writer/director Donna McRae and producer Liz Baulch.

Check out more photos from the THE VIPER’S HEX & LOST GULLY ROAD Q&As.

DRAGON FORCE X Q&A & Closing Night Awards

MONSTER FEST’s Neil Foley hosts a Q&A with DRAGON FORCE X practical/makeup effects artist Nick Kocsis, writer/director/actor Stuart Simpson along with actors Tim Wicks, Tommy Hellfire & Christine Catalina Diefenbach.

An attentive audience for the DRAGON FORCE X Q&A.
MONSTER FEST’s Neil Foley awards TARNATION writer/director Daniel Armstrong ‘Best Australian Feature’.
TRASHARAMA 2017 Golden Lomax award-winner SLEAZY PETE writer/director Frank Appache with TRASHARAMA festival director Dick Dale.

Check out more photos from the DRAGON FORCE X Q&A and Closing Night Awards.

Thank you to all the filmmakers, sponsors, judges, volunteers, audiences and Lido Cinemas for our best MONSTER FEST yet, we can’t wait for next year already. In in the interim, why not consider a trip interstate to one of our many MONSTER FEST TRAVELLING SIDESHOW events across Australia!

We would like to thank all of the filmmakers who not only allowed us to be their platform to premiere their film here in Australia but for their truly remarkable art, we are honoured to be a part of your creative release process.

We would also like to thank the volunteers who gave up their time, energy and gave it their all to make both staff and audiences always know what was happening. Particular thanks to our interstate mates, Vanessa Gudgeon, Duncan Shaw & Clint Cure who travelled at their own expense to volunteer at the festival, you are MONSTER FEST family and we sincerely appreciate everything.

Most importantly we would like to THANK YOU, our MONSTER FEST audiences who year after year have come to support genre cinema from all around the world particularly emerging Australian genre cinema and have enabled us to grow into Australia’s premier genre film festival. As cliched as it sounds, without you there would be no MONSTER FEST, you are MONSTER FEST!

Without further ado, here are the MONSTER FEST 2017 Award Winners:

FEATURE FILM WINNERS

Golden Monster: COLD HELL  (Stefan Ruzowitzky (Germany)

Best International Feature: REVENGE  Coralie Fargeat (France)

OZFLIX Award for Best Australian Feature: TARNATION Daniel Armstrong (Australia)

Best Director: CAN EVRENOL HOUSWIFE (Turkey)

Honourable Mention: HORROR MOVIE: A LOW BUDGET NIGHTMARE Gary Doust (Australia)

SHORT FILM WINNERS

Best Short: BIRTHDAY Alberto Viavattene (Italy)

Best International Short: TICKLE MONSTER Remi Weekes (UK)

OZFLIX Award for Best Australian Short: LIZ DRIVES Mia’kate Russell (Australia)

OZFLIX award for Best Victorian Short: REUNION Seamus Murphy (Australia)
– $5000 in equipment hire from Gearhead & $4000 in digital post production services from Roar Digital.

OZFLIX Award for Best Australian Student Short: THE MAN IN THE MOON Monique Mulcahy (Victorian College for the Arts)

TRASHARAMA Golden Lomax: SLEAZY PETE Frank Appache (Canada)

Stay tuned this week as we release all of our photos taken from this year’s festival by the very talented and always lovely Photographer & MONSTER FEST Operations Coordinator Kim Taylor and her photographic cohort, our MONSTER FEST Technical Director, Ben Hellwig.

On a final note, here’s a clip of TARNATION writer/director Daniel Armstrong receiving his OZFLIX Award for Best Australian Feature from OZFLIX CEO Ron Brown and MONSTER FEST/MONSTER PICTURES’ Neil Foley.

While MONSTER FEST here in Melbourne has wrapped for another, our next satellite event, MONSTER FEST TRAVELLING SIDESHOW in Cairns at Event Cinemas Cairns Central kicks off on Friday December 8th and you all deserve a holiday so why not think about making the trek up to Far North Queensland!

For details on our MONSTER FEST 2017 programming, sessions and ticketing, visit the official site here!

Single Tickets
Adults: $20
Concessions/Members:$16

TICKET PACKAGES
Get the most out of the Monster Fest 2017 experience and save with package passes! When you purchase a pass you will be receive a barcode number which shows up in your booking receipt. This can be used online, over the phone or in person to redeem sessions at the festival in advance. To use this code online, just go on the sessions you wish to attend as though buying tickets, and it will give you the option of entering a redemption code. If for any reason you do not receive a code, please contact the Lido at (03) 8658 0000.

VIP Pass – $120
The VIP Pass gets you all-access to Monster Fest screenings and events at the Lido Cinema Nov 23rd to -26th of November. These VIP pass lanyard will be available for pickup at The Lido on Nov 23rd from 5pm onwards, you will need to keep this lanyard on you at all times as pass-holders need to show their pass at the box office to get tickets to the sessions they wish to attend and or festival staff to check against ticket purchases for entry into cinemas.

5 Film Pass – $60
Get a 5 film pass eligible for Monster Fest sessions on Friday the 24th, Saturday the 25th or Sunday the 26th for a discounted price! The 5 Day Pass is not valid for Opening Night session or the All-Night Marathon. 

Joining us all the way from Tokyo is actor Yoji Yamada. Having recently worked alongside Jared Leto and Tadanobu Asano on the upcoming Yakuza epic THE OUTSIDER, as well as Yuki Hatayama’s brilliant short SENSE OF SIN, Yoji plays Testuya in THE VIPER’S HEX. Yoji is set to reunite with his Black Forest Films family in 2018 on their next upcoming Japanese/Australian co-production, a Japanese yakuza crime film, THE SHINJUKU FIVE.
Saya Minami is a Japanese actress based in Mullumbimby in the Bryon Shire. Born and raised in Tokyo, Saya has been living in Australia for nine years. During this time, Saya has acted in several Australian independent feature films including MIDORI IN HAWAII and MONDO YAKUZA as well as countless short films. Saya plays Kiyo in THE VIPER’S HEX.

Kenji Shimada joins us from interstate, where he is currently working with the Brisbane Arts Theatre on their upcoming 2018 production of A CLOCKWORK ORANGE, where he will play the lead of Alex. Kenji is a Japanese/Australian actor, who has been acting since 2010 and working with Black Forest films from 2013. Having appeared in award-winning films such UNDER A KALEIDOSCOPE, MONDO YAKUZA & THE PERFECT NONSENSE, Kenji now stars Anchin in THE VIPER’S HEX.

Addison Heath is a writer/director from Melbourne, Australia most known for writing cult hit CHOCOLATE STRAWBERRY VANILLA. Following that, Addison went on to direct the MONSTER FEST award-winners UNDER A KALEIDOSCOPE & MONDO YAKUZA along with the multi-award winning absurdist midnight-comedy THE PERFECT NONSENSE. Addison has partnered up with Jasmine Jakupi to co-direct THE VIPER’S HEX, their Japanese language debut.

Jasmine Jakupi is an award-winning multi-disciplinary filmmaker from Melbourne, Australia. She first hit the big screen with local festival hit, UNDER A KALEIDOSCOPE, a psychedelic thriller that won Best Australian Feature Film at MONSTER FEST 2014. She has since kept busy producing such features as the black & white yakuza revenge film, MONDO YAKUZA (2016) and the 5-day feature fairy tale comedy, THE PERFECT NONSENSE (2016). THE VIPER’S HEX is Jasmine’s latest addition to her filmography which also marks her feature film directorial debut.

About THE VIPER’S HEX:
Kiyo, a lonely hostess spends her days propositioning men on the cold streets of Tokyo and being beaten by her violent pimp, Tetsuya. One day her luck seems to change when she meets a charming foreigner named Anchin and a romance blossoms but soon everything falls apart when she becomes pregnant. Upon hearing the news Anchin flees Tokyo. With nowhere left to go she turns to The Viper, a scorned spirit that has been with her since birth.

THE VIPER’S HEX World Premiere is at MONSTER FEST on Saturday November 25th 9pm and and you can grab them here!

THE VIPER’S HEX screens with a host of World, Australian and Victorian Premieres at MONSTER FEST 2017,  you can check out the whole line up at our official site right here!

Making its Australian Premiere is Rondo Award-winning filmmaker, Steve Mitchell’s debut documentary, KING COHEN, a feature-length retrospective on legendary filmmaker Larry Cohen. This year our world famous ALL-NIGHT MARATHON will accompany KING COHEN with a from dusk till dawn program paying tribute to the one and only cinematic maverick, Larry Cohen.

Joining our growing list of MONSTER FEST 2017 special guests this year is Aussie expat and genre luminary, Mark Savage, who will be in attendance to present the Australian Premiere of his latest film, PURGATORY ROAD.

Rounding out our second wave announcement are three shorts programs, HOME IS WHERE THE HORROR IS, WHEN YOU’RE STRANGE and AFTER SCHOOL SPECIAL (Australian Student Shorts).

Here’s the breakdown of session times and ticketing links:

KING COHEN & THE ALL-NIGHT MARATHON | SATURDAY 25TH OF NOVEMBER 11PM

KING COHEN*
Steve Mitchell | USA 2017 | LA LA LAND ENTERTAINMENT | Australian Premiere

Buckle up for KING COHEN, the true story of writer, producer, director, creator and all-around maverick, Larry Cohen (BLACK CAESAR, IT’S ALIVE, Q: THE WINGED SERPENT, THE STUFF). Told through compelling interviews, stills and archival clips, the people who helped fulfil his vision, and industry icons such as Martin Scorsese, John Landis, Michael Moriarty, Fred Williamson and many more, including Larry himself, bring one-of-a-kind insight into the work, process and legacy of a true American film auteur.

THE ALL-NIGHT MARATHON*
After witnessing Steve Mitchell’s fascinating documentary on the legendary Larry Cohen, you’ll want to dive instantaneously into King Cohen’s extensive back catalogue of films and we’ve made it easy for you with THE ALL-NIGHT MARATHON! The only catch is that programming of our marathon is top secret…so the only way to know what five Larry Cohen films we’ll play is to be there on the night/morning!

*KING COHEN & THE ALL-NIGHT MARATHON is offered as an Event Only ticket, $30 (no concessions).

PURGATORY ROAD | SATURDAY 25TH OF NOVEMBER 7PM
Mark Savage | USA 2017 | Delirium | Australian Premiere
w/ Q&A by Writer/Director Mark Savage

On the highways of Mississippi, a psychotic priest and his brother are on a crusade to absolve sinners with their own brand of murder. The only person brave enough to challenge them is a woman more crazed, more deadly, and more insane than they are.

SHORTS PROGRAM 1
HOME IS WHERE THE HORROR IS | FRIDAY 24TH OF NOVEMBER 7PM
Kids, teens, housemates and families; no one is safe from MONSTER FEST’s domestically themed program of terrifying horror shorts.

THE WELCOMING
Russ Gomm | UK | 7 mins
A little girl goes wandering in the woods, but some who wander might find themselves lost in darker places.

GENE
Nick Padley | UK | 10.22 mins
A recently widowed mother has to take drastic action when she discovers her 11 year old son might be a psychopath in the making.

IT BEGAN WITHOUT WARNING
Jessica Curtright, Santiago C. Tapia | USA | 5.35 mins
‘The time has come’, the Walrus said. And all the little Oysters stood and waited in a row.

THE DUWENDE
Odin B. Fernandez | Australia | 10.30 mins
In rural Philippines, a local man searches for his missing daughter while his wife believes she was taken by the mythical duwende.

IN THE DARK DARK WOODS
Jason Bognacki | USA | 4.30 mins
The woods hold a dark secret.

THE LAST LIGHT
Angelita Mendoza | USA | 11.17 mins
A young girl, Izabella, finds a little boy tied up in an abandoned house on her family’s land, she questions the boy to find out who he is and why he’s been left there. Is he being mistreated or has he done something wrong?

TICKLE MONSTER
Remi Weekes | UK | 3.57 mins
When Natalie learns that Elliott is ticklish, things get bad. And then they get worse.

PIGSKIN
Jake Hammond | USA | 13.24 mins
A high school cheerleader faces a grisly manifestation of her self-deprecating inner demons.

PIZZA FACE
Jamie Dwyer | USA | 10.00 mins
A self-absorbed pizza waitress unleashes devastating horror after downloading a sinister mobile app.

THE VEILED
Josh Long | Australia | 12.45 mins
The elderly father is trapped behind the veil of dementia and his daughter is trapped as his caregiver. The grind of day to day life of the forgotten daughter trying to give her forgotten father dignity in a world that has passed both of them by. A sacrificed life to do what’s right. But as cracks start to appear in the veil she must answer one ghastly question. Was it worth it?

YOUR DATE IS HERE
Todd Spence | USA | 6.12 mins
After dusting off an old Mystery-Date style board game, a mother and daughter realise the game holds more evil than amusement.

NOTHING A LITTLE SOAP AND WATER CAN’T FIX
Jen Proctor | USA | 9.15 mins
Using appropriated movies, this experimental found footage work deconstructs the representations of women in this domestic space as historically framed in popular film.

TEDDY BEARS PICNIC
Tom Hodge | UK | 5.26 mins 
A mother and daughter are playing games in the forest. Somebody’s watching. Somebody’s waiting. If you go down to the woods today, you’re sure of a grim surprise.

SHORTS PROGRAM 2
WHEN YOU’RE STRANGE | SATURDAY 25TH OF NOVEMBER 2:30PM
MONSTER FEST’s hybrid-genre shorts program featuring stories of the twisted, bizarre and outright deranged.

HELMINTH
Merinda Staubli | Australia | 6.26 mins
Helminth is an exploration of beauty ideals and the innate abject, grotesque nature of the human body.

FRENCHIES
Kuan-Fu FT Lin | Taiwan/USA | 12.41 mins
A fantasy satire film about how fear turns a nice guy into a judgemental person against his new neighbours, the Frenchy family.

BREATHE
Daniel Anderson | Australia | 14.59 mins
The lives of two space explorers unravel after a life-threatening accident exposes a secret romance.

PANIC ATTACK!
Eileen O’Meara | USA | 3.00 mins
Do you ever wonder “did I leave the coffee on?” or “am I pregnant with a devil-baby?” This 3-minute short explores anxiety, obsession, and one woman’s slippery hold on reality.

DELICIOUS PERSPECTIVE
Antonio Padovani | Italy | 10.49 mins
Anna is coming: finally, a night together, a night awaited for so long, but the anticipation now makes her uneasy and scares her. Something is troubling her. The fear of breaking a taboo? Feelings of inadequacy? Her conscience? An undefined sense of guilt? All things that can kill. Literally.

DON’T EVER CHANGE
Don Swaynos | USA | 9.40 mins 
The reunion between a woman and her estranged daughter is interrupted by a man with an unusual request.

HELL FOLLOWS
Brian Harrison | USA | 10.55 mins
Betrayed by his clan and murdered for his past evil deeds, a sadistic killer’s soul possesses his identical twin’s body and sets out onto the road of vengeance for one final crusade of extermination. Everywhere he goes … HELL FOLLOWS.

SOLVED
Michael Bartolomeo | USA | 7.45 mins
A lonely young man dreams of one day becoming a Rubik’s Cube master, but his obsession soon turns deadly.

DON’T TURN ME OFF
Sean van Leijenhorst | Czech Republic | 5.30 mins
When a woman terrified of a scary film she was watching decides to turn it off, the horror becomes all too real when a dark presence is unleashed in the house.

LAST WORDS
Daniel Farmer | Australia | 12.00 mins
After filming carnage for the nightly news a cameraman steps into his own picture for the first time.

PET MONKEY
Eric Maira | USA | 7.57 mins
A date night turns ugly when a persistent boyfriend offers to buy his girlfriend a monkey.

SOL
Carlos G. Gananian | Brazil | 14.00 mins
Sol only listens to one voice. The devil’s voice.

SHORTS PROGRAM 3
AFTER SCHOOL SPECIAL | SUNDAY 26TH OF NOVEMBER 12:30PM
MONSTER FEST’s showcase of student shorts from some of the best film schools around the country, featuring the work of current students and 2016 graduates.

WELCOME AND CONGRATULATIONS
Mickey Mason | Flinders University | 6.58 mins
The way to happiness. A “how to” video guide for better living in a dystopian society.

ONE SMALL STEP
Sarah Rackemann | Queensland University of Technology | 2.17 mins
One of humankind’s greatest achievements has been to walk on the moon. It was marked in history as a phenomenal success. What if that first step had turned out a little differently?

THE FORGOTTEN CHILDREN
Jason Hooker | Swinburne University | 11.57 mins
The owners of a foster care home venture out to search for the orphan girl in their care who has disappeared into the nearby woods – unaware of the impending threat to their existence.

MAN IN THE MOON
Monique Mulcahy | Victorian College of the Arts | 13.17 mins
When an under appreciated single mother intercepts a strange transmission on her pocket radio she suspects that it may be linked to her teenage sons mysterious homemade gaming headset.

ENID
Maria Severin | Deakin University | 8.00 mins
Joseph is a young male traveler injured in an animal trap accident, he stumbles upon the cabin of a lone woman. She takes him in and heals him. After witnessing some strange behavior, he bravely snoops around for more answers. But this won’t do for the woman, and the young traveler becomes the victim of a dangerous ritual.

PETREL
Charles Broad | Sydney Film School | 12.08 mins
In the middle of rural Australia a man is running away from his past. He soon becomes stuck inside an empty petrol station, hoping to escape. But the station is more certain of his chances than he is.

THE ONLOOKERS
Jason Albury | Victorian College of the Arts | 10.55 mins
In our world time has become fragmented and time holes are appearing anywhere and at any time, revealing either the past or the future in that very location. When George and his apprentice stumble across a timehole revealing their inevitable fate they must now decide what they must do with the life changing information.

THE LEAVING
Michael Smith | Flinders University | 13.10 mins
Ariel is treating herself to a relaxing night with a bath and wine. Upon getting ready to turn in for the night, Ariel realises that she is being hunted by a violent intruder, forcing her to go to any lengths to stay alive.

HERE, THERE AND EVERYWHERE
Erika Wu | JMC Academy | 3.53 mins
In the middle of the night, Lissy is awoken by something strange lurking behind her closet door. Is it a monster? A ghost? A new friend?

For details on our first wave announcement click here!

SINGLE TICKETS
Adults: $21
Concessions/Members:$16
KING COHEN & THE ALL-NIGHT MARATHON: $30 (no concession)

TICKET PACKAGES
Get the most out of the Monster Fest 2017 experience and save with package passes! When you purchase a pass you will be receive a barcode number which shows up in your booking receipt. This can be used online, over the phone or in person to redeem sessions at the festival in advance. To use this code online, just go on the sessions you wish to attend as though buying tickets, and it will give you the option of entering a redemption code. If for any reason you do not receive a code, please contact the Lido at (03) 8658 0000.

VIP Pass – $120
The VIP Pass gets you all-access to Monster Fest screenings and events at the Lido Cinema Nov 23rd to -26th of November. These VIP pass lanyard will be available for pickup at The Lido on Nov 23rd from 5pm onwards, you will need to keep this lanyard on you at all times as pass-holders need to show their pass at the box office to get tickets to the sessions they wish to attend and or festival staff to check against ticket purchases for entry into cinemas.

5 Film Pass – $60
Get a 5 film pass eligible for Monster Fest sessions on Friday the 24th, Saturday the 25th or Sunday the 26th for a discounted price! The 5 Day Pass is not valid for Opening Night session or the All-Night Marathon. 

The 2017 chapter of MONSTER FEST, takes on a very Australian flavour – and at the core of today’s announcement is the inclusion of six brand new Australian feature films, most of which will be enjoying their World Premieres at the festival.

Opening the festival is one of 2018’s most anticipated new horror flicks, Chris Sun’s mind-blowing creature-feature, BOAR.

Sun, whose film CHARLIE’S FARM opened the festival in 2014, returns to MONSTER FEST with an epic that will have horror pundits celebrating Australia’s glorious return to the world of pure, unadulterated, creature feature madness!

Carved from the darkest recesses of Sun’s twisted imagination, BOAR is an outback-set horror masterpiece about a giant, brutal, blood crazed pig – a beast that is sure to go down as one of the most terrifying creations in Australian cinema history!

Powerhouse Aussie man-mountain Nathan Jones (MAD MAX: FURY ROAD) and US horror legend Bill Moseley (HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES) lead an incredible cast that reads like a veritable who’s who of Australian cinema, including the likes of John Jarratt, Ernie Dingo, Chris Haywood, Simone Buchanan, Melissa Tkautz, Steve Bisley, Rodger Ward and more.

“We’re delighted to be returning to Melbourne with this film. BOAR is everything I love about horror cinema in one big, nasty, brutal package – it’s got everything you could possibly want in an Aussie horror film… thrills, spills, chills, shocks, and a massive, dirty, vicious one-tonne blood crazed hog! Watch out Monster Fest – BOAR is coming to get ya!”, said director Chris Sun of BOAR’s MONSTER FEST premiere.

BOAR opens the festival and paves the way for an onslaught of brilliant new Aussie genre cinema, the likes of which have rarely been seen in the one location before.

First up, there’s the Melbourne made, zombie epic THE LAST HOPE from local director Leigh Ormsby. Following on is the return of Melbourne genre stalwart Daniel Armstrong, whose MURDERDROME opened the festival to raptures in 2013, and whose new feature TARNATION promises to be bigger, better, bloodier and more brutal than ever before! Another incredible Melbourne based director, Donna McRae makes her Monster Fest debut with the World Premiere of her sublime LOST GULLY ROAD, followed by Monster Fest regular Addison Heath with his amazing Japanese shot and set, THE VIPER’S HEX. Next up is the debut feature from the magnificently warped mind of Michael Cusack, the creator of YouTube sensation DAMO & DARREN, whose live action comedy ALL NIGHT GAMING rounds out the Aussie features in the first wave announcement.

Other highlights of the first wave include the return of Adelaide’s legendary punk cinema icon Dick Dale, with his much-loved trash feast, TRASHARAMA. Part One kicks off with an inglorious selection of all-new trash gems from every corner of the globe. In Part Two, Dale has curated a ‘best-of’ program that will feature highlights of his twenty years showing the trashiest short films on the planet, aptly titled ‘Trasharama: 20 Years of Hell’.

Also announced today is the big screen launch of Monster Fest veteran Stu Simpson’s hilarious action/comedy web-series DRAGON FORCE X, based on his MONSTER FEST 2016 ‘Audience Award’ winning Best Short Film, DRAGON FORCE. It is with enormous pleasure we present the first four episodes on the Monster Fest screen. Recently completed via a crowd funding campaign, this is the chance for Monster Fest audiences to rally behind a true homegrown gem, and to quiz the makers on how it found its way from short film to web-series. Included in the launch will be the Australian premiere of the Canadian crowd funded sensation, ANOTHER WOLFCOP (starring pop culture icon Kevin Smith). Producer J Joly will be on hand to fill audiences in on all things crowd funding, and to explain the history behind this unique and phenomenally popular Canadian horror/comedy franchise.

Closing out the first wave is the announcement of our Closing Night Film, REVENGE, by French newcomer Coralie Fargeat. REVENGE is a tale of vengeance with a decidedly feminist twist that left audiences at the recent Toronto International Film Festival aghast by its sheer intensity and brutality. Described by Variety as a “stylistic tour de-force”, REVENGE follows on in the tradition of last year’s Monster Fest sensation, RAW, as one of a new breed of female directed genre films taking the world by storm. REVENGE will close the festival on an unforgettably powerful note.

A locally produced short film will accompany each session.

Here’s the breakdown of features, shorts, dates, session times and ticketing:

BOAR | THURSDAY 23RD OF NOVEMBER 7PM
Chris Sun | Australia 2017 | Universal Pictures | Opening Night Gala
w/ Q&A by Writer/Director Chris Sun and Producers Kristijana Maric & Chrissy Hulsby

The giant BOAR was a myth, a legend brought to life in a drunken pub tale. The thing about myths and legends, they are usually made up of partial truths, and in this case, complete and terrifying truths. Tearing a path of destruction through fencing and livestock, locals haven’t a clue of the chilling death that lurks in the striking Australian outback. The Monroe’s are on a road trip to reconnect with a life they left behind several years ago. Seeing old friends and loved ones bring the tight knit family even closer together. A spontaneous decision to picnic along the shores of a cool river three hours from town brings them face to face with death itself. A BOAR of staggering size with a taste for blood is cutting out a crude home in the bush, and has marked this area as his. Nothing can stand in its way, nothing can stop the destruction. While the boar continues its savage rampage, the Monroe’s settle in for a quiet afternoon, and an evening of wild pig and roo spotting. As they are slowly and savagely stalked and slaughtered by the beast, the fight for survival becomes as animalistic and brutal as the animal itself.

Screens with short film PROCEEDS OF CRIME
Dir. James Chappell / Starring: Sabrina Haley, Sarah Bishop, Charles Waterstreet, Ashleigh McFarlane, Lucy Norton, Meshell Webb / Duration: 10 mins

THE LAST HOPE | FRIDAY 24TH OF NOVEMBER 7PM
Leigh Ormsby | Australia 2017 | Pandora Productions | World Premiere
w/ Q&A by Cast & Crew

As an unstoppable virus turns the living into cannibalistic monsters devastates the world, a mysterious girl arrives to Australia, the final, unaffected safe-haven. Her arrival collides with the uprising staged by migrant survivors kept in internment camps to ensure the country’s protection. As The High Risk Response Unit reaches the facility to restore law and order, chaos erupts as they realise that despite their efforts, the virus has arrived. Will Australia, the last hope for many, finally fall?

Screens with short film UNDEADICATED
Dir. Felix Jozeps / Starring: Scott Sheridan, Aaron Tsindos, Francesca Savige / Duration: 13 mins

TARNATION | FRIDAY 24TH OF NOVEMBER 9:30PM
Daniel Armstrong | Australia 2017 | Monster Pictures | World Premiere
w/ Q&A by Cast & Crew

When Oscar’s dreams of becoming a rockstar are brutally crushed and her boyfriend leaves, taking the cat with him, Oscar is forced to take a long hard look at herself. Oscar travels to a ghost town called Tarnation where she and a group of friends have rented a cabin in the woods for a weekend away. Unfortunately the cabin is host to a cursed painting and the surrounding woods are literally, Satan’s playground. Oscar soon finds herself battling a demon unicorn, possessed souls and Satan himself in an epic battle for her soul.

https://youtu.be/Fd1Gvx_wGd0

Screens with short film MAN DOG MAN
Dir. Jax McMullin Condo / Starring: Matthew C. Vaughn & Julian Adams / Duration: 12 mins

LOST GULLY ROAD | SATURDAY 25TH OF NOVEMBER 5PM
Donna McRae | Australia 2017 | McRaeandVale | World Premiere
w/ Q&A by Cast & Crew

Lucy travels to an isolated house in the forest to wait for her sister. They have worked out a risky scheme for their future and all she needs to do is sit it out. However a sinister presence may have something different in mind.

Screens with short film REUNION
Dir. Seamus Murphy / Starring: Shaun Goss, Tilly Legge, Will Freeman, Pauline Grace, Kathleen Lee, Hugh Jenkins / Duration: 15 mins

THE VIPER’S HEX | SATURDAY 25TH OF NOVEMBER 9PM
Addison Heath & Jasmine Jakupi | Australia & Japan 2017 | Black Forest Films | World Premiere
w/ Q&A by Cast & Crew

Kiyo (Saya Minami), a lonely hostess spends her days propositioning men on the cold streets of Tokyo and being beaten by her violent pimp, Tetsuya (Yoji Yamada). One day her luck seems to change when she meets a charming foreigner named Anchin (Kenji Shimada) and a romance blossoms but soon everything falls apart when she becomes pregnant. Upon hearing the news Anchin flees Tokyo. With nowhere left to go she turns to The Viper, a scorned spirit that has been with her since birth.

Screens with short film THROUGH THE EYES OF THE DEAD
Dir. Hussein Alhazard / Starring: Whitney Duff, Rob Stanfield and David Osten Gifford / Duration: 5 mins

ALL NIGHT GAMING | SUNDAY 26TH OF NOVEMBER 12:30PM
Michael Cusack | Australia 2016 | Gillsberry Films | World Premiere
w/ Q&A by Cast & Crew

A surreal dark comedy set in 2009 which follows Jamie, a teenage slacker, in a final attempt to finish a major english assignment or fail his HSC entirely. He is forced to finish the assignment overnight at a local, seedy internet cafe where he encounters gamers, nocturnal metal heads, night gaunts and drunken clubbers.

Screens with short film THE COUCHENING
Dir. Oscar Axel Thorborg / Starring: Jacqueline Mifsud, Sukhjit Kaur, Nicky Barry / Duration: 12 mins

TRASHARAMA | SUNDAY 26TH OF NOVEMBER 2:30PM
Shorts Program | World Premiere

This year marks the 20th anniversary of Adelaide’s #1 purveyor of trash Dick Dale sickening all of Australia with his notorious selection of onscreen abominations. To celebrate this milestone, in addition to the latest and greatest filth and utter sickness from around the globe, Dick will be hand selecting his personal favourite Aussie shorts from the last 20 years and featuring these in the program.

ANOTHER WOLF COP | SUNDAY 26TH OF NOVEMBER 4:30PM
Lowell Dean | United States 2017 | Vortex Words Pictures | Australian Premiere
w/ Q&A by Cast & Crew

Alcoholic werewolf cop Lou Garou springs into action when an eccentric businessman with evil intentions seduces Woodhaven’s residents with a new brewery and hockey team in this outrageous horror-comedy sequel.

https://youtu.be/lkCSzM2-Zo0

Screens with DRAGON FORCE X Series Launch
Following in the footsteps of such nostalgic fan pleasers as DANGER 5, KUNG FURY, STRANGER THINGS and HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN, DRAGON FORCE X is an adrenaline-fuelled, serialised, adventure series made by and-for fans of ’80s TV and cinema. In a seedy underworld of scum and villainy, where magic and wonder have been perverted by greed and a lust for power, assassin-for-hire Maddox Montana travels across strange and exotic lands in search of the Amulets of Fire, an ancient mystical force with the power to change reality. Desired by many, worthy of few, what begins as just another job turns into the adventure of a lifetime for Maddox and his gang of misfits, as they discover the full power and glory of DRAGON FORCE X. This is the official launch of the Cult of Monster exclusive online series and will feature a sneak peak of the first 4 episodes!

REVENGE | SUNDAY 26TH OF NOVEMBER 7:30PM
Coralie Fargeat | France 2017 | Monkey Pack Films | Australian Premiere
w/ Q&A by Cast & Crew

Jen (Matilda Lutz), arrives at a remote desert villa with her millionaire boyfriend (Kevin Jannsens) for a weekend of illicit romance. Things quickly go awry when her lover’s hunting buddies show up and make inappropriate advances toward her that spiral out of control and end in her being sexually assaulted. The men try to cover up their attack which results in Jen being left dumped and left for dead.  However the men don’t count on her her will to survive and when she emerges from the desert hellbent on revenge, she leaves a tidal wave of blood and gory violence in her wake.

Screens with short film LIZ DRIVES
Dir. Mia’kate Russell / Starring: Cassandra Magrath, Sophia Davey, Christopher Kirby, Amy Bradney-George / Duration: 8 mins

SINGLE TICKETS
Adults: $21
Concessions/Members:$16
Opening night; $30 (includes free drink on arrival, no concession)

TICKET PACKAGES
Get the most out of the Monster Fest 2017 experience and save with package passes! When you purchase a pass you will be receive a barcode number which shows up in your booking receipt. This can be used online, over the phone or in person to redeem sessions at the festival in advance. To use this code online, just go on the sessions you wish to attend as though buying tickets, and it will give you the option of entering a redemption code. If for any reason you do not receive a code, please contact the Lido at (03) 8658 0000.

VIP Pass – $120
The VIP Pass gets you all-access to Monster Fest screenings and events at the Lido Cinema Nov 23rd to -26th of November. These VIP pass lanyard will be available for pickup at The Lido on Nov 23rd from 5pm onwards, you will need to keep this lanyard on you at all times as pass-holders need to show their pass at the box office to get tickets to the sessions they wish to attend and or festival staff to check against ticket purchases for entry into cinemas.

5 Film Pass – $60
Get a 5 film pass eligible for Monster Fest sessions on Friday the 24th, Saturday the 25th or Sunday the 26th for a discounted price! The 5 Day Pass is not valid for Opening Night session or the All-Night Marathon.