THE 21st EDITION OF SPASM
The SPASM Festival has unveiled the programming of its 21st edition, which will take place in person and online from October 20 to 31, 2022. An unmissable event for fans of genre short films, SPASM invites film lovers to discover a program filled with films from the horror genre. This year, festival-goers will be able to enjoy a real horror marathon with feature films at the Cinéma Moderne and short films at the Plaza Theatre, then return to the Great Spasm Horror Evening happening for the very first time at the Plaza Theatre before celebrating the traditional Halloween party, where a costume is an obligation!
UNUSUAL SHORT FILMS
The public will be able to discover the program Les Insolites Québécois at the opening of the festival at the Plaza Theatre on Thursday, October 20 with, among others, Aska by Clara Miro, winner of the very first Denis Villeneuve Coup de coeur prize at the last Prends ça court Gala. The next day, October 21, place it will be a program of Science-fiction followed by the famous Cabaret TRASH which will delight lovers of humour with films like A.S.M.ort by Maxime S. Girard, a satire of the ASMR phenomenon. On Saturday, October 22, Les Inclassables is in the spotlight with a high-calibre international program featuring Bestia which explores the life of a secret police agent during the military dictatorship in Chile. Directed by Hugo Covarrubia, his film was nominated for the last Oscars in the category of Best Animated Short Film. On October 27, films like Les Insolites Québécois and Les Inclassables will be screened.
HORROR MARATHON AT CINEMA MODERNE – October 24 to 31
In parallel with the screenings of short films at the Plaza Theatre, SPASM is teaming up with the Cinéma Moderne to present a week-long marathon of horror feature films. A mix of classics, cult films and novelties will delight horror film lovers with Midsommar director’s cut by Ari Aster. The next day, Joel Schumacher’s horror comedy Lost Boys will be presented in 4k restoration. Wednesday, October 26, it is another restored version that will make festival-goers shiver with Bram Stoker’s Dracula by Francis Ford Coppola. October 27 is the South Korean-Japanese movie Audition conducted by Takashi Miike. Finally, for the special Halloween weekend, everything will start on Friday evening, October 28 with Pearl from Ti West. On Saturday night, it’s time for Halina Reijn’s Bodies Bodies Bodies with Amandla Stenberg (The Hate U Give), Maria Bakalova (Borat) and comedian Pete Davidson (Saturday Night Live). Then, Blood and Black Lace (1964) by Mario Bava will be presented on Sunday, October 30. Finally, for the big Halloween night, three films will be presented: Trick’r Treat by Michael Dougherty, Return of the Living Dead by Dan O’Bannon and a Film surprise…
HORROR IN THE SPOTLIGHT
On Friday, October 28, it’s time for the GREAT SPASM HORROR EVENING at the Plaza Theater for the very first time. This event, which has become a Halloween tradition in Montreal for more than 20 years, will be divided this year into two sessions, the first at 7 p.m. and one for the night owls at 10:45 p.m. As always, the public will be able to see the best horror short films from around the world. This year, there are films from Spain, Ireland, Australia, the Netherlands and the United States. Quebec will also be very well represented with three films: Dans L’ombre by David Émond-Ferrat, Smiley Face by François Ricard-Sheard and 10-33 by Alexander Maxim Seltzer.
HALLOWEEN PARTY
After a forced break of 3 years, it is FINALLY the return of the legendary OLD SCHOOL Halloween Party, on Saturday, October 29 at the Plaza Theater, where the only rules are an obligatory costume and dancing to the music of the 80s and 90s!
ONLINE TO STAY!
The return of SPASM online! In response to the strong demand from audiences across Quebec, SPASM has decided to continue to operate its short film program online for the duration of the Festival. The online success of the 2021 SPASM Festival exceeded all expectations and made it possible to connect with trendy spectators in more than 100 cities in Quebec: from Montreal to Gaspé, via Saguenay and Drummondville, and even as far as Les Îles-de-la-Madeleine!
For the complete program and the purchase of tickets and passports, visit spasm.ca
To visit the festival’s online platform, visit watch.eventive.org/spasm
SPASM Festival – 21st edition / October 20 to 31, 2022
