Last year a completely new section was introduced to SEFF: Chillout Horror. It was a rather risky experiment, as it was impossible to predict whether the viewers would accept a meeting with contemporary horror at a festival focusing on films that cross the borders of documentary cinema. However, the huge turnout and praise from audiences convinced us to continue this programme highlight. A review of horrors, “weird films,” and B-movies is now a permanent element on the film map of our country. Young directors from all around the world try their hand at creating genre films, and horror, which is often an accurate metaphor of our hidden fears, is particularly popular among them. Films presented in this block are of different running times, topics (from softer horrors, oriented toward an extraordinary vibe and atmosphere, to more extreme pictures that don’t shy away from gore), and the country of production, but they all have one thing in common – they are all works of dread. Their production year is between 2014 and 2017. The second edition of the Chillout Horror zone will be dominated mainly by short fiction films, with an exception of two extraordinary documentaries (“Voices of Vincent” and “Z pogranicza cudu”). To attend the block you need to be 18 years of age.
Curator: Damian Romaniak
A tale about a man caught in the snares of obsession and paranoia. An animation somewhere between horror and psychological thriller. Something for fans of Hitchcock’s “Psycho” and Polański’s “Repulsion.”
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The story of a man who was trapped by two fit, spider-like women. Will he manage to escape? Noteworthy are the unusual and surprising special effects.
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Diego lives with his mother and aunt in a Gothic manor-house in Mexico. One day he finds his mother dead in a bath tub – it was apparently suicide. When the boy is being taken care of by his aunt, he suddenly becomes sick. The protagonist sees the ghost of his deceased mother, who aims to warn him. An interesting horror film that often verges on B-cinema.
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A film based on fact. A 17-year-old girl suffers from a serious social phobia and is basically cut off from the outside world. She never leaves her home, but every day she has to watch the atrocities shown in the news on TV. This way the protagonist learns the truth about the dangerous nature of society. The picture has had screenings at many international festivals.
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The film depicts the story of a certain murderer chased by a shadow. What is it? Death, perhaps, aiming to snatch him for his mortal sin. Who is the killer who made the unforgivable mistake of their life?
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The protagonist has lost all faith in finding his missing daughter. He may, however, find rescue in the mysterious application called iMedium, thanks to which any user can connect with the dead.
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In the dark, a man dwells in a park and suddenly experiences events that are shocking and unbelievable. Iranian cinema has been known in Poland for some time, but an Iranian horror film is truly rare, which makes Abolfazl Tajik’s production really worth watching.
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This incredibly surreal horror film has an interesting way of using the motif of two sisters connected by a special bond. It is also a story about demons lurking in the subconscious. The film is characterised by formal innovation, as it breaks traditional narrative and crosses the borders of audiovisual language.
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An experimental plastic surgery ends up a fiasco and has horrible results. The patient becomes a rabid bloodthirsty beast. Connoisseurs of horror cinema will surely notice references to zombie flicks and Larry Cohen’s iconic “It’s Alive.”
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A silent horror film about a man who works hard for the one he loves. The film’s ending may surprise the viewer.
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Vincent hears voices and the strangest things, but doesn’t know their origins. Lead by two psychiatrists, he sets out on a journey within. This intriguing film, a documentary and psychological horror in one, tries to answer the question whether hallucinations result from mental illness or perhaps the voices come from a completely different world?
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The story of a peculiar American family and a certain witch. An intriguing combination of black comedy and horror in black-and-white.
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A terrifying Italian horror film about a girl who is gradually being surrounded by death. It all goes back to her dark past. One should take note of the nightly camera work and claustrophobic interiors.
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A unique Polish documentary about Polish ghost busters, who tirelessly investigate paranormal phenomena. The film combines comedy with true horror. In the words of William Shakespeare: “There are more things in heaven and earth (…) than are dreamt of in your philosophy.”
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