Frightfest London 2024: full list of films and screening times ahead of opening night, plus how to get tickets

• The 2024 edition of Pigeon Shrine Frightfest London takes over cinemas across the city over the Bank Holiday Weekend.
• This year’s selection of films include the controversial Demi Moore body horror, “The Substance,” and a 40th anniversary screening of “A Nightmare on Elm Street.”
• Here’s the full list of this year’s screenings at Frightfest London, along with how to get tickets to this year’s selections.

Something wickedly fun this way comes, with the arrival of the 2024 Pigeon Shrine Frightfest London, taking place from August 22 to August 26 2024. 

The annual bank holiday affair, taking place across Odeon cinemas in and around Leicester Square, has become a significant event for horror fans and filmmakers alike, known for premiering highly anticipated horror films and hosting Q&A sessions with directors, actors, and producers. It has also played a crucial role in introducing international and independent horror films to a broader audience.

The festival has played a key role in the everlasting interest in horror movies, and has helped launch several directors into household(ish) names after premieres or screenings at Frightfest in previous years. 

Names such as Neil Marshall (“The Descent”), Ben Wheatley (“Kill List”) and Jennifer Kent (“The Babadook”) have all cut their teeth with screenings during the annual horror film festival, while titles such as “"Let the Right One In" and “The Witch" helped draw stronger focus from event the less-ardent film reviewers to demonstrate that the genre is alive and kicking - a bit of a paradox if you’re into zombie movies, admittedly. 

So what’s on offer at Pigeon Shrine Frightfest London 2024 and how can you get tickets to one (or several) screenings across this August Bank Holiday? 

What are the opening and closing night films at Frightfest London in 2024?

This year’s opening night film brings back one Frightfest stalwart to audiences; Joanne Mitchell, with her directorial work this year “Broken Bird” an adaptation of Tracey Sheals award-winning short story, “Sybil.”

“Sybil Chamberlain works as a professional mortician at a funeral parlour. She has spent her life looking for love. Brought up as a privileged, carefree child, at the age of ten, she lost everything in a tragic accident. A darkness fell over her as the bright lights of her life were snuffed out swiftly and cruelly.” 

“Now, an emptiness, an aching loneliness prevails, a gloomy void she seeks to fill. Reality and reason are slipping away from Sybil, and her dark desires are becoming more insatiable and progressively out of control. Will she ever find happiness and contentment, especially as the company she keeps is mainly deceased?”

Those who followed this year’s Cannes Film Festival may be familiar with the closing night film; “The Substance,” starring Demi Moore, is a visceral body-horror by director Coralie Fargeat, featuring Dennis Quaid and elicited quite the vitriol during it’s screening in France - owing to a scene involving throwing up a particular body part. 

What are some of the highlights at this year’s Pigeon Shrine Frightfest London 2024?

There’s some great retrospectives at this year’s Frightfest in London, with a 40th anniversary screening of the late Wes Craven’s horror-masterpiece “A Nightmare on Elm Street” and a familiar face to horror fans in the form of Eileen Daly and her performance in a restored version of “Razor Blade Smile.”

There also are two panels worth checking out for those budding horror movie directors or writers; the first, “From Figment to Finance,” demystifies the complexities of film finance through an in-depth case study of an award winning horror film currently in development.

While the topic of Artificial Intelligence the horror genre looks to be discussed with the second panel discussion, “AI: For You,” as Tom Paton, head of FrightFest's headline sponsor, Pigeon Shrine, will host an open forum, inviting a discussion on the future of entertainment production and the role that AI technology will play.

Timetable of films for Pigeon Shrine Frightfest London 2024

Thursday August 22 2024

Main Screen (Screen 1 - Odeon Luxe Leicester Square)

• 17:30 - Broken Bird (opening night film)
• 20:10 - Test Screening
• 22:25 - The Invisible Raptor

Discovery Screen 1 (Screen 1 - Odeon Luxe West End)

• 20:15 - Cinderella’s Curse
• 22:25 - Carnage For Christmas

Discovery Screen 2 (Screen 2 - Odeon Luxe West End)

• 20:10 - I Will Never Leave You Alone
• 22:30 - Happy Halloween

Friday 23 August 2024

Main Screen (Screen 1 - Odeon Luxe Leicester Square)

• 10:15 - An Taibhse (The Ghost)
• 12:45 - Bookworm
• 15:15 - Ghost Game
• 18:00 - Shelby Oaks
• 20:30 - The Hitcher
• 23:00 - Hauntology

Discovery Screen 1 (Screen 1 - Odeon Luxe West End)

• 11.00 - The Daemon
• 13:23 - The Lonely Man With The Ghost Machine
• 15:40 - Scarlet Blue
• 18:15 - The Bunker
• 20:45 - Children Of The Wicker Man
• 23:05 - Mutilator 2

Discovery Screen 2 (Screen 2 - Odeon Luxe West End)

• 13:10 - Drive Back
• 15:45 - Short Film Showcase One
• 18:15 - So Unreal
• 20:45 - The Freaks Of Fancy
• 23:10 - Cursed In Baja

Discovery Screen 3 (Screen 4 - Odeon Luxe Leicester Square)

• 18:30 - Things Will Be Different
• 21:15 - The Last Podcast

Saturday 24 August 2024

Main Screen (Screen 1 - Odeon Luxe Leicester Square)

• 10:15 - Survive
• 12:35 - The Last Voyage Of The Demeter
• 15:25 - Dead Mail
• 18:15 - Traumatika
• 20:30 - Strange Darling
• 23:00 - Members Club

Discovery Screen 1 (Screen 1 - Odeon Luxe West End)

• 10:45 - Touchdown
• 13:00 - Scopophobia
• 15:30 - Year 10
• 18:00 - Protein
• 20:35 - 7 Keys
• 23:00 - Duke Mitchell Film Party

Discovery Screen 2 (Screen 2 - Odeon Luxe West End)

• 11:00 - Delirium
• 13:15 - Panel: From Figment To Finance
• 15:30  - In The Name Of God
• 18:00 - Boutique: To Preserve And Collect
• 20:25 - Video Vision
• 22:50 - The Monster Beneath Us

Discovery Screen 3 (Screen 4 - Odeon Luxe Leicester Square)

• 12:55 - From Darkness
• 15:30 - Mermaid Legend
• 18:25 - A Samurai In Time
• 21:20 - The Last Voyage Of The Demeter

Sunday 25 August 2024

Main Screen (Screen 1 - Odeon Luxe Leicester Square)

• 10:30 - The Last Ashes
• 13:20 - The Life And Deaths Of Christopher Lee
• 16:00 - Azrael: Angel Of Death
• 18:15 - Saint Clare
• 21:00 - Invader

Discovery Screen 1 (Screen 1 - Odeon Luxe West End)

• 11:00 - The A-Frame
• 13:15 - Short Film Showcase Two
• 15:45 - A Nightmare On Elm Street
• 18:20 - Never Have I Ever
• 21:00 - Bogieville

Discovery Screen 2 (Screen 2 - Odeon Luxe West End)

• 11:05 - Dark Match
• 13:30 - Panel: AI: For You
• 15:45 - Cara
• 18:15 - Derelict
• 21:15 - Razor Blade Smile

Discovery Screen 3 (Screen 4 - Odeon Luxe Leicester Square)

• 13:00 - A Samurai In Time
• 16:00 - Mermaid Legend
• 18:40 - From Darkness

Monday 26 August 2024

Main Screen (Screen 1 - Odeon Luxe Leicester Square)

• 10:30 - The Dead Thing
• 13:00 - A Desert
• 15:30 - Ladybug
• 18:10 - Cold Wallet
• 20:30 - The Substance (closing night film)

Discovery Screen 1 (Screen 1 - Odeon Luxe West End)

• 10:50 - Short Film Showcase Three
• 13:30 - Charlotte
• 16:00 - Agatha
• 18:30 Scared S**tless

Discovery Screen 2 (Screen 2 - Odeon Luxe West End)

• 11:00 - Schlitter: Evil In The Woods
• 13:00 - Fright
• 15:15 - Generation Terror

Discovery Screen 3 (Screen 4 - Odeon Luxe Leicester Square)

• 15:45 - The Last Podcast
• 18:30 - Things Will Be Different

How can I buy tickets to see screenings at Pigeon Shrine Frightfest London 2024?

Tickets to individual screenings, including opening and closing night films, can be purchased directly from the Pigeon Shrine Frightfest London 2024 website, but be warned - both “The Substance” and many more are starting to sell out fast. 

Are you heading to Frightfest London 2024, or have you been to a previous Frightfest and have some advice for first-timers - and some of us who are squeamish? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section down below.