Salem Horror Fest to present 100 films on six screens with premieres, retrospectives, and debut restorations
Satan Wants You, a new documentary that tells the untold story of how the Satanic Panic of the 1980s was ignited, leads the program following its world premiere at SXSW
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Salem MA - March 13, 2023 - Named by MovieMaker Magazine as one of the “best genre festivals in the world,” Salem Horror Fest has announced the full lineup for their sixth annual presentation, which kicks off on Thursday, April 20, and runs through Sunday, April 30.
The official program begins with a featured showcase of Satan Wants You, a new documentary that tells the untold story of how the Satanic Panic of the 1980s was ignited by Michelle Remembers, a lurid memoir by psychiatrist Larry Pazder and his patient Michelle Smith. The film, from directors Sean Horlor and Steve J. Adams, will have its world premiere at SXSW.
Sixty-six features and shorts will compete for jury and audience awards, and be considered for the George A. Romero Fellowship at Cinema Salem. The 2023 official selection features a 50/50 split of men and women filmmakers; one third identified as queer.
“The world is becoming an increasingly scary place, but Salem remains queer as fuck with zero tolerance for fascist bullshit,” said festival director Kay Lynch. “It’ll be wonderful for everyone to enjoy Salem in the springtime and to fully appreciate its beauty as a historic, seaside community full of welcoming weirdos.”
Filmgoers will have the opportunity to immerse themselves in two mini-festivals of international horror pictures. Weekend one showcases four Czech films: brand new restorations ofThe Ninth Heart (1979), and Morgiana (1972) from Severin Films, as well as Prague Nights (1969) and The Pied Piper (1986) from Deaf Crocodile films. Weekend two dives into South Asian horror with a four-film retrospective of the Ramsay Brothers from the Bollywood Crypt including Mahakaal (The Monster, 1994), Veerana (The Wilderness, 1988), Aatma (The Spirit, 2006), and Purana Mandir (The Old Temple, 1984).
Additional repertory screenings will include The Fog (1980), Night of the Demons (1988), Demons (1985), The Blair Witch Project (1999), Fright Night (1985), Fright Night: Part II (1988), and Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror. The Faculty of Horror, and Horror Queers podcasts will present The Blood on Satan’s Claw (1971), and The Hitcher (1986) respectively for live episodes. Also from Severin Films, a new restoration of Bakeneko: A Vengeful Spirit will be followed by a Miskatonic Institute of Horror lecture entitled, “The Cat Came Back: Female Familiars in the Horror Genre,” presented by author Alex West (“The 1990s Teen Horror Cycle,” “Films of the New French Extremity”).
For more details, and pass info, visit Salem Horror Fest. Previously, the festival announced an opening night event at the Peabody Essex Museum with Tony Todd (Candyman), and author-critic Kier-La Janisse (Woodlands Dark & Days Bewitched) for a special screening of Candyman (1992) with a Q&A moderated by editor-in-chief Andrea Subissati (Rue Morgue Magazine). Other guests include Linnea Quigley, Amelia Kinkade, Geretta Geretta, William Ragsdale, Amanda Bearse, and Stephen Geoffreys.
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ABOUT SALEM HORROR FEST
Salem Horror Fest is a celebration of diverse voices and innovative filmmaking within a genre that best reflects our cultural demons and anxieties. Named one of the World’s 50 Best Genre Festivals by MovieMaker Magazine, the annual event has featured hundreds of independent filmmakers and Hollywood icons such as Cassandra Peterson, John Waters, Joe Dante, Linnea Quigley, John Kassir, Dee Wallace, Rachel True, Riccou Browning, and Ken Foree.
ABOUT CINEMA SALEM
Over the last 20 years, the Peabody Essex Museum (PEM) has distinguished itself as one of the fastest-growing art museums in North America. Founded in 1799, it is also the country’s oldest continuously operating museum. At its heart is a mission to enrich and transform people’s lives by broadening their perspectives, attitudes and knowledge of themselves and the wider world.
ABOUT KAY LYNCH
Kay Lynch is the Founder of Salem Horror Fest and Creative Director of Cinema Salem. She has launched numerous independent businesses, organizations and projects over the last twenty years. Formerly the Director of Marketing for Manhunt and Jack’d, Lynch held several marketing and PR positions for art organizations such as North Shore Music Theater, Shaolin Liu Performance Center, Salem State University, and has worked with hundreds of notable figures including Elvira, John Waters, Tony Todd, Joe Dante, Elizabeth Warren, and DeRay Mckesson.