This past week saw the Molins de Rei Horror Film Fest celebrate its 35th anniversary. Having never actually had the chance to visit the festival previously, I was very pleasantly surprised when I received an invitation to form a part of this year’s judging panel alongside actress Ashley C. Williams (Julia, The Human Centipede), director Matthew A. Brown (Julia), Movistar+ movie content manager and director Paco Fox, and editor, writer, cinema reviewer, and screenplay writer Lluis Rueda.
This year’s Jury (L-R): Paco Fox, Howard Gorman, Ashley C. Williams, Mathew A. Brown, Lluis Rueda.
After much deliberation over a line-up that boasted some of the feature films I expect to see cropping up left, right, and center on so many end of year top ten lists, we managed to reach a general consensus which, personally, I couldn’t be happier with.
The same can be said of the short films, with a seriously high standard across the board, although the winning short, Quenottes, is one that really managed to win each and every member of the jury over. Despite a simple premise, it’s masterfully executed and boasts some stunning special effects, and I heartily recommend you try to catch this one at a festival near you.
Before I leave you with the list of winning shorts and feature films below, I’d just like to thank the entire Terror Molins organization for putting on such an amazing festival and for going WAY beyond the call of duty to make sure my wife and myself, and every other guest, instantly felt like a part of their very tightly-knit family. Terror Molins has, without a doubt, become one of my yearly staples from here on out.
As an added bonus, this year’s festival celebrated the 30th anniversary of David Cronenberg’s The Fly with a special message provided by the man himself together with a masterful recreation of the infamous teleportation pod replete with smoke machine, which is now available to purchase on eBay. Having experienced the pod myself in person, all I can say is you’d be a fool not to buy this for your front room. The workmanship is amazing, as you can see in the photograph below (being tested out by none other than Sitges Film Festival Programmer, Angél Sala).
If you fancy this amazing prop, then you can place a bid or buy it outright at the following link: ebay.es/itm/112197011370
We’ll leave you with a collection of photos highlighting just what a great time was had by all…