Hard:Line 2018 Exclusive: German Festival to Honor Simeon Halligan With Director Spotlight Series

Jonathan Barkan |

Aug 17, 2018

Genre film festivals take place all over the world and we believe it is important to highlight those that many horror fans might not have heard of in the hopes that they decide to make that a bucket list destination. Today, we want to tell you a bit about Hard:Line, an “extreme” (we’ll get to that in a second) film festival that will be taking place September 27-30 in Regensburg, Germany.

A festival dedicated to presenting fantastic films, the “extreme” titles comes from their intention of showing splatter-filled aesthetics but also films that push the boundary with their stories, visuals, technical aspects, and more. It’s a celebration of cinema, plain and simple.

To that end, we can reveal that the festival is presenting a Director Spotlight for Simeon Halligan this year to honor the writer/director’s work. Halligan’s films include Splintered, White Settlers, and Habit. These three films will be screened at the festival and Halligan will be at the fest for Q&A sessions. Below are the synopses of the three films from IMDb, albeit edited slightly.

Splintered:
“Sophie and her group of friends go on a trip in Wales looking for a beast that is killing in the local area. While camping, Sophie and a friend hear something and follow it to an abandoned estate. They soon become aware that something is not right. Meanwhile, their friends go searching for them after they realize their friends haven’t returned. They all end up in a fight for their lives against someone or something that isn’t what you think. Who will live?”

White Settlers:
“It’s Ed and Sarah’s first night at their new home – an isolated farmhouse on the Scottish borders. This should be a new beginning away from their stressful London lives. And at first it is; come sunset they fall in love all over again on a wander in the woods. But as darkness falls, Sarah suspects they’re not alone. Ed goes to investigate and quickly the evening becomes a nightmare. It suddenly dawns on them that they do not belong here. And they certainly aren’t welcome either….”

Habit:
“Set within the neon drenched rain swept underbelly of Manchester, where the addicted prey on the lost and the lonely.”

More information about the festival can be found at their official website.