Film4 FrightFest the 13th is delighted to unveil its most ambitious line-up in history. From the sensational Sinister starring Ethan Hawke, the Sam Raimi produced The Possession and Jennifer Chambers Lynch’s jaw-dropping Chained, to the Maniac remake, the surgical underground of American Mary and the V/H/S anthology everyone is talking about, this year’s event is definitely something to scream about.

From Thursday, August 23 to Monday, August 27 the UK’s leading event for horror fantasy fans will be back at the Empire Cinema in London’s Leicester Square to present 48 films in three screens. Empire 1 will house the main event while the Discovery and the newly-created Re-Discovery strand will play in Empires 4 & 5. There are eleven countries represented, with a record-beating fifteen world premieres and twenty-three UK or European premieres.

The Best of British horror fantasy gets its usual FF fanfare with their already announced opening film Paul Hyett’s The Seasoning House and closer, James Nunn and Ronnie Thompson’s Tower Block. Also showcased are Peter Strickland’s extraordinary Italian horror deconstruction Berberian Sound Studio, Jon Wright’s creature feature Grabbers, the living dead romp Cockneys vs. Zombies, the human experiment warning Guinea Pigs, the killer clown comedy Stitches, the cannibal serial killer chiller Sawney, the psycho cop thriller May I Kill U?, the gory allegory Before Dawn, the fear of The Inside and the frightening Community.

This year the festival is giving a prominent focus to the past, present and future of the Italian genre scene with Federico Zampaglione’s much anticipated neo-giallo TULPA and the Manetti Bros PAURA 3D. Plus Total Film magazine’s guest Icon this year is the Italian Master of Horror himself, Dario Argento and there’s a screening of the documentary Eurocrime!, which celebrates the ‘poliziotteschi’ movies that ruled Italian 70s cinema.

From Spain come two of the country’s brightest talents with their recent blockbuster hits: Paco Plaza’s [REC]3 Genesis and Jaume Balaguero’s, stunning thriller Sleep Tight. Also in the Spanish language is Hidden in the Woods, a Chilean chiller Other International highlights include the Dutch Kill Zombie!, the Japanese Dead Sushi and Germany’s Errors of the Human Body and We Are the Night.

Currently under the radar but bound to get people buzzing are Steven C Miller’s Under the Bed, Ryan Smith’s After, The Butcher Brothers’ The Thompsons, Peter Engert’s Remnants, Stig Svendsen’s Elevator and Buddy Giovinazzo’s return to the genre A Night of Nightmares.

Then there’s T2/The Abyss star Michael Biehn’s directorial debut The Victim, the gore documentary NIGHTMARE FACTORY focusing on the work of make-up genius Greg Nicotero, the Nazi zombie romp Outpost II: Black Sun, the latest in the mutant smash series Wrong Turn 4 and the ever popular INTERNATIONAL SHORT FILM SHOWCASE(line-up to be announced soon) and ANDY NYMAN’S QUIZ FROM HELL presented by Emily Booth and The Horror Channel. And showing for the first time in the UK will be the most-wanted retrospective of the decade, Clive Barker’s Nightbreed The Cabal Cut.

FILM4 FrightFest the 13th’s innovation this year is their third venue at the Empire, the Re-Discovery Screen. Here you can see fully restored versions of three classics from the House of Hammer, THE DEVIL RIDES OUT, RASPUTIN THE MAD MONK and THE MUMMY’S SHROUD. They also have a special presentation of the legendary masterpiece, THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN. Following on the from THE DEAD success of last year, there will be a free re-showing of INBRED and recording director Alex Chandon’s live commentary for the Anchor Bay DVD release. Plus there’s a chance to see two hits from their Glasgow Film Festival event: The Manetti Bros. THE ARRIVAL OF WANG and Paul China’s CRAWL.