Classic and contemporary zombies meet in gory double bill

Square Chapel, Sunday, May 6.

The daddy of underground cinema classics is 50 years old in 2018. Never seen Night of the Living Dead? See it on the big screen at Square Chapel in Halifax courtesy of Fantastiq – The Festival of Fantasy, Sci-Fi & Horror. It is coming home to Yorkshire with a nerve-jangling double-bill that combines a timeless shocker with one of the hundreds of films that it has inspired over more than half a century. Released in 1968, George A. Romero’s tense and audacious debut Night of the Living Dead ushered in a new era of raw modern horror. Rightly championed by fans around the world, it is now revered as a seminal cult classic – a quasi-expressionistic celluloid nightmare and the Citizen Kane of the horror ‘Bs.

In Before Dawn estranged husband and wife Alex and Meg head to a remote cottage in a bid to salvage their marriage. But as their domestic drama is played out in isolation, a much bigger drama (the apocalypse) is slowly being played out elsewhere. Edgy, frenetic and terrifyingly claustrophobic, Before Dawn is also powerfully original. Plus one of the award-winning ensemble cast of ITV’s long-running Emmerdale, Dominic Brunt is also forging a reputation as a writer, director and producer of acclaimed independent films. He made his debut with Before Dawn in 2013, following up with Bait and Adult Babies. He will be interviewed at the event by Tony Earnshaw, director and co-founder of Fantastique. “We are thrilled to be presenting our first Yorkshire event at Square Chapel, just up the cobbled hill from our base within the Gormenghastian majesty of Dean Clough. We have been seeking an appropriate venue for some time and, after hosting our first five editions in Derby, we found Square Chapel’s beautiful new Copper Auditorium to be utterly perfect.” More info www.squarechapel.co.uk or call 01422 349422.