TV & Showbiz

Cultplex’s annual horror film festival returns to GRUB next month

Because spooky season should last all month long.

Danny Jones - 16th September 2024

A much-loved staple of Manchester’s spooky season is returning this autumn as the STAB Season film festival lands back at Cultplex next month.

Part of GRUB over at Red Bank, Cultplex is one of the best small-screen cinemas and hidden gems full stop to be found in the city centre; as the name would suggest, they celebrate fan favourite films, video games, cool nerd stuff and all things culty.

And don’t worry, by culty we mean the stuff people are obsessed with – there’s no risk of stumbling across old people donning hooded cloaks like in Hot Fuzz or anything, we promise.

However, that film is a very good example of the kind of fandom this Manchester ‘mini-cini’ champions, and this October it will once again be taken over by a whole host of horror movies and more as part of the month-long festival.

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Promising to deliver “a month of sinister cinema that isn’t for the faint of heart” and be “the biggest yet”, the 2024 STAB Film Season over at Cultplex kicks off on Wednesday, 2 October and doesn’t stop until the start of November.

With this year’s lineup featuring sci-fi and supernatural classics such as The Exorcist (1973) and Alien (1979) – and that’s just the double-bill they’ve booked in for Halloween night – as well as full-on movie marathons, special spooky one-offs and other events.

We’re talking quizzes, Q&A and binging of TV box sets just to name a few. Basically, it’s going to be equal parts terrifying and terrific.

Kicking off the city’s longest-lasting horror movie festival with their annual airing of 1974’s locally-shot-yet-criminally-underseen The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue (now THAT is what you call a cult film), before swinging headlong into Wes Craven’s hit slasher franchise Scream and Korean zombie hit Train to Busan (2016), this thing is going to move at a mile a minute.

It’ll be Halloween before you know it. You can find the full STAB Film Season 2024 line-up below:

Date	What’s on at STAB Film Season – Cultplex @ GRUB
Wednesday, 2 October	19:30 – The Living Dead at Manchester Morgue (1974)
Thursday, 3 October	20:30 – Sprechen: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari + live score
Friday, 4 October	20:30 – Double-bill: Bodies Bodies Bodies (2022) + Shiva Baby (2020)
Sunday, 6 October	13:00 – Scream Stab-a-Thon
Wednesday, 9 October	19:30 – Interference Film Club: Martyrs (2015)
Saturday, 12 October	13:30 – The Addams Family (1991) 16:00 – The Blob (1988) 19:00 – Zombie All-Nighter ft. Train to Busan (2016), Return of the Living Dead (1985), REC (2007) and Zombie Flesh Eaters (1979)
Sunday, 13 October	16:00 – Interview With The Vampire (1994)
Wednesday, 16 October	19:30 – Halloween Quiz Show
Friday, 18 October	18:00 – Garth Marenghi’s Darkplace (2004 — and our pick of the bunch*)
Sunday, 20 October	13:00 – TRASHFEST with Andrew Leovald Q&A 16:00 – CULT CLUB: The Mummy (1999)
Wednesday, 23 October	19:30 – GASP: Suspiria (1977)
Thursday, 24 October	19:30 – MAGHOUL (amateur video game night – but scary)
Friday, 25 October	18:00 – Double-bill: Thirteen Ghosts (2001) + Ghost Ship (2002)
Saturday, 26 October	13:00 – A Lovely Time: The Simpsons ‘Treehouse of Horror’ Quiz 13:30 – The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) 16:00 – In The Mouth of Madness (1994) + Nick Helm Podcast 20:00 – A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) for Freddy K’s 40th B-Day Party
Sunday, 27 October	13:00 – Movie Church: Bride of Frankenstein (1935) 16:00 – Linnea Quigley’s Horror Workout (1990) 19:00 – Tetsuo The Iron Man (1989)
Wednesday, 30 October	19:30 – Arrow Film Club: Ju-on The Grudge (2002)
Thursday, 31 October – HALLOWEEN!	19:30 – Double-bill: The Exorcist (1973) + Alien (1979)
Friday, 1 November	19:30 – Slumber Party Massacre Double Bill
Saturday, 2 November – The Finale	16:00 – Death Becomes Her (1992)

Halloween and horror fans won’t need convincing on this one, you already know the drill.

You can expect all this and loads more surprises we wouldn’t dare spoil for you when STAB Film Season kicks off at Cultplex next month.

And the best part is, you’re already at GRUB, so proper good food and drink is right on your doorstep. Just try not to throw it all in the air when the jumpscares start.

Full-season listings can be found HERE with tickets for all events available to book now – if you’re brave
enough. It’s not the only thing fright fans can look forward to this year either…