Horror Film Festival ‘Hell do Janeiro’ Arrives in Rio Tonight

By Jack Arnhold, Contributing Reporter

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – This Wednesday, September 12th, the film festival ‘Hell do Janeiro’ arrives at Estação Net Botafogo and Cinestar Special Laura Alvim, featuring almost sixty films from over fifteen countries, including the United Kingdom, the United States, and Canada.

The festival is showing both feature-length and short films, including documentaries and animations; and it runs until Wednesday, September 19th.

Hell do Janeiro film festival will feature the debuts of a handful of feature-length films, including ‘Aterrados’ (Termites) from Argentina, ‘Framed’ from Spain, ‘Montréal Dead End’ from Canada, and ‘VelociPastor’ which is a co-production from both the US and China.

‘A Noite Devorou o Mundo’ (The Night Devoured the World) from France, and the Brazilian ‘O Nó do Diabo’ (The Knot of the Devil) – which deals with the theme of racism through the genre of horror – round off the list of feature-length films included in the festival.

The short films taking part in the festival will be shown in six grouped-together screenings based around themes. ‘Hell Carioca’ features short films shot in Rio; this will be the premiere of the festival at 9:10PM on Wednesday, September 12th and will feature a talk with the film-makers involved.

The other short films will be shown under the groupings ‘Primeiro Pesadelo’ (First Nightmare), which includes ‘films that make many children fall out of bed’ – this features the Canadian film ‘Milk’ and the American film ‘Homesick.’

The next grouping is ‘O Feminino Monstruoso’ (The Monstrous Female) which subverts the usual sexist horror trope of casting women as the victims, with a whole host of short films about female monsters – featuring the American films ‘Hair Wolf’ and ‘Satanica.’

In addition, there will be ‘Cannibais, Assassinados & Esfaqueadores’ (Cannibals, Murderers and Slayers), which will include the American film ‘Lunch Ladies;’ then ‘O Morto-Vivo’ (the Undead); and ‘Fantasmas, Ficção Científica de Horror & Freaks’ (Ghosts, Science Fiction of Horror and Freaks), which will feature American film ‘BFF Girls,’ and ‘I Am the Doorway’ from the UK.

Finally, there will also be a two-hour showing of animated shorts ‘Animaldiçoados’ (Animal-drawn) showing ‘Miller Fisher’ and ‘Amoricania’ from the US, ‘Death Van’ from Canada, ‘Freak the Fxxk Out’ from Nigeria, as well as entrants from Finland, Estonia, Switzerland, Germany, France and Hong Kong.

This exciting event is a must for anyone who enjoyed seeing ‘the Shining’ at 2017’s Shell Open Air screenings, or who attended 2016’s Fantastik Film Festival, or even for those who just can’t wait until the upcoming 2018 Rio Film Festival.

What: Hell de Janeiro – Festival Internacional de Terror do Rio
When: Wednesday, September 12th – Wednesday, September 19th, screening and event times vary
Where: Estação Net Botafogo, Voluntários da Pátria, 88, 22270-000 Botafogo, Rio De Janeiro
Entrance: R$20 (R$10 concessions)