Galicia, Spain, 1976. An sinister past slowly but surely creeps into what was meant to be a pleasant family dinner. Bad conscience and a cruel history, the Spanish Civil War and Franco’s dictatorship, simmer beneath the surface. The horror is always lurking but rarely explicit. As in John Carpenter’s The Fog (1980), no one can hide from the misty monsters of the past.

Victor Català announces himself as a filmmaker to watch with his feature debut, with atmospheric cinematography and a colour palette inspired by the 70s. They Always Come at Night is not without humour, but oozes of slow, gothic melancholy and mystery.

EEL

Welcome to the modern workplace! In Grind, we are presented with four interwoven stories set in a dystopian present. We get a glimpse into the intense pressure to perform within a multi-level marketing company, the endless and repetitive routine of a food delivery driver, the digital horrors faced by a content moderator at work, and, not least, what happens when the employees at a coffee shop decide to unionize.

Grind is a dark comedy that, just a few years ago, might have been considered a dystopian vision, but which, in today’s United States, will likely seem like only a slight exaggeration to many. The film explores what it means to be a worker in a world defined by economic inequality and ruled by endlessly greedy oligarchs, wonderfully personified by Rob Huebel and Barbara Crampton.

TG

Brothers Rob and James are on their way to their father’s funeral, accompanied by their respective partners. They stop at a rural roadside diner run by a family that probably doesn’t have the most extensive family tree. After a very uncomfortable meal, they continue on their way, only to end up in a car accident that quickly turns into a full-blown nightmare.

Boxcutter isa nasty, mean-spirited film, in many ways the bastard child of The Texas Chain Saw Massacre and the French extreme cinema movement. After a slow build-up, the film explodes in its second act, delivering discomfort of the highest order. The filmmakers have extensive experience with practical special effects, which is evident in the film’s brutal and highly effective shock effects.

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Toilet horror has become a staple of Ramaskrik, and this year’s rowdy contribution comes from Brazil. Malu runs an event agency in São Paulo and is tasked with organizing a gender reveal party for a major influencer. But while the pregnancy comes with its own surprises, guests and residents of the apartment building alike fall victim to ravenous forces lurking in the toilets.

With exquisite direction and practical effects, we’re served generous helpings of filthy, disgusting madness. It’s bloody, hilarious, and, above all, political. Bon appétit!

KK

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Best friends Ligia and Mayte dream of the ultimate quinceañera, hoping it will finally make them popular at school. But then Ligia becomes pregnant, and the creature growing inside her is not only a threat to herself, but to everyone around her.

This coming-of-age body horror is packed with just as much playful charm as it is blood and gore. The film explores anxieties surrounding sexuality, adulthood, peer pressure, and the fear of what an unpredictable future might bring. One of the film’s strengths lies in the performances of Greta Martí and Macarena Oz, who bring an authentic, raw energy to their roles.

If you enjoyed Ginger Snaps (2000) or Eighth Grade (2018), Fifteen is one to catch!

TS

We find ourselves in the Basque Country in the 17th century, where the Catholic Church rules society with an iron grip and the strict doctrines of the Spanish Inquisition hold sway. Kattalin is fleeing through the forest following a clumsy attempt to kill her husband. The night is heavy and impenetrable, and something unsettling lurks in the shadows. When she encounters three older women deep in the darkness of the forest, she is confronted with the choices that have shaped her life – choices that now demand reckoning.

Gaua is a dark and atmospheric tale of shame and the forbidden, the beautiful and the grotesque, love and liberation; woven together with tradition, folklore and ancient beliefs. If you have an interest in folklore, history, witchcraft and sorcery, this is the film for you!

TSF

When two tourists and their canal boat guide are found brutally murdered, detective Tara Lee is assigned to the case. Following another killing, retired detective Eric Visser is brought back in, as there are fears that someone is recreating one of his old cases.

Director Maas still has a flair for bloodshed and a confident directorial style. Amsterdamned II picks up the thread of one of the Netherlands’ truly great cult films, hovering on the line between sequel and reboot. This is a nostalgic slasher with a generous dose of light-hearted humor.

KK

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Robert is an ordinary tire with ordinary desires to explode heads with telekinesis. We as the audience follow an audience that follows Robert from a distance with binoculars out in the desert somewhere in the US. But that’s not important. We’re all here to see a tire kill people.

Rubber is made by Frenchman Quentin Dupieux who is no stranger to Ramaskrik with his film Smoking Causes Coughing. As in his other films, you can expect deadpan and anti-humor, but this one is slightly more meta than his others. If you wish to see high-action head rolling and blood splatter every second, you’ll be disappointed as Robert is in no hurry when he rolls from victim to victim - and when he’s not rolling he’s watching TV.

This screening is a collaboration between Trondheim Film Society, Ramaskrik, and of course Toyota Oppdal, which is also our screening location.

Morten Helland
Trondheim Film Society

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Ramaskrik will welcome special guests this year as both Ingrid Bolsø Berdal and Roar Uthaug join us at the festival. Believe it or not, it has been 20 years since Norway got its first true slasher film with Cold Prey. Uthaug’s feature film debut became a major box-office success and launched a franchise with two sequels. Together with some of the people who were part of the adventure, we will celebrate the anniversary at Ramaskrik with a special screening and a Cold Prey-themed party at the hotel.

When Cold Prey premiered in cinemas on Friday, October 13, 2006, it kickstarted the filmmaking journey of Roar Uthaug, future star Ingrid Bolsø Berdal, and the production company Fantefilm. The film attracted 257,000 cinema-goers in Norway alone. Altogether, the trilogy sold 677,000 tickets domestically and went on to gain international recognition, showcasing the Norwegian mountains to audiences around the world.- Cold Prey is a milestone in Norwegian horror cinema, arriving at the very beginning of the new wave of Norwegian horror films.

It is exactly the kind of film we at Ramaskrik love to celebrate 20 years later. Oppdal may not be as isolated as the location in the movie, but it offers the same atmosphere with mountains, snow, skiing and cold weather. Almost exactly 20 years later, we are inviting audiences to a screening and celebration at the Skifer Hotel, specially decorated for the occasion.

MH

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//This screening is only in Norwegian. We do not have subtitles//
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Tove is babysitting four-year-old Liv while her parents are away on a trip. Then the disturbing phone calls start coming from a strange man. The terror escalates.

The premise of a babysitter being terrorized by an intruder is well known from films such as Fright (1971), Black Christmas (1974), and When a Stranger Calls (1979), but few people realize that Oddvar Bull Tuhus delivered a Norwegian entry in the subgenre as early as 1976.

This is a rare and remarkably well-acted horror thriller, infused with a chilly autumn atmosphere.

The podcast Norwegian Cult Film will introduce the screening.

AUS

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It’s finally time for a long-awaited, newly restored and uncensored version of Ken Russell’s wildly over-the-top, controversial classic The Devils! This hyper-stylized and notorious film is loosely based on a historical witch trial in France (the Loudun possessions). Set in the 17th century, it follows a Catholic priest (Oliver Reed) who is accused of devil worship, while a nun (Vanessa Redgrave) who lusts after the priest is suspected of being possessed by the Devil himself.

The Devils is a lot: think the naked, violent critique of power of Pasolini’s Salò mixed with Monty Python’s Life of Brian, the sexual melodrama of Black Narcissus, and Żuławski’s feverish nightmare Possession. The film is spectacularly brutal and relentlessly propulsive, jumping from one intense, pivotal moment to the next. The Devils is packed with carnivalesque violence, reflections on power, and transgressive desire. At last, we can experience it newly restored and uncensored on the big screen!

EEL

//This screening is only in Norwegian. We do not have subtitles//

Severin Eskeland is currently in the making of his new horror film Heks. But long before directing films such as Detour (2009) and Lust (2017), he was an avid slasher fan armed with a video camera.

The podcast Norwegian Cult Film sits down with Severin for a conversation, and we’ll get to witness the humble, blood-soaked beginnings of his horror filmmaking career through the amateur films Slakt (1998) and Slakt 2 (2000).

A group of teenagers is terrorized by a killer wearing a Ghostface costume, but who is the murderer? Expect a high body count and plenty of fake blood made from blackcurrant syrup!

Norwegian Cult Film will introduce the screening.

AUS (Sold Out)

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