Best (Halloween) Film Screenings in the North

The best Halloween film events happening in Manchester, Liverpool and Leeds this week, including Poltergeist, Psycho Live! and Halloween

Poltergeist + paranormal activity and pizza

The Skinny are teaming up with FACT, American Pizza Slice and Black Cow vodka for Stay away from the light…: an evening of paranormal activity. The night centres on a special Halloween screening of the Tobe Hooper cult classic Poltergeist, the terrifying story of a young family stalked and terrorized by a group of ghosts who want to kidnap their youngest daughter. Before the screening, artists Sarah Sparkes and Nathan Jones will present their research and work, considering the spiritual realm and how it breaks through into our world. Also included in the ticket price is pizza from American Pizza Slice and drinks by Black Cow vodka, which will be served on arrival.

Sun 30 Oct, FACT, 6pm, £11 – join the Facebook group here

Psycho Live!

Famed local chamber orchestra Manchester Camerata step in to provide the live soundtrack to Alfred Hitchcock's 1960 psychological thriller, Psycho, which will be screened in the Grade II-listed Albert Hall. Combining classic cinema with an evocative live rendition of Bernard Herrmann's seminal soundtrack and a stunning eerie setting, this one promises atmosphere by the bucketload. You'd frankly be mad to miss it – though, let's face it, we all go a little mad sometimes... Read our full preview of Psycho Live!

Sun 30 Oct, Albert Hall, 3pm & 8pm, £30-£35

John Carpenter & Halloween

John Carpenter in concert
There’s no more fitting way to mark the season of spook than in the presence of the man who spawned some of the 20th century’s most beloved horror and sci-fi cult favourites. John Carpenter is heading our way especially for this year’s Liverpool Music Week, headlining proceedings with a performance of his signature synthy film scores alongside compositions from his debut studio album, Lost Themes.

Fri 28 Oct, Liverpool Olympia, 7pm, £29.50 / Sat 29 Oct, Victoria Warehouse, Manchester, 7pm, £32.50

Halloween + new John Carpenter interview
John Carpenter may no longer be the filmmaking force he once was, but as long as film fans continue to crave horror thrills around Halloween, his 1978 slasher masterpiece named after the annual spooky holiday will continue to remind us of his artistry. It’s screening again this All Hallows’ Eve at AMC with a 15-minute exclusive interview with JC exploring the history of the film.

Mon 31 Oct, AMC, Manchester, 7.30pm, £4

It Follows + live score

David Robert Mitchell’s inventive indie horror film It Follows centres on a group of suburban teens infected by a sexually transmitted curse. One of this dreamy movie’s many pleasures is its score by Disasterpeace, the seductive sounds ranging from synthy melancholy to walls of electronic noise. You can experience it live and loud as part of the Leeds leg of the Red Bull Music Academy tour, with nine musicians performing as the film plays. 

Sun 30 Oct, Hyde Park Picture House, Leeds, 2.30pm & 7.30pm, £10

FilmFear retro screenings

This Saturday (29 Oct) at HOME sees three rarely screened horrors hit the big screen. We’re keen to see the remastered print of Don Coscarelli’s nightmarish and gore-filled Phantasm (11pm) on the big screen. Another film that deserves to be seen big is Nazis-in-peril horror The Keep (8.40pm), the phantasmagorical black sheep of Michael Mann’s career (on 35mm!!). Manchester fans are also sure to get a kick out of The Living Dead At Manchester Morgue (4pm), in which Spanish director Jorge Grau makes great use of the English countryside to craft a zombie movie touchstone with a right-on environmental message.

There’s more reputable horror the following day at HOME in the form of F.W. Murnau’s masterpiece Nosferatu (30 Oct, 1.30pm), which still has the power to chill 94 years after its release; HarmonieBand provide a live score. We’re also intrigued to see the Spanish language version of Dracula (31 Oct, 6.10pm), which was filmed at night concurrently with Tod Browning’s English language version starring Bela Lugosi, using the same sets. Those in the know reckon the Spanish effort is vastly superior.

HOME, Manchester – read more about FilmFear with our preview