Not content with dishing out just one of the premier events on every horror fan’s calendar year after year, the guys behind the Film4 FrightFest also run the Halloween All-Nighter – and we’ve got this year’s lineup right here for you, if you have the stamina to last it out!

From the Press Release: 
The FrightFest Halloween All-nighter returns to the Vue in London’s Leicester Square on Saturday, October 27 for another helping of choice shock-around-the-clock horror. And this year horror fans around the country can join in the fearful fun as, on Saturday, November 3, the event travels to the Picturehouse Cambridge, the Empires in Sunderland and Newcastle, and The Watershed Bristol.

Here’s the London line-up:

[28 October] 2.15am - BAIT 3D (UK Premiere)
From CUT director Kimble Rendall comes a new dimension in deep sea terror as shoppers at an Australian underground Oceania supermarket are under attack by a crazed bandit. Suddenly, the unimaginable happens. A monster freak tsunami swallows up the town. Now trapped, with rushing waves threatening to entomb them in a watery grave, the survivors discover they are not alone…
90 mins Director: Kimble Rendall Australia 2012 Cast: Xavier Samuel – Josh, Julian McMahon – Doyle, Phoebe Tomkin – Jaimie, Sharni Vinson – Tina, Cariba Heine – Heather

For details on the films screening at the other regional events, check out the official Film4 FrightFest website in order to avoid disappointment, as not all titles screening in London will be making an appearance elsewhere.

[Please, please keep in mind it does not say Xavier’s involved at this time.]

Australian sharksploitation film Bait 3D, which cost an estimated $20m to make, is to see a sequel despite disappointing local box office results since opening a fortnight ago.

The film’s producer Gary Hamilton said Bait 2 in 3D is already in development, due to better international results for the film, which will see a release in every major territory around the world.

Hamilton said: “We’re thrilled with how well BAIT 3D is being received by audiences. It’s not only a commercially viable film that appeals to people from every walk of life, it’s high production value brings moviegoers into the story immediately and keeps them on the edge of their seats throughout the show. BAIT 2 will bring even more.”

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If you’ll be in or around the Hamptons on October 6th or 7th, you can buy tickets to either two screenings of Drift at the 2012 Hamptons International Film Festival.

Drift

Starring Xavier Samuel, Sharni Vinson, Alex Russell, Julian McMahon

Directed by Kimble Rendall

Distributed by Anchor Bay Entertainment

Shark movies. Around these parts we love them, and lately they’re have been a ton of ‘em. It’s hard to believe one of the best of the year has been The Asylum’s Two-Headed Shark Attack, but such is the state of the industry. Sadly enough, most of the recent killer shark flicks have had no bite. Shark Night 3D should have been a no-brainer of a blast, but its PG-13 rating was far more aggressive than any of the finned menaces which populated its tepid waters. Since it proved to be little more than plankton, we’ve been waiting for something to do right by the subgenre. Bait 3D is that movie.

The storyline is just looney enough to be workable. After a deadly tsunami hits shore, a group of survivors end up finding themselves huddled together in a submerged supermarket. Swimming is the only way out, but there’s just one problem… with the deluge of water has come all manner of sea life, including a few very hungry great white sharks. Of course there are your standard twists and turns to the main plot, but in a nutshell that’s really it. And you know what? That’s all it needs to be.

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Xavier’s Drift co-star Lesley-Ann Brandt will be representing the film at this year’s Hampton’s Film Festival:

Lesley-Ann will be attending the Hampton’s Film Festival from Oct 4th-8th along with her Drift directors and producer Morgan O’Neil, Ben Nott and Tim Duffy. Drift has recently acquired it’s American distributor Wrekin Hill Entertainment and is slated for release in the US and Australia in Feb/March 2013. The film will have a worldwide theatrical release in Europe, Asia and South Africa, details of these dates are yet to be released. Drift stars Sam Worthington, Xavier Samuel, Lesley-Ann Brandt, Myles Pollard, Robyn Malcolm and Aaron Glenane.

The last time Australian filmmaker Kimble Rendall was at the helm of a feature-length horror film was the 2000 slasher film Cut, which featured the likes of Molly Ringwald and Kylie Minogue.  But make no mistake, he’s been quite busy since then working as a second unit director on films like The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, I, Robot, Ghostrider and Underworld: Rise of the Lycans.

Rendall is combining his experience in body count horror and high-caliber action fare with Bait 3D, his super fun sophomore feature outing in the director’s chair opening September 14th in limited release and coming to DVD/Blu-ray September 18th.

Starring Sharni Vinson, Julian McMahon, Xavier Samuel, Alex Russell and Phoebe Tonkin, the film concerns a supermarket that is flooded after a tsunami and the remaining survivors who are trapped inside with two great white sharks.

After the jump, read our discussion with Rendall in which he talks about overcoming the usual tropes that come with this kind of nature-run-amok action, the challenges of shooting in a flooded market set, his next horror outing and more.

…

Shock:  On Bait, what was your favorite shark attack sequence to orchestrate?

Rendall:  Good question.  The one that was the most timing consuming is when Xavier is climbing along the pipe and he shoots at the shark.  It was all about coordinating the plates.  I’d say that one.

…

Wrekin Hill plans an early 2013 theatrical release in North America for Drift, which stars Sam Worthington, Myles Pollard, and Xavier Samuel. Inspired by the true story of the formation of such Australian surf lines as Quiksilver and Billabong, the Aussie-set story centers on two brothers who launch a backyard surf gear business but get caught up with a local drug dealer, threatening their family and their future. Morgan O’Neill and Ben Nott directed O’Neill’s screenplay. Tim Duffy, Michele Bennett and Pollard produced the film for World Wide Mind Films. The deal was negotiated by Wrekin Hill president and CEO Chris Ball and Rene Cogan with Gregory Chambet at TF1 and executive producer Peter Lawson on behalf of the producers.

YOU only need to know one thing about Bait 3D. A tsunami washes a shark into a supermarket. Down the aisle between the tinned tomatoes and baking needs comes the dreaded dorsal fin. The survivors of the wave huddle on an upturned shelving unit. Then the jaws with the rows of jagged teeth rise from the water, right in front of us. It’s 3D, remember! And CHOMP!

Bait 3D, an Australia-Singapore co-production starring a gaggle of Australian television actors including Julian McMahon (Nip Tuck), Xavier Samuel (Twilight: The Eclipse) and three Home & Away stars - Sharni Vinson, Phoebe Tonkin and Lincoln Lewis - had its world premiere in the midnight slot on Saturday night at the Venice Film Festival.

It seemed an unlikely festival selection, but the audience went crazy with joy as fake blood clouded the waters; even when the projection broke down and about 15 minutes of the film was repeated, everyone seemed happy to see it again. A tsunami of cheers swept towards director Kimble Rendall as the curtains closed.

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Looks like praise for Xavier coming from the Venice Film Festival:

As a bit of old-fashioned B-movie silliness – perfect for late night programming slots – Bait 3D delivers enough gore and good-lookers to keep things interesting, and while it is high on concept and low on scripting, as shark attack films go it at least offers the novel notion that most of the kills take place in a supermarket.

The film, which screens out of competition at the Venice Film Festival, is familiar in tone (a mismatched group of folk have to fight back when threatened by a couple on rather large Great Whites) and suffers from some rather limp and soggy characterisation, but the 3D is pretty impressive and Xavier Samuel and Sharni Vinson prove they have the youthful energy and star potential to support the film.

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While no Australian works are in the running for the Golden Lion award, some of the country’s best and brightest will show their wares at the famous event.

Bait 3D, starring Xavier Samuel, Julian McMahon and Sharni Vinson, and directed by Kimble Rendall will show out of competition, while two Australian shorts — Marla, directed by Nick King and I’m the One, directed by Paola Morabito — will also screen.

Eighteen films are competing for the Golden Lion, the top award, at a festival in the midst of directorial and structural change. …

I know there was some confusion as to the general storyline of Plush, but it looks like most sources are now claiming this as the official plot:

Plush is a story of rising rock star Hayley (Browning) who, after losing her band mate and brother to a drug overdose, finds herself in a downward spiral. The second album from her band Plush is received as a critical and commercial disaster, but she finds new hope and friendship in Enzo (Samuel), the replacement guitarist who inspires her to reach new creative heights. However, their collaboration soon crosses the line sexually and Hayley, not wanting to betray her husband (Gigandet), retreats from Enzo’s advances. As Hayley slowly discovers Enzo’s dark and troubled history, she realizes she may have let a madman into her home and family and that her mistake may cost the lives of people closest to her.

NEW CATHERINE HARDWICKE THRILLER IS NOW IN PRODUCTION

A new erotic thriller, “Plush,” co-written by alumna Catherine Hardwicke and Artie Nelson is being financed by IM Global and begins principle photography Monday, August 27, 2012. Other films that IM Global has financed include “Insidious,” “The Babymakers” and “Dredd 3D.”

“Plush” has also garnered Jason Blum, of the “Paranormal Activity” franchise, to produce the film. IM Global CEO Stuart Ford looks forward to the prospect of Hardwicke and Blum combining forces,

“We have a director and a producer with more than a billion dollars of box office under their belts and who have launched two of the most successful franchises of all time. Ally those credentials to a brilliantly twisting, erotic screenplay and a vibrant young cast and we couldn’t be more excited about the film’s prospects.”

No release date is set for the film starring Emily Browning, Xavier Samuel and Cam Gigandet about a rock star who finds herself in a downward spiral after losing her brother/band mate, but finds new hope in the replacement guitarist with a dark and troubled history. 

Emily Browning, Xavier Samuel star in thriller

IM Global has come on board to finance Catherine Hardwicke’s thriller “Plush” through its Octane genre label.

Principal photography began Monday in Los Angeles on “Plush,” produced by “Paranormal Activity” franchise producer Jason Blum through his Blumhouse Prods.

“Plush” stars Emily Browning (“Sucker Punch”), Xavier Samuel (“Twilight Saga: Eclipse”) and Cam Gigandet (“Easy A”). Browining portrays a rising rock star who, after losing her band mate and brother to a drug overdose, finds herself in a downward spiral as the second album from her band Plush is received as a critical and commercial disaster. Samuel portrays the replacement guitarist and Gigandet plays her husband.

IM Global CEO Stuart Ford exec produces alongside colleagues Steve Squillante and Michael Roban. “Plush” is the 14th film that IM Global and its related entities have financed or co-financed in the past two and a half years.

Hardwicke is helming from a script she co-wrote with Artie Nelson. …

Arclight Films has announced the exclusive festival screening of BAIT 3D at the 69^th Annual Venice Film Fest on September 1st, just a couple of weeks before the film is scheduled to be released worldwide. Head inside for all the details.

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In the middle of editing, film maker Tim Duffy was happy with his first feature film, Drift.

Starring Miles Pollard and Sam Worthington, Drift was shot in the South West last year and is a story of the birth of the Australian surfing industry.

A film where the surfing action doesn’t overpower the drama was the goal in editing, says writer and producer Tim.

The shoot last August exceeded expectations; good weather and the performances and action fantastic, he says.

Producers plan for contingent inside shooting when the weather’s bad, he says. As a former South West local, Tim was banking on no more than two or three days of bad weather in August.

“That’s what we got.

“When it’s sunny and winter, it’s beautiful; soft light and the surf’s big.”

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