by Nathan Brown
Bloodsuckers, flesheaters and nymphomaniacs: horror cinema has long traded on a primal fear of uncontained female appetites. Afterall, in a world where women’s desire for food, sex and capital has been fiercely policed by patriarchal social norms, what could be scarier than a hungry woman?
– Dundead Film Festival
I first attended Dundead last year, having been prompted to check out the festival by one of my favourite podcasts, Evolution of Horror, being in attendance to introduce a few of the screenings. Unfortunately last year I was relatively late to the party (well, festival) and was only able to attend a few screenings but after finding myself enamoured with the DCA and overall vibe of the event, this year I was heading back to take in a much larger proportion of the festival’s offerings. Dundead 2026 was the fourteenth edition of the festival with the films selected by the DCA’s in house programmer Michael Coull, in collaboration with Invisible Women – an archive activist film collective who promote the work of female and marginalised filmmakers who selected the titles for this year’s retrospective strand – She’s a Maneater! Cannibalism, Consumption and Carnal Appetites. The festival comprised of twelve features – four Scottish premieres, two UK premieres with the other six titles making up the retrospective strand, accompanied by a selection of shorts as well as introductions, pre-recorded messages from the filmmakers themselves and programme notes, all of which helps bring the festival to life, inviting you to really engage with each film as it’s presented to you rather than just being camped out in a cinema for the weekend.
My own festival experience began on the Friday evening and first up was the nightmarish breastfeeding short ‘Feed’ which told the story of a mother receiving help and advice with feeding her newborn from a mysterious older woman before the Scottish premiere of ‘Theater Is Dead’. The film was preceded by a video introduction featuring director Katherine Dundas and a few cast members as well as a very suspect attempt at a Scottish accent which helped ease us into this camp, fun horror comedy about a first time actor entering the theatre world only to discover a world of outlandish acting exercises and also, demonic secrets. This film was perfect Friday night festival fodder, with its satire of theatre, Hollywood and anything else it could get its claws into providing a lot of laughs, setting us up perfectly for the late night feature ‘Blood Diner’ from director Jackie Kong. Background for the film and on the director was provided by Invisible Women’s Rachel Pronger featuring a particularly enjoyable anecdote about Kong being gifted her first camera by family friend Marlon Brando. This dose of 80’s schlock was absolutely perfect for bringing the evening to a close, with a rowdy audience lapping up this tale of two brothers and their partially re-animated uncle attempting to conjure an ancient demonic force through a Frankenstein-esque ritual. ‘Blood Diner’ was the kind of movie you might give 30 seconds of attention to before flicking past on television (suspend your disbelief and pretend this is still how we watch TV) but presented here on the big screen with a buzzing crowd, much like the demonic goddess Sheetar, this film really came to life.
Saturday morning began with the local parkrun (representing with my new Dundead t-shirt of course) to get my dose of fresh air before heading back to the DCA for the first of four films. DCA’s own Michael Coull introduced us to Algerian exorcism movie ‘Roqia’, informing us that it would it be a ‘strong’ start to the day and that the film was ‘unflinching’ in terms of its violence. As Michael had also alluded to in his introduction, it was refreshing to watch an exorcism movie that was removed from Catholicism and instead it was Islam that provided the religious framework for this brooding beast of a film. Set across two timelines, one in present day and one in the early 90’s, the film explores the effects of trauma on not only those directly affected but those around them. At times this was a bit of a slow burn but if you can stick with it be prepared for a truly ferocious finale. Next up, there was quite a shift in tone as Camilla Baier from Invisible Women introduced us to Miguel M. Delgado’s Santo vs. Frankenstein’s Daughter from 1972. Being previously unaware (but now slightly obsessed) of Santo, it was great to get a bit of background on this legend of Mexican cinema before witnessing Santo fend off Freda Frankenstein as she attempted to use his gene’s to create the elixir of life. On the surface, this is really ridiculous B-movie territory but Freda’s desperation to stay young and beautiful provided the subtext to keep this on brand with the festival’s theme.
There was now a couple of hour’s break and watching (and being part of) the short march of film fans clad in black and horror movie merch from the DCA to Wee Mexico, the nearest burrito joint, was truly something to behold and I couldn’t help but wonder if our choice in cuisine hadn’t only been inspired by proximity but by Santo himself. As Saturday evening was now drawing in, it seemed like the ideal time to sample the Dundead themed drinks on offer. During the interval I went for the ‘Carmilla’, a boozy, berry concoction crafted especially for this years festival before grabbing a can of Dundead IPA by local brewery HOLY GOAT to sip through the next screening. Before our first evening feature, we were treated to ‘Animal Math’, a fifteen minute short that took director Robbie Ward seven years to craft, with each frame hand drawn or painted with much of the score also provided by Ward himself, as was our video introduction where he detailed the process behind his labour of love and invited us to watch the film as it were a dream. The next fifteen minutes flowed out from the screen as animals, monsters and animal monsters accompanied with a synth-laden score led us through a loose narrative that, as were told, was to be experienced rather than understood.
We then moved onto the busiest feature of the weekend, the UK premiere of ‘Buffet Infinity’ which again was introduced to us by the director and similar to the short we were given some insight into the sheer amount of time and love that went into creating what we were about to see, accompanied with more Scottish based jokes that certainly seemed to land with the audience. This was a truly unique film, with everything playing out on screen in the form of television ads that begin to outline a feud between rival restaurants and other strange goings on in a fictional Canadian county. The satirical subtext of this movie is the most obvious part of it, as it lands blow after blow about the woes of capitalism and consumerism and for 75% of the run time is effective and comedic in doing so but as the narrative ramps up in a messy fashion towards the tail end, the film lost me slightly. However as a viewing experience like no other, it is hard to criticise it too harshly.
The final screening of the day was again introduced by Rachel Pronger who told us of her first late night viewing of Julia Ducournau’s ‘Raw’ in a cinema that she used to work in. It was preceded by a dreamy motorcycle ride of a short ‘Last Call’ which explores a young woman’s chaotic descent as she tries to avoid the confrontation of a mysterious ‘Serpent Woman’. ‘Raw’ is a film I’ve seen a few times but the coming of age cannibalism tale is transformed on the big screen as the stunning visuals and it’s glorious yet grotesque soundscape become full-throated as they wash over you. After a day of such diverse viewing experiences it was a real treat to cap it off with a film as bold and accomplished as this near-perfect debut that still hits as hard ten years on from its release.
Sunday started with a film which has intrigued me for a few years but given my awareness of its strong content and subject matter, was one that I had never quite found the right time to dive into. Claire Denis’s ‘Trouble Every Day’ was introduced to us by Rachel Pronger alongside Jessica McGoff and her video essay ‘A Horror in the Breach’ on the film, which was really helpful in giving us some context around the dark and disturbing movie we were about to see. ‘Trouble Every Day’ is aggressive in both its emotional complexity and the violence it portrays on screen, a film that continues to resonate and repulse long after the runtime. After a short break we were back into the screen for a real mix up of an afternoon. First we saw ‘Disease’, a five minute zombie love story that delivers a (literal) gut-wrenching twist in its climax with writer, director and make up artist Alex Masciotra-Milstein on hand for a Q&A with Michael Coull afterwards, delivering a really fun and interesting conversation about DIY filmmaking. Next up we had another short, ‘The Dysphoria’, again introduced by the filmmaker – Kylie Aoibheann, this time via a pre-recorded video message where she told us the inspiration for the film came after her own gender-affirming surgery and the pain and difficulties that went along with it, she wondered whether it might have been easier to simply do a deal with the devil. The result is a truly engaging and fun satanic ritual short and hearing the lived experience that inspired it made it an even more rewarding watch. Our next feature (although originally a mini-series) was vampire frolic ‘Silencio’ by Eduardo Casanova. Both highly camp and tender in its portrayal of a family of female vampires across multiple generations, this stylish and funny film was pretty ideal for a Sunday afternoon. The final premiere of the festival was Julia Kowalski’s rural possession drama ‘Her Will Be Done’, again introduced by Michael Coull. This dark coming of age tale was more effective in delivering its drama than the horror beats that were sprinkled throughout but was an intriguing tale of secrecy and unspoken truths tearing apart a small community. Our last screening was the 1971 cult movie ‘The Velvet Vampire’ by Stephanie Rothman. An introduction and programme notes were both supplied by Rachel Pronger, providing a pretty in depth insight into Rothman as a female filmmaker in a male dominated industry and for what to look out for in this chic vampire flick about a young couple lured into the desert by the titular seductress. This fun and fuzzy film was a fitting wrap up to the festival, not taking itself too seriously but still providing plenty to ponder and engage with.
In his final introduction of the festival, programmer Michael Coull told us that this was the highest sales years in Dundead’s history, which turns out is a record they break year on year and to be honest it’s easy to see why. After catching a couple of films at last year’s festival, I was quite certain I would be returning this year and now having caught the majority of 2026’s offerings, I’m sure I’ll be back again. Whilst the programming of the films themselves is excellent, what is even more impressive is how everything is presented, from the introductions from the programmer’s and filmmakers to the custom cocktails, it really feels like you are being offered more than just a bunch of films to sit and take in. When I arrived at the festival on the Friday, I was taken aback by the sheer number of attendees wearing Dundead t-shirts, with different designs from the various incarnations of the festival across the years, this to me is a real indicator of the affection that the audience has for the festival. Everything at Dundead feels reciprocal, with the care from the programmers and event organisers matched by an audience who offer real attentiveness and engagement with what they are presented.
There’s a wall outside the screen where handwritten or drawn reviews can be displayed which is just one more example of the community spirit that is created throughout the festival. The atmosphere in the bar between films is always excited and bustling and I was pleasantly surprised by the amount of people I recognised coming back for each and every screening. Much like the films and filmmakers it champions, Dundead is building a cult following and it’s one cult that I am happy to be a part of.
Nathan Brown (Instagram – moodswingsabz) is a freelance writer and (semi)retired podcaster from Aberdeen in the North East of Scotland. His initial work focused on mental health before branching out to genre cinema, football, travel and anything else he can shoehorn himself into.
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