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Attention! We're talking about critically acclaimed freshest genre gems!

• When the Evil Lurks premiered at Toronto Film Festival 2023 and won Best Film Award at Sitges Fantasy Film Festival thereafter. In the new horror film from Argentinian director Demián Rugna (Terrified, 2017), two brothers find a man rotting from the inside and, in an attempt to get rid of him, unleash an epidemic of evil. According to major outlets such as Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Slant Magazine and Bloody Disgusting, the film is one of the best horror films from 2023. The score in Rotten Tomatoes is 97%!"Undoubtedly one of the horror films of recent times that really deserves the name of horror film," says Helmut Jänes, the head of the festival.

• Secondly, the festival will screen the blood-curdling horror film The Soul Eater by French directors Alexandre Bustillo and Julien Maury. The film was freshly premiered at IFFR and will be shown in France in April. When a small mountain village is haunted by a series of bizarre deaths and missing children, the legend of a mythical monster, or "ghostbuster", who has been seen in the woods by many locals, soon becomes a legend. "An intriguing combination of fantasy, horror and thriller," said Helmut Jänes. The authors' previous works, Inside and Leatherface, are familiar to HÕFF audiences from the previous editions.

• Finally, Latvian genre pearl The Brazen had its international premiere at PÖFF 2023. Aik Karapetian's feature just scooped 4 Latvian National Film Awards (Lielais Kristaps): Best Director, Best Cinematography, Best Production Design and Best Original Score. The father, Rihards, has promised to help his wife renovate the house so she can hold dance classes there and restart her career as a choreographer. The family is going not only to start a battle against the insects at the house, but a war with each other. Read more about Lielais Kristaps awards from Cineuropa!

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