AMC's Gruesome FrightFest Promo Isn't for the Faint-Hearted

MassiveMusic and AMC Networks have teamed up to bring FrightFest to life. The UK’s biggest and most popular horror film festival will take over Vue Shepherd’s Bush for its annual five day August Bank Holiday event this weekend.

For the first time ever, Horror Channel’s FrightFest has secured the entire West End cinema, with 12 screens showcasing 62 feature films across the weekend, including 19 world premieres and 35 UK and European premieres.

To ramp up the horror experience the monstrous collaborators have partnered to install a series of interactive installations and immersive experiences around the venue. With the whole cinema to play with, MassiveMusic have installed a host of hyper directional speakers that are sure to give festivalgoers a real fright.

A number of plinths are dotted around the venue showcasing a series of gruesome promos in which a human heart is tortured, dissected and destroyed (believe us, they really aren’t for the faint hearted!). 

The hyper directional speakers have been perfectly positioned by each plinth so that when the unsuspecting attendees are standing beneath them, they’ll be able to hear a disembodied voice reciting the Horror Channel’s manifesto. The utilisation of the speakers creates a unique interactive consumer experience, complementing the work of Sublime Promotions, the events management team behind the visual installations.

A series of promos were created in the run up to the event, broadcast on both TV and cinema. The promos featured horrific sound design from MassiveMusic who created ambient noises to accompany the gruesome visuals.

MassiveMusic also curated a scarily good ‘hint of horror’ playlist that for the cinema foyer, featuring moody, gothic classics peppered with iconic tracks from legendary horror films.  

The project is part of an ongoing collaboration between MassiveMusic and AMC Networks, which started when the two companies got together for an installation at Comicon 2016. The project was a radical departure from what is expected of a traditional music company, with MassiveMusic helping enhance AMC’s Fear of the Walking Dead installation with the use of direction speakers.

Helen Bellringer, Producer at MassiveMusic, comments: “I’m a huge horror fan, so working on this project has been a blast. It’s great to work with a client that gets behind brave creative ideas. It’s not easy to pitch audio spotlight technology, and I’m so glad that we’re using it as it’s going to be really effective in the space, and terrifying for anyone unknowingly walking through the audio beam!”

Helen Glover, Creative Manager at AMC Networks, adds: “Massive Music delivered heart pumping, spine chilling sounds design that were exactly what we wanted. They totally got what the project needed and were outstanding to work with, bringing a fresh perspective and load of talent that took our FrightFest campaign to the next level. I'd work with MassiveMusic again in a heartbeat!"

FrightFest kicks off on Thursday 25th August at Vue Shepherd’s Bush and runs throughout the August bank holiday weekend.