“It’s alive,” manically proclaims the mad scientist in James Whale’s Frankenstein (1931), the source material which not only nuanced the Gothic but also gave birth to science fiction. And across the plentiful variations and imitations of this classic text and its themes, of course, body horror has given rise to affect our most primal fears and social conventions, setting the scene for 2025’s iteration of the Cine-Excess International Film Festival and Conference.

The entire festival runs from 20th – 26th October online, in cinemas, and venues across Birmingham.

This year, we celebrate the fortieth anniversary of Stuart Gordon’s Re-Animator (1985), a quintessential cult classic that blends dark comedy and body horror to push the very boundaries of generic acceptability. The film was created in tandem with producer Brian Yuzna, and Re-Animator’s success would inspire later Stuart Gordon horror films such as From Beyond (1986), whilst paving the way for Yuzna’s own directorial career, including Society (1989), Bride of Re-Animator (1990), and Return of the Living Dead III (1993). As part of this year’s festival, we are delighted that Re-Animator’s legendary producer Brian Yuzna is scheduled to be joining in person to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award for his work on the film, whilst also receiving a posthumous award on behalf of the late Stuart Gordon.*

The conference component Reanimated! Reviving Cult Film’s Dead Objects, 17th Cine-Excess conference is held at University of Birmingham, UK and runs 25-26 October 2025. Dr Xavier Aldana Reyes as our keynote speaker. Dr Aldana Reyes is a founding member of the Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies, co-president of the International Gothic Association, and the author of such monographs as Contemporary Body Horror (Cambridge University Press, 2024), Gothic Cinema (Routledge, 2020), and Body Gothic: Corporeal Transgression in Contemporary Literature and Horror Film (University of Wales Press, 2014).

For more information and the Call for Papers see: https://www.cine-excess.co.uk/call-for-papers.html.