Immortal Beloved Horror
With Johan Vandewoestijne a.k.a. James Desert in attendance!
IMMORTAL BELOVED HORROR is a feature-length, deep-dive documentary that charts the electrifying history of horror—from literary origins to VHS-era cult chaos.
It all begins in 1816, the “Year Without a Summer,” when Mary Shelley, Lord Byron, and friends—trapped indoors by volcanic ash-cloud weather—entertained themselves by writing ghost stories. What emerged was Frankenstein, the spark that ignited two centuries of macabre imagination.
From there, the film traces the genre’s evolution: Poe and Stoker, Edison and Méliès, German Expressionism and Universal Monsters, Hammer Films and Giallo maestros like Argento and Bava. Horror’s heartbeat pulses through Night of the Living Dead, The Exorcist, Daughters of Darkness, and the outrageous rise of Troma with The Toxic Avenger.
Told entirely through archival footage, film clips (75+ of them!), and a compelling voice-over (Johan De Paepe in Dutch, Marc Ickx in English), this documentary skips talking heads and dives straight into the guts of the genre—uncut, uncensored, and soaked in atmosphere. With narration-driven storytelling, rich visuals, rare materials, and original music by Yves Elegeert, it’s a blood-soaked love letter to horror cinema, concluding just before the VHS explosion changed the game forever.
Directed, edited, and written by cult icon Johan Vandewoestijne (Rabid Grannies), produced by James Desert, Johan De Paepe, and Erwin Busschaert. International distribution is handled by Zeno Pictures and Chriskepolis under DEFILM, with more language versions in the works.
A must-watch for horror fans, cinephiles, and lovers of cinematic mischief.