Saturday started with a block of shorts at Rhyller Thriller 4 to set us all up for a day of so much more than the previous day. While watching the films, I added my ratings and some reviews up in my Letterboxd profile in a special Rhyller Thriller 4 list.
After a second block of shorts and a quick break, we were treated to a documentary about poster artist Graham Humphreys, which was a fascinating look into his career and behind the scenes of the superb artist, whom many of you will know from his work on The Evil Dead and A Nightmare on Elm Street, to name but two amazing pieces of work.
With more shorts and a chance to see the classic Russian horror VIY on the big screen, the day’s final feature was the original Pet Semetary, which is a film that I’ve always found unnerving to watch, but it was great to see this classic Stephen King adaptation back on the big screen again with fellow horror fans.
It had been a long day, so after Pet Semetary, I headed home to grab some sleep before heading back to the Rhyl Little Theatre for the final day of this amazing event.
I arrived with 20 minutes to spare for the last day before the first section of the Little Drops of Horror started. I popped some reviews of those on my Letterboxd and then watched the first feature of the day called Marginalia. Summoned to Karnstein Abbey to serve as a mourner at the funeral of their recently deceased abbess, Sister Trista discovers a dark secret involving demons, witchcraft and killer rabbits. But Sister Trista has a secret of her own.
The film is beautifully shot in Black and White and looks great; it goes to show that Black and White films can still stand out more than films in vibrant colours. But wow, the film goes a bit crazy towards the end; the stop-motion effects add to this film.
Following on with some more shorts, then onto the 1964 Japanese horror Onibaba. This is a film I’ve been meaning to watch for years; I can imagine back when it was made it was quite terrifying for audiences.
After a 30-minute break to stretch legs and pop to the loo, it was time for the final movie of the event with Hellbound: Hellraiser II, a film which I’d not seen on a big screen since seeing it when it was originally released back in 1988!
We were treated to a guest Q&A after the film with Geoff Portass and Paul Kane chatting about behind the scenes of Hellbound: Hellraiser II; it was a fascinating look into the special effects.
The final block of Little Drops of Horrors took us into the Awards and Closing Thanks from Chad.
This year’s awards went to:
Spencer Wilding for his contribution to Horror
Best Kill went ot the short film The Upstanding Millers (of Society) with “Art of the Kill”
And Best Short Film of 2026 went to POCONGDORIE
2026’s Rhyller Thriller has been another amazing year; I must say a massive thanks to Chad Jones and Tomos Rowlands for inviting me over to the event and for being part of such an amazing weekend. Congratulations to everyone involved with the event, and hopefully I’ll be back again with you all in 2027 for Rhyller Thriller 5.
Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds. She is also a Cinema reviewer and works with RealD 3D reviewing the latest 3D releases and IMAX, she has also had several articles published in various publications including the first edition of SFW Magazine. In 2015 she became an Award Winning Blogger and also has her website listed as one of the UK’s Top 10 Film Blogs.