Like all your Christmasses come at once, I got my own little slice of heaven this year when I got to show John Carpenter’s masterpiece ‘The Thing’. Sublime. Truly one of the greatest genre films ever made and, after a lifetime watching it on video, a revelation to see on the big screen.

Also this year, Dario Argento’s spectacular ‘Tenebre’ finally made it into the programme and for many, myself included, the first time seeing this giallo in the cinema.

By the time I closed with the sight-unseen ‘Beg’ I was exhausted and skint. Within a few months, the opportunity to travel overseas presented itself, and after much agonising about the festival, I decided to go. Dead by Dawn was reduced to an awful lot of paper in one depressingly small box, and off I went, not to return until 1998.

When I left, I thought that I’d never get the chance to do the festival again, and to be honest, was distraught at the thought, but yay! Good news was lurking just around a particularly dark corner...