"Children, stay away," warns HÕFF director Helmut Jänes.

Radical interpretations of Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales will be screened at this year's HÕFF with the horror anthology "Adorable Humans" (2025).

The film includes four separate, but intertwined stories, more or less inspired by Andersen's fairy tales "The Dead Man," "The Story of a Mother," "The Snow Queen," and "Aunt Toothache". It was the darker side of the writer's work, known for his children's fairy tales, that prompted Danish directors Anders Jon, Michael Kunovit, Kasper Juhli, and Michael Panduro to delve into it and seek out the gloomy motifs that they believe have received little attention.

The screening is dedicated to the 220th anniversary of the birth and 150th anniversary of the death of the great fairy tale master, which was widely celebrated last year.

The second film announced is Martijn Smits' "Meat Kills" (2025), a splatter flick described as the bloodiest horror film ever made in the Netherlands.

"Meat Kills" depicts animal rights activists breaking into a pig farm to free the pigs, but encountering unexpected resistance. The film had its world premiere at Austin's Fantastic Fest last year.

"Nothing is spared. No one gets away unscathed," promise the filmmakers.

Full schedule with ticket sales will be announced in April. Limited number of festival passes on sale now.

The Haapsalu Horror and Fantasy Film Festival will take place from April 30 to May 2.
HÕFF is presented by the city of Haapsalu and Elisa.