Early years

The first edition of the festival, which took place at Nanterre's Théâtre des Amandiers, did not feature a competition because the host city was governed by the French Communist Party, and pitting international artists against each other was viewed as incompatible with socialist values.^[3] Therefore, the second edition of the festival, which by then had moved to the Palace in Paris, was the first competitive event. The festival's main award was the Golden Licorn, awarded to the best film.^[2]

The festival received early support from British studio Hammer Film Productions, an association it maintained through the years. The inaugural edition's guest of honor was Hammer star Peter Cushing, and it featured a retrospective of the company's films. Other Hammer mainstays like Terence Fisher^[1] and Christopher Lee^[3] made appearances in the event's formative years.

Grand Rex era

For its sixth edition the festival moved to the Grand Rex, one of Paris' best known art déco buildings. It remained there until its penultimate edition, and the venue has become associated with the event's golden years.^[1]

Italian director Dario Argento has likened the festival's atmosphere to "a rock concert",^[4] and mentioned Suspiria's Paris premiere, where he was borne aloft in trumph by fans,^[1] as one of the moments that helped him realize his newfound stature in the film industry.^[5] Fellow Italian Lucio Fulci is said to have embraced his late conversion to the horror genre based on the raucous reception his film The Beyond received in Paris.^[6] About the festival's crowds, Sam Raimi declared: "Now everytime I do something [in a film], I think of the Rex's audience and what will make them scream."^[2]

Final years

While the festival's populist approach at first made for compelling headlines, fan antics eventually hurt its reputation, and security staff became its number one expense.^[2] In later years, some cinephiles have lamented the event's takeover by unsophisticated crowds, drawn more by the irreverent atmosphere than by the films.^[7]

Conversely, as fantastique gained mainstream acceptance during the 1980s, larger distributors yearned for the cachet of the rival Avoriaz Festival, which attracted international stars to its upscale alpine location, and typically recognized only the most prestigious productions in the genre.^[2]

According to Schlockoff, the festival's demise was sealed when he accepted an offer by the Palais des sports de Paris to co-organize the event and procure sponsors for the 1990 edition, only to see their presenting corporate partner withdraw due to concerns about the imminent Gulf War. The same circumstances led to the cancellation of another French genre film gathering, the 1990 Festival du film policier de Cognac. But while the Cognac event was able to resume in 1991, re-establishing the Paris festival – which was run without public money – following that hiatus proved too complex.^[3]

Footnotes

1. Two editions were held in the calendar year 1979 as the festival moved from March to November.
2. No event was held in the calendar year 1985 as the festival reverted to its previous March slot.