Connect with us

Indie

‘The Final Girls’ Highlights Massive Stanley Film Festival Lineup!

Published

on

The Stanley Film Festival (SFF), produced by the Denver Film Society (DFS), announced today its Closing Night film, Festival lineup and the 2015 Master of Horror.

The Festival will close out with The Final Girls, pictured above. The film, directed by Todd Strauss-Schulson, is the story of a young woman grieving the loss of her mother, a famous scream queen from the 1980s, who finds herself pulled into the world of her mom’s most famous movie.

Throughout the four-day celebration of the best in horror cinema, SFF will showcase a full slate of features (listed below), shorts, panels, special events and awards presentations at the historic Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, Colorado.

The Stanley Film Festival will also honor Stuart Gordon (Re-Animator, From Beyond, Dolls) as the 2015 Stanley Film Festival Master of Horror. The award will be presented by horror icon, Mick Garris (“The Shining,” “The Stand,” “Masters of Horror,” Sleepwalkers), creator and chief organizer of the fabled master of horror dinners attended by great filmmakers past and present. The award will be given to Mr. Gordon Saturday afternoon preceding a special 30th Anniversary screening on 35mm of his cult classic, one of the genre’s great lasting works, Re-Animator. A conversation hosted by Mick Garris with Stuart Gordon will follow the screening.

FEATURE PRESENTATIONS:

Body – USA/2015 – (Director: Dan Berk, Robert Olsen, Featuring Helen Rogers, Alexandra Turshen, Lauren Molina, Larry Fessenden) – The loyalty between three young, female friends is tested when a debaucherous evening of drinking turns into a nightmare after they accidentally commit murder. Packed with unexpected twists and strong performances, BODY is a nasty little thrillride.

The Boy – USA/2015 – (Director: Craig McNeill, Featuring David Morse, Rainn Wilson, Jared Breeze, Bill Sage, Mike Vogel) – Produced by 2014 SFF Visionary Award recipients Daniel Noah, Josh Waller and Elijah Wood, Stanley alum Craig McNeill’s chilling feature debut offers an unnerving glimpse at a boy’s growing fascination with death.

Deathgasm – New Zealand/2015 – (Director: Jason Lei Howden, Featuring Milo Cawthorne, James Blake, Kimberley Crossman, Stephen Ure) – A pair of metalheads start a band, find a piece of music that accidentally unleashes an ancient evil, then have to stop the apocalypse from overtaking everything in this energetic action-comedy from the producers of HOUSEBOUND (SFF 2014).

Director’s Commentary: The Terror of Frankenstein – USA/2015 – World Premiere (Director: Tim Kirk, Featuring Clu Gulager, Zack Norman, Leon Vitali) – Stanley Film Festival alum Tim Kirk (ROOM 237, THE NIGHTMARE), Rodney Ascher (ROOM 237, THE NIGHTMARE) and Leon Vitali (THE SHINING, EYES WIDE SHUT) team up for this unique cinematic experience, a compelling journey into the past to uncover the dark secrets behind a fateful film shoot, all told through the world’s most unusual director’s commentary track for the 1970s flick, TERROR OF FRANKENSTEIN.

The Final Girls – USA/2015 – (Director: Todd Strauss-Schulson, Featuring Taissa Farmiga, Nina Dobrev, Alexander Ludwig) – Max (Taissa Farmiga) and her friends find themselves trapped in the famous 80’s slasher flick that made her late mother a scream queen. The millennial gang joins the throwback camp counselors with raging libidos (featuring a standout performance from WORKAHOLICS’s Adam DeVine) to battle the psychotic killer. A hilarious meta horror comedy with heart, THE FINAL GIRLS is a wonderful send-up to the genre and an ideal Closing Night film for the Stanley Film Festival.

Goodnight Mommy – Austria/2014 – (Director: Severin Fiala, Veronika Franz, Featuring Susanne Wuest, Elias Schwarz, Lukas Schwarz) – Following a complex, facial reconstructive surgery, a young actress returns home to find that her twin sons don’t believe it is her behind the bandages. Determined to exorcise the imposter, the duo rebel against her, but their suspicions may have grave consequences in this deliciously atmospheric, gruesome, Austrian spine-tingler.

The Hallow – UK/Ireland/2015 – (Director: Corin Hardy, Featuring Bojana Novakovic, Joseph Mawle, Michael McElhatton) – When a British conservationist unwittingly disturbs a horde of demonic forces in a remote wilderness, he must protect his family from their relentless attacks in this gory creature fable.

Hollow – Vietnam/2014 – (Director: Ham Tran, Featuring NSƯT Ngọc Hiệp, Trần Bảo Sơn, Hồng Ân, Thanh Mỹ, Mai Thế Hiệp) – A little girl drowns in a river, then awakens in the morgue and returns to her family. But whatever has returned possesses secrets to a mystery that once unraveled reveals terrors far more sinister than spirits.

The Invitation – USA/2015 – (Director: Karyn Kusama, Featuring Logan Marshall-Green, Tammy Blanchard, Michiel Huisman, Emayatzy Corinealdi, Lindsay Burdge, John Carroll Lynch, Mike Doyle, Michelle Krusiec, Marieh Delfino, Jay Larson) – Two years after a tragic loss ended his relationship, Will accepts an invitation from his ex-wife to attend a mysterious dinner party held at his former house. As the evening progresses, the dread bubbling under the surface is slowly revealed in this superbly directed thriller from Karyn Kusama (JENNIFER’S BODY, GIRLFIGHT).

Let Us Prey – UK/2014 – (Director: Brian O’Malley, Featuring Liam Cunningham, Pollyanna McIntosh, Bryan Larkin, Hanna Stanbridge) – Liam Cunningham (GAME OF THRONES) stars in this tightly wound horror/thriller taking place one fateful night in a remote Irish town. Sinners will repent and blood will be shed as a mysterious stranger with telepathic powers unravels the local police station with blistering results.

The Nightmare – USA/2015 – (Director: Rodney Ascher) – From the director of ROOM 237 comes the scariest documentary ever made. Rodney Ascher explores the lives of eight poor souls who suffer from extreme sleep paralysis, uncovering and recreating the deepest subconscious creation of terror the mind can offer.

Over Your Dead Body – Japan/2014 – (Director: Takashi Miike, Featuring Ko Shibasaki, Hitomi Katayama, Ebizô Ichikawa, Hideaki Itô) – Legendary horror maestro Takashi Miike brings his fervent interpretation to a traditional ghost story from his native Japan with this nuanced tale of a theater production that awakens vicious spirits to possess its unsuspecting actors.

Scherzo Diabolico
– Mexico/USA/2015 – (Director: Adrian Garcia Bogliano, Featuring Francisco Barreiro, Daniela Soto Vell, Jorge Molina, Milena Pezzi) – Returning to the festival for the third time in three years, Adrian Garcia Bogliano’s all new tale of dread concerns a seemingly mild-mannered man who enacts a disturbing plan for vengeance.

Shrew’s Nest – Spain/2014 – (Director: Juanfer Andrés, Esteban Roel, Featuring Silvia Alonso, Carolina Bang, Jesús Ángel Castrodeza, Nadia de Santiago) – In the tradition of MISERY comes this razor-sharp Spanish thriller about an unfortunate man who finds himself trapped in the apartment of his obsessive, shut-in neighbors after taking a debilitating tumble down the steps in their building. As he is nursed back to health, a vicious sibling rivalry ensues around him in this entertaining and brutal look into family madness produced by Stanley Film Festival alum Alex de la Iglesia

Some Kind of Hate – USA/2015 – World Premiere (Director: Adam Egypt Mortimer, Featuring Ronen Rubinstein, Grace Phipps, Sierra McCormick, Noah Segan, Michael Polish) – When a troubled teen is subjected to severe bullying, he accidentally conjures the vengeful ghost of Moira Karp. Once a teenage girl pushed to suicide, Moira is now an unstoppable force on a mission of gruesome retribution. But when she goes too far, he must prevent her from spiraling out of control in this passionate and vividly violent supernatural thriller.

Stung – USA, Germany/2015 – (Director: Benni Diez, Featuring Matt O’Leary, Jessica Cook, Lance Henriksen, Eve Slatner, Clifton Collins Jr.) – A swanky dinner party at a secluded villa is cut short when a gardening mishap involving a toxic fertilizer accidentally breeds a pack of oversized, blood-thirsty wasps. Now a underdog carterer must lead a pack of guests and employees in a fight for survival in this gorey, camptastic, giant monster flick.

Sun Choke – USA/2015 – World Premiere (Director: Ben Cresciman, Featuring Sarah Hagan, Barbara Crampton, Sara Malakul Lane) – Janie’s just trying to get well. As she recovers from a violent psychotic break, she’s subjected each day to a bizarre holistic health and wellness regimen designed, and enforced, by her lifelong nanny and caretaker. But when she develops an obsession with a stranger, Janie’s buried demons begin to surface.

The Treatment – Belgium/2014 – (Director: Hans Herbots, Featuring Geert Van Rampelberg, Ina Geerts, Johan van Assche, Laura Verlinden) – Echoing tones of great nuevo-European thrillers like THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, this hard-boiled Belgian mystery tells the story of a hot-headed cop who finds himself caught in a web of deceit when a nine-year-old boy goes missing. He uncovers a secret so dark that it makes all other stories of the genre feel like warm and fuzzy child’s play.

We Are Still Here – USA/2015 – (Director: Ted Geoghegan, Featuring Barbara Crampton, Andrew Sensenig, Larry Fessenden, Lisa Marie, Monte Markham) – A quaint New England town’s dark history returns when a couple trying to start over moves unknowingly into a storied haunted house. Featuring Tales from Beyond the Pale’s Larry Fessenden and produced by Stanley alum Travis Stevens (STARRY EYES) this Fulci-esque fright goes beyond the traditional ghost tale to terrifying extremes.

When Animals Dream – Denmark/2014 – (Director: Jonas Alexander Arnby, Featuring Sonia Suhl, Lars Mikkelsen, Sonja Richter, Jakob Oftebro) – In a remote seaside town in northern Denmark, a young woman with an independent spirit begins to display troubling signs of her werewolf heritage in this restrained supernatural thriller.

RETROSPECTIVES:

Diabolique – France/1955 – (Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot, Featuring Simone Signoret, Véra Clouzot, Paul Meurisse, Charles Vanel, Jean Brochard) – The wife of an abusive headmaster teams up with her husband’s mistress to kill him in what they think is the perfect crime. When his body mysteriously disappears, the two find they are in deeper than they bargained for. In honor of the film’s 60th Anniversary, the Stanley Film Festival is proud to present this eeiry, French milestone of the horror canon.

Re-Animator – USA/1985 – (Director: Stuart Gordon, Featuring Jeffrey Combs, Bruce Abbott, Barbara Crampton) – Join Mick Garris for a conversation with the 2015 Master of Horror Award recpient Stuart Gordon and a special 30th Anniversary screening of his cult classic. In this Lovecraftian tale, medical student Herbet West attempts to unlock the secerts of life with his experimental serum.

Repulsion – UK/1965 – (Director: Roman Polanski, Featuring Catherine Deneuve, Ian Hendry, John Fraser, Yvonne Furneaux) – The 50th Anniversary of Roman Polanski’s all-time cinema classic of suspense finds demons closing in on a young Catherine Deneuve when left alone in her sister’s apartment.

The Rocky Horror Picture Show – USA/1975 – (Director: Jim Sharman, Featuring Tim Curry, Susan Sarandon, Barry Bostwick, Richard O’Brien ) – Let’s do the the Time Warp again! Come celebrate the 40th Anniversay of your favorite horror musical with Colorado’s Elusive Ingredient. Throw Bag’s will be on hand for $5. So dust off those red pumps and fish net stockings and get ready to rock out.

Shivers – Canada/1975 – (Director: David Cronenberg, Featuring Paul Hampton, Joe Silver, Lynn Lowry) – Newly restored by the TIFF Cinematheque under the supervision of David Cronenberg, this 40th Anniversary screening of the King of Venereal Horror’s classic will crawl under your skin. In a modern high-rise, billed as the ideal place to live, a parasitic infestation turns the residents into sex-crazed maniacs.

stanley-film-festival

Horror movie fanatic who co-founded Bloody Disgusting in 2001. Producer on Southbound, V/H/S/2/3/94, SiREN, Under the Bed, and A Horrible Way to Die. Chicago-based. Horror, pizza and basketball connoisseur. Taco Bell daily. Franchise favs: Hellraiser, Child's Play, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween, Scream and Friday the 13th. Horror 365 days a year.

Indie

“Bite Size Short: Her House of Horrors” Announce Short Grant Program!

Published

on

Her House of Horrors, the horror division of Independent Production House WOMXNOGRAPHY, has launched its Bite Size Short Grant Program, ahead of its film festival Dollhouse of Horror, which will take place in March 2025 in Los Angeles, CA.

The Bite Size Short Grant Program awards $2,000 film grants to female-identifying and queer horror filmmakers. Shorts must be able to be made for $2,000, with a minimum runtime of 8 minutes. Submissions are now open on Filmfreeway, and are being judged by a panel of horror lovers and content creators.

The 2024 Bite Size Short Grant Program judge lineup is as follows:

“James H. Carter II- A documentary director, film producer, podcaster, marketing specialist, and writer. James is the founder and co-owner of Creepy Kingdom. Creepy Kingdom was founded in 2011 and is a multimedia website, and production studio specializing in creepy content. Their primary focus lies at the intersection of childlike fantasy and the macabre, covering horror films, theme parks, haunts, and much more. Beyond their extensive media coverage, Creepy Kingdom hosts events, offers original merchandise, and engages in film production under the Creepy Kingdom Studios brand producing original films like “Foolish Mortals”, exploring Disney’s “Haunted Mansion” fan culture, and “Georgie”, featuring Tony Dakota from the original “It” miniseries.

“In addition to founding Creepy Kingdom, James has won awards for his documentary work, including the award-winning “Foolish Mortals,” which has earned him recognition. He has been featured on Freeform’s 31 Nights of Halloween special.

“Ashleeta Beauchamp is the editor-in-chief of Peek-A-Boo! Magazine, a cheeky horror magazine created to uplift marginalized writers, artists, models and other creators within the horror community. She also runs The Halloween Coalition, a community group to provide support and marketing for horror and Halloween events around the Southern California area.

“Titeanya Rodríguez is a multi-hyphenate creative, and the founder and owner of HER HOUSE OF HORRORS, home of DOLLHOUSE OF HORROR and the horror division of WOMXNOGRAPHY. As a fellow storyteller and a self-proclaimed artivist, Titeanya’s mission is to create opportunities for women of color and queer women, across film, tv, sports, music, and beyond. She is also the creator of the BITE SIZE SHORT grant program.”

Winners will have a one-night theatrical screening at Regal Cinemas. Submissions Close April 8 at Midnight. Winners will be announced on May 27, 2024. Shorts must be shot and through post-production by June 30, 2024. The screening will take place on July 8, 2024, in Los Angeles, CA.

WOMXNOGRAPHY, HER HOUSE OF HORRORS, and Rodriguez are represented by Azhar PR, Granderson Des Rochers, and Kinsella Holley Iser Kump Steinsapir.

To submit your short to the Bite Size Short Grant Program, go to the FilmFreeway link here.

Continue Reading