Ohio’s inaugural Nightmares Film Festival is bringing loads upon loads of indie horror to the city of Columbus later this month, with 20 features and 80+ shorts playing over the course of three days. Yesterday they announced their full lineup and schedule. You will, naturally, find the schedule and the full press release below. I know very little about the films showing and honestly haven’t even heard of many of them, but that’s all part of the fun. Many of the best horror viewing experiences come from seeing films that you have no prior knowledge of and that aren’t colored by hype.

Do we have any local (or adjacent) readers planning on attending this feast of fright flicks? Give a shout in the comments section if you’re aiming to make an appearance and give the festival (and Gateway Film Center) a whirl this holiday season.  If you are, maybe some of you might actually run into one another! Actual real-life interaction in this day and age? INSANITY!

THURSDAY
6:00PM  – PLANK FACE
8:00PM – ABCs OF DEATH 2.5 (World Premiere w/ABCs 2 winner Robert Boocheck)
10:00PM – Horror Comedy Shorts
Midnight – QUAD X

FRIDAY
10:00AM – #SCREAMERS
12:00PM – PITCHFORK
2:00PM – Thriller Shorts B
4:00PM – CHICAGO ROT
6:00PM – Horror Shorts B
8:00PM – FAMILY POSSESSIONS (World Premiere w/dir. Tommy Faircloth & prod. Robert Zobel)
10:00PM – CIRCUS OF THE DEAD
Midnight – HOLY HELL
Midnight – Midnight Shorts A (Screen #2)

SATURDAY
10:00AM – Horror Shorts C
12:00PM – SHE WAS SO PRETTY
2:00PM – Midnight Shorts B
3:30PM – THE BLACK ROOM (World Premiere)
5:15PM – Nightmares Film Festival Awards
6:00PM – Horror Shorts A
8:00PM – THE BARN
10:00PM – THE NIGHT OF THE VIRGIN (U.S. Premiere)
Midnight – NIGHT OF SOMETHING STRANGE
Midnight – Midnight Shorts B

SUNDAY
2:00AM – DEAD SLUMBER (World Premiere)
10:00AM – Thriller Shorts A
12:00PM – DIARY OF A DEADBEAT (Intro and Q&A by director Victor Bonacore)
2:00PM – Days of the Dead Filmmaker of the Year Award
2:30PM – FRANKENSTEIN CREATED BIKERS
4:00PM – Midnight Shorts A (including festival darling Gwilliam!)
6:00PM – RHYME SLAYA (World Premiere)
8:00PM – VILE PREY (World Premiere)
10:00PM – CANNIBILLIES (World Premiere)

Nightmares Film Festival Unveils World-Class 2016 Lineup

99 films include more than a dozen premieres, international winners, local films, more

(Columbus, OH) The inaugural Nightmares Film Festival has revealed the complete schedule of films for its 2016 “Better Horror” program, Oct. 20 to 23.

The lineup of premieres, exclusive selections from around the globe, visiting filmmakers and locally created films means the four-day, 99-film festival is immediately in the class of the best genre festivals anywhere.

Thursday’s opening night film at the festival, held at the world-renowned Gateway Film Center in Columbus, Ohio (a top-20 art house in North America, according to Sundance), is the world’s first theatrical screening of ABCs of Death 2.5, an anthology of the best submissions to the “M is For” contest run for ABCs of Death 2. The winner of the contest, Robert Boocheck, will be at the festival to introduce ABCs of Death 2.5 and screen his winning film, “M is for Masticate.”

Friday night’s world premiere is Family Possessions, a genre-bending horror-thriller from Tommy Faircloth (Doll Face, Crinoline Head). Both Faircloth and producer Robert Zobel will be in attendance.

Saturday includes three feature premieres. First is The Black Room, starring Natasha Henstridge (Species), a gruesome, sexy haunted house tale. Second is Spanish gross-out horror comedy The Night of the Virgin, making its North American premiere. And finally, in a twisted late-night block designed to melt brains, the experimental horror film Deep Slumber makes its world premiere.

Sunday includes three Ohio features making their world debut: rap-slasher Rhyme Slaya, table-turning Vile Prey, and flesh fiesta Cannibillies. It will also include a four-hour block programmed by the fastest-growing horror convention in the world, Days of the Dead, presenting documentary Diary of a Deadbeat and 35mm exploitation epic Frankenstein Created Bikers.

The shorts programs include horror, horror-comedy, thriller and midnight blocks assembled from the best short work around the world. Highlights include Fantastic Fest winners Curve (best film and director) and The Stylist (best actress), not-safe-for-anyone man/goblin love midnight short Gwilliam, Sitges selection Wolves, and Academy-qualified Night of the Slasher.

“We set out to bring together the very best, most exciting, most surprising horror and genre films anywhere,” said festival co-founder Jason Tostevin. “We are thrilled with the quality of the program and believe we’re living up to our commitment to elevate horror.”

VIP and festival passes are available now at the Gateway Film Center website, http://gatewayfilmcenter.org/nightmares-film-festival.