I sadly missed out on the first day of Columbus’ inaugural horror film festival. I have thankfully been given alternative means to view most of what I missed, courtesy of the program’s wonderfully accommodating staff, so reviews will follow nonetheless. Regardless, by all accounts the first night of Nightmares Film Festival was a successful one that started it all off with a bang.
Friday, Day 2, was a bit of a rollercoaster ride. After a long drive, I dove right in and didn’t stop until I came out the other side of five features and two blocks of short films. In terms of tone and subgenre, everything was all over the place, which is exactly how you would want a festival to be. After all, no one wants to sit down and watch three zombie movies in a row or four consecutive short films centered on exorcisms. If safe repetition is what you crave, Nightmares Film Festival isn’t for you.
The down side to this is that you run the risk of sitting through a few things that typically aren’t up your alley. I’d be lying if I said that wasn’t the case with one feature and a few shorts. You know what though? That’s okay! Again, variety is the spice of my horror-loving life and while I didn’t enjoy certain works, there were still a hefty amount of people that dug the hell out of them.
The day utterly wore me out, but I had a blast throughout the whole thing. I’ll get more specific in my individual reviews, but thus far there have already been some standouts for me, such as Chicago Rot (pictured above, a bonkers genre-bending crime flick), and Holy Hell (imagine if Troma made an Adult Swim special). There has been quite a few notable shorts as well, like The Scared One, (a B&W murderous scarecrow chiller), Ideal (a scathing look at the modeling industry), and Mr. Dentonn (a stylish, fairytale-esque yarn).
So far, Gateway Film Center is off to a rip-roaring start with this festival and the next two days are shaping up to be something special. I’m in the middle of Day Three as I write this and cannot wait to see what the rest of the evening brings. If you live nearby, come down and check it out. There’s still plenty of shorts and features left to see tonight and tomorrow!
Day One – Thursday, October 20th
Plank Face
ABCs of Death 2.5
Horror Comedy Shorts
Quad X: The Porn Movie Massacre
Day Two – Friday, October 21st
#Screamers
Pitchfork
Thriller Shorts B
Chicago Rot
Horror Shorts B
Family Possessions
Circus of the Dead
Holy Hell (Screen #1)
Midnight Shorts A (Screen #2)
