Grogginess is the theme of the day, albeit not in a bad way. It’s a happy grogginess! Sunday at Nightmares Film Festival is always the most laid back stretch of the fest and today is no exception. Those stuck around for NFF’s final day were treated to 3 blocks of shorts and 4 feature films. Not a bad way to close out the festivities!
Of the three blocks of shorts, two were dedicated entirely to projects crafted by Ohio filmmakers. Some of my personal favorites from the lot of them included Witch’s Milk, Post Mortem Mary, They Wait For Us., and The Cat. The latter was actually written and produced by Bloody-Disgusting alum Jess Hicks and won the award on Saturday for “Best Ohio Film”. Way to go, Jess!
The features offered a wide array of experiences as well. Absurdist horror comedy was represented by Camp Death III in 2D!, Italian horror reared its head with The Laplace’s Demon, and then things took a homegrown turn with Ohio filmmaker features Dark Iris and Betsy. I unfortunately missed a chunk of them in favor of hanging out in the lounge with other attendees and filmmakers, taking in their conversations about the fest’s programming this year and horror in general. I made that decision partly because I needed to catch up on work, but it was mostly just so I could soak up the vibe of my surroundings one last time before my departure.
There are other festivals out there that are larger in size, but I have my doubts about whether or not many of them have as much heart as Nightmares Film Festival. I could carry on and on about how well the programming flows, how nice the facility is, and how accommodating the festival directors and the Gateway Film Center staff are. None of that is of importance if the festival itself isn’t a fun place to be.
Those who run NFF needn’t worry, however. It’s an absolute blast of an annual event to attend. How much I enjoy each feature and short I view obviously varies from block to block, but the camaraderie of the attendees makes it all worth. Everyone seems to be having a good time. Everyone seems to get along, even in the wake of the annual awards ceremony.
How often do you see a room full of nominated creatives be openly congratulatory to those that beat them in their categories, instead of seething with anger and jealousy? Not often, but that’s what happens here. How often do you see rooms full of horror fans encouraging each other to see certain films…be they classic staples or forgotten obscurities…without dishing out any form of judgment or disgust about what one another hasn’t seen yet? Again, not often, but I haven’t seen a single instance of “horror nerd” shaming going on around me all weekend long.
I love that. Everyone who is here wants to make friends and have positive, enthusiastic conversations with one another. There’s no snobbery or gatekeeping. There’s no fan entitlement or hostile egos exploding outward and creating scenes. It’s simply an environment where everyone can mingle and enjoy films together no matter what their background happens to be. I’d once again like to thank Jason Tostevin, Chris Hamel, Bridget Oliver, and everyone else involved with NFF for fostering such a wonderful place for horror fans to call home. I love attending Nightmares Film Festival and I already can’t wait to come back next year!
