It was a moody Friday morning at the Overlook Film Festival as I followed up a breakfast buffet with an 11:00 AM screening of Hounds of Love. Directed by Ben Young and starring Ashleigh Cummings and Emma Booth, and supposedly based on the real-life case of David and Catherine Birnie, the film is set in a frightening 1986 Australia, where innocent girls can be picked up and disposed of without a trace. In the film, a young girl by the name of Vicki Maloney sneaks out after her mom refuses to let her go to a party, only to be nabbed by serial killer couple Evelyn (Booth) and John White (Stephen Curry) and taken hostage in their home. After spending a few days with her captors, Vicki gets wise and begins to realize that if she is to make it out alive, she’s going to have to wedge herself between the sadistic John and the wife he’s been manipulating since the day he met her. Brilliantly executed, Hounds of Love is an abduction story that could’ve played out like any other typical exploitative slasher that came before it, but it chooses to be so much more than that. Director Ben Young has managed to craft a film that is emotionally exhausting but also serves as an insightful commentary about how Vicki isn’t the only victim in the room. Although her actions are undoubtedly irredeemable, it becomes clear as the days roll on that Evelyn is also caught in a pattern of abuse, only hers has lasted since she was thirteen years old. We shouldn’t feel sorry for her, but as we watch Evelyn apologize over and over again to her husband while he beats her and coaxes her bruises with soothing crocodile tears, it’s hard not to wish that Evelyn and Vicki could escape this abusive household together. Based on the merits of this well-made film alone, it will be exciting to see what Ben Young does next. It’s definitely the best film that I’ve seen at the festival so far.
After the movie ended I took a walk around the grounds through the snow. As I trekked around the back of the Timberline Lodge, I began to realize just how special hosting the Overlook Film Festival in Mt. Hood at the hotel from The Shining truly is. Not only did the building serve as the exterior shots for the Overlook Hotel in Kubrick’s film, but the air just felt different up here. The snow is so white it can be blinding sometimes, and so much had fallen over the past several months that it was now in a battle with the building to see which one could stand taller than the other. The view is breathtaking, but there’s also a sense of isolation and quiet that comes with being so far away and so completely engulfed in winter weather. It’s easy to see what would draw a caretaker to this location, and what would cause him to go mad once he stayed here for too long.
Immediately following my little snow bunny escapade, I got in line for the world premiere of Primal Screen, which is the new film from Room 237 and The Nightmare director Rodney Ascher. Like his other documentaries, the film illustrates the recollections of a few select patrons. In this case, a few men discuss fears that plagued them as children – mainly automatonophobia. It’s kind of like having a fear of dolls but is more just about the fear of lifelike inanimate objects, like puppets and mannequins and the like. Although admittedly this writer wasn’t a huge fan of his previous projects, I actually really dug Primal Screen, and with Shudder talking about the possibility of adding onto the little movie and expanding it with additional episodes so that it can be turned into a series, I’m very curious to see what else Ascher has got up his sleeve.
[Related] All Overlook Film Festival Coverage HERE.
Ascher’s own son Anton stars in the film, and the Q&A was especially cute. Anton, a boy who can’t be any older than four or five (I don’t have kids so forgive me is this is totally off) donned a tiny little tie and suit, and excited by the crowd, crawled all over his dad as he attempted to answer audience questions as best he could. Eventually, Ascher gave in and thanked the audience for coming, before heading out the door with his curly haired kid, Anton’s hand in his hand, and a box of peanut M&M’s in the other.
As I ate my dinner staring out the window at the melting snow, I noticed an older man hobbling by out of the corner of my eye. I turned to look and of course, it was the legend Roger Corman, strolling through a horror convention at age ninety-one, like only Corman could do. It’s just another day at the Overlook, and I just happened to be in the same room with a man so inspirational to cinema that all these years later we’re still trying to figure out his secrets to success. I couldn’t help but smile.
From there I headed to Dead Right Horror Trivia, which was hosted by Blumhouse’s Ryan Turek and Shudder’s Sam Zimmerman. I’m happy to report that I ran into my actual trivia teammate from L.A., and together we pretty much crushed all of the competition. Many Blu-rays and pins were won, although, sadly, when it came down to the tie-breaker, I let my team down by not knowing enough about I Still Know What You Did Last Summer. However, it wasn’t a total loss, as I soon found, to my surprise, Mick Garris at my side, consoling me and gushing over the Blus I had won, assuring me that I was going home with pretty much everything I needed anyway.
I’d also like to point out that cardigan connoisseur Sam Zimmerman actually hosted a round titled “Great Sweaters in Horror”, making it the most Sam Zimmerman round ever held at a Horror Trivia evening in all of history.
I ended my evening by briefly stopping by the filmmaker party in the lobby, which was filled with fog machine smoke and flashing neon lights and scantily clad sexy as hell burlesque dancers, and paused for a brief moment to let it all sink in. What a weird place I’m in. What a time to be alive. Out in the middle of nowhere, in a secluded little Shining hotel, where girls danced on the same tables that I ate snacks at just a few hours earlier. I have to admit I was impressed.
Mickey Keating’s Psychopaths served as my nightcap to an already exciting day, and I can’t think of a better way to finish it off. Whether you’re a hardcore fan of his portfolio or just a casual observer, it’s hard not to notice what an enthusiastic workaholic young Keating truly is. The kid is still in his twenties, and he’s already got at least five films under his belt, including Pod, Darling, and Carnage Park. It’s a feat, to say the least, and it is a work ethic that should be respected. In Psychopaths, Keating tells the story of three different serial killers who cross paths on a crazy night when the spirit of a sadistic murderer spreads like wildfire over an unsuspecting city after he is executed for his heinous crimes. His muse lately seems to be Ashely Bell, and we’re all better for it, as she is truly a queen of cinema, crushing every role she’s in, and certainly taking Keating’s work to even higher heights. Honestly, this is probably my favorite Keating movie yet (although I’m a big fan of Pod) and I would definitely recommend checking it out to anyone who’s looking for noteworthy up-and-coming genre flicks. It’s even got Sam Zimmerman starring in it to boot, proving just how versatile this Overlook patron is, since he’s also entwined with the fest’s movie Primal Screen (the movie that Shudder hopes to turn into a series) and he’ll also be at the live reading of Tales From Beyond the Pale tomorrow night.
Be sure to check back for more updates on the Overlook Film Festival via Bloody Disgusting, all weekend long!
