I started the third day of the Overlook Film Festival with some pregnancy terror. At the Ullman screening room (aptly titled Ullman, for those who didn’t catch it, after the owner of the Overlook Hotel in The Shining) I watched the world premiere of Brandon Chistensen’s Still/Born, a movie that solidified my already very serious decision to never have children. The film opens up with a girl named Mary (Christie Burke) giving birth as her loving husband Jack (Jesse Moss) stands by her side and grips her hand tightly. The first baby comes out easy, and smiles brighten the room as the miracle of life is witnessed yet again. However, when it comes time for the second child to make its appearance, a quick saddened look from the nurse tells Mary all that she needs to know. This one wasn’t so lucky. From there, it’s a slow tumble down into the mouth of madness, as Mary’s depression plummets her into the depths of despair, and possibly even insanity. She begins hallucinating, imagining a demonic creature is stalking her child by the side of its crib at night and making devious plans to steal the child for itself. She pleads with her husband, she pleads with her newfound neighbor and friend Rachel (Rebecca Olson), but of course, everyone chalks it up to sadness, and her cries fall upon deaf ears. Is she just seeing things? Is she going crazy, or is there some evil spirit lurking in her home and toying with her sense of sanity? Rosemary’s Baby vibes abound, and this tale of petrifying prenatal horror won’t be solved until the end credits roll. The film is a bit of a mess, but there are a few scattered sequences that made me jump, so I’d still say it’s worth checking out if you’re looking for another reason to hold off on having kids for a while.
After the movie had ended I ran over to the Barlow room, where I got to see one of the coolest events that the fest has to offer – Tales From Beyond the Pale. Like an old H.G. Wells show, four actors, including Larry Fessenden and Sam Zimmerman, voiced two live readings of creepy Twilight Zone-esque stories that left me feeling like I was in the 1950s huddled up next to family members and a roaring fireplace as we listened to our favorite radio program. I mean, there were even two ladies on the side of the stage putting their hands in shoes and making them walk on a piece of wood to create the illusion that someone was stomping through a house. When a character in a story experienced turbulence on an airplane, they clinked together drinking glasses to make it seem like the actors were really on a plane. “Phonecalls” were voiced through a megaphone to make it sound authentic, and an old wooden chair was swiveled back and forth under a microphone to mimic the creaks of an aging house moaning in the wind. It was truly fascinating to see these stories leap off the page and become alive right before me.
The second story titled “In the Wind” took place in a snowy mountain town, where two sweet little police officers named Frannie and Carl followed up a call about some missing truckers who had left their cars and been found hundreds of feet away without an explanation. Before long, gargoyle-like winged creatures appear and ravage the officers, stealing from them their lives and their sanity. I enjoyed both stories immensely, but the first one was especially cool. In it, a self-absorbed man named Tom hangs up the phone with his wife who pleads with him yet again not to move their family away to Ireland, but to no avail. Just as he ends the call, a knock appears at the door, and it’s a strange gentleman who offers to buy the house they’re trying to sell on the spot, without haggling, above the asking price. Tom jumps at the chance but begins to grow suspicious of this odd character after he begins asking for other things, too, such as Tom’s dog, and then his wife, and his two children. At first, Tom grows angry, but as the soothing spirit coaxes him with his Irish tongue and twisted logic, Tom finds himself adhering to this strange and unusual deal, he comes to see it as a bargain and gladly trades in his old life for a new one. He’ll soon live to regret it.
[Related] All Overlook Film Festival Coverage HERE
I simply cannot praise Larry Fessenden enough. From his writing to his acting, and even just his voice all carry a unique sense of the old world. When he shows up for a job, you can just tell that he’s there and doing it because he loves to perform. He loves his job. It’s not about the money, it’s about the craft, and every project he’s a part of becomes that much more special just because of his commanding presence. It was a real joy to witness him live and in person.
With little time to spare, I rushed out of Barlow and back over to Ullman, where I made it just in time to see my most highly anticipated event of all – the ceremony where horror legend Mick Garris was presenting an award to the master of horror Roger Corman. The event kicked off with a screening of the old classic X: The Man with the X-Ray Vision, which Corman cited as one of his favorite films. It was my first time seeing this movie, and I enjoyed every over-the-top minute of it. After the film was finished, Garris took the stage, axe in hand, and gushed over Corman before dropping down to one knee and handing over the engraved axe to Corman, like a knight would present his favorite sword to a beloved king. Corman smiled and told the crowd that Garris would now have to accompany him to the airport so that he could explain why he was carrying such a vicious weapon onto the plane. The two then sat down and recorded a live episode of Garris’ ‘Post Mortem’ podcast, which I happily filmed via Bloody Disgusting’s Facebook Live (if you haven’t seen the video already, you can watch it now on Bloody’s official Facebook page or below). There was palpable love in the room as horror fans eagerly watched two of the greats converse like old friends catching up after a long hiatus. Corman is now in his nineties, but by the way he grinned and spoke enthusiastically about his long line of work, it seemed as though he had more energy and vigor than a young filmmaker who had just broken onto the scene.
Despite the fact that Roger Corman has been around for nearly a hundred years, Mick Garris managed to ask him a question that Corman says he’s actually never heard before. “How would you define a Roger Corman picture?” Garris inquired. Corman pondered for a moment, then replied,“I would say there’s a filmmaker who, no matter what the subject was, he tried his best, sometimes with success, sometimes without success, to bring something new to each genre in which the rules were already established”. Garris then brought up the topic of huge modern day summer blockbusters and asked Corman what he would do with a fifty million dollar budget that could only be used for one film. Corman giggled and gave the most Corman answer that he has possibly ever said — that he would take that money and make a bunch of little films instead. “You don’t need a great deal of money to have a good idea”. Corman then went on to discuss the many cinematic minds he mentored, including Jonathan Demme, who he described as not only a terrific filmmaker, but a wonderful friend, and one of the kindest people he had ever worked with.
As soon as the ceremony ended, I hopped in line for the secret screening. All of us Overlook patrons had been making our guesses all weekend long as to what the film could be, and much to my delight, it turned out to be It Comes at Night. The follow-up film to Trey Edward Shults’ Krisha, this movie also centered around a family in turmoil, but this time, the tale is set in a post-apocalyptic world where a pandemic has wiped out most of the population. Moody, gothic and downright tragic, this sophomore feature proves that writer/director Shults is the real deal. With a much larger budget than his previous project, and obviously, much more well-known actors, Shults’ second feature shows that he has a vision, and he knows how to execute it. Shults said during the Q&A following the film that this is a very personal project and one that was inspired by the recent death of his father. Apparently, he was in a very dark place when he wrote the script, and it clearly shows in the film’s drab demeanor, but it’s also just as thought-provoking and beautifully shot as it is upsetting. I’m really excited for everyone to check it out when it’s finally finished and released to the public. In the meantime, you can check out my review here.
Last but certainly not least, I was lucky enough to experience the Overlook’s Chalet, an immersive horror game which asked me to open my mind and undergo life as if I were living in a different skin. A little after midnight, I was taken to a random room in the hotel, blindfolded by a lady in red, and told to repeat the phrase “What have I done, what I have I done, I’m not a bad person but I did a bad thing”. The woman then placed headphones over my ears which played my recorded voice back to me and guided me over to a seat. When I removed the headphones and the blindfold, I found myself in a neon red lit bathroom, sitting on the toilet, with a dead and bloodied naked girl lying on the ground contorted at my feet. For a moment, the girl was so still I actually believed she was just a dummy…but then, her eyes moved. She shifted her gaze to me and slowly turned her head, and speaking in a slow but determined voice she said, “Was it fun?” She then slowly and awkwardly made her way to her feet, falling on me in the process, kissing my face, and telling me she was cold and she missed my warmth. To put it simply, I was fucking terrified. This was so much more than I expected. I kept asking her what I had done but she wouldn’t tell me, seemed to be speaking through me, as if by sheer will of force I could somehow undo whatever heinous crimes I had committed and bring her back to life. She asked me to remember the first evil thought I ever remembered having, and asked me if it changed me, and then if I could somehow undo it now. I told her no, and she seemed saddened by my response. Defeated, she wickedly twisted her limbs about and made her way back down to the ground, positioning herself in the same horribly twisted way that she had when I first arrived in the bathroom. And then, she was asleep again. Dead to the world. I wandered out of the bathroom and into the bedroom where I found the place in tatters; a dresser turned over, the mattress seemingly thrown across the room, pages ripped out of books and scribbled on, wine bottles tossed about, and a bloodied chair stump resting casually next to a bible. Clearly, whatever I had done, I had made a mess of it, and there was no turning back now. It was shocking and appalling and unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before. As much as I tried to fight it, her words pierced me, forcing me to recall all of my past misdeeds, and proving to me that no matter how hard I try to redeem myself from whatever I’ve done in the past, there truly is no turning back now. It was insane, and I’m so glad I did it.
I am beyond grateful that I was able to attend the Overlook Film Festival on behalf of Bloody Disgusting, and so happy with all of the memories I made and films and events that I was able to experience. The fest is truly something special, especially with its new location, and I can only hope that it becomes a recurring event that brings even bigger and better movies and filmmakers to the site in the future.
