This week I’ll once again be attending the NYC Horror Film Festival, and I encourage you to do the same. I’ve checked it out for the last two years and had a blast, and this years lineup has a few gems in it, such as Timecrimes, which has received some great buzz, and Bad Biology, Frank Hennenlotter’s latest (review here). Hennenlotter himself will be on hand to receive a lifetime achievement award, and you know you won’t want to miss that. There’s also The Objective (by Daniel Myrick of Blair Witch fame) and the North American premiere of Resident Evil: Degeneration.
This year the fest will thankfully return to Tribeca Cinemas, which not only has the benefit of two great screens but a bar that serves all sorts of delightful drinks. Nothing like watching a good horror flick with a beer in hand. The Fest will start off once again on Wednesday with a kickoff party at Don Hills, where shorts, trailers and live bands collide together beautifully.
But besides meeting all the awesome horror folks, drinking copious amounts of Hobgoblin Ale and watching some great films, the best thing about this fest is all of the surprises you will see. Each year I’ve come out absolutely in love with a short film I’d never heard of before, such as Karl Holt’s hysterical Eddy Loves You (available online here if you haven’t experienced it yet) or Richard Gale’s terrifying Criticized. This year will have Treevenge, a film by the creators of Hobo with a Shotgun that was available online briefly for the Fantastic Fest and almost made me shed tears of joy.
Here’s the feature film lineup, and remember that each program will feature shorts and a feature.
Resident Evil: Degeneration (Feature / USA – Japan) genre: Horror (North American Premiere)
The Resident Evil franchise gets a brand new addition this winter with Resident Evil: Degeneration. It’s the first full CGI Resident Evil movie and it picks up seven years after the destruction of Raccoon City by the US government after the first zombie outbreak caused by the Umbrella Corporation. It’s set in a US airport where the T-Virus gets released once again and the airport is locked down, giving the counter-zombie fighters four hours to solve the problem before the virus is spread to the whole of the US.
Directed by Makoto Kamiya, staring Alyson Court and Paul Mercier
Alien Raiders (Feature /USA) genre: Sci-Fi /Horror (East Cost Premiere)
It’s the end of yet another night at Hastings Supermarket, an idyllic family grocery store in Buck Lake, Arizona. But the normal monotony of rounding up shopping carts and settling out the cash drawers is broken at 11:07pm, just before closing when a group of masked and armed-to-the-teeth militants invades the store, immediately killing several of the employees and shoppers and holding the rest hostage. Though the hostage-takers at first appear to be robbers or terrorists, they reveal themselves to be a cadre of rogue scientists that has discovered and tracked an alien infestation to THIS STORE on THIS NIGHT, and they are determined to find out which of the survivors are extraterrestrials and end the invasion at any cost. Directed by Ben Rock, stars Mathew St. Patrick & Carlos Bernard
Surveillance (Feature /USA) Thriller (North American Premiere)
Two FBI Agents track two twisted serial killers with the help of their would-be victims in this twisted tale that one best feature at Sitges. Directed by Jennifer Chambers Lynch and Stars Bill Pullman & Julia Ormond. Produced by genre legend David Lynch
The 7th Hunt (Feature / Australia) genre: Horror /Thriller (North American Premiere)
The five victims of the 7th Hunt never knew they were being watched… Files were being built on them, on the eligibility to die. This innocent prey must fight for their lives against sociopaths who know their environment intimately, becoming increasingly outnumbered as their friends are killed. Directed by Jon Cohen, stars Imogen Bailey and Jason Stojanovski
From A Place of Darkness (Feature / USA) genre: Horror (North American Premiere)
A documentary filmmaker finds himself drawn into the seedy world of a snuff filmmaker with a mysterious dark side. Soon what is real and what is otherworldly become increasingly blurred.
Directed by Douglas A. Raine and stars John Savage and Travis Schuldt
How To Be A Serial Killer (Feature / USA) genre: Horror/Comedy (North American Premiere)
The story of Mike Wilson, a charismatic, educated, and articulate young man who has found his life’s purpose in exterminating people. Mike is determined to spread his message about the joy of serial killing and recruits a lost soul named Bart to be his pupil. Mike leads Bart through the ethics of serial killing as well as teaching him various lessons in disposing corpses, balancing work and play, methods of killing, and many many more. Mike and Barts curriculum is interrupted when Mikes girlfriend discovers what’s beneath her boyfriend’s charming exterior and Mike and Bart must kill their way out of being discovered by the cops. Directed by Luke Ricci, Stars Dameon Clarke
Bad Biology (Feature / USA) genre: Horror (North American Premiere)
Lifetime Achievement Award Recipient: Frank Henelotter
Driven by biological excess, a young man and woman search for sexual fulfillment, unaware of each other’s existence. Unfortunately, they eventually meet, and the bonding of these two very unusual human beings ends in an explosive and ultimately over-the-top sexual experience, resulting in a truly god awful love story. Directed by Frank Henelotter
Bonnie & Clyde vs. Dracula (Feature / USA) genre: Horror/Comedy (East Cost Premiere)
Bonnie & Clyde vs. Dracula combines the rough and tumble world of 1930’s era gangster movies with the violent gothic atmosphere of a classic horror film. When a robbery goes bad and one of their companions is shot, Bonnie and Clyde are forced to seek help at a nearby mansion, home to the twisted Dr. Loveless (Allen Lowman) and his imprisoned sister, Annabel, but Loveless has a secret. Deep in his cellar, the recently revived Dracula awaits…Directed by Timothy Friend. Stars Tiffany Shepis and Trent Haaga
Timecrimes (Feature / Spain) genre: Sci-Fi /Horror (North American Premiere)
A man accidentally gets into a time machine and travels back in time nearly an hour. Finding himself will be the first of a series of disasters of unforeseeable consequences.
Directed by Nacho Vigalondo
Devils Grove (Feature / USA) genre: Horror/ Grindhouse (World Premiere)
In 1999, nine family members are found brutally murdered in the family-owned Denville Grove Amusement Park. Police convict a transient working at the park for the murders. Now…a group of high-school students become the first people to go back inside the park. The purpose is to shoot a documentary about the murders, but they soon learn that certain things should be left alone! Directed by Zoe Judd & Michael J. Hein, Staring Kimberly Magness, Susie Silva, and Chris Cochran.
The Objective (Feature / USA) genre: Horror/Supernatural
A group of Special Ops Reservists on a mission in the harsh and hostile terrain of Afghanistan find themselves lost in a Middle Eastern “Bermuda Triangle” of ancient evil.
Directed by Daniel Myrick, stars Jonas Ball & Matthew R. Anderson
For more info on the programs (and tickets) check out the official site. See you there!