Before I get into spotlighting some of the awesome indie horror films you can expect to see at this year’s Scares That Care Film Festival in a few weeks, I wanted to tell you a little about the Scares That Care organization and what they do.
Scares That Care is an IRS approved 501(c)(3) charity focused on fighting the real monsters of childhood illness, burns and breast cancer by helping families that are experiencing these extraordinary hardships cope with the financial burden by raising and providing $10,000 per sponsored family. Founded by retired Baltimore police officer, Joe Ripple, It brings together horror celebrities, authors, and thousands of fans and supporters for this cause. This culminates every year in the Scares That Care Weekend horror convention in Williamsburg, VA with 100% of the proceeds going to the families in need. This year’s event is being held August 2nd,3rd ,4th and includes not just an impressive roster of horror celebrity guests and authors, panels and fx and Haunt workshops, but also a film festival.
Scares That Care is an organization that is near and dear to my heart, so when they offered me the position of Film Fest Director, I jumped at the opportunity. My goal for this year’s fest was to showcase indie filmmakers of all levels. You will find an eclectic mix of horror that ranges from seasoned veterans to folks who are stepping behind the camera for the first time. Some films will have you laughing hysterically while others will have you shrinking back in your seat in fear or clambering for a barf bag. I tried to get a little taste of everything in here and it is my hope that there’s something for everyone on display.
Alright, that’s enough rambling, onto the film spotlights!
Kicking off the festival on Friday at 7pm is Shorts Block 1, which begins with the delightfully twisted short, Fun directed by Greg Kovacs. It may only run 3 and a half minutes, but it will stick with you for a long time as it shows you that not all puppet shows are quite as wholesome as Sesame Street.
Finishing off Friday’s round of shorts is, At the Mountains of Madness directed by Mathew Jarjosa, a very impressive student film that takes on HP Lovecraft’s epic tale, and features some homemade stop motion Lovecraftian nightmares that won my heart
Saturday morning at 11am offers up some hilariously horrific hors d’oeuvres with Gregory Blair’s feature, Garden Party Massacre, where a friendly backyard get together goes horribly awry when a deranged pickaxe wielding madman crashes the party.
12:30pm brings Troy Escamilla’s Christmas themed slasher, Stirring, which will make sure you go home for the holidays in a body bag. Here is our review for Stirring.
If you’re a gamer, make sure you check out Michelle Iannantuono’s excellent feature, LiveScream at 6:45pm, where a youtube streamer finds out that losing in the new indie horror game he’s playing can have deadly consequences for his audience.
Looking for some more bite sized horror? Well look no further than 8:15pm’s Shorts Block 3, with films like Brian Sepanzyk’s dark, stylish and ultra nasty, Compulsion. Maybe you prefer things a little more on the bizarre side, in which case Michael Bartolomeo’s unforgettably weird; Solved shows you the dangers of Rubik’s Cubes. And if you’re still hungry for more, Clarissa Jacobson and JM Logan have got a heaping helping of cannibalistic horror comedy with Lunch Ladies, which is to date one of the best short films I’ve ever seen.
This is just a taste of the 21 shorts and 8 feature length films playing at this year’s fest, including a special screening of I’m Dreaming of a White Doomsday at 5:30pm on saturday followed by a Q&A.
Here is our review for I’m Dreaming of a White Doomsday.
Check out the full schedule here: http://scaresthatcareweekend.com/film-festival/
We have such sights to show you…
