PopHorror Let's Get Scared
NOTE: This story was published during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the films being covered here wouldn’t exist. PopHorror fully supports the WGA and SAG-AFTRA and their efforts.
Currently in its 6th year and running from August 31st until September 3rd, the GenreBlast Film Festival is taking over the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Winchester, Virginia for a weekend of full-blooded independent cinema! I was given the very distinct pleasure of perusing the Friday Night Freakshow block of short films, and I’ll never be the same… seriously.
A thoroughly demented black comedy endeavor from Michigan film makers James Henry Hall (Harbinger) and Bret K. Hall (Dolus), A Ben Evans Film is a really – like really – strange film about a film. The titular Mr. Evans (Sky Elobar – The Greasy Strangler) is really close with his parents (Jerry Hall and Kay Preston). So close in fact, that even their deaths won’t prevent him from having them star in his feature film! His inspiration comes from film author Jim Bradley (Pancho Moler – 3 From Hell, 31) who reminds him that “it’s the doing that matters.” With a dogged determination and a few minor setbacks in the form of his nosy neighbor Cathy (Sara Key; The Tenth Lodge), having his parents carted off to the morgue, and his lack of a decent audio system, Ben soldiers on to make his film debut. Kudos to familiar (to genre fans) faces, and a brilliant script that manages to pack a lot of uncomfortable laughter in a short film.
Starting out promising but ending with a generous dose of WTF-ness, Aelfie Oudghiri’s Bowling 4 Eva begins as a strong statement condemning the use of psychoactive drugs in lieu of actual treatment, then falls flat in the finale. Heavily medicated Kristina (Olivia Liang) fights her boredom from being out of school for her suicidal behavior by luring internet pedophiles to the bowling alley when she’s being coached by her attentive grandpa (Efren Enriquez). Her detached mom (Analine Ignacio – The Deadman’s Barstool) and brother (Sonny Dang) don’t seem to care, her friend Julian (William Rosen – What Could WE Have Done) isn’t much help either, and her shrink (Elizabeth Straus) just keeps the pills coming while poor Kristina falls farther into her hallucinatory world populated by bowling scoreboard graphics. A little film that could’ve been, Bowling 4 Eva just ends up an incoherent mess. But there’s plenty more social commentary that works in this block.
Play Dead sums up just how righteously fucked people can be in its seven minutes and change. Two geo-cachers – the goth girl (Yael Leberman) and her strait-laced boyfriend (Derek Martin) – follow directions to a dead-by-suicide Elvis impersonator (Samuel Shurtleff) deep in the woods. The discovery of a video camera and tapes reveal his very unusual dying wish, and the people who followed his directions. Did the couple come (pun intended) too late to the party? Hilariously disturbing, and ending with a truly memorable scene, director Angie Hanson leaves no depraved stone unturned in this well-crafted film. Not for the easily offended, but highly recommended!
With some truly inspired child acting and some truly disgusting scenes, Nosepicker delivers exactly what the title promises! A UK production filmed on Super 16mm film, sweet elementary school teacher Ms. Barun (Abi Corbett) has a teensy little problem in class – Georgie (Leo Adoteye) won’t stop picking his nose. Mercilessly bullied by his peers and his authority figures, Georgie soon creates a grand Lovecraftian booger monster to exact his revenge on everyone who wronged him! Writer/director Ian Mantgani plays everything very straight, which only adds to the hilarious absurdity of the film. And the actual film looks great and very much like Troma, only done better. Look out for the great shocker ending in this creative little masterpiece.
Puppets. Wait… puppets? Playing like a ‘shrooms hallucination – maybe while sick with the flu – Tim Troemner’s (The Pickman Model), Mayo Choco Nightmare wasn’t hindered by those pesky things like a cast and crew – he did almost everything! Writing, directing, performing, and voicing, but apparently, he eventually relented and let Magdolin Turner make the puppets (hey the guy couldn’t do it all…). An irreverent, fun take on addiction (who knew that was possible), a rat with an affinity for mayonnaise and chocolate chip sandwiches is challenged by his skin eating ghoul friend to stop eating his favorite dish. Yes, you read that right, and no, I’m not high. Denial, withdrawal, and dope sick puppeteering follow with some generous laughs thrown in that manage to work despite the obvious subtext. Who needs gore when you have stomach turning sandwiches?
Are masturbating priests (Wilson Mack) giving in to the temptation of confiscated nudie mags really a sin? Jesus seems to think so, as proven by writer Josh Griffey and director Heath Benfield’s He Sees All. Fun, short, and critically to the point, this little snatch of blasphemous mayhem makes you wonder if he does, in fact, see all and are you going to be smote by the Lord for smiling so much.
First Blood is possibly the most unnerving watch in this block. Writer/director Olivia Loccisano makes an impact right away by introducing religious teen Mia (Lauryn Sa) while she wakes up with her first period. More fantasies of blood drinking and vampirism follow, with some strange masses/clots thrown in the mix. Parallels are drawn between coming of age, consuming blood, and her budding love with her boyfriend (Tristan Grajales). Obvious comparisons to Romero’s Martin give way to a much deeper meaning below the surface, given the somewhat ambiguous ending. A film that seems almost too short, First Blood shows a lot of potential with its visceral impact. This definitely deserves to be seen!
A hilarious, laugh-out-loud funny, balls out, hot take on cancel culture, Charlie the Canceled Skeleton opens with a series of trailers for the upcoming horror film, The Asshole Tingler. Actor Dick Weid (Joe Reilly, who also produced, wrote and directed), is very upset that he was fired from the production simply because, as the lead actor, he thought he should be allowed to work from home. With the formation of his grass roots activism group ASS (Actors Serving Society), woke white person Dick takes on The Asshole Tingler with a cancel campaign that is all too familiar. An amazing amount of unsubtle satire is packed into the relatively short run time, there’s nothing sacred as Reilly assaults the viewer with bony fingers to the ass, skeleton vomit, digs at everyone & everything (including female Ghostbusters), and a cringe inducing lotion scene that shows just how far an actor will go to generate a genuine laugh. Charlie the Canceled Skeleton positively demands that the viewers laugh at themselves, as you can see elements of both sides of cancel culture. Scathing, gonzo, irreverent, and giving zero fucks who it offends, Charlie the Canceled Skeleton was the most fun I’ve had watching a short film in a very long time. And I’ve seen waaaaaaaaaay too much of Joe Reilly, I almost feel like we’re dating now.
Waka Chicka Waka. Yep, that’s most people’s response when someone says, “do an impression of porn film music.” Opening with the stereotypical plumber (Isaac Muir, with the requisite porn ‘stache) coming to “fix the pipes” of two foxy roommates (Amy Crater and Alex Demeroutis), Ryan Clausen’s quick, imaginative, and fun Waka Chicka Waka hits all the horror/comedy marks – perfectly done terrible acting, an undeniable 70s vibe, over the top (and of intentionally dubious quality) gore effects, and a dynamite cast! Well done porn satire, with bonus alien flesh eating, and over it’s before you know what hit you!
Friday Night Freakshow. An apt name for these little films that push the envelope of genre norms and good taste. They all manage to make a laser precise point or two as well. The future of indie horror looks bright indeed.
