Once again, the Hollywood Film Festival granted Film Threat the opportunity to program and curate their Horror, Sci-Fi and Fantasy film festival sidebar, and we took to the task with rabid glee. Screening the weekend of October 19-21, 2007 at the world famous ArcLight Theatre in Los Angeles, CA, our selections would be getting top dog treatment in the town that makes and breaks film careers. The numerous genre films came in at a furious pace, and the battle for a screening slot was a violent one. When the dust settled, these are the films that came out on top as Film Threat’s official selections. Ladies and gentlemen, the program and tentative schedule for the 2007 Hollywood Horror, Sci-Fi and Fantasy Film Festival!
Friday, October 19, 2007
“Postal”: Uncensored, Director’s Cut
The festival opens with the latest film from the infamous Uwe Boll, but this isn’t the cut of the film that’s already screened at a few festivals and is going to be in theaters this Fall. Nope, this is the extended, uncensored, see-it-here-or-possibly-never-see-it cut of the film that just may make people sit up and say “Uwe Boll isn’t that bad afterall.” Or maybe you’ll hate it. Either way, we guarantee this film will move your emotions and have you talking. As an added bonus, the mighty Uwe Boll will be joined by a few of the film’s cast for a post-screening Q&A. Love it, hate it, let Uwe know in person!Screening at 9pm This has been changed to Sunday, October 21 at 7pm
“Spacedisco-One”
Damon Packard’s latest sci-fi epic gets the big-screen treatment, enabling our lucky audience to see just what happens when descendants of characters seen in “Logan’s Run,” “Battlestar Galactica,” “Blade Runner,” “1984” and “Krull” team up to track down some rogue “replicants” on the orbital platform “SpaceDisco-One,” an interstellar craft whose interior is largely represented by a rainbow-glowing skating rink.
Screening at midnight
Saturday, October 20, 2007
“Cold Hard Cash”
Director Mike Pecci’s short film opens Saturday’s program, telling the tale of two beautiful girls put in the desperate situation of stealing a briefcase full of cash. Starring SuicideGirls Eliska and Odette, “Cold Hard Cash” will grab you by the throat and won’t let go until the end.
Screening at 9pm with “A*s Monster”
“A*s Monster: The Making of a Horror Film”
Oh, what is there to say about “A*s Monster,” a feature film by director Bill Zebub that spoofs everything from B-movie, straight-to-horror-convention-table schlock cinema to the art of filmmaking itself? Hmmm, how about that there’s insane amounts of nudity, an A*s Monster (of sorts) and enough in-jokes to keep the film geeks AND horror geeks happy in this “American Movie” meets “Metalocalypse” meets… an a*s.
Screening at 9pm
“Babysitter Wanted”
They just don’t make horror movies like this anymore, and that’s too bad. Gorgeous cinematography and the type of careful plotting, pacing and on-point elements reminiscent of such classic films as “Halloween” and “The Exorcist,” “Babysitter Wanted” is the film to watch if you want that good old-fashioned horror film experience. Babysitting… it’s amazing anyone would do that job anymore…
Screening at 11:15pm
Sunday, October 21, 2007
“Night of the Hell Hamsters”
When will people learn that nothing good ever comes from Ouija boards!?! A night of playful Ouija occult fun turns into a blood-soaked end of the world in this short film from director Paul Campion.
Screening at 9pm with “End of the Line”
“End of the Line”
“End of the Line” is director Maurice Devereaux’s cinematic treat about what could happen if a religious cult decided that the Apocalypse was upon us, and that the only way to save everyone from Hell on Earth is to kill them immediately. And what if that cult was right? Scares, kooks and blood, “End of the Line” delivers an Armageddon tale that is not to be missed.
Screening at 9pm
“The Caress of the Creature”
Stewart McAlpine’s short film is kicking a*s and taking names from festivals everywhere, and rightfully so. Asking the important question “What is lurking in the waters of Lake Habbagappee… and is it gay,” “The Caress of the Creature” is a hilarious homage to classic ’50s B-movies about a town under assault by an underwater tickle-monster.
Screening at 11:15pm with “Mercy”
“Mercy”
The 2007 program ends with “Mercy,” a haunting, suspenseful horror film about a recently released convict named John. After 25 years in jail for a violent crime, John’s slow acclimation to normalcy is hindered by the harshness of humanity and a penchant for increasingly disturbing hallucinations and nightmares.
Screening at 11:15pm
There you have it, the 2007 Hollywood Horror, Sci-Fi and Fantasy Film Festival program. As a personal aside, for those of you who submitted and didn’t get in, the competition for slots was a fierce one. I wish we had more screening slots available to accommodate more films, that simple. Still, even though this day may not have been yours, that doesn’t mean that tomorrow won’t be. Keep up the hard work, and keep that genre filmmaking torch going!
Join Film Threat at the Arclight Theatre the weekend of October 19-21, 2007 for all the fun. Passes for the entire Hollywood Film Festival can be purchased from the festival’s website, and individual tickets for each show will be available on the ArcLight Cinemas website or at the theater’s box office the night of the screenings.
– Mark Bell, Editor-and-Hell-Hamster
