What!? Another podcast? That must be some kind of record here. In this week’s podcast we have Jason Dube from the Sacramento Sci-Fi and Horror Convention talking about how awesome this year’s con will be, his comic series Scattered Comics and why horror rules so much. Check it out here.

And check out the 3rd Annual Sacramento Sci-Fi and Horror Convention here, September 25th and 26th.

I love a good film festival and Dread Central has decided to pony up and create their own. Read on for more info:

I was lucky enough to get to attend the first year of the CineMayhem Film Festival in Thousand Oaks, CA. The event took place at the amazing Muvico Theater. Leather seats, elevators, full kitchen and bar. Now that’s what I call a movie theater. The festival was very well organized and the staff was well informed. There was no confusion or difficulties which is pretty amazing since its a first year film fest. Each film was introduced and preceded by a raffle for some awesome swag. The crowd was lively and everything went without a hitch. Professional all the way. But what about the films?

ColdWater (2011)

ColdWater, directed by Dave Parker (The Hills Run Red), is about a man suffering from a concussion after an accident. His friend asks him to housesit a client’s home for a weekend and he agrees. He’s supposed to take the weekend to try to recuperate but instead ends up being terrorized by unseen house invaders.

Ok so ColdWater is a very low budget affair. Shot in a semi-found footage style the film lacks polish and shows its short shooting schedule on it’s sleeve. It’s not really a problem here as the film is about a single man in a house freaking out so it’s much more about the struggle of the main character than showing off pretty setups. The story is engaging and interesting if not completely original. I figured out the twist ending about 20 minutes before the end though I wouldn’t say the ending is totally obvious. I think maybe I’ve just seen too many movies. The problem is the film has some pretty significant plot holes and the ending goes on far too long. Ever see a film that would have been great if it had been trimmed by about 5-10 minutes? Yeah, that’s ColdWater. The film bangs the audience over the head with the twist ending. Yeah, I got it. Please stop telling me about it. Still I admire the film for being put together with a very limited budget and it’s not a ghost story, possession film, or zombie flick which is a big plus in my book.

Roadside (2013)

We got treated to the world premiere of Roadside, written and directed by Eric England (Madison County). The film was prefaced by a great little making of doc and then straight into the film. Roadside is about a husband and wife on a long drive to see family during the holidays. On a lonely isolated road they happen upon a fallen branch. The husband hops out to move the branch and discovers it’s a trap. He’s now at the mercy of a sniper hidden in the woods who won’t let him leave and won’t tell him what he wants.

Roadside is much more of a suspense flick than a horror film but it’s general sense of dread and fear made it fit right into the festival. Well filmed and written, Roadside does a lot of things right. The acting is good and believable and the score is great as well. I’ll admit the sniper’s recorded radio dj-ish voice was a bit off putting. Because it was recorded after the fact I kept getting the sense that there was a disembodied head floating around in the woods. It kept bringing me out of the film. That’s a minor quibble and I know it so I won’t belabor the point. Chalk it up to me being a pain in the ass. The wife is pregnant and her pregnancy doesn’t really add much to the film aside to a bit of suspense at the end of the film. I think it would have been more suspenseful had the pregnancy played a larger role. I’m guessing from the director/writer’s young age he hasn’t been around many pregnant women but there’s a lot of potential to mine there. Having to use the bathroom or maybe  gestational diabetes? Again, not a major quibble. The ending also has a cheesy “twist” that most horror fans will see a mile away but it didn’t ruin the film for me. I see a bright future for Eric England and I’m glad I had the chance to see a film from him at the beginning of his career. Roadside is a nice slowburn suspense film that hits nearly all the marks. It’s a solid film from a solid director. I’ll be watching what he does next.

The ABC’s of Death (2013)

The ABC’s of Death is a horror anthology that features a short film for every letter of the alphabet and death is dealt by a word starting with each letter. I’ve been hearing a lot about The ABC’s of Death. It’s been a long time coming and for me it was worth the wait. I keep reading that it’s a mixed bag, uneven with only a few standout films. I agree it’s a mixed bag of quality, style, and tone which doesn’t lend itself to a cohesive vibe for the film as a whole like more notable anthologies have succeeded in doing (Creepshow, Trick r Treat, Trilogy of Terror etc). It’s more of a collection of shorts than a true anthology and I loved the crap out of it. Sure, there were stories that I thought were stronger than others but I honestly enjoyed them all. Some were interesting ideas,  some were just plain fun, some were disturbing, and some were unique experiments. I applaud the ABCs of Death for having such a broad reach and encompassing so many different facets of the horror genre. I think if anything the film proves how much variety can be found in our beloved genre, which I’m all for. For the Record some of my favorite letters were D, H, J, O, U.

All in all I had a great time watching the films and listening to the Q & A sessions after the screenings. I’ll certainly be looking for CineMayhem next year to see what films they bring us.

Last year I attended the inaugural Cinemayhem Film Festival in L.A. I had a great time (you can read about it here), and I couldn’t wait for this year. Last year the festival featured new indie films from promising young directors, this year however they decided do it a bit differently.

This year at the Cinemayhem Film Festival, the organizers screened classic horror films from the 80′s proceeded by shorts from new film makers. This year the event was completely free, all you had to do was score a ticket and they all sold out within minutes! The event was at a small funky coffee shop called the Jumpcut Cafe, a coffee shop dedicated to film. The walls were covered in pictures of directors and there was a large chalk board listing all the great films they were planning on screening during the month. I really wish I had a place like this somewhere near me. The first night  screening was John Carpenter’s The Fog. The man himself was at the screening and sat for a Q & A session before the film started.

I hopped in my friend’s car and we drove the 2+ hours to the first night of the event. We arrived at the cafe, drove around for a bit and scored some free parking. We walked into the coffee shop packed full of horror fans of all walks of life. We knew we were in good company. We headed to the back where we got our wristbands and Cinemayhem pins (nice!). My friend wanted to hang out and have a cig where we spotted a man standing in the shadows talking to a few people. My friend recognized him immediately as John Carpenter but I didn’t believe him. I figured, there’s no way he would show up 30 minutes early. He’s got games to play and basketball to watch. Upon closer inspection though it was indeed the man himself. The living legend. I was so excited. While my friend was getting coffee and I was cooling my heels outside I noticed there wasn’t anyone talking to him while he smoked. I steeled my nerves and walked up to him and shook his hand. I thanked him for making so many great films and he asked me where I was from. We talked for a minute and then I walked away. It was great! I didn’t want to bug him with a bunch of questions, I just wanted express my love for his work and his importance to me. Short and simple. Mission accomplished. It’s not every day you get to meet a living legend and a cinematic hero. Amazing. We then sat down and he patiently answered lots of questions in his trademark blunt and funny way. I really wish he would go on a talking tour and just sit and chat with a moderator for an hour. He’s totally no bullshit and I really love listening to him. After his time was up he left, followed by a large group of fans with memorabilia in their hands for him to sign. That thought never even crossed my mind. I’m not big into collecting or memorabilia and to be honest I’m really glad I got the chance to talk to him when I did. That means much more to me. There was a young lady sitting next to my friend and I and I could see she was thinking about going outside to talk to him. I told her to go for it that the opportunity might not come again. Encouraged she left and came back a few minutes later all smiles. Very cool.

Clive Barker lent some of his original art to the festival too. One wall was covered with his work which was very neat to see. The next night featured a Vamp reunion followed by a screening of the film and the final night was a special screening of Hellraiser with Pinhead Doug Bradley himself in attendance.

I can’t thank the organizers enough for giving this great opportunity to us fans to meet and talk to him in such a great intimate setting. I wish I could have attended the other nights but living so far away I just didn’t have the time or resources to come back. One thing’s for sure, whatever Cinemayhem does next year I’ll be there. They have proven to be professional, organized, and gracious. This is what it’s all about friends. If you want to check out some great clips of the  Q & A, cruise on over to the Cinemayhem site and see what you missed.