Julia Kaminski's blog

Another October has come and gone, which means another year in the books for the Screamfest Horror Film Festival. Every year, when we reach the award ceremony and closing night party we find that it is bittersweet. Much like the last day of school, the final night of the festival is the last of a ten-day marathon of the genre’s best of the year. From filmmakers to press to festival staff, we have become a quick and happy family by the final day, and it is sad to see everyone go their separate ways.

The countdown has officially begun for Screamfest 2017 and we have dropped the official lineup. With less than two weeks before the festival kickoff, we here at Screamfest are gearing for another kick ass year of genre films from around the world. Aside from the killer American films to look forward to, we also have an especially great lineup of international films to check out. Some of our most well received films in recent years have been international titles, including last year’s Lake Bodom out of Finland.

In combination with the recent Screamfest announcement that we would be hosting the North American premiere of the much-anticipated Leatherface, and the recent and devastating loss of the great Tobe Hooper, this is the perfect time to honor the franchise that stemmed from his original masterpiece, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. The TCM franchise has grown to be about as diverse as Hooper’s own career. It has explored everything from prequels to sequels to remakes. Even after all of this, including the pretty recent release of 2013’s Texas Chainsaw 3D, fans are still left wanting more.

Every summer, I, and anyone else with good taste in television, hunker down for a week full of Discovery Channel’s best shark-filled programming. Shark Week has long since been one of my favorite weeks of the year but I often find myself finishing it and wanting more. Luckily, there are a pretty hefty amount of Shark themed horror films to get one through their post-Shark Week blues. I accept that this is probably one of many “Top Shark Films” lists you will find circulating recently, but I hope I can provide at least some fresh insight into the wonderful world of Sharksploitation.

This past Sunday, we experienced yet another crippling tragedy in the horror community. The death of George A Romero is the kind of loss that feels deeply personal. He has inspired filmmakers and fans alike and for many (if not most) his films were what first kindled our love for film and the genre. I’ve already seen an influx of articles and screenings paying tribute to this incredible filmmaker, and uncle we wished we had. When I was eleven years old, I took an interest in horror films.