2018 Festival | SCREAMFEST

2018 FESTIVAL AWARDS ANNOUNCED

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2018 SCREAMFEST HORROR FILM FESTIVAL AWARDS ANNOUNCED

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – Oct. 18, 2018 – America’s largest and longest running horror movie festival, Screamfest, awarded this year’s top movies, filmmakers, actors and screenplay Thursday during the fest’s closing night. Screamfest, which ran from Oct. 9 – 18, 2018 at the TLC Chinese 6 Theatres in Hollywood, has launched careers – providing a platform for filmmakers and actors to showcase their latest work to horror film enthusiasts and general audiences.

Screamfest 2018 Winners:

Best Editing - Nik Voytas - Pledge

Best Cinematography - Davide Piazzolla - You Die

Best Musical Score - Klas Persson –Draug

Best Makeup - Josh & Sierra Russell - Open 24 Hours

Special Effects - Crazy Pictures - The Unthinkable

Visual Effects - Gajjar Parth - Tumbbad

Best Actress - Suzanne Voss - Dementia II

Best Actor - Thomas Hedengran – Draug

Best Short - I Am The Doorway – Simon Pearce

Best Screenplay - Dead Strays by Neil Chase

Best Animated Short - La Noria

Best Director - Daniel Robbins - Pledge

Best Picture - Tumbbad

CONGRATULATIONS 2018 AWARD WINNERS!

2018 Screamfest First Wave Announcements

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SCREAMFEST HORROR FILM FESTIVAL
ANNOUNCES FIRST WAVE OF 2018 LINE UP

Lin Shaye to Serve as Festival Ambassador

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – September 14, 2018 – America’s largest and longest running horror film festival, Screamfest Horror Film Festival, is proud to announce the first wave of its official 2018 film line up. In its 18th year, the festival, which will run from Oct. 9-18, 2018 at the TCL Chinese 6 Theaters in Hollywood, has launched careers - providing a platform for filmmakers and actors to showcase their latest work to enthusiasts and general audiences. Actress Lin Shaye, the star of the successful horror franchise Insidious and other popular horror films including A Nightmare on Elm Street, Dead End, 2001 Maniacs, and the soon-to-be-released reboot, Grudge, will serve as this year’s festival ambassador.

“Screaming is good for the soul,” said Shaye. “I am extremely excited and honored to serve as this year’s Screamfest ambassador and scream with all of you! I’m thrilled to support and celebrate a space where filmmakers, actors and fans can unveil their hard work, and celebrate the horror genre.”

Screamfest Horror Film Festival will offer unique access to some of the most creative forces in the horror genre through film screenings, Q&As and conversations with some of the most captivating artists working in the industry today.

“We could not be more excited to partner with Shaye,” said Belofsky. “Her work has inspired many and she has become a force in the horror and genre community.”

The festival is best known for discovering Paranormal Activity in 2007. Other past premieres include Tragedy Girls, Tigers Are Not Afraid, Trick ‘r Treat, 30 Days of Night, Let the Right One In, The Grudge, The Collection, The Human Centipede and Diary of the Dead. Wes Craven, John Carpenter, Sam Raimi, Clive Barker, Eli Roth, James Wan, Zack Snyder, William Friedkin and John Landis are just some of the filmmakers who have supported the festival year after year.

Film festival badges are currently on sale at www.ScreamfestLA.com and individual film tickets will be available end of September 2018. All screenings are open to the general public. Winners will receive a 24 karat gold dipped skull trophy designed by the legendary, Academy award-winning special make-up effects creator, Stan Winston, who partnered with the festival until his passing.

Screamfest Horror Film Festival is proud to announce that the following films have been admitted to the festival – the first wave of the 2018 line up.

SPLINTER-VERSARY– 10 year anniversary screening of SPLIINTER
***Splinter premiered at Screamfest 2008 and took home six awards that year. ***
A couple retreats to the wilderness for the weekend but are car-jacked by an escaped convict and his girlfriend on the run from the police. As they travel the backroads, they find themselves in deeper trouble. A parasitic creature has taken over the woods, and the two couples are now in its sights. Finding shelter at a gas station, they must use their wits and every weapon at their disposal to stave off the onslaught, not only from the insatiable creature, but also each other.
Directed by:
Toby Wilkins
Produced by:
Kai Barry & Ted Kroeber
Executive Producer(s):
Graham Begg, Chad Burris, Jamie Carmichael, Mark Cuban
Written by:
Ian Shorr, Kai Barry
Main Cast:
Shea Whigham, Paulo Costanzo & Jill Wagner

AMITYVILLE MURDERS: (US) - 2018
Directed by Daniel Farrands
Written by Daniel Farrands
Cast: John Robinson, Chelsea Ricketts, Paul Ben-Victor, Diane Franklin, Burt Young, Lainie Kazan
Produced by Eric Brenner and Lucas Jarach
On the night of November 13, 1974, Ronald DeFeo, Jr. took a high-powered rifle and murdered his entire family as they slept. At his trial, DeFeo claimed that "voices" in the house commanded him to kill. This is their story.
World Premiere

DEMENTIA II (US) - 2018
Directed by Matt Mercer and Mike Testin
Written by Matt Mercer and Mike Testin
Cast: Suzanne Voss, Matt Mercer, Najarra Townsend, Graham Skipper
Produced by Matt Mercer and Mike Testin
Suzanne wasn't always this confused. She wasn't always DEAD either... When an ex-con takes a job as a handyman for an unstable elderly woman to avoid a parole violation, it becomes a choice he may regret.
West Coast Premiere

DISCARNATE (US) - 2018
Directed by Mario Sorrenti
Written by Mario Miscione, Marcella Ochoa
Cast: Thomas Kretschmann, Nadine Velazquez, Josh Stewart, Chris Coy, Bex Taylor-Klaus
Produced by Harald Kloser (Independence Day: Resurgence.White House Down, 2012), Marcella Ochoa, Co-produced by John Michael Elfers
A neuroscientist's obsession with a drug that expands the human mind inadvertently unleashes a deadly supernatural force on his team.
World Premiere

DRAUG (Sweden) 2018
Directed by Klas Persson and Karin Engman
Written by Klas Persson and Karin Engman
Cast: Elna Karlsson Thomas Hedengran Nina Filimoshkina Ralf Beck Urban Bergsten Matti Boustedt
Produced by Klas Persson and Karin Engman
In the 11th century a missionary goes missing somewhere in the huge forests bordering the northern parts of Sweden. Among the rescue party chosen to find him is Nanna, a young woman on her first real mission and her first return to the part of the country where she was born. But what they will find deep inside those woods is something else entirely. Something dark. Something ancient. Something evil.
World Premiere

THE FINAL WISH (US) 2018
Directed by Timothy Woodward Jr.
Written by Jeffrey Reddick, Jonathan Doyle, William Halfon
Cast: Lin Shaye ( Insidious franchise, Ouija franchise) Michael Welch (Twilight franchise, All The Boys Love Mandy Lane) Tony Todd (Final Destination, Hell Fest, Candyman) Spencer Locke (Insidious: The Last Key, Resident Evil: Afterlife, Resident Evil: Extinction)
Produced by Jeffrey Reddick, Lauren De Normandie, Timothy Woodward Jr, Johnny Cleveland, Thommy Hutson
From the creator of the Final Destination franchise comes a new tale of death. Following the passing of his father, Aaron Hammond (MICHAEL WELCH) returns to his hometown to help his devastated mother (LIN SHAYE) and to confront his past demons. Shifting through his father’s belongings, Aaron comes upon a mysterious item that is far more than it seems.
World Premiere

THE GOLEM (Israel) 2018
Directed by Doron Paz and Yoav Paz
Written by Ariel Cohen
Cast: Alex Tritenko, Brynie Furstenberg, Hani Furstenberg, Ishai Golan, Lenny Ravich
Produced by Ariel Cohen, Doron Pazm Shalom Eisenbach, Yoav Paz
In this re-imagining of the old mystical folklore, when a woman’s tight-knit Jewish community is besieged by foreign invaders, she conjures a dangerous creature to protect them but it may be more evil than she ever imagined. THE GOLEM is the third feature for co-directed by Doron and Yoav Paz.
North America Premiere

THE HAUNTED (UK ) 2018
Directed by:
David Holroyd
Written by David Holroyd
Cast:
Sophie Stevens, Nick Bayly, Ray Macallan, Maggie Daniles, Kirstie Steele, Virginia Denham
Produced by:
Crispin Manson, Matthew Stradling
In a rambling, isolated house, Emily’s first night-shift as carer to an elderly dementia patient turns into a nightmare as she is tormented by a vengeful spirit and uncovers the house's dark secrets.
World Premiere

LOST IN APOCALYPSE (China) 2018
Directed by Sky Wang
Written by Sky Wang, Baiying Wu
Cast: Martin Yang, Mingyi Yang, E'Naan Zhang, Ray Wang, Fengzhu Jia, Qianhua Chen, Simpson Tang, Man Yang
Produced by Iris Liu
A group of seemingly unrelated individuals fight their way out of a virus-infested hotel, only to find themselves at a worse place than before.
West Coast Premiere

OPEN 24 HOURS (US) 2018
Directed by Padraig Reynolds
Written by Padraig Reynolds
Cast: Emily Tennant, Brendan Fletcher, Vanessa Grasse
Produced by
A paranoid delusional woman, Mary White (Vanessa Grasse), has just been released from a mental hospital for setting her serial killer boyfriend on fire. Her boyfriend, James Lincoln Fields is brutal serial killer known as The Rain Ripper. After being released from the Hospital, Mary's vulnerable demeanor aids her in obtaining employment at an all night petrol station. However, left alone to her own devices, her paranoia and hallucinations return with furious consequences. Customers and friends suddenly start turning up dead, mutilated, all around her. Is The Rain Ripper back to finish her off?
West Coast Premiere

PLEDGE (US) 2018
Directed by Daniel Robbins
Written by Zack Weiner
Cast: Zachery Byrd, Aaron Dalla Villa, Cameron Cowperthwaite, Phillip Andre Botello, Jesse Pimentel, Erica Boozer, Joe Gallagher, Zack Weiner, Jean-Louis Droulers
Produced by Mark Rapaport, Keaton Heinrichs, Akiva Nemetsky
A group of college freshmen pledge an exclusive fraternity but soon realize there's more at stake than they could have ever imagined.
US Premiere

TUMBBAD (India) 2018
Directed by Rahi Anil Barve, Anand Gandhi
Written by Mitesh Shah, Adesh Prasad, Rahi Anil Barve, Anand Gandhi
Cast: Sohum Shah, Harish Khannaa, Anita Date, Mohd Samad, Jyoti Malshe, Deepak Damle, Dhundiraj Prabhakar Jogalekar
Produced by Amita Shah, Mukesh Shah, Sohum Shah
A greedy village boy, in 19th century India, pursues a cursed Ancestral treasure, guarded by the devil himself. TUMBBAD opened the Venice’ Film Festival’s Critic’s Week 2018.
West Coast Premiere

YOU DIE (Italy) 2018
Directed by Alessandro Antonaci, Stefano Mandalà, Daniel Lascar
Written by Alessandro Antonaci, Stefano Mandalà, Daniel Lascar
Cast: Erica Landolfi, Simone Moretto, Micol Damilano, Rocco Marazzita, Alice Piano, Simone Valentino, Carola Cudemo, Ja'Michael Darnell, Daniele Marmi
Produced by Daniel Lascar, Simone Offredo, Francesco Scrufari
US Premiere

For publicity materials on these films, please visit:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/rbh2oy0hs34dmme/AAA5jSorSlfTvFslWxCMkJu1a?dl=0

Get Social with Us:
Screamfest Official Usernames and Hashtag:
- Facebook: /Screamfest
- Twitter: @Screamfest
- Instagram: @ScreamfestLA
- Youtube: /ScreamfestLA
- Official hashtag: #ScreamfestLA

“LA’s @Screamfest #Horror #FilmFestival has announced the line-up! Oct 9-18 @ChineseTheatres #Hollywood! www.ScreamfestLA.com #ScreamfestLA”

Screamfest is sponsored by Gemr, Screen Queensland, Birns & Sawyer, Panasonic, European Fantastic Film Festivals Federation, Dapper Cadaver, Screenplay.com, InkTip, Elma, Horror Pack, SellAScript.com, Screen Queensland, and Simple DCP. Screamfest is supported, in part, by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Los Angeles County Arts Commission. Screamfest is made possible in part by a grant from the City of Los Angeles, Department of Cultural Affairs.

ABOUT SCREAMFEST HORROR FILM FESTIVAL
Formed in August 2001 by film producer Rachel Belofsky, Screamfest Horror Film Festival is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that gives filmmakers and screenwriters in the horror and science fiction genres a venue to have their work showcased in the film industry. Among the numerous films that have been discovered and/or premiered at the festival include “Paranormal Activity,” “30 Days of Night,” “Trick ‘r Treat” and “The Human Centipede.” For more information, visit www.ScreamfestLA.com or email info@screamfestla.com.

Screamfest Announces Second Wave of 2018 Line Up

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Screamfest second wave was announced today. A great selection of additional films and Gale Anne Hurd is being honored with a Career Achievement reward!

HOLLYWOOD, Calif. – October 4, 2018 – Screamfest Horror Film Festival, America’s largest, and longest running horror movie festival, announces the second wave of its festival line up. The fest, which will run from Oct. 9-18, 2018 at the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres in Hollywood, will showcase the West Coast premiere of The Unthinkable, the West Coast premiere of Welcome to Mercy and the U.S. premiere of the animated feature “Chuck Steel: Night of The Trampires.”

This year, Screamfest will also honor prolific film and television producer Gale Anne Hurd with the Career Achievement Award on October 16th followed by a screening of Aliens and The Terminator. Hurd started her career working with legendary director and producer Roger Corman at New World Pictures. She then launched her career when she produced and co-wrote her first feature film, The Terminator, which was a box office and critical success. This success was quickly followed by Aliens, which received seven nominations and two Academy Awards®. Today, she is not only an executive producer of AMC’s “The Walking Dead,” she also executive produces “Fear the Walking Dead” and consults with AMC’s top-rated talk show, “The Talking Dead.”

Aside from a myriad of the highly anticipated horror films, it will showcase this year, Screamfest will also host the following special anniversary screenings:

BRIDE OF CHUCKY

In honor of the upcoming 20th Anniversary of the release of Bride of Chucky, Screamfest will present a special screening of the film on October 12th at 7PM followed by a Q&A with writer Don Mancini and producer David Kirschner. Chucky, the doll possessed by a serial killer (Brad Dourif), discovers the perfect mate to kill and revive into the body of another doll (Jennifer Tilly).
The Serpent and the Rainbow

THE SERPENT AND THE RAINBOW

In honor of the upcoming 30th Anniversary of the release of The Serpent and the Rainbow, Screamfest will present a special screening of the film on October 10th followed by a Q&A with David Ladd and Bob Engelman. An anthropologist (Bill Pullman) goes to Haiti after hearing rumors about a drug used by black magic practitioners to turn people into zombies.

This year’s Screamfest will showcase a total of 21 feature films and 60 short films. Badges are currently on sale to the general public at www.ScreamfestLA.com and individual film tickets and day passes will also be available for all films including this year’s second wave line up:

THE UNTHINKABLE – 2018 – West Coast Premiere
**Closing Night film**
Directed by Victor Danell (as Crazy Pictures)
Written by Christoffer Nordenrot & Victor Danell (as Crazy Pictures)
Cast: Christoffer Nordenrot, Lisa Henni, Jesper Barkselius, Pia Halvorsen
Produced by Crazy Pictures
When Sweden faces a mysterious attack Alex is forced back to his childhood village. There he must be reconciled with both his father and youth love, Anna, while they all struggle to survive.

WELCOME TO MERCY – 2018 – West Coast Premiere
Directed by Tommy Bertelsen
Written by Kristen Ruhlin
Cast: Kristen Ruhlin, Eileen Davies, Lily Newmark and Toms Liepajnieks
Produced by Cary Granat, Darren Goldberg, Ed Jones, Joel Michaely, Max Pavlov, Yulia Zayceva, Serik Kushenov and Aslbek Mussin
A young woman struggles against the unholy forces that possess her in this terrifying occult thriller. After being stricken with stigmata, single mother Madaline (Kristen Ruhlin) is sent to a remote convent where nothing is what it seems and her friend August (Lily Newmark) is seemingly the only person she can trust. Together, they must confront the demons inside Madaline before she becomes the Antichrist.

CHUCK STEEL: NIGHT OF THE TRAMPIRES – 2018 – US Premiere of Animated Feature
Directed by Mike Mort
Written by Mike Mort
Cast: Mike Mort, Jennifer Saunders, Paul Whitehouse, Dan Russell, Jonnie Fiori, Samantha Coughlan
Produced by Mike Mort, Rupert Lywood, Randhir Singh, Joseph D’Morais
It’s not 1985 anymore…it’s 1986, and Chuck Steel is ‘the best God damn cop on the force’ according to his long-suffering boss, Captain Jack Schitt. But even this maverick, renegade, loose cannon, lone wolf, cop on the edge, who doesn’t play by the rules has his work cut out when the Governor of LA decides to reduce the licensing hours for clubs and bars triggering a sudden, inexplicable spate of high profile disappearances in the city. The disappearances all have the same thing in common, a crime scene covered in blood but with no sign of the victim. The police are perplexed until they get a break in the case when one of the victims manages to escape. Chuck goes to interview the victim at the hospital but is confronted by a crazed old man who introduces himself as Abraham Van Rental. He warns a disbelieving Chuck that an evil scourge is about to descend on the city of Los Angeles – the scourge of the TRAMPIRES – a mutated hybrid of vampire and tramp…

2018 SCREENPLAY COMPETITION FINALISTS

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SCREAMFEST HORROR FILM FESTIVAL ANNOUNCES THE 2018 SCREENPLAY COMPETITION FINALISTS & WINNING SCREENPLAY!

Screamfest is pleased to announce the 2018 screenplay competition semi-finalists, top five finalists and the winning screenplay.

BEST SCREENPLAY:

  • Dead Strays by Neil Chase

TOP FIVE FINALISTS:

  • Buried Souls by C.R. Night
  • Confinement by Abigail Taylor-Sansom
  • Dead Strays by Neil Chase
  • Harm by Josh Gilbert
  • Method by Louis Paxton & Laurie Nunn

THIS YEAR’S SEMI-FINALISTS INCLUDE:

  • Buried Souls by C. R. Night
  • Camp Counselors Wanted by Michael Mulvihill
  • Confinement by Abigail Taylor-Sansom
  • Dead Strays by Neil Chase
  • Harm by Josh Gilbert
  • Method by Louis Paxton & Laurie Nunn
  • Saving Grace by Nick Shafir
  • A Midsummer Night's Demented Killing Frenzy by William Johnston & William Shakespeare
  • Bhaunoi by José Cheim
  • Black Harbor by Samuel R. Peirce
  • Bleed to Love Her by Kelly Hitman
  • Deviance by Dennis Miller, Jr.
  • Do No Harm by Ben Slease
  • Escape Room by Will Reese
  • Foxwood by Ian Hock & Trevor Dillon
  • Hollow by Chris Allan
  • Job Hunt by Dylan Kim
  • Must Be Santa by Chris Weiderman
  • No Child Left Behind by Dan V. Shea
  • Notorious Nostalgia by Jeremy Sladek
  • Omega Dawn by Eric Taylor
  • Rydeshare by Ryan Shovey
  • Sex! Music! Death! by Bruno the Legend
  • Tarantula Season by Joshua Daniel Hershfield
  • Territory by Pardeep Aujla
  • The Calling by Michael Wallach
  • The Fallen by Brendan Manley
  • Trapped by Billy Reid
  • Bullet Catcher by Graham Bowlin
  • Dean's List by Brian W. Smith
  • Homebound by Anthony S. Cipriano
  • It Drinks You by Jeff Debing
  • One Flesh by Jen Vierck
  • Pickman's Model by James Van Fleet
  • R U Hot? by R.J. Patteson
  • Shaky Shivers by Andrew McAllister & Aaron Strongoni
  • The Graveyard Shift by Tom Radovich
  • They Beckon by Jerry Robbins
  • Three of Swords by Michael Chant
  • Timmy Cooke: A Cannibal Love Story by Aaron S. Barrocas
  • Wireless by Shawn Convery & Nick Greenberg

CONGRATULATIONS TO THIS YEAR’S FINALISTS!