The 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.

In case you missed out on this year’s festivities or simply want to recall some fond memories, here are just a few of the incredible moments from Screamfest 2017.

All photos by the amazing Angelica Ulloa (@BabeLuck)

Ain’t no party like a Screamfest party, cause a Screamfest party has THE MOST INCREDIBLE CAKES. Created by the talented Natalie (pictured above) molded and painted this beauty, while her mother Maggie baked its delicious core. The two run Maggie’s Cakes & More, if anyone is in the market for any high quality baked goods. This one was almost too cool to eat. Cakes just taste better with edible weaponry attached.

Dead Ant star, Jake Busey stopped by the party to celebrate our opening night premiere of the film.

Tiger’s Are Not Afraid was undoubtedly a festival favorite this year. Nearly sweeping our categories, the film took home five awards, including Best Picture. Here is our festival founder Rachel Belofsky and Co-Director Karen Martin, with the supremely badass Writer/Director Issa López who was also awarded Best Director.


Writer/Director Tom Holland dropped by for a Q&A following our Fears & Beers screening of his iconic film, Child’s Play. Led by Dread Central’s Sean Decker, the Q&A exhibited Holland’s continued love for the franchise of his creation. He recollects his experiences of developing Chucky’s POV shots and his memories of cutting and shooting this horror classic. Holland answered questions eagerly and comprehensively, with a humble charm. It’s always refreshing when the creators of the films you love are also good people, amiright?

Yours truly, along with the rest of the Screamfest staff and a few dedicated volunteers. I’m so grateful to be a part of this awesome family and it’s amazing to see how far this festival has come and what Rachel and the rest of the team have been able to create.

The 1922 premiere was just one of many excellent and entertaining Q& A’s we had this year. Thomas Jane arrived, sans shoes, embodying his character of Wilfred James. TJ captivated the room, giving insight to how he developed the enigmatic character of Wildred and how he based his mannerisms on his own Grandfather. James gave an electrifying and heartbreaking performance that fans of Stephen King’s original story will be very proud of. 1922 is now available for streaming on Netflix and is yet another impressive King adaptation released this year.

Craig Robinson, Josh Hutcherson and the rest of the cast and crew of Tragedy Girls came out for our sold out screening of Screamfest alum Tyler MacIntyre’s newest feature. His previous film Patchwork was a hit at Screamfest 2016, taking home four awards, including Best Picture. Tragedy Girls has already garnered excellent reviews throughout the festival circuit and is another exciting accomplishment in MacIntyre’s very promising career in the genre.

The traditional theater experience is important to us here at Screamfest. However, there is no denying that VR is cool as hell. This year, we had a special guest in the lobby during the festival.

Before taking my seat on the provided hospital gurney, I was given a brief introduction by my host, dressed in hospital scrubs. He asked the usual questions before any kind of visually stimulating experience, if I had a history of epilepsy, so on and so forth. He then asked if I had ever had a near death experience. “I have not, but why do you ask?” he explained that VR taps into certain impulses in the brain that basically mimic reality, more so than if we are simply watching a movie and that this particular experience could potentially trigger PTSD in someone who had in fact experienced it. As a fan of theatrics, I thought the whole spiel was a nice touch, but did not expect anything too intense. As I made myself comfortable on the aforementioned gurney, I was told that I would be experiencing the true first hand account of a woman who had had a near death experience, and would be led through it, in her own words. I do not want to spoil the experience for anyone who might undergo it in the future, but I will say that it was a pleasant surprise. Although the images I was seeing were no more intense than your average video game, my body was noticeably reacting to what I was seeing. The whole experience was a lot of fun and made me really excited (and a little afraid) for the future of virtual reality.

Birth.Movies.Death writer Brian Collins, sharing his vintage Friday the 13th magazne with the legendary Kane Hodder after the screening of the documentary To Hell and Back: The Kane Hodder Story. To Hell and Back: The Kane Hodder Story is an incredibly moving peak into the life of a genre legend. As a long time fan of Hodder’s, it was fascinating to delve deeper into his extraordinary journey. This doc is a must see for any Hodder fans, any horror fans, or really anyone who can appreciate a meaningful and authentic story.

Sean Decker and Cabin Fever star Cerina Vincent teamed up to present our closing night awards, held in the historic (and historically haunted) Roosevelt Hotel on Hollywood Blvd.

Filmmaker Holy Fatma not only won Best Short for her film Please Love Me Forever, she also won Best Reaction to Receiving an Award. We love you Holy! Congrats and thank you for your formidable rendition of “The Way You Make Me Feel”.

Behind most great filmmakers, is a great producer. One who recognizes and supports their vision and is willing and able to move mountains to make it a reality. For our dearly departed legend, Wes Craven, that producer was Marianne Maddalena. Ever since 1989’s Shocker, Maddalena worked alongside Wes and is responsible for some of the genre’s best films ever made. Because of her illustrious career, Maddalena was awarded the Career Achievement Award for the night.

For a full list of Screamfest 2017 Awards and Winners, check them out here.

Ain’t no party like a Screamfest party, cause a Screamfest party has KARAOKE.

Our international friends, lovingly dubbed “The Australians” treated us to several group numbers, including the song of their people, “The Land Down Under”



Partying into the wee hours of the night, the final stragglers just weren’t ready to say goodbye.

I just want to say thank you to everyone that came out to the 2017 Screamfest Horror Festival. We had some amazing films and guests this year, and if it weren’t for all the love and support from the fans and filmmakers alike, we would not have this amazing festival.
Keep an eye out on all of our social media pages for more photos of this year’s festival and to get updated on some of our events and screenings held throughout the year.

See you all in 2018!

• @TalesfrmthCrypt