I am ready to provide an almost complete debrief on Horrorfest 2009. Aside from one poorly scheduled showtime, I viewed seven of the eight films and am happy to report the best year thus far. The films this year, for the most part, seemed to be bigger budget than previous years and it certainly paid off.

Now remember, this is like an independent film festival for horror, so you can’t go in expecting the equivalent of a blockbuster. My disclaimer for the following reviews is based on appreciating them for what they are and considering things like lack of budget, known actors, and extravagant special effects. If you go in expecting mainstream, you will be disappointed. But if you love film, dig horror, and appreciate indie films, you might want to give one a try.

Read on for a list of the films and my personal review for each.

Dying Breed - Standard plot; not so standard approach. Upon reading the synopsis for this film, I had prepared myself for another gory inbred movie full of senseless killing and ridiculous story lines. But at throughout the movie, I found myself pleasantly surprised. Rather than revolving around a group of drunken college kids stranded in the backwoods of some southern state, the plot stemmed from a smart, quiet girl whose sister went missing while attempting to prove the existence of a supposedly extinct tiger in Tasmania. With the exception of one obnoxious guy, the group had none of the stereotypical characteristics that make us happy when they die. Plot and character development consume over half of the movie and the bloody murder scenes seem to be placed only where truly needed. A horror flick with a bit more depth was a pleasant surprise.

From Within - My favorite of the festival, this movie had a very original plot with an oh so subtle tone of mockery towards overly organized religion (gotta love it). A curse placed on a small, rural, highly-religious town drives resident to commit suicide, one after the other. But they aren’t really killing themselves; their doppelgangers are stalking and murdering them. The imagery used for the ‘me versus me’ effect was endlessly creepy. My one complaint being that it was a little light on character and plot development. Look for Rumor Willis and the twins from America’s Next Top Model (2 or 3 cycles ago).

Butterfly Effect 3 - Okay so this movie was not very good. But I guess if you didn’t see the first one and didn’t know it was a sequel, it wasn’t too bad for this kind of event. Enough said.

Slaughter - Another one for the typical plot, not so typical approach. Who’s murdering the random guys brought home the little farm girl who likes to party? Is it the weird Dad? The perverted brother? The new roommates psycho ex? Good character development. Some nice sub-plots. Interesting twists. Highly unexpected ending - which probably led to the inability to release it to the general public. You know how the main-streamers can’t handle an unhappy ending… There were of course some kind of silly situations that led to more close calls rather then just getting the hell out of there, but overall a good effort.

The Broken - Lena Headey stars in this truly original and well done film. Another eerie mystery revolving around doppelgangers but a completely different take than From Within. It’s one of those where you leave a bit confused but the more you think about it, the less random it seems. Will probably have to give this one another viewing to pick up clues. I still can’t tell you what the ending means - not that you would want to know before you watch it.

Voices - Highly disappointing for a (so I thought) Japanese film (which are typically great)! But it was actually made in South Korea - maybe that’s why it sucked. Don’t bother.

Autopsy - I still can’t figure out if they meant this to be a true horror film and it went horribly wrong or if it was meant to be a campy spoof and went horribly wrong… some laughs, mostly dumb, too much gore, no plot, no character development, don’t bother.

Perkins 14 - This is the one I missed. I will report later.

19 hours and counting until my favorite weekend of the year arrives. That’s right, Horrorfest is back for it’s third year to warm the hearts of die hard gore and thrill seekers across the country. In case you haven’t heard of it, Horrorfest is an annual film festival featuring carefully selected supernatural and psycho killer flicks that were produced in the past year but never released. They are chosen based on originality, thrill factor, and the fact that they were too disturbing to release to the general public.

This one week event has grown increasingly popular with each year, and the creators have expanded the venue to include script writing, short film, and even Miss Horrorfest contests. Despite the onset of a potential cult following, the San Francisco Bay Area has dwindled each year in it’s theatre offerings. Each year my long-time friend, Jessie, who is also a fellow horror buff and my partner script writer, joins me for a weekend filled with back-to-back films from our favorite genre. It is our ritual to select a different theatre for Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, each of which consists of viewing three movies with drinks and snacks in between. We have a strick rule of no other guests and we spend the breaks analyzing and critiquing the film.

This year, as we anxiously checked the web site for movie synopses, trailers, and theatre listings, we were appauled to find that only two theatres anywhere in the bay area are housing the festival! One in San Jose and one in Daly City, both of which are 45 minutes to 1 hour away. Even San Francisco has nothing to offer! It is absolutely ludacris. And to think that SF and Berkeley are known for artistic expression and originality. Regardless of how repulsive you may find them, it must be admitted that horror is indeed an art form.

Nevertheless, we shall overcome. Tomorrow we will leave our respective offices early to drive to San Jose where each day three new films will (hopefully) frighten us like never before. I will have a full report for you next week. And know that one day a film that we wrote will be released at, if not Horrorfest itself, a festival much like this one.

Rarely do horror movie buffs, such as myself, get to partake in the good fun of mixing dread of the workplace with the thrill of gore. So you can imagine my delight at the release of Severance. Dry humor, bloody murder, and the all too familiar team building exercise.

Isn’t it fascinating that the depiction of office workers in every movie bears an uncanny resemblance to our own office mates? Either we are all much less original than we think or the monotony of the office transforms normal human beings into demented versions of the Stepford wives (and husbands).

Released last year, this film is wildly entertaining on the horror movie scale. Meaning, if you love scary movies, as I do, you will find an appreciation for this one despite its shortcomings. A viewing of Severance might make for an excellent team builder at the office!