Horror Film Festival Celebrates Lucky 13th Year

Southern Oregon’s 2020 Killer Valley Horror Film Festival (KVHFF) celebrates it’s lucky #13 this year, but for the first time ever, it will not be hosted live.  In previous years this festival celebrated independent filmmakers with in-person screenings, filmmaker meet-and-greets, and an awards ceremony in Ashland, OR.

This year, the 2020 Killer Valley Horror Film Festival launches officially on their website at 3am, Oct. 9th (the witching hour) and runs through midnight of Nov. 1st, 2020 (as the Day of the Dead makes way for All Soul’s Day).

KVHFF is not the first festival to turn to digital streaming, but it is still a new approach for traditional live events to cater to fans strictly through the Internet.  Executive Director Randy Granstrom has said he misses the mingling and the networking with film cast & crew during the festival, and 2020 will be the first year he hasn’t directly presented awards to the filmmakers.  This year’s award-winners have each recorded their acceptance speeches separately, to be presented on the festival’s website and social media at 9pm on Oct. 9th.

Highlight’s of this year’s films include the Portland-produced, “1 Dead Dog,” a feature film from director Rollyn Stafford that stars Brian Sutherland, Daniel Timothy Treacy, and Meagan Karimi-Naser.  Karimi-Naser won Best Actress for her performance in the film. 

The film also features horror icon Mark Patton, who famously played the reluctant protagonist Jesse in “A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge” in 1985.  Patton is also the focus of a recently trending documentary on Shudder based on that historic role, “Scream Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street.”

In good company, Heather Langenkamp, the star of the iconic film that launched the “A Nightmare on Elm Street” franchise, and who also reprised her role in two sequels, also makes an appearance in this year’s festival.  Langenkamp stars in a short film, “Cottonmouth,” which appears in the first of two KVHFF Short Film Blocks.

Additional short films were submitted from all over the world. Standouts of this year’s selected films include: “Malakout,” a stop-motion tale of evil and demonic possession that oozes dread, “Fantasmagoria,” an Italian film that harkens back to the silent film era with a vicious edge of 70’s Giallo extremism, “Snake Eyes: an ASMR Nightmare,” which is a masterful play on the senses with striking audio/visual storytelling, and “Night of the Witch,” a satirical take on the teen slasher films of the 80s.

With films from Iran, Sweden, Ukraine, Denmark, Czech Republic, Italy, Canada, and the USA, the selection of 27 short films for this festival were done by a team of trusted cinephiles, led by film editor and long-time KVHFF Festival Programmer, Ross Williams.

The 2020 Killer Valley Horror Film Festival will be streaming all the films in 3 distinct blocks.  Fans can purchase a view pass to watch the films at any time within the 3 week viewing window. Horror fans can visit the website for more details at: KillerValleyHorrorFilmFestival.com.

Pandemic Playlist - 2020

BINGE THESE

The Great Beaver’s list of niche independent movies to watch during quarantine. All feature films, produced in the Pacific Northwest, are available for rent, and a list of short films and underground cinema are available to stream for free.

- WATCH THE FEATURES - 

- WATCH THE SHORTS - 

Horror Film Festival Haunts Southern Oregon On Nov. 12th

Returning to Ashland, OR for it’s 8th installment, the Killer Valley Horror Film Festival (KVHFF) is a celebration of independent horror and science fiction movies from around the globe. A one-night affair, geared to film-goers 18 years and older, the festival showcases genres that are arguably the most fun for independent filmmakers to create, and provides an atmosphere for horror fans to watch in a more social environment than a typical theater setting. Audiences often dress in costume, and the festival offers Special FX Makeup Booths in case viewers want to feel like a zombie for the night.

Local film production companies, along with Southern Oregon Film and Media (SOFaM), will have booths set up to showcase their works.

This annual event also features a special appearance by Adrienne King, star of the original “Friday the 13th,” and proprietor of Crystal Lake Wines. Fans can get autographed bottles of her signature blends, all made in the Rogue Valley of Southern Oregon.

>> Read More at OregonConfluence.com <<

Review of "Don't Fuck in the Woods" (2016)

When I first got the screener of “Don’t Fuck in the Woods”, I had only a day before been dumped by the love of my life. I was worried that watching a bunch of fun-loving couples get horny and freak on each other beside the campfire for an hour and a half would be too depressing for my broken heart.

Luckily, just as that little bit of sadness started creeping in while the first horny couple fumbled out of their clothes – and I started to think, “Oh God, I miss her… if only we had one more night together… one romantic night in the woods… [choke, sob]… one more night to prove — Oh Snap!” Disembowelment mid-coitus!

Seeing these couples getting slaughtered in the midst of passion was actually lifting my spirits. “Maybe,” I thought, “just maybe my ex and her new lover will be massacred before he gets a chance to make her cum, too.” A man can hope – and that is the mark of a good film – it gives the watcher a sense of fulfillment. In that regard, “Don’t Fuck in the Woods” is a smashing success.

- Read the Full Review at BeaverMedia.net -

Review of "Nuclear Neighborhood"

“Nuclear Neighborhood” is a film that looks & feels like it came from graduates of Troma University; a sci-fi/horror film made with little budget but plenty of fun and creativity. Within no time, Matthew J Oliver’s film jumps right into the meat & bones of the story.

Dan’s girlfriend is kidnapped by a strange man in a creeper van, and Dan’s friends conclude that she’s being kept in the weird apartment building up the road. Weird because all kinds of unexplained activity and an assortment of trippy, deformed people that seem to inhabit the building. As it turns out, radioactivity is the root cause of the eerie phenomenon, but this info isn’t enough to keep Dan and crew from breaking in to save his girl. As the team splits up, they encounter monsters, booby traps, and misunderstood freaks of nature as they get deeper into the madness and closer to the villain who took Dan’s woman.

Read the Full Review at BeaverMedia.net

“Nuclear Neighbordhood” will be screening at the Art Theatre of Long Beach on Thursday August 6th @ 9pm, The Dark Room Theatre in San Francisco on Sunday Aug 9th @ 7pm, and Movie at LoBot Gallery in Oakland, Ca on Sat August 8th @ 9pm.

Official Trailer: https://youtu.be/4uNr7UxRPDg

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/NuclearNeighbourhoodOfficialMovie

IMDB Page: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4526874/

Review of "Reverb", a short film

Pill-popper Helia has just lost her boyfriend, and is living in a big empty house all by herself. The first night we meet Helia, she is annoyed by late-night phone call attempts from her ex, “Cupcake” (although she denies to friends having heard from him). Soon, though, she is soon more disturbed by a creepy presence outside her home at night. Could it be her ex, hoping to get some of his things? Could it be some new stalker, or could it just be her imagination? She is a pill-popper, remember… (and over the course of the first 3 days, she doesn’t seem to change her shorts – if I were her boyfriend, I would’ve bailed too). One day, though, when we don’t see Helia take her pills, things start to get a bit more wild, and whomever has been outside her house (or on the fringes of her mind?) gets closer.

Read the Full Review at BeaverMedia.net

A Celebration of the Horror Anthology (or Compilation)

First of all, let’s touch on the difference between a Compilation and an Anthology. I am not the expert on this, but for the sake of this article, an anthology is the collected works of a single group or artist, whereas a compilation is a collection of works by a variety of artists. Further, I would say that all anthologies are compilations, but not all compilations are anthologies. Like squares and rectangles.

I am not going to be exclusionary, as both anthologies and compilations have their strengths. The best thing about a horror anthology in particular is that when you have a good director, such as Lewis Teague who helmed “Cat’s Eye” (1985) or George A. Romero who directed “Creepshow” (1982), then you have a unique opportunity to let a talented storyteller take you on multiple rides for the price of one ticket. Not all stories need an hour and a half to be told. Basically any horror film that involves teenagers going camping is already wasting 15 minutes of precious “scare time” with the lame character setups as they all travel to wherever it is that they will eventually die bloody painful deaths. Why do we need to know which one is the slut, the jock, the nerd, or the good girl? We just came to see them die, and the sooner you get to the action, sex, or SFX, if not all three at once, the better.

Continue Reading at MoviePilot.com

Babysitter Wanted in Limited Release

HOLLYWOOD, CA--(Marketwire - January 29, 2009 ) - Big Screen Entertainment Group (BSEG ) is very excited to announce that "Babysitter Wanted" will open at Coming Attraction Theaters in the Pacific Northwest at Mt. Shasta Theaters , Movie 6 Grant's Pass , Pelican 10 - Klamath Falls . The film will roll out to more theaters over the next several weeks.

The company has also reached an exclusive deal to provide Premium On Demand subscribers of Dish Network, the film "Babysitter Wanted." Dish Network will put the film into over 20 million homes.

"Babysitter Wanted" has garnered tremendous critical acclaim. The film is being featured in this month's Fangoria magazine in a four-page spread with the new movie "Friday the 13th" on the cover.

The stars of "Babysitter Wanted" are receiving attention for their other projects as well, including Matt Dallas, (3rd season of ABC's "Kyle XY"), Nana Visitor (The new "Friday the 13th"), Bill Moseley (Lionsgate's "Repo - the Genetic Opera") and Sarah Thompson who had two films at the recent Sundance Film festival alongside Ethan Hawke and Richard Gere in "Brooklyn's Finest" and with Kevin Bacon in HBO's "Taking Chance."

"Babysitter Wanted" was filmed in Mt. Shasta, Yreka, Weed and Montague, California.

To check out "Babysitter Wanted" trailers go to:
http://www.youtube.com/user/BabysitterWanted2009

Killer Valley Horror Film Festival Awards

View the Killer Valley Horror Film Festival 2008 (KVHFF) Awards Ceremony via these clips. KVHFF Director Randy Granstrom presents the awards for Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best SFX, and Creepiest Film for 2008.  The Creepiest Film Award is an original award created by the KVHFF at their premiere festival in 2007.  This award was inspired by the overwhelminingly similar reactions by film judges to the production "Play With Me" from Director Dan McCloy.  McCloy went on to get the Best Director Award in 2008 for his motion picture "Zombie a Go Go."  "Zombie a Go Go" pieced together live-action talent with locations and backgrounds animated by McCloy.  The Special Effects (SFX) were the work of Medford-based Morbid Creations. Morbid Creations is a husband/wife team that took the Best SFX Award in 2007.

Awards Presentation Videos

---

KVHFF 2008 Awards

Best Film, Eraticate

[youtube ] [vimeo ]

Best Director, Dan McCloy

[youtube ] [vimeo ]

Best SFX, Langliena 

[youtube ] [vimeo ]

Best Actor, Michael Meyer

[youtube ] [vimeo]

Best Actress, Melanie Dahl

[youtube ] [vimeo ]

Creepiest Film, Depraved 

[youtube ] [vimeo ]

The 2008 winner for Best SFX Award went to Director Emiliano Ranzani for the atmosphere created by his masterful manipulation of lighting, sound, and pure gore in the short film "Langliena." "Langliena" was also the KVHFF's first International Submission, and therefore the first International Award Winner.  

"Zombie a Go Go" continued to show off through the evening, as both the Best Actor Award and Best Actress Award went to Co-Stars Michael Meyer and Melanie Dahl.  Meyer played the perverse and voodoo-fascinated husband to his resurrected wife, played by Dahl. Dahl's character, Lorna, couldn't be more upset to have been brought back from the dead when she had finally ridden herself of the fledgling husband that the audience eventually see in Meyer's portrayal of Big Daddy Mokumbo Tim.

The coveted Creepiest Film Award went to an independent motion picture out of Eugene, Oregon.  The film, "Depraved," from director Henry Weintraub follows a young woman as she tries to regain some meaning to her savagly shattered world. A cheating boyfriend leads her away in confusion, only to be hit and paralyzed by a car, abducted by a creepy redneck, sexually assualted in her paralyzed state, and abandoned. The lead character, Edith, played by Lorien Emmerich, has only one thing on her mind. Revenge. A cameo by Lloyd Kaufman also adds to the creepy depths these filmmakers must have stuped to in making this short feature.

And finally, the motion picture that took home the Best Film Award was a short feature from Ashland, Oregon, "Eraticate."  This motion picture tells the story of a girl and her pet rats.  You would think a couple of rats couldn't do much harm, as there is nothing the calibre of "Willard" in this girl's pet collection. But when jealousy over time spent with her new boyfriend gets to these neglected pets, they take matters into their own tiny little rat paws.  With creative narration, an original music score, and the slightest hint of a love scene, this well-made short had the makings of a horror classic.

Killer Valley Horror Film Festival 2008

The Killer Valley Horror Film Festival began in 2007 in Medford, but in 2008 the festival is moving it's horror genre film festival to Ashland, OR.  The KVHFF showcases independent films for scary movie and slasher fans.  The fesital is accepting entries through October 7 from independent film producers whose motion pictures were produced in the last 2 years and have not shown at the KVHFF before.  For more information and to view video from the 2007 festival, visit the official website: killervalleyhorrorfilmfestival.com .

Already scheduled to showcase are:

Zombie-A-Go-Go, from KVHFF 2007 Creepy Film Award Winner, Dan McCloy

GogJuice, starring KVHFF 2007 Best Actor, Levi Anderson and KVHFF 2007 Best Actress, MiLisa

The Killer Valley Horror Film Festival

The Killer Valley Horror Film Festival festival will be hosted Sunday, Bloody Sunday on October 14, 2007. It will be at Vibes Main 1 in Medford, starting at 2pm. Admission is 10 dollars, 6 if you wear a costume. You also get to be in the Costume Contest to compete for prizes. This festival is in its first year, and will feature indy films of the scary movie, horror film genre. For more information, contact Randy Granstrom, of Rogue Productions or visit KillerValleyHorrorFilmFestival.com.

Killer Valley Films, a local indy motion picture production group in the Rogue Valley is showcasing their short indy, "RISE" at the Killer Valley Horror Film Festival.

Films screening include "Dead Girls," "Play With Me," and "Taking Sides". It is highly likely that Nealham's "The Button Pusher" or "Remote Control Optional" will also showcase at KVHFF.

The event is sponsored by SidFilmz, Rogue Productions, and Noxious Trinity among others.