Even though Halloween is past, it’s not safe to put away the horror films just yet. The New York City Horror Film Festival returns to the city for 4 gory days starting on Thursday, November 29th and running through Sunday, December 2nd at the Cinepolis Chelsea. This is the 16th edition of the festival started by the late Michael J. Hein and continued by his family and friends. When all is said and done nearly 40 feature-length and short horror films will be screened at the festival.

Back at the New York City Horror Film Festival in the fall of 2016, I saw a super cool poster for an original horror film The Barn. I missed it when it premiered there and it took my nearly a year to finally see a screening at this year’s New Jersey Horror Con and Film Festival. At that con, I met and spoke with writer/editor/director Justin M. Seaman. Based on a story he wrote in his childhood, Seaman put his heart and soul into this film, and it was worth it. You can read my review of the film and the screening Q&A here.

With a week to go before Christmas, horror fans looking for the perfect gift can stop searching. The Barn is now on Blu-ray and would make any horror fan happy, particularly fans who grew immersed in the video store culture of the 1980s. Right before Halloween, I got to speak with the creator of The Barn about his inspirations, the challenges of independent filmmaking, and more. See what he had to say along with some thoughts on the Blu-ray release below.

With Halloween quickly approaching, most people are in full horror movie mode. Cable channels are pumping out the classics and seriously, who am I to tell you NOT to watch John Carpenter’s Halloween on Halloween?! But if you’re craving something new to fill your yearly quota for guts and gore, check out the awesome selection of new and indie genre films at this year’s New York City Horror Film Festival (NYCHFF). The Festival celebrates its 15th year in 2017 and runs Thursday night, October 26th through Sunday, October 29th at the Cinepolis Chelsea Theater in the heart of Manhattan.