John the Carpenter
Written and Directed by Matt Braunsdorf
Cast: Thomas Beucler, Jared Dymbort, Mali MacConnell
Run Time: 20 Minutes
Release Date: November 12th, 2016 (NYCHFF), December 3rd, 2016 (Other Worlds Austin)

A few weeks back I was at the New York City Horror Film Festival, and one of the films that drew my instant attention was a short film called John the Carpenter, mainly for its fairly clever title. Written and directed by Matt Braunsdorf, the film is an exercise in minimalism. The film is less than twenty minutes long, has a script with almost no dialogue, a cast of three, and one of them is a co-producer who composed the film’s score. As I routinely found out at the NYCHFF, the short films featured were awesome. And John the Carpenter was just that.

Earlier this fall, I attended the New York City Horror Film Festival in Chelsea. The festival finished its 16th successful campaign and featured 50-60 full length and short films. I found myself gravitating towards the short films, of which usually two or three played before the features. Between 5 and 20 minutes, the shorts got their point across quickly, and brought the scares fast and furious. One film was Cotton, the story of the titular man and his girlfriend and the coming to terms with the fact that he is a serial killer in waiting. The writer/director is Casey Rose Daniel, and she took a few minutes to speak with Geeks of Doom.

Check out the interview below.

Immure
Written & Directed by Conscian Morgan
Starring Michael Hanratty, Natalie Oliver
Not Rated | 20 Minutes
NY Premiere: November 10, 2016 (NYC Horror Film Festival)

Immure does in 20 minutes what most horror films wish they can do in 90 minutes. Written and directed by Conscian Morgan, Immure screened at the NYC Horror Film Festival (NYCHFF) on Thursday night and received loud applause from the audience.

“Immure” means to confine or enclose someone against their will. By the film’s end, you will question who truly is the one being confined. Morgan manages to evoke empathy for multiple characters, and bring real fear and tension, all in a shortened run time. It’s not just a great short film, it’s a great film overall.

The NYC Horror Film Festival keeps rocking throughout the weekend, now on its final day, completing its 14th year. This year emanating from the Cinepolis Chelsea in Manhattan, the festival is the city’s longest-running horror fest and was created by the late Michael J. Hein. Over 50 feature and short films are being screened, and on Saturday night I took in 6 more total (2 features, 4 shorts). The highlight of the evening was the honoring of scream queen Adrienne Barbeau with the Lifetime Achievement Award. Barbeau was on hand with her family in a packed house ceremony. The festival continues today at noon culminating with the Awards Ceremony in the evening.

After a wildly successful opening night, the NYC Horror Film Festival continued slashing away last night, from the Cinepolis Chelsea in the heart of Manhattan. I took in two more feature horror films, as well as five more incredible shorts. The festival, started by the late Michael J. Hein, is the longest-running horror festival in New York, in its incredible 14th year, and it’s continuing throughout the weekend. Screenings started at noon today, with the highlight being the Lifetime Achievement Award presentation to classic scream queen, Adrienne Barbeau (Creepshow, The Fog). Tomorrow, will bring another set of films followed by the NYCHFF Awards Ceremony.