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Amidst the pandemic, Halloween seems like a distant memory of 2019. With LA officially “canceling” the season this year, it doesn’t feel very spoopy. Either that or the “real world” has already been frightening enough that horror seems like a comedy. Nevertheless, as each holiday passes we adapt to the temporary but new normal. Things are now going virtually around the world and making a great impact on the industry. Pop culture is one of the few that have taken the virtual world by storm. One of the many virtual things has been conventions and festivals. We recently attended #BFF and it was a blast – even virtual.
So we are constantly on the radar for festivals, after seeing NIGHTSTREAM on Twitter and reading the mission behind it, we knew we wanted to attend. It mixes horror with a festival and some of the best of the best around, what more could you ask for? Since COVID-19 only allows us to “keep it lowkey” this year, NIGHTSTREAM is taking it virtually. Together the Boston Underground Film Festival (MA), Brooklyn Horror Film Festival (NY), North Bend Film Festival (WA), The Overlook Film Festival (LA), and Popcorn Frights Film Festival (FL) have joined forces.
NIGHTSTREAM 2020
The festival will feature seven World Premieres, nine North American Premieres, and seven U.S. Premieres, alongside 164 short films and a spotlight on Indonesian Horror with a companion panel hosted by Sam Zimmerman, director of programming for Shudder.
Access to film screenings will be geo-locked to the US with ticket bundles on sale on the website ($65 for 5 features or short film programs and $99 with 10 features or short film programs, both bundles come with unlimited access to events and panels, while event-only badges will be made available worldwide ($25) and a virtual festival social hub will be freely accessible to all.
OPENING NIGHT (( 2020 – 90 Min – Aneesh Chaganty ))
- Run
- World Premiere
Sarah Paulson and newcomer Kiera Allen shine in director Aneesh Chaganty (SEARCHING) nail-biting, Hitchcockian new thriller about a wheelchair-bound teenager whose fragile, isolated existence with her doting mother is threatened when she begins to notice strange occurrences around her house. A Hulu Original Film.
“NIGHTSTREAM RETRO“
- Bloody Muscle Body Builder In Hell
- Japan (1995) – 63 Min. Dir. Shinichi Fukuzawa
This 8mm Japanese splatterfest poses the question – What if THE EVIL DEAD’s Ash was a bodybuilder whose ex-girlfriend researches haunted houses and, as such, asked him to join her on a special investigation of his dead father’s supposedly ghost-ridden home? Courtesy of Wild Eye Releasing.
- Deadline
- Restoration World Premiere
- Canada (1980) – 90 Min. Dir. Mario Philip Azzopardi
A decadent horror author living on the edge desperately works through writer’s block by conjuring the most shocking and gross scenarios this side of EC Comics in this jaw-dropping piece of Canuxploitation. Restoration courtesy of Vinegar Syndrome and the American Genre Film Archive.
- Def By Temptation
- United States (1990) – 94 Min. Dir. James Bond III
After becoming a target of a stunning succubus on the prowl in 1980s Brooklyn, a divinity scholar undergoing a crisis of faith must enlist the help of a drunken cop with a penchant for supernatural investigation if he’s going to stay alive. Restoration courtesy of Troma Entertainment and the American Genre Film Archive.
- Shock Value: How Dan O’Bannon and Some USC Outsiders Helped Invent Modern Horror
Catch a rare glimpse into the earliest ideas from John Carpenter, Dan O’Bannon, and their peers before they changed the genre forever in this one-of-a-kind, a feature-length compilation of five historic student shorts from the late 60s/early 70s curated by USC archivist Dino Everett and author Jason Zinoman (Shock Value), with a conversation to follow, moderated by KJ Reith (UCLA FIlm & TV Archive).
A FEW PANELS
- Virtual Fireside with Nia DaCosta
Since her exceptional 2018 debut feature LITTLE WOODS, Nia DaCosta has quickly risen to be one of the top directorial voices in Hollywood, gaining the attention of Jordan Peele, Marvel, and many more to helm exciting new projects in the genre space. Moderated by journalist Hunter Harris (New York Magazine), we’ll take a deep dive into the state of the industry as well as hear about her highly anticipated film CANDYMAN.
- 20th Anniversary Celebration of AMERICAN PSYCHO with Mary Harron
Celebrate the 20th Anniversary of AMERICAN PSYCHO with a candid, in-depth conversation with filmmaker Mary Harron as she revisits every facet of this modern cult-classic. Moderated by Katie Rife (The A.V. Club).
A FEW SPECIAL EVENTS
- Benson & Moorhead’s Home Movies
Justin Benson & Aaron Moorhead (SYNCHRONIC, THE ENDLESS, SPRING, RESOLUTION), and Issa Lopez (TIGERS ARE NOT AFRAID) explore their very, very early work, with real-time commentary and the benefit of hindsight to showcase and discuss their rarities, mistakes, and successes in all their embarrassing glory in this one-time event.
- Dinner With The Masters Of Horror: A Tribute To Mick Garris
You are cordially invited to a virtual dinner with festival honoree Mick Garris & his friends, filmmakers Joe Dante, Ernest Dickerson, Axelle Carolyn, Mike Flanagan, Tom Holland, John Landis, William Malone, Tommy McLoughlin, and additional surprises.
As the event gets closer, we will talk/post on Twitter about panels coming forth. This is a small fraction, but a few that we are incredibly excited to see/attend/watch. (There are many events taking place, the best place to be is the NIGHTSTREAM website, there you can buy tickets as well as find information about the fest itself.)