So this is coming a little late this year as the boyfriend and I couldn't make it to the theater to see all 8 films...
HOWEVER, they are now available for rent and/or purchase and we have begun our annual After Dark Festival watching... From the comfort of our own bedroom.
For those of you are unfamiliar with this Festival, here is the website, outlining the line up for this year and previous years:
http://www.horrorfestonline.com/
For those of you interested in my detailed review from last year, here is the thread (I have also bumped it for your convenience and also to satiate my own narcissism):
http://horror.com/forum/showthread.php?t=47161
Before I start reviewing, I thought that I'd throw in
ChronoGrl's Reflections on the After Dark Horrorfest Films to Date
As I've mentioned before, I feel as though, to be a horror fan, there is an unspoken agreement that you must enter into with the Horror Industry - I call it
The 70/30 Rule: If you go into your average horror movie without knowing ANYTHING about it (i.e.
"Hey, Honey, let's just pick a random horror movie to watch tonight - I want something I've never seen or heard of before!"), there's about a
70% chance that it will just be awful... A 2.5 or lower on the 5-point scale... I consider myself lucky if I stumble into a movie that is a solid 3, because it's only about 30% of the time that you see a GOOD movie, and only a fraction of that, a movie that you would want to recommend to a friend...
Unfortunately, the After Dark Horrorfest Films are no exception to The 70/30 Rule. Over the course of the three years, there have been some absolute DOGS that I find UNWATCHABLE:
- Nightmare Man
- Tooth and Nail
- Lake Dead
- Perkins 14
For the above, I IMPLORE you, avoid them at all costs.
However, there have been some pretty damn good films that have come out of the festival. All of the below I have repeatedly recommended, though I have found that the response is generally mixed:
- From Within
- Voices
- Autopsy (most people hate this one)
- Crazy Eights
- Mulberry Street
- Borderland
- Reincarnation (Rinne)
- The Hamiltons
The remaining films are not that bad; Watchable, but not necessarily movies that I need to see again.
Most of the horror fans that I talk to tend to shrug off this festival as "crap." I, personally, tend to have more of a sympathetic and patient view of the films, as I really want to support Horror Festivals. It's what you do if you're a horror fan; Support the genre!
But anyway. Let the reviews for this year begin...
Please add any of your thoughts on this year... I love to hear what people think.