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The NYCHFF 2006 Experience - Day Two
By John Marrone
Oct 25, 2006, 13:54

WHEW!  What a night partying at Don Hills - and it was only the beginning.  Festival director Michael Hein knew what was up.  He had come over to me at one point during that evening and asked, "You drinking these Hobgoblins?"

"Oh yeah... "  I replied.

"Theyre pretty good!"  he said with a devlish grin, and disappeared back out into the nightlife.

Yeah Mike - they're pretty good.  So was the vodka I drank on the way in.  Oh yeah - and the dirty gin martinis and Amstel Lights I had while walking up 6th avenue too.  Hobgoblins are a dark, european type lager - and they are good - but housing all these spirits in my gut at once while power walking 80 blocks to and from the train station - getting home at 4am and going to work construction at 7am just hours later...  Hobgoblin became a horror experience that lingered for hours and caused me pain and a nauseating fear of sounds and bright lights well into what would become Day 2 of the New York City Horror Film Festival.

So I had avoided death on the midnight meat train, drudged through a long days work, caught the LIRR back into mighty Manhattan and returned for more.  Thursday night was the date that the entire festival shifted over to its main venue - classic Tribeca Cinemas in lower NYC.  If you haven't been there before, its a small cinema with three humble theaters with no bad seats - a wide, comfortable lounge - and a very attractive bar that would welcomely wreck havoc upon us all the next few days.

Thursday night centered on a single three hour program that ran from 8 to 11pm - three shorts and a feature film.  Lets take a look at these bloody beauties and get down to what we came here for - some kick ass, original, new gore and chaos for the big screen.

"Rogairi"
directed by Tom Cosgrove

In 1763, an evil land lord looks to inherit the Rothertham estate by diabolical means.  His treacherous crimes are witnessed by supernatural forces who undertake a terrible revenge against him.

For the most part, shorts are shallow on character development and mainly deliver a chill based on atmosphere or shock.  Rogairi was a very advanced and evolved short.  Spoken mostly in ear-delicious Gaelic with english subtitles, this was a period piece set back in the ancient days of England, when land had lords and men wore wigs and makeup.  The horror production value shone through with a professional, feature-like quality, complete with a delicate bit of humor, severed limbs and ghostly atrocities.  Its drawback to me was that it was drenched with an over-commanding soundtrack - like good french fries that get overpowered by a gallon of ketsup.  In the end, however, this was an effective ghost piece with a very climactic ending - and Id recommend it over An American Haunting (review) any day for someone looking for an old time ghost chiller with an ending that actually makes sense.  A powerful short - perhaps a bit to big for its britches.

"Happy Birthday 2 U" - 2006 NYCHFF Winner for BEST SHORT
directed by David Alcade

The most unusual gift an adult can give a child.

This one won best short by the judges but I tend to disagree.  Only slightly however.  An otherwise harmless looking woman is looking for a particular young child.  Waking up tied to a bed, she soon finds herself at the mercy of a man and the young child, who just loves to play with scissors and saws.  The kid is wrapped in plastic - and this woman tied down to his bed is his birthday present.  Body parts in jars all over the room - this cant be good.  Seriously visual violence, complete with brutal digit removal and child-passionate amputations, including dream sequences that include a cat in a suit - Happy Birthday 2 U is a good blend of hackers mutilation and psychotic dream imagery with a twist at the end.  It all falls into place, and makes for the type of short film a critic can see a lot in.  Check it out (we'll let you know when it becomes available) and judge for yourself.  It wasn't my personal favorite short, but it is without a doubt in the upper eschelon of what was presented the entire weekend.

"Deadly Tantrum"
directed by Mike Mort

An enthusiastic cop fights a desperate battle against a deranged mutant to save the life of a damsel in distress.

While the previous two films were professional and stood on ornate screenplays, Deadly Tantrum was the treat on this evening to everyone that had a good buzz going and a laugh just dying to make its way out of our guts.  Simple premise - damsel in distress, cop that discovers her, and the mutant freak killer who has set up a device that is about to blow her head off with a shotgun.  This thing is freaky once you get a look at it - looks like Jason Voorhees without a mask, flipped inside out.  Its slapstick and comedic (kicks to the nuts followed by a chimp scream - things like that) - walking the fine line of comedy and horror just right, while building the tension well - leading to a bloody and horrifically funny ending - all of which had you laughing outloud.  In the end - a spinning sawblade lands on the killer's face with low-budget but non hidden gory effects - how could you not like it.  And the mutant still takes them both in the finale!  A fun and bloody short short I highly recommend for blood needers and laugh enthusiasts.

The Lost
directed by Chris Sivertson

- trailer (quicktime)

Based on the book by author Jack Ketchum, "The Lost" is the story of Ray Pye, suburban teens and mass murder.

Wow.  I had recently been introduced to Jack Ketchum's literary work when I reviewed his novel "The Girl Next Door" (HERE) - the film of which should be washing upon horror shores sometime in 2007.  I have read everything from King to Clive and others, and I was blown away by how far Jack would go to disturb you.  Every time you got through something and were like, "whew - ok glad thats over" - he would assault you yet again with something worse.  Such is his rapidly growing, notorious reputation.

The Lost, in essense, is about three lost youths - Ray Pye, his girlfriend (one of many), and his closest male friend.  Theyre going nowhere in life (which Im familiar with) - hanging in the park, drinking beer, wrecking homes, selling hash, smoking pot - mainly because none of these people have any direction.  They have too much time to kill, and soon crazy ass Ray Pye gets his first taste of death when he stumbles upon a couple of nude "lesbians" camping in the woods.  He offs them both in cold blood with a shotgun, and drags his friends into assisting with the crime.

Ever have that crazy ass friend that does things you'd never do - and drags you into his schemes because he's just too volitile to really stop?  I mean - who wants to turn that onto themselves.  Ray Pye is a complete psycho.  He cant handle rejection, is a murderous control freak, and has some serious issues.  The tension through this movie is absolutely gripping - the anticipation of what he is going to do next - how his friends will handle each situation - and the innocence at stake for every one of these charatcers.

What is an extremely well written two hour movie just flies by - an express route straight to Hell that climaxes in such a no hold barred violent manner, it will blow your mind.  Of course, as horror fans, we tend to laugh at certain sick behaviors, and Ray Pye is pretty funny at times.  Many of us laughed out loud during the course of the film.  But at the end of the film, there was cold, complete silence and dread.  You could hear dry swallows from across the theater.  What happens at the end of the movie is like a punch in the brain - stunning - leaving you bewildered - including an uncomfortable feeling for ever having laughed at him at all.

If you are a horror fan by any means - I highly recommend picking up The Lost or The Girl Next Door and giving it a try.  I can almost guarantee you will be entirely engrossed by these stories, and feel the negativity they will leave with you - like that dreadful feeling after having seen an Al-Qaeda beheading.  And with Lucky McKee and Andrew van den Houten behind the production of these stories - 2007 will stand out as a banner year for horror entertainment.  Cant complain about weak stories or unoriginal quality material anymore - Jack Ketchum's novels are being made for the screen by the numbers now.  Stephen King about licks the ground that he walks on with multiple endorsements, and youre all about to see why this coming year.  Keep a keen out for more Jack Ketchum material in the very near future.

So what had began as a long day, filled with head pounding nausea from a long days work and drinks you shouldnt mix, turns out to be awesome.  Why?  Because horror fans are just gifted everytime they look to the New York Horror Film Festival.  Yeah I was tired (sorry Kevin Shulman for not following you into the bar after not seein you for a year - my face was dripping one inch from the floor and I barely made it on time) - but as soon as adrenalized heartbeats of fear began to pump fresh blood through my pickled veins - I reintergrated into my powerful nighttime form via the vitamins of visual evils on the big screen.  Author Jack Ketchum - who sat in the theater with us - soon came down to the stage and graced us all with a Q and A session - press and fans alike.  Another 80 blocks total - caught the train home - made it to bed by 3am.  Gotta get to work by 7am - but alls good, because tomorrow is Friday night - Tony Todd, Tobe Hooper, and the House of Horrors Caretaker all to be there in person. 

If youve read "The Lost", enjoy Jack Ketchum's work, or just horror literature in general - be sure to check out the Q and A session with author Jack Ketchum coming later on today - as well as our continuing coverage of Friday night - Day 3 - which ended up being the best night of them all.  See you back here at House of Horrors with that soon.