* Best Animated Horror Short: Welcome to Darkmoor

One eerie night in 1920, a woman drives through the English countryside and comes upon a strange town called Welcome to Darkmoor. That's its name. Not Darkmoor, but Welcome to Darkmoor. She is greeted by I Am Steven Cobb. Again, his full name. Everyone in Welcome to Darkmoor has odd names. The woman realizes she has forgotten her own name, as happens to all who come here. So she buys a new name from Call Me Charlie McGee. She pays for it with her hunger. Call Me Charlie McGee buys her hunger so he'll be in the mood for pizza.

Welcome to Darkmoor can be described as Alice in Wonderland done in the style of The Nightmare Before Christmas. An overall Tim Burton sensibility permeates the film, as things get curiouser and curiouser. Except that, unlike Burton, Harrison Allen uses Lego bricks for his stop-motion animation.

It's apparent that careful thought went into the beautifully cinematic compositions. Moody lighting enhances the film's black & white photography, occasionally enlivened with fierce splashes of red. Highlighting black & white with bright red has become a common trope in modern black & white films, but it still makes a visceral impact. Joshua David Mitchell's Burtonesque (or rather, Danny Elfmanesque) musical score adds to Welcome to Darkmoor's eerily surreal atmosphere.

Harrison Allen's body of animated work can be found on YouTube.

* Best Avant-Garde Horror Short: Shunkan

As with many experimental films, Shunkan has no logical story. Amy (Carolina Watts) appears to be in her apartment, yet her bathroom walls are covered with graffiti. Ominous, disembodied laughter resounds. A radio news report relates strange events. Someone set himself on fire. People with their eyes burned out. Some say they've lived this day before. The announcer suggests the listener might not exist. Be careful outside. You might meet yourself.

Amy goes out into the night. It's always night in Shunkan. Streets are mostly deserted. A few people in hoodies, masks, or eye coverings (as if they were blind). Their presence is menacing.

Shunkan is an impressionistic film, full of unexplained images and sounds. Like a nightmare, events feel as if they make sense, but we can't make sense of them. As filmmaker Ricardo Albuquerque explains, "The world decays in a Sao Paulo that exists outside our 'when', away from our 'where'."

Shunkan's hazy images emphasize pastel shades, as if seen through a mist, lending the events an insubstantial, dreamlike sensibility. Well, more nightmarish than dreamlike.

Although it might be serendipity, Shunkan is remarkable for capturing the current zeitgeist. The film feels both aimless and foreboding. The news announcer says that people report feeling as if they've lived this day already. That's how one might describe the real world since the Covid-19 lockdowns. Days pass uneventfully, generating no new memories. Every day feels the same. Aimless.

And the foreboding. The societal decay. Portland, Seattle, New York, and other cities have been plagued for months by masked protesters engaged in riots, looting, arson, vandalism, assaults, and the occasional shooting. It might have been unintentional, but in the current climate, the masked men in Shunkan can't help but evoke images we've seen on the news throughout much of 2020.

Because of Covid-19, shelter in place, economic uncertainty, masks, and riots, society feels as if it's disintegrating. Long stretches of boredom, with periodic outbursts of violence, and increasing stress levels. As early as March, filmmakers began flooding festivals with Covid-19 or BLM protest related films. Shunkan makes no mention of either, yet ironically, it captures the mood better than most.

* Best Trash Horror Film: Cold Blooded

A great Trash Horror film is a glorious failure. Several elements are required. The budget is usually miniscule. Production values are always rough. Actors can either chew scenery or do an impression of wood, but they must never display emotional depth, subtlety, or talent. (Re-Animator's stellar cast disqualifies it as Trash Horror). There should also be ambition -- a filmmaker whose vision extends beyond his abilities. And for true Trash Horror greatness, that vision should be outre -- too crazy for anyone to take seriously. Nevertheless, there must be sincerity. As with the Great Pumpkin's choice of pumpkin patches, great Trash Horror displays sincere artistic effort and love of horror. Finally, the result must entertain (e.g., Blood Feast, Don't Look in the Basement, Horror High, Basket Case, Shock 'Em Dead.)

Kidd Tommy's Cold Blooded pays homage to both Horror High and Shock 'Em Dead. Set in the 1980s, it's the tale of Moonie (Teva White), a young mad scientist who also manages her boyfriend's rock band. Then Rick (Nolan Potter) dumps Moonie for a hot blonde, and she concocts a potion that turns Rick into a lizard-man -- leading to rock & roll stardom and a trail of dead bodies.

But it would be inaccurate to call Cold Blooded a failure in the true Trash Horror sense. The film is also a "genre parody" -- a film that painstakingly mimics past genres, eras, and cinematic styles. Examples include Shafted (1970s blaxploitation), Isle of the Damned (1970s Italian cannibal horror), Automatons (1950s robot sci-fi), Man of the Century (1930s musical comedies), and Francesca (1970s Italian giallo). What these films have in common is a love for their source material.

That same love shines through Cold Blooded. Writer/director Tommy's film looks to have been shot in the 1980s and distributed on VHS. You have the hair styles and fashion, the hair band, the video store, and the color bleeds and tape glitches one expects when watching an old VHS tape.

Essentially, Tommy set out to make a film that's "so bad it's good." That's not as easy as it sounds. Directors who make an intentionally bad film rarely produce a film that "so bad it's good," but more often a film that's "so bad it's unwatchable." Their films lack sincerity. We sense the cast and crew got lazy because they thought bad filmmaking didn't require effort. The results on screen are more often slipshod than entertaining.

Cold Blooded is not true Trash Horror, but a painstaking parody of Trash Horror. Which, ironically, because of its sincere effort at parody, succeeds as both parody and as Trash Horror. It's actually Trash Horror, once removed. (Are you still with me?)

Kidd Tommy does an excellent job capturing the look, the sound, the vibes of the 1980s. Plus, she successfully depicts it through the direct-to-video prism of that era. Finally, she tells an entertaining story with engaging characters -- despite the actors' hammy performances, we are emotionally invested in Moonie and Rick. We care what happens to them.

* Best Horror Music Video: Head Down

The music video for "Head Down" (performed by The Royal Volts) is done in classic horror comic book style. A mad scientist creates a monster, and must then destroy it. The video features all the familiar elements: Bright, primary colored lights. Canted, comic book frames and dialog bubbles. Exaggerated, melodramatic expressions on characters' faces. Test tubes, brains, and grave robbers.

Creepshow is an obvious influence, one which director Benjamin Stewart freely acknowledges. A copy of the comic book makes a cameo in his video. As horror fans know, Creepshow was a horror anthology film based on a non-existent comic book, which in turn was an homage to the very real E.C. horror comics of the 1950s. Thus, Head Down is an homage to an homage.

Although the video's conceit isn't all that original, its execution and production values are top notch. The beautiful photography is complemented by the ghoulish monster makeup and appropriate set design. Energetic editing propels the story at a brisk pace. The video is entertaining and will please fans of classic horror.

Directed by Benjamin Stewart of Weird Wolf Productions.

* Honorable Mention

 

The Honorable Mention prizes, like the "Best ... Film" prizes, are shared by the film's writer and director.

 

 

* Sonrisas (aka Smiles)

 

After a period of dating, Borja (Luis Miguel Jara) has agreed to meet Sara's (Loreto S. Santamaria) parents. But when they arrive for a family dinner, Borja is surprised to see Sara's father wearing a mask. Borja asks Sara about it. She is perplexed by the question and brushes it aside.

Borja soon discovers that everyone in Sara's family wears a mask. Or ... is it a mask?

It's hard to categorize Javier Chavanel's Smiles (aka Sonarias). The opening in this Spanish film is light-hearted and whimsical. Is it a comedy? Yet our initial smiles soon give way to the sort of nervous laughter used to release tension.

 

 

Chavanel knows how to draw fear from cheer. Set decor, costumes, and lighting are bright and colorful. The "masks" are those insufferable yellow happy faces. Yet the mise-en-scene is too cheerful. It's cheerful to the point of being creepy.

Heightening the tension, no one in the family speaks. Can they speak? Nor do they eat. They bring food to their mouths, then toss it aside, or dribble it down their chins. Can they eat? Or is this their idea of a joke? Or are they insane? Would it be impolite, or dangerous, to suggest they open their mouths to eat?

Making matters worse, Sara sees nothing amiss. Sara is Borja's sole lifeline to normalcy and sanity. If he can't rely on her, he is alone.

Smiles walks a fine line between humor and horror. Borja talks to Sara's family, and they react, but silently. They nod, or shudder as if laughing, or -- most unsettling of all -- suddenly halt and "stare" whenever Borja says something wrong. Are they angry? Who can tell? Such scenes are both funny and unnerving. Tension builds to a shockingly gruesome revelation.

The film also has a theme. Meeting your girlfriend's family can be difficult. Chavanel describes this as "a tricky moment and even awkward. ... The best way to overcome the situation: to give smile and wait." Although that didn't work out too well for Borja.

Among Smiles's many merits is originality. It's perhaps the most original entry this year. Production values are excellent. With only a few actors and sets, and some happy face masks, Javier Chavanel has crafted an intriguing story with engaging characters; a film that's funny, terrifying, entertaining, and memorable.

Javier Chavenel has a website.

 

 

* Bad News

 

A nervous "virgin" (Blake Ridder) enters a young woman's (Annie Knox) home to conduct some business. She came highly recommended. We may assume she is a prostitute. But things are not always as they appear.

Bad News wins primarily for its entertainment value. This film emphasizes story, incorporating conflict, drama, humor, and a bit of originality. It hooks us from the start, carrying us along for several clever twists and turns, before a final surprise. It's a fun ride, well paced and never boring.

 

 

But apart from the story, the film has other merits. It's nicely photographed. Low-key pink and violet hues create an appropriate atmosphere -- colorful (this is a comedy), fantastical (about the occult), but a bit somber (a dark comedy). The musical score, whimsical with a touch of fantasy, supports the film's theme and tone.

Shot in London, Bad News is an auteur's film. Blake Ridder not only stars, he also wrote, directed, and produced this project. He has a website.

 

 

* Peter the Possessed

 

Peter the Possessed opens as an ominous tale of demonic possession. The lighting and mood are somber. Father Frank (Liam Carty) arrives at the home of a woman (Cara Lofton), who is seeking an exorcism for her poor Peter. Father Frank appreciates the gravity of the situation. Until the woman introduces him to the possessed Peter -- her cat.

 

Gillian Naughton's film shares many of Bad News's merits. Peter the Possessed is entertaining -- funny, cute, and enjoyable. Carty and Lofton create likeable characters who engage our interest. Anyone who's ever loved a cat to the point of obsession -- or knows a woman who did -- can empathize. Or if not, the film can be interpreted as a gentle poke at California flakiness.

Peter the Possessed also earns points on originality. Its story takes a familiar horror trope, then gives it a fresh twist. Overall, the film is yet another example of this year's many strong comedic horror entries. Production values are strong, from lighting to music. The "silent film" title cards are additional humorous touch.

The film has a website.

 

* Odd Girl

 

Belinda (Kayla Janelle Tellier) is the misfit at her high school. The cool kids shun her. But Belinda persists, trying to worm her way into the cool crowd and gain their acceptance. Cool kid Mindi (Parmiss Sehat) feels sorry for Belinda and accepts an invite to dinner at her house. There Mindi learns that some nerds should be shunned.

High school and college nerds who are bullied -- and get revenge -- is an old horror conceit. Odd Girl's premise is not original. What sets it apart is its subtle and balanced handling of this premise, and the film's thematic complexity.

Most such films portray the cool kids in a broad, heavy-handed manner: snobs, spoiled rich kids, shallow girls obsessed with their looks, sexist jocks, drunken frat boys, and outright homophobes or racists. They bully, mock, torment, and even physically assault the nerd. But Odd Girl's "villains" (if they can be called that) aren't bad. Indeed, it's hard to say who are the villains -- Mindi's cool crowd or the nerdy Belinda.

 

 

In Odd Girl, the cool kids' great sin is "exclusion." They don't want to hang around Belinda. That's it. True, they mock Belinda, but only behind her back. They don't actually bully her. So, unlike in Carrie and its ilk, the cool kids aren't actually bullies.

And as it turns out, there was something wrong with Belinda. Something unnatural and dangerous. So long as Belinda is shunned, everyone is safe. It is only after Mindi feels sorry for Belinda, and includes her in her life, that Mindi is punished for her good deed.

Writer/director Rami Kahlon says that her film is about "the consequences of the all-too familiar phenomena of exclusion in high schools." Had Belinda not been ostracized by other children in her formative years, she would not have become a threat by high school. It was Mindi's misfortune that her outreach was too little, too late. The lesson seems to be: Be nice to others before they're broken beyond repair, at which point, avoid at all costs.

One can debate who is the real monster. Were the kids wrong to exclude Belinda? Was Belinda wrong to intrude where she was not wanted? In America (Odd Girl is Canadian), freedom of association includes the right not to associate. But under Christianity, one should welcome the stranger. Viewers will bring their own perspectives in interpreting this film.

Production values are very good, as is the cast. Tellier is appropriately creepy, without losing our sympathy. Apart from its well-trodden high school setting, Odd Girl also borrows from The Ring. Not a strikingly original film, but thought-provoking in its handling of an old subject.