BEST SCREAMS AWARD – JURY PRIZE
WINNER
Winner: Smiley Face – “WTF!!!”
Runners up: See Her – “Stunning and silently deadly.”, Type Till You Bleed – “Deliciously designed, gruesomely executed.”
THE FILMS
Knock, Knock – Nominated: Best direction- “Simple, punchy and engaging. This silent short is a fun little horror.”
Lockdown – Nominated: Best Actress (Franziska Funk) – “Funk brings a delicate performance which changes the safe domestic into the dangerous domestic.”
Boxed – Nominated:Best Screenplay – “We’re surprised I’ve not seen this particular horror plot before. It’s the eventual trapping of our lives into mobile devices. Some real horror here.”
Fast Food – Nominated: Best Film: Budget less than $1,000 – “A rather biting and fun project that really boasts a strong understanding of several horror subgenres.”
The Burglary – Nominated: Best Actor (Tom Rainn), Nominated: Best Cinematography, Winner: Best Film: Budget less than $1,000 – “Dark, intimate and beautifully acted and very carefully shot, this perspective driven horror delves deeply into our psychological state of mind when it is threatened.”
TATTIES – Winner: Best Screenplay – “An original, very comical short film which might have produced a new subgenre: vegetable hybrid horror.”
A Weekend at Holly’s – Nominated: Best Ensemble Cast, Nominated: Best Film: Budget less than $1,000 – “A great little piece which clearly brought a great bunch of people together. The genre shift is unusual, and quite eerie.”
Efreet – Nominated: Best Screenplay – “This film, which is largely built around the dynamics of interactions between people, is an impressive little ensemble piece. As indie films go, this is quite great… especially considering its very moderate budget.”
Science of a Seance – Nominated: Angela Martin – “Martin’s performance becomes the key turning point of this project. This film also is great proof that small concepts sometimes are all that are needed to share an experience with an audience (in time and space – ie cinema).”
Rage – Nominated: Best Music – “The music, and carefully compiled shots, say volumes.”
The Horror Compendium: Freshest Cuts – Winner: Special Mention: Best Anthology, Nominated: Best Ensemble Cast – “This collection of shorts bolsters a great variety of styles and a large impressive cast.”
In The End – Nominated: Best Actress (Jill Penfold), Winner: Best Film: Budget – between $1,000 – $5,000 – “A stunning image leads this philosophical and ethical post-apolcalptic film, one which features a strong teeth fritted performances.”
Lady Clytemnestra – Nominated: Best Film: Budget, Winner: Best Actress (Martha Lambiri) – between $1,000 – $5,000 – “Atmospheric, theatrical and a whole lot of fun.”
Type Till You Bleed – Winner: Best Music, Nominated: Best Film: Budget – between $1,000 – $5,000 – “The ending will leave you stunned. A convincing and fun technology-fear project.”
See Her – Nominated: Best Music, Winner: Best Direction – “Frankly one of the most interesting horror shorts we’ve ever seen.”
Amy – Nominated: Best Actor (Michael Feldsher) – “Very nicely assembled, with a simple and very smart concept… this short is quite moving and brilliantly designed around a single actors repeated performance(s).”
The Holding Room – Nominated: Best Music, Nominated: Best Direction, Winner: Best Editing – “This film finds meaning in its edit. It is impressively designed, and the music helps underpin its gritty content.”
The Pit and the Pendulum: a musicabre – Nominated: Best Film: Budget – more than $5,000 – “Surreal, design filled and eclectic with its sound designs, this musicabre is quite a fun experiment in adaptation.”
Smiley Face – Nominated: Best Cinematography, Nominated: Best Editing, Nominated: Best Direction, Winner: Special Mention: Best VFX Makeup – “This film is a disgusting delight! The cast is on point, the look and feel a pleasure… frankly – this is genuine horror and François Ricard-Sheard should be making feature films.”
Unbidden – Winner: Best Cinematography, Nominated: Best Ensemble Cast, Nominated: Best Screenplay – “This film is filmed with a great care for image, and the cast provide very authentic and moving turns in this production. This is an impressive and important psychological horror.”
KPHH – Nominated: Best Film: Budget – more than $5,000 – “Found footage films have definitely had their moment, but what Rogerio Alberto de Oliveira does that is very unique for this title is add a new layer to the perspectives we experience… this film shifts into a new De Palma styled realm of witnessing the horror as well as being part of it. It is an interesting and unique blend of ideas.”
The Wanderer – Winner: Best Film: Budget – more than $5,000 – “This film makes great use of its budget. The texture, feeling and authenticity is present through the whole thing.”
Queen of Prey – Winner: Best Actor (Sam Schweikert), Nominated: Best Screenplay – “Blunt and impressively produced, Queen of Prey finds the horror in the truma of one person taking pleasure in someone else’s pain. Schweikert does a great job of keeping this piece grounded.”
WEBSERIES
Kith & Kin – Nominated: Best Ensemble Cast – “This webseries is a large design with many subplits, locales and dynamics… these aspects are all well carried by the large cast and their dialogues.”
THE POSTERS
Winner: Best Poster: Type Till You Bleed
“Evoking character, texture filled (ie technique), and locale – not to mention genre – the poster for Type is engaging, and almost inviting (not that I actually want to hang out with those bugs). The poster is a perfect blend of information and artistic skill..”
Nominees: In The End, The Scarlet Dawn, Mister Stitches, House of the Vampire, Peek a Boo, Remnants
Winner: Special Mention: Retro Poster: Dispensary of Death – “Fantastically assembled, textured, and reminiscent of those Italian horror posters we all love.”
THE TRAILERS
Winner: A Town Full of Ghosts – “A trailer which genuinely sells the film – we’d happily watch this one.”
Nominees: The Cartoonist, Sister Mary Murphy: Vampire Slayer, Expelled, Hysterica, The Full Moon Fathers, GOODBYE GOD, I’VE GONE TO BODIE
THE SCRIPTS
Best Scare
Winner: Prose – “Vicious, psychologically violent, and very original – this script takes the horrors of Shakespeare and splashes it into a world like Mother! and John Cassavetes’ Opening Night. We’d actually want to watch Prose… like now.”
Nominees: Sitting Larry – “With some of the script slug line and camera details, Sitting Larry is a bit messy in presentation – however, the concept and tension in it are delicious.”, Lost Years – “A fun concept that could be filmed with great style by the right team.”, Hello Chester – “This axe chopping script comes with a great punchline… the only comment one must add though is – for film festivals, it is best to have short films that are around ten minutes… so this does need a trim to make it extra-potential filled… but all and all, this is one fun ride!”, Resident Evil: Ground Zero – “Epic fan fiction that definitely needs an edit (200 plus pages is too much!) – but nicely compiled and full of interesting turns.”, Motica – “This one is full of images and is a lot of fun… it is actually just perfectly compacted for a festival horror sweep! (but no doubt an expensive one to make)”
Best Script Technique
Winner: Vinegar Hill – “The presentation of this script is quite specific, always on point and engaging. Very impressively displayed.”
Nominees: The Guarantee – “Written with style and detail, this script is precise and exciting.”, Hide and Seek – “A fantastic character thrill-filled script!”, Deadly Resport – “A well-driven script that often includes key information in its light-hearted dialogue. Effective and engaging.”, Exterminator – “Lavish, in a good way, this retro piece recalls the Gordon Stwart style of horror.”
Best Micro-Budget Script
Winner: Much Voodoo About Nothing – “Though set design might become pricy, this script is a lot of fun and quite compact – kinda ready for filming and release and so on. Great stuff!”
Nominees: Deadly Resurrection – “The title page needs a tidy up, but overall Deadly Ressurection is a fun tribute to Gothic films, and a very affordable one to produce!”, Deadly Resort – “The concept is confined, price effective and punchy.”, Rising Up – “Though there are several settings used here, for the overall punchy comedy/horror genre, and cast size, this feels like quite an affordable project.”
Special Mention scripts
Winner: Special Mention: Best Retro Script – The Phantom of Price Mansion “This delightful retro concept recalls the 1940’s/1950’s horror golden age… it’s full of laughs, gaffs and atmospheric gasps. A whole lot of fun.”
Winner: Special Mention: Best Horror/Comedy Script – Paperplate Face – “What a delightful parody!”