BEST SCREAMS AWARD – JURY PRIZE
WINNER Food 2.0 – “Fantastically grim. Yummy tummy.”
Nominees:
Last Day – “The true horror here is the ‘man made’ horror of it all.”
SAD – “Creepy as hell, beautifully shot and highly atmospheric.”
Mothering Sunday – “Equal parts hilariously entertaining and horribly poor taste. What a lovely horror show!”
Orientation – “One of the best thought pieces of this season. Delightfully made.”
Wyvern Hill – “Stylish at its core, this well-acted and nicely shot film highlights the importance and power of tone in the horror genre.”
Headshots – “Disgusting in the best way.”
THE FILMS
Wyvern Hill – Nominated: Best Cinematography – “Beautifully shot, and nicely compiled… this is a film full of style and genre delights!”
TapeHead – Winner: Best Screenplay, Nominated: Best Score, Nominated: Best Ensemble Cast – “A great fun project full of nostalgia, art and bold performance choices… I should add, this has a fun runtime – a short feature special.”
I’m Ready, Come In – Nominated: Best Actor (Matthew T. Walsh) – “Walsh brings a really strong human performance to this strange little treat.”
The Ogress – Nominated: Best Screenplay, Nominated: Best Direction – “Great fun, nicely made and well… all in all great use of the horror genre to make entertainment on a tight budget!”
Headshots – Nominated: Best Actor (Jonathan Kim), Nominated: Best Direction, Winner: Short/Feature Film: Budget – between $1,000 – $5,000 – “This slick grim film excels mainly off the back of its set up… which is followed by a solid quality as it progresses. Rare for short horrors.”
Virus – Nominated: Best Ensemble Cast, Nominated: Best Score – “Very atmospheric, and very nicely acted. One of the better quarantine films.”
Food 2.0 – Nominated: Best Cinematography, Nominated: Best Screenplay, Nominated: Best Actress (Kanon Narumi), Winner: Best Direction, Nominated: Best Ensemble Cast – “Deliciously disgusting. Don’t FEED ME THIS!”
L1ked – Winner: Best Editing, Nominated: Best Screenplay – “Reminiscient of Eli Roth’s Knock Knock, this film enjoys the impact of social horror and relationships on the knife’s edge.”
Scratched – Nominated: Best Actor (Joshua R. Pangborn) – “Pangborn does all he can to bring a great air of authenticity to this film, and it is rewarding. Also the colour filters used are great fun.”
The Shed – Nominated: Best Score, Nominated: Best Screenplay, Nominated: Best Actor (Michael Sarioglu) – “Dekker brings us one fun Halloween themed film. It’s creepy and definitely has that fantastic slasher feeling about it.”
Mothering Sunday – Nominated: Best Cinematography, Nominated: Best Actress (Pamela Kaval), Winner: Short/Feature Film: Budget – less than $1,000 – “Shot with style, this film is heartly gross. Love it.”
Father Time – Winner: Best Cinematography, Nominated: Best Ensemble Cast – “Stunning at every turn.”
Ghosts – Winner: Special Mention – Best Art Direction – “The production design of this horror-comedy is a great bit of fun!”
RED – Nominated: Best Score – “Atmospheric and charming as fable reenactments go. The music enhances this piece.”
SAD – Nominated: Best Actress (Masha Abramzon), Nominated: Best Direction, Winner?: Best Cinematography – “Addressing some of our urban fears, SAD relies heavily (in a good way) on our own human anxieties.
Fear Frequency – Winner: Best Actress (Julienne Davis), Nominated: Best Score, Nominated: Best Editing – “The isolation and the emphasis of the film’s sense of dread is quite delicious.”
Ofuda – Nominated: Best Actor (Yuta Inamatsu), Nominated: Best Director – “Stylish, bold and special.”
The Invitation – Winner: Best Score, Nominated: Best Ensemble Cast, Nominated; Best Cinematography – “The Invitation is a delicate dance of trash and tension… in the best sense. We love it.”
Last Day – Nominated: Best Direction, Nominated: Best Actor (Michael Baker), Nominated: Best Screenplay, Winner: Short/Feature Film: Budget – more than $5,000 – “The image of a man walking into an office setting armed with a gun is a very shocking sight. This is one of those psychological films that highlights the true nature of man – or perhaps, it’s true dark potential. The film’s scale is impressive for its budget as well.”
Birthday Boy – Nominated: Best Editing, Nominated: Best Ensemble Cast, Winner: Best Actor (Vince Eisenson) – “This retro feast is best served chilled. It never really let’s up. The closing punchline is great.”
Our Manor – Nominated: Best Ensemble Cast – “A set of strange characters live here, and they really do live in this film. It’s quite entertaining, and Michael John Chapman shows a great sense of B Movie crime vibes in his script/direction.”
Orientation – Nominated: Best Direction, Winner: Best Ensemble Cast – “Wow. Great style, great concept and… what fun performances all round!”
THE POSTERS
Winner: The Last Lullabye – “Wild, scary and like a child’s nightmare.” / Nominees: Abhimanya: The darkness of Bhabhooti, Abducted, Phombies, The Monkey’s Paw, FURY, Cobi Garcia, The Jogger Park Predator
THE TRAILERS
Winner: Mysteries Uncovered – “I wish Dnaiel Hoffstrom and Jason Ewert would edit my film trailers (Ben Rider).” / Nominees: Abhimanya: The darkness of Bhabhooti, Within Oneself, Mothering Sunday, Five Course Meal
SCRIPTS
Best Script – Winner: Daisy Daisy – “The thing that one must love is the very classical horror tone of this script. It shines at every page turn.” / Nominees: Dreidel – “Reminiscent of the one silent classic (Der Golem), this horror is quite the Nazi feast.”, Everyone – “A strong visual and scary short.”, Video Nasty – “A delightful anthology. Right up our street. We hope this gets made!”
Best Scare – Winner: Man Cave – “A direct hit of a script with a strong use of a horror archetype location: the basement.” / Nominees: Sweet Dreams – “The blending of sci-fi and horror is a nice touch in this particular script.”, The Garden Ate – “At its core, the concept here is rather great. Also – fun title!”
Best Script Technique – Winner: Witch – “A large production with many moments and characters to love.” / Nominees: Blonde Reckoning – “Complex, but well-presented ideas.”, Dreidel – “Concise and well crafted.”, Bound by Midnight – “The main powerful gritty part of this script is the great use of character. It’s really great.”, John Sunshine’s Lost Rock ‘N Roll Tapes – “A wide scope is delivered here, but it’s done with clarity and style.”
Best Micro-Budget Script – Winner: The Jogger Park Predator – “A simple and very classic horror set up.” / Nominees: Final Girl – “Stylish and retro, this short really lives in a post-modern world… but it’s true highlight is its easy production level.”, Surprise – “Some of the script’s syntax is a little muddy, but this is also a great simple well designed little horror short that’s quite affordable.”
Special Mention: Winner: Best Retro Style Script – “Mysteries Uncovered: The Pilot” – “What an awesome inspiring delight that recalls those late night TV shows/films that we all love!”