Nightmares Film Festival 2019 – Day One
Daniel Baldwin
|
It’s October, which means Nightmares Film Festival has returned to the welcoming halls of Gateway Film Center in Columbus, Ohio. And so have I! After all, what better time is there to attend a horror film festival than the weekend before Halloween?
Things got off to an awesome start Thursday night with screenings of Carlo Mirabella-Davis’ Swallow and Rodman Flender’s Eat, Brains, Love. Swallow is an intriguing dramatic thriller centered around an increasingly lonely and isolated housewife whose new obsession takes her down a dangerous and unpredictable path. While more of a thought-provoking dark drama than a horror film, it was a welcome and unexpected way to kicks the festivities off.
Eat, Brains, Love then swooped in with gut-busting hilarity, showing that Idle Hands director Rodman Flender (who was on hand for an intro and Q&A) absolutely still knows how to deliver a deft mixture of horror and comedy. Our own David Gelmini reviewed the film out of FrightFest back in September and I echo his sentiments. It’s a great indie zombie romcom and one that is sure to delight when it arrives sometime next year. Speaking of hilarity, the night then concluded with a fun block of horror shorts that functioned as a tasty cherry on top of the evening’s viewings.
I have been attending this festival since its inception in 2016. It’s amazing to see how much it has grown over the past four years. I’m not just talking about attendance either. By now Nightmares is a well-oiled, perfectly-timed machine. The GFC staff and festival volunteers are incredibly accommodating and efficient. The transitions between each block of programming is as smooth as can be and the programming itself is a top-notch smorgasbord of almost every horror sub-genre and style imaginable. All of it adds up to an extremely positive and easy-going viewing experience.
At the end of the day, Nightmares Film Festival is an excellent place to watch good movies and spend time with great people, be they filmmakers or fellow attendees. Being able to walk around and chat with one another without any negativity in the air is beyond refreshing. I am happy to be here again and cannot wait to see what tomorrow’s programming holds.
Have you seen Swallow or Eat, Brains, Love? Are you looking forward to them? Have you been to Nightmares Film Festival before? Are you here now? By all means, let us know all of these things and more in the comments below or on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram! You can also hit me up directly on Twitter @DanielWBaldwin.
Categorized:News
