New Indie Horror Fest, The Stanley Film Festival, To Honor Eli Roth and Close With ‘Aftershock’
The Stanley Film Festival, a new inaugural festival celebrating the best in independent horror, will present its 2013 Visionary Award to to Eli Roth and close with his latest film “Aftershock.” Presented by NBC Universal’s horror network Chiller, the festival will take place in Estes Park, Colorado at the famous Stanley Hotel, the haunted landmark that inspired “The Shining”‘s Overlook Hotel.
“Aftershock,” co-written, produced by, and starring modern horror master Roth, follows a group of tourists in Chile whose vacation turns to hell after an earthquake hits.
On the festival’s recognition of Roth’s career, Festival Director Jenny Bloom commented, “Since his debut on the film festival scene with “Cabin Fever” in 2002, Eli Roth has become a leading force in the horror genre. His body of work will set the Stanley Film Festival Visionary Award precedent high for years to come.”
The festival’s feature program, which was curated by Programming Director Landon Zakheim and Programmer Michael Lerman, will include two U.S. premieres and films from 13 different countries. U.S. premieres will include Colin and Cameron Cairnes’ “100 Bloody Acres,” about a trip to a music festival that turns into a crazy, comedic story of survival, and “Wither,” a Swedish take on “Evil Dead.”
Among the festival’s line-up are “V/H/S/2,” the much-anticipated sequel to the found-footage shorts series, Rodney Ascher’s “The Shining” documentary “Room 237,” and Franck Khalfoun’s remake”Maniac,” starring Elijah Wood, which follows the owner of a mannequin shop.
The festival will from from May 2 – 5 and also feature panels, student competitions and special events. The full feature line-up is below.
FEATURE PRESENTATIONS:
“100 Bloody Acres” – Australia – (Directors/Screenwriters: Colin and Cameron Cairnes,
Cast: Damon Herriman, Angus Sampson, Anna McGahan) – A trio of fun-loving tourists
on their way to a music festival fall into the hands of two crazed brothers with sinister
plans in this madcap comedy about trying to survive. (Narrative) US Premiere
“Aftershock” – USA – (Director: Nicolás López, Screenwriters: Guillermo Amoedo, Nicolás
López, Eli Roth, Cast: Eli Roth, Andrea Osvárt, Ariel Levy, Nicolás Martínez, Lorenza
Izzo, Natasha Yarovenko, Selena Gomez) – Modern horror maestro Eli Roth co-wrote,
produces and stars as a mopey tourist whose wild vacation in Chile turns gruesome.
Ravaged by a vicious earthquake, he and his friends desperately struggle to survive a
living nightmare. (Narrative) Colorado Premiere
“All the Boys Love Mandy Lane” – USA – (Director: Jonathan Levine, Screenwriter: Jacob
Forman, Cast: Amber Heard, Michael Welch, Whitney Able, Anson Mount) – Resurrected
after a several year hiatus, this legendary splatter-fest is finally making its way back to
the big screen. When the most sought after girl in school is invited to a weekend outing
with friends on a secluded farm, a mysterious suitor begins to pick off the other boys
one by one. (Narrative) Colorado Premiere
“Berberian Sound Studio” – United Kingdom – (Director/Screenwriter: Peter Strickland,
Cast: Toby Jones, Cosimo Fusco, Susanna Cappellaro) – Winner of five British
Academy Awards including Best Director and Best Actor, this creepy love letter to
the classic “Giallo” period details the complications befalling a motion picture sound
designer as he quietly descends into madness. (Narrative) Colorado Premiere
“Big Bad Wolves” – Israel – (Directors/Screenwriters: Aharon Keshales, Navot Papushado,
Cast: Lior Ashkenazi, Tzachi Grad, Rotem Keinan, Dov Glickman, Menashe Noy, Dvir
Benedek) – An obsessed cop, and the father of a victim take justice into their own
hands when they capture a suspected killer of children. In their genre-bending followup
to Israel’s first horror film Rabies, Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado explore an
unimaginable terror. (Narrative) Colorado Premiere
“Black Rock” – USA – (Director: Katie Aselton, Screenwriter: Mark Duplass, Cast: Katie
Aselton, Lake Bell, Kate Bosworth) – Three childhood friends have their weekend
getaway on a secluded island transformed into a brutal game of cat-and-mouse with a
trio of trained predators. Katie Aselton (The Freebie, star of “The League”) directs from a
script by husband Mark Duplass. (Narrative) Colorado Premiere
“Frankenstein’s Army” – Netherlands/USA – (Director: Richard Raaphorst, Screenwriters:
Chris W. Mitchell, Miguel Tejada-Flores, Cast: Karel Roden, Joshua Sasse, Robert
Gwilym, Alexander Mercury) – Near the end of World War Two, a platoon of Russian
soldiers are given a secret mission that leads them into the lair of a Nazi mad scientist
and his frightening creations in this cinematically inventive take on the monster movie. (Narrative) Colorado Premiere
“Henge” – Japan – (Director/Screenwriter: Hajime Ohata, Cast: Kazunari Aizawa, Aki
Morita, Teruhiko Nobukuni) – Following treatment for violent spells, a young man
returns home to his loving wife. But as his seizures intensify, it becomes clear something
inside him is trying to get out. Part domestic drama, part sci-fi thriller, this ambitious
micro-budget tragedy heralds the arrival of a bright new talent. (Narrative) Colorado
Premiere
“Here Comes the Devil” – Mexico – (Director/Screenwriter: Adrián García Bogliano,
Cast: Francisco Barreiro, Laura Caro, Alan Martinez) – Argentine director Adrían García
Bogliano (Cold Sweat, Penumbra) returns with a shockingly gory erotic horror film about
a couple whose children mysteriously disappear while on vacation in Mexico. (Narrative)
Colorado Premiere
“Maniac” – France/USA – (Director: Frank Khalfoun, Screenwriter: Alexandre Aja, Grégory
Levasseur, C.A. Rosenberg, Cast: Elijah Wood, Nora Amezedar) – Elijah Wood shines in
this remake of the horror classic about a psychotic stalker with a habit of scalping his
objects of desire. Reimagined in mostly point-of-view shots, this revolutionary horror hit
from Cannes is part camp, part art and all fear. (Narrative) Colorado Premiere
“The Rambler” – USA – (Director/Screenwriter: Calvin Lee Reeder, Cast: Dermot
Mulroney, Lindsay Pulsipher, Natahsa Lyone, James Cady) – Director Calvin Reeder
(“The Oregonian”) utilizes his unique style of psychological horror and surrealism to adapt
his acclaimed short about the man known only as “The Rambler” and his bizarre journey
through the backroads of America. (Narrative) Colorado Premiere
“Room 237” – USA – (Director: Rodney Ascher, Featured: Bill Blakemore, Geoffrey Cocks,
Juli Kearns, John Fell Ryan, Jay Weidner) – In 1980 Stanley Kubrick released his classic
horror film, “The Shining.” Over 30 years later, viewers are still struggling to understand
its hidden meanings. A wild exploration into the heart of obsession, this cinematic essay
is one that you will want to see at The Stanley Hotel. (Documentary)
“Tower Block” – United Kingdom – (Directors: James Nunn, Ronnie Thompson,
Screenwriter: James Moran, Cast: Sheridan Smith, Jack O’Connell, Ralph Brown, Russell
Tovey) – When bullets start flying into an isolated tenement building, no one is safe
from the faceless shooter who has trapped the residents there for reasons unknown.
The traditional slasher film is taken to its extreme in this taut psychological thriller.
(Narrative) Colorado Premiere
“V/H/S/2” – Canada/Indonesia/USA – (Directors: Adam Wingard, Gareth Evans,
Screenwriters: Simon Barrett, Timo Tjahjanto, Gareth Evans, Jamie Nash, Jason Eisener,
John Davies, Cast: Cast: Adam Wingard, Lawrence Levine, L. C. Holt, Kelsy Abbott,
Hannah Hughes) – The latest installment to last year’s successful found-footage short
anthology series aims higher, bigger and scarier with new visions from the deranged
minds behind some of independent genre’s finest offerings (“The Blair Witch Project,” “The
Raid,” “Hobo with a Shotgun,” “You’re Next”). (Narrative) Colorado Premiere
“Vanishing Waves” – Belgium/France/Lithuania – (Director: Kristina Buozyte,
Screenwriters: Kristina Buozyte, Bruno Samper, Cast: Jurga Jutaite, Marius Jampolskis,
Brice Fournier, Sharunas Bartas) – A hypnotic, erotic, and wildly thought-provoking
cinematic odyssey into the unknown realms of the mind, this operatic sci-fi vision
highlights the development of a strong psychic link between two patients in an
experiment gone awry. (Narrative) Colorado Premiere
“Wither” – Sweden – (Directors: Sonny Laguna, Tommy Wiklund, Screenwriters: Sonny
Laguna, David Lilieblad, Tommy Wiklund, Cast: Patrik Almkvist, Jessica Blomkvist,
Johannes Brost) – In the grand tradition of “Evil Dead” and it’s progeny, this tale of a
group of vacationing friends who encounter an infectious creature from the unknown
delivers on the gore in this impressively made low budget screamfest. (Narrative) US
Premiere
You may also like
