By MICHAEL GINGOLD
“Christmas spirit” has a different meaning next month when New York horror outfit Glass Eye Pix offers up the Creepy Christmas Film Festival, a daily series of short horror films by the coolest names in the independent scare biz. Read on for all the details.
Described as a “digital advent calendar,” the Creepy Christmas Fest saw its first incarnation 10 years ago, spearheaded by filmmaker/animator Beck Underwood. It’s now back with a new round of haunting shorts (both live-action and animated), debuting daily starting this Saturday, December 1 and continuing through Christmas morning. The filmmakers include Glass Eye veterans such as company CEO Larry Fessenden (HABIT, WENDIGO, upcoming DEPRAVED), Jenn Wexler (THE RANGER), Glenn McQuaid (I SELL THE DEAD), Graham Reznick (I CAN SEE YOU, Shudder’s “Deadwax”), Mickey Keating (PSYCHOPATHS), Joe Maggio (BITTER FEAST), James McKenney (SATAN HATES YOU) and JT Petty (THE BURROWERS, HELLBENDERS), plus many others; see the full list at the festival’s official website.
“In 2008, I made an advent calendar for Glass Eye Pix,” Underwood recalls. “After completing the diorama and photos for the original calendar, I felt there were more stories to be had from the little scenarios behind each window. I was lucky enough to find a group of artists who rose to the challenge. They received the objects from the window in the mail, their due date and with no additional direction, whipped up some wicked visions. After 10 years, speaking with filmmaker Ben Duff, who was still a teenager when the first fest premiered, I decided to send out the random missive again with Ben co-curating, bringing his eye to the mix of contributors.
“I think of The Creepy Christmas Film Fest as being like conceptual art,” she continues. “It explores the trust of community making art in the same spirit we all had as children to put on a show. It’s always nice when I see contributors involving their families, friends, passersby, pets…and the resulting films all have that same charm one hopes blesses the holiday season.”
Fessenden says, “At Glass Eye, we’re always looking for forums to get people to loosen up, forget about budgets, and rekindle their love of filmmaking and mischief-making. Beck’s festival does just that, and it’s a real treat to see what artists of all stripes come up with for the assignment: ‘Creepy’ blended with the absurdly iconic, oversaturated imagery of the Christmas season. ‘Deck the halls,’ indeed!”
Look for more on the Creepy Christmas Film Festival later this week!
