COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN: DAY 25-“HORROR-FEST 2015” AND “THE GUERILLA SHORTS SHOWCASE”

In honor of the witching season, we’ll profile a new Halloween-centric title every day throughout the month of October.

SOUTHERN UTAH PRESENTS HOMEGROWN FILMMAKING AT ITS FINEST.

Article by Adam Mast

HORROR-FEST & THE GUERILLA SHORTS SHOWCASE (Not Rated)-2015

Another Horror-Fest is in the books. This southern Utah tradition celebrated in style with the 10th anniversary of The Guerilla Shorts Showcase, a platform dedicated to the nurturing and encouraging of local filmmaking talent. This year’s showcase saw several creative storytelling teams putting together 5-minute short films in a limited amount of time. Given that Halloween is right around the corner, the majority of the films were of the horror variety, but nothing too extreme.

On Saturday, Oct. 25, at Megaplex’s Red Cliff Cinema, an enthusiastic packed house roared with approval as they had an opportunity to experience these short films on the big screen. There were 11 films in competition with an additional 7 films screening out of competition. Of course, the evening wasn’t really about awards. Everyone who completed a project should be incredibly proud of themselves. Making a film, even on an amateur level, can be a daunting task, and it’s clear that all of these dedicated individuals were up to the challenge. In fact, this may be the strongest collection of shorts a Guerilla Challenge has ever produced, and that’s saying a lot.

In addition to a grand evening of Halloween-inspired cinematic entertainment, Horror-Fest 2015 also managed to raise a little bit of money for the All-Abilities Park in Tonaquint.

Have a look at the 2015 Horror-Fest Guerilla Short entries here:

BEST FILM

3RD PLACE-“SETTLE” Directed by Don Barfuss and Alysha Aldred

2ND PLACE-“ROAD OF LIFE” Directed by Kipp Howard

1ST PLACE-“THE DEMISE OF DR. FRANKENSTEIN” Directed by Rebekah Jackson

AUDIENCE CHOICE-“BROUGHT TO YOU BY CARL’S JR.” Directed by Lonie Black and Brandon Tippetts

BEST WRITING-HONORABLE MENTION-“DEADLY AMBITIONS” Written by Liz Baxter

BEST WRITING-“DARK IS A FOUR LETTER WORD” Written by Dan Bringhurst

SPECIAL ACTING AWARD-Xavier Manchester for “ROAD OF LIFE”

THE BEST OF THE REST

“OBSEQUY” Directed by Caleb Hatton

“MISFORTUNE” Directed by Jordan Hurd

“NEW NEIGHBORS” Directed by Derek Solberg

“THERAPY” Directed by Mike Wiest and Phil Sargant

“THE DARE” Directed by Sandi Catten

“DELIGHTFUL FALLS” Directed by John and Briana Pugh

THE LOCAL FILMMAKER SPOTLIGHT

“IRON…IC HORROR 12” Directed by Shaun Labrecque

“THE TELL-TALE HEART” Directed by Caleb Hatton

Hatton and crew plan on taking their adaptation of this iconic Edgar Allan Poe story on the festival circuit. We’ll keep you updated once we have more information on where you can see this beautifully crafted short.

As you can see, local filmmaking is alive and well in southern Utah. Guerilla will continue to strive to give underground filmmakers a place to hone their skills so that they might take that next big storytelling leap in the future.

COUNTDOWN TO HALLOWEEN

October 24th-“Jaws”– Click Here
October 23rd-“Frailty”– Click Here
October 22nd- “Psycho” – Click Here
October 21st-“Killer Klowns From Outer Space”– Click Here
October 20th- “Horrorfest 2015” – Click Here
October 19th- “Hocus Pocus” – Click Here
October 18th-“The Exorcist”– Click Here
October 17th-“Prince of Darkness”– Click Here
October 16th- “The Omen” – Click Here
October 15th-“Dawn of the Dead”– Click Here
October 14th- Student Bodies”–Click Here
October 13th-“Habit”–Click Here
October 12th- “The Twilight Zone” – Click Here
October 11th- “Creepshow” – Click Here
October 10th-“Shaun of the Dead“-Click Here
October 9th-“Invasion of the Body Snatchers”– Click Here
October 8th-“The Final Girls”–Click Here
October 7th-“Something Wicked This Way Comes”–Click Here
October 6th- “We Are Still Here”–Click Here
October 5th-“Evil Dead II: Dead By Dawn”–Click Here
October 4th- “Phantom of the Paradise“-Click Here
October 3rd-“Poltergeist“-Click Here
October 2nd-“The Babadook“-Click Here
October 1st-“John Carpenter’s The Thing“-Click Here

About Author

Adam Mast

Adam Mast has been a lifelong film enthusiast dating back to age 6 when his parents took him to see a little movie called JAWS at a drive-in theater in Northern California. This would lead him to several writing stints for various publications and outlets. Mast would also have a hand in several film projects of various shapes and sizes. In 2014, Mast would join forces with colleague John Pugh to create Cinemast.net as a means discuss film from a fan and analytical perspective. Together, Mast and Pugh would also create the 501 (C)(3) nonprofit, Film and Media Alliance of Southern Utah (FMASU) in 2017. FMASU’s mission is to encourage, inspire and educate filmmaking talent and to preserve film history. Adam currently resides in southern Utah with his amazing wife, Tonja, and their four wonderful children.

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