The final day of the festival comes upon us. The final day of any festival is a hard one, you don’t want it to end, there’s the impending doom of going back to work the next day, and you have one less thing to look forward to in your future. The organizers still kept up their enthusiasm and graciously thanked all the attendees and filmmakers who participated in the second annual Sin City Film Festival.
The day started off just a bit later than day 2 with one shorts film block after another. Again, I’d like to share a few favorites. The first short film that really stood out to me, played into my love for the supernatural, ghost stories and witches. The Candlelight Witch starts as the ghost story told through generations when the power goes out. Everyone experiences these stories as a child, and we grow up we start to find them silly. Though, nothing would be more terrifying than having the myth come true, and once the witch is summoned, how to fight her.
The next one that that really amused me was There’s a Monster Behind You. Again, a game played as children, but as two roommates start to bring this game to their new place, no one seems to be joking. Sin City Horror fest also gave us more monster stories with Nite Nite, and more witch tales with The Forsaken, which provides more of an active folklore aspect.
During the second block, directors of the Disposition and AirB-N-Dead were able to join us for the screenings and hold a quick Q&A session after the block. Disposition became a quick favorite as well as it explored the ailments of mental health and the side effects of those drugs that we take expecting help for the ailments. Often neglected that was expressed with great presentation was the misunderstanding of depression and its effect on others around the afflicted.
Of the full length films we started with The Lost Footage of Leah Sullivan. In my experience, finding a found footage film as good as The Lost Footage of Leah Sullivan is no easy feat. Though I have to commend the creators and writers with their construction as it gains the balance that so many films of this genre often miss.
The final film of the night was Skeletons in the Closet (trailer below). While anthologies are always fun, the only thing that makes any horror nerd enjoy it more is to set it in the middle of the 80’s and surround it with a hosted horror tv show.
Host and organizer Drew (Marvick), stated that even in the second year of the festival they notice a significant increase in size and look forward to Sin City Horror Fest to grow even further next year. I commend their crew as they took great efforts to constructed the collection of the weekend and went through hundreds of submissions. Additionally, sponsors of the festival helped promote one another, from Weng’s Chop to Moon Lily Media, and other film festivals based in Las Vegas. Sin City Horror Fest is building something great out here, but throughout the interactions I engaged in all weekend, it’s a great reminder that it is the people who keep this going.
Visit the Official Site to stay updated on next year's event and be sure to follow Sin City Horror Fest on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram!
