This October, Ohio’s premier horror film celebration, Nightmares Film Festival, returns to Columbus. Continuing with annual tradition, Nightmares has announced its "Early 13," a baker’s dozen of early selections that serve as a preview of the tone and style of its event.
Among the early selections are films from Elijah Wood (Mandy), Severin Fiala and Veronika Franz (Goodnight Mommy), and Travis Stevens (Cheap Thrills), as well as films helmed by women directors from around the world, and two filmmakers returning to Nightmares with new projects.
"The Early 13 is an exciting tradition for us, and has really become the unofficial start of the festival," said NFF co-founder Jason Tostevin. "We do it because we want to give everyone a sense of the breadth and depth of the program that will take shape in October."
This year’s Early 13 consists of seven features and six shorts. Check them out below.
Features:
Daniel Isn’t Real (Midnight Feature) – Regional Premiere
Eat, Love, Brains (Horror Comedy Feature) – North American Premiere
The Girl on the Third Floor (Horror Feature) – Regional Premiere
The Lodge (Thriller Feature) – Regional Premiere
The Obsessed (Late Night Mindfuck Feature) – World Premiere
Reckoning (Midwest Premiere) – Midwest Premiere
Swallow (Thriller Feature) – Second-Ever Screening Worldwide
Shorts:
Boo (Recurring Nightmares Short)
Changeling (Midnight Short)
Gaslight (Thriller Short)
Limbo (Late Night Mindfuck Short)
Lippy (Horror Short)
Reunion (Horror Comedy Short)
"We choose the Early 13 each year based on their high scores with the jury, and also for their alignment with the spirit of the fest and the tone of that year’s program," said co-founder Chris Hamel. "Just like the full lineup, there is something for every genre fan in this preview."
Daniel Isn’t Real hails from Some Kind of Hate director Adam Egypt Mortimer and is newest film from Elijah Wood’s SpectreVision. It also stars Arnold’s son Patrick Schwarzenegger. Horror comedy Eat, Brains, Love is an adaptation of the zombie road trip novel of the same name by Jeff Hart (Undead with Benefits) and is directed by Rodman Flender (Idle Hands, Leprechaun 2). The Obsessed comes from Italian extreme director Domiziano Cristopharo (Torment), and is based on the real-life story of Bjork stalker Ricardo Lopez. The Lodge is the latest effort from both Hammer Films and the directors of Goodnight Mommy.
And that’s just four of the seven features listed above. The remaining three films come from individuals responsible for genre favorites such as Cheap Thrills, We Are Still Here, and A Horrible Way to Die. Knowing that the eventual final program add at least a dozen more features and well over 100 more shorts, Nightmares full 2019 lineup is sure to be an absolute delight for any genre fan who decides to attend!
Nightmares returns to the Gateway Film Center in Columbus on Thursday, October 24th and runs through Sunday, October 27th. VIP passes for the fest are currently available and are selling fast, so if you’re planning on attending this year's event, don't hesitate and order as soon as possible! Submissions are still being considered for another month at Nightmares. The "Early 13" films are the only submission decisions the festival makes before the September 13th submission deadline. Anyone interested in submitting their feature, short, or screenplay for consideration is still very much encouraged to do so.
