Laugh Until You Die at the Women in Horror Film Festival

With October kicking off the official Halloween season, the beginning of the month also kicks off the Women in Horror Film Festival in Peachtree City, GA. From Oct. 4- Oct. 7, filmmakers from across the world bring their films together to share them with others to empower women in the horror industry.

The Women in Horror Film Festival is filled with amazing women, like the very women who started the festival: Samantha Kolesnik and Vanessa Ionta Wright, who are both filmmakers as well. It is my pleasure to share with you the Laugh Until You Die horror-comedy short film block that will be premiering on Oct. 5 at 12:30 p.m.

The Hot List

Bitten

This first short film at the Women in Horror Film Festival was directed by Sarah K. Reimers. It stars Francine Torres, Michael Curran and puppers Iggy-Pup and Chomsky. It follows the middle-aged fur baby owner played by Torres as she looks for a “new daddy” for her and her sweet doggie.

When the dog gets into a fight one night, what follows on the next full moon is not what you would expect. What follows even later is nothing you would want to imagine.

The dialogue in this film was hilarious and the performances from human and dog alike were tremendous. Even the score by Barney Jones was amazing, along with the end credit music.

Keloid

This little diddy was written and directed by Brenden Pollecutt. It stars Taylor Cathart as Libby, Jason Rogel as Dennis, Jason Fox as Dom and Michelle LaRue as Nicole. After Libby donates her kidney to her fiancé, he decides on the recovery gurney it is a great time to break it off with her.

Libby is heartbroken but thinks it’s only fair to get back what she has given to the relationship. While this short film stars off a little slow, it definitely picks up with one of the funniest performances I have ever seen courtesy of Rogel. This film is a hefty 19 minutes but worth every second.

Murder for Dummies

What do you get when you mix Crazyhead and Tragedy Girls and mash it into 9 minutes? Murder for Dummies.

This short was written and directed by Diona Oku and follows Barbie (played by Dani Valenzuela) and Lydia (played by Jess Gabor) as Barbie gets broken up with by Drew (Tate Dewey) AGAIN and they decide that it is time for him to pay.

I wish this was longer because I enjoyed it so much. The editing in this short was perfect with that quirky comedy you find in girl-centric horror comedies these days with dialogue was immensely enjoyable.

Z-Stuy

This short film was written and directed by Devan Gallagher. It stars Crystal Sha’nae Bailer, Devan Gallagher, Katie Goffman, Perri Yaniv, Norman Outlaw, Sarah Young, Kathleen Kielbus and Joe Feldman-Barros. When a strange virus breaks out in what I can only imagine is New York City, three friends try to make it home to survive on Halloween.

Z-Stuy had a different quality than the others in the block. Being in a big city without the ability to stop the world around it, the audio many times was filled with passing cars and made it difficult to hear. The story is interesting and quirky, but the jumpy editing and loose ends made it a bit difficult to follow.

The Apocalypse Will be Automated

This short film hails from Australia and was written and directed by Melanie Killingsworth. It stars Jessica Tanner as Jess, Johnny Carr as Tom, Dushan Philips as Morrison and May Jasper as Angela. It follows three friends during a zombie apocalypse in Melbourne in the year 2021.

As they ignore instructions to stay in and attempt to flee, it would seem that the getaway car has other ideas. The idea in this film rings pretty true that technology never works the way you want it to, with sometimes hilarious and sometimes deadly results.

Flow

This very short film clocks in at five minutes and was written and directed by Shelagh Rowan-Legg and stars Jamie Birkett and Lucy Clements. It follows two women who are part of a militia resistance that must stop some soldiers on the attack, but it would seem that an argument between the two could take over the whole thing.

The dialogue in this film is so real. I’m pretty sure I have had a similar conversation at some point in my life and it had me rolling the entire time. This little bite-size film is just enough to get women laughing in acknowledgment and solidarity.

Lunch Ladies

This film is my FAVORITE of the entire block at the Women in Horror Film Festival and that’s saying something because I truly enjoyed every film. Lunch Ladies was written by Clarissa Jacobson and directed by J.M. Logan. It stars Donna Pieroni as Seretta, Mary Manofsky as LouAnne, Daisy Kershaw as Alexis, and Chris Fickley as Prinicpal Grossfetig.

It follows two lunch ladies that win a contest to go see their hero and great love Johnny Depp and his band perform but airfare is not included, so they must work their terrible job as lunch ladies to pay for it. But one day, things don’t go as planned that could derail their dream.

With a heavy, heavy early Tim Burton influence and music by Antoni M. March that sounds like a Danny Elfman tribute score, this film is so damn good. I loved it and now I have a new saying…WWJD: What would Johnny Do?

What Metal Girls Are Into

As a metal girl myself, I wasn’t sure what to expect with this film. It was written and directed by Laurel Vail and stars Vail as Jo, Chelsea Blechman as Ash, Kari Assad as Mattie, Matt Mercer as Dean, Torrey Drake as Carl and Aaron Leddick as Nate. It follows Jo, Ash and Mattie as they head to a secluded area for a huge three day metal music festival. After finding something disturbing in the freezer of their rented cabin, do they do something about it and miss their precious festival?

What Metal Girls Are Into was a huge commentary on feminism and assault which is an important addition to the Women in Horror Film Festivall. While all the women are amazing, Vail really shows her teeth in this one and it is tense and enjoyable.

If you still need to get your ticket, you can click the link here to get yours for the film fest. If you think these films sound amazing, this is just one of the many blocks of stellar, short films visitors to the Women in Horror Film Festival will get to enjoy.

For readers headed to the Women in Horror Film Festival, which of these short films are you most excited for? Let us know in the comments.