Over the last weekend of January, I got to travel over to Kansas City, MO to check out their horror film festival, Panic Fest 2019. You can read up on my coverage of the schedule rundown here, and my coverage of the World Premiere of THE LURING here, here and here. Here, I’ll break down each of the features I got to watch as well as what I thought of each film. Panic Fest delivered another great lineup this year. Here’s what I got to see.
GAGS
Gags is the new film from director Adam Krause and producer/co-writer/editor John Pata. Remember the clown sightings that the news started reporting on a couple years ago? Well those started in Green Bay, WI by Adam Krause as a marketing tool for his short film Gags on which this feature is based. This expanded version of the story of a clown appearing around town and sending a city into chaos is a ton of fun. Gags utilizes the found footage format to its advantage. We follow a newscaster and her cameraman, a right wing podcaster and his passive co-host, a trio of partying kids, and a pair of police officers as they navigate a night with a malevolent clown on the loose. If you are looking for a fun movie, you cant go wrong with Gags. I had a blast with this one and its colorful cast of characters. The pacing is incredibly well done too. There’s a lot for Horror fans to enjoy here.
LUZ
Luz is an utterly unique experience. One, though, that no horror fan should sleep on. For its very short runtime, it packs a lot of story about psychics, satanic rituals, possession and more in a way that fits together effortlessly. I really dug this movie. Besides a really cool plot and great performances, the movie also looks great. Don’t miss this one.
STARFISH
Here’s another complicated, in a good way, horror/genre bender that works so well. We follow Aubrey, who after the death of a close friend embarks on a journey to save the world using the mixtapes her friend left behind. There are some incredible monsters on display in the film. Plus, the movie goes to some really fun unexpected places as the journey goes on. We get an incredible lead performance from Virginia Gardner as Aubrey. Starfish is another unique experience that horror fans shouldn’t miss out on.
THE WIND
When a couple living in the old west’s quiet life is uprooted by another couple’s dramatic arrival, one woman must protect the group from the possible presence of a demon. Full disclosure, I don’t like prairie movies. They bore me, and I can’t help it. Despite two great performances by the two female leads, I couldn’t get into this one. With nothing to look at or do in the prairie’s, the film struggles to hold the viewers interest. There is some good, but brief, gore effects on display in the film.
EMPATHY INC
A former financial big shot is forced to move in with his in-laws after his life is uprooted by the scandal that followed a project he was working on. When looking for a new opportunity, he stumbles upon and invests his father in law’s money in a VR company that creates an experience of under-privileged life for its clients. Shot entirely in a stark black and white, Empathy Inc has some great performances and moves along effortlessly. I definitely recommend this one to horror fans who like a little slower burn, dramatic thriller.
PLEDGE
The horrors of pledging a fraternity are explored in true exploitation fashion in Pledge. Here’s another example from Panic Fest of another movie who’s runtime flies by and still manages to pack a full story within it. I had a blast with this movie. For a while, it’s fun and funny. Then the movie dips into torture territory a little bit, which, normally, I don’t usually like, but honestly it works so well here. The movie moves like a freight train and takes some fun unexpected turns. I definitely recommend this one to horror fans.
SADISTIC INTENTIONS
Sadistic Intentions was my favorite movie of Panic Fest and already a contender for one my favorites of 2019. I found it so funny how much this film parallels another film Panic Fest was playing, THE LORDS OF CHAOS, which, if you read my Telluride Horror Show coverage, you saw I wasn’t super hot on that one. It all works here though. The elements are all there: metal, fighting against the posers, a murderous band member, and more. Jeremy Gardner and Taylor Zaudtke give some great lead performances. Michael Patrick Nicholson is fun to watch give a Crispin Glover-like performance as well. This movie feels like if Brian DePalma directed Lord of Chaos. Don’t miss this one!
THE GOLEM
The last film I watched during the fest was, unfortunately, the only one of this set I saw that I really didn’t like. While I wasn’t huge on The Wind, there’s some good stuff there. I didn’t really like anything about The Golem. A woman creates a Golem to protect her village, but the Golem resembles the child she recently lost, so she raises it like her own. All the while, the Golem is blowing up the heads of anyone who stands in the way of him and his mama. The head explosions are pretty hilarious, but the rest of the movie is so dry and slow. I did not like the performances of the lead or of the child playing the Golem. I honestly just couldn’t wait for this one to be over.
The Horror Virgin Live Episode Podcast
I got to sit in on a live recording of The Horror Virgin Podcast during the fest. All weekend, there were several podcasts in attendance recording live episodes. This was the only one I got to check out. The concept is two horror movie loving friends make their friend who is scared of and hates horror movies watch a different horror movie every episode. This live episode was just general about their favorite horror movies. This was super fun. And what a great concept for a podcast. The three hosts have great chemistry, and I had a good time checking this out.
JASON TAKES MANHATTAN Live Script Reading
The team behind Panic Fest and a couple of guests in for the fest got behind the mic to do a live, and hilarious, reading of the Friday the 13th Part 8 screenplay. While the nearly 2 and a half hour event overstayed its welcome a little bit, I laughed a lot. Obviously the team altered some of the script and that was pretty great. Some of the regular stuff that made it into the movie is what made this a tougher sit. Shortened, this would have been a perfect comedic event. The cast was certainly game for it all though.
