The festival returns for a fourth year to Tribeca with over 50 films & shorts (to save NYC's horror-lovers the unnecessary anguish of actually paying to see a movie like The Fog). Tonight's opening kicks off with a party at Don Hill's, featuring live music, open bar hour, and 7 shorts for $10. Though relatively young, the festival has garnered great support from the film community and boasts a solid selection of new films and classics.
Our pick is the intense and stylish anthology THREE...EXTREMES, which unites three of East Asia's most acclaimed directors - Japan's Takashi Miike, Hong Kong's Fruit Chan, and Korea's Chan-Wook Park - in what was quite an impressive yet disturbing experience (beautiful cinematography and certainly bloody "extremes"). The trio of visually stunning and compelling shorts won't necessarily scare you as it's more grotesque, psychological nail-biter material about the darker side of human nature: "Dumplings" concerns a wife determined to roll back the aging process with meat dumplings that harbor a secret ingredient, "Cut" involves a psychotic movie extra who holds his director hostage and offers an ultimatum – either kill a small child or watch your pianist-wife's fingers chopped off one-by-one, whereas "Box" tells the story of a recluse writer emotionally haunted by her guilt-ridden childhood. Don't anticipate goosebumps, but do expect to skip dinner. Sat @ 5:00 PM.
Other highlights include:
- Tobe Hooper's (Texas Chainsaw Massacre) Mortuary, about a family that buys a small town mortuary which is ultimately haunted by cliché zombies. Unfortunately, the critics and even his fans haven't been kind in reviews. Thursday, Oct 20, @ 10:30PM.
- The premiere of Showtime's highly-anticipated horror series Masters of Horror. Director Don Coscarelli (Phantasm, Bubba Ho-Tep) and star Angus Scrimm will attend to introduce the episode "On and Off a Mountain Road" with a Q&A. Friday, Oct 21, at 9:30PM.
- The Rocky Horror Picture Show accompanied by actors performing along with the film and "full audience participation." All proceeds from the program will go to the American Red Cross. Friday @ MIDNIGHT.
- Legendary director/producer Roger Corman (Pit and the Pendulum, LittleShop of Horrors) is presented with a lifetime achievement award at a screening of his Vincent Price classic, The Masque of Red Death. Saturday, Oct 22, @ 10 PM.
- A new 35mm print of Steven Spielberg's JAWS will close the Festival to celebrate its 30th anniversary. Sunday, Oct 23, at 7:30PM.
The NYC Horror Film Festival runs through October 23rd and is located at Tribeca Cinemas, 54 Varick St (on Laight). Tickets via Ticketweb or call 866-468-7619 .