‘Tis the season for spooky, and there’s going to be some serious celebrating going on this week at the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival. Now in its third year, the BKHFF celebrates the spirit of Brooklyn with screenings of an impressive selection of features and shorts from around the globe. Taking place over a solid seven days and nights (October 11-18), the BKHFF will host films at five of the borough’s finest spots: Nitehawk Cinema, Syndicated, LIU Kimble Theatre, Videology, Wythe Hotel Cinema and IFP’s Made in NY Media Center.
Along with debut viewings and premieres, you can also catch classics like Sleepaway Camp and My Bloody Valentine. The Festival has even added some last-minute surprises to its already promising lineup – a bonus third wave of five international horror features now rounds out the fest:
INNER GHOSTS (North American Premiere)
Brazil/Portugal | 2018 | 89 Min | Dir. Paulo Leite
Paulo Leite’s supernatural thriller Inner Ghosts (North American premiere)
Dr. Helen, hoping to find a cure for brain diseases, has developed a theory that such ailments can be treated by testing on ghosts, who of course don’t need brain functions in order to act. As Helen sees it, if she can tap into how ghosts do that, she can figure out a way to get living patients to communicate through their souls. After Helen’s young daughter dies suddenly, though, she puts her research on hold, refusing to connect to the afterlife. That is, until a stranger’s request sends Helen back to the spirit world where, as it turns out, something evil has been waiting for her. Fans of INSIDIOUS are advised to take note, as promises the same kind of supernaturally charged chops. Writer-director Paulo Leite’s impressive debut fuses heavy science with a Lin-Shaye-like hero, nightmarish demons, otherworldly twists and a third act as relentlessly assaultive as it is audaciously off-the-wall.
LEVEL 16 (East Coast Premiere)
Canada | 2018 | 102 Min | Dir. Danishka Esterhazy
Danishka Esterhazy’s dystopian women-led satire LEVEL 16 (co-presented by The Future of Film is Female) (East Coast premiere).
Having spent their entire lives trapped in a prison-like school, the teenage girls of Vestalis Academy must follow a strict educational system that enforces conforming to “The Feminine Virtues.” They are forced to follow the school’s rules for fear of extreme punishment – with the light at the end of the tunnel being adoption to a loving upper class family. Sixteen-year-olds Vivien and Sophia, who have reached the final level of the school are on the cusp of adoption, until they learn the horrifying truth about the academy.
Canadian filmmaker Danishka Esterhazy crafts a cold female-centric satire featuring striking imagery of a dystopian society and takes you on a journey through the past, complete with characters named after classic Hollywood stars to express a sharp, feminist critique.
The Night Shifter
Brazil | 2018 | 110 Min | Dir. Dennison Ramalho
The Night Shifter
You know that old expression, “Dead men tell no tales”? Well, don’t tell that to Stênio, a well-meaning family-man whose life is, prior to understanding the falsehood of that old expression, a mess. His wife can’t stop reminding him that their situation is dire thanks to financial stresses and general marital discord; even worse, when he’s working as a mortician, mean-spirited paramedics make it their second job to routinely make fun of Stênio. Weirdly enough, his reprieve comes from the corpses he works on, all of whom can communicate with him. But when one specific stiff reveals a big secret, Stênio finds himself, as well as his family, under attack, turning his world into a living hell courtesy of the undead.
Blending dark humor with visceral scares and buckets of gore, Brazilian filmmaker Dennison Ramalho (“J is for Jesus” in ABCS OF DEATH 2) makes his feature debut with a film that’s directly engineered for a thrill-seeking festival audience. No-holds-barred in its hardcore nature, The Night Shifter goes all out in its depiction of one man’s inner rage being exposed by the should-be deceased.
TENANTS (New York Premiere)
Mexico | 2018 | 88 Min | Dir. Chava Cartas
Tenants (New York Premiere)
Picking up the pieces after a traumatic event, Luzma and Demián move into a new apartment complex. Before they’re even unpacked, strange interactions with the secretive landlord and a disturbed handyman quickly put a dash on the young couple’s hopes for a fresh start. To make matters worse, Luzma begins to suffer from terrible hallucinations and Demián seems less and less himself. There’s something truly wrong with this apartment.
Mixing traditional haunted house tropes with region specific mythology, Tenants explores the dark extremes of local religious practices of Santería and Brujería witchcraft. Part Rosemary’s Baby with a little Amityville Horror, Mexican director Chava Cartas first foray into horror carves out a space in religious horror all its own.
TUMBBAD
India | 2018 | 109 Min | Dir. Rahi Anil Barve, Adesh Prasad
Tumbbad
Throughout his young life, Vinayak has heard the legend surrounding his family’s home: There’s a demon guarding his family’s treasure and he best not challenge it. But when his great-grandmother dies, Vinayak inherits both the fortune and the creature protecting it. Fast-forward to adult Vinayak and his ingenious idea: Slowly but surely, he’ll sneak pieces of the treasure out by tricking the demon in various ways, a plan he’s carried out successfully for years. That is, until his greedy family inadvertently angers the demon. Once that happens, all bets are off.
Tumbbad is an ambitious blend of historical drama, supernatural creativity, creature feature insanity and character-driven tension.
All this on top of many more fear-inducing flicks exploring the full range of horror!
The BKHFF will additionally offer a few events cutting deeper into the genre: Friday night there’s Drunk Education: Bad Religion edition, where the audience can toast to terror while a lineup of writers, critics, and producers delve into the devilish tropes in horror. Saturday afternoon, The Miskatonic Institute for Horror Studies has teamed up with the Festival to present film scholar and archivist Amanda Reyes in person for a class on the topic of Made-for-TV horror films. There’s also a chance Sunday to catch a special live performance of the mythology, folklore and urban legends podcast Spirits, where the show’s hosts will discuss some of the more famous New York-area monsters and share first-hand accounts of local urban legends.
The festival opens tonight with the feature Knife + Heart. While this screening is already sold out, there are plenty more viewings over the following days with tickets still available. Check their website for the full schedule and ticket availability.
Without a doubt, this is going to be a great way to ring in the boo year!
