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2002 Festival Film Guide

2002 Films

Film Guide

Film Category

Anabell Lee

Director(s)

George Higham

Director
Synopsis
Inspired by Edgar A. Poe's poem Annabel Lee, Poe himself comes to life through the magic of stop-motion animation. Annabel Lee is quintessential Poe- a haunted soul, a lost love and the nocturnal grave-quest. The epic quality of this Orphic adventure includes expressionist visions of a lone figure on a journey through a nightmarish landscape in order to be re-united with his lost love...but first he must overcome the wrath of the "Envious Angels" that ruined his world! This thrilling tale will make you believe...even a puppet can love.
Film Category

Baby Cue

Director(s)

Hazel Grian

Director
Synopsis
Baby is a tiny doll who lives in the perpetually dark Niteworld. The only light place left is the theme park Welcomeworld, the creation of Baby's long lost father. Baby travels to see him and wreaks havoc with the help of her special powers, a supply of jelly beans and her mysterious friends. Can she destroy the ultra-powerful, mega-rich 'nice-guy-in-a-sweater'? This film takes place in a dystopian world slightly different from our own, where houses are made out of candy, Michael Jackson is an ice-cream man, and Reality TV stars face consequences for their actions.
Film Category

The Bad Father

Director(s)

Robert Benson

Director
Synopsis
A begrudged son and his June Cleaver-esque wife return to the home of his deceased father and discover that not only was his "supposed" father a Satanist, but that he is actually the first-born son of Satan himself. He must then decide whether or not to use the powers of Hell to reign on Earth.
Film Category

Blood on the Backlot

Director(s)

Michelle Deal

Director
Synopsis
Detective John Waddington (JOHN BILLINGSLEY Dr. Phlox from the series Enterprise) investigates the murder of aging starlet Sabrina Morgan (BRINKE STEVENS) by what eyewitnesses describe as a werewolf. With the help of Studio Security Officer Holbrook (JIM HANKS) Detective Waddington rounds up the suspects, pieces together their stories and ultimately discovers what really happened to Sabrina Morgan on that dark and foggy night.
Film Category

Cradle Of Fear

Director(s)

Alex Chandon

Director
Synopsis
A gruesome homage to the cult Amicus anthology Asylum, Cradle of Fear unfolds four screamplays all linked by the unspeakable need of an incarcerated child killer to wreak vengeance on those responsible for his imprisonment. Helped by deranged angel Dani Filth, who leaves a trail of charnel house death in his crimson wake, the cannibal convict forces two Goth vamps to endure a one night stand from hell, two tough female robbers to see through each other, an obscenely rich coke-head to chop up more than a few lines and an internet surfer to descend into madness when he uncovers the ultimate web depravity.
Film Category

Curse Of The Forty-Niner

Director(s)

John Carl Buechler

Director
Synopsis
A group of friends discover gold deep inside an old mine. But by taking the gold and think they've hit it big, they awaken a long dead miner who's Hell Bent on protecting his treasure.
Film Category

Dark Focus

Director(s)

Sebastien Roche Lochen

Director
Synopsis
A group of witches get caught up in a mysterious sceance. Horror spoof.
Film Category

The Day the Dolls Struck Back

Director(s)

Derek Frey Aaron Tankenson

Director
Synopsis
Evil bugs from outer space have infected dolls across the world in an attempt at global conquest. Will Earth's greatest scientific and military minds put a stop to this sinister plan in time?
Film Category

Death and a Salesman

Director(s)

Joe Grisaffi Richard M. Watts

Director
Synopsis
After buying airtime on a local radio station, used car salesman Jack Howard finally realizes he couldn't sell a car to save his life. He is soon face to face with his toughest customer ever - the Grim Reaper.
Film Category

The Evil Dead

Director(s)

Sam Raimi

Director
Synopsis
Five friends are spending the weekend in a remote cabin in the woods. While investigating the cellar, they discover a tape and a decaying old book full of strange incantations. The tape is played and it unleashes powerful evil force from the forest that is determined to destroy every last one of them.
Film Category

The Exorcist (Extended Director's Cut)

Director(s)

William Friedkin

Director
Synopsis
When a teenage girl is possessed by a mysterious entity, her mother seeks the help of two priests to save her daughter.
Film Category

Ghostwatcher

Director(s)

David A. Cross

Director
Synopsis
After a traumatizing attack on Halloween night forces Laura to become a shut-in. Her world turns further upside down as she begins to experience increasingly bizarre and frightening occurrences within her home. It is this intense situation which encourages her to seek help in the form of Elizabeth Dean, the webmaster for a popular ghost-hunting site. Dean does not believe in the existence of ghosts herself, but as the mystery surrounding Laura's nightmare unfolds, she soon becomes a true believer.
Film Category

GRASP

Director(s)

Brendan Donovan

Director
Synopsis
'Grasp' is a darkly humorous mystery peppered with some truly surreal visuals. Two hard-boiled detectives and an oddball pathologist investigate a severed hand found in a laundromat - and the results aren't pretty...
Film Category

The Hills Have Eyes

Director(s)

Wes Craven

Director
Synopsis
On the way to California, a family has the misfortune to have their car break down in an area closed to the public, and inhabited by violent savages ready to attack.
Film Category

Hatred of a Minute

Director(s)

Michael Kallio

Director
Synopsis
A tragic love story/psychlogical thriller, Hatred of a Minute, is the story of a medical transcriptionist that becomes a serial killer because of his physically and mentally abusive past. His mind spirals out of control as a war between good and evil; right and wrong unfold in front of his eyes in the form of personal angels and demons.
Film Category

History's Mysteries: Amityville: The Haunting

Director(s)

Daniel Farrands

Director
Synopsis
A two-part documentary of the infamous haunted house on Long Island that inspired the motion picture "The Amityville Horror."
Film Category

Horror

Director(s)

Dante Tomaselli

Director
Synopsis
This visually arresting chiller concerns a group of runaway teens that escape from a drug rehab and encounter demonic forces in a rural farmhouse.
Film Category

ISPR Investigates: Ghosts of Belgrave Hall

Director(s)

Andrew Jones Scottie Madden

Director
Synopsis
ISPR Investigates the Ghosts of Belgrave Hall in the UK.
Film Category

Ju-on: The Grudge

Director(s)

Takashi Shimizu

Director
Synopsis
From the people who brought you The Ring comes a terrifying new film about a supernatural force that is unleashed upon a quiet community. Those who come into contact with it, eventually go insane and meet untimely and sudden deaths. Five years a go, a man murdered his wife and his child but were so haunted by their spirits, he eventually went insane and was mysteriously found dead months later. A new family has moved into their home, and this is where we pick up the story.....

The Grudge is told from various different vantage points, each terrifying vignette exploring new information about what his supernatural force is and where it originated from. The final results will be sure to shock you.....

The Grudge began as a short lived Japanese television series was cancelled after just two episodes. Produced by Taka Ichise and written and directed by Takashi Shimizu the result was a cult following so large that the two teamed up again for this full feature length. Thisisa first look at the filmed version of THE GRUDGE, set for wide release in Japan Winter2002.

The American filmed version of THE GRUDGE has been acquired by Vertigo Films, producers of the US remake of The Ring (Dreamworks) and will be written and directed by Stephen Susco. Susco a seasoned screenwriter and a die hard horror fan, will be at the screening to hear some thoughts and reactions of the viewers.

This film will be released on January 25, 2003. According to the producers in Japan, Ozla Pictures, the film was highly regarded at the premiere screening. Many people claimed it was 'the most frightening film they ever saw'. In a lot of the Asian territories, distributors are fighting over its distribution rights.

They are also gearing up to shoot the sequel in December 2002. It will also be directed by Takashi Shimizu.
Film Category

Kolobos

Director(s)

David Todd Ocvirk Daniel Liatowitsch

David Todd Ocvirk
Synopsis
Five young individuals agree to live in an isolated lodge together and have their daily activities filmed. But soon the house is locked down and they each run into the murderous clutches of a faceless serial killer who may not be working alone.
Film Category

Little Ricky

Director(s)

Michael Condro

Director
Synopsis
"Little Ricky" is an edgy, dark-comedy/ horror short written, produced, photographed, edited and directed by Michael Condro. This $2,500. budget, 20 minute film has all the qualities of a full length, big budget feature. "Little Ricky" is packed with special effects, humor and character development.
Film Category

Missing

Director(s)

Terrence Atkins

Director
Synopsis
A suspense thriller
Film Category

Night Surf

Director(s)

Peter Sullivan

Director
Synopsis
Loosely related to the author's highly regarded novel The Stand, the brief story follows one evening on a place called Anson Beach, New Hampshire, with a group of teens, survivors of a catastrophic virus called A6, or "Captain Trips", that has wiped out virtually the entire population.
Film Category

OFF

Director(s)

Tyler Polhemus

Director
Synopsis
Off is a thriller set in a fishing town. The film centers around a hearing-impaired girl who doesn't talk and a serial killer who likes to suffocate his victims so they can't scream.
Film Category

Out There

Director(s)

John Coven

Director
Synopsis
All is not what it seems in this psychological sci fi-thriller.
Film Category

Puphedz

Director(s)

Jurgen Heimann

Director
Synopsis
The PUPHEDZ perform a take on Edgar Allen Poe's, "The Tell-Tale Heart," an account of a young man driven to madness by an unnatural, torturous obsession with the deformed eye of the old man with whom he lives. WARNING - Contains bloody puppet violence.
Film Category

The Red Right Hand

Director(s)

Mike Gioscia Kurt St. Thomas

Co-Director
Synopsis
A gang of school friends are reunited years after finishing their education. However, the happy celebration soon descends into nightmare as memories of a dark deed threaten to engulf them all.
Film Category

R.S.V.P.

Director(s)

Mark Anthony Galluzzo

Director
Synopsis
A Hitchcockian black comedy in the spirit of 'Rope' and Agatha Christie's 'Ten Little Indians' that begs the question can murder, if done well, be considered art? An art whose medium is one of flesh and bone.
Film Category

Repossessed

Director(s)

John Coven

Director
Synopsis
A real estate agent shows a house to a woman who is more than she seems.
Film Category

Talk 5.0

Director(s)

John Coven

Director
Synopsis
When 14 year-old Noah is e-mailed a cutting edge program by a friend, his computer becomes a little more interactive than he bargained for.
Film Category

TOMORROW'S BACON

Director(s)

Bryan Norton

Director
Synopsis
A bickering couple in the last stages of a marriage gone sour make life uneasy for a small town waitress when they pull up to her diner on a cold winter night just before closing time. She tries to keep things cool when the couple, obviously from out of town and in midst of more than just a squabble, decide to come in for coffee, tea and directions to the Interstate.
Film Category

Unknown Beyond (Maelstrom , il Figlio dell'Altrove)

Director(s)

Ivan Zuccon

Director
Synopsis
Italian horror film

Based on The History of the Necronomicon by H.P. Lovecraft.

Beyond is calling.
Film Category

Vampire Clan

Director(s)

John Webb

Director
Synopsis
Based on a true story. Five friends welcome real life vampirism into their lives. They cut their own wrists and let their friends drink from them. Rod, the leader, and a very psychotic young guy, ends up killing Heathers parents and stealing their car to go on a crazy raod trip. His behaviour begins to frighten his friends, though they went along with it at first. All end up in prison except Heather.
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