Special Guests Include Dr. Athena Aktipis, Dr. Coltan Scrivner andEmmy Award-Winning Horror Director Patrick Rea
Shift Films and the Haunted Garage Podcast are back with their 3rd Annual Haunted Garage Horror Festival taking place October 5-7 at the historic Hi-Pointe Theatre, located at 1005 McCausland Avenue in St. Louis. Tickets range from $10 Pit Stop Passes for specific events to an all-access weekend pass for $100.
Find ticket details and prices at FilmFreeway or at the Hi-Pointe box office. The event kicks off Thursday, October 5 with a horror-themed cocktail meet-and-greet with festival guests and a Trunk-or-Treat event for families benefitting Stray Rescue of St. Louis.
Producers and festival creators Franki Cambeletta, Jeremy King, Travis Brown and Lily Schenck are excited to bring both local and national filmmakers together in the third year of the acclaimed Haunted Garage Horror Festival. “We are excited to work with the Hi-Pointe Theatre this year on bringing a world-class horror fest to St. Louis,” says Cambeletta.
Golden Piston Award
“We will be awarding Golden Piston Awards for categories such as Best Short, Best Feature Film, Best of Fest, Best Student Film, Best Cinematography, Best Screenplay and the Film with Most Grit.”
In addition to the horror micro-shorts, shorts, and feature, horror experts in the field will participate in “Dead Talks” over the three-day festival such as Professor Athena Aktipis, Founder of Zombie Media, last year’s “Best of Fest” winners Aaron Irons and Josh Croft, and Director Patrick Rea will talk about how to get your film distributed.
Dr. Coltan Scrivner, a leading expert on the psychology of horror and morbid curiosity, will also present over the weekend with more guests to be announced. For more information and a full itinerary and film schedule, visit www.hauntedgaragehorrorfest.com.
From a previous Haunted Garage Horror Fest. Photo Provided
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.
It’s that time of year for spooky movies, and “Night of the Living Dead,” shot outside Pittsburgh on a shoestring budget and released in 1968, has now been released through the Criterion Collection. There’s a 4K USD disc of the film and two Blu-rays with the film and special features.
The film’s zombie plot and the guerilla filmmaking are part of film lore. Now a horror master, George A. Romero directed and co-wrote with John A. Russo this landmark indie, at first relegated to midnight movie bookings but became a box office hit and is considered one of the most influential films of all-time.
The story is a simple one about a group of strangers trapped in a farmhouse find themselves battling recently dead flesh-eaters. Romero’s claustrophobic vision of a late 1960s America, along with his social commentary, changed the horror genre. He also broke ground casting black actor Duane Jones in the leading role.
To read insights from Film School Rejects, visit this site: https://filmschoolrejects.com/26-things-we-learned-from-the-night-of-the-living-dead-commentary-1f0ef17cda1e/
Wilco
Music: Wilco “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot”
To celebrate its 20th anniversary, Wilco has reissued its masterpiece “Yankee Hotel Foxtrot”
Here’s the versions: https://wilco-reissue-store.com/
Now considered a “Chicago group,” we all know they started here in St. Louis, and Jeff Tweedy grew up in Belleville.
Food: Four Fall Inspired Flavors at Clementine’s Creamery
Mexican Hot Chocolate has rich dark chocolate, cinnamon, smoky heat from chipotle, and a touch of Tuaca. In the Naughty section.
Orange Ghoulius is a creamsicle-like ice cream made with orange juice and cream and laden with house-made colorful Halloween pretzel crisps.
Pumpkin Toffee Cake consists of natural pumpkin ice cream with warm notes of cinnamon, clove, nutmeg and sprinkled with bits of toffee for added crunch and sweetness.
Vegan Boo-Berries is bursting with blueberries! It is a creation with bubbling baked blueberries and sprinkled with a crispy gluten-free crumble of rolled oats.
As participants in the National Domestic Violence Awareness Month giveback organized by STL Wine Girl, 15% of all pint sales of Vegan Boo-Berries will be donated to @thewomenssafehousestl through the month of October.
Must-see at New Line Theatre, Thursdays through Saturdays now through Oct. 15 at The Marcelle. Really fun show! Regional professional premiere. Here is my review:
Jennifer Lopez and Josh Duhamel star as an engaged couple at a destination wedding, and the guests are taken hostage by criminals. This rom-com comes out on Prime Video on Jan. 27, 2023. Amazon dropped the trailer yesterday.
Playlist: “Faith” George Michael
On this date in 1987, George Michael released the single, “Faith,” which went on to become the Billboard Song of the Year in 1988. It was from his debut solo album of the same name, released on Oct. 30, 1987, which is one of the best-selling albums of all time having sold over 25 million copies worldwide. The album won several awards, including Album of the Year, at the 31st Grammy Awards.
Cardinal Nation: Wild Card Games this weekend
Tickets are on sale for the Wild Card games, which are set for Friday afternoon and Saturday night at Busch Stadium, and if needed, Sunday night.
Friday’s game against the Philadelphia Phillies will be on ABC at 1:07 p.m. and Saturday’s game is set for 7:37 on ESPN2.
Weekend Happenings:
Belleville Chili Cook-off Friday and Saturday Main Street, downtown square
For more than 39 years, the Greater Belleville Chamber of Commerce has hosted the Annual Chili Cook-off and has grown to over 50 vendors – individuals, local organizations, and area businesses.
Haunted Garage Horror Festival Oct. 7-9, Westport Playhouse
Last year’s Best of Fest, “Fresh Hell,” will screen on Friday evening. Who will take home this year’s Golden Piston Awards?
For a complete line-up of the fun and fright that awaits this weekend on the 40-foot screen at the renovated Westport Playhouse, read on:
To hear more from fest founder Franki Cambeletta, listen to the PopLifeSTL.com Presents Podcast with co-hosts Lynn Venhaus and Carl “The Intern” Middleman:
Word: She’s got Bette Davis Eyes
“Without wonder and insight, acting is just a trade. With it, it becomes creation.” – Bette Davis
One of the legendary Hollywood stars of the golden era, Bette Davis died on Oct. 6, 1989, at age 81. She made over 100 movies during her 60-year career, won two Academy Awards and the AFI Lifetime Achievement Award in 1977. Ruth Elizabeth Davis was born in Lowell, Mass., on April 5, 1908
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.
The First Annual Haunted Garage Horror Festival will take place Friday, Oct. 22, and Saturday, Oct. 23 at The Gaslight Theatre in the Central West End, 358 N. Boyle Ave., St. Louis
On Friday night, two experts on horror films will present “Dead Talk” at 7 p.m. Coltan Schrivner, an expert on morbid curiosity and horror, will talk about “The Psychological Benefits of Horror.” Antonio Pantoja will speak on directing horror and the horrors of life after post production.
It will be followed by “One Must Fall,” a 2018 horror-comedy slasher set in the 80s about a woman wrongfully fired from her office job and forced to take on a temporary job on a crime scene cleanup crew.
The film festival program will begin at 10:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 23, and conclude with awards presentation at 8:45 p.m. A short horror film, “Face Mask,” which is not in competition, will be shown at 7:22 p.m. Saturday.
Face Mask will be shown Saturday night
Micro Shorts Under !0 Minutes Selected: Video Man by Peter Lundholm . SMASHING by Kent Flaagan Spin to Win Samantha Steinle Intruder by Adam Mick Laughlin Elegy for Unfinished Lives by Adam E. Stone The Stop by Tom and Scott Hipp One Nice Thing by Cory Byers Chimera by Christian Wood Short Films Under 59 Minutes Safe Ride by Randy Rambeau And The Darkness by Andrew Huggins You Made Me by Ruben A. Sanchez Cook with the Heart by Mike Hayhurst
Feature Films Valentine Crush by Jamie Michael Wede Mary by Khiray Richards FRESH HELL by Ryan Imhoff and Matt Neal A Savannah Haunting by William Mark McCullough Massacre Academy by Mark Cantu Student Film Selections Last Bite by Ashley Seering Abducted by Vincent Augusto Packed Lunch by John W. Iwanonkiw
“The Last Bite”
ABOUT THE FESTIVAL The 100 mile stretch to the west of the Mississippi has been a place of interest in horror film history. Unforgettable films such as Escape from NY, White Palace, and Up in the Air all have been filmed in this great midwestern state – Missouri. To honor a burning ember tradition of horror film’s place in our community, the guys from the Haunted Garage Podcast will be hosting Saint Louis’s first Haunted Garage Horror Film Festival this October!
The goal of this first year of our fest is to create a place where filmmakers of all levels can merge in a mutual love of the art of horror. Whether you are a film student or a seasoned industry professional, this festival is for you. In addition to screening student films and high budget, feature films, we have also recruited various film and horror experts to share their knowledge and stories of the trade. Among those in attendance will be Antonio Pantoja, the director of “One Must Fall,” who will share his experience on directing horror films, how to distribute your film, and post production costs. We will also be welcoming researcher and writer Coltan Scrivner, the leading expert in the science of Morbid Curiosity, to speak about the psychological benefits of horror and scary play.
Lastly, we are devoted to promoting diversity in filmmaking. We have selected trained judges from various parts of the country to provide a selection process that is fair and consistent for all film submissions. It will be our pleasure to welcome filmmakers of all races and genders so that we may all gain insight into horror filmmaking from all perspectives of human life.
We desire to turn Saint Louis and its surrounding counties into a safe, scary space where a diverse pool of horror content creators can meet, network, and learn – together.
May the best horror story win!
Awards & Prizes
Best of Horror “The Vincent Price” $500.00 & Trophy * (Only Feature Films are eligible )
Best Horror of Missouri/Illinois $250 & Trophy * (Illinois / Missouri Residents Only) All categories are eligible for this Award
$250 & Trophy * Best Student Film
Best Horror Short * $100 & Trophy
Individual Awards: Best Director Best Actor (Male & Female Role) Best Editing Best Sound Design Best Practical Effects Best Special Effects Best Original Music Best Cinematography Best Writer/Screenplay (Jason C. Klefisch Award)
*Must be in attendance to accept cash prizes. Trophy’s will be sent at shipping cost to winners if not in attendance.Rules & Terms
• Short Films must be shorter than 50 minutes and longer than 10 minutes. Feature films must be 50 minutes or longer • We accept all foreign films as long as english subtitles are present, so long as they were created in the United States of America. • Selected films will be screened in front of a Live audience • We are not responsible for copyright infringement on your materials • All submitters agree to the terms and conditions and to receiving marketing emails and
For more information, visit: https://shiftfilms.net
Lynn (Zipfel) Venhaus has had a continuous byline in St. Louis metro region publications since 1978. She writes features and news for Belleville News-Democrat and contributes to St. Louis magazine and other publications.
She is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic, currently reviews films for Webster-Kirkwood Times and KTRS Radio, covers entertainment for PopLifeSTL.com and co-hosts podcast PopLifeSTL.com…Presents.
She is a member of Critics Choice Association, where she serves on the women’s and marketing committees; Alliance of Women Film Journalists; and on the board of the St. Louis Film Critics Association. She is a founding and board member of the St. Louis Theater Circle.
She is retired from teaching journalism/media as an adjunct college instructor.
