'Deadpool's Director Is Presiding Over the Biggest Short Film Contest Ever [Exclusive]
A cinematic obsessive with the filmic palate of a starving raccoon, Rob London will watch pretty much anything once. With a mind like a steel trap, he's an endless fount of movie and TV trivia, borne from a misspent youth of watching monster movies on TV, perusing the sun-faded goods at the local video rental shop, and staining his fingers with ink from the Video Movie Guide. Areas of interest include science fiction, film noir, horror flicks, '70s disaster pictures, Bond movies, '90s action, giant robots, dinosaurs, super heroes, and the exuberantly schlocky output of Cannon Films. He also enjoys both Star Trek and Star Wars when they're good, and maybe even more when they're bad. As a Canadian, he also has a vested interest in Canadian movies and TV shows, especially the cheesier ones dubbed "Canuxploitation."
An expert on Marvel Comics, he has also written for the Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe, and is a member of the Marvel Research Team. He can frequently be found pontificating on comic-book continuity or bemoaning the misfortunes of the Toronto Maple Leafs on his Twitter account.
This time of year, as Halloween nears, it's the horror features that get all the attention. But a short film only needs a few minutes to scare the life out of you. That's why the Ripcord Halloween Film Festival is offering the biggest prizes ever in their new short film contest; they've narrowed 500 entries down to a Dirty Dozen of finalists, and Collider is proud to exclusively reveal the twelve movies vying for the top prize, the jury of industry pros who will decide the winner, and a sneak peek at what to expect from the finalists.
Over 500 filmmakers entered their horror shorts into the Ripcord Halloween Film Festival; that flood of entries was winnowed down to 50. Now, only 12 remain; the festival had planned for a top ten, but the voting was so close that it was expanded to allow two extra entries. Those 12 films will be screened on October 29 at the famous TCL Chinese Theater on October 29, in front of a live audience of ravenous horror hounds; winners will then be announced the following day, October 30. The winner will take home a $100,000 USD prize, the biggest purse ever offered in a short film competition. There's also another $100,000 in prize money that will be awarded to the runners-up. If you can't make it to Hollywood this week, don't despair; all 50 entries can be viewed for free on Ripcord.film.
There are five judges on the panel. They include Tim Miller, a visual effects artist and director who helmed Deadpool and Terminator: Dark Fate; Jean Anne Lauer, the director of short film programming at Austin's world-famous Fantastic Fest; Lisa Ogdie, a short film programmer for the legendary Sundance Film Festival, which has nurtured independent film for over 45 years; Neville Page, a creature concept designer who's worked on films like Star Trek, Avatar, and Tron: Legacy, and judged the makeup competition series Face Off; and Peter Phok, a veteran producer who's worked on a wide array of horror films, including The House of the Devil, Stake Land, and Ti West's X trilogy.
Collider Exclusive · 8 Questions · 2 Minutes What Is Your Biggest Horror Nightmare? Elm Street · Chucky · Scream · The Conjuring
Four horror franchises. Four completely different ways of scaring you. One waits until you fall asleep. One makes sure nobody believes you. One is already in your group of friends. And one is in the house with your family. Answer eight quick questions about how you actually watch horror, and find out which nightmare was built for you.
😴Elm Street(Freddy Krueger)
🧸Chucky(Child's Play)
📞Scream(Ghostface)
🕯️The Conjuring(The Warren Files)
01
Which horror scene makes you cover your eyes? Four classic images. One of them is worse than the others for you.
02
You are home alone and you hear a noise. First thought? Everybody has one. It arrives before you have decided anything.
03
Which horror movie rule would you break first? Everybody thinks they would survive. Almost nobody actually does.
04
Something genuinely frightening happens. What do you do? Not in a film. In your actual living room, tonight.
05
How do you actually watch a horror film? Be honest about this one. Nobody is checking.
06
Somebody offers you serious money. Which do you still refuse? The amount does not matter. There is one on this list you are not doing.
07
Which feeling stays with you a week after the film? Good horror does not stop when the credits do.
08
Something wakes you at 3am. What is the worst possibility? Eight questions in, this is the one that decides your nightmare.
The Lights Just Went Out Your Nightmare Is…
Four franchises, four completely different ways of getting underneath your skin. This is the one built out of your particular fear, why it works so well on you, and what it would leave behind.
Elm Street
Your nightmare does not wait outside the door. It waits for you to close your eyes, which you are going to have to do eventually, because nobody has ever won that particular argument.
- Freddy is horror's cruellest idea: a threat that lives in the one place you cannot guard, cannot lock, and cannot avoid forever.
- You are the one who is fine during the film and wide awake at two in the morning. Your own head is where this does its damage.
- These films understood exhaustion as a horror engine. The kids on Elm Street do not lose because they are weak. They lose because they are tired.
- You can lock every door in the house. You still have to sleep.
Chucky
Your nightmare is not really the doll. It is the face of the person you tell, and the way they decide, very kindly, that you have imagined all of it.
- Chucky works precisely because he is absurd. That is the trap: the more accurately you describe him, the less anybody is going to believe you.
- You are the one shouting at the screen because the characters are not listening. You know that feeling from real life too.
- The franchise is at its best when the adults in the room are the real obstacle, and you have met those adults.
- By the time somebody finally believes you, you will have handled most of it on your own.
Scream
Your nightmare has your number, knows your name, and has almost certainly been inside your house before. The worst part is that you already know them.
- Scream is the only one of these where the killer takes the mask off and turns out to be somebody who was at the party.
- You are the person who calls the twist out loud before it lands. You watch people the same way you watch films.
- The franchise made the rules of horror part of the plot, which means the survivors are the ones paying attention. You would be paying attention.
- Everybody is a suspect, including the person who just offered to walk you home.
The Conjuring
Your nightmare is not really about you. It is about the people asleep down the hall, and the feeling that whatever is here is not interested in leaving.
- The Conjuring films are domestic horror. The house, the family, the perfectly ordinary room that quietly stops feeling ordinary.
- Your instinct is to get everybody into one room. Your fear is protective rather than personal, which is rarer than it sounds.
- This is the one franchise where belief is the weapon. The people who come through it are the ones who are not alone and refuse to be.
- Whatever is here did not come for you. It came for the household, and you are the one standing in the hallway.
What Are the Finalists for the Ripcord Halloween Film Festival?
The finalists of the Ripcord Halloween Film Festival range from trippy to terrifying, and feature everything from puppets to poltergeists to pizza. The 12 finalists, plus their loglines and directors, are as follows:
Blossom Needs a Ride Home: After defeating a bloodthirsty maniac, Blossom needs a ride home. What a hassle. Directed by Tim Schwagel.
Breeder: A woman on the fence about having kids is hunted in her home by a demonic horse-man of Filipino folklore. Directed by Sapphire Sandalo.
Dirty Fuzz: When an idealistic rookie cop accidentally shoots her corrupt partner in the slimy underbelly of Shit City, she must team up with a surprising crew of underworld characters to cover her tracks. Directed by Daniel Chimes.
Dream Creep: A couple awakens in the night to sounds emanating from an unlikely orifice. Directed by Carlos A.F. Lopez
Harold Eats Maude: An unlikely friendship between the infamous cannibal Coffin Feeder, who can’t stop eating priests, and his cannibal-curious stalker Faith. Directed by Carl Fry and Maxwell Nalevansky.
Hour of Blood: In 1915 Texas, when ranchers mysteriously go missing, a young girl must defend her family ranch against the dark threat. Directed by Marcella Ochoa.
It Helps: Spencer, sleepless due to her brother’s eerie sleep machine, discovers it isn’t designed to soothe — but to keep an unspeakable presence at bay. Directed by J. Zachary Thurman
Long's Long Lost & Mini Mart: In the back of a Little Saigon convenience store, a young customer reanimates his dead father for one last conversation. Directed by Julian Doan.
Make Me a Pizza: BORED HOUSEWIFE seduces HOT PIZZA GUY for free pizza, but is desire worth $29.99? Directed by Talia Shea Levin.
Rat!: When a disgruntled music journalist accuses a global pop star of queerbaiting, the singer’s devoted fans descend on his remote cabin to seek retribution. Directed by Neal Suresh Mulani.
Spanked by a Ghost: Alone in her home, a woman is spanked by an unseen entity, awakening a force she cannot control. Directed by Katelyn Douglass.
Zippy's House: Forced to attend his strange classmate’s birthday, a teen discovers he’s the only guest at a house where the host’s brother is in permanent time-out. Directed by Sophia Parella.
The winners of the Ripcord Halloween Film Festival will be announced on Friday, October 30; you can watch a teaser for the 12 finalists below. Stay tuned to Collider for future updates.
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