EMAV Film Review: Sin City Horror Fest 2020

A scene from 'Smiles' at Sin City Horror Fest, 2020.

Following in the footsteps of the Nevada Women’s Film Festival and the Las Vegas Jewish Film Festival, this year’s Sin City Horror Fest on October 22-25 transitioned to a fully virtual edition, hosted on the YouTube page of popular horror brand Kings of Horror. That opened up a much larger potential audience for the niche festival, which is run by a dedicated, enthusiastic crew but has attracted fairly small crowds in its three in-person events in Las Vegas. Kings of Horror has more than a million YouTube subscribers, and the SCHF live programs regularly had 100-plus people watching at any given time, from all around the world.

The numbers might have been even higher if the festival organizers had been less committed to replicating the live film-fest experience, but the ephemeral nature of the festival was part of the charm. Unlike many online festivals that allow attendees to view selections at their convenience over a period of 48 hours or longer, SCHF showed each selection only once, at a specific day and time, and anyone who missed the live broadcast was out of luck.

But that also helped engender a communal feel for the screenings, thanks to a running text chat that often included the filmmakers, receiving feedback in real-time. Festival co-founders Mike Lenzini, Darren Flores and Justin Bergonzoni also broadcast a live kick-off video at the beginning of each day, interacting with attendees and contributing to the vibe that we were all in this together. They returned on the final night to give out the festival awards from Lenzini’s couch.

Among the eight feature films, the top awards were mostly split between Joe Badon’s “Sister Tempest” (which won Best Film, Best Director and Best Editing) and Jeff Wedding’s “Tennessee Gothic” (which won Best Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Score and Best Sound Design). Both are artistically ambitious projects that are more than a bit uneven, but it’s easy to admire the efforts at creating something more sophisticated and complex than a basic slasher movie (which SCHF is also happy to program).

A moment from the film 'Sister Tempest'.

“Sister Tempest” is a surreal, experimental piece about a woman undergoing a mental breakdown following the disappearance of her sister, expressed via elaborate set pieces that range from horror to sci-fi to religious allegory. “Tennessee Gothic” is a more straightforward tale about a mysterious woman taken in by father-and-son farmers, but it also embraces a range of tones and styles, including slapstick comedy and explicit sex scenes. Both movies are clear auteur visions from uncompromising filmmakers, the kind of work that film festivals exist to support, in any genre.

My favorite film among the features was the slow-burn German thriller “Marlene,” a deeply uncomfortable story of stalking and abduction, which deservedly won the Best Actress award for star Cordula Zielonka. She plays the title character, an art restorer who moves to Berlin for a new job and attracts the attentions of her creepy but seemingly harmless neighbor Flo (Thomas Clemens). “Marlene” is an engrossing character study of a woman trying to start her life anew, even before it shifts into intense horror in its final act. Writer-director Andreas Resch builds a pervasive sense of dread even in the most mundane moments, and it pays off in a horrifying climax.

SCHF 2020 Best Actor winner, Cordula Zielonka in 'Marlene'.

Moving the festival online allowed SCHF’s organizers to program an expanded slate, including more than 90 short films in 11 different blocks. There were a handful of local productions among the shorts, including prolific local filmmaker Joe Lujan’s creepy doll story “Billy”; Heidi Moore’s bizarre gross-out semi-sequel “Dolly Deadly 1.5,” an epilogue to her 2016 feature film “Dolly Deadly”; and Christopher Styles’ “The Tunnels,” which takes advantage of the inherent scariness of the storm drain tunnels below Las Vegas.

Elsewhere in the shorts programs, SCHF succeeded with films that combined horror and comedy, since horror shorts are often essentially quick build-ups to punchlines, whether those are horrific or comedic. I especially liked the Spanish short film “Smiles,” which won the shorts award for Best Kill, and which depicts a family with grotesque yellow smiley faces in place of their heads, as a visit home for the daughter’s new boyfriend goes awry. It’s not easy to create moments that are equally funny and horrifying, and “Smiles” succeeds at that where so many other horror shorts only accomplish one of the two.

Heidi Moore’s film 'Dolly Deadly 1.5'.

Just being funny or strange is okay, too, though, as in “Shiny Shiny,” in which a seemingly dangerous killer kidnaps a woman just so he can have an audience for his peppy dance routine. Or “Unholy ’Mole,” which also played at the Dam Short Film Festival in February, and is essentially a one-joke premise about a man’s extreme devotion to guacamole over his pregnant wife and unborn child.

On the more serious side, I liked the unexplained creepiness of “Loop,” in which people turn homicidal after hearing a mysterious cassette tape. Too many horror shorts are built around a single jolt rather than an actual plot or idea, and “Loop” is a great example of constructing a fully realized story without having to explain all the details. I also liked the escalating, grotesque social media satire of “Clout,” and the claustrophobic tension of another Spanish short, “La Guarida,” which explores the insidiousness of mob mentality.

With so many shorts, there was really something for everyone, even the squeamish, and the festival organizers promised in their closing-day broadcast to include an online component in next year’s festival, even if it returns to a more traditional in-person format. Viewers from across the globe got a feel for SCHF’s eclectic taste at this year’s event, and hopefully that will bring more attention to the festival in its Vegas home base, too.

EMAV Film Review: "Jay Sebring....Cutting to the Truth"

A moment from "Jay Sebring....Cutting to the Truth"

When the general public hears about Jay Sebring, it’s almost always as a sort of afterthought in the story of the Manson Family murders. As the new documentary “Jay Sebring….Cutting to the Truth” points out, the Manson Family victims of August 9, 1969, are generally listed as Sharon Tate and “others,” with Sebring, Abigail Folger, Wojciech Frykowski, and Steven Parent lumped together under that dismissive label.

With “Cutting to the Truth,” Las Vegas filmmaker Anthony DiMaria, Sebring’s nephew, attempts to provide his uncle with the kind of full, complex biography that’s rarely accorded to murder victims, especially those targeted by notorious killers like Charles Manson. As DiMaria points out, there have been countless books, movies, and TV shows about Manson, but “Cutting to the Truth” is the first one about Sebring.

This is obviously a personal project for DiMaria, who was only a small child when his uncle died but retains strong memories of the man he loved. DiMaria spent years working on “Cutting to the Truth,” and the effort shows: This isn’t just a small-scale family affair, although DiMaria interviews his own parents (his mother is Sebring’s sister) and other family members.

Before being reduced to a statistic in the Manson saga, Sebring was a pioneering hairstylist who worked with nearly every major male star of the 1960s, and DiMaria lands big names like Quincy Jones, Robert Wagner, Paul Anka, and Nancy Sinatra, among others, for interviews in the film. It’s clear how long DiMaria spent working on the movie when Dominick Dunne and Dennis Hopper show up, talking about their friendships with Sebring, in footage captured before their deaths more than a decade ago.

An interview with Hollywood and TV star Robert Wagner is among several in the film.

It’s not just the big-name interviewees that mark “Cutting to the Truth” as an impressive production. DiMaria effectively weaves together interviews, archival material, and onscreen graphics to tell the story of his uncle’s life, from Sebring’s days growing up in Michigan to his stint in the Navy to his efforts to establish an entirely new brand of men’s hairstyling in Los Angeles. The movie makes a strong case for Sebring as an important style innovator, possibly the first person to treat men’s hairstyling with the same creativity and dedication (and price) as women’s hairstyling. Among other achievements, Sebring created Jim Morrison’s iconic look from the early days of The Doors, and styled Kirk Douglas’ hair for “Spartacus.” Fashion icons including Vidal Sassoon and Fred Segal praise Sebring’s skills in the film.

DiMaria paints a full picture of Sebring as a complex human being, delving into his personal relationships with family and significant others (including Tate, whom Sebring dated before she married Roman Polanski) along with his professional accomplishments. DiMaria rehabilitates the image that the media created of Sebring as a deviant and a coward in the initial weeks following the murders, and in the process, he delivers a strong statement about the treatment of all high-profile murder victims. Sebring is getting his movie thanks to his connection to celebrities and the dedication of his nephew, but most victims of notorious murderers aren’t afforded the same treatment.

DiMaria also interviews Quentin Tarantino, who created one of the only multi-dimensional portrayals of Sebring onscreen in “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood,” in which Sebring was played by Emile Hirsch. “Once Upon a Time” is clearly an important catalyst for “Cutting to the Truth” finally being completed and reaching an audience, but of course in its way it’s just another sensationalized treatment of the Manson murders. DiMaria understands the prurient interest that may draw viewers to stories like this, but once he has their attention, he presents them with a thorough, heartfelt tribute to his uncle’s life and talent.

“Jay Sebring….Cutting to the Truth” is available on September 22 on all major VOD platforms.

Paul Atreides: Author, playwright, critic, and now screenwriter honors 9/11 with his new work

An interview with Ralph Stalter, Jr. and writer Atreides about his new film

EMAV critic and author Paul Atreides.

Paul Atreides is a writer with a prolific pen not only as a leading theatre critic for Eat More Art Vegas but as a published author and produced playwright. Our own Ralph Stalter caught up with Paul after shooting wrapped for his new 9/11 inspired screenplay, FUSION, now in post-production.

The Interview:

Your website identifies you as an “AUTHOR, PLAYWRIGHT, THEATER CRITIC, COLUMNIST”, all of which put you on the “writer’s side” of the creative process. Is that where you’ve spent most of your career?

Not initially. I spent about 34 years in theatre; acting, producing, directing – both as a vocation and an avocation.. A lot of that was spent “doing floors and windows” as we used to say at the Omaha Playhouse: That entailed doing whatever was necessary to get the show opened on time.

In general, why do you write?

It’s soothing. And frustrating. LOL. At first it was to occupy time after losing my job in 2011 during the economic downturn. I take on subjects that matter to me and it’s a way to get my thoughts and opinions out into the world.

Where, and when, did you come up with the initial story idea for FUSION?

It started as a writing exercise in 2012.

Can you share with us your personal process and timeline for FUSION’S story development as a written piece, prior to involving others in its publication and/or production?

I wanted to try my hand at the infamous passage in A Tale of Two Cities, and thought two victims of the attack would serve that well. Once I had the basics down, I sent it to Maralys Wills (A Circus Without Elephants) to see what she thought. Her response was, “This is a disaster. It’s confusing.” I rewrote it again and again. As I struggled with the initial prose, the proverbial light bulb went on: This is a stage play.

Many studies suggest that we are more likely to remember negative experiences over positive experiences. What are your expectations for a film that focuses on the 20th Anniversary of the September 11th, 2001, attack on the United States?

The attack was the first against the U.S. on our soil since Peral Harbor but 90 different countries are represented in the list of victims. Well, I would hope it touches an emotional nerve with people. I mean, that’s what art is supposed to do, right? For good or bad.

Timothy Cummings and Gabrielle Harris in FUSION with The Asylum Theatre.

How did FUSION progress from a stage play into a short film, and was this your first experience in film production?

I read a press release about the Museum looking for exhibits for the opening. I submitted the script as a performance piece – something that could be done either inside or out near the reflecting pools. They liked the idea, but said live performances were not in the plans. They suggested I get it filmed. The hunt was on and I had no idea what filming entailed.

What would you say are the challenges of involving others in publication and/or production of your work?

It’s different for prose than it is film or stage. With fiction and nonfiction, you work with an editor to revise and tighten a piece but, in the end, it’s still yours. With film or stage, once you send it out into the world, it no loner really belongs to you. You have to be able to let someone’s interpretation of your words come to life – and that may not reflect the original intent.

If you weren’t working in the arts, what other job do you think you would be doing?

That’s a tough one. But, I suppose Civil Engineering – it’s what paid the bills until 2011. It’s still creative in a way.

How did you end up in Las Vegas, and has that community impacted your writing career in any way?

Uncle Sam dropped me here with my stint in the Air Force. The only impact Las Vegas has had on my writing career would be as a critic and columnist. It began with a column for Las Vegas Night Beat, a monthly magazine. When Anthony DelValle, the theatre critic and columnist for the Las Vegas Review-Journal passed away, I tossed my hat in the ring by sending sample critiques. I worked for the RJ until Adelson purchased the paper and cut all the arts coverage. Shortly after that, Sarah launched EatMoreArtVegas to fill the gap and invited me on board.

Check out Paul Atreides work on paul-atreides.com.

Any future projects that you’d like to tell us about?

I have two projects in the works. One is adapting my World of Deadheads trilogy into a cable television series. That’s been on the back burner since Ian Drazen, then development director for Pretty Pictures, the company behind Nurse Betty and Rain Man, asked if the film rights were available. Obviously, they didn’t take an option. Now, I hope to get Brad Falchuk, Ryan Murphy, and Ian Brennan (American Horror Story, The Politician) interested.

The other is a stage play about the hiding of abusive priests by the Catholic Church. It’s just gone through a critique by Davenport Theatrical in New York (Kinky Boots, Spring Awakening) and they gave it glowing remarks. I’d like to find a company to usher it to production in New York.

Of your many “roles” -- AUTHOR, PLAYWRIGHT, THEATER CRITIC, COLUMNIST – is there one that you prefer over the others?

It depends on my mood! LOL. But, probably author – I’ve certainly written more fiction than anything else.

How did you, or your collaborators, make the connection to the National September 11 Memorial & Museum, and come up with the idea of donating the film for exhibit purposes?

Donating the film was always my plan since they were the ones to originally suggest filming. I can’t count the number of film production companies that told me, “That’s old news – who cares?” It took years to find a team that thought it would be worth it. This came about on a fluke, during a conversation with Tim (Timothy Chizmar Productions). He asked to see the script. Three days later he called to say he had an entire team ready to take it on. Did the donation angle for the 20th Anniversary make the difference? I think so, maybe.