Spooky Time Episode 16: The Portland Horror Film Festival 2023

ATMOSfx! Woo!

The Portland Horror Film Festiva is one of our nearest and dearest associations, built together by friendships, sustained by quality programming, and confirmed by yet another awesome roster of independent horror films. We know we have a number of Northwest fans, and the weather is now PERFECT for the festival season!

For those of you not in the know, PHFF curates perhaps the absolute best horror shorts blocks of all the film festivals. Sure, the headliners are the deservedly eye-catching feature films Onyx The Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls and Black Mold which have been receiving rave reviews at festivals across the country. Plus there are world premieres a-plenty, so you get to be the FIRST to see them!

Tickets are available now for the full festival run, individual viewings, and STREAMING content for those of you who aren’t able to make the trip to Rose City. It’s not just streaming films either, as PHFF will have interviews, trivia, and other interactive activities for the audience to participate in, giving it the festival flavor needed.

Don’t forget, too, if you want to participate in The Horror Movie Greenlight Pitch, Portland Film Festival Edition, The Scariest Things will be running this event just after the festival finishes up at 9:00 across from the Clinton Theater (after you get out of the gonzo Puppet Killer) at Dot’s Cafe, for an outdoor dining and gaming experience.

Here is the Press release statement:

THE SUMMER OF FEAR IS HERE at PORTLAND HORROR FILM FESTIVAL™

PORTLAND, OR – Portland Horror Film Festival returns to the historic Hollywood Theatre and Clinton Street Theater June 7-11th for its 8th annual event! 9 Features and 60 Short Horror Films will be on display, with a lucky 13 World Premieres, including features Violett from Australia, and South Korean shocker, Chabak. Horror hounds who can’t make it in person can get their horror film fix with a selection of films available for streaming.

Portland Horror Film Festival continues their mission of presenting a diverse and inclusive lineup of the best independent horror films, with short and feature films from 17 countries, including many films made by Black, Asian, Latinx, Queer, and Women filmmakers.

The 5 day run of terror begins at the Hollywood Theatre on Wednesday, June 7th with the Pacific Northwest Premiere of Black Mold, written and directed by John Pata, and a smorgasbord of short horrors from all over the world.

Thursday the 8th is an Asian Horror Double Feature! The World Premiere of Chabak – The Night of Murder and Romance, a darkly sweet slasher from South Korean director William Inhyuk Hyoung (in attendance), will screen alongside the US Premiere of the quirky and BLOODY Love Will Tear Us Apart, written and directed by Kenichi Ugana (Ganguro Gal’s Riot, “Visitors”). David J. Stieve, the creator and writer of Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon, is attending with his suspense thriller short film “Wait For It.”

Friday’s Satanic Panic Double Feature begins with the award-winning documentary Satan Wants You, detailing the memoir Michelle Remembers that sparked the 80s Satanic Panic. The evening is capped by the Pacific Northwest Premiere of Onyx The Fortuitous and the Talisman of Souls, written and directed by Andrew Bowser, starring Olivia Taylor Dudley (The Magicians), Barbara Crampton (Stuart Gordon’s From Beyond, and the upcoming Suitable Flesh), and Jeffrey Combs (Re-Animator) as Bartok the Great. Horror icon Kelli Maroney (Night of the Comet) will be attending Friday night for the World Premiere of “The Haunted Baby Carriage,” a short film shot and produced in Portland.

Audiences on Saturday at the Clinton Street Theater will see two mega-sized short film blocks, and two feature films. Alice Maio Mackay’s feature T Blockers is a queer horror monster movie mashup, and Puppet Killer is an 80s homage slasher directed by Lisa Ovies, who will be in attendance, starring Aleks Paunovic (Hawkeye, Snowpiercer), Lisa Durupt, Gigi Saul Guerrero, and you guessed it, a killer puppet! Sunday brings on the Heavy Metal Horror with Invoking Yell, the Chilean found footage film from Patricio Valladares, and the World Premiere of the psychological horror/dark fairy tale, Violett, from Australian director Steven J. Mihaljevich. A truckload of international short films rounds out the programming, and the infamous Shorts Gone Wild caps off the weekend with the weirdest, bloodiest, and funniest short films of the festival! Look for Chris McInroy’s “We Forgot About the Zombies” and queer horror comedy “Violet Butterfield: Makeup Artist for the Dead” by Brooke H. Cellars.

This year’s streaming program features over 15 hours of films available through the Portland Horror Film Festival’s Eventive portal. The streaming program begins Thursday June 8th and features 8 blocks of short films and 3 feature films (Love Will Tear Us Apart, Satan Wants You, Violett).

For ticket information, the full schedule, film listing, and more, please visit https://portlandhorrorfilmfestival.com/tickets

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