Ten years since it was first conceived, filmmaker and animator Beck Underwood and New York City-based production company Glass Eye Pix are bringing back their “digital advent calendar” for genre film fans for 2018. The Creepy Christmas Film Festival kicks off this weekend, presenting a new Christmas-themed horror short every day from December 1 through 25.
This year’s yuletide carnage features both live-action and animated shorts from exiting storytellers, ranging from truly haunting holiday tales to whimsical weirdness. Filmmakers include Glass Eye Pix CEO Larry Fessenden (Habit, Wendigo), GEP regulars Jenn Wexler (The Ranger), Glenn McQuaid (I Sell the Dead), Graham Reznick (Shudder’s Deadwax), Mickey Keating (Psychopaths), Joe Maggio (Bitter Feast), James McKenney (Satan Hates You), JT Petty (The Burrowers, Hellbenders), and many fresh faces, including animators Joy + Noelle, (Human Kindof), award-winning puppet theater director Jessica Grindstaff (Phantom Limb Company), Gothic impresario Voltaire (Gothic Homemaking Show), young filmmakers from The Lower East Side Girls Club, and a host of other unexpected contributors.
“In 2008, I made an advent calendar for Glass Eye Pix. After completing the diorama and photos for the original calendar, I felt there were more stories to be had from the little scenarios behind each window. I was lucky enough to find a group of artists who rose to the challenge. They received the objects from the window in the mail, their due date and with no additional direction, whipped up some wicked visions. After 10 years, speaking with filmmaker Ben Duff, who was still a teenager when the first fest premiered, I decided to send out the random missive again with Ben co-curating, bringing his eye to the mix of contributors,” explained Underwood.
“I think of The Creepy Christmas Film Test as being like conceptual art. It explores the trust of community making art in the same spirit we all had as children to put on a show. It’s always nice when I see contributors involving their families, friends, passersby, pets… and the resulting films all have that same charm one hopes blesses the holiday season.”
Fessenden said, “At Glass Eye, we’re always looking for forums to get people to loosen up, forget about budgets, and rekindle their love of filmmaking and mischief making. Beck’s festival does just that, and it’s a real treat to see what artists of all stripes come up with for the assignment: ‘Creepy’ blended with the absurdly iconic, over-saturated imagery of the Christmas Season. ‘Deck the Halls’ indeed!”
A new, original film launches every day for 25 days via the Creepy Christmas Film Festival website (www.creepychristmasfest.com)and social media pages.
