IF YOU’RE A HORROR FAN, YOU OWE IT TO YOURSELF TO ATTEND THIS FESTIVAL!
Article by Adam Mast
The 2015 Stanley Film Festival is only a few days away, and if you’re a fan of the horror genre, we at Cinemast.net can’t recommend this 4-day horror film showcase enough. This young but amazing fest takes place at the breathtaking Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, CO. The Stanley is widely known as the very hotel that inspired horror legend Stephen King to write “The Shining”.
The Stanley Film Festival prides itself on the very best in genre films and as we get ever so closer to opening night, we’ll be profiling a few of the films and events you’ll have an opportunity to see should you wisely decide to make the trip out to Estes Park, CO.
COOTIES
COOTIES will open the fest this year. As fate would have, I was fortunate enough to see this picture at Sundance back in 2014, and it was an absolute blast. “Cooties” stars Elijah Wood as a teacher who bands together with fellow staff members in an effort to survive the night after a virus turns a school full of pre-teens into flesh eating ghouls.
The film was directed by Jonathan Milott and Cary Murnion from a screenplay by Leigh Whannell (James Wan’s co-writer on SAW) and Ian Brennan. Not simply content with just handling writing duties, Whannell also has a supporting role in the film and he’s an absolute riot. In addition to Wood and Whannell, COOTIES also stars Rainn Wilson, Alison Pill, Jack McBrayer, and Jorge Garcia.
On a side note, COOTIES is slated for release in the fall and from what I understand, they have an all new ending. So, if you were one of the lucky few who saw the film at Sundance, you now have a great reason to watch it again. Not that you needed a reason to watch it again.
Final note; The idea of seeing this one with a Stanley Film Fest crowd has me positively giddy. COOTIES opens the Stanley Film Festival at 8:30 PM on Thursday, April 30th.
THE FINAL GIRLS
The 3rd annual Stanley Film Festival will come to a close with a screening of the much buzzed about, THE FINAL GIRLS. From director Todd Strauss-Schulson and screenwriters M.A. Fortin and Joshua John Miller comes what promises to be a potent mixture of horror and comedy. THE FINAL GIRLS features Taissa Farmiga as Max Cartwright– a young woman trying to cope with the passing of her mother (a prominent scream queen from the 80’s.) Through some bizarre set of circumstances, Max finds herself pulled into one of her mother’s most famous movies, and ultimately, she must team up with her own mom in an effort to defeat a terrifying killer.
Word coming out of South By Southwest last month is that THE FINAL GIRLS is an absolute winner and that it’s the best film of its kind since CABIN IN THE WOODS. High praise in deed. This is expected to be one of the hot tickets at the fest this year, so buy yours as soon as humanly possible.
THE FINAL GIRLS closes out The Stanley Film Festival on Saturday, May 2nd at 7:15 PM.
The Stanley Film Festival runs from April 30th until May 3rd at the Stanley Hotel in Estes Park, CO. For detailed info including programming, tickets, and show times, CLICK HERE.
