Creatures of the night descended upon New Orleans this past weekend (even more than their usual) for the Overlook Film Festival. A genre celebration set against the backdrop of what many refer to as "America's most haunted city." I can't speak to that, but I can say the food and the Overlook lineup were absolutely stellar. It's hard to choose the best of the bunch when the lineup delivers on every single title, but the people have spoken, and we have a list of this year's festival winners! That's right, the Overlook Film Festival's seventh annual celebration of all things horror has announced the winners of the 2023 juried competition along with the Audience Award recipients.
The feature film Audience Award went to Late Night with the Devil. Directors Colin and Cameron Cairnes were in attendance along with Devil star David Dastmalchian. The story centers on a live television broadcast in 1977, as things go horribly awry, unleashing evil into living rooms across the nation. The runner-up was Alexis Jacknow’s Clock, following a woman's desperate attempt to fix her broken biological clock.
In the realm of short-form horror, the short film to receive the 2023 Audience Award was... Violet Butterfield: Makeup Artist for the Dead. Michael Schwartz snatched the runner-up spot in the shorts category for his short film Snatched starring familiar faces Tatiana Maslany, Brendan Hines, and Misha Osherovich. The audience was aligned with the jury on this one, as the Best Short Film honor was awarded to Violet Butterfield: Makeup Artist for the Dead by Brooke H. Cellars and Fidel Ruiz-Healy. Tyler Walker’s Dead Enders received an honorable mention in the category. The award for Scariest Short went to Virat Pal’s Night of the Bride, and the Special Jury Prize for Creative Vision was awarded to FROM.BEYOND directed by Fredrik S. Hana.
This year happened to be a record-breaker for the fest, with 45 sold-out shows and approximately five thousand audience members in total attendance — the festival's highest to date, and it's no surprise with this year's list of titles and guests. With the likes of Nicolas Cage, Chris McKay, Joe Dante, Jim Jarmusch, John Goodman (just to name some) of this year's guests, it looks like Overlook is only going to get bigger and badder. Some of the weekend's highlights included Renfield director Chris McKay, and star Nicolas Cage presenting their fang-tastic premiere. McKay stated: “We had the immense pleasure of screening Renfield as the Opening Night film at the Overlook Film Festival in New Orleans. Overlook showcases an incredibly diverse body of films that reflect the entire spectrum of horror. The historic Prytania theater, built in 1914, was the best place to show our movie because of its connection to the past — one can easily imagine Nosferatu or Tod Browning’s Dracula playing there. The festival staff were great partners and took such good care of us. It was a truly unforgettable experience.”
Now a vampiric premiere would simply not be complete without a proper celebration to follow. A vampire ball in the French Quarter was just the right atmosphere. This wasn't just any vampire ball, Jim Jarmusch and Carter Logan of SQÜRL added played the event live, and added, "Bloody hell! We love the Overlook Film Festival! There's nowhere else in the world that could make our strange band of vampires feel so welcome. We send our undying respect to everyone from the organizers to the fans who make this festival the coolest place on this or any planet."
The festival also presented a special screening in celebration of the 10th anniversary of Only Lovers Left Alive. Directed by Jarmusch, the film was co-produced by Logan and scored by SQÜRL, in collaboration with Dutch lutenist Jozef Van Wissem.
Joe Dante was also in attendance for not just one, but two very special screenings, “This was not my first Overlook experience, but the first in New Orleans, and a memorable one. The movie love is palpable, and the staff is great. My double bill of Matinee and The Tingler was a joy — it was like seeing them both for the first time.”
Dante presented a 30th-anniversary screening of Matinee along with legendary actor John Goodman, and also selected William Castle’s horror classic The Tingler to be screened at the festival. The latter was introduced by a very familiar face, Dr. Bartholomew Fearless (better known to some as David Dastmalchian). The screening was presented in Percepto, complete with fainting audience members and the tingler creeping through the theater! What a wonderful weekend of celebrating our favorite genre, check out a detailed list of winners below. And if you missed out this year... there's always 2024!
Audience Awards
Winner — Feature Film
Late Night with the Devil
Directors: Colin Cairnes, Cameron Cairnes
Cast: David Dastmalchian, Laura Gordon, Fayssal Bazzi, Ian Bliss, Ingrid Torelli, Rhys Auteri, Josh Quong Tart, Georgina Haig
Australia, 2023
Desperate for ratings, a Seventies-era late night talk show host invites a skeptic, a doctor and a young girl supposedly possessed by the devil for a very special Halloween episode. By the end of the show, his horrified audience would learn one awful truth: Evil doesn’t take commercial breaks.
Runner-Up — Feature Film
Clock
WORLD PREMIERE
Director: Alexis Jacknow
Cast: Dianna Agron, Jay Ali, Melora Hardin
United States, 2023
On the eve of her birthday, a woman desperately attempts to fix her broken biological clock, but at what cost? Featuring a powerhouse turn from Dianna Agron (Shiva Baby), this cautionary tale warns that when the pressure to conform mounts beyond reason, something’s going to break.
Winner — Short Film
Violet Butterfield: Makeup Artist for the Dead, Dir. Brooke H. Cellars, United States, 2022
One night at her mortuary salon, Violet receives a visit from a new client and discovers that sometimes a person feels they cannot authentically live their best life until after they're dead.
Runner-Up — Short Film
Snatched, Dir. Michael Schwartz, United States, 2022
After coming out as gay, a 15-year-old boy must fight for his life when his parents react with otherworldly acceptance.
Juried Awards
Best Short Film
Violet Butterfield: Makeup Artist for the Dead, Dir. Brooke H. Cellars, United States, 2022
One night at her mortuary salon, Violet receives a visit from a new client and discovers that sometimes a person feels they cannot authentically live their best life until after they're dead.
Honorable Mention
Dead Enders, Dir. Fidel Ruiz-Healy, Tyler Walker, United States, 2023
A disaffected, young gas-station clerk on the midnight shift must learn to give a damn about something after malevolent mind-controlling bugs are set loose by irresponsible oil drillers.
Scariest Short
Night of the Bride, Dir. Virat Pal, India, 2022
A young woman’s cries for help fall on deaf ears as a family holds her hostage, desperate to get their only son married through whatever sinister means necessary.
Special Jury Prize for Creative Vision
FROM.BEYOND, Dir. Fredrik S. Hana, Norway, 2022
This kaleidoscopic vision portrays mankind’s first meeting with alien life, told through faux archival footage combined with practical FX, miniatures and old school in-camera trickery.
