Book your room using our discounted group rate for 2019!
For you early birds who are planning your travel for the 2019 festival, we have a discounted group rate at the DoubleTree by Hilton near Lloyd Center. Rates are $155/night+tax for a single bed and start at $165/night+tax for two beds. CLICK HERE To book your room!
If you're looking for accommodations closer to the theater, check out our Travel & Venues section!
Victoria Price, daughter of Vincent Price, is our 2019 Guest of Honor!
Vincent Price has long been a beloved actor in the horror genre, and starred in several very Lovecraftian films, including Roger Corman's The Haunted Palace (based on HPL's The Case of Charles Dexter Ward), Diary of a Madman (based on Guy De Maupassant's "The Horla"), and even portrayed the sorcerer John Carnby in Night Gallery's adaptation of Clark Ashton Smith's "The Return of The Sorcerer." This year, we welcome his daughter Victoria Price as our guest of honor. Victoria is an award-winning author and speaker in her own right; in additon to penning The Way of Being Lost: A Road Trip to My Truest Self and Vincent Price: A Daughter's Biography, she is also an acclaimed inspirational speaker and interfaith minister. She'll be joining us to speak about growing up with the legendary Vincent Price, as we feature some of his more Lovecraftian cinematic works.
The 2018 Awards Roundup
Congratulations to all the 2018 H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival Award Winners! With so many amazing films, choosing the winners was a difficult process
Categories and winning films are:
Best Feature: Hammer of the Gods by Nick Szostakiwskyj & Cameron Tremblay
Best Short Film: "Young Liars" by Adam Christy
Best Adaptation: "The House of the Seven Gables" by Ben Wickey
Best Screenplay: "You and Me and Dagon Makes Three" by Mack W. Mani
Audience Choice: "The Music of John Low" by Marko Kattilakoski
*Lovecraft Under the Gun: "Bestill the Fabric" by team Amor Artisanant
**Pickman's Apprentice: "Zoogs in a Tiki Bar" by Lee Moyer
*Lovecraft Under the Gun is a 72 hour film competition. Teams have 3 days to make a short film from scratch, using a line of dialogue and a prop that are revealed when they register. The audience chooses the winner based on technical merit, creativity, and how well they used the prop and line of dialogue.
**Pickman's Apprentive is a live drawing competition. Artists have 90 minutes to create an original piece based on a Lovecraftian monster, location, and action. The finished works are sold by silent auction. The proceeds are being donated to relief efforts after the devastation of Hurricane Florence.
Four Screenplay Finalists for 2018
This year's Screenplay competition has been narrowed down to four finalists by our illustrious jury (Ross E. Lockhart, Dominique Lamssies, Susan O'Neill, Gwen Callahan). The winner will be announced at the Awards Ceremony on Sunday night at 7 pm! We can not post screenplays, but here are the synopses of the four contenders:
Feature screenplay - "Lovecraft: Into the Abyss" by Mark Sudano
When one of his stories is found at a gruesome crime scene, a young HP Lovecraft must team up with Harry Houdini to clear his name, but as they investigate, it becomes clear that Lovecraft's inter-dimensional horrors exist in real life - and the reanimated corpse of Edgar Allan Poe is using them to find the Necronomicon to end life as we know it.
Feature screenplay -"Three Men Dwell" by Bill Bradshaw
It is the year of our Lord 1900. In the storm of the century, a team of Lighthouse keepers are stranded on a barren island off the North West coast of Scotland. The storm brings carnage and destruction but it also harbors something far more sinister. As the days edge by, the team becomes aware of a centuries old evil that threatens, not just the island, but their very existence. "Three Men Dwell" is 'A Perfect Storm' meets 'The Wicker Man' to the bleak backdrop of the North Atlantic.
Short screenplay - "You and Me and Dagon Makes Three" by Mack Mani
Sometimes meeting the parents is about more than making a good impression, for Joe it means traveling to an isolated island and opening himself up to a whole lot of cosmic baggage. It turns out that finding the man of your dreams is the easy part, meeting his parents and their ancient god...that's another issue entirely. Pass the ritual. Survive the night. Plan the wedding. "You and Me and Dagon Makes Three" is a gay horror/rom-com about what it takes to love someone despite their cosmic flaws and the sometimes horrifying lengths we go to to prove that love.
Short screenplay - "Wet Rot" by Stuart Creque
Kit wonders why Dad is spending so much time in the basement, cleaning up the mildew growing there. "Wet Rot" is a short, but effective creep out, and has a nice take on Lovecraftian themes without ever referencing the mythos.
Congratulations to the finalists, and good luck!
2018 Kickstarter Campaign is LIVE! Get Tickets and Exclusive Rewards!
The 2018 Kickstarter Campaign is LIVE!
Get Deluxe Ticket Packages, VIP Experiences, Innsmouth & Tiki-themed rewards, and help support the festival! If you're not able to attend this year, you can still enjoy the Tiki-goodness by pledging for "there in spirit" rewards (we'll ship them to you after the festival!).
Reward highlights include:
VIP PARTY - A NIGHT IN Y'HA-NTHLEI
This Tiki-inspired Reception at the Gilman House Lounge* takes place Thursday, October 4th. Our host and emcee, Tony Starlight will guide you through the evening's diversions while you hob nob with a few of our featured guests. Enjoy a traditional Hawaiian feast, tropical cocktails, live music by ukelele sensation The Walakeas, and a ritual like none you've experienced before!
*VIP Reception is 7-10 pm on Thursday, October 4th, 1125 SE Madison, Portland, OR 97214.
LIMITED EDITION CTHULHU TIKI MUG
This custom made ceramic Tiki mug was designed by Brian Callahan and is perfect for holding about 16 oz of your favorite cold or hot beverages!
A Delta Green LARP! This is replacing our Founder's Game this year. Run by our good friend and OL (Original Lurker™) Aaron Vanek, with a host of supporting characters you'll recognize from the festival, and a story that will physically take you to several creepy Portland locations before its epic finale! All conveniently taking place from the morning of Friday, October 5th, and ending before doors open at the theater!
PLUS limited edition sculpture and art from Tin Plate Studios, Catalyst Studios, and Liv Rainey-Smith!
Portland Welcomes 2018 Guest of Honor, Screenwriter and Author Chiaki J. Konaka!
PORTLAND, OR - We are extremely excited to announce that Author and Screenwriter Chiaki J. Konaka will be our 2018 Guest of Honor! With over 200 screenwriting credits, he is best known in the US for Marebito, "Innsmouth Wo Oou Kage," "Ultraman Gaia," and "Mononoke." He is also well known among fans for putting Lovecraftian and Mythos elements in many of his works. As the screenwriter for the 1989 original video movie Psychic Vision: Jaganrei (which means "Evil Spirit"), Konaka penned one of the first films in the "J Horror" movement, influencing Kiyoshi Kurosawa, Takashi Shimizu, and others. His mythos novel Terror Rate, was translated to English in the anthology Inverted Kingdom, edited by Ken Asamatsu. His vampire novella will be translated into English in 2019.
Mr. Konaka will appear at the festival for Q&A and panel discussions throughout the weekend.
Japanese Idol Band Necronomidol to Perform at H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival
PORTLAND, OR - Necronomidol, an "occult-infused" Japanese Idol band, will be performing at the H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival! The Lovecraftian metal pop, darkwave band will open the festival on Friday night, October 5th, and will also perform a longer set on Saturday night, October 6th. With song titles like "Strange Aeons," "Ithaqua," and "Celephais," festival attendees are sure to appreciate the juxtaposition of pop vocals, metal/darkwave instrumentals, and lyrics suffused with cosmic horror and mythological references.
More about Necronomidol on their Facebook Page or their official website.
...and the Winners Are!
Congratulations to all the Festival Award Winners! With so many great films, it was extremely difficult to choose the winners. Our jury deliberated furiously!
Categories and winning films are:
Best Feature: They Remain by Philip Gelatt
Best Short Film: "Sound From the Deep" by Antti Laakso & Joonas Allonen
Best Adaptation: "Wattmarck" by Lorenz Tröbinger
Best Screenplay: "The Summoning Day" by Soroosh Iradi
Audience Choice: "Sound From the Deep" by Antti Laakso & Joonas Allonen
*Lovecraft Under the Gun: "I Dream of Lovecraft" by team Trash People From The Dump
**Pickman's Apprentice: "Kassogtha - Volcano - Summoning" by Dave Correia
*Lovecraft Under the Gun is a 72 hour film competition. Teams have 3 days to make a short film from scratch, using a line of dialogue and a prop that are revealed when they register. The audience chooses the winner based on technical merit, creativity, and how well they used the prop and line of dialogue.
**Pickman's Apprentive is a live drawing competition. Artists have 90 minutes to create an original piece based on a Lovecraftian monster, location, and action. The finished works are sold by silent auction. The proceeds are being donated to relief efforts in Puerto Rico after the devastation of Hurricane Maria.
Barbara Steele appearing on Saturday at 1 pm for Black Sunday screening!
Barbara Steele will appear at the H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival® this Saturday, October 7th at 1 pm! The First Lady of horror will be with us to briefly introduce the special screening of Mario Bava’s gothic masterpiece, BLACK SUNDAY, and will do a Q&A afterwards and will sign autographs in the main lobby. This is a rare opportunity to see the legendary actress talk about her long and storied career! Since seating is limited, 3-day pass holders will be admitted to the theater first. If you are coming for the screening on Saturday, we ask that you arrive at the Hollywood Theatre by 12:30 pm so that we can try to accommodate as many people as possible.
Barbara Steele, born in Birkenhead, Cheshire, England, originally studied to be a painter, but ultimately became one of the best-known and well-loved horror actresses of all time. Her first film role was in the British comedy, Bachelor of Hearts, but her breakout role was in Black Sunday, which was Mario Bava's directorial debut. Steele continued to capture the hearts and minds of international audiences in Fellini’s 8½, and gothic films like The Pit and the Pendulum, Castle of Blood, Terror-Creatures From the Grave, An Angel for Satan, Nightmare Castle, and The Silent Scream. Lovecraft fans may remember her as Lavinia Morley in the Curse of the Crimson Altar with Sir Christopher Lee, loosely based on Lovecraft’s story “The Dreams in the Witch House.” (We screened this in 2014)
After a hiatus from horror film work, Barbara returned, much to the delight of her fans, in the 1991 mini-series Dark Shadows as Dr. Julia Hoffman, and continues to pick her projects carefully. Her recent roles in Lost River (written and directed by Ryan Gosling), voiceover work in Kevin McTurk’s The Mill at Calder’s End, and most recently as the voice of Azathoth on the new Dreams in the Witch House Rock Opera’s "Fevered Dreams" EP, have cemented her place in the cosmos as the ultimate leading lady of horror.
Tickets for the 2017 H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival are on sale now
Tickets are on sale now for the 22nd Annual H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival®, October 6-8th! This year’s lineup includes more than 40 independent short and feature films from around the world, hours of panel discussions, author readings, gaming, live events, and special guests. Buy them in person at their box office or online.
We are joined by Guest of Honor F. Paul Wilson (Repairman Jack), Philip Gelatt (Europa Report), Courtney Gains (Children of the Corn), authors Cody Goodfellow, Kenneth Hite, Tim Uren, Adam Scott Glancy; artists Heather Hudson, Jim Pavelec, Liv Rainey-Smith, Nick Gucker, and many more.
Programming highlights:
- WORLD PREMIERE of “They Remain,” the feature film adaptation of Laird Barrons’ short story “-30-.” Writer/Director Philip Gelatt in attendance
- Keynote address by F. Paul Wilson
- Special Screening of The Keep with F. Paul Wilson
- Special Screening of Children of the Corn with Courtney Gains
- Live Radio Play performance by the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society
- Panel discussions, presentations, author readings
- Games and Demos with Chaosium, Guardian Games, and Petersen Games
- Pickman’s Apprentice live drawing competition
- Carbload for Cthulhu - continental breakfast and Author Signing event on Saturday morning
- Lovecraft Under the Gun 72 Hour competition screening on Sunday
More information is on our Tickets page.