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 reading is done. The winners are chosen. The stories are on their way to press. Congratulations to the winners of the 2019 Lovecraftian Micro Fiction contest!
Each of these super-short, super-creepy stories will be printed in Volume 5 of the Lovecraftian Micro Fiction collection, as the flip side to the Challenge From Beyond 2019. The author of each story will receive two copies of the finished book in the mail, and the top story will be read by one of our noted guests for an adoring (and pretty Weird) audience at the H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival, taking place October 4-6, 2019 at the Hollywood Theatre in Portland, OR.
And the winners are (in no particular order):
- TOP WINNER! "Dol-Hareubang" by J. Wiltz
- "Gateway Drug" by Jason Zuleger
- "The Herd" by Russell Smeaton
- "Mother" by Kyle Webb
- "Check Your Pockets" by Michael Carlyle
- "Domovoi" by Erik Gorka
- "Etching of The Masks" by Zachary Bishop
- "White" by Susan Hill
- "That Scar We Made" by Kerry Birmingham
- "Latex" by Sean Blau
For a round 13 stories, we also select 3 Honorable Mentions, which will also be printed in the book, including:
- "Chaos Crawls Back" by Rick Hutchins
- "He, Alone..." by David Gonzalez
- "When the Stars Were Right" by Joe Broers
Competition was fierce and this year's submissions were some of the most clever, impacting, and Weird stories we've ever read, short or not. There were so many standout stories that making these selections was nearly impossible, and if we could have made a double-sized issue, we would have! But, narrowing it down and making those hard choices is a commitment we make to both the authors and the readers. Every one of these authors can be extremely proud of this accomplishment. It was not an easy choice, but you earned it. H. P. Lovecraft himself would be proud of these tiny feats of horror!
The Lovecraftian Micro Fiction collection Vol. 5 was included at several reward levels in the 2019 H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival Kickstarter, and will be available as an add-on to Kickstarter backers, as well as at the H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival, October 4-6th, with Guest of Honor Victoria Price, Roger Corman, and Richard Stanley.
The NecronomiCon Providence film schedule and core programming schedules have been announced! Check out the great cosmic horror films they're showing, and pay special attention the H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival® short film presentations. Each of the three short film block will have its main screening at the swanky RISD Metcalf auditorium (where last year's HPLFF Providence took place) in Chace Center at 20 N. Main St., featuring excellent projection and sound, plus live Q&A sessions with visiting filmmakers. If you can't make those, there will also be auxiliary screenings at the AS220 Black Box theater downtown at 95 Empire St., so that you don't miss a minute of these amazing films!
We'll also be presenting a 1-night-only "Lovecraft After Dark" block, an adults-only Midnight movie presentation of R-rated short films to titillate and horrify (Midnight, Fri Aug 23rd at AS220 Black Box theater).
Also, check out the full NecronomiCon film schedule, as well as their core programming schedule, then buy tickets to this amazing Lovecraftian event that brings together the best of the Weird in Lovecraft's hometown. We'll see you there!
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!
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.
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!
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, 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.
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.
This Friday, Can Evrenol's highly anticipated Lovecraftian feature film, HOUSEWIFE shows opening night of the H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival® in Providence, RI, taking place on College Hill at the beautiful Metcalf Auditorium at RISD Chace Center (20 N Main St, Providence). We're very pleased to bring this amazing film to Lovecraft's hometown. Can Evrenol is the director of BASKIN (2015) which garnered many extreme reviews, and was called one of the bloodiest and one of the weirdest horror films of that year. Reviewers noted its slightly Lovecraftian overtones, but won't be able to miss the influence of the Ol' Gent from Providence in this one... it has everything he would've loved (and a few things he would've hated!): nightmares becoming real, a generational family curse, strange books of forbidden secrets, artists under the sway of cosmic power, a modern day cult, tentacles, and a little blood, nudity, and sex (that's the stuff Howie wasn't too fond of, but you'll love). Don't miss it on opening night!
Also on Friday is a full short film block of amazing new Lovecraftian shorts, followed by two blocks of shorts on Saturday, and the feature films THEY REMAIN, directed by local filmmaker Philip Gelatt (Europa Report), and COLD SKIN, directed by Xavier Gens and featuring a survival story on a desolate island beset by monstrous fish people. Sunday will showcase two more blocks of short films, bringing the total of Lovecraftian short films to 24, from countries as diverse as the US and Canada to the Czech Republic and Spain, with 10 countries represented overall in the madness! The festival will end Sunday afternoon with NECRONOMICON: THE BOOK OF HELL from Argentinian director Marcelo Shapces, which follows the chaos in the wake of the discovery of the fifth copy of the Necronomicon in the bowels of the University of Buenos Aires (as cited by Lovecraft himself, in his "History of the Necronomicon"). Fans of the Cthulhu Mythos should not miss this film, or indeed, the whole festival. Single day tickets and 3-day passes are still available on Eventbrite, and will be available at the door (if they remain).
The Full schedule of films and events is available now on the official Web site. (click here)