The Chattanooga Film Festival (CFF) celebrates its 10th anniversary this summer from June 23 – 29, 2023.
Opening the festival will be the Southeast premiere of Onyx The Fortuitous And The Talisman Of Souls based on director Andrew Bowser’s viral character Onyx, who has racked up over 300 million plus views online.
This year’s CFF will host the world premiere of Sour Party from filmmakers Amanda Drexton and Michael A. Drexton, that centers around Gwen (Samantha Westervelt) and James (Amanda Drexton), two flailing thirtysomething besties that are as broke as they are self absorbed. When circumstances set the duo out on a bizarre odyssey across Los Angeles to collect “debts,” featuring delightful appearances from the likes of Reggie Watts and Corey Feldman, you’re left with a feminist twist on the buddy comedy that you won’t be able to help but fall in love with.
Also at the festival is the world premiere of director Stephen Vanderpool and writer/star Sam Brittan’s Tearsucker. The plot is a dark and surreal journey that revolves around a psychopath that feeds on women’s tears. Filled with Lynchian tone shifts and dynamic performances that will make you squirm in your seat, Brittan’s haunting rumination on toxic masculinity and equally toxic power dynamics will lodge itself in the darkest corners of your mind.
Feature Films of 2023 Chattanooga Film Festival
KING ON SCREEN
Director Daphné Baiwir | France, USA, 2022
Presented by Dark Star Pictures
Synopsis: 1976, Brian de Palma directs Carrie, the first novel by Stephen King. Since then, more than 50 directors have adapted the master of horror’s books, in more than 80 films and series, making him the most adapted author still alive in the world. King On Screen reunites filmmakers that have adapted Stephen King’s books for cinema and TV.
NEW RELIGION
Director Keishi Kondo | Japan, 2022
*Southeast Premiere
Presented by Screambox
Synopsis: After her daughter’s death in an accident, Miyabi gets a divorce, starts working as a call girl and moves in with her new boyfriend. In a meeting with a new customer, he asks to take a picture of her body — first her spine, then, her feet, and after that, he begins to photograph her every time they meet. One day, while at home, Miyabi feels a small hand touching her leg and soon realizes that every time she allows her body to be photographed she can feel her daughter’s spirit reaching closer and closer. Soon, only her eyes remain to be captured, leading to the outcome which defines this unique art-house fantasy from a culture-shocking Japanese voice.
ONYX THE FORTUITOUS AND THE TALISMAN OF SOULS
Director Andrew Bowser | USA, 2023
*Southeast Premiere | Opening Night Film
Synopsis: The story follows fledgling occultist Marcus J. Trillbury (Onyx) as he attends a once-in-a-lifetime ritual at his idol Bartok the Great’s dark mansion. Once there, Marcus meets a group of other occultists and they are led in a series of rituals meant to “better them.” But as terrible things begin to happen, it soon becomes clear that Bartok’s intentions are more nefarious. As Onyx and his new friends battle to keep their souls, a question of great destiny looms over Onyx’s head: is he doomed to be a nobody or will he rise to defeat Bartok and save his friends from damnation?
SOUR PARTY
Directors Amanda Drexton, Michael A. Drexton | USA, 2023
*World Premiere
Synopsis: Sour Party follows Gwen and James, two broke, flailing 30-somethings on a quest to scrounge money from a collection of low lives and failed artists in an attempt to show up to Gwen’s sister’s baby shower with a proper gift.
TEARSUCKER
Director Stephen Vanderpool | USA, 2023
*World Premiere
Synopsis: Emotionally vulnerable women are preyed on by a charming psychopath who wants to suck their tears.
THE ELDERLY
Directors Raúl Cerezo, Fernando González Gómez | Spain, 2022
Presented by Dark Star Pictures
Synopsis: After his beloved wife suddenly commits suicide, octogenarian Manuel starts behaving strangely, much to the distress of his family and his increasingly independent granddaughter. He becomes aggressive, still believes that he’s talking with his dead wife, and even tries to implant a radio receptor into his chest. His family are confused and angry, and as the temperature in Madrid literally rises due to a summer heat wave, it appears that Manuel isn’t the only senior citizen preparing for something big. All the elderly folk are acting suspicious, and they all seem to know something the young ones don’t.
EVENTS
Black Magic Masquerade: Opening Night Party
In honor of our CFF 2023 Opening Night film ONYX THE FORTUITOUS AND THE TALISMAN OF LOST SOULS, we’re proud to partner with our buds at Chattanooga Whiskey for a sinful salute to the dark arts. Join CFF and Onyx himself for an evil evening filled with costumes and cosplay, creepy cocktails, death-obsessed DJs, freaky and fantastic pop-ups by our pals at Infinity Flux Comics, Yellow Racket Records, Snapdragon Hemp, and Liquid Death Mountain Spring Water, plus even more sinister secrets we can’t yet divulge. So grab your favorite mask, costume or cosplay attire, remind your parents that hell has cooler records, and prepare yourself for mayhem, as soon the dark ritual that is CFF’s 10th birthday celebration begins…
BORDELLO OF BLOOD: Live Commentary
*Presented by Diabolik DVD
After the success of DEMON KNIGHT, the first Tales From the Crypt feature, filmmakers Gil Adler and A L Katz were busy preparing a follow-up, set in New Orleans, that was to be called DEAD EASY. Sadly DEAD EASY never got made, and instead, the pair were forced to adapt filmmaker Robert Zemeckis’s student screenplay BORDELLO OF BLOOD into the second Tales from the Crypt feature film.
The making of BORDELLO is well-known to horror fans as one of the most horrifically troubled shoots in the genre’s history, with Adler and Katz facing impossible odds, impossible egos, and studio nonsense at every turn. CFF is proud to help them further exorcise these past cinematic demons with a very special 2023 edition of our live filmmaker commentary series. We join Adler and Katz as they watch the film that neither has been able to sit through in nearly 25 years, and we learn firsthand How NOT to Make a Movie.
TALES FROM THE CRYPT Comic Pop-up Shop
Hello, Kiddies!!!. Kicking off our Tales from the Crypt salute is a pop-up comic shop dedicated to the series’ bloody beginnings in the pages of EC Comics, conjured from the depths of darkness by the folks at Infinity Flux Comics. Join us at our opening night party, the Black Magic Masquerade, to grab a few classic Tales from the Crypt comic books.
P.S. If you bring them to the live podcast, Gil Adler and A L Katz will be signing memorabilia.
DEAD EASY: Live Script Reading
Featuring an “all-scar” cast of genre cinema fan favorites, CFF is proud to have Gil Adler and A L Katz join us for a live script read of DEAD EASY – their never filmed follow-up to Tales from the Crypt’s first feature film DEMON KNIGHT. If you’re a Tales from the Crypt fan, you know what a treat this is going to be, and if you’re a CFF fan, you’ll know we’ve got a few tricks for you too.
The How NOT to Make a Movie Podcast (Live Recording)
There’s simply no way to pay tribute to the incredible gateway to the world of horror that TALES FROM THE CRYPT was to so many of us, without paying tribute to longtime series stalwarts Gil Adler and A L Katz. Our salute wouldn’t be complete without a live episode of the podcast that brought these two legendary filmmakers back together. Our CFF exclusive live episode will allow longtime fans to ask Adler and Katz about the making of the classic series, get even more of a window into the creating, writing, and heartbeat of the classic HBO Series.
*In-person only. Adler and Katz will also be signing memorabilia.
How to Sell a Haunted House in a Challenging Market
New York Times bestselling author, Grady Hendrix, is back and he’s bringing a circus of chaos! Presenting another of his one-of-a-kind, one-man shows, in association with his latest book, How To Sell a Haunted House, this time he’s tap-dancing through the haunted hallways of spooky houses from Downton Abbey-sized country homes to split-level suburban ranchers as we try to figure out why we’re so obsessed with the world’s worst roommates — ghosts. This is the seminar that will change your life…guaranteed!
*In-person only. Book signing will take place after the event.
The Pumpkin Pie Show: Ghost Eaters and Other Stories
Horror author and performer Clay McLeod Chapman returns with a fresh batch of macabre tales fresh out of the oven. To celebrate the paperback release of his most recent novel, GHOST EATERS, Clay will regale audiences with a reading… and a few new spooky stories, to boot. Tales of madness, human monsters, and ghosts abound. Copies of GHOST EATERS will be sold by A Little Bookish.
*In-person and virtual. Book signing will take place after the event.