The two-day program at Market Square features a few films with Wisconsin ties
As co-founder Jason Davis will tell you, there’s plenty for horror enthusiasts to sink their teeth into with the Madtown Horror Festival, which hits Market Square Cinema this weekend. Two blocks of films stretch across Sat and Sun, with an awards ceremony and both a costume and “I Want to Hear You Scream” Contest peppered throughout the programming.
Davis, along with festival MC and Bordello of Horror host Rich “Freakshow” Peterson, have pulled selections from Chicago and Los Angeles in addition to international fare as far as Spain and Switzerland. Most exciting though, is Madtown Horror’s local featured cinema. Here’s a rundown of the Wisconsin-made scares in store for this weekend:
Inadequate (2:35p — Sat)
Milwaukee’s Sam Tackmier winks at the balls-out craziness of early Sam Raimi in this 12 minute short. Of course, the plot is more laid back than demon possession or a haunted cabin, as Matt Nielsen’s struggling writer drives himself mad with a novel-length thesis project. Torn between insomnia, a lingering flame (Andrea Ewald), and the sinking feeling that his creative pursuits are getting the best of him, Nielsen fends off a mischievous manifestation of writer’s block as it stalks him during late night writing sessions and a frantic, frenzied inner voice screams out his shortcomings. Inadequate really picks up with its practical effects though, as its frustrated character is literally pelted with a whirlwind of shredded story drafts. Yes, literally.
Hole in the Wall (10:30p — Sat)
This brain child of Derrick Carey and Cory Udler runs so late and plays so far from the family-friendly fare because your mileage will depend on past brushes with Herschell Gordon Lewis and John Waters. Hole in the Wall unites seven Wisconsin directors for a feature-length anthology that cuts across stories of exhibitionism, sadomasochism and Ed Gein resurrection. At times, there’s little that links the concepts of each director but everything feels united by a fascination with bodily functions and death’s beck and call. After its premiere at the Times Cinema last year in Oshkosh, Carey admitted that his own wife could only sit through the first 10 minutes. You’ve been warned.
Good Luck, Holly Pebble (1:00p — Sun)
Holly Pebble’s day turns out to be much weirder than she expected when her schoolmates start acting like the undead. Good Luck isn’t scary so much as it is fun and wonderfully inclusive. That’s how Marc Kornblatt, the director behind Dostoevsky Behind Bars who recently retired from public education, planned the short, first developing a scary story writing exercise with his fifth grade class and another across the hall. “As an added incentive, I promised to produce the best, most easily adapted story as a short film in an after-school enrichment class,” Kornblatt said via email. He spent the next four weeks with his class developing the top pick into a script and then another four shooting, enlisting the acting services of his school’s Safe Haven program to fill out the cast. Kornblatt said he hopes the cast can show up in person to see the finished product.
Teenage Maniac (4:18p — Sun)
Ryan Dooley tells a tale of a teacher and student who revisit a school massacre from years ago and end up uncovering more than they bargained for. Details of the Janesville-based director’s short film might be sparse and its subject matter is depressingly prescient, but Teenage Maniac looks like it packs enough low budget slasher elements to be worth the wait until Sun afternoon.
- The Madtown Horror Festival runs this Sat and Sun at Market Square Cinema (6604 Odana Rd). Admission is $8 per day or $15 for a weekend-long pass. For more information, head to madtownhorror.com.