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RIP IHFF 2010 - 2023

THANK YOU!
Thank you all for 13 wonderful years of Indie Horror Film Festival.  Please keep making movies that KILL!

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2017 Screenplay Contest Finalists

SEE SOMETHING SCREAM SOMETHING
DISINTERRED BONES
THE PALSEY
UNSPEAKABLE
KALEIDOSCOPE

2017 Award Nominees

 

BEST FEATURE
THE NIGHT WATCHMEN
INSOMNIUM
TALES OF FEAR

BEST SHORT
BLURRED VISION
SMALL TALK
BURLAP

BEST DIRECTOR
SCOTT POWERS - INSOMNIUM
DEAN WHITNEY - ABERRANT
MITCHELL ALTIERI - THE NIGHT WATCHMEN

BEST ACTOR
BRENDON KRICK - THE BACKPAGE
JUSTIN GORDON - GEHENNA: WHERE DEATH LIVES
BRAD PENNINGTON - INSOMNIUM

BEST ACTRESS
DINA MEYER - THE UNWILLING
BRANDI ALYSSA YOUNG - EVIL RISING
NICOLE MARK JOHNSON - QUARRIES

BEST STORY
THE TEMPTER
ABERRANT
THE UNWILLING

BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
GENENNA: WHERE DEATH LIVES
THE NIGHT OF THE VIRGIN
INSOMNIUM

BEST SOUND
BURLAP
QUARRIES
BLURRED VISION

BEST EDITING
THE NIGHT WATCHMEN
MAX AND THE BOX
BURLAP

BEST SPECIAL FX
THE NIGHT WATCHMEN
BURLAP
THE NIGHT OF THE VIRGIN

BEST MUSIC
THE BARN
MAX AND THE BOX
THE NIGHT WATCHMEN

DIRECTORS CHOICE
THE TEMPTER
TALES OF FEAR
I WANT YOU INSIDE ME

SHORT SCREENPLAY CONTEST
SEE SOMETHING SCREAM SOMETHING
DISINTERRED BONES
THE PALSEY
UNSPEAKABLE
KALEIDOSCOPE

_________________________________

AWARD WINNERS TO BE ANNOUNCED AT
THE 2017 INDIE HORROR FILM FESTIVAL


More Information On The Indie Horror Film Festival Awards:

*Award Winners will be announced in a ceremony at the end of the festival. Winners in attendance will be presented a certificate. Those not in attendance will be sent a digital certificate to print by email. Winners will also be posted in the news feed (front page) of IndieHorrorFest.com within 48 hours of the close of the festival.

** Our Selection / Awards Procedure: Festival Director / Producers make official selections for the festival by vote. Official Selections are then screened/graded by 5 different judges anonymously and given an overall grade on a 10 point scale for each of the qualifying award categories. All judges points are then added together to give it a grade. The top 3 films by grade in each category are then considered an award nominee and listed on this page. The film with the highest grade in each category is considered and announced that category’s award winner at the festival. In the event of a tie for highest grade, the festival director, festival producer and festival founder will each vote on the tied films giving the majority vote the award. In the event that one of the production staff are involved in one of the films involving a tie, a 3rd party will be selected to vote in place of the production staff member involved.

2017 Schedule of Events

FRIDAY APRIL 21ST (5PM to 12AM)

05:00PM DOORS OPEN
05:30PM BLOCK A 180M

  • I SHOULD HAVE RUN 4M
  • THE TEMPTER 98M
  • INSOMNIUM 80M

08:30PM INTERMISSION 15M
08:45PM BLOCK B 60M

  • SNACHED AWAY 7M
  • GRIEF 13M
  • GUARDIANS 6M
  • THE BACKPAGE 30M
  • WONDER 5M

09:45PM INTERMISSION 15M
10:00PM BLOCK C 120M

  • FIEND 3M
  • THE NIGHT OF THE VIRGIN 117

12:00AM CLOSE OF DAY 1

SATURDAY APRIL 22ND (1PM - 12AM)

01:00PM DOORS OPEN
01:30PM BLOCK D 180M

  • TIME TO EAT 4M
  • THE BARN 96M
  • THE NIGHT WATCHMEN 81M

04:15PM INTERMISSION 15M
04:30PM BLOCK E 120M

  • CREATURES OF WHITECHAPEL 25M
  • MONSTER 4M
  • STILL 7M
  • KNOB GOBLINS 8M
  • MAX AND THE BOX 8M
  • MY LIFE IS A DREAM 8M
  • SMALL TALK 8M
  • EVIL RISING 9M
  • GRACE 10M
  • VEGETARIAN ZOMBIES 10M
  • MACHINE BABY 10M
  • BONUS FILM: BALLOON FEAST 10M

06:30PM INTERMISSION 15M
06:45PM BLOCK F 105M

  • GEHENNA WHERE DEATH LIVES 107M

08:30PM INTERMISSION 15M
08:45PM BLOCK G 165M

  • THE UNWILLING 84M
  • TALES OF FEAR 81M

12:00PM CLOSE OF DAY 2

SUNDAY APRIL 23RD (1PM - 8PM)

01:00PM DOORS OPEN
01:30PM BLOCK H 90M

  • SUICIDE NOTE 5M
  • QUARRIES 85M

03:00PM INTERMISSION 15M
03:15PM BLOCK I 90M

  • BURLAP 13M
  • I WANT YOU INSIDE ME 13M
  • PIGSKIN 13M
  • ABERRANT 15M
  • SOUTH OF HEAVEN 8M
  • GIRL #2 9M
  • TWIN 9M
  • PUPPY LOVE 5M
  • RELIC - HORRORSTONER 5M
  • BONUS FILM: A WOMAN AND A GUN 8M

04:45PM INTERMISSION 15M
05:00PM BLOCK J 90M

  • BLURRED VISION 7M
  • DIE! SITTER! DIE! : REPERT 26M
  • GREEN LAKE 36M
  • BONUS FILM: GORDON FINN 21M

06:30PM INTERMISSION 15M
06:45PM AWARDS CEREMONY
08:00PM CLOSE OF DAY 3

2017 Award Winners!

550;350;6b9b1dd581305ffd023a390a0e47d3c2a66c3402550;350;dee8dd788175a5d0cb7df0f45203ecbb9df02e97550;350;7f5dc6bf4b5a8514f6d4735a4478f879ca1a4017550;350;81683777f53f557e76ac530141cef26c7a87bec5550;350;419dca600f5e32b74e9ce24592d909760070f46b550;350;dee04620ca80594fd000151766ce0ac33bf49da8550;350;21237114acb75e980845be31bc449f6933efbf72550;350;934834a098c7c7d9f3885950909d79155fb579c0550;350;12922b7e10cf7beaa80620e157a5e41453611fbc550;350;9457e7f834dea94044b3b033348f643f66159537550;350;559fc548df34f17bf4b41545f4242e97b222c43d550;350;2ec4fc4ba19842f361a47949e01913c257d30079550;350;fa4b989b99673d77fd2a4749948098c9d415de70

2017 Indie Horror Film Festival

April 21st - 23rd, 2017 at Landmark Cinema in Peoria, IL

INSOMNIUM

As George investigates his roommate’s increasingly disturbing nocturnal behavior, he suspects that his friend has become possessed by a dark entity.

 

MAX AND THE BOX

Two kids dig up a jack-in-the-box and strange things begin to happen...

 

THE NIGHT WATCHMEN

Three inept night watchmen, aided by a young rookie and a fearless tabloid journalist, fight an epic battle to save their lives. A mistaken warehouse delivery unleashes a horde of hungry vampires, and these unlikely heroes must not only save themselves but also stop the scourge that threatens to take over the city of Baltimore. 

 

SUICIDE NOTE

“One must still have chaos in oneself to be able to give birth to a dancing star” - Nietzsche

Suicide Note is a surrealist meditation on the many self-inflicted deaths of identity we must courageously endure in order to attain a more complete understanding of who we are.

 

FIEND

A normal day of yard work turns into a nightmare. Something lurks in the darkness waiting to feed.

 

TWIN

Some bonds can never be broken...

 

THE UNWILLING

Six family members arrive for the reading of the will of a wealthy patriarch. All are shocked when an antique wooden box arrives instead. The instructions are simple: one by one the six in attendance must prick their fingers on steel pins which appear from the box to open it and receive their rewards. Once their blood is drawn however events take a turn for the worse as they release a sinister evil no one may leave alive.

 

EVIL RISING

A young woman with disturbing dreams suddenly finds herself thrust into her nightmares. Struggling for her sanity and her life, she must overcome the demons inside her to break free and save the souls of those who remain to be alive.....but can she also manage to save herself? 

 

STILL

A living statue entertainer is caught up in the middle of a zombie outbreak. He freezes in fear whilst everyone around him flees or dies at the hands of the attacking zombie horde. Left alone in an large open square surrounded on all sides with only his ability to stay very still to save him, he must work out a way to survive.

 

MONSTER

Gary the Nerd accidentally makes his toy T-Rex to become a monster. He needs to escape his apartment, but at the same time he really wants to get a selfie with the real monster.

 

VEGETARIAN ZOMBIES

A dad tries to engender enthusiasm in his kids about a real zombie apocalypse, even though they are only after vegetables.

GRIEF

Having just lost her mentally ill sister, Audrey enlists the aid of a psychiatrist to cope and find out what really happened to Alice. The psychiatrist introduces Audrey to the world of dreams in which she is supposed to find the answers to all of her questions, but instead, finds hints that ultimately helps her to understand the truth about herself.

GUARDIANS

Matthew, a live-in guardian, is moving to an abandoned school on the outskirts of town. As he's shown around his new home by Guardians' agent Helen, both remain tragically unaware of the malevolent presence that stalks the hallways...

THE NIGHT OF THE VIRGIN

New Year’s Eve party: Nico (a naïve twenty year old) sets out ready to lose his virginity at all costs that same night

In the middle of the party, his gaze crosses Medea, a cunning and attractive mature woman. The feeling is immediate, and Medea ends up taking Nico back to her apartment.

Once at Medea’s house, little by little Nico discovers that his hostess isn’t a current woman.

Strange events start to take place… until, finally, what promised 
to be an epic sexual debut full of lust and lack of restraint ends up turning into his worst nightmare.

A nightmare full of blood, sweat… and varied discharges.

I SHOULD HAVE RUN

One cold dark night, a woman encounters something strange and terrifying on her walk home. When it asks her a question, her sheer terror causes her to lie... with disastrous consequences.

 

TIME TO EAT

After being sent to timeout, a mischievous boy’s trip to the basement leads to a monstrous revelation.

 

THE BACKPAGE

After a lovable loser is convinced to buy a 'sensual massage' from an ad in the back of a newspaper, he quickly learns the true cost of relaxation.

GREEN LAKE

Industry hasn’t destroyed all the sacred spaces in the world. In Hawaii pockets of magic still exist. And so do those that protect them.

Green Lake draws inspiration not only from the beauty and mysticism of Hawaii, but also from B-horror/monster movies, The Twilight Zone and The X-Files. It's a micro-budget Creature from the Black Lagoon meets Picnic at Hanging Rock.

MY LIFE IS A DREAM

Perky Cousin Wonderlette never imagined she’d meet the man of her dreams so when her dreams turn into nightmares she’s not so surprised. In this dark comedy, we follow sweet Wonderlette on a disturbing journey to creepy places where she encounters demented housewives, greedy swine, sexual deviants, and worse, her drunk mother.

 

PUPPY LOVE

A female Serial Killer living in seclusion feeds upon her victims until one night she hears a knocking at her cabin door which unleashes an unexpected evil in her home.

GIRL #2

When a deranged killer sets his sights on an unsuspecting sorority, he realizes he's not the craziest one in the house.

CREATURES OF WHITECHAPEL

A brand new vision that brings together some of horror's most iconic characters, "Creatures of Whitechapel" reveals the monster inside us all in this gothic love story of creation and madness.

Jack the Ripper stalks the streets of London, searching for the perfect victims to help Dr. Frankenstein, her master, bring his Creation to life. However, rumors of Frankenstein's nighttime activities are brewing, and Jack, revealed to be Igor, is tasked with one last foray into the bowels of Victorian London to find the last piece needed to bring Frankenstein's mad vision to life.  But what is life without love?

I WANT YOU INSIDE ME

An introverted teenage girl searches for her boyfriend when he mysteriously disappears after she convinces him to take her virginity.

MACHINE BABY

Machine Baby is a sub-ten minute Cronenbergian experimental narrative that follows a brash paparazzo who becomes coiled into the mad plot of a pageant manager trying to win the Miss America pageant.

PIGSKIN

When cheerleader Laurie accepts a date from the dreamy quarterback, a grisly manifestation of her own bodily insecurities pushes her into a self-destructive nightmare.

SMALL TALK

A simple man, Brian Holdt, wakes up to a terrifying masked man approaching through a dimly lit basement. In an effort for survival, Brian sheepishly comments on the murders cologne. Brians luck changes when the murder reveals himself as Brian’s old college friend, Cameron Karl. Cameron has been running a deep web snuff show, where degenerates pay top dollar to view live webcam murder. Cameron decides to set Brian free, leading him out of a picture-esque suburban home into an unfamiliar neighborhood. With a parting gift of zucchini bread in his hands, Brian is left in astonishment of the crazy world he lives in.

BLURRED VISION

Copycat killer "ZCD" is busy "dismembering" his latest victim in the style of his idol, the notorious KM Butcher. ZCD soon finds his "session" interrupted by a surprise visit from Detective Jones, who delivers some disturbing news about the KM Butcher.

ZCD soon finds himself taking drastic, and unthinkable, measures as fate deals him a serious twist....

DIE! SITTER! DIE! : RUPERT

Die! Sitter! Die! is an upcoming anthology horror film by The Boxleitner Brothers about a bitter and mischievous babysitter that torments a little girl with horrifying stories, all involving the babysitter theme. "Rupert" is one of those stories, about a young girl that takes a job looking after an infant for the night. Little does she know, her night is about to get more horrifying than she could have ever imagined.

KNOB GOBLINS

As part of his final psychotherapy treatment, a mental patient is allowed to return to the basement of his deserted childhood home, so he can face his fears involving the death of his younger brother. Or to put it more bluntly, it's about a demonic creature that bites your penis off.

BURLAP

Take a journey inside the mind of a lonely and desperate serial killer as he follows his impulses and stalks an unlucky babysitter. His disturbed mind dreams of completing the masterpiece he has locked up in his basement . . . and she has the last piece of the puzzle he needs.

Burlap is a brutal, stylish tale of sickness and survival, told with the stark simplicity of an old campfire tale. With gritty sets, atmospheric cinematography, and a foreboding, minimalist soundtrack, you’ll feel like you’ve been kidnapped yourself when you experience this terrifying film.

THE TEMPTER

The FBI estimates that at any given time there are 30-50 serial killers active in the country. What drives someone to this? 
The Devils only power is that of his lies; a whisper in an ear, the voice in the back of your head. Do you listen to it? This is the story of people who made a deal that they came to regret.

ABERRANT

At the onset of a global pandemic, a young couple takes shelter at a semi-isolated house in which they encounter a renegade vampire.

RELIC - HORRORSTONER

Videoclip inspired by "My Little Sister", the last horror-slasher movie by Moviedel Productions.

SNATCHED AWAY

Snatched Away is a supernatural story about a woman named Belle being haunted in her poverty-stricken apartment. Come to find out that Belle is not what she seems.

Don't take what doesn't belong to you.

GRACE

When the world's major cities are destroyed by nuclear bombs, it is crippled and survivors are left with nothing and no one to help them. Survival is not just about finding food and shelter but knowing who to trust and align yourself with. Grace has miraculously been able to survive for over a year with the help of her dog and her wits. In a cruel and unforgiving world this young girl is forced to become an adult who must survive. With her innocence ripped from her, Grace is given the chance of friendship when a weakened man reaches out to her for help. She must decide what she is surviving for and if she is willing and able to open her heart to a stranger in need who could be her salvation.

TALES OF FEAR

Six spine-tingling tales of terror in this six part anthology film styled after EC horror comics of the 1950's. Teenagers in a graveyard realize it's best that they don't disturb the dead. A nosy woman thinks her neighbor is up to no good in. The intentions of a child murderer with his latest catch are no match for child games. Cellular reanimation was the doctor's goal, going to pieces became the result. A coyote hunter discovers that it's not safe to hunt out of season. Bank robbers on the run seek refuge, but what they find within the barn may be more permanent than what they're looking for. Tales of Fear will make you gasp, scream, and leave you shaking with fright.

THE BARN

It’s Halloween 1989 and best friends Sam and Josh are just trying to enjoy their last “Devil’s Night” before graduating high school. Trouble soon arises when the two pals and a group of friends take a detour on their way to a rock concert, finding an old abandoned barn and awakening the evil inside. Now it’s up to Sam and Josh to find a way to protect their friends and defeat the creatures that lurk within The Barn... The film stars Mitchell Musolino, Will Stout, Lexi Dripps, Cortland Woodard, Nikki Darling, Nickolaus Joshua with Linnea Quigley (Night of the Demons and Return of the Living Dead) and Ari Lehman (the first Jason Voorhees from ‘Friday the 13th’). Featuring an original score by Rocky Gray the former member of Grammy award-winning goth/rock group 'Evanescence'.

QUARRIES

A hiking expedition venturing out into the uncharted wilderness meets tragedy when a group of hunters selects them as prey.

WONDER

Robot Assassin from the future is programmed for a desert job that goes sideways.

GEHENNA WHERE DEATH LIVES

Five people travel to the remote, pristine Pacific island of Saipan to scout locations for their company's new luxury resort. They find curious natives, strange dolls, and learn of historic curses, but they finally find an ideal spot. On this spot is a cave - and when they enter, what appears to be a Japanese WWII bunker turns out to be much more, and they learn that curiosity can kill, that everyone has private secrets and inner demons, and that there are some places on Earth where death itself can live. 

SOUTH OF HEAVEN

A handful of women are held captive in a dank basement as their captors discuss their final outcome in this Grindhouse style short film.