You have to love a marketing tag line like "Pay to get in! Pray to get out!" But if you know Jason Roth of Bargain Basement Productions (and part of the organizing team behind the Thriller! Chiller! film festival), then you know he will do whatever it takes to pump up our filmmaking community.
What he is pedaling this time is an invitation, if you dare, to attend the fourth annual Mr. Spookity Summer Spooktacular film festival with host Mr. Spookity (Chris Eddy) as our area's own version of the great and over-the-top late-night horror hosts like Ghoulardi, Elvira, and Commander USA.
The festival of short films from our Michigan independent filmmaking community has been previously held at Grand Rapids' Wealthy Theatre, but has migrated to the boozy Rezervoir Lounge (formerly Sazerac Lounge).
Highlights include the premiere screening of
Shift's End, a brand new mixed media sci-fi adventure short which has an almost tribute to a classic '80s film that the filmmaker is very tight-lipped about sharing. The film stars
Ape lead Joshua Burge.
Other films set to debut this year include
Too Dead To Die, a horror-comedy that took 13 years to make; the heart arresting
Valentine's Day; and a new sketch film from Don't We Boys featuring Joe Anderson and former "Superman" star Dean Cain.
This is also the first look at the fundraising campaign for Bargain Basement Productions' latest project,
Sticky Fingers: The Movie. This animation film is raising money to include a few more actors to a film already packed full of screen favorites including Fred "The Hammer" Williamson, Lloyd Kaufman, Josh Becker, and Asia Argento.
Sitcky Fingers' Kickstarter campaign will be unlike any other, as they host a "Beg-a-thon" with animated characters from the film running a Jerry Lewis-style telethon with weekly updates as they approach their $25,000 goal. While there are many rewards and offers on their
site, the real winner will be our filmmaking community, which always benefits more and more with each new release.
Grand Rapids is not too scary of a place to make a film and Mr. Spookity, as your host, will open doors (and coffins) for those who dare to showcase their morbid dreams on the big screen.
Admission: $5.