By Stephen Appezzato
HIGHLANDS – Two River residents beware, Halloween is coming to town early this year.
On Oct. 7 and 8, the Highlands Horror Film Fest will showcase an array of talent, featuring creative productions from small film companies both local and international. The annual film festival was created to highlight originality and creativity across smaller film productions, offering a selection of 20 films over two evenings and a matinee on the afternoon of Oct. 8.
This year’s installment will be hosted at the Highlands Borough Community Center with the theme “horror and suspense,” featuring supernatural terrors and eye-popping thrills.
“It was almost five years ago that the Highlands Horror Film Fest was conceived,” said Rob Kneller, the festival’s executive director. After submitting a few of his short films to festivals, he had the idea of starting a festival in Highlands. “I spoke to a number of Highlands people in the arts who suggested a horror theme since we were planning on an October event close to Halloween,” he said.
Throughout Friday evening and Saturday afternoon, the festival will screen short films and feature films including “Choir Girl,” a black-and-white film shot in Australia and directed by John Fraser, as well as “The History of Metal and Horror,” a documentary directed by Mike Schiff that explores the blending of the two genres over time. The documentary features famous artists such as Alice Cooper, Rob Zombie, Dave Mustaine and more.
“We are excited about the growing reputation of the Highlands Horror Film Fest,” Kneller said. “This year we had more than 150 hours of films submitted and we believe that we have selected the very best.”
This year’s fest will also present “Jersey Night” Saturday evening, showcasing works made by talented local productions that were filmed within the state. Headlining the night will be “Vortex: A Film Anthology,” a tale about Nikola Tesla and a “gauntlet of deranged and lawless alternate realities,” according to a synopsis from the filmmaker. “Vortex” was locally produced by Grayson Berry Productions, with many of the scenes shot in Atlantic Highlands.
The film was created in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic after experienced production company leaders Grayson Berry and Thomas Ryan Ward grew hungry to return to their craft. The spur-of-the- moment project’s plot developed over the course of filming, eventually becoming a sci-fi, horror and film noir anthology. Throughout the process, the crew navigated pandemic-related difficulties, shooting most of the work on weekends.
For Ward, the most exciting part of the upcoming film festival will be “bringing a film that was shot in this area to the locals and to other local filmmakers here in New Jersey.”
“More than anything the film festival will hopefully spark inspiration for the creative mind. If somebody decides ‘maybe I’d like to try writing something’ or ‘maybe I’d like to see what it’s like to be behind the camera or in front of the camera,’ I think that the film festival is a great way – especially on this Jersey Night… – for people to meet the filmmakers who are part of the project and ask the questions that, more often than not, you can’t really get into in larger film festivals,” said Ward.
“Whether they’re (festival attendees) interested in film as a hobby, as a potential career or just as an observer, I think it gives a really great slice-of-life opportunity to learn what goes into what we see on the screen,” he explained.
Ward moved to the Two River area in 2012 following success in the theater industry across the nation and is involved in acting, screenwriting, directing and even social work. For the future, Ward believes filmmakers will be more prevalent in the area due to Monmouth County’s beauty and cinematographic opportunity. “It’s really a neat slice of Americana,” he said.
The Highlands Horror Film Fest could be an opportunity for hardcore film fans and casual attendees alike to experience the creativity and talent of smaller production companies from around the world.
The article originally appeared in the September 29 – October 5, 2022 print edition of The Two River Times.
