Will You Be Spooked At The Stanley Film Festival

The Stanley Hotel is debuting the Stanley Film Festival May 2-5.

What is the Stanley Film Festival?  examiner.com contributor Claudia Carbone explains that it is a "A full slate of films, panels, student competitions, audience awards and parties are on tap, with all events at the hotel."

Hold on!  The Stanley Hotel is hosting a film festival?!  HOW COOL IS THAT?  Yes, I knew about this -- but somehow the sheer coolness of it hadn't sunk in.

One of the films to be featured is Room 237

Carbone writes:

A fitting venue for the horror film genre, the Stanley Hotel enjoys its reputation for being the inspiration for Stephen King's book The Shining and the location for the TV mini series based on the book. And, the historic hotel is rumored to be haunted since its opening in 1909. Visitors flock to the iconic hotel six miles from Rocky Mountain National Park to take the haunted tours, learn of its fascinating history, dine at its gourmet restaurant, and enjoy its old world charm in overnight stays.

Carbone quotes Festival Director Jenny Bloom, “It’s an honor to join the Stanley Film Festival team in its inaugural year and build a prestigious cinematic event specifically for the horror genre. The Stanley Hotel's history with Hollywood and real paranormal activity makes it such a natural fit for an annual celebration of film."


FILMS:

• 100 BLOODY ACRES: A trio of fun-loving tourists on their way to a music festival fall into the hands of two crazed brothers with sinister plans in this madcap comedy about trying to survive.
• AFTERSHOCK: Modern horror maestro Eli Roth co-wrote, produces and stars as a mopey tourist whose wild vacation in Chile turns gruesome. Ravaged by a vicious earthquake, he and his friends desperately struggle to survive a living nightmare. Closing Night film with Eli Roth in-person. 
• ALL THE BOYS LOVE MANDY LANE: Resurrected after a several year hiatus, this legendary splatter-fest is finally making its way back to the big screen. When the most sought after girl in school is invited to a weekend outing with friends on a secluded farm, a mysterious suitor begins to pick off the other boys one by one.
• BERBERIAN SOUND STUDIO: Winner of five British Academy Awards including Best Director and Best Actor, this creepy love letter to the classic “Giallo” period details the complications befalling a motion picture sound designer as he quietly descends into madness.
• BIG BAD WOLVES: An obsessed cop, and the father of a victim take justice into their own hands when they capture a suspected killer of children. In their genre-bending follow-up to Israel’s first horror film Rabies, Aharon Keshales and Navot Papushado explore an unimaginable terror.
• BLACK ROCK: Three childhood friends have their weekend getaway on a secluded island transformed into a brutal game of cat-and-mouse with a trio of trained predators. Katie Aselton (The Freebie, star of “The League”) directs from a script by husband Mark Duplass.
• Bobby Yeah: Bobby Yeah is a petty thug who lightens his miserable existence by brawling and thieving stuff. When he steals the favorite pet of some very dangerous individuals, he finds himself in deep trouble. 
• Broken: Sarah is haunted by a tragic accident that leaves her fighting between reality and the terror in her mind. Part of the Stanley Dean’s Cup Student Competition Submitted by University of Colorado Denver
• Broken Things: This dark fairy tale, blending live action and stop motion, explores what happens when misfits fights back. Part of the Stanley Dean’s Cup Student Competition Submitted by University of Colorado Denver
• Bydlo: An allegory of mankind heading for disaster, Bydlo is a tragic vision inspired by Mussorgsky’s music. 
• CABIN FEVER: The inaugural Stanley Film Festival Visionary award recipient Eli Roth will present his directorial debut. This modern horror classic centers on a group of college graduates who rent a cabin in the woods, only to fall victim to a flesh-eating virus. Eli Roth in Person
• Dance Till You Drop: The Girl is a newly single dancer that is tasked to watch her best friend’s house. After deciding the place needs a clean, she cranks up the tunes and decides to show off her nifty moves. And that’s when things get really weird. 
• FRANKENSTEIN’S ARMY: Near the end of World War II, a platoon of Russian soldiers are given a secret mission that leads them into the lair of a Nazi mad scientist and his frightening creations in this cinematically inventive take on the monster movie. 
• Haunted Castle: For our very first festival, we proudly present the very first horror film in recorded history. Master of silent cinema Georges Melies directs for your enjoyment. 
• Haunted Love: Jane and John explore the subtle – almost tortured – feelings they hold for each other. 
• Hell No: Hell No is a short movie trailer that explores what would happen in horror movies if smart characters made quality logical decisions. Spoiler alert: everyone lives. 
• HENGE: Following treatment for violent spells, a young man returns home to his loving wife. But as his seizures intensify, it becomes clear something inside him is trying to get out. Part domestic drama, part sci-fi thriller, this ambitious micro-budget tragedy heralds the arrival of a bright new talent
• HENLEY: Meet nine-year-old Ted Henley, budding motel manager and roadkill entrepreneur. 
• Here After: A young girl investigates an ghostly apparition in a fimilar locale, The Stanley Hotel. Part of the Stanley Dean’s Cup Student Competition Submitted by Art Institute of Colorado
• HERE COMES THE DEVIL: Argentine director Adrían García Bogliano (Cold Sweat, Penumbra) returns with a shockingly gory erotic horror film about a couple whose children mysteriously disappear while on vacation in Mexico.
• Hundred Waters “Boreal”: Hundreds of years before the first Europeans land in Florida, a young Tequesta boy goes hunting in the Everglades. Meanwhile, his prey longs for deeper fulfillment. 
• IN: A man is asked by a friend to retrieve something lost inside a train tunnel where an unknown terror lies in wait. 
• In Hanford: This heartbreaking true story of a town poisoned by Cold War–era nuclear-arms manufacture is told through firsthand accounts and fantasy scenes, which empathize with the victim’s plight. 
• Lazarov: Refusing to accept the decline of the U.S.S.R., a handful of Russian scientists work secretly to resurrect Soviet power through the mysterious program Lazarov. 
• Legend: Claudia, a ten-year-old girl, leaves with her family to spend the weekend out of town. At an abandoned gas station, the appearance of a strange woman will reveal her true fate.
• Macabre: A group of friends traveling together are lured to a house of evil run by an ageless matron and her bloodthirsty offspring. The rarely seen directorial debut of Indonesian horror-hounds The Mo Brothers delivers carnage in spades.
• MANIAC: Elijah Wood shines in this remake of the horror classic about a psychotic stalker with a habit of scalping his objects of desire. Reimagined in mostly point-of-view shots, this revolutionary horror hit from Cannes is part camp, part art and all fear.
• Meadowcroft: After a failed suicide attempt, a depressed teen seeks the help of a former classmate, Charlie Meadowcroft. Part of the Stanley Dean’s Cup Student Competition Submitted by University of Colorado Denver
• No One Lives: Gore master Ryûhei Kitamura (VERSUS, THE MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN) tells the story of a brutal gang of thieves who get more than they bargained when they attempt a typical highway robbery of what appears to be an average vacationing couple. 
• Once It Started It Could Not End Otherwise: Terrifying and strange happenings descend on a 1970’s high school. 
• Peak of Terror: When a Monster terrorizes a small town a woman must confront her past to protect the people she loves. Part of the Stanley Dean’s Cup Student Competition Submitted by Colorado Film School
• Pet Peeves: Is a film about Victor, a cereal killer thats motivation for murder is based on her P.e.t P.e.e.v.e.s. Part of the Stanley Dean’s Cup Student Competition Submitted by University of Colorado Denver
• ROOM 237: In 1980 Stanley Kubrick released his classic horror film, The Shining. Over 30 years later, viewers are still struggling to understand its hidden meanings. A wild exploration into the heart of obsession, this cinematic essay is one that you will want to see at The Stanley Hotel. Filmmaker in Person
• Shorts Program I: This program contains the following films: THE APOCALYPSE DIRECTOR Andrew Zuchero Four uninspired friends try to come up with a terrific idea for how to spend their Saturday afternoon. HUNDRED WATERS “BOREAL” Director Lucas Leyva & Jillian Mayer Hundreds of years before the first Europeans land in Florida, a young Tequesta boy goes hunting in the...
• Shorts Program II: This program contains the following films: IN DIRECTOR Adam Berg A man is asked by a friend to retrieve something lost inside a train tunnel where an unknown terror lies in wait. Hell No DIRECTOR Joe Nicolosi HELL NO is a short movie trailer that explores what would happen in horror movies if smart characters made...
• SIGHTSEERS: Ben Wheatley, director of the cult hit KILL LIST, returns with this hilarious horror comedy about a couple vacationing in rural England who can’t seem to shake the series of graphic deaths that follow them wherever they go. 
• The Apocalypse: Four uninspired friends try to come up with a terrific idea for how to spend their Saturday afternoon. 
• The Bungled Child: There’s nothing easy about mending a bungled child. 
• The Cub: Wolves make the best parents. 
• The Event: Love and a severed foot at the end of the world. 
• The Purge: In the near future, a daring new edict keeps the nation safe. Called simply The Purge, it is a 24 hour release from all laws. When vicious outsiders break into an innocent family’s home on the one night that crime is legal each year, everyone will find out how far they would go to protect...
• THE RAMBLER: Director Calvin Lee Reeder (The Oregonian) utilizes his unique style of psychological horror and surrealism to adapt his acclaimed short about the man known only as “The Rambler” and his bizarre journey through the back roads of America. 
• The Root of the Problem: In the candy-colored world of 1950s suburbia, a reluctant young housewife suspects that the friendly neighborhood dentist is hiding a horrible secret. Is it just the anesthesia at work, or is there something more sinister hiding below the surface? 
• The Unliving: Thirty years after a zombie outbreak, people are taming the undead and using them as cheap labour. Katrine catches ‘em and Mark lobotomizes’em. They’re an awesome team, but work is starting to bleed into their relationship. 
• Thumb Snatchers from the Moon Cocoon: A Texas Sheriff uses his cowboy logic to recklessly defeat a race of thumb-snatching, cocoon dwelling robo critters. 
• TOWER BLOCK: When bullets start flying into an isolated tenement building, no one is safe from the faceless shooter who has trapped the residents there for reasons unknown. The traditional slasher film is taken to its extreme in this taut psychological thriller.
• Two Fingers "Vengeance Rhythm": This is the story of a very very angry teddy bear. 
• V/H/S/2 : The latest installment to last year’s successful found-footage short anthology series aims higher, bigger and scarier with new visions from the deranged minds behind some of independent genre’s finest offerings (The Blair Witch Project, The Raid, Hobo with a Shotgun, You’re Next).
• VANISHING WAVES: A hypnotic, erotic, and wildly thought-provoking cinematic odyssey into the unknown realms of the mind, this operatic sci-fi vision highlights the development of a strong psychic link between two patients in an experiment gone awry.
• When The Zombies Come: At a remote hardware store, fans of the walking dead have turned their love of zombies into an obsession, warping the way they see the store and its customers. 
• WITHER: In the grand tradition of EVIL DEAD and it’s progeny, this tale of a group of vacationing friends who encounter an infectious creature from the unknown delivers on the gore in this impressively made low budget screamfest.
• Yellow: A reclusive older man is on the hunt for a vicious serial killer in neon-lit Berlin in this neo Giallo short by Jon Britt and Ryan Haysom.