21st Annual Nevermore Film Festival: Feb 28-Mar 1, 2020

P R O D U C E D B Y CA R O L I N A T H E AT R E O F D U R H A M

Nº 21

NEVERMORE F E B R U A R Y

2 8 – M A R C H

F I L M F E S T I V A L F

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TICKETS

10-PASS / $80 SINGLE TICKET / $10

For more information about films and programs, including in-depth synopses, reviews, images and trailers go to: N E V E R M O R E F I L M F E S T . O R G

Facebook.com/NevermoreFilmFestival

NEVERMORE FILM FESTIVAL

COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Stacey Bell, Chair Justin Blanchard Amanda Bouma Melissa Browning Derek Easley Cristie Glasheen Amanda Henry

Caitlin Herguth Laura Jordan Dawn Reno Langley Marc Lee John McHugh Allie Mullin Ronnie Rozbox

309 W Morgan St, Durham, NC 27701

919.560.3030 / carolinatheatre.org

Chris Santucci Craig Scherer Melissa Scherer Basie Settle Wendy Webber Chuck Wheeler

/CarolinaTheatreDurham @CarolinaDurham

PATRICK DONNELLY’S

THE

(US, 80 min) An alien abductee figures out a clever way to secretly record his own alien encounters revealing telepathic aliens, human hybrids and the elusive “men-in-black”. Filmed from the perspective of a tiny micro-camera, hidden in a hearing implant, you will see everything this alien abductee sees. More than a movie or a story, The Alien Report is a guide intended to show, rather than tell, what alien abductees have been describing for decades. The Alien Report was filmed on micro cameras and iPhones using creative ingenuity. Additionally, the film contains a massive array of sound effects, contributions from artists all over, which meld the auditory and visual experience into a kaleidoscopic trip. This micro-budget endeavor is unlike any other sci-fi movie.

(Australia, 90 min)

As World War II is nearing its end, the survivors of a torpedoed English ship are stranded on a lifeboat in the North Atlantic when a German minesweeper is spotted coming toward them. With no food, water, or shelter from the elements, they decide to take a chance and scramble on board before the ship passes, and discover that the crew members have clearly taken their own lives. In horror, they recall the stories of Hitler sending out groups to find artifacts of religious and paranormal power. On this boat, there are more than artifacts of power.

The lifeboat survivors realize they are on a ship that is transporting vampires.

JUSTIN DIX’S

(US, 99 min)

DANIEL & W

SZ’S ALT WOLTO

Social media abductions & Virtual reality filmed murders. Chelsea, a teenage high school girl, falls prey to a predator on social media. She agrees to meet him in person and is abducted. Chelsea wakes up, and after being conditioned to behave, is allowed to stay in his fortified house with three other girls. She soon discovers that Brad kills the girls he abducts while wearing a virtual reality camera helmet so that he can experience it again and again. Now, Chelsea must convince the other girls to escape, and must push her morals and values beyond what she never imagined to have a fighting chance.

MANOLO MUNGUIA’S

(Spain, 104 min)

A group of former computer science classmates, along with their spouses, meet for dinner after being out of touch for several years.

During the meal, one of them confesses to having decrypted the Dark Web’s most-secretive and infamous file (an “insurance policy” among WikiLeaks) and shows his friends what he’s uncovered. As the night grows darker and more sinister, the group will unleash conflicts and events with unexpected consequences, which will only get worse by the second. And now, all at once, they may inadvertently unleash the wrath of Hell upon the entire planet. In Spanish with English subtitles

ERIN BERRY’S

MAJIC

(Canada, 82 min)

From the producer of Netflix’s Slasher comes this mind-tripping sci-fi feature about an anti-conspiracy video blogger (Paula Brancati) who thinks she might be slipping into a parallel universe caused by The Mandela Effect. Skeptically, she agrees to meet an old man claiming to have top-secret info about the UFO incident at Roswell, New Mexico in 1947. But this old man turns out to be a lot more dangerous than first thought, having once worked for the legendary Majestic-12, the covert spy agency, and now those government agencies may be creating alternate realities to keep their secrets hidden!

(Canada, 90 min)

When a celebrity couple famed for their YouTube scare-prank channel are invited to a friend’s converted church in the countryside for a weekend getaway, a series of startling events unfold that spiral them into an inexplicable nightmare. The premise of Making Monsters is taken right out of concepts of our current way of living, taking this concept of entertainment to another level by exploring the boundaries of what is entertainment on the internet, and the dark internet. And what happens when those boundaries are greyed beyond recognition.

JUSTIN HARDING & ROB BRUNNER’S

(Canada, 84 min)

LISA OVIES’

Sometimes you need a fun and hilarious horror-comedy to cleanse your mental palette of all of the serious horror movies you’ve been consuming. Enter Puppet Killer. Jamie (Aleks Paunovic) is a sweet-natured guy who may, or may not, have killed his step mom when he was a kid. Or was it his pink puppet named Simon that did the deed?

Finding himself in therapy ten years later, Jamie still talks about his mom who instilled a love of horror movies in him. As Christmas approaches, Jamie and his friends are spending the holiday at a cabin in the woods. While childhood memories begin to rise—and every horror film trope comes into play—this group of “kids” soon start being picked off one by one. After finding Simon in the cellar, it all becomes a question of whether it’s Jamie or Simon doing the killing!

(US, 106 min)

Seven Directors. Seven Hilarious Tales of Terror. Zero Working Cell Phones. Chad Buckley is a lonely horror aficionado spending his days at his struggling video store, where he argues with his only regular customer, Sam. When Hawn, an unsuspecting applicant, shows up, Chad teaches him about the Rules of Horror, much to Sam’s chagrin, illustrated by different hilarious horror shorts, each one geared at cleverly subverting a unique set of terror tropes. As Hawn learns the ropes, he suspects Chad of something sinister, while he too may have a secret of his own.

Delivering equally on gore and laughs, Scare Package introduces us to the next generation of horror directors!

IN G S' AU D RE Y CU M M

(Canada, 90 min)

The violent, high octane “sequel” to the Henry Rollins horror cult classic He Never Died is essentially a standalone female version of the earlier film, starring the amazing Olunike Adeliyi as the eternal hero. Though it helps to be familiar with the first film, you catch on quickly with plot early. Lacey, a socially detached loner is cursed with immortality and her never-ending tedium of existence. In her attempts to keep her compulsions in check, she seeks out the darkest souls humanity has to offer.

Lacey must now face her own inner demons while simultaneously finding her next meal.

JASON AXINN’S

(US, 92 min)

Here is an amazingly brutal and satisfying animated feature-length film, filled with enough blood, splatter, and revenge to satiate the hardest gore-hound. Imagine Happy Death Day meets Metalocalypse. And did we mention it stars the voices of Morena Baccarin, William Shatner, Ray Wise, and Bill Moseley? After emerging as the sole survivor in a deadly revenge game set up by her father to punish his children, Miriam (Dani Lennon) receives an offer from a supernatural entity to go back in time and try again. Now, she must survive both her father’s bloodlust and ever-changing rules to save her siblings as she relives the worst night of her life.

SHORTS

THE ANIMATOR

THEY’RE COMING TO GET YOU, BARBARA! VOLUME 1 North American Horror & Sci-Fi Comedy Shorts (US/Canada, 98 min)

Leave all political correctness behind during Urban Scout! It’s the side-splittingly funny tale of a group of inner city Boy Scouts on an overnight camping trip that quickly devolves into every troop leader’s worst nightmare. See what happens when The Animator takes his anger out on the source of his frustration... his puppets. Grave-robbing Tanya and her precious hubby unearth a cursed ring, and unwittingly unleash a demon in Grave Sight. Slaybor Day 7 is a sly mockumentary chronicling the career of horror-movie icon Maddox Mason, a masked murderer who kills people who wear white after Labor Day. Imagine a World is about a persistent door-to-door internet salesman who refuses to leave until he’s made his sale. Don’t Sneeze is a jaw-dropping tale about a guy who dies while masturbating…and is shocked to find the Angel of Death has a sense of humor. Two short-sighted scientists are ill-prepared when their experiment goes horribly right in Half-Cocked.

In Unholy ‘Mole, a selfish husband sells the soul of his unborn child to Satan in exchange for a lifetime of his wife’s delicious homemade guacamole. When a woman receives a robot companion as a gift from her daughter, she soon realizes the true nature of friendship in the emotionally-sweet Rewind. Four buddies gather for a weekend-long horror movie marathon, sharing quips and their wives’ cookies, until one of them suffers a deadly Allergic Overreaction to peanuts!

IMAGINE A WORLD

THEY’RE COMING TO GET YOU, BARBARA! VOLUME 2 North American Horror & Sci-Fi Drama Shorts (US/Canada, 90 min)

Worlds collide as a middle-class Los Angeles family on a road trip stumbles upon a farmhouse with a peculiar set of residents in The Vicious. A young lady takes a job caring for a man who turns out to be different than he seems in Special Needs. Boo chronicles one night in the life of a recovering addict, 7 years sober, who must make a difficult choice between who she loves and what she has always been. Here There be Tygers is the terrifying story of female-on-female bullying, and the masks we remove whilst preparing our revenge. In Lay Them Straight, a telekinetic teenage girl battling OCD has to run the gamut of school bullies every day, until a traumatic event convinces her that her disorder may be an indication of supernatural powers.

The haunting and beautiful, Plainsong, tells the story of three people on vacation by the sea who are spellbound by a supernatural force in the water.

Skywatch is the visually-stunning, exciting futuristic story about two outcast teens who hack into a drone delivery system to pull a prank on their neighbor, and almost unwittingly start WWIII. Would you like to play a game?

HERE THERE BE TYGERS

FOUR MINUTES TIL MIDNIGHT Long-Form Narrative Shorts (Various Countries, 106 min)

United States: The Rabbit Hole is set during the end of the Vietnam War as Mason Hurley returns home after losing all of his men in combat. The more he tries to not deal with his PTSD, and lock it away, the more it comes to the surface and affects not only Mason but his entire family until it manifests into PTSD Paranormal Psychosis. In Jac Kessler’s Popsy, Briggs Sheridan can't chase his gambling-dragon fast enough, and when it looks to cost him more than a few broken limbs, he unwittingly puts more skin in the game than intended. Germany: Séance tells the creepy tale of a successful mentalist and a medium who specialize in classic ghost summons for private and social occasions. On this evening their job leads them to Jochen, who has inherited the house of his grandmother and wants to surprise some of his friends with a truly scary ghost appearance. Now, they are getting far worse than they ever imagined. Spain: A Bitter was the Desert is about an 18th-century French nobleman who invites his friends to dinner. It is, in fact, his first dinner party after the death of his beloved wife. Everything is proceeding with maximum tranquility…until a peculiar dessert and a macabre game jeopardize the French nobility.

THE RABBIT HOLE

IT’S ONLY A NIGHTMARE, CHARLIE BROWN PG-13 Dark Fantasy & Horror Shorts (Various Countries, 93 min)

MALAKOUT

United States: The genuinely scary animated short, Pleasant Inn, hits all the horror tropes yet manages to surprise in this tale about one woman’s survival against a monstrous visitor. Amara is a gloriously beautiful animated short about a journey set after a cataclysmic celestial event. A backpacking vlogger who specializes in hidden trails and hard-to-reach hikes takes the wrong turn in Psycho Path. Ireland: Set in Victorian London, Abe’s Story tells the animated adventure of an overworked Irish writer who gets an idea for a bloody brilliant novel which eventually becomes known as “Dracula”. Iran: Malakout is an animated tale about a man for whom music is a passion, but love is a masterpiece. Switzerland: Bats in the Night is the story of two brothers who dare one another to enter a creepy abandoned house. Spain: It’s 1977 in Echo, and the Voyager probe leaves for the galaxy. Almost 50 years later, an Alzheimer's patient in Spain who originally helped design the probe begins to receive transmissions. France: In Sentience, an old lady and a robot, both frustrated of their physical conditions, choose to switch their bodies.

LAUGHTER OF THE FOREIGN INVADERS

International Horror & Sci-Fi Comedy Shorts (Various Countries, 96 min)

Spain: In Smiles, Borja is about to meet his girlfriend´s parents. The best way to overcome the situation: smile and wait. Polter tells the funny story of a man fighting against the supernatural powers in his apartment! An ordinary schoolgirl's life unravels after an evil creature takes over her body in Horrorscope. Oblivious to the zombie mayhem unleashing outside their tent, Pablo deals with a massive hangover in Z Fest. RAmen is the story of an ultraconservative grandmother who decides to attend the communion services of a strange cult which worships pasta gods, and which happens to be officiated by her son! Bulgaria: War Machine is an animated short which shows us how terminators are built. Poland: A couple of kind-hearted farmers share their carefree life with their beloved sheep named Chmurka/Fluffy. United Kingdom: An elderly DIY enthusiast reanimates his recently-deceased wife in the garden shed in Frank and Mary. The Witch Hunters are Coming is a parody of daytime reality shows that follow law enforcers. It follows an investigation by two witch hunters in London who confront a suspected witch.

SCREAM OF THE FOREIGN INVADERS

International Horror & Sci-Fi Drama Shorts (Various Countries, 109 min)

Spain: Limbo is a disturbing story of domestic violence about a small family in an isolated farm. An old cyclist sets off on a last journey with an uncertain end in Nom. Polvotron 500 is set in the year 2065 and tells the story of a man who enters an old holographic booth, intending to take a nap, but accidentally activating the resident sexual hologram! Sweden: Based on H. P. Lovecraft's weird tale of the same name, The Outsider is the story of how a desperate loner seizes his chance and makes good his escape, only to face his worst fears head-on at an all-nighter in the company of strangers. India: Bagheera is the leader of an Indian Girl Scout troop who gets abducted by a brutal assailant. Now, using her scouting skills, she must outwit her captor and exact a scorching retribution. Austria: In Altitude, two alpinists the hike up to a mountain cabin turns into a life- threatening battle between reality and illusion. United Kingdom: Snowflakes is the tale of Esther and Miriam, who are being forcibly deported from the UK, when there's an outbreak of a deadly virus that only kills white people. Unmade is about a woman who visits a spiritualist in order to contact her dead husband for one final goodbye. Netherlands: In Swipe, a girl finds out that she has a match on a dating app with a stranger.

F E B R U A R Y

2 8 – M A R C H

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2 0 2 0

NEVERMORE F I L M

FRI F E B 2 8

FLETCHER HALL

CINEMA ONE

CINEMA TWO

THEY’RE COMING TO GET YOU, BARBARA! VOLUME 2

2:40 pm 2:50 pm

F E S T I V A L

Ends at 4:30 p.m.

SCREAM OF THE FOREIGN INVADERS Ends at 4:39 p.m.

MAJIC

3:00 pm

Ends at 4:22 p.m.

4:50 pm

FOUR MINUTES TIL MIDNIGHT Ends at 6:46 p.m.

SHE NEVER DIED

5:00 pm 5:10 pm

Ends at 6:40 p.m.

BLOOD VESSEL

Ends at 6:40 p.m.

THEY’RE COMING TO GET YOU, BARBARA! VOLUME 1

7:00 pm 7:10 pm

Ends at 8:53 p.m.

SCARE PACKAGE Ends at 8:56 p.m.

TO YOUR LAST DEATH

9:10 pm

Ends at 10:52 p.m.

HOUS3

9:20 pm

Ends at 11:04 p.m.

SAT F E B 2 9

FLETCHER HALL

1:00 pm

CINEMA ONE

MAKING MONSTERS Ends at 2:40 p.m.

DO NOT REPLY

1:10 pm 1:20 pm

Ends at 2:49 p.m.

MAJIC

Ends at 2:42 p.m.

LAUGHTER OF THE FOREIGN INVADERS

3:00 pm 3:10 pm 3:20 pm

CINEMA TWO

Ends at 4:36 p.m.

BLOOD VESSEL

Ends at 4:40 p.m.

IT’S ONLY A NIGHTMARE, CHARLIE BROWN Ends at 5:03 p.m.

Nº 21

S C H E D U L E For more information about films and programs, including in-depth synopses, reviews, images and trailers go to: N E V E R M O R E F I L M F E S T . O R G

SATURDAY CONT. TO YOUR LAST DEATH

5:00 pm 5:10 pm

Ends at 6:42 p.m.

HOUS3

Ends at 6:54 p.m.

THE ALIEN REPORT

5:20 pm

Ends at 6:50 p.m.

THEY’RE COMING TO GET YOU, BARBARA! VOLUME 2

7:00 pm 7:10 pm

Ends at 8:40 p.m.

PUPPET KILLER

Ends at 8:44 p.m.

SHE NEVER DIED

9:00 pm

Ends at 10:40 p.m.

9:10 pm

SCREAM OF THE FOREIGN INVADERS

SUN MAR 1

FLETCHER HALL

Ends at 10:50 p.m.

CINEMA ONE THEY’RE COMING TO GET YOU, BARBARA! VOLUME 1

2:00 pm

Ends at 3:53 p.m.

SCARE PACKAGE

2:10 pm 2:20 pm

Ends at 3:56 p.m.

THE ALIEN REPORT Ends at 3:50 p.m.

FOUR MINUTES TIL MIDNIGHT

4:10 pm

Ends at 6:06 p.m.

IT’S ONLY A NIGHTMARE, CHARLIE BROWN

4:20 pm 4:30 pm 7:00 pm

CINEMA TWO

Ends at 6:03 p.m.

LAUGHTER OF THE FOREIGN INVADERS Ends at 6:06 p.m.

DO NOT REPLY

Ends at 8:39 p.m.

7:10 pm

MAKING MONSTERS

9:10 pm

Ends at 10:34 p.m.

Ends at 8:50 p.m.

PUPPET KILLER

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T H R E E

D A Y

O F

C O M I N G

T H E

S O O N

M i c h a e l M a n n ’s

THE KEEP IN 35MM

Friday, April 24 7:00 p.m.

CAROLINA THEATRE OF DURHAM 309 W Morgan St, Durham, NC 27701 (919) 560-3030 / carolinatheatre.org