Boo Business: Terror Vision Fright Fest 2023 dares you to explore horror films

Editor's Note: The venue for Terror Vision Fright Fest has been moved from the Ben Tucker Theater to the Lodge of Sorrows, 415 W Boundary St.

Halloween arrives a little early in Savannah, and not just because of our haunted reputation. The first weekend of October sees the return of the 10th annual Terror Vision Fright Fest. This year the horror film festival will be two days, October 6-7, instead of one.

“Last year just felt too crammed like I crammed way too much into one day. So, this is the first time in 10 years that it will be over the course of two days,” said organizer Ryan Graveface.

This year’s Fright Fest will have a long selection of films that are a mix of mainstream and cult favorites. They include “Halloween 4,” “Graveyard Shift,” “Nightmare on Elm Street 4,” and “Slumber Party Massacre II.”

Horror film queen Debbie Rochon appearing at Terror Vision Fright Fest

Fright Fest is also attracting an eclectic guest list, including actress Debbie Rochon (the "Meryl Streep of Horror") and director Chris LaMartina. Graveface said he’s especially excited about welcoming Rochon. He explained that many will recognize her from her Troma Film appearances such as “Tromeo and Juliet,” but they will be screening one of her lesser-known movies that he feels is also one of her best.

“I think ["American Nightmare"] is a film that 99.9% of people haven't seen, and it's great.”

Out of the selections showing this year, Graveface is thrilled that he was able to get permission from New Line Cinema to screen the pilot episode of “Freddy's Nightmares.”

“It's effectively a prequel to the entirety of the [“Nightmare on Elm Street”] film series… It's the peak of that entire two-year TV show. I feel pretty confident in saying that it’s probably never been screened anywhere in the country. I’m in 30-plus years of being a horror fanatic. I've never seen anyone screen it before.”

Graveface said Fright Fest is also a great way to introduce yourself to some lesser-known horror films.

“I like showing people stuff they're unfamiliar [like]‘Slashers’ or ‘Hollow Gate.’ ‘Hollow Gate’ is just one of those movies that I'm sure people haven't seen. I feel like when you're booking a film fest, you have to sort of divide between stuff that's not popular but stuff that people have heard of, and then it's also nice to try to expose people to some new stuff.”

The 1988 movie follows a man driven mad by his terrible home life. He uses Halloween as a chance to take out his frustration on teens lured to his secluded estate with the promise of a party. He kills them off in increasingly shocking ways including the use of his killer Golden Retrievers. It is complete '80s camp.

“Hollow Gate” is special to Graveface for another reason. His label Terror Vision releases restored horror films and their soundtracks. It just so happens that “Hollow Gate” was one of those projects.

“We did the restoration of that ourselves as we are putting that out on Blu-ray, hopefully by late October. I supervised that, and it looks incredible, certainly better than something that's ever been available since the VHS release. It's not on streaming, and it's never had an official DVD release.”

This will also be the second year for Fright Fest at the Ben Tucker Theater inside the Savannah Cultural Arts Center, 201 Montgomery St. Graveface said he was happy with the venue last year after switching from the Lucas Theatre. This spot also allows them to expand with more vendors and even a pop-up restaurant.

“We have a full room this year dedicated to vendors… We have a pop-up restaurant on both days. My friends are opening a restaurant in Starland, and this is kind of the launch of it, but I'll let them announce it.”

As the horror film festival continues to grow, Graveface counts himself lucky to have a great host to introduce these films and facilitate the Q&A with guests: Aurora Gorealis. She is the host of Shocktail Hour, a live show full of strange video clips, movies, and skits.

“Aurora Gorealis will be the host again. She was last year and crushed it.”

Graveface said that Fright Fest always pulls in a great crowd from places outside of Savannah, but as spooky as the city is, he’s baffled that he doesn’t have more Savannahians.

“[The films] are a very niche thing. It's either something you're super into or avoid it like the plague.”

He dares the locals to enjoy it this year along with an added bonus: a locals-only discount. Anyone with a Chatham County ID will receive $5 off the regular tickets and $10 off the VIP tickets. If you purchase tickets online, show your ID upon entry for cash back.

Ryan Graveface hopes that will encourage people from the area to brave a new obsession with horror this Halloween season.

If You Go >>

What: Terror Vision Fright Fest

When: October 6 - 7

Where: Ben Tucker Theater, 201 Montgomery St. Venue Change to Lodge of Sorrows, 415 W Boundary St.

Tickets: $25 - $100

Info: terror-vision.com/2023-terror-vision-fright-fest

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: 10th annual Terror Vision Fright Fest expands to two days with more films