by Victoria Potenza, Staff Writer

Hello there Moviejawners. I am back to report on some more of my Salem Horror Fest watches. The festival is still going strong through the end of the month with plenty of interesting shorts and full-length features to check out. 

Two Witches (dir. Pierre Tsigaridis)

Two Witches was a film that had a lot more surprises in store than I had anticipated. The story is about a witch that is dying and needs to pass on her power to her granddaughter. I did not expect the film to be split into two interconnected stories that followed the grandmother and granddaughter separately. It was an interesting choice and made it feel more like an anthology than I expected. The first half of the film felt likes its strongest part. It follows a woman who is being stalked by the grandmother witch who is after her baby. The actors in this story were very engaging.

It also dealt a lot with gaslighting partners and how easy it is to dismiss women, especially when they are pregnant. In that way, it certainly has some Rosemary’s Baby vibes. It improves on that by also introducing another witch character who actually believes everything the woman is going through and helps her. Girls have to look out for each other, especially when terrible men are involved. The second story is also pretty interesting but feels less flushed out than the first half. It is unclear what the young witch’s motives are and why she acts the way she does. The conclusion definitely brought me back around and made this a fun and spooky watch. I thought the horror elements and effects worked really well for the story. There were many moments that felt legitimately scary in a way that can be hard to pull off. Two Witches was not necessarily the move I expected and maybe not even the one I had hoped for but it surprised me and was ultimately a fun Halloween season watch. 

Wicked Games (dir. Teddy Grennan)

When I initially read the description for Wicked Games I thought it would have some similarities and allusions to Adam Wingard’s You’re Next but I did not expect it to be so similar to the film. Harley goes away with her boyfriend on Halloween weekend. They go to his family’s home, and after a short stay, are confronted with home invaders out to kill them. Luckily Harley knows how to defend herself and puts up much more of a fight than the killers expected.  If you have seen You’re Next it is pretty easy to figure out where Wicked Games is going as you watch along. Unfortunately, the differences were not enough to make this feel like its own flushed-out story. There was some good gore and kills, I am always a sucker for a film that sets up the weapons you will watch be used later on in the film. However, the shaky-cam work that it often relied on made it a little bit of a jarring viewing experience. The lead was fun to watch and you certainly rooted for her as she tries to escape the home invasion she is in. The villain’s motivations did not feel totally flushed out which was a little hard to deal with when all is revealed at the end of the film. The description also puts an emphasis on it taking place during Halloween so I had hoped this would feel like more of a spooky season watch, but unfortunately, the holiday has little to do with the story I do wish the story had been a little clearer and tried to distance itself from Wingard’s masterpiece but this was a fun enough viewing. 

Shorts 

Salem Horror Fest had a great selection of short films to watch. I seriously recommend checking out these titles and keeping an eye out for their release. 

Koreatown Ghost Story  (dir. Minsun Park & Teddy Tenenbaum)

This short has been getting a fair amount of buzz on the festival circuit and I can certainly understand why. This was such a fun little ghost story. It follows a woman who goes to visit a family friend. It turns out that this friend hopes she will marry the ghost of her dead son before she dies. It is a great ghost story concept that also plays on Korean values and the emphasis on getting married. Both of the actors were great to watch and clearly had so much fun in their roles. The effects of this were fun and looked great. I find ghost stories to be particularly creepy and this one had a lot of scary, cringy, awkward moments that made me wiggle in my seat. The combination of social commentary, interesting characters, and effects made this a great watch and was even more impressive given its short run time. 

Sundown Town (dir. Mylo Butler)

Sundown Town was a great short that talked about the historical and current issues of race in America and has a great queer couple to root for. This short is about two men going cross country who stop for gas in a small town. They are pulled over by the cops and the lead black character is verbally and physically abused, evoking the spirits of dead black folks to get their revenge. The historical concept of sundown towns is so terrifying and makes it a little hard to watch, especially with how many black lives are taken under similar circumstances. However this tale has a great ending so even its ties to the horrors of society allow viewers to get a fair bit of fantasy as well. This film is all about how black lives matter and that all cops are in fact bastards, and I was here for it. 

The Lovers (dir. Avra Fox-Lerner)

The Lovers was another great queer entry into this festival. It is about roommates who’s relationship seems codependent on the surface but as the short progresses we realize these are wolves in sheeps clothing who have a much more interesting relationship than we would expect. I love anything that delves into the ideas of the monstrous feminine and this was a great entry into that subgenre of horror. I loved the tarot undertones of this film (it even featured one of my favorite tarot decks!). The leads are a lot of fun and it has a very satisfying ending for any of those viewers who love some deadly ladies. This was a simple yet fun short that I enjoyed so much. 

I am thrilled I took the time to watch some of the shorts the festival had to offer because they were some of the strongest parts of the festival in my opinion. So that concludes my coverage for Salem Horror Fest. I was so impressed with this festival's overall mission to have a diverse and inclusive horror festival. I saw plenty of interesting films that reminded me how important it is to have diverse voices, especially in horror. Make sure to check out what else the festival has to offer and be on the lookout for the availability of some of these films.