by Tori Potenza, Staff Writer

Chattanooga Film Festival began in 2009 and has since become one of the most exciting DIY-focused genre film festivals. As they say on their site, “Every dollar we raise through donations, grant support, and ticket sales go directly into keeping the Chattanooga Film Festival alive the following year and helps us keep our classes and workshops free to attend and to bring some of the most unique, profound, educational and of course entertaining films that we discover each year right here to our home—Chattanooga, Tennessee.”

Seeing this kind of attitude, spirit, and love for all things films makes it an exciting place to see films you might not see at bigger-name festivals out there. This year’s festival ran from June 23-29th with a diverse lineup of shorts, features, workshops, and events for folks to attend. If you are like me and were unable to attend the festival in person, they also do an incredible job of making it accessible for virtual audiences so you can still enjoy much of what the festival has to offer. While the festival is over here are some of the films I was able to check out so make sure to keep an eye out for these as well as the other features and shorts that were showcased. 

The Once and Future Smash (dir. Sophia Cacciola, Michael J. Epstein, 2023)

When a movie is this good at making fun of the horror community, it can only be made by those who love the community so much. The Once and Future Smash will have horror fans chuckling as soon as it starts. This mockumentary-style movie centers around the cult classic horror movie “End Zone 2”, an artifact from the 70s with only an hour-long unfinished version available for fans to see. Cacciola and Epstein manage to get 80s horror stars and filmmakers like Victor Miller, Mark Patton, Lloyd Kaufman, and many others, to play themselves and discuss how this movie inspired their works, like Friday the 13th. It manages to be strange yet endearing and it makes you wish that End Zone 2 was a real movie (although now it technically is, with a Letterboxd to back it up. They poke fun at fans, conventions, producers, actors, filmmakers, and all those who are obsessed with discussing movies no one else has ever heard of. They are incredibly talented filmmakers and are so good at paying homage to these movies and emulating the strange experience of being an unknown cult movie star. This is a blast to watch and you can feel that it was a blast for them to make. They create their own entry into cult horror history and it is impressive how well they pull it off. Now I can only hope that I get to see End Zone 2 someday!

Poundcake (dir. Onur Tukel, 2023) 

With a premise that centers around a killer who is murdering straight white men, it was hard not to be excited about Poundcake. Unfortunately, that excitement quickly diminishes with how poorly executed the end product actually is. There is little to enjoy about Poundcake. While it seems to want to make an edgy statement in regard to the capitalist patriarchal hellscape we all live in, it ends up being completely exhausting. Between kills, the film oscillates between various podcast hosts discussing the events and giving their varying perspectives on it. In general, this is overdone and while they try to emulate the varying debates and perspectives people have when events like this occur, there were simply no interesting points to be made. Everyone feels like such a caricature that there is nothing that interesting or insightful to be said. Horror fans who are at least looking for a slasher with good kills will also be disappointed in this regard. Because its politics are so messy and its characters are so uninteresting it would have been better off trying to be a fun slasher instead of pushing its unclear message. 

Satan Wants You (dir. Steve J. Adams, Sean Horlor, 2023)

It is hard for a documentary to be this engaging and this terrifying but Satan Wants You manages to pull it off. The documentary discusses the book Michelle Remembers, a controversial memoir written by a psychiatrist and his patient who believed she was captured and tortured by a cult of Satanists. This memoir played a huge role in igniting the Satanic Panic movement in the 80s which was incredibly harmful and damaging to people throughout the United States due to the false allegations that put people in prison and destroyed lives. Interviewees include members of Michelle’s and Dr. Pazder’s family members, along with news footage and tastefully done re-enactments with recordings done in their sessions. It is a damaging story about the effects of fear-mongering, which is especially prevalent in the post-Trump United States. The filmmakers do an excellent job at giving people space to tell their stories and complicated history while also showing the long-term effects this had on them personally, along with the larger social implications that still have a ripple effect today. This is an important documentation of a terrifying history that will leave you on edge. 

Bad Girl Boogey (dir. Alice Maio Mackay, 2022) 

As a fan of Alice Maio Mackay’s 2021 film, So Vam, I was looking forward to checking out her new feature. She is an 18-year-old filmmaker that clearly has a love for making horror movies that have plenty of LGBTQ+ representation. This is an impressive feat and it is exciting to have someone like her in the horror community. Bad Girl Boogey did not work as well as So Vam for me, but still has interesting elements to it. It centers around a mask that amplifies violent bigotry and turns them into killers. It is certainly an interesting premise and the issues around trauma, homophobia, and drugs are very strong. Also because of her age, Mackay is great at showcasing the teenage angst and struggle of modern-day teens, as opposed to the plethora of media geared towards teens written by adults. The film’s big reveal did not have the surprise effect it was going for, and at times it felt that there were too many plot elements going on at once. Yet, it is hard not to be impressed by its effective horror moments, and the overall aesthetic and designs. As she grows it will be interesting to see how her filmmaking evolves as well. 

Sour Party (dir. Amanda Drexton, Michael A. Drexton, 2023) 

If you are an elder millennial who feels like they are still struggling to be an “adult” Sour Party is sure to have plenty of relatable elements. It is also impressive to see a modern movie that tries to emulate the stoner comedies of the 2000s with two women as the leads as opposed to men. There still are not enough movies out there that let women be gross, funny, and weird so it is hard not to be impressed with what Sour Party is doing. The two leads Gwen (Samantha Westervelt) and James (Amanda Drexton) are great and do a good job of showcasing the struggles of two 30-something-year-olds who are still figuring it all out. Whether facing manipulative ex-boyfriends, gaslighting bosses, family members who don’t trust them, or scraping money together for a present, there is so much in this that people can relate to. It also pokes fun at some of the white privilege and problematic feminism that these characters sometimes display. Sour Party is a lot of fun and helps you laugh through some of the pain of trying to be an adult. 

New Religion (dir. Keishi Kondo, 2022)

New Religion is one of the best movies of the year. It seeps into your psyche and refuses to let you go long after watching it. After the death of her daughter, Miyabi (Kaho Seto) struggles to build a life for herself. As a sex worker, she takes on a new client who wants to take photographs of her body parts. Strangely, the more she goes to see him the closer she feels to her daughter, yet the rest of her life begins to collapse as she tries harder and harder to grasp onto the past. The movie is full of Cronenberg-esque body horror vibes. It is gorgeously shot and every shot looks like a piece of art. It is unbelievable to think that Keishi Kondo is a first-time director considering how immaculate the finished product is. Miyabi is a fascinating character to spend time with and Seto does an incredible job navigating this complex role. It is chilling and effective even when the horror elements are more subtle. Its themes around birth, death, and rebirth are fascinating as well as those around transformation, something that is incredibly effective in body horror. From the minute it begins, it hooks you in and refuses to let you go. Luckily enough this is now streaming on Screambox so if people have the service they can check it out. 

These are just some of the interesting features that were showcased at this year's Chattanooga Film Fest. Keep an eye out for these and make sure to follow Chattanooga Film Fest to see what is coming in the future. It is a great festival and they put so much into what they do so if you have the means you can also donate to them and help them continue the important work of showcasing such diverse films.