Image provided by: Clackamas Community College; Oregon City, OR
About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 13, 2010)
rts Culture Wednesday, Oct. 13, 2010 The Clackamas Print 7 fans yell out the fractional chant “IAI” replicating the writings of H.P. Lovecraft during the H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival at the Hollywood Theatre on .After 15 years of bringing dark and deranged entertainment to the Northwest, the festival may be on hiatus next year. y Jaime Dunkle News Editor (is not dead which can eter- pith strange aeons even death [P. Lovecraft, [Nameless City” limed horror writer H.P. I has developed enough of lowing to have festivals cel- Kname; TheH.P.Lovecraft Lal showcases films, com- k visual art, and more based [archaic author’s particular ¡aesthetic, which is common- |dtoas Lovecraftian. historic Hollywood Theatre [th East Sandy Boulevard in hosted the HPLFF. The [fest ran from Friday, Oct 1, pay, Oct 3. p I caught the entire event, Id only make it to the Sunday Several people told me the ps of short films' I didn’t t exceptional, so I’m certain »out on some quick qual m-thrillers. I also missed the pay aspect of the event, called CthulhuCon. I wasn’t wor ried because I prefer the progenitors; I’m not into current horror authors. Besides, listening to people read for extended periods is boring, at least I think so. After running the H.P. Lovecraft Film Fest for 15 years, founder and festival director .Andrew Migliore is stepping down. The 2010 festival was the last fest he will direct, at least for now. ‘It’s a lot of work. When I was doing it full time, it was different, but fee banking crisis in 2008 basi cally left me without a credit line and it became harder,” Migliore said. ‘1 ended up this last year having to get a ‘real job,’ so I ended up going back to programming computers.” Migliore said that although he won’t be fee festival director anymore, he intends to be actively involved with any future festivals to ensure the preservation of his original vision. Indie filmmaker and writer Aaron Vanek, a longtime friend of Migliore, will continue directing the HPLFF in Los Angeles. However, Portland’s future is still undecided. “The only problem in Portland is finding someone equivalent, or a group of people who are gonna be able to take care of it and build an organization that will continue to grow and be successful,” Migliore said. Jon Ho, a student at fee Oregon College of Oriental Medicine, was working as a volunteer at the event He did everything from stage set-up to checking people at the door. Festival shirts sold out fee first night of fee three day event, according to Ho. Later on, I asked someone handling official merchandise and confirmed that they were taking back orders. ' WhenTaskedTora film recom mendation, Ho emphatically suggest ed I catch an Australian horror film called “Primal.” “It had teef,” Ho said. “Spell that wife an ‘F.’” “Primal” did indeed have teeth! I only caught fee last half of fee movie, at fee very end of fee festival. I walked out of “Re-Animator The Musical,” which was hokey thespian psychobabble, to watch it I could tell fee Australian bloodbath was a clever flick. The gore effects were well done, and the monsters were genuinely frightening. From what I saw, it was about a group of people on some desolate island full of hungry cave-dwelling octopus demons and bloodthirsty zombies. “The Unnamable II: The Statement Of Randolph Carter” was the first film I saw. I had previously seen “The Unnamable” years ago, and I recalled it being corny and goofy. The sequel was campy, but not as awful. The audience found it amusing, and many of us were laughing in unison. The second thing I watched was Shorts Block 3, introduced by an onscreen art show with Coil as the soundtrack One painting was espe cially morbid. A boy and his dog sfood in mutual decay wife nasal cav ities and jawbones visible. It mocked the style of vintage photography. The short films were diverse. Some were funny, witty, gory, imagi native, or just plain awful. The fun niest short was “At the Reefers of Madness” by Brian Clement Itplayed off fee gratuitous violence induced by marijuana as portrayed in its. 1938 exploitation predecessor, “Reefer Madness.” The film “A Tell-Tale Heart” by Michael Swertfager was an impressive CGI take of a famous Edgar Allan Poe short story. During a Q&A, Swertfager told fee audience he wanted to add another minute and a half, but it would have taken two to three months! “Dagon” by Michael Chase was a grim, abstract animation with subtle mystical ele ments. “Effulgence” was terrible. The storyline, camera work, and acting were all vapid attempts at failed cin ematography. “Eater” by Stuart Gordon, fee director of one of the most famous Lovecraft films, “Re-Animator,” was the next movie on my list Gordon told the audience that “Eater” was entered into NBC’s “Fear Itself’ horror series. The plot was good, and fee filmmak ing looked great The cannibalistic villain was scary. The blood spatter scenes gave fee movie an ominous touch. I’d watch it again. I still have no idea why Gordon followed such a cool film with that “Re-Animator: The Musical” comball crap. I almost wished I had caught the first half of “Primal” instead. Even though I spent more than eight hours away from homework, I’m happy I sat through all of those films. I hope the HPLFF finds a way to manifest in fee Northwest again next year. If it does, I recommend planning ahead to avoid missing out on the overlapping films and read ings. Visit wwwhplfilmfestival.com for updates on the festival’s future. bming soon: 24-Hour Story Jam By Kyle Smith The Clackamas Print Bok. up on the stage! It’s a bird! It’s a BiNo, it’s Scott McCloud! That’s right, ■legendary cartoonist and comics theo- Bis coming to Clackamas Community Bge, and he’s bringing his 24-Hour B'Jam with him. Be Story Jam is a creative workshop Bn with the goal of producing a fin- Bproject within a 24-hour time span. ■Students who attend McCloud’s lecture ■Id expect to be entertained, enlightened ■ultimately challenged to think about how Bake and experience art in the new mil- B<” Trevor Dodge,- English instructor Blackamas Community College, stated Bh-mail. “Those who sign up and com mit creative workshops in letter press- Btomics or video can expect to chart Bea from beginning to conclusion and B Saturday evening having produced B’shed piece of their own design and Btion." Be event starts in Gregory Forum on BK at 6 p.m. on Friday the 15th and [until 10 p.m., at which time it will Rn for the night and resume at 9 a.m. on Saturday the 16th ending that evening at 6 p.m. Scott McCloud’s talk and the 24-Hour Story Jam is free to attend for current CCC students. To register, contact Kate Gray in the English Department or attend the event Friday night, as registration sheets will be at the door. what is my next move? Ranked as one of the best values and best baccalaureate colleges in the West by.U.S.News & World Report 2010, Warner Pacific is an urban, Christ-centered liberal arts college in the heart of Portland. With 27 undergraduate majors, you can choose from hundreds of career options.
