San Diego State University’s School of Theatre, Television and Film hosted its seventh annual Howling Halloween film festival on Oct. 28.
The festival consisted of eight student-made horror short films that ranged from science fiction horror to classic bloody horror.
“The idea of creating this festival was not just to show off student films, but to have student films with a theme that would have a general audience excited to come see them,” said Rich Underwood, lecturer of film and new media.
The festival played for a sold-out audience, which was very exciting, especially after the last few years being socially distanced, Underwood explained.
The first film of the night was a cinematography project directed by Carrie Dada, titled “F Equals One Over T,” which paired shots of a car wash with audio that explained how time travel would work.
The second film, “Crystal Clear,” directed by Meg Darbourne, had a magical and mysterious vibe to it. The film followed two friends experimenting with manifestation and crystals which led a mysterious businessman to their house.
“Room 522,” directed by Laura Skokan, told the story of a man having to watch his abusive father attempt to murder him.
“Demon Night,” directed by Emely Smith, combined classic horror elements with demonic and witchy plot points.
The fifth film, “Unfulfilled,” directed by Aidan Hayek, had what seemed like a simple conflict turn dark.
“The Obedience Project,” directed by Shaylen Haller and Kyla Harrison, provided a story similar to “Wandavision” and “Don’t Worry Darling.”
The penultimate film “enamored,” directed by Chelsea Best, showed the story of a young couple but with a dark twist.
The final film was “Incident on 73,” which followed a recently engaged couple trying to make their way home for the holidays. They take a historic highway which turns out to be a grave mistake.
Students worked for the past semester on the films. The production, story writing and casting were all up to the students. Some of the actors in the films came from as far as Los Angeles.
“The film department has a really good reputation, and we get a lot of people that want to work on our films from,” Underwood said.“When somebody sees a great script and they go ‘whoa,’ I really want to be part of that.”
The theater department puts on a themed film festival each semester. In the fall, it is focused on horror in honor of Halloween, and in spring it is centered around romance in honor of Valentine’s Day.
The film festivals not only highlighted student work but also provided a spirited event for students and community members to attend.
“You can tell I’m (the audience) watching something special,” Underwood said. “I hope that’s what people got out of it as well.”
It was obvious that the audience was thoroughly entertained by the festival with people jumping during the jump scares and laughing at the humorous moments.
All films received a burst of applause and praise as the credits rolled.
The next film festival will be held on Valentine’s Day.
