Fiery Pen

Ten years at the Telluride Horror Show (yes, I’m counting the remote COVID version). A decade of horror movies in the mountains.

And yet, I think it will be my last one for a while. But this was one hell of a year to go out on.

The festival, like life overall, was never really the same after the pandemic. Though I think I continued to measure it against the before times. As the costs (particularly for accommodations) rose, the experience declined. It was never bad, but it steadily became less worth it every year.

This year was a solid year. They did a pretty great job. But not enough to undo the decision made slowly over the preceding years.

The hike

Our trip to Telluride always starts with a hike to offset the stagnant weekend. Since we determined before going that Telluride would not be a soon repeat, we decided to hit one of my bucket list hikes in Ouray: the Perimeter Trail.

The hike completely lives up to the hype. Ouray is gorgeous, and the Perimeter Trail is the perfect way to experience it. Canyons, waterfalls, aspen groves, cliffs all circling the town below.

The authors

Over the past decade, Telluride Horror Show has been steadily increasing their inclusion of horror literature. This year, they finally consummated things and created the To Hell You Read Book Club.

The highlight for me was Tananarive Due. I have read and adored her work, plus thoroughly enjoyed her tap dancing videos on Instagram. I was thrilled to listen to her speak (on three occasions) and also meet her.

I also got to see Creepaway Camp alums and favorites CJ Leede and Nat Cassidy. Even though I camped with them mere months ago, they still brought fresh fun to their talks. Unfortunately, Eric LaRocca could not make it.

The movies

I did not prioritize movies the way I did in the early years. No five showings in one day for me anymore. Altitude sickness is always a risk for me now, so I try to take it easy. Plus, I definitely focused my attention on the book and author events.

BUT movies were watched. And enjoyed. Mostly.

• Ghost in the Cell: OMG, this movie! This was definitely my favorite of the fest, if not this year. It is wildly gory, riotously funny, and politically snarky. Just a fucking fantastic watch.
• Weird ass shorts block: “Vape Glow” and “House Cat” were great shorts. “Vape Glow” has fun camera work, and “House Cat” is cleverly WTF. The other shorts definitely lived up to the weird ass promise.
• Chamber of horror shorts block: I went for “The Keeper” (and to hear Tananarive Due and Steven Barnes talk about it), but all four offerings were solid. There were even puppets in “Grylu Sker”.
• The Glorious Dead: I adore the Adams Family, and I usually love their movies too. This one had great performances and fun effects, but it felt directionless.
• Black Zombie: A documentary about the roots of the zombie in Haiti and what Hollywood did to it (and subsequently the Haitians) with a talk after with Tananarive Due and Steven Barnes. The movie is brilliant, required watching for anyone who claims to love the zombie genre.
• Demon Knight: The Tales from the Crypt classic with Q&A with director Ernest Dickerson. This movie is always fun, and it was the perfect pairing to Black Zombie right before.
• Victorian Psycho: This movie was fine. I don’t have any real complaints, but it didn’t leave me feeling impressed either.

One of the growing complaints I’ve had about the festival is their pivot into mainstream horror. Over the years, the lineup has been inflated with films that get streaming and theatrical releases soon after. This year was probably the most mainstream with River and Victorian Psycho poised for full theatrical releases and most others coming out soon.

There’s nothing wrong with an early preview. However, if mainstream takes up the indie space, where does the indie go? I miss seeing movies I wouldn’t hear of otherwise, particularly international films. I don’t want what I can see at home in a couple weeks.

What’s next

I am on the hunt. I have no doubt I’ll be back to Telluride some day, but in the meantime, I want to explore my options. I want to see if I can capture the indie feel, the smaller community that Telluride Horror Show started out with. Colorado Festival of Horror and Six Feet Under Film Festival are awesome, but I might just need to travel too…

If you have recommendations, drop them below.

Christina Bergling

https://linktr.ee/chrstnabergling

Like my writing? Check out my books!

• Invisible Girls – Two girls must decide how far they will go to protect each other and if freedom can be found without fire.
• Red Walls – When Talia’s parents go after the monsters who hurt her, they never expected real monsters.
• Followers – You never know who is on the other side of the screen. Followers is a mystery and thriller that blends women’s fiction with horror.
• The Rest Will Come – Online dating would drive anyone to murder, especially Emma.
• Savages – Two survivors search the ruins for the last strain of humanity. Until the discovery of a baby changes everything.
• The Waning – Locked in a cage, Beatrix must survive to escape or be broken completely.
• Screechers – Mutant monsters and humans collide in the apocalyptic fallout of a burned world. Co-authored with Kevin J. Kennedy.
• Horror Anthologies