It's no secret that I'm a big fan of independent horror. That said, having spent the last few years optimistically wading through the highs and lows of low-budget horror filmmaking in the hope of finding diamonds in the rough has, in all honesty, kind of jaded me. I have nothing but respect for anyone who picks up a camera and tries to making something to call their own, but, let's face it, more often than not low-budget amateur horror flicks remain relegated to the obscure world of the horror movie convention tradeshow floor not because they're unlucky in distribution, but because they're just not very good.So when fellow Cinematical/Sci-Fi Squad writer John Gholson asked if I wanted to drive three and a half hours to attend the Pretty Scary Bloodbath Film Festival, a team-up between the Texas Bloodbath Film Festival and Pretty-Scary.net designed to honor independent, female voices in horror, I had a few trepidations. But the more than reasonable ticket price of $15 for 3 features and 8 short films won me over and I've got to say that I'm really glad it did.
I had a lot of fun at the Pretty Scary Bloodbath; more than expected, actually. It delivered exactly as advertised: a fine showcase of indie horror movies made by women. Below I've done a brief rundown of everything the fest had to offer, so read on to see if there were any hidden gems to be found.
