Horror Cinema's Big Launchpad

Screamfest LA, one of the major horror film fests, prepares to roll at LA Live.

By Alysia Gray Painter

| Wednesday, Oct 10, 2012 | Updated 9:57 AM PDT

Screamfest

The Screamfest award? It's one of a kind. So's the horror film festival, which rolls from Friday, Oct. 12 through Sunday, Oct. 21 at LA Live.

In this DIY world, where artists are turning to Kickstarter and Twitter and enterprising friends for funding and exposure, it can be hard to pick places that still are known as the launchpads of their genre.

Certainly some of the independent film festivals serve that purpose for more offbeat movies, but what do you do if you've made a quiet little creeper for practically no money? You try for Screamfest LA, the every-October, week-plus film-o-rama that has gained a rep for showcasing some really neck-tingling gems.

Like? "Paranormal Activity" for one, a 2007 phenomenon made for $11,000 that went on to pocket near a kajillion bucks (okay, millions; it made over twenty million its first weekend in wide release).

In short, horror is a genre that keeps on giving in both profitability and originality. Enter Screamfest LA, which'll run from Friday, Oct. 12 through Sunday, Oct. 21 at the Regal Cinemas at LA Live. A bevy of inventive, macabre, hilarious, and stomach-turning flicks are slated to roll, along with zombie make-up demos, a Q&A with director John Carpenter, and a whole mess of screamy shorts.

Like all film festivals that have a strong indie spirit, you may walk into your favorite thing in the world or you may leave thinking "valiant effort, but not for me." Regardless, horror is a place with a strong "anything goes" spirit, meaning the Screamfest LA offerings are sure to be colorful and creative.

And speaking of colorful and creative? Now and always, that award gets us. When your statue is a skull, is there any doubt as to what kind of film festival you're running?