the lineup

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FEARnyc, New York City’s biggest horror film festival, will present its 2019 event from October 24 - 31, 2019 at Film Noir Cinema in Greenpoint, Brooklyn. 

 

The event will feature more than 50 films and events, from world premieres to retrospectives and reimaginings, including the premiere of the new 4K restorations of Evil Dead with a new score by original composer Joseph LoDuca and George A. Romero and Dario Argento’s Two Evil Eyes, appearances by Terrifer writer/director Damien Leone and its villain, Art the Clown (David Howard Thornton), William Lustig, director of Maniac and the Maniac Cop series, a tribute to Debra Hill by Paul Reubens, a panel discussion on Queer Horror curated by The New York Times’ Erik Piepenburg, the late night free-for-all live event Serious Actors Reading Questionable Horror Screenplays, and a 60th Anniversary recreation of William Castle’s legenadary marketing gimmicks for the Vincent Price-led The Tingler featuring a live experience involving buzzing seats, fainting audience mebers, people being taken out on stretchers, and more.

 

Called “a huge, authoritative horror film festival” by Time Out New York film editor Joshua Rothkopf and “the best thing happening in the entire country this October” by Dread Central, FEARnyc was founded in 2016 by producer, publicist, and professor John Capo out of his lifelong love of horror movies.

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The FEARnyc Award Ceremony, which will take place at The Yotel Hotel’s Green Room on 42nd Street in Manhattan, will include the presentation of the juried awards and FEARnyc honors. The FEARnyc Legacy Honor will be posthumously presented to Debra Hill, writer/producer/director whose credits include the original Halloween, Halloween II, Escape from New York, Clue, and The Fog. Featuring tributes by Paul Reubens and Hill’s producing partners, with Ms. Hill’s brother, Bob Hill, in attendance to accept the award on her behalf, Ms. Hill will be honored not only for her filmmaking but for her groundbreaking commitment to advancing the visibility and employment of women in film. Ms. Hill is only the third recipient of the Legacy Honor. Past recipients include Wes Craven and George A. Romero.

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The FEARnyc Trailblazer Award will be presented to the producers, writers, and director of Horror Noire: A History of Black Horror, the first documentary to comprehensively examine the history of the black influence on horror.

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The FEARnyc Next Generation Awards will be presented to Terrifier writer-director Damien Leone for his work in using social media to create a fandom around its villain Art the Clown (with Art the Clown live in person!) and to Brooklyn filmmaker Sydney Clara Brafman for her innovative and immersive short films. Brafman will be presented her award by Larry Fessenden (Fear Itself, Until Dawn, We Are Still Here).

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FEARnyc is proud to partner with AdaptLab, a video production company helping to pioneer career paths in the film industry for neurodiverse filmmakers. AdaptLab hires neurodiverse employees with a passion for creative storytelling and prepares them for careers in the industry. FEARnyc will also partner with the high school film students of educator and writer Jason Spagnuoli from NYC public school Frank Sinatra School of the Arts, providing opportunities for AdaptLab’s filmmakers and students from the Frank Sinatra School of Arts to be part of the festival team.

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The Opening Night of FEARnyc will be presented by Kinetic Film Group, a startup independent movie studio and intellectual property rights company. Taking advantage of the market’s need for original content, Kinetic's model is to bring new characters and stories to cinema. In mid-September 2019, Kinetic Film Group wrapped principal photography of their psychological horror movie Home, which stars Emily Hampshire of Schitt's Creek and 12 Monkeys fame. Other FEARnyc partners include FilmFreeway, Eventive, Broadway Stages, Grindhouse Releasing, Blue Underground, Latin Horror, and Terror Films. 

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Check out the Schedule and Film Guide for the complete lineup.