Grimmfest’s Grim Tidings from Paul Schuyler writer and director of Red River Road

Grimmfest returns this Easter to but a spring in every horror fans step with five nights of fantastic films. Especially or the event we created a brand new interview feature entitled Grim Tidings which will give you the low down on some of the amazing movies they are showing.

Easter is traditionally a time for rebirth, renewal, resurrection. But as the Pandemic continues to rage, and the world remains on lockdown for the foreseeable future, it is also a time for rethinking. Thus, while the Grimmfest team had hoped to be hosting a ‘live’ Easter event, the Grimmfest Easter Edition will now be taking place online and will build on the success of the Grimmfest 2020 online experience.

Originally set for eight feature films over four nights, the event has drawn so much interest from film makers and distributors alike, that they decided to expand the scope to incorporate six more feature films, turning their Easter Horror Nights into a full on festival in its own right!

Grimmfest’s first Easter Edition kicks off on the evening of Thur April 1st, 2021 with our preview night, and then continues across the evenings of 2-5 April, with a series of feature film premiere double bills with supporting shorts and Q&As with the cast & crew of each feature. In addition, there’ll be an exclusive pass holder double bill and an ARROW double bill both of which can be accessed any time across the weekend.

Below we get some Grim Tidings from Paul Schuyler writer and director of Red River Road

1. Tell us why you are at Grimmfest?
Our movie exists outside the parameters of what mainstream audiences might consider “horror”, so we were looking for festivals with a more discerning, eclectic view of the genre. Grimmfest is exactly that, so we’re excited and grateful that they’ve included us this year.

2. How did you get into horror?
I think my imagination setting must have gotten bumped to Maximum Output when I was born, so I found myself in a constant state of terror most of my childhood. A door open just so, or the way light fell in a room was enough to put me in a state of dread. And anything intentionally creepy or unsettling that I saw on TV or in a magazine would then take up residence under my bed, or in my closet, joining the menagerie of creatures already hiding in there. (It was a tight fit in there, for sure). But I also couldn’t look away. As much as it was an endurance test, I also craved that fear. It was much later that I discovered that there is very little physiological difference between fear and excitement. It’s just how we choose to perceive it. I think at some point I just choose to wield it rather than be at the mercy of it. I started writing short stories for extra credit in grade school, and once I had a way to harness that energy, everything shifted and the fear became excitement. Though, I have to say, some of the stuff coming out of me at such a young age generated a fair amount of concern from the more sensitive English teachers along the way.

3. What scares you the most?
Flying. Or, more precisely, the idea of being in a plane and NOT flying. Falling, in fact. Crashing. That is white-hot terror for me. The idea of being trapped and not in control, while you imminent death races at you.

4. Who or what is your favourite horror character?
Wow, this is tougher to answer than I thought. I’ve got a couple of Hall of Famers that rank pretty high. I think Leatherface from the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre was the first time a horror character felt truly dangerous to me. Like, this isn’t fun and games anymore. And this was before I had seen the movie. This was from a black and white picture of him in Famous Monsters magazine. Jaws is my all-time favorite film, so Bruce the Shark is a contender. Giger’s Alien, of course. Michael Myers is no slouch, and I’ve got a lot of nostalgia for a good werewolf movie. But, if I’m choosing something for the top slot, I’m going to have to go with Giger’s Alien. That’s the only character that is just flat-out badass even in a crap movie. Sadly, I can’t say the same for the others.

5. What is the grimmest thing you ever saw?
I went to film school in New York City in the mid-80s–a low point for the Big Apple–and our school used three floors of a YMCA in Hell’s Kitchen as their ‘dorm’. Talk about a Grimmfest! I’m not going to divulge the grimmest thing I’ve seen because it’s, frankly, too grim. One of those, I wish I could unsee what I just saw, kind of grim. So I’ll leave it at this: if you run into me at a pub, buy me a pint and I’ll happily tell you. But don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Grimmfest Easter Edition runs from the 1st to the 5th of April and you can find out more and book your ticket HERE.