The History of Deadmonton
The Edmonton Journal
Published: Friday, October 31
Last weekend, Metro Cinema hosted the Deadmonton Horror Film Festival. Deadmonton has been written about in The Journal a few times in the past week, but a few details have been incorrect, and I just wanted to set the record straight.
In "Be afraid ... be very afraid: Horror fest runs the gamut from camp to terror in music and film" (Oct. 24), it is suggested that: "When the original organizer left the city, (Derek) Clayton and a friend, Matt Acosta, put together a day-long version last year."
This isn't quite right. The first Return to Odd was produced by Chris Bavota, who also ran Oddity Cinema, a cult and horror video store on Whyte Avenue. After he moved to Fredericton, the festival was dormant for a few years, and Kevin Martin opened a new genre video store, The Lobby, in Oddity's old location.
In the fall of 2006, Acosta approached Metro Cinema, wanting to revive the festival as a one-day event in April 2007 (with Bavota's blessing). There was no festival infrastructure, and no funding. Acosta funded the 2007 festival entirely out-of-pocket, and brought along a dedicated group of friends and volunteers from the local horror community, including his girlfriend Janine Karasick, and Martin from The Lobby. It was hard work, but the event was successful enough that he didn't lose any money, and the work of many local filmmakers was screened as well.
After the 2007 event, Acosta was joined by Clayton to co-produce the 2008 event, now named Deadmonton. Deadmonton screened last weekend and was quite successful. The Saturday screenings of Tokyo Gore Police and My Name Is Bruce were to a sold-out house, and local filmmakers were again well-represented.
So we were happy to see the headline on Scott McKeen's Oct. 27 column, "Let's say it loud and say it proud: We are Deadmonton."
However, the column barely mentioned the festival that had just ended. Instead, it profiled an idea of Christian Nelson's, which McKeen summarized as, "to create a Halloween festival called Deadmonton. It would incorporate the existing Deadmonton Horror Film Festival, but add other events under the Deadmonton brand."
To be clear, the Deadmonton Horror Film Festival exists, and is part of a multi-year tradition of presenting horror cinema in Edmonton. The umbrella event that is being proposed does not exist, and the suggestion that this non-existent event should incorporate the Deadmonton Horror festival, and in fact take its name, is presumptuous, and demeans the hard work and dedication of Acosta, Clayton, and all their supporters and volunteers.
Marsh Murphy, executive director, Metro Cinema Society, Edmonton
Our Mandate
The films we choose to screen. deals with the strange and oddities of cinema. The part of film that is less exposed to the public and only to the underground. Deadmonton will showcase filmmakers who explore this genre of HORROR in every aspect, even to its sub-genres of art house, 80’s cult, splatter, hardcore ect.
"Deadmonton Horror" also understands that the horror genre is inter-locked and attached at the hip with rock music and culture. Horror is to cinema what rock ‘n’ roll is to music—Rebellious, transgressive, loud and abrasive—and the sound of horror is every bit as important as the vision," says Mick Garris creator of “The Masters of Horror" series
As always, music and culture plays an enormous role in horror films, this is why the "Deadmonton Horror Film Festival" will always include live bands to perform at the venue. "HORROR and ROCK, A marriage made in hell."
