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The 72-hour short horror film competition, hosted by the Eugene Film Society, is back for its 11th year. Past participants have learned to walk on stilts, jumped in reservoirs at 2 a.m. and filmed after hours at McMenamins during this kooky, creepy competition.
Before last year’s 72-hour horror film competition, organizer Edward Schiessl announced that it could be the last one, citing how “increasingly difficult” it had become “to carve out a few dozen hours of volunteer time during what is already a very busy time of year at the theaters.”
But just like an undead zombie, the competition — in which filmmakers are challenged to create a short horror movie from start to finish in just 72 hours — has bounced back from the brink: Last year’s festival drew a then-record number of entrants. And this year ‘s festival shattered last year’s mark, with 55 teams registered for this year’s Oct. 15-17 competition, and 50 completing their films on time.
Schiessl, president of the Eugene Film Society and managing director of the Eugene Art House and Metro Cinemas, has led the annual event for 10 years.
Last year’s announcement about possible cancellation prompted an outcry — and changed Schiessl’s mind.
“(It) resulted in an overwhelming turnout — our largest ever at that point with 50 filmmaking teams registered, 41 of whom completed on time — and a wildly enthusiastic audience of around 450 for the screening event,” Schiessl wrote in an email to Lookout. “I immediately started feeling guilty for wanting to give it up — seeing how much of an impact it has on the filmmaking community, how much effort and talent everyone pours into their projects and how hyped and supportive that crowd was at the screening.”
Among those who rallied were Lassen Anderson and Sienna Snyder, who participated in the competition for the past two years. Despite the minimal sleep they get in that 72-hour period, they said they were pumped to be back for a third year.
“Before doing this, I didn’t even know there was much of a film community in Eugene,” Anderson said. “I feel like there’s more connection between the audience and between the filmmakers, and I think it’s just hard to replicate that anywhere else.”
The McDonald Theater showcase Nov. 2 will feature 2.5 hours of horror films, each from two to three minutes long.
Anderson said contestants have ranged from middle schoolers to 40-year-olds.
There’s a reason for that.
“It’s so inclusive, and every year you just get to see how excited people are over this,” Snyder said. “And then you get to talk to them and expand (your) community as well.”
Ashe Newton, known for her online presence where she “vibe-rates” places around Eugene, competed in the 72-hour short horror film competition for the first time this year.
Newton teamed up with filmmakers Tomas Gravenmier and Walter King; King’s team won the jury award last year.
They built their film around a retro video-game aesthetic, with pixelated visuals and game-like sound effects. Newton said she’s excited to “subvert people’s expectations about me when they see our movie.”
“I would say to anybody who is considering doing it, f—– do it, ” Newton said. “The universe wants us to create, so you know this is a perfect excuse to just expand consciousness, to find fulfillment.”
How the competition works
Crews signed up in advance, then checked in at the Art House where they were notified about the one prop and single line of dialogue that must be included in each film.
This year the prop was a box, and the line was from “Psycho” — a movie Art House is airing near Halloween.
The line: “Sometimes we deliberately step into those traps.”
For competition veteran Wade Fisher, the box was hard to work with because it is so open-ended, but not as hard as the banana prop from 2024.
It was his fourth year competing.
“Two years ago, the prop was a banana,” Fisher said. “So that one was a curveball, and then our first one we had thought of something beforehand, and we went into it, and the prop was binoculars, and we … could not figure out a way to fit them into the story, so it ended up being just kind of thrown in there.”
Fisher said his crew doesn’t plan a story beforehand because the competition requires the horror film be created within the designated 72 hours.
“When you think of it beforehand, you can kind of trap yourself in a corner because you have to shoehorn in the prop and the line,” Fisher said.
Participants have to write a script, storyboard, shoot, edit and accomplish various other tasks in that 72-hour time frame, before turning it in at 8 p.m., Sunday.
Then, the finished films get aired at the McDonald Theatre for the public, and a jury of media professionals scores them.
Jurors weigh how well each film weaves the required prop and line into the story rather than tacking them on, along with elements such as editing, sound and originality. The Jury Award is $1,134, and the Audience Award, essentially the fan favorite, is $666.
“There are so many things that can make a film successful, there’s not really a formula for greatness — the best films are the ones that surprise, but that can mean a lot of things — could be a plot twist, or a unique style of narrative, or an effective scare. The inventive ones tend to stay with me,” Schiessl said.
Fisher said that he’s had to learn to walk on stilts in that short time frame, while Snyder said they plunged into Fern Ridge Reservoir at 2 a.m.
“It was freezing, and it was dark,” Snyder said with a chuckle. “It wasn’t a one-take wonder that night.”
Fisher said he looks forward to watching the audience during the screening.
“It’s so fun to look around the theater and see if people are feeling what you intended or taking it in a completely different way,” Fisher said.
If you go
Where: McDonald Theatre, 1010 Willamette St. in Eugene
When: Monday, Nov. 2, doors open at 6 p.m., screening starts at 7 p.m.
How much: Tickets are $13; details can be found online.
