It would be an understatement to say 2020 has been a challenging year for everyone. However, the creativity and ingenuity shown by all the filmmakers this year was quite inspiring. Once again we were treated to a broad range of stellar film submissions.  Understandably many of the films were a bit more “serious” and “darker” this year. Picking just one is once again all the more challenging.  For what it’s worth, here are my own opinions…

Extensions II: Victory (2020 Version)
Great reworking of the original.  The 2020 version was both quite enjoyable as well as a more palatable experience to watch (clocking in just under 20 minutes). In a way both a “director’s cut” with some never before seen added footage as well thoughtful edits and omissions from the original.  Well done.

The First Tasting
It was a great pleasure and honor to be able to be a part of this project. Good to see the return of Steven Ghostly. However I think we are all wondering what happened to Gordon Stacks. Will we ever see him again? Looking forward to a potential sequel.
Sea Peoples
I quite enjoyed this one. Really well done. Good story and great camera work. And how could we forget that outstanding original soundtrack. Probably Mr. Benkerstein’s best film to date.

The Sleep Demon
A nice, succinct horror short.  A bit of a palate cleanser.  Felt like a movie trailer leaving me wanting to see more. Enjoyable.
The Will
Again, in keeping with a bit of a theme for the evening this one was a serious and rather dark work. It was again a great pleasure to be able to act in this film. I thought the script was very well done. Great soundtrack too. Not sure I completely understand the ending. Probably need to watch it a few more times.  Well done.

On the Transmigration of Marjorie Nolan
Nice little animated short.  Again another “palate cleanser”. As with “the sleep demon” could these ideas be flushed out into a feature length film?

The Tasting
In a way the two “tasting” films start out quite the same but then diverge in dramatically different directions.  While the first film veers more toward a rather comedic, light-hearted conclusion, this second film turns into more of a classic horror tale.I wonder if maybe in prior years without all the restrictions we now face the two films could have possibly been part of a larger story. The door is certainly open for a sequel. Either way it was both well done and enjoyable to watch.

When The Alarm Goes Off
I for one am always looking forward to seeing a new release from the F2 team, and once again they did not disappoint.  While there were some comedic elements at play in this film, there was also a tinge of sadness to the story.  I found this to ultimately be a rather melancholy and cautionary tale. Shout out to the grainy, black and white, silent ‘film within the film’. I almost thought that character was going to jump off the screen and enter the story.  It’s somewhat ironic that this is the favorite television show of the ‘struggling artist’.  I suppose it brings some solace to him during his dark days. When Saturday evening came to a conclusion I walked away thinking this was my favorite film. As I review all the films again a few days later my opinion has not changed.  Well done F2.

The Realization

It’s become a bit of a tradition that the final film of the evening is a compilation of random footage from the host. A compendium of the good times from throughout the year. As always there are some great nuggets. Always good for a few laughs and a nice way to see out the program.

The Haverhast: When the Alarm Goes Off
Runner up: Sea Peoples