Dustin Staggs

NWA Democrat-Gazette

The calm Victorian streets of Eureka Springs will become a horror fan’s fantasy for three days in late October. With terrifying films from all over the world, a basement full of vendors and one of the country’s largest zombie parades, this small Ozark town is set to become anything but quiet.

Recognized by The New York Times as one of the five Halloween film festivals worth traveling to, the Nightmare in the Ozarks Film Festival is placed among the most prestigious horror celebrations in the U.S., like Los Angeles Scream Fest and Telluride Horror Show.

Set to take place in Eureka Springs’ historic City Auditorium — lovingly known by the locals as “The Aud” — the festival invites attendees into its 900-seat theater, where films will be shown on a large 26-foot screen with a brand new 14K projector.

Festival Director Coltan Scrivner, a behavioral scientist and horror expert, understands the dark appeal that draws people to these horrific stories. His go-to horror film is currently the “Dawn of the Dead” remake from 2004, but says it changes regularly.

“I research the psychology behind why people are interested in scary things and whether or not it might have some benefits in some cases,” Scrivner said. His interest in how people react to fear began in graduate school at the University of Chicago while pursuing his PhD in psychology and has since grown into an unexpected career producing and consulting on projects and TV shows.

Scrivner views the Nightmare in the Ozarks Film Festival as providing an opportunity to explore the genre’s tremendous possibilities and providing a useful inspiration for other aspiring filmmakers.

When it came to picking the lineup of films, Scrivner said, “being a first-year film festival, I was initially just a little bit happy to have anything, in the sense that you often don’t get to be very choosy your first year, but I think we had a very untraditional first year as a film festival.”

They received about 300 film submissions from 21 different countries, and it was hard to narrow them down to just two and a half days of screenings.

“A good problem to have,” he said.

Scrivner hinted that a next-year film festival would require additional days for a larger number of films. The final pick for this year’s slate is a diverse combination of horror, thriller and science fiction to guarantee a variety for viewers’ fear preference.

THE SCHEDULE

The opening night Thursday will feature Nikola Petrovic’s “Mudbrick,” a dark drama about pagan cults and hidden truths that hasn’t been shown anywhere in the U.S. yet, according to Scrivner.

The roster of that first festival day concludes with “The Invisible Raptor,” a film about an unseen dinosaur wreaking havoc on a small village. Thursday is supposed to ease festival-goers into the three-day event, according to Scrivner.

Friday films start at 10:15 a.m., and the last one is scheduled to fade to black at 10:37 p.m.

On this day of the festival will have sci-fi short films, moody mysteries and the debut of the film, “He Sees You When You’re Sleeping.” The Christmas slasher is being shown two weeks before its theater release.

Those attending that day will also be able to meet filmmakers at BREWS on Pine Street, join an I-Scream Social with screenings of “Hocus Pocus” and “Beetlejuice” at Harold’s Diner and also attend a SFX (sound effects) workshop hosted by artist Sahlah Tepes, who will teach the technique of creating that monster magic.

Saturday is packed with events, from slasher shorts in the morning to thrilling shorts in the afternoon. After the last thriller of the day, spectators can watch the Brain Buffet, where costumed zombies compete to gobble gelatin brains in Basin Spring Park.

BRAINS, BRAINS…

The Eureka Springs Zombie Crawl, which is one of the countries largest zombie parades according to the official website, is perhaps the most anticipated event, and the initial framework for the film festival even being a possibility.

What began as a modest neighborhood parade in 2012 has grown to draw thousands of undead participants. The only requirement to be part of the walking dead is to bring two cans of food to donate to the local food bank. Zombies prefer a different kind of nutrient anyway and won’t be using them.

Director of Eureka Springs Historical Museum Jeff Danos originally founded the Zombie Parade with his wife before handing it off to Scrivner in 2023.

“It was funny because it was never really planned to be this huge event, the thing that it became,” Danos said, commenting on its unexpected success. But he knew the event was in good hands with Scrivner when he became a new resident of the town.

Now, with this being the inaugural year of the film festival, Scrivner says they’ve already sold 400 tickets and expect to reach 500 by opening night, the festival has certainly grown since its inception.

In true festival fashion, Saturday night will conclude with a red carpet event in which festival-goers in their undead attire can mingle, take pictures and make their way back into The Auditorium, where the howler trophies will be presented to the winning filmmakers.

The awards will recognize the finest in feature and short films, performances and the film with the best kill. The audience also gets their own choice, and a QR code will be provided so participants can scan and vote for their favorite film.

After the ceremony, the night will end with its last film screening of George A. Romer’s legendary 1968 picture, “Night of the Living Dead.”

“Eureka Springs is a unique place for a festival because it’s so small, and it’s this tiny little Victorian town,” Scrivner said. “It’s easily walkable. It’s very beautiful in the fall, especially around this time of year. So it’s just this kind of intimate, cozy place to have a big horror film festival.”

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FAQ

Nightmare in the Ozarks Film Festival

WHEN — Oct. 24-26. View scheduled events at the link below.

WHERE — City Auditorium, 36 S. Main St., Eureka Springs

COST — $20 for one day; $30 for the weekend.

INFO — nightmareintheozarks.com