Midsummer Scream has come and gone, yet the effect still lingers and Halloween has just begun. One of the cooler things at the festival was The Screaming Room presented by HorrorBuzz of course. The goal of the Screaming Room was to give up and coming filmmakers in the horror genre a supportive place to showcase their talents and to celebrate horror creativity, diversity, and talent. We wanted to be entertained and scared. Boy did we get it.

The HorrorBuzz staff scoured hundreds of short film submissions and narrowed it down to the best 53 movies submitted. Everything ranged from hardcore horror to spooky. From comedic to family friendly. In the end, however, we selected two films to honor as the overall favorite and the one that best captured the spirit of Halloween.

The Green Ruby Pumpkin – Jury Award

The Green Ruby Pumpkin was a whimsical short film submission that captured our imagination with its lush production and lyrical tone. Centered around the tradition of trick or treating, the short film tells the story of a magical green pumpkin from which the children from the neighborhood take their treats.

The Green Ruby Pumpkin from miguel ortega on Vimeo

We also found a fascinating piece on the maing of the film…

The Making of The Green Ruby Pumpkin from miguel ortega on Vimeo.

The Witching Hour – The Spirit Award

This movie from Chapman University Alumni Riley Geis is a delightful ode to the mischievous side of Halloween.

Synopsis: On Halloween, a fearful young boy is taken by the spooky girl next door on a haunted night of mischief and adventure.

Congratulations to our winners and thank you to all who submitted work. This was a pretty amazing collection of films and we could not be happier with how it all came together. Until next year, unpleasant dreams.