Just because Halloween has come and gone doesn't mean that horror filmmakers get to take a vacation from scaring their audiences. If you're itching to get a little creative and get some free gear doing it, UK-based production company Bloody Cuts, the online horror film anthology of which we've covered on NFS, has launched a brand new worldwide 3 minute horror film challenge entitled "Who's There?". $13,000 worth of prizes and a panel of Hollywood judges, including Joe Dante, Gale Anne Hurd and the Soska Sisters, seems like a pretty decent reason to make a horror flick, so continue on to find out how to enter.
Bloody Cuts has made some pretty chilling films for their online horror anthology, including the fairytale horror film Suckablood and Don't Move, which contains a very awesome Pans Labyrinth-esque monster. Producer Ben Franklin explains why Bloody Cuts decided to launch this new film competition, despite being busy with their own filmmaking:
Bloody Cuts was originally created following an entry we’d made ourselves into a similar competition a few years back, so we hope to inspire other filmmakers to follow a similar path, and reward them in doing so too.
To get acquainted with the "Who's There?" film competition, check out the video below:
Rules
Bloody Cuts has set 5 simple rules:
- Has to be horror: Your film has to fit inside the horror genre, or sub-genre. So, anything with zombies, ghosts, killer babies, flame-throwing evil nurses -- whatever. It can be found footage. It can be a horror romantic comedy, documentary -- anything as long as it's scary.
- Has to be based on the theme: The theme is "Who's There?" So, however you interpret that is up to you.
- Budget has to be $1,000 or less: According to Bloody Cuts, putting a cap on the budget evens the playing field.
- Film has a 3 min. max running time: This includes everything, including titles and credits -- but not the Bloody Cuts title card you must include. (So really, your film, with everything included, can be no longer than 3 mins 5 secs.)
- Uploaded to YouTube by December 30th: The competition will close at GMT 23:00 hours on Monday 30th December 2013, so be sure to submit your film on time!
Judges
The panel judging the competition is made up of some excellent horror film veterans, as well as some exciting newcomers: Director Joe Dante (Gremlins), Writer/Director Marcus Dunstan (Saw 4 -7), Writer/Producer Gale Anne Hurd (The Terminator, The Walking Dead), filmmaking dynamic duo, the Soska Sisters, Cinematographer Sam McCurdy (Game of Thrones, The Descent), Special Effects master Neill Gorton (Children of Men), and many others.
The judging stage of the competition will be split into two parts and judged by two panels. The first round of judging will be done by Bloody Cuts, who will select the 6 finalists that will go on to be judged in the second (and final) round by the panel of industry experts. All winners will be announced February 23rd 2014.
Prizes
I refuse to list all of the prizes here simply because there are too damn many. Over a dozen sponsors are giving away over $13,000 worth of merchandise for the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners of the competition. Films will also be eligible to win a Bloody Cuts Award in multiple categories, like best direction, writing, cinematography, grading, effects, etc.
How to enter
Entering the challenge is relatively painless (read: free,) however you will have to fill out a couple of forms. But, first things first -- here are the steps:
- Upload your film to YouTube: Make sure to include "Who's There Film Challenge (2013)” in the title.
- Download and sign the Terms and Conditions document
- Download and sign the Submission form
- Complete your Budget Top Sheet: Again, this is to make sure that a team isn't out there competing with a million dollar film (not that bigger budgets means better movie.) Note: You don't need to use Bloody Cuts' Budget Top Sheet, but they do provide one.
- Email the documents to Bloody Cuts: Email your 'Terms and Conditions', 'Submission Form' and 'Budget top sheet' to submissions@bchorrorchallenge.com no later than 11pm GMT on December 30th.
Be sure to go to the "Who's There" Challenge website to find out more. Also, all of the necessary documents are right there on the site ready to download. To get a feel for what Bloody Cuts is looking for in a submission, check out their 3-minute sample film Dare.
What do you think of Bloody Cuts' horror film challenge? Is anyone thinking of competing?
