The entries are in and the votes have been tabulated. I will now announce the two awesome, clever winners of the Planet Fury/SplatterFest 2011 Oasis of Terror Contest.
But first, I want to extend a hearty thanks to Kerry Beyer and Kelly Burns Smith, the perpetual motion machine that keeps SplatterFest running. They've been most gracious and have shown Planet Fury a lot of consideration this year. What they've done down in Houston is pretty cool. Besides being two of the nicest and most attractive people in Southeast Texas (seriously, you should see them), they are also two of the most committed people…or they are two of the most often committed people — I always mix that up. Whatever. Kelly and Kerry don't seem too dangerous, and after watching them in action, I appreciate all the sleep they sacrifice to make SplatterFest happen. They are truly the keepers of the flame.
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Now for those winners! To win the Planet Fury/SplatterFest 2011 Oasis of Terror Contest, we asked our readers to answer, in a persuasive and entertaining manner, the following query: "Which of Sam Raimi's Evil Dead movies is the best, and why?"
Let me say it was a close race. There were many contestants, among which were some wonderful writers whose work I highly admire…sadly, none of them won, despite having submitted logically well-observed replies. All I can say to them is, "This is the Inwebternet, my friends. 'Snarky irreverence' beats 'logically well-observed' every time, and I know you know this."
Winner of the much desired — and currently sold out — SplatterFest Shorts Volume 2 is Reader Christopher, whose answer mixed cheeky impertinence with a knowledge of Evil Dead trivia (extra points for slipping into Spanish midway, Christopher). Christopher writes:
"Why is this question even being asked? It is Evil Dead 2 of course! Now what are my reasons...well the most obvious is that Bruce and the Raimi brothers had more experience with making films. Of course even experience doesn't always make someone better, but in this case it probably helped them receive more funding as well. Reason numero dos, it was slapstick comedy mixed in with horror and there wasn't a big studio there to tell them how to do what they do best! They were able to let Bruce be Bruce in all of his grooviness as well as use his famous chainsaw for the first time, even if the smoke was actually run through a tube and tobacco smoke! My third and final reason is that they were able to use the props they wanted to as well as really nail the shaky camera on a plank of wood. They didn't have some higher-ups making them use studio props or high-tech equipment; it was just Bruce, a small group of forsaken youths, and a boomstick in a cabin!"
Winner of SplatterFest co-founder Kerry Beyer's kickass slasher flick Spirit Camp is Reader Private J.V. Vasquez, whose answer combined tree rape, cursing and an H.P. Lovecraft reference (extra points for the Morturom Demonto detail, Pvt.). Pvt. Vasquez writes:
"The reason why I like Evil Dead 1 is that well a lot of people say this is the most scary of the series. But to me you can still tell that the first entry in the series is still pretty hilarious. I love the claymation, B-movie gore and references to H.P. Lovecraft, especially with the Necronomicon (although I believe then-named Morturom Demonto). I also thought it was extremely different to have zombies created via demonic possession, so I liked that. Plus, I know many people thought the tree rape scene was hilarious or disgusting, but I'm more of the opinion of "What the fuck?" The Cheryl levitation/possession scene is so funny; although you are supposed to be totally frightened, you can tell that it's so fake. What also sucks is, who the hell would liked to be stabbed in the ankle by a damn pencil! I mean, talk about "Ow!" and plus how can you run as a woman and have your damn shoes fall off while you have a damn piece of lead stuck in your ankle? That would fucking suck."
One small observation: Among all the entries, Evil Dead 1 and Evil Dead 2 ran neck in neck as the choice for best Evil Dead flick. There wasn't a single argument in favor of Army of Darkness. Make of that what you will.
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This year's SplatterFest short film competition brought in many fine entries. The teams that entered were given three elements to be implemented into their films: a character, a weapon and a line of dialogue ("Are you enjoying this as much as I am?").
While there were a couple of great flicks that won several awards (Princess and Persistence of Vision), the clear standout — and winner of Best Film — was director Mark Blitch's The Code, which was shot and edited in 54 hours and won 11 separate critical and audience awards. For his effort, Mark won a Canon Rebel T2i Camera, presented to him by Ash himself, Mr. Bruce Campbell.
Find a complete list of the winning films HERE.
The character and weapon Mark had to implement into The Code were Porn Star and Weedeater, respectively. I'm sure you'll agree he knocked it out of the park with his fun, witty film.
I'll be back in a couple of days with a final SplatterFest 2011 missive, and it's a good one: an exclusive interview with Michael Biehn and Jennifer Blanc-Biehn (thank you, Kelly!), in which we discuss all things The Victim. Until then, I leave you with The Code.
The Code (2011) from Mark Blitch on Vimeo.
