Eureka Springs projects new screams on screen at ‘Nightmare in the Ozarks’ film fest

If you’ve ever been to Eureka Springs, Ark., you know it’s a perfect place to get in the mood for Halloween. The picturesque, artsy Ozarks town is packed with antique stores, historic buildings and boutiques specializing in magic supplies, crystals and new age healing. The town is probably most famous for the Crescent Hotel, which bills itself as “America’s most haunted hotel.” The building’s been featured on over a dozen paranormal TV shows, and regularly hosts ghost tours.

With all these spooky natural resources close at hand, it was only a matter of time before someone started a horror film festival.

Academic researcher, horror enthusiast and recently-minted bed-and-breakfast owner Coltan Scrivner (who you may remember from our 2020 article on horror movies, mental health and the COVID-19 pandemic, when he was only two of those things) moved to Eureka Springs a year and a half ago. He’s already working on turning the place into Halloween Central through Nightmare in the Ozarks, a new film festival pairing up-and-coming horror movies with live events including paranormal investigations, a zombie walk, and even an academic conference.

The event runs Oct. 24-26 in downtown Eureka Springs. Scrivener brought us up to speed on what to expect from the festival, and the unique appeal of fall in the Ozarks.

The Pitch: Okay, first things first. Last time we spoke, you weren’t in Arkansas, but it looks like you’ve made yourself at home there! How’d that happen?

Scrivner: I’ve visited here several times over my life, and during my last visit here, on New Year’s Eve, I was hanging out and saw a bed and breakfast that had gone on the market. I thought it would be fun to move here and start a B&B, so I did. I got into the Halloween scene here, which was already pretty big. I kind of added to the zombie crawl, and now I’m trying to make it a multi-day thing in Eureka Springs.

I’ve been to Eureka Springs a few times, and I know that place is gorgeous in the fall. For other people who may not have been there, or who have a preconceived notion of what the Ozarks is like, what’s the appeal?

Eureka Springs is a special palace because it has a spooky history. The town had a nasty history in its early years with death and disease and disaster. It went from being a town of nobody to the second largest city in Arkansas in the 1880s, because everyone came here for the natural springs. People came here to get well who were sick, which meant there was a big death rate. Several buildings downtown have been morgues at one point.

There were also lots of fires, floods and mudslides in the early years. There’s been a history with ghosts and charlatans throughout the years. It’s one of the biggest national historic register locations in the U.S., which means it’s this old-looking spooky town, with big old Victorian houses and old buildings downtown. So it looks spooky, has a weird history, and it’s nestled in the mountains away from things. There’s a huge art scene here, and the local artists love halloween and really get into it. The zombie crawl is the biggest event of the year here.

What can people expect from Nightmare in the Ozarks in addition to the vibes?

The films are showing in the city auditorium, which seats 900 people, and has a 26-foot screen and a new 8k projector. We’ve already sold 300 tickets, and it’s blowing up so much that we know next year we’ll have to find a second location — the auditorium is big, but it’s only one place!

Downstairs and in the basements, we’ll have vendors, workshops and photo opportunities. On Friday night, we have a special effects workshop with Salah Tepes, who’s worked on all kinds of films, big and small, and horror trivia at a local restaurant. There’s a paranormal investigation on Saturday night with Larry Flaxman at the Crescent hotel and the Zombie Crawl downtown.

Tuesday and Wednesday before the film festival, we’re hosting an academic conference we’re calling the Zombie Apocalypse Medicine Meeting. It’s sort of a non-traditional gathering of scientists, artists and anyone who can use the apocalypse in fun ways to think about risk management. It’s just gonna be a whole week of really fun Halloween stuff planned.

What can you tell us about the films you have programmed?

One of the films, a folk horror movie called The Severed Sun stars Jodhi May and Emma Appleton from The Witcher and Toby Stephens from Black Sails. I think the themes it includes are going to play really well here. We also have two other great folk horror movies, Mudbrick and Breathing In.

The Invisible Raptor is another movie I’m excited for, which stars Sean Astin. I like it because it’s a creature feature with no visible creature. We’ll have a Christmas slasher movie called He Sees You When You’re Sleeping, which is shot from the killer’s perspective, and Happy Halloween, which was shot in Springfield, Mo. 

One of our shorts, The Tickle Monster has big Killer Klowns from Outer Space vibes. The filmmaker, Brett Helms, will be bringing a live Tickle Monster with him to the festival. Another, 

Oddities, stars Adrienne Barbeau as an antique shop owner, which is pretty fun because there are so many antique shops here.

I know this is only the first year of the festival, but you said you’ve already been written up in the New York Times as a fall festival to look forward to, and it seems like the whole program is pretty ambitious. What’s your vision for this look like moving forward?

Eureka Springs has this magical Hocus Pocus vibe. It’s a magical place that celebrates Halloween so strongly. I love helping provide Halloween-themed events for people to come and enjoy, whether that’s music, live events or film festivals. Want to make this a week-long celebration of Halloween, and make it THE place in the midwest to come and visit during Halloween season.