Alexander Balzano Communications and New Media Major

Damnationland is a Portland-born, independent horror film festival just finishing its fifth year. Opening

to a massive audience at the State Theater, the festival has been touring around Maine with premieres

in Bridgeton, Presque Isle, Ogunquit, and our own Nickelodeon cinema in Portland.

The festival is invite only and each year selects multiple Maine directors to each direct their

own film. Each director gives us a unique take on horror and provides the audience with a wide variety

of films. There were multiple sci-fi films including Neurophreak and Last Flight of the Freya 7, as well

quirky, dark romance Misandry, Vampire centric The Poet, and a documentary titled What Are You

Scared of Kid? Others included a twisted revenge story called Snip, dark fantasy tale Thwack, a

lighthouse set haunting titled We are the Ones, solemn dream-filled DarkEyed and an interstitial piece

meant to serve as the framing piece for the festival similar in form to Tales from the Crypt or The

Twilight Zone.

The festival started with a very interesting opening act with local singer Renee Coolbrith

performing with a talented local harpist, pianist and a fascinating shadow dance behind a thin curtain.

The show then commenced with various, extremely well done films. Of my favorites were DarkEyed

and What Are You Scared of Kid?

DarkEyed was a very quiet film with little dialogue. This gave the viewer a very unique

experience as much of the film was left to interpretation. The music of DarkEyed was also some of my

favorite and was utilized well along with the incredible visuals to make it a very haunting piece.

What Are You Scared of Kid? was another unique horror piece that was portrayed in a documentary

format and was composed of interviews with children. The film explored the fears of children and how

those fears evolve as we enter adulthood. It was a quirky, lighthearted experience among the dark tone

portrayed in most of the other films.

The only criticism I would give is that many of the films ended too quickly for me and did not

feel long enough. I mainly feel this because all of the films had so much colorful content and dynamic

plots that they could have filmed a longer short film or even a feature length. However it is

understandable given the festival’s 20-minute max time limit.

Overall the festival is an extremely enjoyable collection of films by very talented Maine

directors. Many of the crews and personnel who had assisted in these productions are also SMCC

alums from the Communications and New Media Department, which also includes the festival’s co-

producer Charlotte Warren.

Damnationland is still set to premiere showings in the Braden Theater in Presque Isle, the

Frontier Cafe in Brunswick and Park St. Union in Lewiston. Complete dates and times can be found on

the festival’s website at damnationland.com.