2024 marks UPIKE’s seventh annual Horrorfest, which began in 2018. The idea of Horrorfest came from Andrew Reed, a professor of UPIKE’s Film and Media Arts program. I got a chance to interview Professor Reed about the history of the event. This is what he had to say about the creation of Horrorfest:

My second year at UPIKE, I wanted to start a contest for students to make funny movies. That was something I started in Fall 2015. We did it every semester in the Fall and Spring.

Horrorfest’s creation traces back to 2015 with UPIKE’s first film festival, UParodies. UParodies was held every fall and spring until 2018, when the idea of making the fall film festival Halloween-themed came up. Since then, Horrorfest has become one of UPIKE’s biggest events. Horrorfest showcases a wide variety of short horror films, including film parodies, horror-comedies, and scary films.

We decided to make Horrorfest in the fall of 2018. Part of the reason was that a lot of students were already making horror films for UParodies. To me, the coolest thing about it is getting to see your film screened in front of a huge audience.

2024’s Horrorfest was hosted on the top floor of the HPEB building on October 30th. A total of 15 films were shown at the event, most of which were horror comedies.

One of my favorite films was “Un Caffeinated.” This film was made by Esther Fugate and won 3rd place in the festival. The film features a woman being attacked by what the audience believes to be a zombie. However, the man returns to normal once he receives a cup of coffee. I had a chance to speak briefly to Esther, who told me that the idea came from her cousin, who she described as a “zombie” in the mornings without her coffee. The short film had a great spooky vibe and a hilarious punchline at the end.

Jered White is a Film and Media major who has been making short films since 2022. For Jered’s first Horrorfest, he presented the short film “Jerry and Mikey,” which parodies the classic horror film “Halloween.” Jered would follow this film with two sequels, released in 2023 and 2024. Jered White’s hard work paid off when he won Horrorfest 2024 with the final film in his short film series, “Jerry vs Mikey 3.”

I got a chance to interview Jered about his film, where he gave insight into his creative process and future plans for filmmaking.

I asked Jered about his thought process while making “Mikey vs Jerry 3.”

I let my mind go crazy. I didn’t really think about it; I just did it, and whatever worked, I stuck with.

I wanted to know what inspired Jered to create this trilogy of short films.

It was originally going to be Jason, but we couldn’t find a mask. I knew someone with the Michael Myers mask, so I went with that. I think it’s easier to make sequels because you have a basis to go off of. This one is the definitive ending. Originally, it was a one-off thing when I made the first short film. Eventually, the character came back through skits for UParodies, so I expanded on it. I’m over it now; Michael Myers is done.

I asked for insight into Jered’s plans going forward now that he’s done with Michael Myers.

I think I’m going to skip the masked killer persona and make a completely original film. I might still have comedic bits, but I’d like to have a more horror-focused story. I plan to start working behind the camera more.

And lastly, I wanted to know what advice Jered has for new Film and Media students.

I would say don’t hold back. You could come up with the most stupid idea, and it could still work. As long as you put passion into it, it’s going to turn out good.