THE VIGIL Captures Popcorn Frights Wicked Weekend Audience Award

Following the end of four fantastic days of digital programming that featured 21 film premieres at its Wicked Weekend Halloween celebration, Popcorn Frights has come to a close and announced THE VIGIL as the winner of its Audience Award. In this hair-raising chiller, a lapsed Orthodox Jewish man tasked with keeping watch over a dead member of his former community is faced with a mysterious, malevolent entity. The film is set to be released by IFC Midnight on February 26^th, 2021.

“This is a really nice surprise,” said director Keith Thomas in acceptance of the Wicked Weekend Audience Award. “So glad everyone enjoyed the film and thank you.”

Claiming the Audience Award Runner Up is TALES OF THE UNCANNY, the ultimate anthology horror documentary that features interviews with Joe Dante, Mick Garris, Roger Corman, Richard Stanley, Ernest Dickerson, Eli Roth, Tom Savini, among many other genre icons. In accepting the Runner Up prize, director David Gregory and producer Kier-La Janisse issued the following statement.

“We consider ourselves lucky that we were able to even produce a feature during this time. The horror portmanteau was a terrific canvas for such a project and we’re delighted that the Wicked Weekend audience shared this love of anthologies with us and all the artists who took part.” – David Gregory, director

“It’s weird to be celebrating anything in this frightening time, but I’m so happy that our modest project brought together not only so many passionate horror luminaries on camera, but also that this enthusiasm extended to our larger family of the horror audience. Your response to the film is profoundly validating and lovely.” – Kier-La Janisse, producer

Wicked Weekend began with the World Premiere of Lionsgate’s SMILEY FACE KILLERS on opening night on October 29, and continued until November 1 with feature film highlights including the premieres of Paramount’s supernatural thriller SPELL starring Omari Hardwick (Zach Snyder’s Army of the Dead) as well as the North American Premieres of BABYSITTER MUST DIE, THE RETREAT, HELD, and THEY REACH.

In addition to its film-lineup, Wicked Weekend also hosted several off-film events, including a panel discussion with acclaimed musicians Graham Reznick and Steve Moore, and a conversation with Tibor Takács about his cult classic The Gate.

Popcorn Frights Wicked Weekend virtual event was created to provide its eager fans an opportunity to safely celebrate Halloween weekend amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. The event caps one of the Festival’s most active seasons, which was highlighted by a summer drive-in horror show series presented in partnership with Shudder and Popcorn Frights participation in the collective online festival NIGHTSTREAM.

Joseph Perry

Joseph Perry fell in love with horror films as a preschooler when he first saw the Gill-Man swim across the TV screen in "The Creature from The Black Lagoon" and Mothra battle Godzilla in "Godzilla Vs. The Thing.” His education in fright fare continued with TV series such as "The Twilight Zone" and "Outer Limits," along with legendary northern California horror host Bob Wilkins’ "Creature Features." His love for silver age and golden age comic books, including horror titles from Gold Key, Dell, and Marvel started around age 5.

He is a contributing writer for the "Phantom of the Movies VideoScope" and “Drive-In Asylum” print magazines and the websites Horror Fuel, Diabolique Magazine, The Scariest Things, B&S About Movies, and When It Was Cool. He is a co-host of the "Uphill Both Ways" pop culture nostalgia podcast and also writes for its website. Joseph occasionally proudly co-writes articles with his son Cohen Perry, who is a film critic in his own right.

A former northern Californian and Oregonian, Joseph has been teaching, writing, and living in South Korea since 2008.