by RAF KATIGBAK

After last year's two-day smash success, Quebec's only local horror and sci-fi short-film festival has expanded to five days and added two more venues. From creepy-for-cheapy, vampire fetish flicks to highly stylised 2D animation, Festival SPASM 2004 has something for every horror-hungry cinephile.

On Wednesday, Oct. 27, Cinémathèque québécoise will screen acclaimed Montreal director Claude Jutra's (of Mon Oncle Antoine fame) 1948 debut, Le Dément du lac Jean-Jeunes (shot when he was only 18).

Then on Thursday, Oct. 28, ease into the evil with Elie Zananiri's third installment of her Lego stop-motion, time-travelling, Western/pirate epics, Prisoner John 3: Back and Pissed, or Pierre-Luc Vaillancourt's twisted Hansel et Gretel.

Later on that evening, it's Off-Spasm, a special showcase of local horror, sci-fi and fantasy shorts, including the Montreal premiere of Carl Ringuette and Joël Simard's Le Dernier des hommes (think 28 Days Later except set in Huntingdon, Quebec) and Martin Bruyère's fan film, Friday the 13th: Jason Takes on the Movie Crew.

From the stylish cyberpunk artistic direction of Daniel-James Matrundola's Zymosis to the arcade-game-inspired animation Klionax, Friday night's bill offers everything for the discerning space cadet. For Soirée Science Fiction at the SAT, extra sights and sounds will be provided by VJ Pillow and DJ Mini and at the after-party by Montreal scratch DJ champion Mana. Prizes will be awarded to the best costume, so don't forget to bust out your Halloween gear.

Finally, on Saturday and Sunday Club Soda has the Grand Soirée Horreur hosted by the demonic duo Le Night Shift. Who will win the coveted Festival SPASM prize? Will it be the colourfully titled Chicoutimi production Die Bitch Die, or perhaps the self-proclaimed "bloodiest film in Quebec horror movie history," Le Bagman: Profession Meurtrier? Maybe it'll be the sexy tragic vampire love story Crimson or Montreal's scream queen Izabel Grondin's latest Les Drujes? It's anyone's guess!

Festival Spasm 2004 screens Tuesday, Oct. 26–Sunday, Oct. 31. For ticket info, visit www.spasm.ca

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