Interview With The Programmer: Brooklyn Horror Film Festival's Joseph Hernandez on what to expect at this year's fest

Fellow writer Bash Ortega and I discuss the 2024 fest with Joseph Hernandez, Brooklyn Horror's Senior Programmer and Director of Community Development. Yapping with cinephiles is always a great time.

My dear friends: Spooky Season is finally upon us! I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the most wonderful time of year than spending eight days in dark theaters with other like-minded freaks watching horrors unfold before our greedy eyes. And then maybe discussing the untold horrors at length over a beer, or at karaoke. 

Luckily for me, I’ll be able to do just that at the ninth annual Brooklyn Horror Film Festival (BHFF). The festival promises an “unworldly” lineup of films and events, and runs from Thursday, October 17 through Thursday, October 24, 2024. 

I’m covering the festival for Movie Jawn and will also be bringing you goodies right here. My schedule is already jam-packed with people to see and horror to watch, and the hard-working folks over at BHFF haven’t even dropped the party schedule yet. I’ve also had the honor of being on BHFF’s 2024 Jury! Thanks so much to BHFF for this opportunity. I’m reviewing the Head Trips features, and wow! These are pretty fucked up!  (That’s praise!)

And once again, I sat down with my dear friend and incredible artist/human Bash Ortega to discuss what we’re most excited to see at BHFF.

I’m lucky to have found a kindred spirit who can talk for hours about horror in Bash. This year, we had the opportunity to speak with Joseph Hernandez, Senior Programmer and Director of Community Development for Brooklyn Horror—a man who wears many hats and wears them well!

We discuss the festival’s robust slate of films, prevalent themes, and the immense effort it takes to build a thriving community and a cinephile’s dream vacation.  

The transcript of our chat is below. You can get tickets to the festival’s films here. 

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Jenika McCrayer: Thanks for sitting down with us. We do a curtain raiser every year where we talk about the lineup and what we're most excited to see. We'd love to have your perspective as the Senior Programmer.

Joseph Hernandez: Thank you, and then I'm also the director of community development.

McCrayer: Oh, that's awesome.

Bash Ortega: Let's get into talking about what everyone's excited to see!

McCrayer: What are you excited to see, Bash?

Ortega: In terms of features, I am super excited to see Who's Watching. I actually didn't know that Tim Kasher made a movie. I've been a Cursive fan since high school. I saw them once, and I was in the front of the crowd, losing my mind, and I feel  that's how I'm going to be watching this movie as well. Truly know very little about it, but I want to keep it that way to be really surprised by it.

Hernandez: I did not know the name Tim Kasher, so we were very pleasantly surprised to find out that there was this whole following.

McCrayer: I know Bash was a screener this year, so I'm really interested to hear what you guys are most excited to see, or have other people see?

Ortega: I screened the short films and I do have a few that I'm really excited for. Actually, one that I didn't see that wasn't part of our screening list, is Wild Animals in the first Home Invasion block. I'm really stoked for that one, because I know a lot of locals worked on it, and I actually just did an interview with Genna Edwards, who did sound for Wild Animals, about her film that she just shot. I'm also really excited that Make Me a Pizza made it in.

Hernandez: Everyone needs to see Make Me a Pizza. 

Ortega: And that's part of the Laugh Now, Die Later block. There are quite a few that I'm really glad made it in. Beach Logs Kill in the Slayed block: that's another one that was pretty different and felt pretty special.

Hernandez: Yeah, that one's really cool.

McCrayer: Special how?

Ortega: It’s very queer and very surreal. 

McCrayer: I love that. I'm always excited for the queer horror, especially the Slayed shorts. 

McCrayer: Bash and I differ on our love of body horror. They love body horror. I'm not really into it.

Hernandez: Oh? Ok.

McCrayer: No! I can’t do it! Laughs

Ortega: I saw a lot of the descriptions of the films mentioned Cronenberg or Videodrome. What are some of the good body horror pics this year?

Hernandez:  Body horror picks in the features? Custom.

Ortega: Sweet! I’m seeing that one.

Hernandez: We're showing that in one of the Midnight slots.

McCrayer: How fun!

Hernandez: It’s great if you're into erotic thrillers. And then the body horror aspect just puts it over the top. 

McCrayer: I will say, if you say it's  Cronenberg-esque, that's the fastest way for me to say no.

Ortega: I basically bought tickets to everything that mentioned Cronenberg.

Hernandez: To be fair, Cronenberg does have a vast filmography. I personally love his crime films, which have almost no body horror.

McCrayer: I think I just saw Crash too young,

Hernandez: I saw that late, and I was still disturbed.

McCrayer: I think I was 10. I feel like most people get into horror because their parents weren’t paying attention to what they were watching. And that was definitely one of those times I was like, “Oh, I really regret looking at HBO when I'm supposed to be asleep.”

Hernandez: Stumble into the wrong channel at the wrong time? 

All laugh 

Ortega: This year, the Fear in Focus is Spain. How did y'all choose Spain?

Hernandez: The way we choose our fear in focus region or country is pretty sensible. We don't really jump the gun. We wait and see what comes in and see what country rises as a place that's putting out high-quality stuff. This year, we watched the documentary, Exorcismo, and it's one of those documentaries that really turns you on to a lot of gems and things you didn't even know existed. And it really got us excited because we love to show deep-cut stuff. When we're putting together a repertory program, we don't want to show the stuff everyone's seen already. We want to show stuff that either you've never heard of, or maybe it's something that's been on your list for a long time but you haven’t gotten around to watching. Well, now is the time to see it, because you need to see this.

There were so many films in that documentary. We like to do a live score every year with The Flushing Remonstrance, and one of the films they suggested to us was the Spanish version of Dracula. So it all came together. And then there was a film that I really loved, that I saw earlier in the year, called Vampyres. Every year is different, but really we're just waiting and seeing what rises to the top. 

Ortega: I'm really excited about Dracula. I always see the live score; it's one of my favorite parts of the program.

Hernandez: I love to hear that.

Ortega: It's also one of the things that my partner will actually come see with me and enjoy. He's not a big horror person, so having something less scary with the intrigue of live music is nice for those people.

There's a bunch of vampire stuff this year. What are you excited for other people to see? And how did that topic get chosen?

Hernandez: The vampire theme was something that we were already talking about at the end of last year's edition. We were looking at movies that were coming out and stuff that was getting made, and it just seemed the vampire was prime for the next wave. If you recognize these, these classic, traditional horror creatures and monsters, they have these ebbs and flows and in the consciousness of filmmakers. And there'll be years where you'll get three or four amazing zombie films out of nowhere. It was just in the collective consciousness of these filmmakers. And we felt that it was about to pop off with vampires. I'm just, I'm so excited for Nosferatu. That's my most anticipated movie of the year. We were trying to go along with that. And also we saw there were some anniversaries that were happening. Things that we’re not even showing, like Interview with a Vampire is celebrating its anniversary this year.

McCrayer: And the show was phenomenal.

Hernandez: You had Abigail early in the year and The Vourdalak. There’s, Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person. 

There's all this quality vampire cinema just happening all at once, so we wanted to take the opportunity to just celebrate the vampire. We found a way to tie that into Fear in Focus: Spain, because during the era that the documentary, Ecorcismo, focuses on, there was a lot of lesbian vampire shit. We’re showing Vampyres and The Blood Spattered Bride so we got to overlap the two sidebars a bit with those. We're giving the Leviathan Award to Larry Fessenden this year, and we're gonna show a screening of his film Habit, which is also a vampire film. It’s the same as Fear in Focus: Spain where the dots start to connect, and then we get to go a little crazy with it. We themed the poster after vampires and got to have fun with the promotional materials. 

McCrayer: The graphic is beautiful this year.

Hernandez: The one we put out today looks like it's straight out of Castlevania, if there are any gamers in the room.

Ortega: Oh, there’s definitely gamers in this chat.

All Laugh

Ortega: So the centerpiece film, Animale… What makes it a centerpiece film, and what can you tell us about that movie?

 Hernandez: There are many factors that we take into account when we're deciding on the spotlight films. You never want to make it seem like we're saying that these movies are better than the other movies. That's not really the case. It's more that we want to put a spotlight on films that are doing something different, doing something really unique. With Animale, I can't go into it too much because I don't want to spoil what the movie actually is.

McCrayer: No spoilers!

Hernandez: It's showing a community and a world that we don't really see very much explored with such beauty. The film just has a real grace to it, juxtaposed with flashes of extreme violence. We’ve got to support our women filmmakers too, and make sure we're putting those at the top of the platform too. Besides that, it’s just an incredibly quality film. The centerpiece is one that I could always proudly say, “this movie will not disappoint you.”  I felt the same way about last year's centerpiece, Red Rooms.

McCrayer: I've yet to see it. Everybody says to see it.

Ortega: Oh my God, Jenika! You have to see it! Laughs

McCrayer: I know, everybody says I have to see it!

Ortega: There's a lot of psychosexual films on the roster this year. I’m seeing most of the stuff that seemed to lean in that direction: Custom and Black Eyed Susan. Was that intentional at all, or is that just how the cookie crumbled?

Hernandez: I think it aligns with a lot of our tastes on the programming team. If worthy stuff is on the table that has erotic and sexual vibes, I think we're down, it's our jam,

Ortega: It looks like a lot of the erotic thrillers were fronted by women too, which is always exciting.

Hernandez: It’s amazing, and that's  another wave like I was talking about before. The erotic thriller was huge in the 90s, and I think slowly, filmmakers are starting to challenge the taboo nature of sex in movies. Somewhere along the way, we got so censored for no reason. This is one of the most universal natural things that we can all relate to, so it makes no sense to treat it as a shameful secret. I'm stoked that we're seeing a lot of that, but tasteful and quality. We're going to support that all the way.

McCrayer: I also just think about the conservative backlash that women are facing in society. So it's nice that female filmmakers are bringing back the erotic thriller. It makes me think about what we were saying earlier about vampires. Everybody's thinking about vampires right now. I wonder why? Is it because they're queer coded?

Hernandez: That goes into the Miskatonic session that we're having. It's all about the queer coding and vampires, and really diving into that with an academic lens. It’s going to be so cool! Vampires are the most sexual of all the horror creatures, because they're just DTF.

All Laugh 

McCrayer: Doesn’t matter who! Yea, I love vampires, and I always love the Miskatonic talks. I try to catch every one of them and I'm really excited for this one too! 

Ortega: There are a couple of films that are getting their world premiere, which is always super exciting. Do you have a favorite out of the premiere movies?

Hernandez: Bash! 

Ortega: laughs You love all your children equally. 

Hernandez: I can't choose one. Especially with our world premieres: no way. First of all, for a festival to be able to world premiere anyone's film is such an honor and a responsibility that we don't take lightly. We're being charged with introducing this film to the world and giving it that first launch. I'm just super thankful to any filmmaker who is willing to trust us to be first out of the gate with their movie and give it the best possible launch. I want great things for all three of them.

Ortega: I have a ticket for House of Ashes and Jenika has a ticket for Psychonaut. 

McCrayer: I’m very excited for Psychonaut.

Ortega: We're gonna see those.Honestly, I feel like I'm not done buying tickets yet, but my wallet is done at the moment.

Hernandez: I can certainly understand that.

McCrayer: Last year Bash was like, “oh yeah. I've seen like 14 or 15 movies.”

Hernandez: That’s a lot!

Ortega: I know! Laughs As of now I'm seeing 10 movies this year, but I feel it'll probably be more.

Hernandez: You know, it's a product of just our logistics and stuff, but I know it's such a bummer that we're only able to show movies once. So it's gonna happen that you're gonna miss out on stuff. But the nature of film festivals is retaining some sense of exclusivity. It's a special thing and then it just makes your decisions a lot tougher, especially if two films that you really want to see are playing against each other. 

McCrayer: Yeah, that happened to me with Psychonaut and Generation Terror. I think they're 20 minutes apart. I already had to email Bonnie (Bonnie Katz, BHFF’s Box Office manager) and ask to have a ticket canceled. It's a “Sophie's Choice.”

Hernandez: You know, as the festival grows we would love to be able to expand the number of screenings and the offerings. As it is, it's still such a special way to celebrate horror October.

Ortega: I think that also having only one screening of each one allows us to talk to each other about the things that you know other people maybe didn't see, and be like, “You should go see this one later, because it was really good.” Or if I see a movie that I know Jenika would like that she couldn't get to see, then I can bully her into seeing it like Red Rooms.

McCrayer: Red Rooms is on my list!

All laugh

Hernandez: But that's the thing, right? We'll do one screening at Brooklyn Horror, but that's not the only time it's ever gonna show, hopefully. You know, we program these movies to shine a spotlight on them as films that are worth your time and worth seeing. In that sense we’re curators and even if you don't get to see something at the festival like Bash was saying, just listening to the Word of Mouth can help build excitement for the films. Then you'll just plan to see it the next opportunity you can, and that still helps those movies.

McCrayer: It’s like grassroots, word of mouth, building up these films. That's what I love most about horror, I love  logging on to Shudder or Hulu and being like, “Oh, hey, I saw that last year at the film festival.”

Ortega: We have Nightstream now too!

McCrayer: You're the director of community development, does that also influence how you pick the films or how you select films?

Hernandez: So I would say my two roles with the festival have me operate on two totally different wavelengths. The community development stuff is really just trying to get people together. I find that the easiest way to pull people out of their homes is give them a chance to see a brand new horror film before anyone else for free. And now that you're outside, it's easier for people to meet afterwards and chat. You have a perfect icebreaker topic: you just watched the same movie. I want to just keep building up the horror community and hopefully help create lasting friendships, filmmaking collaborations, everything that makes the social aspect of the festival going experience special. I want to try to create that year round.

McCrayer: Absolutely! I'm really excited about the Future of Film is Female’s brunch. They and the Femme Fright Collective are a new community for filmmakers, writers, and horror enthusiasts of marginalized genders, and that's a lot of fun. I know they're really excited to be a part of the festival this year, too.

Hernandez: We're so glad to be able to include that this year. Tori, Xero, Caryn, they're all real rock stars for putting that together. It's so cool. We jumped at the opportunity to just do any partnership with them.

McCrayer: That's awesome. I can't wait.

Ortega: What other social events are happening during the fest that you're excited about?

Hernandez: The great thing about Brooklyn horror is that, with the exception of opening night, which we do at Nitehawk Prospect Park, the rest of the festival all takes place at one venue, Nitehawk Cinema Williamsburg, which has an attached bar, Lo Res, and makes it so easy to just have gatherings non-stop. I would say the women in horror brunch is probably the only , true organized mixer that we're gonna have, but we're definitely going to have a party schedule, and every night there will be a coordinated time for people to just hang out and network and chat it up!

 McCrayer: That's so fun! 

Ortega: Is Karaoke on the books this year?

Hernandez: Karaoke is on the books! It hasn't 100% been figured out, but every intention is there. If it happens, it'll be at Lo Res.

McCrayer: I'm always excited for when the party schedule drops. Even though every year I always see too many films. I need to find the perfect balance of films and events. I definitely want to connect more with the community.

Hernandez: I mean, you can't go wrong whichever way you decide, but I think it's cool to have a balance between going to see movies, but then also taking the opportunity, or rather taking advantage of everyone being together in one place at this one time. A lot of people fly in who don't live here, and it's a great opportunity to socialize and enjoy that aspect of the film festival.

McCrayer: I could do a 60/40 balance this year. I can't wait to dive into the head trips, but I'll let you and Bash talk more about the films. 

McCrayer: Joseph, have you been with Brooklyn Horror since its inception?

Hernandez: Yeah, I've been with the festival since its first edition, but I did not found the festival. I did join the team before the first edition, so I've been there from the start. 

McCrayer: Congrats! You've grown such a big baby! I've only been in the past three years. How has it grown since the first annual horror festival and where are you hoping it takes you?

Hernandez: Yeah, I mean, we started very small. Some of our venues were tiny, and the amount of films we were showing was a lot smaller. And we've steadily been able to grow with attendance, and with higher attendance brings better resources to go bigger the next year. We're able to just be at Nitehawk now, which is an amazing venue, the best cinema in Brooklyn. Our early success has allowed us to expand our initial partnership with Nitehawk, to just be there exclusively. In terms of what we hope for the future of the festival: we would love to become a festival that people travel to as a destination for its duration. To be a festival where we don't have to worry about screenings not selling during the day on weekdays. We've tried, and we're not there yet. During the week, a lot of locals come to the screenings, but we have to wait till they get out of work to get to the screenings. We'd love to grow into a festival where we can show movies all day long for eight days. That would help us show more things, have additional screenings of movies and just do more. We'd love to expand the events side of things.You can always get bigger, but that's never really the goal. As long as we're accomplishing our mission statement, where we're a positive force for good in the industry and where we're helping filmmakers. We're a filmmaker first festival; that's ultimately our reason for existence. We’re there to help necessary voices be heard. We’re there to help dig through everything to find the talent and the good stuff that can get buried in the amount of content that we deal with today. As long as we're doing that, and people are showing up, and they're happy, and friendships are being formed, and filmmaking collaborations are being started then the festival is a huge fucking success.

McCrayer: Mission statement accomplished! The past few years I've gone I’ve been able to just chat up filmmakers and they're happy to talk about their projects, and they're happy to connect. You're really building a thriving community.,

Ortega: I think I’ve met half of my friends at Brooklyn Horror.

Hernandez: That warms my heart. At the end of it all it's all about the community and finding ways to help and support each other. A lot of the community building that I'm doing is for that reason. This is a really tough industry, and you need allies. You need a foundation of support just to help get you through it, and that, yeah that comes with friends that share common interests and that understand what you're going through. As a filmmaker, sometimes it's hard to talk to your family about the things you're dealing with, because they don't get it. They don’t understand.

McCrayer: They barely get horror. laughs

Hernandez: Yeah! I don't need to explain why friendship is important, but that's the best part of it all, honestly.