A new musically-driven horror film is making its debut this weekend at Shockfest in New York City.
On Dec. 9, “Bloody Bridget” will premiere at the annual film festival. Directed by Richard Elfman, the story takes a classic vampire tale and turns it on its head, adding a musical and burlesque twist to the story.
“Bloody Bridget is the tale of a struggling burlesque dancer, abused by her boyfriend, her boss and then the whole damned system—until a voodoo deity transforms her into a Valentine Vampire. “What is that?” she asks,” said Elfman. “Bridget soon finds that blood only whets her appetite, she must eat her victims’ beating hearts. Several critics have called the film a female empowerment story.”
According to Elfman, the film was inspired in part by his wife, Anastasia, who performs burlesque under the name Dahlia Dimont and stars in the film as the titular character Bridget.
Shockfest is a multi-genre film festival that puts a huge focus on interactivity, community and tangible value to filmmakers. Though Shockfest celebrates cinema as an art form, the festival especially celebrates innovative, powerful storytelling.
The festival holds multiple events per year, both in-person and virtual, and takes submissions from filmmakers to showcase. Shockfest also prides itself on providing information, resources and experiences to its audience, exposing the corruption in the film industry while also working to steer future generations of filmmakers toward a brighter, more innovative and lucrative future.
“Living in L.A., I’ve been a big fan of their virtual festival, and now I’m excited to attend in New York,” said Elfman. “Some of the bigger genre festivals have become vehicles for deep-pocketed companies at the expense of independent filmmakers. Shockfest is the real thing however and audiences can count on exciting, original films.”
In addition to premiering “Bloody Bridget”, the Elfman duo will be performing a music/burlesque show in tandem with with film. The pair are very excited to bring this performance to the festival.
“My wife and I are both seasoned performers, hailing from the stage. We’re also both musicians, she is trained in classical cello, and myself in Afro-Latin percussion. Anastasia is a ballet dancer, which she incorporates into her “David Lynchian” bloody burlesque,” said Elfman. “We’ve been touring festivals with a live pre-show before screenings, enlisting hot local talent. And our mindset? Too much damned fun! Cannot wait to rock the house at Shockfest!”
Elfman hopes that those who come to the festival and watch “Bloody Bridget” are, first and foremost, entertained.
“Be it music, film, stage or the written page, my life’s passion is to entertain, but in a manner that expresses an original and very personal vision. I want my audiences to have fun, yet also discover something new and totally unique. Bloody Bridget is bloody good fun!” said Elfman.
For more information about Shockfest, visit shockfilmfest.com. For more on “Bloody Bridget,” follow the movie’s page on Instagram or Facebook.
