Local horror films win at festival

Mantra, a horror film by a Charlottesville-based director with extensive shooting at Camp Albemarle, has won "best feature" at the Fright Night Film Fest earlier this month. Director Brian Wimer, already celebrated for several awards in Charlottesville's Adrenaline Film Project, found himself amid the big names in the horror flick biz including Excorcist star Linda Blair as well as the original "Jason Voorhees," as can be plainly seen in a YouTube video. Alas, Mantra's  blood-soaked star, Lora Lee Jones, who works as a waitress downtown, didn't make the trek to Louisville, where the Fest bestowed the award, but she holds plenty of esteem for her director. "He's really smart," says Jones, "and he always sees things through."

Moreover, another Wimer film, also starring Jones, entitled Eat Me: A Zombie Musical, won for "best soundtrack" in no small measure from the over 30 compositions from Charlottesville musician Lance Brenner, including songs he has performed locally with Thrum and The Falsies.