The GenreBlast Film Festival is entering its sixth year of genre film goodness. A one-of-a-kind film experience created for both filmmakers and film lovers to celebrate genre filmmaking in an approachable environment, it has been described by Movie Maker Magazine as a “summer camp for filmmakers.”

Over the next few days, I’ll be reviewing several movies from this fest, based in the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in Winchester, Virginia. This year, there are 14 feature films and 87 short films from all over the world. Weekend passes are only $65 and you can get them right here.

The Trunk (2022): A father and daughter — Marco and Cass (Craig Monk and Ashleigh Morrison) — have found an old trunk covered with chains in the woods. They wonder what’s inside and how much money they can make from what’s inside, but perhaps when you find a chained-up chest buried in the mud you should just leave it there.

Directed and written by Travis Laidlaw, this is a film that builds to its inevitable gory and effects-filled conclusion. It’s a very simple story, yet incredibly well-told and could be the start of a much longer movie that could explore these characters more. I loved the art direction of the poster and how the credits run backward at the end, too. Definitely worth a watch.