Day three of FearNYC was the most low-key day thus far—no torture scenes, no scary clowns. The day started off with the premieres of two documentaries about two Stephen King adaptations: Resurrecting Carrie, a short film about the stage revival of Carrie the Musical on Broadway, and Unearthed and Untold: The Path to Pet Sematary, a feature-length documentary about the making of one of the more successful King adaptations. Resurrecting Carrie was too short to make any sort of impact and mostly featured people associated with the play and the original 1976 film talking about what the story of Carrie meant to them. Unearthed, on the other hand, was fascinating. Pet Sematary was the first King novel I ever read, and then became the first book I ever bought with my own money when I was 11 (I still have it). Unearthed is comprehensive in its exploration of the film's creation. Directors John Campopiano and Justin White got most of the cast and crew together to talk about their experiences, including Miko Hughes, the little boy who played Gage Creed. Most fans would love to know how Hughes made it through the film at the age of three without being traumatized for life, and the film spends a good chunk of time on that subject. I'm a huge fan of movie documentaries because they are the closest I will come to knowing what it's like to be in a movie. This one made me want to go back and watch Pet Sematary, even though I literally just watched it the other day and was unimpressed. That's the mark of a good movie documentary. If you have a lot of Stephen King fans, or horror fans in general, in your community, they would appreciate this film. Two more premieres followed the documentaries: Lost Creek, which is about a boy who befriends a mysterious girl after moving to a new town, and Allhallowtide, a short film about a man who lives—and gets along—with the ghost of a little Victorian girl. I wish Allhallowtide had been a full-length film; it was fun and adorable and creepy enough to get viewers hooked. I could've watched a whole movie with Dan arguing with Molly about using his toothbrush to paint pentagrams on the floor. The film is touching, too; Dan forgets it's Halloween night—Molly's favorite holiday—and makes plans with friends despite Molly's attempts to remind him what night it is. He finally realizes when he's halfway out the door and the film ends with Dan taking Molly trick-or-treating—as a spooky little-girl ghost. Like I said, adorable. Lost Creek follows Peter, a young boy who's moved a few towns over with his mother after his parents' impending divorce. After he meets a mysterious girl named Maggie while playing down by Lost Creek, people start disappearing, and Peter and best friend Bill start having detailed, realistic nightmares. Legend has it that a monster lives in the woods behind Lost Creek and Maggie seems to think it's after them next. I have mixed feelings about Lost Creek. The scary parts were really scary (Bill has a deep-seated fear that his toys will come to life—and then they do) and the child actors are pretty good, but though the film's overall message about the powers of imagination and friendship was well meant, the conclusion left me confused. I think that the monster was a figment of their imagination, but I'm not entirely sure. Still, it is entertaining enough that it should warrant a spot on your horror shelf—think of it as a horror version of Stand by Me that would appeal to fans of Stranger Things. No more premieres after Lost Creek, but we were treated to a screening of the 1926 silent film Faust, accompanied by a live soundtrack by Modern Robot. Faust is an incredible silent film in its own right, in which the demon Mephisto wagers with God to see if he can corrupt a mortal man's soul, so if you have silent movie aficionados in your community, it should be on your shelf. It's just a pity you can't view it with Modern Robot's soundtrack. It perfectly matched the haunting bleakness of the film. Up next was Psycho, arguably the most famous of Alfred Hitchcock's many masterpieces. You know the drill: Marion Crane steals $40,000 from her boss, goes on the run, stops at the Bates Motel, Norman Bates is creepy, cut to shower scene, and the rest is history. This classic was the first horror movie I saw that really highlighted mental illness as a backdrop to the horror in the film. What was interesting to me this time around was that I found myself feeling sorry for Norman, especially when everyone started getting all up in his business, and it surprised me. I know he killed a bunch of people, but I think that's a testament to Anthony Perkins's performance. He just seems so...likable, if obviously weird. And therein, I think, lies the true horror of Psycho: your neighbor, your butcher, your car salesman...they could all be maniacs and you would never know. Norman Bates belongs in every library film collection. We had a bit of fun after that with screenings of Hocus Pocus (1993) and Santa Claus Conquers the Martians (1964). Hocus Pocus is a great way into introduce children to the horror genre in a way that isn't too scary (it's a Disney movie; I mean, c'mon, Ursula getting speared by a boat in The Little Mermaid or Clayton getting hanged in Tarzan is much scarier that this) by telling the tale of three ancient witches coming back to life in modern-day Salem and how it's up to a bunch of kids and a cat to save everyone. It's slapsticky and funny and of course everything works out in the end. Definitely recommended for horror-loving parents looking for movies to show to their young'uns. Santa Claus Conquers the Martians is exactly as campy as it sounds—Santa is captured by Martians because they don't have anyone to give them presents. Santa "conquers" the Martians by spreading fun and happiness to every little Martian boy and girl. So campy-sci-fi-bad, it's good. Sci-fi and B-movie gurus will love it. Join me tomorrow for day four's coverage of FearNYC! Also, here is Day One and Day Two's coverage!