Welcome to Now Streaming in Austin, highlighting locally made titles to watch while self-quarantining.
Remember those spooky games that you used to play as a kid? Light as a feather, stiff as a board. Bloody Mary. Cat scratch. But did you ever summon the Givertaker?
That’s the eponymous supernatural force in “Givertaker,” the Austin-made tale of high school revenge, and how it’s a bad idea to unleash monstrous forces when you’re not absolutely sure what you’re asking for.
The short debuted in Austin at Fantastic Fest 2016, loaded with local talent including director Paul Gandersman and writer Peter S. Hall (aka the founding members of the Dead Kids Club), and shot in the basement of the home of Alamo Drafthouse founder Tim League (because it turns out there just aren’t that many basements in Austin). “The key word was fun,” Gandersman explained in this interview with the Chronicle. “The stuff Peter and I grew up with, like Scream and Are You Afraid of the Dark and Tales From Crypt, I don’t know if they were truly scary, but they were a hell of a lot of fun to watch.”
So sit back, and learn a lesson about paying the price to the Givertaker.
“Givertaker”
• Vimeo (Link)
• YouTube (Link)
This article appears in May 22 • 2020.
