Washington City Paper — “Psychotic Reactions” by Dave Nuttycombe

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Complete text from the City Paper website. Saved copy on the AI drive (_GROK_BOT/SHARED/citypaper).

The Washington Psychotronic Film Society (WPFS) held its second annual Psycho Awards last Wednesday at 15 Minutes. Ten short works, mostly shot on video and culled from 40 submissions, vied for the $100 first prize and handsome Capitol dome/UFO trophy. The full house cheered appreciatively throughout the evening as all the works hewed closely to WPFS’s guiding philosophy that laughter is the best response to the artistic impulse.

The overall quality of the entrants represented an impressive improvement over last year’s event. WPFS executrix Melanie Scott declared an upset when celebrity judges Esmirelda, Kim Kane, and Craig Smith voted Derek Rose’s wry shaggy-dog tale, It, the winner. The in-house favorite was Matt Sesow’s The Box, a sweetly Lynchian opus shot with a toy camera. Second prize went to Erik McClain’s ambitious and assured Apple Crumb Panic! Accepting his award, McClain happily noted, “Rosebud dissed us. New York Underground dissed us. You are the only people who appreciate this type of filmmaking.” Actually, if Hollywood gave him a real budget, a lot of multiplex-goers could get behind his action/sci-fi style.

Other notable also-rans include: The North Country Machine Gun Shoot, Glenn Baker’s straight-faced look at arms-enthusiasts getting a little too excited in a New Hampshire gravel pit; Virginia Vitzthum’s amusingly blasphemous Leather Jesus Girls in the Year Zero, which dares to question the foundation of Christian belief—to a catchy Shangri-Las beat; The Extra-Mundane Tour of Washington, Brad Dismukes and Bess Powell’s get-outta-town docu-comedy; and Marc Slanger’s succinct prescription for the blahs, Rainy Day Activity Book. Gimme a double and show ’em all again.

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Photographed by Matt Sesow from his press packets, October 18, 2026; text transcribed from the photos by Claude.

The Second Annual
Psycho Awards

[cover image: flying saucer crashing into the U.S. Capitol dome]

The Finalists!

Of the 30 or so entries we received we managed to narrow it down to the ten entries you see here. The judges will rate each film on a scale of one to ten. All scores will then be totalled to come up with the first and second prize winners. In case of a tie, Washington Psychotronic Film Society Executrix Director Melanie Scott will cast the tie breaking vote. The entries are listed here in the order they will be shown tonight and each filmmaker has been given some space to speak his (or her) piece.

THE NORTH COUNTRY MACHINE GUN SHOOT - SUBMITTED BY GLENN BAKER. In a New Hampshire gravel pit, automatic weapons enthusiasts sample the wares of firearms merchants in this roadside glimpse at American gun culture. Good clean fun for the entire family — but don't forget your VISA card.

THE EXTRAMUNDANE TOUR OF WASHINGTON - SUBMITTED BY BRAD DISMUK. Brad Dismukes and Bess Powell originate from a colony of alien fungus people. Mysteriously, they were transformed into human beings (more or less) and came to this planet in order to wreak havoc on your delicate sensibilities by way of outer space pizzas and odd-ball productions such as The Extramndane Tour of Washington. EXCELSIOR!

RUMPUS - SUBMITTED BY WENDELL ADKINS. We are poised at the beginning of the third age of humankind, sloughing off the vestiges of our childhood, playing the final lines of our cherished enfant terrible role, arising even now as a gawky teenager, rife with insecurity and passions that are almost beyond control. Rumpus is an attempt to address the feelings that we all have as we begin to realize our destiny, to move beyond the nursery to the heavens "above."

IT - SUBMITTED BY DEREK ROSE. Derek Rose is a recent graduate of the Ithaca College Park School of Communications film school. Having grown up in the lion's belly (aka Hollywood), he is now in Washington DC recharging his batteries and writing a "psychotronic" screenplay. Thanks to his entire family. Sleep tight, good night.

LEATHER JESUS GIRLS IN THE YEAR ZERO: AN EASTER STORY - SUBMITTED BY VIRGINIA VITZTHUM. Theological think tank Pretty Little Heads has uncovered 2,000 year-old evidence that's gnostic dynamite. Our research -- reenacted here -- blows the lid off the Resurrection story. The Leather Jesus Girls, aka the Riot Sainnnnts, went looking for teenage kicks -- and rewrote Western history.

DISPOSABLE - SUBMITTED BY DUNCAN MACOMBER. I found a clown's head and I wanted its eyes to open and close so I made this film. Disposable shows the head's terrible impact in one man's life. Follow the head on a voyage to trashville.

THE BOX - SUBMITTED BY MATT SESOW. Greetings from Crumple Butt! The Box is an angst-ridden tale of one man's attempt to come to grips (via metamorphosis) with the attraction his comrade (Sweet Trees) has for a little wooden box and its mysterious contents. This film is the classic tale of boy meets girl, girl meets dog with a box, girl leaves boy. Filmed entirely using a Fisher Price PXL2000 camera, it's another effort by Matt Sesow to chronicle his homely existence.

BIG BUSTED GALS AND FAIRIES - SUBMITTED BY BRIAN P. DANNELLY. Tits, Hooters, Jugs, Queers, Pansies, Titty-balls, Utters, Fags, Knockers, Mellons, Moes, Nellies - What does it all mean? A heterosexual grunge boy explains all.

APPLE CRUMB PANIC! - SUBMITTED BY ERIC MCCLAIN. Black Magic Filmworks, Inc. seems to have developed a form of story telling resembling that of an animated film, in part because many of the members were would-be animators. However, the lack of local animation schools pushed this troupe to pull their ideas revolving in the arena of cyberpunk, japanamation, and futuro adventure into the realms of live action, thus, Black Magic's unique style of filmmaking.

MARC SLANGER'S RAINY DAY ACTIVITY BOOK - SUBMITTED BY MARC SLANGER. (Unfortunately, Marc didn't put a phone number on his tap, like he was supposed to, so we couldn't get in touch with him by press time. We'll simply have to let his work speak for itself.)

About the Judges...

Singer/provocateur Esmirelda is making a comeback as a judge this year. Be sure to catch her at one of her shows, featuring dancing boys and slave girl Maggie, or purchase her tape, Royal Flush, or call the Esmirelda SPIT line for upcoming Ezmo shows and events. It's 301 961-SPIT.

Baltimore-based filmmaker Craig Smith is the director of the underground cult classic Psychedelic Glue-Sniffing Hillbillies. It got a rave in Film Threat — need we say more?

Kim Kane is one of the pillars of the DC rock community, and was the driving force behind the seminal Slickee Boys. He's now with the even more psychotronic Date Bait — be sure to catch them live!

Charles Kilgore is editor of ECCO magazine, a publication devoted to bizarre cinema. Charles is considered the world's expert on "Mondo Movies" and those who attended his WPFS horror host night a few months back will not soon forget the experience.

The Washington Psychotronic Film Society
P.O. Box 65955
Washington, DC 20035

Joining the WPFS is simple. Just enclose a contribution of $5 or more along with this coupon (or a copy) and mail to the address on the left. Membership entitles you to a free subscription to our quarterly newsletter and our weekly fax newsletter, The Psychotronic Times, which will give you the low-down on each week's show at The Andalusian Dog as well as our picks for the most psychotronic viewing on TV that week. Members can also to pick their own titles, but sorry, Princess Dragon Mom is taken.

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