Joseph Scrimshaw is a filmmaker, writer, and comedian with experience performing, producing, and writing in multiple mediums. Originally from Minneapolis, Joseph’s body currently lives and works in Los Angeles. His digital existence can be found on Linktree.
Joseph’s short film The Narrator starring Phil LaMarr won the Silver Award for Best Experimental short at The Portland Festival of Cinema, Animation, and Technology. His 22 minute horror film, The Nightmare Adorable, has played 19 festivals and counting, winning Best Short at the Bloody Mirror Festival. Joseph’s writing career includes Adult Swim’s fantasy comedy TV show Tigtone, the movie-riffing group RiffTrax, the scripted podcast Getting On With James Urbaniak, and more. His plays Adventures in Mating, An Inconvenient Squirrel, and My Monster (written with Bill Corbett) have been performed all over the world. As a comedian and actor, Joseph’s done the SF SketchFest, Jonathan Coulton’s JoCoCruise, multiple Fringe Festivals, pop culture conventions, and a commercial with the monkey from Friends. A true highlight of his career.
Currently, Joseph is co-hosting the popular podcast Force Center, writing a weekly blog/newsletter about the creative process, and putting most of his energy into filmmaking. You can find his Film Freeway profile here.
HELP FUND JOSEPH’S FILM!
Joseph is making his first feature film! DEAD MEDIA is a creepy gothic horror film with a strong focus on characters and relationships. Maggie, a young woman struggling to move forward, wants to have a fun movie night with her roommates. But instead of watching something on streaming, her aging hipster uncle insists they watch an old DVD from ’99. But the DVD is haunted and the film comes to life–including the monsters.
You can help make the film a reality right now! Joseph has partnered with the great Minnesota organization, Film North. They can take one time, tax deductible donations to support DEAD MEDIA. It’s fast and easy and all the information is here to help fund the film!
THE NIGHTMARE ADORABLE!
The hosts of a horror chat show celebrate their favorite fictional monster, Bapholeth, by selling a cute toy in his image–only to be attacked by a very real cultist offended by the adorable blasphemy.
The Nightmare Adorable has begun its festival run! Here are some upcoming festivals. Check websites for ticket info and schedule.
PAST FESTIVALS:
B-Beside The Seaside!
Southport, UK
July 13th & 14th
Screening on Saturday in the shorts block!
Houston Horror Film Fest!
Houston, Texas
Aug 9th – 11th
Full details on the festival!
Cabin in the Woods!
Online festival
Aug 20th – 24th
Full details on the festival!
Camp Horror!
Missoula, Montana
Aug 29th – 31st
Full details on the festival!
HorrOrigins
Tucson, Arizona
Sept 29th – Oct 1st, 2023
Screening on Thurs, Sept 28th in Film Block 3!
H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival
Portland, Oregon
Oct 6th – 8th, 2023
Halloweenapalooza
Ottumwa, Iowa
Oct 13th – Oct 14th
It’s Alive! Festival
Sofia, Bulgaria
Oct 31st – Nov 5th, 2023
H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival
Mobile, Alabama
Nov 3rd – 5th, 2023
(Joseph will be in attendance!)
Sin City Horror Fest
Las Vegas, Nevada
Fri, Dec 1st – Sun, Dec 3rd, 2023
Screening on Saturday, December 2nd at 4 pm in Short Films Block 3!
Indie Horror Junkie Film Festival
Orlando, Florida
Fri, Feb 2nd – Sun, Feb 4th
as part of MegaCon Orlando
Screening on Fri, Feb 2nd at 1:55 pm in Shorts Block 1!
LOS ANGELES PREMIERE at HOLLYWOOD REEL INDEPENDENT FILM FEST!
Los Angeles, CA
Regal Cinemas at LA LIVE in Downtown LA
Sunday, February 25th at 2 pm
Joseph and the cast will be in attendance!
Speculative Film Festival at Norwescon
SeaTac, Washington
Thurs, March 28th – Sun, March 31st
Exact screening time TBA!
Bloody Mirror
Tbilisi, Georgia
April 5th & 6th
(also available online!)
Scares That Care
Williamsburg, Virginia
April 12th – 14th
Creature Feature Weekend
Gettysberg, PA
April 19th – 21st
Crypticon Seattle
Seattle, WA
May 3rd – 6th
Screening in the 9 pm block on Sat the 4th!
Crimson Screen
Columbia, SC
May 10th – 12th
Screening in the 3:30 pm block on Sat, May 11th!
Bring The Nightmare Home!
You can buy t-shirts, stickers, buttons, and more featuring the adorable little monster from The Nightmare Adorable. Every sale on Threadless supports Joseph’s production company, STRANGE PATH, and helps us make more films and submit them to festivals.
A horror story performed by Joseph available now on Bandcamp! This terror tale (by fictional author Randolph K. Mortem) is the story-within-a-story that kicks off the events of Joseph’s short horror film, The Nightmare Adorable. In 1923, a haunted writer’s struggle to craft ad copy for a breakfast cereal leads him to discover a horrifying monster that strives to feed on the fear of the whole world.
THE NARRATOR starring Phil LaMarr
The Narrator is a mysterious being who exists only to tell stories. But for the first time, the story disobeys. Can The Narrator regain control before he becomes the subject of the tale, not the teller?
An experimental, comedic short written and directed by Joseph and starring the great Phil LaMarr! The Narrator has screened in several festivals, winning the SILVER AWARD for Best Experimental Short at the Portland Festival of Cinema, Animation, and Technology. Hopefully, more festivals to come! Here’s the trailer!
UNBOXING THE COSMOS!
An amateur content creator unboxes more than he can handle in this short, darkly comic, micr0-budget cosmic horror film. An official selection of the 2022 H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival and CthulhuCon. Written and performed by Joseph.
PEACE FIGHT
A short comedy-horror film about a desperate quest for a peaceful afternoon. Starring Joseph Scrimshaw, Ken Napzok, and Mark Ellis. Shot as a fun experiment on Joseph’s outdated iPhone.
COMEDY ALBUMS
Visit bandcamp for Joseph’s many comedy albums!
CHECK OUT JOSEPH’S STAND UP ON YOUTUBE.
PAST EPISODES OF JOSEPH’S PODCAST OBSESSED
FOLLOW JOSEPH ON TWITTER
Actually Frankenstein was the name of the scientist. I, the person correcting you on this trivial point, am the monster.
— Joseph Scrimshaw (@JosephScrimshaw) March 10, 2015
SUPPORT JOSEPH ON PATREON.