Michael J. Hein

Filmmaker Michael J. Hein of Hillsdale, whose passion for cinematic gore led to the creation of the New York City Horror Film Festival, died Saturday. He was 41.

The cause was a heart attack, said Ronnie Hein, his mother.

Mr. Hein "saw every horror movie there was," his mother said, starting with "Jaws," the 1975 classic about a great white shark that dines on beachgoers and the grizzled shark hunter hired to kill it.

"I think he was scared to death," Ronnie Hein said.

Mr. Hein's particular interest was special-effects makeup. As a teenager, he did the Halloween makeup for trick-or-treaters and partygoers.

"His slashes looked like the knife went right through you," his mother said, noting that Karo syrup spiked with food coloring makes realistic-looking blood.

The Pascack Valley High School and Art Institute of Philadelphia grad produced his first horror film, "Biohazardous," in 2001. He also wrote and directed the flick, which was filmed in Hillsdale and cost less than $100,000.

"It's a zombie film, sort of like 'Night of the Living Dead' meets 'X-Files' with a bit of 'Scream' thrown in," he told The Record. "It's got a bunch of hot teenagers running around in it."

"Biohazardous" led to the development of the New York City Horror Film Festival.

"Mike was submitting 'Biohazardous' to various film festivals and realized there was no horror festival in New York," said Anthony Pepe, a special-effects makeup artist who worked with Mr. Hein on "Biohazardous" and other projects.

Mr. Hein and Pepe launched the five-day, Halloween-season festival in 2002 at the Tribeca Film Center. Mr. Hein was festival director and Pepe the programming director. The event screened 30 films its first year.

Last year it was based at Tribeca Cinemas. With Mr. Hein's death, the status of the 10th annual New York City Horror Film Festival is up in the air, his mother said.

Pepe, who is no longer involved with the festival, described Mr. Hein as "honest, brash, loudmouthed, caring" and dedicated to the horror movie craft.

Mr. Hein said in a 2006 interview with The New York Times that fine acting and smart scripts characterized the movies screened at the festival.

"We don't look for gore or people getting hacked up," he said. "That's not to say that we're not looking for it."

Mr. Hein produced or co-produced five full-length horror movies, according to the Internet Movie Database. His 2005 film, "Dead Serious," concerned a right-wing zealot named Reverend Bob who takes over a gay bar (actually, a seedy bar on Meeker Avenue in Brooklyn) with the intention of using a serum to turn the gay patrons straight. To Reverend Bob's everlasting chagrin, he has walked into a den of unamused vampires.

Mr. Hein is survived by his parents, Ronnie and Hank; a brother, Howard, and a sister, Jennifer Hein-Inserra, all of Hillsdale.

Visiting is today at 2 p.m. at Becker Funeral Home, Westwood, followed by a 3 o'clock service.