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Farewell to Wes – Guest Blog: Darren Lynn Bousman

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When I was a kid growing up in Kansas, I looked forward to Friday nights. Every Friday my dad would take me to the local video store and let me pick out a horror movie, and we’d go back home, order pizza, and watch it. These movies were picked solely on box art and nothing else. I remember seeing the box for A Nightmare on Elm Street and choosing it. My dad and I sat down and watched it, and I was terrified, fascinated, and utterly in love with the fear I felt watching that film.

The next weekend when we did our ritual of picking out a horror flick, I told my dad I wanted to see something else just like NOES. I can remember my dad asking the clerk for other films by the same director. It was the first time I can remember the director being the selling point of a movie and not the box art. It was this artist Wes Craven and not some VHS box we were seeking out.

While my other friends were playing kickball and watching Masters of the Universe, I was sneaking in the macabre library of Craven into my corruptible little brain.

As I grew older, I found myself always returning to Craven’s films to draw inspiration for the types of movies I wanted to tell. Mother’s Day was absolutely inspired by the way I felt after watching Last House on the Left.

Craven became an inspiration to me as a filmmaker. Constantly experimenting with new types of macabre entertainment.

His death hit me hard… He is the reason for me being here now, making the types of films I make. He is responsible for my childhood aspirations of telling scary stories.

The impact he has had on an entire genre is awe-inspiring.

I look back on my childhood, and the memories I have with my dad, and I realize that Wes Craven’s films have shaped who I am today and the relationship I have with horror.

Thank you, Mr. Craven, for my nightmares… and my undying love for horror.

— Darren Lynn Bousman

Wes Craven

With the tragic passing of Wes Craven, literally everyone in the industry has been reeling and expressing love for the man and his work. Several people have been writing in to Dread Central to ask if it would be cool to post their thoughts. So this Farewell to Wes feature will be their opportunity to share their feelings and their thoughts with you, the horror community.

Some will be long, some will be short, but all are important and will be featured with love and caring. It’s our honor to be able to do this for the man who gave us so very much.

The post Farewell to Wes – Guest Blog: Darren Lynn Bousman appeared first on Dread Central.


Win a Copy of The Editor Blu-ray and Poster

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The Editor is making its Blu-ray and DVD debut on September 8, 2015, from Scream Factory; and you, dear readers, get more chances to win some Blu-rays and posters! This time, there will be three (3) winners, each getting a copy of The Editor Blu-ray and a limited-edition double-sided poster.

Dread Central readers can enter this contest by sending an email to contests@dreadcentral.com, including your FULL NAME and MAILING ADDRESS. We’ll take care of the rest.

If the above link doesn’t work for you, email us directly at contests@dreadcentral.com with the subject line “The Editor Blu-ray.” Don’t forget to include your FULL NAME and MAILING ADDRESS.

Please note that this contest is open to residents of the US only and will end at 11:59 PM PT on Sunday, September 13, 2015. By entering this contest, you are consenting to allow Scream Factory/Shout! Factory use of your email address.

See what the double-side The Editor poster looks like:

Win A Copy Of The Editor Blu-ray And Poster Win A Copy Of The Editor Blu-ray And Poster

To find out more about Scream Factory and its upcoming releases, visit the official Scream Factorywebsite, “LIKE” Scream Factory on Facebook or follow them on Twitter (@scream_factory).

A loving tribute to the gory and gruesome erotic horror of classic Italian giallo cinema, The Editor spins the twisted tale of a once-prolific film editor who becomes the prime suspect in a series of murders haunting a seedy 1970s film studio.

This stylish horror comedy became a festival darling after its world premiere at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival, going on to earn audience and critical acclaim at festivals across North America including the San Francisco International Film Festival and the Fantasia Film Festival.

The Editor stars Paz de la Huerta (“Boardwalk Empire”), Samantha Hill (Bad Meat), Laurence R. Harvey (ABCs of Death 2), Adam Brooks (Manborg), Matthew Kennedy (Father’s Day), Conor Sweeney (ABCs of Death 2), Tristan Risk (Dark Continents), and Udo Kier (Borgia, Blade).

Synopsis:
Rey Ciso (Adam Brooks) was once the greatest editor the world had ever seen. Since a horrific accident left him with four wooden fingers on his right hand, he’s had to resort to cutting pulp films and trash pictures. When the lead actors from the film he’s been editing turn up murdered at the studio, Rey is fingered as the number one suspect. The bodies continue to pile up in this absurdist giallo-thriller as Rey struggles to prove his innocence and learn the sinister truth lurking behind the scenes.

Special Features

  • Audio Commentary with Adam Brooks, Connor Sweeney, and Matt Kennedy
  • “Making Movies Used to Be Fun” Documentary
  • Music and Poster Featurettes
  • Astron-6 Film Festival Introduction
  • Deleted Scenes

Win A Copy Of The Editor Blu-ray

 

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Jaws Bathroom Decals Bring the Giant Shark Into Your Home

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While you’re fuming about the fact that director Steven Spielberg isn’t ruling out a reboot of the classic shark flick Jaws, why not decorate your bathroom with decals featuring moments from the iconic thriller? Ray Wilson, with a little help from Alyssa Scott and Robbie Rane, has created Jaws stickers that essentially turn your bathroom into the resort town of Amity Island.

Of course, these aren’t the only decals Wilson and company have to offer. He also created something call the Toilet Sarlacc, which essentially transforms your commode into the sarlacc pit from Return of the Jedi. Now you can take a satisfying crap directly into the mouth of the galaxy’s most hideous desert-dwelling monster. It’s something you didn’t know you always needed.

Check out some of the Jaws decals below. If you like what you see, swing by Ray Wilson’s website and pick up some of your very own. You may soon discover that you’ll need a bigger bathroom.

Jaws Decal 1

Jaws Decal 2

Jaws Decal 3

Jaws Decal 4

The post Jaws Bathroom Decals Bring the Giant Shark Into Your Home appeared first on Dread Central.

Adult Ghost Story The Green Man Heading to UK DVD in October

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Equal parts ghostly thriller and sexual farce (who doesn’t love those?), UK miniseries “The Green Man” is finally getting its due on DVD this coming October thanks to Simply Media.  We have the release details, plus a trailer, right here so read on for the details.

The Green Man” UK DVD Release Info:
British acting great Albert Finney stars as a slimy hotel owner in “The Green Man,” a gripping ghostly BBC Two miniseries from 1990, which comes to UK DVD courtesy of Simply Media.

Maurice Allington (Finney – Skyfall, The Gathering Storm) is the promiscuous and alcoholic owner of a quaint British bed-and-breakfast hotel, the Green Man Inn. In the hope of attracting customers, when he’s not trying to seduce them, Allington keeps his guests entertained with tales of ghosts and spirits haunting his hotel, spreading rumours that the ghost of a notorious 17th century occult scientist haunts it. But he and his guests are in for a shock when they realise that the hotel is possessed by some very real and malevolent other-worldly spirits.

At times a sexual farce, at others a ghostly thriller, this BAFTA-winning extraordinary three-part series is based on Kingsley Amis’ 1969 satirical novel of the same name. Starring Linda Marlowe (“Eastenders,” Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy), Sarah Berger (“Murphy’s Law,” “Castles”), Nicky Henson (Syriana, “Downton Abbey”), and Josie Lawrence (“Whose Line is it Anyway?,” “Fat Friends”), it makes its DVD debut on 5 October 2015.

thegreenman

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A Christmas Horror Story (2015)

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A Christmas Horror Story ArtworkStarring George Buza, Percy Hynes-White, Zoé De Grand Maison, William Shatner

Directed by Grant Harvey, Steven Hoban, Brett Sullivan


It’s Christmas time in the fictional town of Bailey Downs, and according to bookending narrator DJ Dan (Shatner) this particular town always ends up facing its fair share of disaster at what should be the most merry time of year. And so, holed up in his station with a stock of booze and no small amount of disdain for his co-workers, Dan delivers his Christmas cheer to the airwaves as A Christmas Horror Story gets under way.

An anthology movie with an unusual construction, A Christmas Horror Story spins four seasonal tales of horror which, rather than playing in their entirety in series, lay out their individual acts one after the other instead. Surprisingly, rather than being off-putting, it actually works in the film’s favour, building the piece as a whole to a concurrent crescendo as each woven thread climaxes in order. It also allows for more time with the quite frankly wonderful William Shatner in between.

One story tells of a group of high school students who break into the basement of their educational establishment in order to create a short documentary about an horrific murder which occurred there in the previous year. Trapped and scared, the group find themselves at the mercy of an angry spirit determined to ensure the birth of her own little Christmas miracle. This one is well shot and pumped full of jump scares, with a grim feel and ending that gets the message across: A Christmas Horror Story isn’t messing around. It does fall down due to the cliché nature of its subject – angry spirits and trapped teens – and the pacing tends to drag down the momentum of the overall picture, but it offers enough shocks and earnest performances to be worthwhile.

Another tale, and quite possibly the best in terms of performances and character work, sees a married couple (one of whom is the cop who discovered the victims of the first tale’s back-story) set off into the forest to procure a Christmas tree. When their young son goes missing, the panicked pair eventually find him hiding inside of a gnarly old tree and take him home – only to discover that something is very, very wrong with their child.

Feeling like it could, at any moment, launch into a Demons 2-style woman-versus-demon-child monster-fest, this segment actually holds more restraint than expected, focusing on the strained relationship between the couple – not to mention father and son – and letting the horror gradually creep up on you until the blood begins to flow. It’s great stuff – tense, well acted and relatable in its terror.

Third is the story of an apparently well-to-do family and their bratty children setting off to visit the father’s reclusive, rich Aunt. The family don’t like her, and she doesn’t like the family – but that won’t stop daddy from trying to scrounge some cash out of the wealthy crone. Their trip soon turns deadly, however, when their thoroughly unpleasant son deliberately breaks a Krampus statue in an act of defiance – unleashing the beast to hunt them down and uncompromisingly deliver the consequences of being naughty at Christmas. Boasting some cool monster effects – a rather kick-ass, chain-swingin’ Krampus – this one feels the most like it stepped from the pages of an EC Comics publication, especially given the dark, moralistic final twist.

Last but not least, the bloodiest, and most comedic, entry takes us to Santa’s giant estate at the North Pole, where a zombie virus is turning the elves into foul-mouthed, feral flesh-eaters. It’s up to the old man and his big white beard to lift his sceptre and deliver mercy to the infected as heads and limbs fly in all directions. Riotous fun, this segment is goofy in all the right ways, and packs in a ton of splatter as it works towards a finale that is both mind-blowing and gut-busting in its simple comedic genius.

But let’s get back to William Shatner. The man is a treasure right here – his droll wit making every short segue to the radio station, as DJ Dan gets progressively more drunk and belligerent, something to truly look forward to in between the story segments.

A thoroughly entertaining mix of levity and horror, A Christmas Horror Story is a flick that you’ll want to unbox year after year. Alongside the egg nog and candy canes, this one deserves to be an annual tradition.

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Blood Moon to Rise on UK DVD and VOD 5 October

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In his review of Jeremy Wooding’s western/werewolf mash-up, Blood Moon, Matt B. recommends it to “those who want a nice twist on their wolf-watching,” and really, considering the lycan offerings we’ve been subjected to lately, who doesn’t want that?

If you’re in the UK or Ireland, Studiocanal has you covered with a DVD and VOD release on October 5th.

Shaun Dooley (Eden Lake), George Blagden (“Vikings”), Anna Skellern (The Descent II), and Corey Johnson (The Bourne Ultimatum) star.  Although set in the US, Blood Moon was filmed on location in Kent, where the producers found a replica Wild West town. It is only the third western to be filmed in the UK.

Synopsis:
In a remote mining town a stagecoach full of passengers are held hostage by two outlaws on the run from the law. But events take an unexpected turn when the group fall prey to a mythical creature known to locals as a skinwalker. They must settle their differences and combine their strengths if they re going survive the night of a blood red moon.

Blood Moon was released in North America on September 1st by Uncork’d Entertainment.

bloodmoon

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Vivieno Caldinelli and Matt Watts Bring Us to the Portal To Hell!

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Recently we got a chance to review the insanely entertaining short Portal To Hell!! from the comedy directing/writing duo of Vivieno Caldinelli and Matt Watts, and starring the late, great Rowdy Roddy Piper. What’s even more of a bonus was to be able to snag a few minutes with the creative team to discuss the short film and how they desire to turn this into a full-length feature, as well as share a couple of memories about working with the Rowdy One – so tighten up your kilts and read on!

DC: Can you give an outline of the short to the people who might not be familiar to it?

MW: It’s about a building superintendent who used to be a boxer, and now his best days are behind him. His tenants keep pulling him away from his quiet time to perform menial tasks, and one night the power goes out and he goes to investigate, and he comes upon a couple of weird older white dudes running some kind of satanic thing in the basement, and it turns out they’re opening a portal to Ry’leh, trying to bring Cthulhu through to take over the world, and he has no choice but to step in.

VC: It’s a real call-to-adventure story! (laughs)

DC: Matt, you were the writer – how did you manage to come up with a story like this, and did you have Roddy specifically pegged for the role of Jack?

MW: Originally I had the idea for this as a feature, and then I was talking to Viv about it, and we agreed to make it as a short, and as it started to get drafted, it became very clear that Piper was the best option for it – it just seemed right, and we started writing it for him and started trying to get him, and it all worked out.

DC: Viv, what was it like working with Roddy? Any stories to tell from your time filming?

VC: Yeah, it was a dream come true, and the best way to put it is just imagine how awesome it would be to work with him, and times it by 100 – he was that kind of dude – so genuine, so nice, and within the first minute I met him, I saw his WWE Hall of Fame ring, and I asked him about it, and he took it off immediately and said, “Do you want to put it on?” He was just the tops. Portal to Hell

MW: The night he got in before we started shooting, it was just a very small get-together, after we all broke up, I said that I’d drive him to the hotel, and the hotel wasn’t in my city, so I don’t know where the fucking hotel was, so I got lost! The poor guy is exhausted, and I’m like, “I’m sorry – I’m lost” – there’s a bunch of hotels in the same cluster, and I thought it was one and I was wrong, so I had to pull out my phone and find out which fucking hotel it was. Anyway, it added another 20 minutes to the trip, and he was so nice about it, and not in a “oh, that’s fine” kind of way, but we just genuinely chatted, and he was just a delightful, lovely guy, and it’s tragic that we’ve lost him. For us, it was a dream come true to spend the time with him that we had, and he totally sells the thing – I think it’s one of the best performances he’s ever given, and he couldn’t have been a sweeter guy throughout the whole process.

DC: With both of your backgrounds rooted in comedy, how did you manage to complement each other’s styles when creating this?

VC: We’ve both got very similar sensibilities – from movies that we love to the same sense of humor, I think that we were able to pull it all together and make it work.

MW: As myself as the writer, and Viv as the director, I think that the way we complement each other is that I’m more along the lines of dialogue-driven humor, and Viv is the physical type of humor – he likes visual gags, and I for the life of me can’t really think of them – the face-melting in the short, that’s all Viv’s. The repetitive wordplay is me, and I think we complement each other that way – he’s the eye, and I’m the words, so it was a really nice collaboration, and I think we were a little worried about how we were going to gel on-set, but it all worked out.

DC: After the release of this, what’s up for the both of you in the future?

VC: The feature is our main focus right now – the short was never a destination, so to speak, but more of how we could tell this story and execute it. This was to build it up and to get the feature made.

MW: It was always intended to be Roddy in the feature, and our last conversations with him were about the feature and the excitement, so we’re in sort of a bittersweet, trepidatious forward step – we want to make the feature, and he wanted to make the feature, and I think he’d want us to continue. We just don’t know how we’re going to do it quite yet. We’ve got the first draft almost finished, and part of the festival showings are to try to find financing, and we just don’t know who we’ll use to fill his shoes, so we’ll be exploring that.  We’ve got the momentum, and it would be a shame not to do it.

Portal to Hell

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Very Creepy New Trailer For Total War: Warhammer Online

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“Something stirs in the World’s Edge Mountains. Death comes to the Dwarven Realms”, says the narrator of the a new cinematic trailer for Total War: Warhammer, the first in a trilogy of crossovers between the classic Games Workshop tabletop game and Creative Assembly’s Total War series. It’s also one of many, many upcoming Warhammer games from Sega.

This trailer actually kind of gives the impression that the game will be a slow-paced, creepy survival horror game rather than a turn based strategy combat simulator. The thing at 1:18 should give anyone chills.

The game will feature many other classic fan favourite armies from the series, include Undead Hordes and the Empire. Still no word if other popular factions, like the Lizardmen or the Knights of Bretonnia, will appear.

Total War: Warhammer will be released for PC, Mac and Linux next year.

Total War Warhammer goblin2

The post Very Creepy New Trailer For Total War: Warhammer Online appeared first on Dread Central.


Set Visit Report – Dead Awake; Exclusive Images

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You wake up in the middle of the night in the pitch black. For a moment, you try to figure out what woke you, but then, as you try to sit up, you realize you can’t move. You’re pinned in place by a heavy force on your chest. No matter how hard you try, your arms won’t respond, you can’t lift your head, even your breathing is a laborious effort. All around you, you sense a presence. It is, for lack of a better term, evil. You struggle against invisible bonds with the notion that this is what it feels like to die.

It’s a very real phenomenon called “sleep paralysis,” and it affects hundreds of people every year. And, yes, people have died from it. And it’s also at the core of the new movie Dead Awake from Jeffry Reddick, the mind behind the Final Destination franchise.

The idea came when the producer brought me some articles on sleep paralysis,” says Reddick, a self-described horror geek, from the San Antonio, Texas, location. “The mythology dates back to biblical times where people would wake up and couldn’t move and would feel like there was something evil in the room with them or a presence sitting on their chest. They called it the ‘night hag,’ and that’s where we get the term ‘haggard.’

One part science, one part mythology, the story follows a young woman named Kate (Jocelin Donahue, House of the Devil, Insidious Chapter 2) whose sister dies while in the throes of sleep paralysis. During the course of the film, the audience finds out if it’s pure science, or if there’s something more sinister at play, with a well-meaning sleep therapist who tries to get to the bottom of the situation, played by Lori Petty (Tank Girl, A League of Their Own, “Orange is the New Black”). Rounding out the cast are Brea Grant (“Heroes,” Halloween II) and Jesse Bradford (Hackers, Badge of Honor).

Dead Awake

It’s been a long time coming,” says director and producer Phillip Guzman (2:22, Desdemona: A Love Story), who revealed that he first got involved with the project four years ago. “There’s a lot of hard work. And it’s my dream job. I’m excited. The horror and sci-fi fans are the best, period. I’m busting my ass to make the best fucking movie possible so the fans go, ‘Hell Yeah!’

Guzman also counts himself among the horror fans, as does Reddick and most of the cast, and it shows. For example, practical special effects abound in this movie. “We are ninety-five percent in camera,” says Guzman, to the joy of horror fans everywhere. (NOTE: I promised I wouldn’t give spoilers, and I won’t, but I can tell you that what I did get to see was badass. Horror fans are going to love it.)

For another thing, the entire cast seems to have 100% faith in the script and director, and it’s not just a feel-good we’re-all-in-this-together vibe. The cast and crew are genuine in their belief that this story is one that should be told, and one that will resonate with a wide audience.

Horror movies are so much fun to make,” says Jocelin Donahue, “because you get to play extremes. Sleep paralysis is such an interesting subject because it’s your interior world while you’re sleeping. It’s the most intimate thing you can explore.” When asked about her resume, and the potential of her becoming one of the new generation of Scream Queens, she is humbled. “It’s an honor,” she says. “I’ve been really lucky because the [projects] I’ve been offered have been great.” About this project in particular she explained: “The concept is something that affects a lot of people and that people relate to. As soon as you bring it up, everyone has their own experiences or knows someone who has experienced it. So to work on something like that, which will really affect people, is great.”

Guzman has more than one reason to tackle this film. He’s actually experienced sleep paralysis. “Not to the degree Jesse [Bradford] has,” he says, “but I have. It’s terrifying.

Bradford, on the other hand, has had experiences of the horrifying kind with sleep paralysis since he was a kid. “I used to get it all the time in high school and college. And it’s fucking terrifying,” he says. “I sleep on my stomach. But when it happens, it’s like my bed is the ceiling, and I’m pressed up against it. It takes a huge effort to push myself to sitting up. It was like you were bracing to try to push a car. And coming out of it is instantaneous. You’re either in it, or you’re able to break out of it, one or the other. It feels like you’re going to die if you don’t wake yourself up.

None of the other cast members I spoke to had experienced sleep paralysis, and none of them wanted to. Hearing Bradford’s experiences gave them a close enough look.

Dead Awake is entering its last week of principal photography, then will begin the long post-production process. And although it is an independently produced film, this movie is not going the direct-to-video route. The producers are looking at a wide theatrical release for horror fans everywhere. And Dread Central will be there, every step of the way.

Dead Awake

The post Set Visit Report – Dead Awake; Exclusive Images appeared first on Dread Central.

DVD and Blu-ray Releases: September 8, 2015

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Welcome back, friends. Hopefully most of you are only working 4 days this week, but to those who aren’t, at least you have this week’s list to look through to brighten things up a bit. We’ve got 29 releases to discuss this week, so let’s get right to it.

First off, if you check out our Collections section, you’ll notice that there are a ton of double features cataloging both the original Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th series.  While we’re on the topic of Jason Voorhees, there is also a documentary releasing this week titled Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History of Friday the 13th.  Not present: the Elm St. reboot.

In case you missed out on June’s release of the limited edition box set of 1989’s Society, fear not. You can pick up the Blu-ray/DVD combo this week to make up for it.

Ladies Love Cool Jensen (Ackles). This is why most of you women out there (including my wife) will be excited to find out that the 10th season of “Supernatural” comes out this week. I’m more of a Jared Padalecki kind of guy personally.

Two weeks ago brought us the Blu-ray and DVD releases of Vampire Hunter D and this week we will be seeing the Blu-ray release of Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust. Additionally, the DVD release of Bloodlust will be coming out on September 22nd.

Speaking of September 22nd, two movies that were originally slated for release today have been pushed back by a couple of weeks: Secrets of a Psychopath and 1981’s Turkey Shoot. Check back each week for more details.

There’s even more to read about below. Pleasant viewing!



MOVIES

Angst (1983)

Angst (1983)

Starring:

Edwin Leder, Silvia Rabenreither

Synopsis:

Angst, photographed by legendary Oscar-winning Polish animator/experimentalist Zbig Rybczynski and scored by Krautrock synth god Klaus Schulze (Tangerine Dream), is one hell of a gorgeously stylized and shockingly visceral experience: a forgotten classic on the fringes of the slasher cycle. Erwin Leder (Das Boot, Schindler’s List) plays a maniacal killer based on the real-life serial murderer Werner Kniesek. As he stalks through the bland Viennese countryside, Schulze’s music pulses darkly, and Zbig’s innovative first-person camerawork grabs you by the throat, never letting go. Angst is one film that, without any empty hyperbole, we can guarantee you’ll never, ever forget.

Cult Epics presents for the first time since its original release, the Uncut, Uncensored (optically restored tunnel murder-scene) in HD, with painstaking bonus features; including a new Interview with Erwin Leder, and Audio Commentary and an Interview with director Gerald Kargl conducted by Jorg Buttgereit (Nekromantik) and an Introduction by Gasper Noé (director of Irreversible, Enter The Void, Love), who cited Angst as an influence, ‘one that I have watched more than 40 times’.

Purchase:


Bloody Sin: Abominations of the Third Reich (2015)

Bloody Sin Abominations of the Third Reich (2015)

Starring:

Roberta Gemma, Nancy De Lucia, Ruggero Deodato

Synopsis:

Miss Steele, a publisher specializing in erotic magazines, sends her best photographer to an ancient castle in Italy with the intent of shooting the sexy model Barbara (Roberta Gemma). Little does she know that in the past the same castle had been the theater for countless sadistic tortures during the inquisition and that the Nazis also chose it as a base for their abominable human experiments. Riddled with history, from witches burned at the stake to the conjuring of demonic forces, the evil power of the castle soon overtakes the crew and turns their nightmares into a bloody reality.

Purchase:


Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV (2000)

Citizen Toxie The Toxic Avenger IV (2000)

Starring:

David Mattey, Clyde Lewis, Heidi Sjursen

Synopsis:

Citizen Toxie is Troma s most ambitious and successful movie. When the notorious Diaper Mafia take hostage the Tromaville School for the Very Special, only the Toxic Avenger and his morbidly obese sidekick Lardass can save Tromaville. However, a horrific explosion creates a dimensional portal between Tromaville and its dimensional mirror image, Amortville. While the Toxic Avenger (Toxie) is trapped in Amortville, Tromaville comes under the control of Toxie’s evil doppelganger, the Noxious Offender (Noxie). Will Toxie return to Tromaville in time to stop Noxie’s rampage or is he doomed to remain a second-class citizen in Amortville forever? How did Toxie’s wife Sarah become pregnant with two babies from two different fathers? Will Tito, the Retarded Rebel, ever get over his teen angst and become a productive member of society?

Citizen Toxie features the most formidable line-up of superheroes ever assembled, including Sgt. Kabukiman NYPD, Mad Cowboy, Dolphin Man, Master Bator and The Vibrator. Auteur director Kaufman has also assembled a cast that reads like a veritable reunion of Troma superstars, including Ron Jeremy, Lemmy, Hank the Angry Drunken Dwarf, James Gunn, Kinky Finklestein and many others. Hilarious and shocking; erotic and surprising. Citizen Toxie is full of unforgettable special effects everyone is calling it a Tromasterpiece.

Purchase:


Crystal Lake Memories: Complete History of Friday the 13th (2013)

Crystal Lake Memories Complete History of Friday the 13th (2013)

Starring:

Sean S. Cunningham, Corey Feldman, Wes Craven, Robert Englund, Alice Cooper

Synopsis:

Inspired by the critically-acclaimed book, Crystal Lake Memories: The Complete History Of Friday The 13th takes viewers behind the mask on an epic journey into the making of the landmark horror franchise-from its humble beginnings in 1980 at a New Jersey summer camp to the blockbuster release of its 2009 ‘reboot’. Combining hundreds of rare and never-before-seen photographs, film clips, outtakes, archival documents, conceptual art and behind-the-scenes footage, and featuring interviews with more than 150 cast and crew members spanning all twelve films and the television series, Crystal Lake Memories is the ultimate tribute to one of horror’s most iconic and enduring franchises.

Purchase:


Dressed to Kill (1980)

Dressed to Kill (1980)

Starring:

Michael Caine, Angie Dickinson, Nancy Allen

Synopsis:

A psychiatrist, a prostitute and the son of a slain woman seek a Manhattan slasher.

Purchase:


The Editor (2015)

Editor, The (2015)

Starring:

Paz de la Huerta, Laurence R. Harvey, Udo Kier

Synopsis:

Rey Ciso (Adam Brooks) was once the greatest editor the world had ever seen. Since a horrific accident left him with four wooden fingers on his right hand, he’s had to resort to cutting pulp films and trash pictures. When the lead actors from the film he’s been editing turn up murdered at the studio, Rey is fingered as the number one suspect. The bodies continue to pile up in this absurdist giallo-thriller as Rey struggles to prove his innocence and learn the sinister truth lurking behind the scenes.

Functioning as a straight-up send-up of Dario Argento, Mario Bava and the cinematic sorcerers of ’70s slasher films, Canadian horror comedy The Editor is a charming tribute to the unsung classics of giallo, an Italian subgenre known for its gory and gruesome erotic horror.

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Madcow (2015)

Madcow (2015)

Starring:

Craig Brown, Billy Bush, Angus Douglas, Tanya Van Graan

Synopsis:

They slaughtered his family, cut off his head, attached it to a human body, wired electrodes to his testicles and pumped him full of 50,000 volts… and now he wants REVENGE! After a Frankenstein like experiment goes horribly wrong, a chainsaw wielding Mad Cow goes on the rampage around the Boerewors Game lodge, leaving a trail of bad special effects in his wake. Enter under-cover cop Vince Chopper, who together with vegetarian waitress-turned-weapon-expert Charlize, does battle with Mad Cow in a series of off-the-wall set pieces. But prepare yourselves for a series of increasingly bizarre twists as it’s never over when you think it’s over…

Mad Cow is the fas-paced, totally crazy comedy/horror movie that dares to go where Naked Gun, Scary Movie and Shaun of the Dead feared to tread.

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Morituris: Legions Of The Dead (2011)

Morituris Legions Of The Dead (2011)

Starring:

Valentina D’Andrea, Andrea De Bruyn, Desiree Giorgetti, Francesco Malcom

Synopsis:

Two lovely Romanian girls take a trip with three Italian men to a rumored midnight rave in the middle of a dark forest. As the gang proceeds on foot to their final destination, a mysterious graveyard is discovered, a shockingly vile plot twist is revealed and bloodthirsty undead Roman gladiators rise from the dead to torture and mutilate their victims! For the two women, an already terrifying night is about to get much, much worse, as the zombified warriors hunt down the group to tear their heads off! Will anyone survive the night?

An interesting mix of old school 1980s Italian horror, with a touch of the brutality of Wes Craven’s The Last House On The Left, Morituris is an unflinching, strong, cruel and extremely violent film featuring gruesome effects from Italian SPFX maestro, Sergio Stivaletti (Demons, Demons 2, Dellamorte Dellamore, Dario Argento’s Opera).

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Shocker (1989) (Collector’s Edition)

Shocker (1989)

Starring:

Peter Berg, Michael Murphy, Ted Raimi

Synopsis:

Dreams link a police detective’s son to a killer TV repairman made worse by the electric chair.

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Society (1989) (2-Disc Special Edition Box Set)

Society (1989)

Starring:

Billy Warlock, Devin Devasquez, Evan Richards

Synopsis:

It is a matter of good breeding. Really. After producing Stuart Gordon’s hit Re-Animator, Brian Yuzna (Bride of Re-Animator, Return of the Living Dead III) turned his hand to directing with 1989’s Society, and gave birth to one of the ickiest, most original body horror shockers of all time. Teenager Bill Whitney (Billy Warlock) has always felt like the odd one out in his wealthy, upper-class Beverly Hills family. For some reason, he just doesn’t seem to fit in. But his sense of alienation takes a sinister turn when he hears an audio recording of his sister’s coming-out party, which seems to implicate his family and others in a bizarre, ritualistic orgy. And then there are the strange things he’s been seeing – glimpses of people with their bodies contorted impossibly out of shape… Is Bill going mad or is there something seriously amiss in his neighborhood? Packing stomach-churning grue and thought-provoking social commentary in equal measure, Society is a biting horror satire which culminates in one of the most gag-inducing climaxes’ in all of horror history.

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The Town That Dreaded Sundown (2015)

The Town That Dreaded Sundown (2015)

Starring:

Addison Timlin, Veronica Cartwright, Anthony Anderson, Gary Cole, Edward Herrmann

Synopsis:

65 years after a series of brutal slayings terrorized the small town of Texarkana, the “Moonlight Murders” suddenly begin again.

While on a trip to Lovers’ Lane, 17-year-old Jami (Addison Timlin) watches as her date is brutally slain by a masked serial killer. Barely escaping with her life, she becomes obsessed with finding the man referred to as “The Phantom.” As the body count climbs and the carnage comes closer, Jami delves deeper into the mystery, following clues that point her toward the killer’s true identity.

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Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust (2000)

Vampire Hunter D Bloodlust (2000)

Starring:

Hideyuki Tanaka

Synopsis:

Baron Meier Link is of a dying race, but the vampire doesn’t intend to remain lonely much longer. Abducting women in the night is common for his kind, so what’s one more? But Charlotte’s father has plenty of money, and there’s no price he won’t pay to get his daughter back. That’s why he hires D.

D is a Dunpeal, a breed rarer than that of the vampires–after all, he’s half of one. When it comes to hunting those with fangs like his own, he’s the best in the business. But that doesn’t mean he’s the only game in town. The Markus Brothers are on the vampire’s trail as well, and they’re not about to lose. It’s a race, not only between the rival Hunters, but for the vampire and his bride-to-be. But it might be more than just a job to D. Is Charlotte really a captive? Or will another Dunpeal be born to this world?

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TELEVISION

“Supernatural” Season 10

Supernatural Season 10

Starring:

Jared Padalecki, Jensen Ackles, Misha Collins, Mark A. Sheppard

Synopsis:

Dean Winchester lost his battle with power-mad angel scribe Metatron, only to be resurrected by the power of the First Blade and now transformed into a demon, cursed with the Mark of Cain. The road to recovering wayward Dean takes brother Sam down sinister paths himself, with consequences that will shake the boys to their core. The Winchesters’ angelic comrade-in-arms Castiel must pick up the pieces in the aftermath of Metatron’s campaign to overtake Heaven. With his grace failing and rogue angels still loose, Cass faces the ticking clock of his own mortality while all-new and ages-old threats again push our heroes to their human and otherworldly limits.

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COLLECTIONS

Frankenstein Double Feature

Frankenstein Double Feature

Starring:

Ashton Leigh, Brandon DeSpain, Constantin Tripes, Joe Egender, Kris Lemche

Movies:

Frankenstein Theory

From the makers of The Last Exorcism comes a boldly original vision of horror – THE FRANKENSTEIN THEORY. What if the most chilling novel of all time was actually based on a true account of a horrific experiment gone awry? When he is suspended from his university job for his outlandish ideas, Professor John Venkenheim leads a documentary film crew to the rim of the Arctic Circle in a desperate effort to vindicate his academic reputation. His theory: Mary Shelley’s ghastly story, “Frankenstein,” is, in fact, a work of non-fiction disguised as fantasy. In the vast, frozen wilderness, Venkenheim and his team search for the legendary monster, a creature mired in mystery and drenched in blood. What they find is an unspeakable truth more terrifying than any fiction…a nightmare from which there is no waking.

Frankenstein vs. The Mummy

Dr. Victor Frankenstein and Egyptologist Naihla Khalil are both professors at a leading medical university. Victor’s latest grisly “experiment” is the re-animated corpse of a sadistic madman and Naihla’s most recent find is the cursed mummy of an evil pharaoh. When the two monsters face-off in an epic showdown, no one is safe from the slaughter. Can the murderous rampage be stopped and the carnage contained before it’s too late?

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Freddy vs. Jason / Friday the 13th (2009)

Freddy vs. Jason Friday the 13th (2009)

Starring:

Various

Movies:

Freddy vs. Jason

A group of teenagers get stuck in the middle of a battle of immense proportions as Jason Voorhees and Freddy Krueger battle from Elm Street to Camp Crystal Lake.

Friday the 13th (2009)

Searching for his missing sister, Clay Miller (Jared Padalecki) heads up to the eerie woods of legendary Crystal Lake, where he stumbles on the creaky remains of rotting old cabins behind moss-covered trees.

And that’s not the only thing lying in wait under the brush.

Against the advice of police and cautions from the locals, Clay pursues what few leads he has in the search for his missing sister, Whitney (Amanda Righetti), with the help of Jenna (Danielle Panabaker), a young woman he meets among a group of college kids up for an all-thrills weekend. But they are all about to find much more than they bargained for.

Little do they know, they’ve entered the domain of one of the most terrifying specters in American film history–the infamous killer who haunts Crystal Lake, armed with a razor-sharp machete… Jason Voorhees.

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Friday the 13th Part I / Friday the 13th Part II

Friday the 13th Part I Friday the 13th Part II

Starring:

Various

Synopsis:

Get ready for a double dose of diabolical death! Despite warnings from locals, a new owner and several young counselors reopen Camp Crystal Lake, where a young boy drowned and several vicious murders have occurred. Soon, in the iconic Friday the 13th, a brutal killer exacts revenge on the hapless counselors. Then, in Friday the 13th Part 2, a new group meets the same horrifying fate when they explore the legendary locale of sadistic killer Jason Vorhees and his maniacal mother.

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Friday the 13th Part III / Friday the 13th Part IV

Friday the 13th Part III Friday the 13th Part IV

Starring:

Various

Movies:

Friday the 13th Part III

Killer Jason wears a hockey mask this time so teens won’t recognize him.

Friday the 13th: The Final Chapter

Hockey-masked Jason goes after another batch of slow teens at Crystal Lake.

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Friday the 13th Part V / Friday the 13th Part VI

Friday the 13th Part V Friday the 13th Part VI

Starring:

Various

Synopsis:

Terror is reborn and evil lives forever in this 2-film Friday the 13th legacy extravaganza. First, watch as homicidal maniac Jason returns from the grave to cause more bloody mayhem at the halfway house where Tommy Jarvis lives in Friday the 13th Part V – A New Beginning. Then, Jason rises yet again to wreak havoc on a new group of unsuspecting campers in Friday the 13th, Part VI: Jason Lives.

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Friday the 13th Part VII / Friday the 13th Part VIII

Friday the 13th Part VII Friday the 13th Part VIII

Starring:

Various

Movies:

Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood

A psychic teen’s psychiatrist sends her and her mother to Crystal Lake, home of hockey-masked Jason.

Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan

Hockey-masked slasher Jason follows a Crystal Lake teen and her friends on a cruise to New York.

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Horror Binge: 8 Horror Features

Horror Binge 8 Horror Features

Starring:

Sean Young, Dean Cain, Michael Parks

Synopsis:

Enjoy this compilation packed with bloody terror for any horror fan. This collection features 8 classic and modern Horror Films. With over 10 hours of content, this is the perfect movie binge.

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Hunting the Legend, Black Water Vampire, Monster Brawl, Werewolf Rising

Hunting the Legend, Black Water Vampire, Monster Brawl, Werewolf Rising

Starring:

Andrea Monier, Anthony Fanelli, Art Hindle, Bill Oberst Jr., Brian Berry

Movies:

Black Water Vampire

A group of young documentary filmmakers set off to uncover the true story behind the Black Water murders, a series of brutal killings where women were found dumped in the woods, savagely slain, with their mutilated bodies completely drained of blood. In an attempt to exonerate the man accused of the crimes, they journey into the wilderness where the deaths occurred and find themselves face to face with a form of evil they could have never imagined. What began as a mission to save a wrongly convicted man turns into a battle for their own lives.

Hunting the Legend

Five years ago, a deer hunter vanished in the Alabama woods, leaving behind only a rifle, bloodstains and an enormous footprint from a species unknown to science. Now, the hunter’s son Chris, his two best friends and a documentary film crew set out to learn the truth… and seek vengeance. Their search leads them deep into rugged terrain rumored to hide the huge, man-like beast known as Sasquatch. As they close in on their prey, they learn the horrifying consequences of Hunting the Legend.

Monster Brawl

Welcome to the world of Monster Brawl, the award-winning monster mash-up and undeniable crowd pleaser of this year’s film fest circuit. Monster Brawl features an all-star cast of classic monsters, beloved horror icons, and wrestling royalty in what is being called “the undisputed smack-down hit of this year’s bumper crop of comedy horror!”

Werewolf Rising

Desperate for a break from big city life, Emma heads to her family’s cabin deep in the Arkansas hills. As she settles in for some much-needed R&R, she learns that something unspeakable lurks in the surrounding darkness. As the full moon rises, a bloodthirsty werewolf emerges from the shadows, slaughtering everyone in its path and revealing a sinister underworld Emma never knew existed. Thrown into a fight for her life, and her very soul, Emma will need to escape these big bad woods before it’s too late.

Purchase:

http://amzn.com/B00YT9IR30


Jason Goes to Hell: The Final Friday / Jason X

Jason Goes to Hell The Final Friday Jason X

Starring:

Various

Synopsis:

Experience the back-to-back legacy of unrelenting terror that never dies in this 2-film pack of the final Jason films! In Jason Goes To Hell – The Final Friday, the secret of Jason’s killer instinct is finally revealed, and he must be stopped before he gains immortality. Then, in the shocking, blood-stained follow-up, Jason X, the year is 2455 and Jason hurtles through space to hunt new prey and kill even more spectacularly with high-tech weapons from the future!

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A Nightmare on Elm Street 1 & 2

artwork-coming-soon

Starring:

Various

Synopsis:

From modern horror master Wes Craven (Scream 1, 2, and 3) comes a timeless shocker A Nightmare on Elm Street. Nancy (Heather Langenkamp) is having grisly nightmares of an infamous villain…Freddy Krueger. Featuring Johnny Depp in his first starring role. Five years later Freddy (Robert Englund) returns from the dead to wreak bloody murder upon the entire town in A Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge.

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A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 & 4

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3 & 4

Starring:

Various

Synopsis:

Freddy is back in A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors, co-written by original creator Wes Craven (Scream 1, 2 and 3). Starring Heather Langenkamp of the original Nightmare, Patricia Arquette (Stigmata) and Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix franchise). In A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master, Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) is resurrected, but this time he faces a powerful new adversary. Directed by Renny Harlin (Die Hard 2).

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A Nightmare on Elm Street 5 & 6

A Nightmare on Elm Street 5 & 6

Starring:

Various

Synopsis:

Freddy Krueger (Robert Englund) returns to haunt the dreams of an unborn child in A Nightmare on Elm Street 5: The Dream Child. Director Stephen Hopkins (Lost in Space) enlisted make-up wizard David Miller (The Terminator). In Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare he is back to torment the dreams of Lisa Zane (Bad Influence). With Yaphet Kotto (Alien) and cameos by Roseanne, Tom Arnold, Alice Cooper and Johnny Depp.

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Universal Classic Monsters Collection

Universal Classic Monsters Collection

Starring:

Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, Jr. Lon Chaney, Claude Rains, David Manners

Synopsis:

From the era of silent movies through present day, Universal Pictures has been regarded as the home of the monsters. The Universal Classic Monsters Collection showcases 6 of the most iconic monsters in motion picture history including Dracula, Frankenstein, The Mummy, The Invisible Man, The Bride of Frankenstein and The Wolf Man. Starring Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff, Lon Chaney Jr., Claude Rains and Elsa Lanchester in the roles that they made famous, these original films set the standard for a new horror genre with revolutionary makeup, mood-altering cinematography and groundbreaking special effects. Featuring over 10 hours of revealing bonus features, each film has been digitally remastered for an unforgettable classic monster experience.

Movies:

Dracula

Count Dracula leaves Transylvania and heads to London, where the vampire sleeps in his coffin by day and searches for potential victims by night.

Frankenstein

Medical student Henry Frankenstein pieces together salvaged body parts and brings a human monster to life only to see his dreams shattered by his creation’s violent rage.

The Mummy

Accidentally revived after 3,700 years, Egyptian Mummy Imhotep sets out on an obsessive – and deadly – quest to find the reincarnation of his lost love.

The Invisible Man

A doctor discovers a serum that makes him invisible only to find that it also slowly drives him insane and capable of committing unspeakable acts of terror.

The Bride of Frankenstein

A deranged scientist, Dr. Pretorius, forces Henry Frankenstein to help him create a female companion for the monster.

The Wolf Man

After being attacked and bitten by a wolf in the woods, Larry Talbot becomes a cursed man who transforms into a deadly werewolf when the moon is full.

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Wes Craven’s New Nightmare / Freddy vs. Jason Double Feature

Wes Craven's New Nightmare Freddy vs. Jason Double Feature

Starring:

Various

Synopsis:

The writer-director of Scream 1, 2 and 3 returns with Wes Craven’s New Nightmare, winner of a Golden Scroll of Outstanding Achievement from the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror. This tale reunites stars Robert Englund, Heather Langenkamp and John Saxon as “reel” Freddy. In Freddy Vs. Jason watch as the two titans of terror, Freddy Krueger and Jason Voorhees, enter into a horrifying and gruesome showdown. Winner kills all!

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Wolf Creek 2, Cabin Fever Double Feature

Wolf Creek 2, Cabin Fever Double Feature

Starring:

Brando Eaton, Currie Graham, Jillian Murray, John Jarratt, Lydia Hearst

Movies:

Cabin Fever: Patient Zero

A group of friends planned the perfect vacation in the Caribbean, but when they head ashore to explore a remote island, their ultimate bachelor weekend devolves into their worst nightmare. After an ill-fated swim in contaminated water, they stumble upon a seemingly abandoned research facility where a deadly, flesh-eating virus has been unleashed. In the aftermath of a massacre, the only people left alive are a handful of secretive medical personnel and “Patient Zero” (Sean Astin), the lone person who’s been exposed to the disease and shows no symptoms. Can they find a way to survive and escape, or will the virus consume them all in a bloodbath of chaos and carnage?

Wolf Creek 2

Lured by the promise of an Australian holiday, exchange student Paul visits the notorious Wolf Creek Crater. His dream Outback adventure soon becomes a horrific reality when he encounters the site’s most infamous local, Mick Taylor (John Jarratt). When Paul attempts to flee, Mick pursues him across a hostile wasteland and eventually drags him back to his underground lair. After seeing the true magnitude of Mick’s monstrosity, Paul’s only hope of surviving, where no one has before, will be to use every ounce of cunning to outwit the man behind the monster.

Purchase:


Zombie Armageddon: The Ultimate Collection

Zombie Armageddon The Ultimate Collection

Starring:

Various

Synopsis:

A terrifying trio of tales that contains close to five hours of zombie carnage and gore! They won’t stay dead! Zombies are rampant everywhere! The death toll increases every day – with nowhere to hide. Will you survive? Maybe you will, maybe you won’t, but at least you’ll be ready for the Zombie End-Times after you watch these three gore soaked, gut munching, action packed zombie features so filled with Zombie Carnage we had to put a warning label on this bad boy!

Movies:

Army Of The Dead

An evil U.S. government agency unleashes a virus on a small town attempting to perfect a top-secret biological weapon that turns residents into ravenous death walkers so bloodthirsty for human flesh that nothing can stop the carnage.

Legion Of The Undead

The end of the world is finally here as the streets fill with un-dead cannibalistic monsters that gnaw the flesh from your bones without mercy. The Zombie hordes quickly outnumber the survivors as the Zombie Apocalypse takes over the earth.

Nazi Zombies

After WWII, a forgotten group of Nazi scientists escaped capture. They were hell bent on creating an army of Zombies that would obliterate the enemy. Now, decades after the war, their work is nearing completion. The 4th Reich is ready.

Purchase:

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Cementerio General 2 Returns to Scare!

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The 2013 Peruvian found footage movie Cementerio General was something of a hit in its native land, helping to open the door for a string of new horror films to be made in the country.

A sequel comes as no surprise, and best of all, as you can see from the trailer below, they’re ditching the found footage style. Dorian Fernández-Moris returns to direct.

The first film followed a grieving young girl who tried to contact her deceased father using a Ouija board, with disastrous consequences. The sequel follows a detective investigating the events of the first film, but as she uncovers more and more of the mystery, she finds herself in deeper and deeper shit as she meddles with things that should be left alone.

Cementerio General 2 will be released in Peru on October 8, 2015.

Cementerio General 2

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Slumlord (2015)

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Slumlord film posterStarring Neville Archambault, Brianne Moncrief, PJ McCabe, Sarah Baldwin

Directed by Victor Zarcoff


Newlyweds Claire (Moncrief) and Ryan (McCabe) are elated when they move into their new rented property, though not so much when they first meet their landlord – the creepy, greasy, monosyllabic and foul-smelling Gerald (Archambault).

Shrugging off Gerald’s oddness in their haste to get settled and prepare for the arrival of their first child, Ryan and Claire go about their daily lives completely unaware that not only is their new landlord a total creep, but he also has all of his properties kitted out with a multitude of tiny hidden cameras.

Slumlord relies on its overbearing sense of invasion of privacy to create its skin-crawling atmosphere – something that is ably sold by Archambault’s committed performance as the monstrous Gerald. Seeing him sitting, slack-jawed, before a bank of monitors, wrangling tissues as he prepares for a bout of mucky masturbation – only to be foiled by poor placement of one of his in-shower cams – is cringe-inducing. He’s a brilliantly realised villain – sinister, grim and unpredictable.

Oh, and while the couple are out of the house, he’s letting himself in, licking toothbrushes and constructing something in the basement… something that apparently needs soundproofing.

It’s a great setup, but Slumlord lessens its impact by running with a soap-like story featuring a pair of pretty unlikeable leads. Ryan is a complete prick – dismissive, childish and currently embroiled in an affair with his hot assistant, Hannah (Baldwin). It’s hard to give anything approaching a nugget of strained shit whether things go well for him, while much of the dramatic tension when it comes to he and Claire’s narrative hinges on whether his wife is going to find out about his extra-marital relations. McCabe’s performance also lacks spark, with a monotone delivery that regularly feels off – whether or not it’s supposed to in relation to the character.

And in a particularly unbelievable turn, the couple discover that what they were told was a closet, is in fact a basement space… and then deem it “too creepy” (from the top of the stairs) to bother looking at again. Ever. It rings hollow, smacking of narrative convenience.

Where the film succeeds, however, is in Zarcoff’s presentation. It isn’t entirely shot from the perspective of the hidden cameras; in a smart move the director shifts to them for much of the dirty secret exposés – placing the audience right into the role of voyeur, with the uncomfortable feeling of sitting right next to the sweaty, grunting Gerald adding that extra punch.

The rest of the time, as Claire and Ryan struggle with their marriage, the pacing drags and the whole thing starts to feel like too much like a TV drama. Thankfully, it lights up (or darkens, depending on your view) each time Archambault shows up to throw a dripping blanket of discomfort over the whole thing. As his activities cement the notion that he indeed has wicked designs for the young couple, he gradually becomes a more formidable figure – especially when he sheds his shirt in the couple’s pool to reveal an impressively muscled torso that is completely at odds with his previous shuffling, hunched stature.

Despite sporting a deliciously dark ending, Slumlord isn’t anywhere near as disturbing and grimy as it believes it is. Gerald makes for a extraordinary genre villain, and is sure to make a mark when the film hits general release, but Slumlord as a whole treads the line too carefully to truly deliver shocks. Perhaps it will hit home with more surety amongst the renters out there (particularly those who aren’t entirely trusting of their landlord), but it fails to capitalise on much more than a well executed sense of disquiet and personal invasion.

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Funko Reveals Shaun of the Dead Pop! Vinyl Figures

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At the end of August Funko announced new Vinyl Idolz figures from Shaun of the Dead, but if the company’s Pop! Vinyl line is more to your liking, you better clear off some shelf space because two new SotD figures will be heading your way in November.

Pop! Movies: Shaun of the Dead
You’ve got red on you… Shaun of the Dead Pop!s are prepared for the apocalypse.

Shaun comes with his trusty cricket bat, and Ed wields a garden shovel.

Now let’s go to the Winchester, have a nice cold pint, and wait for all this to blow over!

shaun-popvinyl

ed-popvinyl

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Visit, The (2015)

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The VisitStarring Olivia De Jonge, Ed Oxenbould, Kathryn Hahn, Deanna Dunagan

Directed by M. Night Shyamalan


The Visit is the first horror movie in a long time from M. Night Shyamalan. And it’s the first horror movie in a week from Blumhouse. The titans have teamed up for an oddly intriguing mishmash of their signature styles. Kids, suspense, and the twist from Shyamalan; jump scares, found-footage, and a bitty budget from Blumhouse. The two mesh remarkably well.

Rebecca Jamison (Olivia De Jonge) is a 15-year-old wannabe Michael Apted-style documentarian, and her little brother, Tyler (Ed Oxenbould), is determined to be the next Eminem. They’ve grown up pretty much obligated to provide their own entertainment, as there’s no father in the picture, and as a consequence Mom (Kathryn Hahn) works all the time to make ends meet. Becca wants to explore these dynamics through her lens – The Visit starts off with an on-camera interview with her mother about her upbringing and gets off and running when Becca and Tyler go off alone to visit their faraway and never-before-met grandparents to get their side of the Jamison family story. Their stay is supposed to last a week… if they live that long.

At first, the isolated farmhouse of their mother’s youth is a source of wonder and amusement. Everything is just as Mom described it – from the swing in the big tree to the grandfather clock in the hallway. But she didn’t mention to the kids that Granny (Deanna Dunagan) and Pop-Pop (Peter McRobbie) are certifiably insane and have an arsenal of axes, butcher’s knives, and double-barreled shotguns that they just love to play with.

Of course, the evil elderlies don’t whip out the sharp and pointies right off the bat. At first, they just seem a little senile and perhaps not entirely in control of their actions. Curiosity gets the better of the kids when they’re relegated to their shared bedroom at 9:30 PM each night and told not to come out until morning. They hear weird things going on outside in the hall… what could it be?

The Visit is imbued with suspense, puzzles, and even a little hair-raising horror. But it’s mostly a dark comedy, and at times it veers into the ridiculous – like when Granny asks Gretel, er, I mean Becca, to hop inside the oven. Not once, but twice. And Becca does it, not once but twice. Gratuitous gross-out moments veer into unwanted Tom Green territory when Tyler runs afoul of Pop-Pop’s dirty diaper.

All the actors are excellent (if over-the-top at times), but the kids ultimately steal the show. Their characters go through a gamut and a gauntlet of emotions, and they glide through with aplomb. Oxenbould is the comic relief, and he’s wonderfully watchable (not to mention quotable).

The Visit is one of Shyamalan’s better films of recent years (I know… that’s not saying much), and it’s about as entertaining as half the horror movies I’ve seen this year. The Shyamalan shell game is much in evidence, especially when the twisteroo comes, and it’s devilishly delightful… until the end credits roll and you think back over all the plot holes. But that’s okay – while it’s rolling, it’s a ride.

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Lost WWII Airman Contacted Beyond the Grave In The Gasp Menagerie

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Once again, we have some original spooky courtesy of TexPart Paranormal.  This time, it’s provided by Julie Koenig, VP Pro Tem and team researcher for the group.

This entry in the Menagerie takes the form of a story.  However, this story contains enough information that coincidence is almost completely ruled out.

TexPart took a trip to Corpus Christi, TX, in February, 2014 to investigate the USS Lexington, a retired aircraft carrier built during the second world war and immediately pressed into service in the Pacific. Also known as the Blue Ghost, she was the longest serving carrier when she finally retired in 1991. While on board the team held an EVP session just outside of the mess hall area that also had tables from the USS Saratoga.  Team member Scott is a medium who uses dowsing rods to gather information.

During this investigation in the mess hall, Scott got the name Paul, his rank Ensign, that he was a pilot, and the number 19.  During the session the motion sensors used to activate the audio for the self-guided walking tours kept going off.  The team verified that no other people were in the hallway to activate the sensors, and found no one.

At the end of the investigation, one of the team was looking at a display of bronze plaques honoring those who served and died on board.  There she found a listing of Air Group 19 and the name of Ensign Paul Gevelinger, matching all of the information Scott received.

Paul Gevelinger

Doing follow-up research, Julie discovered that Ensign Gevelinger died at sea during the war while flying a plane he didn’t have much training with, as the planes he’d spent the majority of his time flying were all damaged or lost. He was buried in Honolulu, HI, upon the ship’s return to port.

Using Ancestry.com, Julie found the obituaries of his brothers who died after his death and noticed that Paul was only mentioned that he had preceded his brothers in death.  She reached out the owner of his family’s tree to ask for more information regarding Paul’s military service.  The owner responded that  they did not have much info about “Uncle Paul.”  She filled them in on what she knew, and  the family was very grateful to have this lost family member’s history returned to their scrapbooks and personal history.

Julie believes they were contacted by Paul’s spirit to reunite his memory with his family so that his loss and service could be remembered and honored.

What do you think, faithful readers?  Did Paul contact the team from beyond to ensure his loss in service of his country would be remembered?  Does his spirit linger in the bowels of this great old warship?  How did Scott know several pieces of specific information that connected to someone who actually resided on the ship?

Expect more from the kind folks at TexPart and other paranormal investigation groups right here in the Menagerie very soon!

Don’t hesitate to check out TexPart’s website, and be sure to “like” their Facebook page as well!


Explore The Gasp Menagerie!

Have a weird story? Potential evidence of the supernatural, or at least something hard to explain? Spot any creepy critters out there roaming the wilds? LET ME KNOW! I’d love to talk about it and possibly write it up right here in the Gasp Menagerie. You’ll get appropriate credit, of course, and everyone else will get fresh creepy (as opposed to fresh Creepy, which, trust me… nobody wants that) to enjoy. As always, I can be found at mrdark@dreadcentral.com. Now get out there, find some weird, and let’s get this party started.

The Gasp Menagerie

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Metallica Unveils Awesome New Cthulhu Artwork

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The members of popular heavy metal band Metallica have a lot of love for everyone’s favorite Great Old One, it seems. They’ve unleashed an incredible new illustration of Lovecraft’s most famous creation, drawn by artist Richey Beckett.

Lovecraft’s original story was the basis of their 1984 song “The Call of Ktulu.” The art will go on sale on their online store on September 10th in the form of t-shirts and limited edition prints.

Despite his brilliance, Lovecraft was unknown and impoverished at the time of his death. So it makes me happy to see that many years later, one of the finest writers ever is still getting so much respect and attention. I don’t even think that many modern celebrities will have that honour.

Metallica Ctulhu (1)

The post Metallica Unveils Awesome New Cthulhu Artwork appeared first on Dread Central.

The Visit – M. Night Shyamalan and Jason Blum Talk the Film and More!

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In The Visit (review), Becca (Olivia DeJonge) and her younger brother, Tyler (Ed Oxenbould), say goodbye to their mother as they board a train and head deep into Pennsylvania farm country to meet their maternal grandparents for the first time.

Welcomed by Nana (Deanna Dunagan) and Pop Pop (Peter McRobbie), all seems well until the siblings start to notice increasingly strange behavior from the seemingly charming couple. Once the children discover a shocking secret, they begin to wonder if they’ll ever make it home.

Written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan and produced by Jason Blum, this movie opens in wide release on September 11, 2015. We got a chance to catch up with these two horror neo-legends in Beverly Hills, CA, where we picked their brains about The Visit.

Blum Shyamalan

Dread Central: Night, I didn’t notice your director’s cameo in this one. Were you maybe one of the guys on the cruise ship having the hairy chest contest?

M. Night Shyamalan: You know, I so wanted to be in this one. This is the problem with being Indian. It’s hard to be one of the family members. Everybody is white usually. I was actually thinking about playing her boyfriend, Kathryn Hahn’s boyfriend. In the original script, he comes back in the last scene, and I didn’t want everybody getting thrown off. So I didn’t put myself in there. But that’s a great idea!

DC: Did having the found footage format give you all-new cinematic tools for the misdirects and keeping us guessing?

MNS: We make a pretty strong distinction if you [Jason] want to talk about that.

Jason Blum: Yeah. We do a lot of found footage movies. And I really feel like this is very different. It’s a mock documentary. And I almost feel like they are opposite because found footage is really purposely sloppy. And the person documenting found footage has nothing to do with wanting to be a filmmaker. They’re amateurs and they are catching things by accident. The lead of this movie is the opposite. She loves cinema and she’s making a documentary to kind of bring her family together. So I feel like one of my favorite things about the movie, actually, is that the shots are very composed and it’s not a shaky camera, and it’s actually very far away from found footage. But mock documentary for sure and shot by someone who loves cinema and is concerned with how it looks. And I think that did provide a new way for you to shoot, right?

MNS: I storyboard every shot of my thrillers in general. I draw them out and do them. The difference in this one is I had to put it in the screenplay. So it’s in the screenplay where the shots were because he picks up the camera. They leave it on the shelf. She is carrying it in as they enter the door. That’s in the screenplay. So I really kind of… as I was writing it, I was kind of storyboarding it. And then the really wonderful part about making smaller movies sometimes is the limitations create opportunities.

I know this is going to sound like pie in the sky stuff, but we can’t leave locations much when you are making a smaller budgeted movie. So I found this farmhouse. I shot it in Pennsylvania near where I live. There was a farm that was going under foreclosure from a bank. I said, “Could I have this? Can I rent this from you for six months before you put a fire sale?” And then I gave them the whole spiel of like, “Once I make a movie there, you can sell it for more” and all of that stuff. So they said, “Okay, okay. You can have it for six months.”

So we had this incredible situation where I had the actual house where we were shooting through pre-production. So I would go with the actors and we would rehearse in the rooms, on the stairs, in the kitchen. And I’d say, “Yeah, you come around there,” and I would be there with the cinematographer, or I would sit there. There was a lot of times where I went to the house… it was really creepy, actually. I would go to the house by myself and just sit there and just think of the shots. And it was different because I could really, really plan it out and think it through: “We want to tilt here. This is said off-camera,” all of those things. And I would take copious notes on all of it. It’s how I like to make movies. But the challenge was to make it look like it was spontaneous.

DC: Sort of playing off of what you are talking about with the shooting, did you allow the kids to shoot some of the shots? How restrictive were you with the dialogue? Was there room to ad-lib?

MNS: There was no ad-libbing dialogue-wise.

JB: That’s another bit on found footage… On the Paranormal Activity movies there’s no script. There’s just an outline, and then it’s all improvised. This is really much more… it’s totally a different way to approach this kind of filmmaking.

MNS: I don’t mind anybody suggesting. It has to earn its way in, but generally speaking, I have so much demands on them that they’re not thinking about being writers at all. I’m just like, “Hey, that’s not where the character is coming from,” when you give a million suggestions and they are trying to have it. Usually, if they add handles it’s like “um,” “uh,” “this,” or something. And I’m like, “Get rid of those handles. That’s just crutches. Get rid of that. Go right to the salient. Go right to the line. This is why he or she said that kind of thing.”

DC: Did the kids shoot, at all?

MNS: Yes. There was one part that the kids shot. Mostly it was our operator, who is a fantastic operator… I actually used the cinematographer, Maryse Alberti, who shot The Wrestler for Darren {Aronofsky]. It was actually Darren that recommended her, luckily enough, and she was available and wanted to do it. The kind of intimacy of the camerawork was from her and the operator of how to portray… when you are holding handheld, how not to feel like handheld. Don’t make it feel like handheld. This is someone who is trying to make it beautiful. So they’re taking care to kind of turn and hold it, all of those things. And then the door… like they had the door, that wasn’t intended, that kind of thing. So where the intention and the unintended, all of that stuff… But we had one day which was a problem, which was the underground where the grandma crawls. The camera operator was too big. He was a grown man. He couldn’t keep up and go and crawl under there. This is what happens on big movies all the time. The grips all got together: “We can figure this out. We can make a contraption. Just give us 10 minutes. We’re going to make a contraption.” And they were like [makes robot noises] and they made this mechanical thing. And, of course, an hour and a half later they are trying to pull it and it’s not working and it’s tipping over. And we’re all sitting there and I’m like, “I’m dying. I’m dying. One third of the day is gone.” And I look over and Ed is there. And I’m like, “Ed, why don’t you just hold the camera?” And he was like, “Yeah!” And then he just ran underneath like this. He was squatting and he ran. So he did all the camerawork under the house. He was so proud that day.

DC: I was going to ask you, there’s actually a condition called “gerontophobia”. I was just wondering, when you were younger, did you have any fear of old people? What was the inspiration of writing this?

MNS: Basically, when I’m writing something, I’m thinking about: What is the subject of the piece? The subject of the piece is our fear of getting old, which is a variation of our fear of dying. I have to believe there’s a primal thing that we’re talking about, even though it’s fanciful and we’re doing it all in a kind of tongue-in-cheek manner. But what is the thing that makes it scary? What is the psychology behind it? Actually, I met my wife at NYU in Abnormal Psychology class because I love psychology—why we do things. What does the color red do? What is this? What does this camera angle do? All of that stuff. That’s the primal thing of it, that we’re scared of getting old. Playing on that is a powerful conceit. We talked a lot about that…

JB: Totally.

MNS: My grandparents have passed away now. But my grandparents were classic Indian grandparents. My grandmother would put so much powder on her face it was like a kabuki… and she’d come down the thing. And I was 8, 9 years old. And my grandfather apparently had no teeth because he would take out his teeth and then put them in the glass. And then he would try to scare me with them. He was very mischievous, too. And then I started to try to scare them when I was as little older. Now I feel bad about that. [laughter]

But my parents now are grandparents, who have not seen the movie yet, and I’m very nervous for them to see it. They are going to see it at the premiere.

JB: Oh, is that when they are going to see it?

MNS: Yeah. That’s when they are going to see it.

JB: You’re really holding out on them.

MNS: I don’t know what they’re going to think about all this stuff and the diaper and all this stuff. So we’ll see. [laughter]

DC: I noticed that both the actors who played the grandparents have extensive stage experience. I wondered if you were looking for those kind of people to create more of a kind of dramatic, over-the-top performances?

MNS: Yeah, someone asked me this morning to describe the films that I do. What is it… we spoke about this… taking B-genre movies and treating them like they’re A-dramas. Get the cinematographers, the actors, but it just happens to be about aliens and ghosts or crazy people…

JB: …or killers.

MNS: Or killers. My directing style is long takes, especially on this one. The longer take I can do, the more I have to work on it with cuts, the better. That requires that my coverage – traditionally it would be a close-up of Jason, a medium of Jason, a wide of the two of us – you cover yourself and then you figure it out in the editing room. I don’t think like that. I don’t shoot like that. I choose whose scene it is. It’s Jason’s scene. He’s figuring out, “Why the hell did I ever do this movie with this…” He’s thinking that or seething from what I just said. And he’s angry, what he thinks about you laughing at him is hurting him, he just wants to punch me. I’m going to accentuate that. They’re laughing and it’s pushing in on him and it’s getting louder. It’s all about him. I’m committing to him. I’ve got that with all of my coverage. The only opportunities I have to adjust are this theater-trained actor who’s used to going up on stage and giving a different performance every day at 2 o’clock and at 8 o’clock and just committing, I’m doing this angry, “go.” So take 7, take 14, take 21… that’s my coverage. I need actors who are versed in that style. They don’t edit themselves asking, “Can we do that again?” Because they do long takes, there’s a trust that happens on the set because if he and I are the actors and take 2 or take 3 we’re not getting there, but suddenly on take 4 I get it and I do something that ignites him, he gets it, because we’re tired together. He gets something that’s incredibly truthful and suddenly you get that magic take and theater actors know this. They know when they have magic on stage when everybody’s connected in this magic of storytelling. That’s my philosophy. I love, love stage actors.

JB: I think the other thing that found footage and documentary do share is that you can’t have recognizable people in a found footage movie. It’s like, “Wait a second; how did Brad Pitt suddenly get in this footage that was captured by accident? You have to find people who are great actors, but who aren’t recognizable, which is hard because most people get recognizable and get famous because they’re good at what they do. You’ve got to find people who are great, but who haven’t been discovered yet.

MNS: So, the pool of world-class actors that have done theaters, there’s a higher opportunity of grabbing somebody from that pool. Also, interestingly, the two kids are from Australia, totally random, and they’re from different sides of Australia, but that again makes sense in light of what Jason just said, where are the biggest pools of untapped talent – stage, Australia, that can do an American accent. I don’t know if you know this, but it’s easiest to go from Australian to American, that’s the easiest to go from without losing your palette of colors as an actor. The harder that transition is, the more you squash your paint set of the colors that you can use. It’s very risky to try to do accents.

DC: Along those lines, with the casting, you hit the jackpot with the young actors. Tell me about finding them and the excitement and seeing what they were able to do with the parts in the moment, ‘cause it adds so much for an audience member to the movie, seeing these great discoveries of yours and investing in them. They really capture the audiences’ attention.

MNS: I can’t take, really, too much credit for what they did. Being very, very lucky is a part of it too. Making movies is an act of faith. When I write these characters, I just pray that these individuals exist in the world. I’m not looking for a young Daniel Day Lewis who transforms from one role to the next. That’s not who I’m looking for. I’m looking for these kids to exist somewhere. That’s who they are in real life and they’re going to do a variation on that for me. These are my criteria – I need them to be super intelligent. I need them to be really smart because we’re going to talk like actors, director and actor, and we’re going to get very deep about complexity and I’m going to call you on it every time you do something that doesn’t defend your character. I use that term a lot, “You’re not defending your character because you sounded like an ass right now. Is that what you wanted to say about him or her right now? We could try it again, but your choice was one where you weren’t respecting him or her, so you’re really talking on a certain level.” The other thing is I really require the families to be healthy, positive families. They’re my co-directors with the kids. I literally just have them sit there, they don’t say a word and I pound the kids about everything that I’m doing, the aesthetics, who the characters are, the process they need to have. Just so they hear it because in the car they’re going to go, “Mr. Shyamalan said you need to do this.”

Sometimes there’s a moment where I don’t have the vocabulary to speak to the kid. For me, as the director, I’m taking top directing Jason in the scene, and I say, ‘Jason – the character is this. He’s a producer, he does this and blah-blah-blah.’ And he’s not getting it. I’ll keep on doing my analysis as I’m looking into his eyes and I see: click. And then I’ll go roll cameras. I’m looking for the vocabulary to go speak to him. And sometimes with children I just can’t get there and I need someone who is a master of their vocabulary to do it, so I will call the parent in. Even on The Visit, I can tell you there was an intense moment with the boy in the kitchen, where he releases – and you know, it’s comedic, it’s scary, it’s emotional. All of those things. And I couldn’t get there to him, so I called the mom in and the mom was an actress, and I said, ‘This is what I feel – his humor comes from a guardedness.’ You know, humor is actually coming from a dark place, and we make fun of things and so he uses it a lot to keep a shield between himself and everybody else. I talk about the person. And to get to bottom of that, I go, ‘You have to let go of all that in this scene.’ We re-shot that scene again, but with the mom literally standing right there. I’m like, ‘I’m going to talk to you, and you’re going to talk to him. And everybody else is going to be really quiet. I’m going to say what the character needs, and you’re going to say it in Ed vernacular to him.’ I could see it going like this to her eyes. She went click, like Jason’s eyes went click, and then she would [say it] in her mom-to-the-kid language and then his eyes would light up. I’d go, ‘Roll, roll,’ and then… But that’s like emergency, pull the parachute kind of a move. That happens once a movie, you can’t pull that too much because eventually they’ll get into the mom-kid relationship, but you can pull that once.

DC: What about the double cameras and mockumentary shooting style?

MNS: Well, that’s critical to me, because that’s directing as well. As Jason has said, the camera is an extension of those characters. So – why, and what were they thinking? So, if the boy was trying to trick his sister, or the sister was trying to trick the boy in the closet scene – she set the camera up the catch this. So it’s on a tripod, it’s locked off in the living room staring at the closet. That’s all that happened. That’s all I would tell her what would happen, in their characters’ [minds]. So, it’s not added work, it’s the natural homework we would have done anyway. It’s manifesting in literal cinematography in this particular movie, but it’s the same practical homework you should do when you’re really digging into the performances, you know?

DC: Night, what’s the scariest part of the movie, for you?

MNS: A lot of great questions. I believe it was probably Grandma in the rocking chair facing the wall. It’s actually from an Andrew Wyatt sketch… he’s an artist who actually lived near me, and it’s a sketch that he did of this old couple. It’s beautiful. It’s like a study of this old woman with a rag around her head and she’s just staring at the wall. She was just thinking. And I thought this was the scariest thing ever. I took it and I Xeroxed it, and I said, ‘This is what we’re making.’ I kept that with a two-line summary of the movie, and that’s what I had first, this old lady on a farm just staring at the wall in a rocking chair.

The Visit The Visit The Visit The Visit The Visit The Visit The Visit The Visit The Visit

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Cold Young Blood (Short, 2015)

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Artwork Coming SoonStarring Luke Draper

Directed by Tyron Janse van Vuuren


Here’s something to make you think twice about the dangers of social media. This new South African short, from the director of the award-winning Preparation (which was about how Heath Ledger transformed into the Joker), is described as an exploration of “the possibility of genuine human connection in the age of Tinder.

Cold Young Blood contains minimal dialogue, and what little dialogue there is serves as ambiance (i.e., a sound that you would expect to hear at a certain time along with any other background noise). Instead, the story just happens in front of you, what little there is. That is not intended as a criticism. Less is more, and here the most simplistic story has the strongest effect. You won’t be forgetting this film in a hurry.

In the film, vampires arrange to meet people via the social media app Tinder. They then feast on their unfortunate victims, who are turned into vampires themselves, and thus the cycle is repeated. I guess we really do have killer apps (sorry).

The visual style is also something to be commended, consisting entirely of drab, pastel colors that give the impression that this is a harsh, uninviting world, which is also sadly the case in real life.

Can we really find love and affection towards someone whom we meet via an online dating app? Is that the same as trying to ask someone to fall in love with you? People will always debate that issue, and here we have something that makes us realize, perhaps more than ever, how important social interaction is in the real world. Physical friends will always beat virtual ones.

All too often we hear of the dangers of social media and how people can use it for their own nefarious purposes, but as far as I know, telling us about it using vampires is something new.

Director Tyron Janse van Vuuren clearly set out to make something that would reverse all expectations and really make you stop and think about something you already know about in a new light. Cold Young Blood is the very definition of an experimental film in that it tries to do something entirely new and succeeds in every aspect.

 

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Prepare for the End with The Maker’s Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse

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Imagine the world as a dystopian wasteland. Rotting feet shuffle over dirty pavement. The air is clammy with the stink of putrid flesh. An ominous silence is broken only by the mournful moans of the undead. When zombies have taken over, what’s a survivor to do?

Hunker down, fortify bases, set traps, and salvage supplies, that’s what. Because before fleeing their compromised homes, savvy survivors snatched up a copy of The Maker’s Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse, available October 25th from No Starch Press.

We have more details and some sample art by Miran Lipovaca below.

Synopsis:
In this indispensable text, expert hardware hacker and zombie anthropologist Simon Monk gives readers all they need to survive an undead uprising. The Maker’s Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse: Defend Your Base with Simple Circuits, Arduino, and Raspberry Pi covers everything from identifying basic zombie types to crafting essential electronics.

Take charge of the environment:

  • Monitor zombie movements with trip wires and motion sensors
  • Keep vigilant watch over the compound with surveillance cameras
  • Power anti-zombie systems with car batteries, bicycle generators, and solar power

Escape imminent danger:

  • Repurpose old disposable cameras for zombie-distracting flashbangs
  • Open doors remotely for a successful sprint home
  • Prevent disasters with fire and smoke detectors

Communicate with other survivors:

  • Hail nearby humans with Morse code
  • Pass silent messages with two-way vibration walkie-talkies
  • Scan radio stations with an automatic frequency hopper

Founder Bill Pollock, last seen barricading his office door with Commodore 64s and crates of bourbon, was unavailable for comment. However, a flash drive unearthed in the rubble of the No Starch Press office had this to say: “The Maker’s Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse is for any survival-minded maker who wants to learn how to utilize their surroundings, use salvaged parts, generate their own power, and develop maker and survivor skills.”

For anyone from the complete beginner to the keen hobbyist, The Maker’s Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse is an essential survival tool and will be available everywhere this October.

makersguide3 makersguide1 makersguide4 makersguide2

makersguide

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Oppie Cooper’s Big Bad Unveils Its Official Poster

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It’s been a very long time coming — director Oppie Cooper’s long-awaited horror flick Big Bad is finally moving toward an official release. And while we don’t have an official release date just yet, we do have a nifty new poster for to share with the masses. It’s better than nothing, right?

But first, let’s take a moment to explore the movie’s synopsis.

Charmingly snarky kids strive for respect, romance, and to avoid being eaten by a bloodthirsty monster in this respectful nod to 80s comedy horror adventures.

For those who aren’t familiar with Big Bad, we’ve included the trailer below to get you better acquainted. Beneath that clip lies the first official poster for the flick. Take a look!

Big Bad Poster

The post Oppie Cooper’s Big Bad Unveils Its Official Poster appeared first on Dread Central.

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