Another Australian import is on its way in the form of Me and My Mates vs. the Zombie Apocalypse, and we have your very first look here including a NSFW clip!

From the Press Release:
The Australian zombie comedy Me and My Mates vs. the Zombie Apocalypse (MAMM) is heading to North America this summer! Starring three of Australia’s biggest comedians: Alex Williamson, Jim Jefferies, and Greg Fleet, Me and My Mates vs. the Zombie Apocalypse will be released on July 5, 2016, on DVD, VOD, and Digital channels throughout U.S. and Canada by Lightyear Entertainment.

Me and My Mates vs. the Zombie Apocalypse follows three blue-collar Australian telecom tradesman and some of their friends, who are trapped in a telephone exchange during the onset of a zombie apocalypse. MAMM is the first “oz-zom-com,” and the laughs and mayhem are nonstop.

Jefferies is well known in America for his FX series “Legit,” his 2014 Netflix special “Bare,” his 2012 Epix special “Fully Functional,” his 2010 Comedy Central special “Alcoholocaust,” and his 2009 HBO special “I Swear to God.” He regularly sells out giant tours in North America.

Williamson, a worldwide Internet sensation, has 65 million views on his YouTube channel and over a million Facebook followers. He has sold out standup shows all over the world.

Fleet has starred in various Australian TV shows for the past four decades and is best known for “Thai Die,” “Full Frontal,” and “The Hard Word.”

The film was produced by Daniel Sanguineti and Christian Doran and written and directed by emerging filmmaker Declan Shrubb on the Red Epic 4K. Rights were licensed by Lightyear Entertainment (distributed through eOne Distribution) from worldwide sales agent Shoreline Entertainment.

The post NSFW First Look – Me and My Mates vs. the Zombie Apocalypse appeared first on Dread Central.

Some pretty incredible genre films have come out of Australia over the years, one of the best of which was 2005’s Wolf Creek. One of the producers of Greg McLean’s Outback horror story was David Lightfoot, and he’s currently developing another Aussie thriller for his outfit Ultra Films. Read on for details!

Per Screen Daily, Xavier Samuel (pictured below; Twilight) and Morgan Griffin (San Andreas) have signed on to star in director David Pulbook’s Bad Blood, from a script Pulbook co-wrote with Patrick Edgeworth. Production on the suspense thriller is scheduled to start in Adelaide, Australia, on June 6.

The film centers on a woman (Griffin) who accepts an invitation to spend a weekend at a mountain resort with a male friend (Samuel) but quickly realizes something is wrong.

Antony I. Ginnane (Screamers) will also produce through his FG Film Group banner.

The post Twilight Star Xavier Samuel Tastes Bad Blood appeared first on Dread Central.

Beloved ’90s icons Fox Mulder and Dana Scully returned to the small screen earlier this year for six brand spankin’ new episodes of “The X-Files,” and the revival more or less ended on the promise that more episodes were coming soon. Indeed they are, but how long do we have to wait? Let’s find out!

As reported by Deadline, Fox TV Group chairmen Dana Walden and Gary Newman were on hand at the network’s recent Upfront press call, and when asked about the future of “The X-Files,” they seemed very optimistic that more episodes are on the way – it’s all a matter of the proper stars aligning.

“We have had conversations with [creator] Chris Carter and [stars] David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson,” Walden said. “I believe everyone is on board to do another installment of the show. Hopefully this season we will be able to get it done and [at] the same time next year [May], we will have something to announce.”

“Conversations are ongoing,” added Newman. “I can tell you that all of them would like to do more of these, and certainly the network and studio want to do more.”

The series’ return is tentatively being eyed for 2017-2018.

The post More Episodes of The X-Files Are Coming; How Long Will the Wait Be? appeared first on Dread Central.

The venerated FilmQuest Film Festival, Utah’s premiere “Celebration of Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Horror, and Beyond,” will take place June 17-25.  The fest has announced its staggeringly impressive list of official selections for 2016, and we have all the details right here.

Read on to see what horror films made the FilmQuest cut.

Speaking exclusively with Dread Central, FilmQuest Founder and Director Jonathan Martin said of this year’s fest (which will be held at Jordan Commons Megaplex Theatre (9400 South State Street, Sandy, UT), “We couldn’t be more excited to bring to genre fans in Utah and the world over the 2016 FilmQuest. We’ve programmed a truly stellar lineup of great films from around the world, including many world premieres. There’s a little something for everyone here as we’ve got fantasy, sci-fi, horror, and beyond all playing at the fest. All will be vying for our beautiful FilmQuest Cthulhu Trophy. I personally invite everyone to join us in Utah: fan, celebrity, distributor, and press alike, where we’ll be the epicenter of independent genre cinema for nine days. I promise you won’t regret it. Prepare for the fantastic!”

You’ll find the full list of films below, which include the horror features Bobbin Ramsay’s Dead Body and Ryan Gregory Phillips’ Shortwave plus short horror selections Die! Sitter! Die!: Rupert by the Boxleitner brothers, director John Fitzpatrick’s short films Brentwood Strangler and Yummy Meat: A Halloween Carol, and many, many more!

Tickets go on sale before June 1st. For more info, visit the official FilmQuest website, “like” FilmQuest on Facebook, and follow FilmQuest on Twitter.

2016 OFFICIAL SELECTIONS
1,029 Films and screenplays were submitted to the 2016 FilmQuest for consideration. Over a dozen judges were involved in the entire selection process. From these submissions the following films and screenplays were made Official Selections at the 2016 FilmQuest. Congratulations to all of the 2016 Official Selections!

FEATURES
Bear With Us – USA
Capsule – UK
Chicago Rot – USA
Cold Moon – USA
Ctrl Alt Delete – USA
Curtain – USA
Dead Body – USA
Diverge – USA
Muddy Corman – USA
No Way to Live – USA
Shortwave – USA
The Fostering – Brazil
The Village of Middlevale – USA
Virtual Revolution – France

DOCUMENTARY FEATURES
MAN VS. SNAKE: The Long and Twisted Tale of Nibbler – USA
The Blackout Experiments – USA

COMEDY & DARK COMEDY SHORTS
A King’s Betrayal – USA
Already Dead – UK
Amy – UK
Bitch, Popcorn & Blood – France
Code Blue: A Love Story – USA
Crush – USA
Dickproof 2 – Canada
Gwilliam – USA
Open 24 Hours – USA
Portal to Hell!!! – Canada
Shiner – UK
The Barber’s Cut – UK
The White Room – USA
Then and Again – USA
Una Mujer Sin Preico 1961 – USA

DOCUMENTARY SHORTS
Polk Photography – USA
Texas Paranormalists – USA
The Ship of Fools – France

FANTASTIC SHORTS
Burned – USA
Goodbye – USA
Mine – USA
Shutter – Germany
The Session – France
Thump – USA

FANTASY SHORTS
Dryad – France
Elle – France
Goblin Queen – USA
Legend of Dark Rider – Sweden
Lost Girl – UK
Move Me – USA
Sing for Your Supper – USA
Sleeping Wonder – Italy
The Devil’s Halo – USA
The Sun Devil and the Princess – USA
Theodora – USA

HORROR SHORTS
20 Matches – USA
Blight – Ireland
Brentwood Strangler – USA
Die! Sitter! Die!: Rupert – USA
Don’t Let Them In -USA
Earworm – USA
Heir – Canada
Hit & Run – USA
Iris – UK/USA
Kitchen – France
Kookie – Canada
Lonely Night – USA
Luxure (Lust) – Canada
Madre De Mios – Canada
Mute – USA
Night of the Slasher – USA
Quenottes (Pearlies) – Luxemborg
Roadside Assitance – USA
Shadows – USA
Surgery – UK
The Babysitter Murders – USA
The Fisherman – Spain
The Stylist – USA
When Susurrus Stirs – USA
Whisper – UK
Yummy Meat: A Halloween Carol – USA

SCI-FI SHORTS
Aden – USA
Animal – USA
Artificial – Spain
Battle of Wills – South Korea
Bionic Girl – France
Clones – Switzerland
Collider – Canada
Exit Plan – UK
Future Boyfriend – USA
Indigo – Canada
Jakob – France
Legacy of the Force – USA
Of Men and Mice – France
Replika – Switzerland
reStart – Spain
Sputnik – Spain
Substance – USA
Teacher in a Box – USA
The Edge – France
The Trap – USA
They Will All Die in Space – Spain

COMEDY & DARK COMEDY STUDENT FILMS
Eternal Coma, 1994 – USA
Karkass Karts – USA
Manoman – USA
Martian American – USA
Slow Creep – USA
Suck It Up – New Zealand

FANTASTIC STUDENT FILMS
Guardian – USA
The Run – Germany

FANTASY STUDENT FILMS
Abyss – Australia
Circle – USA
David Mills – USA
Frankenstein’s Light – USA
The Prince of Nothing – USA

HORROR STUDENT FILMS
Chateau Sauvignon: Terroir – USA
Ellie – USA
Oh, Darling – USA
Remember – USA
The Fisherman’s Wife – USA
Vardøger – France

SCI-FI STUDENT FILMS
Genghis Khan Conquers the Moon – USA
Replacement Protocol – USA
The Lotus Gun – USA
The Paradox – USA
The Surface – USA
The Treatment – Germany
Wasteworld – UK

ANIMATED FILMS
Alien Antics! – USA
Balloon – Canada
Breathe – USA
Chains – USA
Chasm – USA
Chhaya – India
Clouds – Canada
Da Vinci Project – France
Deadly is the Woman – USA
Disconnect – USA
Dispatch – USA
Eloïse, Little Dreamer – Canada
Fishing – USA
Fruit – Germany
Fulfilament – UK
Gentleman Explorer Vol. 001: Destination Peril – USA
Honorio: Two Minutes of Sun – Spain
JIBi – USA
L’Americano Returns – USA
Let’s Go – USA
Lure – USA
Resilience – UK
Sea Child – UK
Sharpen – USA
Silence of the Siren – USA
Simorgh – USA
Snacktime – USA
Stand Still – USA
Taking the Plunge – USA
Target Acquired – Canada
The Great Silence – USA
The Misadventures of Chubzilla – USA
The Search for the Monster of Lake Quannapowitt – USA
Three Fools – Denmark
Tink! – USA
Viva Lucha – USA
Zoe – USA

MUSIC VIDEOS
Atheum’s Way – New Zealand
Diggin’ On – USA
Echoes – Italy
Eye of the Storm – USA
Feel It – USA
How Deep Can I Go? – Australia
Low – USA
Lucifer’s Song – USA
Matt Pond PA (Take Me With You/Emptiness) – USA
My Nemesis – USA
Paloma – Canada
Saturday Morning – Italy
So In Love – France
Step Down From It – Sweden
Sundays – Canada
The Cops Don’t Know – Iran
The Keys – Switzerland
The Love is Gone – Canada
Theatre Noir – USA
Through My Street – Switzerland
West Side Swordy – USA

WEB SERIES
AFK: The Web Series – New Zealand
Dark Specter – USA
DoomsDate – USA
Dorkcore – USA
Good Morning, Tonight! – Canada
Hey You, It’s Me – USA
Italian Justice – Italy
LARPs – Canada
Legend of the Lich Lord – Canada
Outpost – USA
Ren: The Girl with the Mark – UK
The First Musketeer – UK
Thornbrook – USA
Year of the Snake – USA

INDUSTRIAL/COMMERCIAL
Link: Shadow of Light
World’s Best Ski Hotel

FILMQUEST EXPRESS FILMS
It’s a Small Verse After All – Taylor Doose (World Premiere)
Last Call – Blooming Studios (World Premiere)
Pure – Rachelle Price (World Premiere)
Spaced Out – Seaichfilms (World Premiere)
The Song of the Lake – Angela Wilkins (World Premiere)
Team I am Your Father Luker (World Premiere)
Team Jared Clark Gay (World Premiere)
Team JT Seaton (World Premiere)
Team Maclain Drake (World Premiere)

SCREENPLAY FINALISTS – FEATURES (Top 25)
Will be announced before June 1st

SCREENPLAY FINALISTS – SHORTS (Top 15)
Alice’s Misfortunes in Underland by Nikki S. Colt
Apt. 215 by A.J. Briones
Deadhorse Lick by Charles Hall
Hibernation by Joel Benjamin
ISOL by Kristin Ruff-Frederickson
Love in Drones’ Times by Kiki Vasilescu
Page Turner by Marc Roussel
Red Coats by Lachlan Marks
Secret Box by Charles Hall
Six-Legged Couch by Kate Longoria
Symposium by Tom Grady
The Art of DNA by Mary Anzalone
The Offering by Julie Hindkjær
The Spirit of Vengeance by Bryan Hansen
Viral by Michael Nardelli

The post Utah’s FilmQuest Film Festival Announces 2016 Selections appeared first on Dread Central.

Eibon Press just unveiled its plans to spread the red this morning, and we’ve got the scoop on what you can expect from what’s going to be one of the premier horror comic labels.

From the Press Release:
Eibon Press is the all-new publishing brainchild of “Masters of Horror”/Shock Festival writer Stephen Romano and horror’s own memorabilia legend and creator of Black Devil Doll Shawn Lewis. Their mission is: “To make owning and collecting horror comics cool again” by releasing single-issue comic books in super limited “Prestige Editions,” which will feature premium printing and innovative packaging never before seen in the history of comics. “Our books are like limited edition record albums,” says Romano.

“You know all that awesome stuff they’re doing with posters and vinyl soundtracks at places like Mondo? Well, that’s what we’re bringing to comics. Each and every issue of each and every title will come encased in a specially-designed album jacket-style sleeve which we’ve invented ourselves. We call it the ‘Eibon Sleeve.’ Plus you’ll get some fun extra stuff inside the sleeve with your comic. For example, the first 250 of each 1,000 copy run will contain a signed and numbered bookplate. And we’ll be inserting random awesome stuff in a few of the sleeves like autographed bookmarks and such. What we’re doing has never been done before, and we really hope people will dig all the blood and sweat we’re putting into each issue.”

Eibon Press comics are also highly exclusive. As in, they will only be sold at the company website and will not be available in any store. “We were actually about to sign a pretty big co-branding deal with an established publisher to get these books out,” says Lewis. “But Stephen had been down that road before, and when we started looking at the numbers, it became more logical to use our own resources to get these books out through direct internet marketing. So we came up with a business model that would allow us to sell a limited number of titles in small print runs through our own website. Stephen’s been a professional creator of this crazy stuff for decades and I’ve been in the business of mail order fulfillment for decades, so it was kind of a ‘duhhh’ moment. We figured we’d do this thing ourselves and make the books really collectible and special.”

“It’s a lot of hands-on work to do it this way,” says Romano, “but it really makes these comic books into instant one-of-a-kind collector’s items. Plus, of course, there’s what actually INSIDE the pages of the books. Which ain’t so shabby, if I do say so.”

He’s not kidding. In fact, the Eibon Press debut line of FULCI COMICS has been almost 16 years in the making. Having adapted Lucio Fulci’s classic film THE BEYOND in 1998, Romano and Lewis had moved on to several other projects based on Fulci films. This resulted in ambitious graphic novel adaptations of ZOMBIE and CITY OF THE LIVING DEAD (GATES OF HELL). Both projects met with adversity and ended up lost to the four winds… but they are now being resurrected like they’ve never been seen before.

“Actually, you really haven’t ever seen these comics before,” Romano quips. “Not like we actually wanted you to see them anyway. GATES was never really released in its entirety at all. ZOMBIE had a release, but it was so small and it looked so bad, with the lousy printing and everything. Plus, that was like 16 years ago. A lot of people have never even heard of these things. We wanted to return to these Fulci projects and not only get them really right—but continue the stories beyond the films they are based on.”

This means that ZOMBIE will shamble ever forward as an ongoing series after the original four-issue film adaptation is complete. “You’ll see all your favorite characters of course,” says Lewis, “but you’ll also see some new faces. And some faces you thought were dead and buried, too. Stephen’s bringing back Doctor Menard, for example, as a crazy mutated zombie mad scientist monster, working under the insane magic of BIACANDO—the voodoo priest sort of responsible for the zombie apocalypse. But there’s a post-modern twist to everything involving a toxic waste dump and a crazy Army general. It’s just insane stuff. The fans are gonna eat it the fuck up. I mean… I’m a fan, and I’m already eating it the fuck up!”

The saga of GATES OF HELL will also continue… though Romano and Lewis remain tight-lipped about particulars at the moment. “It’s a secret for now,” says Romano, “but we have some awesome wicked stuff coming in the second wave of Fulci Comics. The Saga of the Seven Gates was something we sort of set rolling in 1998, and we may be bringing it to its conclusion soon. Plus we’re working on several other Fulci film licenses. And some non-Fulci film stuff, too. Fans are gonna shit when they hear what’s coming next.”

After LUCIO FULCI’S ZOMBIE #1 hits the public in July, the next Eibon title will be THE BOOK OF EIBON, an innovative comic preview magazine designed to give fans an exclusive taste of everything that’s coming soon. “Because we’re such a small outfit, it’ll take awhile to get all the issues of all these books out,” says Romano. “We thought it would be a shame to make the fans wait so long for everything, so we did a deal with Dread Central to get THE BOOK OF EIBON in their monthly Box of Dread—so it’s totally exclusive to them and damn fucking cool.”

“We’ve got all kinds of nasty in the first issue of EIBON which hits in August, including a GATES OF HELL preview that will knock your dick in the dirt,” says Lewis. “Plus there’s a lot of ink on BOTTOMFEEDER, which is my baby.”

BOTTOMFEEDER is an all-new original horror series, slated for release in 2017, which plays like HUMANOIDS FROM THE DEEP meets BAD LIEUTENANT. It was created by Lewis and Romano in a psychotic collaboration that not only features the most audacious, bloodthirsty, politically incorrect horror scenario envisioned since the gory glory days of the grindhouse 1980s… but it also contains a stellar “dream cast” of horror movie legends.

“We originally wanted to make BOTTOMFEEDER as a movie,” Romano says. “So when we decided to make it as a comic series, we ‘cast it’ just like we might have cast a dream version of the film. This means we can have some heavyweight horror stars in there, like Bill Moseley and Clu Gulager, who have both given us permission to use their likenesses… plus we get to resurrect Joe (MANIAC) Spinell and Zoe (MS.45) Tamerlis from the dead. Just wait’ll you see them in our comic. Our artist did an amazing job of bringing them back to life!”

BOTTOMFEEDER will come up for air in 2017. For more info check out the extended preview at www.bottomfeedercomic.com.

It’s an all-new era of ongoing Fulci Comics, and we’re proud as hell to bring it to you. For more information, keep an eye on our website and our Twitter feeds!

For additional info follow Eibon Press on Twitter and Eibon Press on Instagram. The official Eibon Press website will go LIVE June 6th. Issue #1 pre-orders start on Friday, June 10th, at 12 midnight.

Check out the trailer for the Zombie comic along with a pair of preview pages below. Look for more soon!

The post Eibon Press Announces Four Horror Titles for 2016 and 2017 appeared first on Dread Central.

If you’re wondering why a horror website is reporting on Tetris the Movie, then let me direct you once more to the headline for this article. This is actually happening, people!

Yes, Virgina, there will be a Tetris movie. China will co-finance it. The budget will be in the $80 million range. The emphasis will be on transforming the quarter century old video game about falling geometric shapes into a dark sci-fi thriller.

One more mind-boggling detail: Tetris the Movie is being conceived as a part one in a trilogy.

Deadline reports that Chinese-US co-production company Threshold Global Studios is prepping Tetris the Movie as its inaugural effort. Threshold moguls Bruno Wu and Mark Kassanoff (Mortal Kombat movie producer) have spent a year planning this epic video game movie, secured $80 million in financing, and plan to shoot the film in China and other countries next year.

So, how does one envision a movie based on a plotless video game that was already more or less brought to big screen life just a year ago in Pixels, a movie most everyone domestically seemed to hate but still tripled its budget thanks to the global box office? As a sci-fi thriller, of course. Kassanoff gave Deadline the money quote to end all money quotes: …it’s “not at all what you think; it will be a cool surprise.”

How exactly Tetris fits the dark sci-fi thriller mode remains to be seen because details are being kept under wraps at the moment.

Could Tetris the Movie go the Cronenberg Human Centipede body horror route by featuring a mad scientist transforming people of varying ethnicities into twisted, geometric shapes that he then uses to play his own warped version of the classic game?

Or perhaps they’ll take it into Roland Emmerich territory with Earth being bombarded by multi-colored geometric shapes from space that lock into place for extraterrestrial infrastructures that begin terraforming the planet prior to a full-scale invasion, and the only person who can save us is Jayden Smith as an autistic Tetris-playing whiz kid?

Maybe it just boils down to being more of a Michael Chricton-esque techno-thriller in which the classic Tetris game is the code that needs to be cracked in order to launch/prevent a global terrorist attack.

Whatever the plan is, we’ll find out eventually when Tetris the Movie miraculously beats off other recently announced movie adaptations of old video games (Asteroids, Rampage, Missile Command, Centipede) to the big screen. If they pull it off, then yes, it truly will be a cool surprise. Cool surprise or cinematic trainwreck.  Either way, I cannot wait to see what becomes of Tetris the Movie.

Should also mention Threshold Global Studios possesses the movie rights to the video game Deathtrap Dungeon. Remember that one? I don’t. But I bet I know someone who could help bring that one to the big screen. Paging Dr.Boll… Dr. Uwe Boll…

The post China to Help Drop $80 Million Sci-Fi Thriller Tetris the Movie appeared first on Dread Central.

After more than 130 hours of some of the best genre output on the festival circuit right now, complemented with a stellar line-up of special guests and jurors, FANT BILBAO 2016 bid farewell in spectacular style with an awards ceremony to die for, organized by Bilbao’s City Council.

In its celebration of all things terrifying, FANT welcomed the likes of Can Evrenol, Joe Begos, William Brent Bell, Alberto Marini, Cameron Cairnes, Jay Lender and Micah Wright to present their latest projects in a year where, once again, an all new attendance record was set. This year’s figures totalled 9,238 festivalgoers (5% up from last year) with the full house sign brought out for the screenings of High-Rise (review), Sun Choke (review), Green Room (review), Rendezvous, Cop Car, Bone Tomahawk (review) and The Devil’s Pass (review).

And, despite such a great line-up, only one film can ever take home the coveted best feature award so it was up to the international jury (Fiona O’Shaughnessy, Laurence R. Harvey and José María Clemente) to make the toughest of decisions, with Valentín J. Diment’s The Rotten Link (review) finally coming out on top.

From the Press Release:
Argentinian filmmaker Valentín J. Diment takes home the Best Feature Film Award for El Eslabón Podrido (The Rotten Link) at this year’s Bilbao Fantasy Film Festival – FANT 2016.

After much deliberation, this year’s jury, which consisted of actress Fiona O’Shaughnessy, actor Laurence R. Harvey, and journalist and Canal+ programming manager José María Clemente, awarded Valentín J. Diment’s El Eslabón Podrido with the Best Feature Film Award.

At the announcement press conference the FANT jury explained how they have been won over by such “a densely textured folk tale chronicling the sublime and grotesque aspects of rural life with the events around the central characters leading to the breakdown of their society. Both the beautifully essayed performances of the main actors and the director’s deft handling of tonal shifts and gleeful perversity result in a memorable cinematic experience.”

The Best International Short Film Award went to the plasticine animated film Edificio Tatuapé Mahal (Brazil, 2014, 10’) from Carolina Markowicz and Fernanda Salloum. Commenting on their choice, the jury decided on this short as it “creates a world both familiar and wildly original, deftly juggling notions of identity, mutability and existential fulfillment through its childlike charm and simplicity.”

George Todria’s Lost Village took home the Best Basque Short Film Award which, according to the jury is “a cinematographic poem that draws you into its deliberately paced narrative to devastating emotional effect.”

As is the case every year, the audience also had their say and voted Oscar Bernàcer’s Apolo 81 (Spain, 2015) the Best Short Film.

NEW AWARDS
This year also saw the inclusion of two brand new awards in the “Panorama” strand of the festival for best feature and best short. The first ever Panorama Jury was made up of cinematographer Norma Vila (Bilbao, 1983), founding partner of the production company Demeter Films; film critic and screenwriter Miguel A. Refoyo (Salamanca, 1975); and film journalist and translator Howard Gorman (Huddersfield, 1975), Associate Editor for Scream: The Horror Magazine and collaborating writer for the likes of Shock Till You Drop, Rue Morgue Magazine, Blumhouse and, as you are probably already aware if you’re reading this here article, Dread Central. He is also Spanish representative for Eli Roth’s Crypt TV.

This jury also had the job of deciding on the best entry in this year’s cell phone short film competition, sponsored by Movistar+.

The Panorama Best Feature Film went to André Cruz’s L’altra frontera, (Spain/Lithuania 2014) whilst Best Short went to Gigi Saúl Guerrero’s Madre de Dios (Canada, 2015).

The award for best PhoneFantastikoa short film shot on a cellphone went to Aritz ET’s Latas.

The Festival’s Awards Ceremony, organized by Bilbao’s City Council, was followed up with a special screening of Baskin from Turkish filmmaker Can Evrenol, who was in attendance to receive this year’s Fantrobia prize, each year awarded to the most promising talent in the genre. This was preceded with a fantastic post-apocalyptic short film which is more than worth checking out called Graffiti from Lluis Quilez.

THE FULL LIST OF FANT 2016 AWARD WINNERS:

BEST FEATURE FILM FANT 22
El eslabón podrido, (Argentina, 2015) Valentín J. Diment.

FANT SHORT FILMS
Best International Short: Edificio Tatuapé Mahal (Brazil, 2014, 10’) Carolina Markowicz and Fernanda Salloum.

Best Basque Short: Lost Village (2015, 15 min) George Todria.

Audience Award for Best Short: Apolo 81 (Spain, 2015) Óscar Bernàcer.

OFFICIAL SECTION BEST SCREENPLAY (AWARDED BY THE ASSOCIATION OF BASQUE SCREENWRITERS)
Lovemilla, Teemu Nikki (Finland, 2015).

OFFICIAL SECTION AWARD FOR INNOVATIVE DIRECTION (AWARDED BY CINE CLUB FAS)
High-Rise, Ben Wheatley (UK, 2015)

FANTROBIA AWARD 2016
Can Evrenol

PANORAMA SECTION BEST FEATURE FILM
L’altra frontera, André Cruz (Spain/Lithuania 2014).

PANORAMA SECTION BEST SHORT
Madre de Dios, Gigi Saúl Guerrero (Canada, 2015).

AWARD FOR THE BEST PHONE FANTASTIKOA SHORT
Latas, Aritz ET.

We’ll leave you with a selection of video interviews with a few of the guests who dropped in to say hey at this year’s FANT:

The post Fant Bilbao 2016 Award Winners Announced appeared first on Dread Central.

Today it was ABC’s turn to announce its new shows for the 2016-17 season, and while there’s not much for the horror crowd, we did want to share this first look at “Time After Time,” based on the novel and movie of the same name, from executive producer/writer Kevin Williamson (“The Vampire Diaries,” Scream franchise, “Dawson’s Creek”).  It will be arriving midseason.

About “Time After Time”:
Kevin Williamson delivers a fantastical cat and mouse adventure through time when famed science fiction writer H.G. Wells is transported to modern day Manhattan in pursuit of Jack the Ripper.  Once H.G. arrives in New York City, he finds a world he never thought possible and a young woman who captivates him.

The series stars Freddie Stroma (Harry Potter films) as H.G. Wells, Josh Bowman (“Revenge”) as John Stevenson/Jack the Ripper, Genesis Rodriguez (Big Hero 6) as Jane, and Regina Taylor (“Dig”) as Vanessa Anders.  “Time After Time” is from Outerbanks Entertainment in association with Warner Bros. Television. Williamson and Marcos Siega (“Blindspot,” “The Following”) are executive producers. Siega directed the pilot.  Williamson wrote the teleplay. “Time After Time” is based on the novel written by Karl Alexander.

The post See the Trailer for Kevin Williamson’s Time After Time on ABC appeared first on Dread Central.

To say the fans are divided about the upcoming Ghosbusters reboot is a bit of an understatement, but the new trailer that dropped today on the film’s Facebook page might bring some of the naysayers into the fold since it features a few familiar faces we’ve been hoping to see.

Check it out, and let us know what you think!

Kristen Wiig, Melissa McCarthy, Kate McKinnon, and Leslie Jones are our new paranormal investigators along with their loyal secretary Chris Hemsworth. Neil Casey, Andy Garcia, Michael K. Williams, Matt Walsh, Pat Kiernan, Cecily Strong, and Charles Dance also star. Cameos will include the original film’s stars Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, and Annie Potts. Plus Ozzy Osbourne.

The Ghostbusters reboot will haunt the big screen on July 15, 2016.

Synopsis:
Dead criminals from all eras of New York’s under­belly past have returned to roost among the living. Pilgrims, old-­timey sailors, Revolutionary War spirits, and even a couple of zoot­-suited gangsters are ready to take on four formidable female busters looking to rid the city of its phantasmic filth.

The post New Ghostbusters Trailer Busts In; Is it Better Than the Last? appeared first on Dread Central.

Starring Neville Archambault, PJ McCabe, Brianne Moncrief

Directed by Victor Zarcoff

With the ever-present threat (and ultimate reality) that someone anywhere, at anytime, could be eyeballing you via hidden cam, cellphone cam, wall cam, toilet cam… well, you get the idea, first-time director Victor Zarcoff uses that very real threat to further make you want to inspect every inch of your domicile in 13 Cameras, and it’s pretty damn entertaining to watch.

So to set this story into motion, we need a happy couple (well, kind of happy), and they consist of Ryan (McCabe) and his freshly-impregnated wife, Claire (Moncrief). Their idyllic new home into which they’ve just moved is lorded over by… how do I put this gently? One of the creepiest son of a bitch to ever peer through a keyhole.

His name is Gerald (Archambault), and at the risk of sounding antiquated, he  doesn’t need a keyhole to inject his officious eyes into their business – he just looks at the screen that delivers the feed from one of the numerous cameras he’s set up in their home. As time rolls on (movie-time, that is), Ryan and Claire exhibit the behaviors that any potential parents-to-be might experience: They argue, they nitpick, then they make up. The only problem is that you’d normally think these issues would be contained to the eyes that were experiencing the problems, not the ultra-repugnant innkeeper responsible for the house’s day-to-day operations.

While viewers who might be looking for an abundance of (or even just a few) scares will probably be disappointed, they can certainly revel in the notion that there is a very long, drawn-out sense of smarmy, seedy, grimy undertaking with Gerald’s voyeuristic stylings. After all, it’s not just Gerald who is blatantly invading this innocent couple’s space; it’s us as the audience as well… and now that I’ve confirmed that in type, I feel so dirty.

Archambault is amazingly convincing as the unstable peeper, and what works about his portrayal is that he keeps the lunacy within the lines – never overacting and never stretching the boundaries. This is a guy that could be in charge of the place next door to you or even your home as well.

So, now that I’ve thoroughly skeeved people out to a very uncomfortable level, I’ll go on the record as saying that 13 Cameras is a film that should definitely be given a look, if not for the work of a budding director setting sail on his first cinematic voyage, but for the idea that we all love to sneak a peek every now and then, don’t we? Admit it; you’ll feel better about it.

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We all know and love Seth Rogen, right?  Well, it turns out he wasn’t satisfied with just being executive producer and director of the new AMC original series “Preacher”; he also wanted to be the star. This trailer is what he presented AMC with…

“Preacher” debuts Sunday, May 22nd, at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT with a 90-minute premiere episode, and AMC will re-air the pilot on Sunday, May 29th, at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT, followed by “Talking Preacher” with Chris Hardwick. New episodes resume Sunday, June 5th, at its regular time of 9:00 p.m. ET/PT.

Related Story:  See the First Five Minutes of Preacher!

Based on Garth Ennis and Steve Dillon’s popular ‘90’s comic book franchise of the same name, “Preacher” is a supernatural, twisted, and darkly comedic drama that follows a West Texas preacher named Jesse Custer, who is inhabited by a mysterious entity that causes him to develop a highly unusual power. Jesse, his badass ex-girlfriend Tulip, and an Irish vagabond named Cassidy come together; and when they do, they are thrust into a crazy world populated by a cast of characters from Heaven, Hell, and everywhere in between. The series was developed for television by executive producers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg and executive producer and showrunner Sam Catlin and is a Sony Pictures Television and AMC Studios co-production.

“Preacher,” which films at Albuquerque Studios in New Mexico, stars Dominic Cooper as Jesse Custer, Joseph Gilgun as Cassidy, Ruth Negga as Tulip, Lucy Griffiths as Emily, W. Earl Brown as Sherriff Root, Anatol Yusef as DeBlanc, Tom Brooke as Fiore, Derek Wilson as Donnie Schenck, and Ian Colletti as Eugene/Arseface.

“Preacher” Episode 1.01 – Pilot (airs 5/22/16; repeats 5/29/16)
In the series premiere, Jesse (Dominic Cooper) struggles to escape a past that is slowly catching up to him. Meanwhile, a mysterious entity comes to earth, leaving a wave of destruction in its wake.

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Yesterday we told you about the initial reception Personal Shopper, starring Kristen Stewart, got at Cannes, and now we have a few more details to share. According to THR, the Paris-set spooker triggered both boos and applause when it screened for critics ahead of the Tuesday premiere. But then it screened for the public and received a four-and-a-half-minute standing ovation Tuesday night at the premiere. Go figure.

In the film directed by Olivier Assayas, Stewart plays a young American in Paris who half-believes she’s in contact with her late twin brother. While discussing the Cannes competition entry during the festival, Stewart said: “It’s a ghost story, sure, but the supernatural aspects of it just lead you to very basic questions.”

Check out a clip and a trailer below.

As for the boos, Assayas, who also directed Stewart in 2014 Cannes competition entry Clouds of Sils Maria, said ahead of Tuesday night’s premiere, “It happens to me once in a while, where people just don’t get the ending.” He added, “When you come to Cannes, you have to be prepared for everything.”

Stewart also pointed out, “Everybody did not boo. Let’s be clear.”

IFC Films holds the distribution rights for the flick and intends to get it out to a wider audience later this year. Stay tuned for an exact date.

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They’re coming… clawing… walking… biting their way to the top of the food chain at Universal Studios’ The Walking Dead Attraction, beginning on July 4th. To prep you for this auspicious event we have your first look!

From the Press Release:
Universal Studios Hollywood reveals a behind-the-scenes look into the making of its new permanent walk-through attraction based on AMC’s record-breaking television series “The Walking Dead” and announces that the eagerly-awaited experience will debut on Monday, July 4, 2016.

The captivating two-minute video features insightful commentary from Greg Nicotero, executive producer and director of “The Walking Dead,” as he tours his LA-based special effects studio, KNB Efx, which is responsible for masterfully creating the show’s—and now the attraction’s—realistic decaying walkers.

“After six years of working on ‘The Walking Dead,’ we have a great opportunity to take ‘The Walking Dead’ out of the studio, off the soundstage, and into an attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood where guests can come face-to-face with walkers,” said Greg Nicotero.

He continued, “It’s very exciting to be able to make the attraction as 100 percent authentic as possible. We’re getting the chance to utilize molds that were created specifically for the show and translate them into parts of the attraction. We’re creating animatronic walkers that guests will be able to see… it’s never been done before…. it’s one-of-a-kind, state-of-the-art…. and I can’t wait.”

Universal Studios Hollywood has worked collaboratively with AMC’s “The Walking Dead” for years as a signature “Halloween Horror Nights” maze. This newly enhanced venture will take the highly sought-after experience from a seasonal, limited time offering to an exciting 365-day opportunity, raising the bar for themed walk-through attractions.

To ensure authenticity of the attraction, Universal Studios Hollywood is partnering with “The Walking Dead’s” creative team, including Greg Nicotero and KNB Efx, to develop prosthetics, utilize original molds, and painstakingly apply paint and detailing to attraction walkers. The integral involvement of the creative team will not only inspire the emotional connection fans experience, it will be among the attraction’s key distinguishing characteristics that will define it as a living representation of the show.

Coupled with authentic walker make-up effects, sophisticated animatronic walkers, substantially more detailed set design and costuming, and highly recognizable props replicated from the series, “The Walking Dead” attraction will deliver an uncompromised realistic environment that brings guests even further into the most watched show in cable television history.

The “The Walking Dead” attraction will be located within an entirely new, custom built structure, situated within an expansive building complex just inside the theme park’s main entry. Due to the intense nature of this experience, the attraction is not recommended for guests under the age of 13.

The past five years have been a remarkable time for Universal Studios Hollywood as the destination embarked on an unprecedented revitalization that has substantially altered over 75 percent of its familiar footprint to effectively characterize it as an entirely new theme park experience. The introduction of the all-new “The Walking Dead” attraction continues the theme park’s unparalleled investment in its ambitious epic transformation.

AMC’s “The Walking Dead” depicts the story of survivors in a post-apocalyptic world overrun by hordes of terrifying flesh-eating walkers. It is the #1 show on television among adults 18-49 for the last four years and will debut its seventh season this October.

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New company Blue Fox Entertainment has got two horror titles in store for us in the near future, and we’ve just learned that Ariel Veneziano’s Recreation Media and Level 33 Entertainment have jointly acquired all international rights to both per Screen Daily. They’re titled The Suffering and The Demon Within, and we’ve got all the details!

Robert Hamilton directed The Suffering, about a struggling property appraiser who starts to lose his mind when he is summoned to evaluate a rural estate owned by a recluse. Nick Apostolides, Regen Wilson, Phil Amico, and Chad Eric Smith star. You can check out an image below.

As for The Demon Within, it was directed by Ayush Banker and Justin LaReau, and the cast includes Clint Glenn Hummel, Patricia Ashley, and Charlene Amoia in the story of a demonic possession in the late 19th century.

“Blue Fox Entertainment is an exciting new company, run by experienced executives with excellent taste,” said Veneziano. “In a short amount of time, James [Huntsman] and Todd [Slater] have built up an impressive and consistent line-up of titles, and we are thrilled to expand our collaboration with these two commercial and stylish genre films.”

Meanwhile, Breaking Glass Pictures has acquired U.S. rights to The Suffering and will release it in July.

The post International Rights Scooped Up for The Suffering and The Demon Within appeared first on Dread Central.

Italian filmmaker Mario Bava has had a whole lot more influence on horror cinema than he often gets credit for, and as many fans have pointed out over the years, his 1971 film A Bay of Blood (aka Twitch of the Death Nerve) was ripped off by Steve Miner for Friday the 13th Part 2. But did he also directly inspire Alien?

As reported by Variety, Nicolas Winding Refn was on hand at Cannes last night to present a 4K restoration of Bava’s Planet of the Vampires, and in his introduction he called out Ridley Scott’s Alien for essentially ripping off the 1965 film – though it must be noted that he doesn’t think any less of Alien because of it.

“Planet of the Vampires is the film that Ridley Scott and Dan O’Bannon stole from to make Alien,” he told the Cannes audience. “We found the elements; we have the evidence tonight. This is the origin!”

“When you look at the two movies, it’s not just similarities,” he elaborated. “It’s lifted structure, scenes, characters, dilemmas, themes that are very apparent. “I think it’s wonderful; everyone steals from everyone. And with Alien, which is another masterpiece, it defined genre movies as having a very high artistic standard. But the irony is that it all comes back to this Italian movie that I don’t think has gotten the recognition it deserved.”

Time to revisit Planet of the Vampires with a fresh set of eyes!

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Gravitas Ventures has secured North American rights to Daniel Falicki’s Accidental Exorcist, which will hit On Demand and select theaters on June 24. The film, written by Warren Croyle and Sheri Beth Dusek, centers on an alcoholic who just so happens to have been born with the gift of being a damn fine exorcist, and on tap today is another trailer.

Summon demons by clicking the “play” button below!

The film stars Daniel Falicki, Sherryl Despres, Patrick Hendren, Chris Kotcher, and Jason Roth.

Synopsis:
All Richard really wants is to finish his book, but fate dealt him a very strange hand – he is a natural born exorcist. In fact, he is the best there ever was, and with possessions on the rise across the city, he’s booked solid. Reluctantly, he faces the fact that performing exorcisms is the only thing he’s truly good at even though it’s wearing him down and making his life utterly miserable. Case after case, he stares evil incarnate in the face, taking on satanic forces to help those in need. However, he soon finds his power may also come with a cost to his own soul and must find a way to finally save himself before time runs out.

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Netflix has been absolutely killing it with their original shows these past few years, and this summer they’re taking us back to the ’80s with horror series “Stranger Things.” It will premiere globally on July 15, and needless to say, we’re counting down the days. In the meantime, check out a quartet of stills!

Starring Winona Ryder, Matthew Modine, David Harbour, Charlie Heaton, Natalia Dyer, and Millie Brown, “Stranger Things” is executive produced by The Duffer Brothers (“Wayward Pines”), Shawn Levy (Night at The Museum), and Dan Cohen (Story of Your Life).

Synopsis:
Set in Hawkins, Indiana, in the 1980’s, “Stranger Things” chronicles the search for a young boy who vanishes into thin air under highly suspicious circumstances. His mother (Winona Ryder) opens an investigation into the boy’s disappearance with local authorities that unravels a series of mysteries involving top-secret government experiments, terrifying supernatural forces, and one very strange little girl.

A love letter to the ubiquitous cult classics of the 80’s, “Stranger Things” is a coming-of-age story for three boys that draws this quaint community into a world where mysteries lurk beneath the surface.

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Another crowdfunding success story! And it was for a horror film focusing on a female protagonist!  Although there have been quite a few of those lately, I still feel that there needs to be more, so this story truly is a win-win.

Get the details on the short, titled Helen, below:

Synopsis:
HELEN, a horror short film from the Dell Sisters, shattered fundraising records on the crowdfunding platform Seed&Spark last week. The film raised 100% of its goal in just 12 hours, cutting the previous record for fastest campaign financing in half. HELEN follows a woman through the longest night of her life after her anxiety comes to life as the Fury, a demon determined to destroy her. The film stars Aimee Garcia (“Dexter,” RoboCop, “Rush Hour”) and is currently in post-production.

The campaign is still active at seedandspark.com/studio/helen-1. Seed&Spark offers distribution and filmmaker incentives for projects with 500+ followers, so HELEN encourages everyone to FOLLOW the campaign!

The Dell Sisters, writer/director Emily Dell and producer Elizabeth Dell, are a filmmaking team in Los Angeles focused on female-driven genre films. Their previous works include B-GIRL, a narrative feature about a female breakdancer, released in the US by Screen Media Films, distributed worldwide, and airing on Showtime, Starz, and Encore Networks. Emily Dell is the author of the comic book series Romeo & Juliet and Guns, as well as the Executive Director of the Nashville Writers Conference. Elizabeth Dell is the Head of the China Task Force for the Producers Guild of America and produces hundreds of episodes of branded digital content. Elizabeth and Emily are featured in the National Women’s History Museum [“From Ideas to Independence: A Century of Entrepreneurial Women”] and are sponsored by/partnered with NIKE, BOWMORE WHISKY, and MICROSOFT.

Seed&Spark is a crowdfunding platform for independent filmmakers. The tools they provide for their users result in a 75% fundraising success rate, twice the average of other platforms. Their partnerships with Netflix, iTunes, Hulu, Amazon, and other premier distribution channels allow their filmmakers to distribute their work across the globe.

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Ridley Scott is currently filming Prometheus sequel Alien: Covenant over in Sydney, Australia, and though it’ll be a while before we see any images or things of that nature, you better believe we’ll be reporting on every tasty little tidbit that comes across our desk. This one comes courtesy of star Michael Fassbender.

Speaking with Australian newspaper Herald Sun, as brought to our attention by the fine folks over at AVP Galaxy, Fassbender teased the overall aesthetic of the film, comparing its visual style to the original Star Wars movies.

“Fassbender is in Sydney, where he’s filming Ridley Scott’s Alien: Covenant, the sci-fi sequel to Prometheus,” wrote the paper. “He’s a big wrap for Scott’s huge physical sets, which he describes as mixing cutting-edge NASA-like technology with ‘an old-school element where things look battered, like the original Star Wars.'”

The actor also teased that android David will be even creepier than before. And we just love creepy Fassbender.

Alien: Covenant hits screens on August 4, 2017.

The cast also includes Billy Crudup, Katherine Waterston, Benjamin Rigby, Demian Bichir, Danny McBride, Jussie Smollett, Amy Seimetz, Carmen Ejogo, and Callie Hernandez.

Specific plot details for the new film are being closely guarded; but it is believed to follow the crew of the colony ship Covenant, bound for a remote planet, who discover what they believe is an uncharted paradise but is, in fact, a dark, dangerous world, the only inhabitant of which is David (Fassbender), the “synthetic” and survivor of the doomed Prometheus expedition.

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Last year we brought you the early details on writer/director Mathieu Turi’s first feature, Hostile; and now we’re back with some casting news on the post-apocalyptic film.

Co-starring will be Brittany Ashworth (The Crucifixion), Grégory Fitoussi (World War Z, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, “Mr Selfridge”), and Javier Botet (the [REC] series, Crimson Peak, Mama).

Turi, who got his start with short films Sons of Chaos and Broken, says, “With Hostile, I want to tell an intense and tragic story. The heart of the script is definitely the human being. It’s something fascinating and, according to me, too often put in the background in horror movies.”

The producers at Full Time Films – Olivier Chateau, Eric Gendarme, and Thomas Lubeau – have teamed up with famous director and producer Xavier Gens (Frontier(s), The Divide). Gens says of the film, “Hostile could be an instant classic. I have found in Mathieu Turi’s script a deep and emotional story, a new look at the genre, and a completely insane and never seen creature. That’s why I want it to be made… Definitely a new talent to watch out for.”

Synopsis:
“My name is Juliette, and I survived the Apocalypse. You think I’m lucky? You’re wrong…”

After a worldwide epidemic, most of the planet’s population is killed. Only a few thousand have survived and are struggling to find food and shelter. But they’re not alone:  They have to hide from strange creatures that go hunting at night.

Juliette, a young woman whose life has taught her to handle things on her own, is the only one in her group to have the guts to go anywhere near cities to find food. But on her way back to the camp one afternoon, she loses control as she’s driving.

She wakes up upside down, stuck in her car with a broken leg, in the middle of the desert, and… IT’S NIGHTTIME.

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