After Dark Films has picked up indie slasher horror "Lumberjack Man" for the revitalized 8 Films To Die For collection. It has been quite awhile since we last heard anything about the film but finally it will get its release date set for October 16th, 2015. Man I am just loving the return of the 8 Films To Die for series! Kind of broke my heart a little when it was discontinued...
"Lumberjack Man" is directed by Josh Bear and stars Michael Madsen, Hector Becerra, Jasmin Carina, Wray Crawford. The story follows the staff of Good Friends Church Camp as they prepare for a spring break filled with "Fun Under the Son". A demon logger rises from his sap boiler to wreak his vengeance and feast on flapjacks soaked in the blood of his victims. Check out the trailer below.
'Forever Knight' pretty much defined vampires as heroes in the early 90's. In a time before 'Buffy' and 'Angel" Nick Knight ruled the night protecting humanity from the supernatural evil that exploited man's vulnerabilities- way before Nick St. James took the premise and updated it for the 21st century.
Anyway fans may get a chance once more to see Knight fighting big bad on the small screen. Word has come out that Dance Macabre Production is currently developing a revamp of the 90’s series 'Forever Knight'. The new, fresher update will still feature Nick Knight on his quest to regain his humanity as P.I turned Homicide Detective. Only this time he will be fighting crime in Pittsburgh, PA. The company's in early stages of casting based on a script by Sean Reynolds. The series will try for a younger audience and go with a much darker tone, but most importantly it will put the vampire back in the cover of darkness.
Sci-fi, action "Hardcore" is directed by Ilya Naishuller and is a unique indie flick that puts you in the hero's perspective with a conceptually styled POV angle. The film stars Sharlto Copley, Danila Kozlovsky, Haley Bennet, and Andrei Dementiev. "Hardcore" will have its world premiere at this year's TIFF festival. You remember nothing. Mainly because you’ve just been brought back from the dead by your wife. She tells you that your name is Henry and congratulations, you’re now a cyborg.
5 minutes later, your wife has been kidnapped and you should probably go get her back. Who’s got her? His name’s Akan (Danila Kozlovsky), he’s just a psychotic megalomaniac with telekinetic powers, and a never-ending army of mercenaries. You’re also in an unfamiliar city of Moscow, Russia and everyone wants you dead. Everyone, except for a mysterious, British fellow called Jimmy (Sharlto Copley). He might be on your side. Good luck Henry. You’re very much likely to need it.
Oh, did I tell you that your battery is quickly running out?
I am loving the new gore rich poster and the international trailer just released for Chilean horror "Sendero". The film is directed by Lucio A Rojas. It stars Andrea García Huidobro, Sofía García, Diego Casanueva, Javiera Hernández, Arielli Gutierrez, Felipe Contreras, Guillermo Alfaro, Francisco Schneider, Daniel Antivilo, Pamela Rojas, Hermán Heyne, Ximena del Solar, Mauricio Rojas, Tomás Vidiella. Ana is a young woman who has just been given a scholarship to study in a foreign country. She decides to celebrate with friends out of the city. On the road, after helping an injured woman, they are kidnapped by a weird family who are working for an organized group belonging to the highest political circles of the region. In their attempt to escape they will be forced to cross all known limits in a fight to survive, even if that means betraying a friend.
Check out the official poster and trailer for sci-fi horror "POD". The film is directed by Mickey Keating and is due out on August 28th through multiple media platforms including digital and theatrical release. "POD" stars Lauren Ashley Carter, Dean Cates, Brian Morvant, Larry Fessenden, and John Weselcouch. I have to say that I love the poster artwork with it's throwback to an 80's alien, creature feature vibe. Judging by the trailer this is definitely one for the collection. It seems thrilling, intense and elevated. After receiving a cryptic message from their war veteran brother, Martin, estranged siblings Ed and Lyla travel up to their isolated family lake house to hold an intervention. But the terror that they encounter within the snowy confines of the ransacked retreat is far beyond anything that they could have possibly anticipated.
Alexander Bakshaev's "The Devil Of Kreuzberg is a trippy dance of melancholia and dreamscape in giallo styled grandiosity. The film stars Ludwig Reuter, Suleyman Yuceer,Naiden Angelov, Justine Assaf, Alexander Bakshaev, and Sandra Bourdonnec. The story revolves around Linda and Jakob and Jakob's best friend Kurt. Jakob is plagued by nightmares of Linda killing him, his friend is a hit man, but not by choice by necessity, Linda is not quite normal either, and Jakob is a writer struggling to keep is small amount of success due to his breakdown. It is all told in a waltz of classic Italian styled crime noir, and art-house expressionism. The official synopsis: Linda and Jakob are happily in love until one night, Jakob begins to have horrific nightmares in which Linda appears as a darkly seductive creature. Tormented by these visions, Jakob asks his best friend Kurt to murder Linda for him, thus beginning a slow descent into madness. Unbeknownst to the two men, Linda is acting under the control of an ancient family curse. Will her love for Jakob overcome the powers of death? Will Kurt give in to his violent urges and kill to protect his friendship? Is there a way to escape the Devil of Kreuzberg? The story is a bit choppy, but if you let the wild, adventurous avant style just carry you through the film you get a pretty good notion at what is happening with these characters. It is a very surreal film filled with creative, odd moments of off beat situations, obscure dialog with an almost complete emotional detachment by the characters. There are also pretty killer scenes that embrace all that is giallo, or Italian noir- which ever you choose , Bakshaev shows his love all that is Eurocentric Avant cinema. The acting is well done, and the cinematography is great. For me personally the soundtrack, especially the instrumental 80's inspired music is the real star of "The Devil Of Kreuzberg". It held the film together and actually made the mix of dreamlike moments of odd behavior, and the thriller scenes with character interactions work nicely together. The film is off beat and there is very little actual horror in the film, but it is all just underground, indie art-film creativeness. Overall I found "The Devil Of Kreuzberg" captivating, and hypnotic. It is very stylized, and heavy on the art-film side as opposed to giallo so a lot of people are not gonna get Alexander Bakshaev's vision here. I for one fill jipped for not knowing about this director earlier on, now I have to go back and watch his earlier works. There is a big play on fantasy, corruption of self, and questioning of emotion and relationships in the story that play out cleverly. The backgrounds and scenes are interesting and add to a more experimental side of avant-garde. There are elements of Warhol and Hugo Ball that echos through inspired concepts clearly meant as an homage to D'amato and Bava. I enjoyed "The Devil Of Kreuzberg" but I admit that it isn't a film that will reach a large fan base beyond the "film as art" crowd.
After Dark Films has added yet another great modern horror to its relaunched 8 Films To Die For collection with "Suspension". Check out the trailer that has just been released for the film below. "Suspension" is directed by Jeffery Lando and stars Ellen MacNevin, Sage Brocklebank, Taylor Russell, Johannah Newmarch, Duncan Ollerenshaw, Connor Fielding, and Chilton Crane. A picked-upon high school girl and her bullying peers are terrorized by an escaped psychotic killer who is more than meets the eye.
It fucking sucks that Roddy Piper is dead. For one with all the remakes, reboots, and revisions, I was hoping for a new installment to "They Live" with him reprising his role. Hell even held out dreams for a TV series adaptation with him in the cast. What got me hoping about those things was the mention of Roddy hitting the blood beasts from beyond in "Portal To Hell", a horror short that pits Piper against Cthulhu.
"Portal To Hell" has now released a teaser for the final Piper project- at least that I am aware of anyway. The film will debut at TIFF but the details are nil as of yet. "Portal To Hell" is directed by Vivieno Caldinelli and co-stars Laura Robinson, Matt Watts, Jordan Todosey, and Millie Davis. Jack (Roddy Piper) is a building superintendent, Jack is a simple man with simple needs. He just wants to be left in peace so that he can get on with reading his book. But the tenants living in his building are always in need of him for something. Fix this, replace that, unblock this toilet. However, when the power goes out in the building the culprit is not a blown fuse or faulty wiring it is two of the tenants who have opened a portal to hell in the basement of the building. If Jack doesn't close the portal and stop Great Cthulhu rising from his watery tomb city then the entire building, no, the entire world will go down the pan.
CW President Mark Pedowitz confirms Steve Mitchell & Craig Van Sickle (creators of “The Pretender”) tasked with creating a television series adapted from the “Friday the 13th” franchise. The series will be a re-imagining of the hockey masked, killing machine Jason Voorhees with a stronger grounding in reality. Described as an elevated crime horror thriller, the new series will the ongoing quest of a detective’s search for his missing brother that is somehow tied to Jason Voorhees, a long thought dead serial killer who has now returned to wreak havoc in the new Crystal Lake. There is gonna be a lot of noise about this one for sure, There was a lot of noise against 'Scream' the series, I for one stayed optimistic, and even though it isn't the same Scream that Wes Craven gave us a lot of his vision and concepts have found their way into the MTV adaptation. I have been enjoying the hell out of it. As for "Friday The 13th" series is concerned, if CW can pass with the level of violence and subject matter that MTV gets by with, or glory to the gods, stations like FX then I think the series will do good if given the chance. And if they have at least two Jason killings an episode, and at least one scene with the lake or campgrounds every two episodes. Make those things paramount and "Friday The 13th" the series will be awesome!
Okay, I have to be honest and up front. I feel stupid! I was born and raised in North Georgia- total boondocks baby. I have lived in Appalachia my whole life, I now live in S.E. KY, and yet I have never heard of the Tailypo, or if I ever had I forgot too long ago to even glimpse a memory of this cryptid. And I freakin' feed off this shit! Always have enjoyed good creature horror stories about mythic and legendary creatures that lurk in the shadows just beyond man's reach. So I am pretty stoked about learning something new and having a new beastie to obsess over getting me at night while I drink and sit by my bonfires!
"Tailypo" is a horror short by Cameron McCasland that brings this creature of the night to life in awesome, "Tales From The Crypt" style. And I should add that he kept his creature design true to the descriptions that permeate the myths surrounding the Tailypo. The short film stars David Chattam, The creature is played by Joseph Aguon Drake, and Jasper (the dog) is played by Ranger. The story revolves around a man who lives in the woods in a cabin who goes out hunting with is best friend- his dog. They spot something, take aim and collect the tail of the creature they shot. After returning home and cooking their meal, the creature returns for its tail! The story is a fun, light-hearted and classic tale with a total 80's horror feel. It is a straight forward telling of the Tailypo legend of a hunter and his dogs encounter with the creature while hunting. The acting is tight with a blend of folksy charm and horror cheese. The kind you want in these. I could really see "Tailypo" as a piece in a horror anthology, actually it gave me the same vibe as when watching "Tales From The Crypt" and "Creepshow". The production value is tight, the sound quality and music is quality and really sets the tone of McCasland's vision. The real highlight for me personally was the creature. It appeared to be 100 percent practical with a blend of costume and puppetry work. Very reminiscent of "Ghoulies" and "Critters" techniques. "Tailypo" really is a fun, creature feature horror short. If you get a chance check it out!
Today, August 13th, is the annual celebration known as Vertumnalia, which in ancient Roman was the day to honor the god of seasonal change, gardens, and plant growth- Vertumnus. Of course most of us just celebrated the start to the harvest season with Lammas which celebrates much of the same aspects of harvest, time of plenty, and the gods of seasons. But if you are like me then you just love a reason to honor and celebrate the gods, the garden, and nature. We are still in summer, food and nature are ripe and bountiful. We all benefit from Gaia's blessings given forth to her children by the will of the gods who watch over and protect us. Anyway that is my interpretation and beliefs for how I embrace Vertumnus on this day!
The Vertumnalia also celebrated the wood nymph Pomona, whom Vertumnus trickedinto talking to him by disguising himself as an old woman and gaining entry to her orchard, then using a narrative warning of the dangers of rejecting a suitor (the embedded tale of Iphis and Anaxarete) to seduce her.Pomona was a goddess of fruitful abundance in ancient Roman religion. Her name comes from the Latin word pomum, "fruit," specifically orchard fruit.
In the myth narrated by Ovid she scorned the love of the woodland gods Silvanus and Picus, but married Vertumnus after he tricked her, disguised as an old woman.She and Vertumnus shared a festival held on August 13. Her priest was called the flamen Pomonalis. The pruning knife was her attribute. There is a grove that is sacred to her called the Pomonal, located not far from Ostia, the ancient port of Rome.
Pomona was the goddess of fruit trees, garden, and orchards. Unlike many other Roman goddesses and gods, she does not have a Greek counterpart, though she is commonly associated with Demeter. She watches over and protects fruit trees and cares for their cultivation. She was not actually associated with the harvest of fruits itself, but with the flourishing of the fruit trees. In artistic depictions she is generally shown with a platter of fruit or a cornucopia.
Prepare for the ultimate nanny
nightmare in the chilling abduction horror
PARA ELISA which will recieve its US DVD/VOD release through
MPI Home Video's Dark Sky Films with a street
date of September 1st 2015.
Directed by Juanra
Fernandez, PARA ELISA tells the story of a student who enters a
terrifying world of misery and obsession when she answers a job advertisement
for a nanny. Held prisoner in a house full of antique toys, she must overcome
her deranged captors or become a living doll.
PARA ELISA recieved its US premiere at
Screamfest LA before travelling the world festival circuit where it's leading
lady, Ana Turpin won Best Actress at Buenos Aires Rojo Sangre Film
Festival.
PARA
ELISA marks the first involvement in a film production by Argentina and
FC Barcelona's soccer superstar Lionel Messi whose cultural support entity The
Messi Foundation helped finance the film.
The crew over at "Lake Runs Red" have released the second character trailer for the upcoming indie slasher. The first trailer featured the menacing and mysterious Bruce character, check it out here:Meet Bruce In Official "Lake Runs Red" trailer. Now meet Gwen.
"Lake Runs Red" is directed by Jason Riesgraf and starsLauren Morris, Kaci Wegleitner, CJ DeVaan, Michael Hertenstein, Helene Donohue, Troy Antoine LaFaye. The film is slated for a 2016 release. Gwen is the cold, aloof, and dispassionate mother desperate to reconnect with her estranged daughter, Lauren. Throughout the events of the film, she quietly finds herself at odds with Melissa, the main protagonist. Two college girlfriends go to their parent's secluded northern Minnesota lake cabin to prepare for final exams. An unexpected visitor stops by. He isn't there to study.
Odessa, by American and Canadian award-winning
team Sean Michael Turrell(director), Doug Johnson(writer/producer), andGrace Santos(actor/producer), has been
officially selected at HOLLYSHORTS and will compete for
the $15,000 cash prize from Zype and $60,000 in post-production services from
Company 3 and Method Studios at the event.
Odessa will
play on Sunday August 16th at 7pm at the TCL Chinese 6 Theaters in
Hollywood The Director, Writer, Cast and Crew will be in attendance.
Odessa is a
quiet and powerful dystopian drama that slowly gives up its secrets. A mother
makes a dangerous and strangely familiar border crossing in order to save her
ailing daughter’s life. But she turns out to be crossing OUT of the US and into
the Sovereign State of Texas, which has seceded from the union and controls most
of the deeply impoverished USA’s petroleum supply.
“The
script delivered a compelling, personal drama, but also touched on the issues of
border security and immigration. Around the same time that I found ‘Odessa’
on inktip.com in June 2013, a
university study was released analyzing the trends and demographics of 2,238
people who died in south central Arizona from 1990 to 2012 after crossing the
border illegally. The study made an observation that stuck with me while reading
‘Odessa’ and comes up again and again in the debates and the news: ‘We’re
missing the point. The answers don’t lie in border security. The answers lie in
understanding the economics [that drive migration]’.”, said producer/actor
Grace Santos.
“The goal
of Odessa is neither to vilify nor sanctify Texas, simply to challenge our own
identity and the far-reaching effects that seismic shifts and partisanship can
have in a new gilded age.”, explains the writer
Doug Johnson.
Apart
from being a stand-alone short, Odessa also serves as a pitch-episode for
a serial drama expanding upon the situations and characters in the
film.
Odessa had a
successful market screening at the Cannes’ Short Film Corner, won
a Remi Award at WorldFest, and won the Grand Jury Award for
Best Short Film at the Gasparilla International Film Festival.
Sean
Turrell (Director), Grace Santos (Actress, Producer), Doug Johnson (Writer,
Producer), Anthony Escobar (Actor), and Ricky Wayne (Actor) will attend the
Q&A after the Hollyshorts screening.
Matchbox
Films and Jinga Films are pleased to announce the UK and Ireland home video
release of Ate De Jong's psycho-sexual thriller DEADLY VIRTUES with a
street date of September 28th 2015.
Edward Akrout
(Sword Of Vengeance) stars as a sadistic home invader who exploits the fragile
relationship of a suburban, middle class couple played byMegan Maczko (The Ninth
Cloud) and Matt Barber (Downton Abbey). His torture of the husband and seduction
of the wife reveals an uncomfortable truth about their marriage and acts as a
catalyst for change.
"Deadly
Virtues" received it's world premiere at FrightFest and went on to screen at
over fifteen festivals including Brussels Fantastic Festival, Fantasporto,
Dublin Horrorthon and Whistler Film Festival in Canada.
Dutch
director Ate De Jong started his career in the 1980's directing several episodes
of the cult TV series Miami Vice before helming several feature films including
Highway To Hell and Drop Dead Fred.
Producers
Elliot Grove and Suzanne Ballantyne are the founding directors of Raindance Film
Festival in London. DEADLY VIRTUES marks their first foray into
production through their Raw Talent label.
