News This is not intended to be comprehensive. It's just somewhere to plug my mates' projects (and mine!) and to pass on any cult movie-related info that is sent to me by PR people or film-makers. 25th June 2008
Waiting for Dawn screening in Stoke
The Stoke-on-Trent Film Theatre, where I spent many a happy hour listening to lecturers during my undergraduate days, will screen new British indie time travel fantasy Waiting for Dawn on 2nd July at 7.45pm. It’s free, so why not pop along and show your support? 25th June 2008
Watch Me coming to US DVD
Japanese-influenced Aussie horror Watch Me is scheduled for a Stateside DVD release on 2nd September through Brain Damage Films. The disc will include an alternate opening, a stills gallery and Melanie Ainsley’s short film Butcher. 11th June 2008
Vampire Diary US release
Vampire Diary hits R1 DVD on 26 August from Monarch. To tie in with this, I’m writing a short feature for Fangoria and have this week interviewed producer Michael Riley, writer/co-director Phil O’Shea and co-director Mark James. I also got some inside info on the forthcoming sequel which will be up on the fangoria.com website soon. 11th June 2008
Reptisaurus website
Check out the new website for Reptisaurus, the debut feature from Christopher Douglas Olen Ray. It’s a deeply cool creature flick starring Buck Rogers. Can’t wait to see this one! 11th June 2008
High Stakes complete
My pal producer Dewi Griffiths reports that “High Stakes is now complete and sharpening its fangs to go out there into the world.” This is the cracking Welsh vampire film that I visited a year or two ago and I can’t wait to see it. More details once I get them. Synopsis, trailer etc at www.highstakesfilms.com 11th June 2008
Film festival news 1 - Italy
The Fearmament European Horror Film Festival takes place in Rivalta di Torino, Italy from 27th June to 3rd July and will include screenings of both James Eaves’ Bane and Ivan Zuccon’s NyMpha. Also lined up is Kim Sonderholm’s Craig, Fabrice Lambot’s Dying God and a Spanish feature called Maldito Bastardo! All this and a Jorg Buttgereit retrospective too, plus short films, music, drama and other stuff. Find out more - in English or Italian - at www.fearmament.com 11th June 2008
Film festival news 2 - Swindon
PhantasmaGoria is ‘the South West’s premiere genre film festival' and is obviously programmed by somebody with the same tastes as me because the line-up includes Julian Richards’ Summer Scars, Steve Lawson’s The Silencer, James Eaves' Bane (for those who missed it in Italy) and a very welcome big screen outing for Jim Groom’s Room 36. Also some weird Asian stuff and a brace of Albert Pyun movies! All this will be at Swindon Arts Centre over 11th-13th July - more info at www.phantasma-goria.co.uk 26th May 2008
Enter your fantastic film in the 19th Festival of Fantastic Films
There is still time to enter your independent or amateur film for this year’s Festival of Fantastic Films, the UK’s longest running SF/horror movie event. The 19th FFF runs from 17th to 19th October 2008 at Day’s Hotel, Sackville Street, Manchester and has some great guests lined up including Emily Booth, Robert Fuest and John Saxon. The entry deadline for both the Independent Films Competition and the Amateur Films Competition is 26th August. Previous winners include The Kingdom of Shadows and Eddie Loves You. Last year The Planet, Kreating Karloff, HellBride and Dreamscape all received commendations. Find out more at http://fantastic-films.com/festival. 26th May 2008
Tempe release Evil Awakening and final Pollonia Brothers movie
The next two releases from Tempe are Evil Awakening and Monster Movie. The former is about a vicious serial killer who once terrorised the small town of Ludlow. The axe-wielding murderer was brought to justice, but according to legend he would one day return for vengeance! For years, the people of Ludlow felt safe... but the bloodbath is about to begin again. Directed by Geno McGahee and Jeremy Weiskotten in 2004, the film stars those two fellows plus Joseph Adams, Matthew Walker Wallace and Decric Howard. The disc includes the original Evil Awakening short film from 1996, a teaser trailer for Rise of the Scarecrows, a music video, a trailer and a commentary. Monster Movie is: Bigger and badder than Cloverfield... more intense than Blair Witch... it's America's most monstrous home movies! Eight rolls of badly damaged 16mm film reveal one of the most bizarre cover-ups in the annals of true-life events. Suppressed from the public, the contents of the film cans unspool, telling the simple documentation of four buddies and their weekend outdoors, but quickly turning into a terrifying menace in the form of strange reptilian lizards. Did they rise from the lake? What was left of the town they trampled underfoot? Could they be tied in to all the disappearances? Don't believe everything you see... experience it! This was the last collaboration between the Pollonia Brothers (Feeders 2, NightThirst, Peter Rottentail, Razorteeth) before John Pollonia’s untimely death in February. The disc features a commentary, deleted scenes, 14-minute Making Of and a 16-minute tribute to John Pollonia. Evil Awakening is released on 19th August, Monster Movie on 16th September. 26th May 2008
Exte: Hair Extensions R2 DVD
Revolver release weirdo Japanese horror flick Exte: Hair Extensions on 14th July, which seems to be a sort of Hair of Orlac: What if hair extensions carried the grudge of the individual to which the hair originally belonged and took this anger out on the hair’s new owner? Exte is a gripping Japanese horror, with a thrilling hirsute twist, starring Chaiki Kuriyama (Kill Bill, Battle Royale), that will be released on DVD on 14th July. A trip to the hairdressers will never be the same again... When the corpse of a dead girl - with all her organs missing - is discovered in a freight truck of human hair, creepy morgue attendant Yamazaki thinks he’s found the perfect opportunity to indulge his fetish for hair and his hatred of women. Once home, however, the corpse begins to sprout hair from every scar; hair that seems to have a murderous mind of its own... On the other side of town, Yuko works as a trainee hairdresser - innocently applying the hair extensions that Yamazaki harvests from the corpse, with unusually bloody consequences. There’s a copy of the film in my To Be Watched pile. Special features are yet to be confirmed. 26th May 2008
Dreamscape teaser trailer
As promised, the teaser trailer for the extended cut of Dreamscape is now available. You can find it on YouTube. Damn good it looks too. 26th May 2008
Vampires of Bloody Island film-makers launch DVD label
Press release: Independent British film distributor Wibbell Productions Ltd has announced the launch of their new niche DVD label 'The Weird World of Wibbell'. With a very clear identity right from the start, the new label is set to specifically target cult, horror and science fiction feature films (or so called B-movies), short film compilations and some 'very odd' special interest documentaries. Wibbell's 'Head of Weirdness', Content Manager, Allin Kempthorne explained: "Wibbell are the new weird kids in town! We're the freaks, the nerds, the geeks and the weirdoes. We're the travelling freak show and the vampires castle! We're seriously into the so-called 'cult' or 'B-Movie' areas of Horror, Sci-Fi and Nostalgia, as are our huge potential audiences here in the UK and around the world. The followers of these genres care about them passionately and have an insatiable appetite for quality genre films. We at Wibbell aim to supply those films! We also want to unearth some of the enormous new film-making talent that is emerging on the independent scene outside of the established film industry. We know through our own experience as film-makers ourselves that there are many great independent films that just can't punch through the Hollywood stranglehold on the worlds film markets. We aim to find the best of those films within the ‘cult’ genres and help get them out in front of the audiences they so richly deserve." 'The Weird World of Wibbell' launches this Summer with the UK release of their first film title, the jaw-droppingly funny independent British Vampire Comedy The Vampires of Bloody Island, already being hailed by the press as 'a new cult classic' and ‘doing for vampire films what Shaun of the Dead did for zombies!’ The Vampires of Bloody Island stars up and coming 'Scream Queen' Pamela Kempthorne as the evil and scheming vampiress Morticia de'Ath. The film is set on an abandoned island off the Cornish coast which has become home for demons and vampires, and also stars Oliver Gray, John Snelling and Leon Hamilton. The soundtrack to the film includes songs by such giants of the Goth-Rock scene as The Suburban Vamps (from the USA), Theatres des Vampires (from Italy), Fever (from Portugal) and Britain's Premier Pagan Rock band, Inkubus Sukkubus - all names which are very familiar to their enormous international fan bases in the Goth music scene. Following The Vampires of Bloody Island, 'The Weird World of Wibbell' has a catalogue of several other DVD releases scheduled for over the next 12 months, showcasing the work of new emerging directors in the cult/horror/sci-fi genres, plus some very old nostalgic treats. Releases will be initially in the UK and Irish markets while Wibbell forges relationships to release their titles world-wide. Allin Kempthorne concludes "We aim to establish 'The Weird World of Wibbell' as a new name in weirdness for British B-Movie enthusiasts. We welcome interaction with our audience and have an active newsletter group which we encourage everyone to join on our website at www.wibbell.co.uk." 26th May 2008
Completely brilliant zombie convention lined up for September!
ZombieCon, the UK’s first ever zombie convention, takes place at the Quality Hotel, Bentley, Walsall over 5th-7th September 2008. It promises to be two and a half days and two long nights of all the zombie related fun, frolics and sickness you can handle: demonstrations, workshops, talks, games, masquerade and discos. The event is being run by zombie fans, who have been involved with zombie live role playing and love all things zombie: games, movies, books and comics. ‘A Weekend of Blood Filled Madness with all the Flesh Curdling Shambling Horror you could wish for!’ Professionals attending include: - Charlie Adlard: comic artist on the acclaimed Walking Dead series
- Stuart Conran: prosthetic/special effects make-up artist on Shaun of the Dead, Grindhouse and Braindead
- David Devereux: author, exorcist, ex-mortician and expert in the paranormal
- John McCrea: comic artist on Hitman including Zombie Night at Gotham Aquarium
- Robert Rankin: author of Necrophenia and The Brightonomicon
Some of the planned events include: - Zombie makeup and prosthetic demonstrations by film make-up artists followed by hands-on workshops! (We have a room dedicated to make-up and costuming for the whole weekend allowing you to take advantage of the facilities therein whenever you feel the need to add a little gore or touch up your peeling flesh.)
- Talks and discussions on all things zombie, undead-related, or just downright... weird.
- A number of fun, silly and potentially life-threatening games such as Mall Mania, BrainStomping and Whack-A-Corpse! along with some more sedate ones such as the Zombies! board game.
- Two themed discos: ‘Prom Night’ and ‘Dead Can’t Dance’
- We will also have zombie short films shown and discussed with film directors and zombie experts!
Stefan Lancaster and James Bacon, the lunatics behind ZombieCon, have been responsible for some of the most memorable SF conventions of recent years including Alien Stole My handbag, They Came and Shaved Us and Damn Fine Con (NB. these were not boring ‘sit around listening to actors’ conventions or boring ‘sit around l;istening to authors’ conventions). They are being assisted by Zombe Ed, the chap behind the Terror4Fun website and Day of the Undead event. To find out more e-mail info@zombiecon.co.uk or visit www.zombiecon.co.uk 26th May 2008
A Day of Violence promo trailer - ouch!
Darren Ward reports that the promo trailer for A Day of Violence “went down a storm” at Cannes and that he has just a few scenes left to shoot. The trailer is available to view on MySpace and it would be remiss of me not to warn you that it is extremely violent and features a shot from particularly unpleasant castration scene. 18th May 2008
Fantastic line-up for Fantastic Films Weekend
The 7th Fantastic Films Weekend at the National Media Museum in Bradford is only a month away. Over 13th-15th June, Tony Earnshaw and his colleagues present a terrific array of old and new films including The Mist, Grindhouse, An American Werewolf in London, The Most Dangerous Game, Hell’s Ground, Vampire Diary, the first Hammer Dracula, And Now the Screaming Starts, Cat People, Vigilante, Savage Streets and documentaries on Val Lewton and William Castle. Plus 70mm screenings of Outland, Poultergeist, Terminator 2 and The Thing (with a specially recorded video introduction from Carpenter himself). Guests include Robert Fuest introducing both Dr Phibes movies; Harry Kumel introducing Malpertuis and Daughters of Darkness; Piers Haggard and screenwriter Robert Wynne-Simmons introducing Blood on Satan’s Claw; and Peter Duffel introducing The House That Dripped Blood. All this plus TV shows, short films and I am Legend in IMAX with a six-minute Dark Knight preview as support. Find out more at the FFW’s website. Wish I was going. 18th May 2008
Dreamscape extended cut on the way
Daniel J Fox’s PK Dickian SF thriller Dreamscape, which I originally reviewed in a 63-minute version, has been extended to a 90-minute cut. Dan is busy on post-production at the moment but has found time to revamp the Dreamscape website with a whole load of new stuff. A teaser trailer for the extended cut should go on-line this Wednesday (21st) with more photos and other stuff added to the site over the coming weeks. And all this isn’t enough to stop Dan from developing his next feature which he tells me will be a monster movie. Cool. 9th May 2008
Two films premiering in Florida in June
If you’re in the vicinity of the University of South Florida on 7th June you can see the world premiere of two new films (in Hall BEH103 at 6pm). Alarum is a short directed by Rick Danford, starring Joel D Wynkoop (Creep, Dirty Cop No Donut) and Krista Grotte. Grotte and Danford - who worked together on The Reaper and The Nightmare Collection - wrote the script, Playboy photographer Bo Hitchcock handled the camera and the music is by Mark D’Errico (Minds of Terror). Savaged is a feature by Jason Liquori (All Wrapped Up) starring the ever-popular Debbie Rochon. 9th May 2008
Lou Vockell turns Vagrant
The new film from Lou Vockell (Stalking Hand) is a bit of a departure from his usual light-hearted T&A fright-fun. Vagrant is “a no holds barred rollercoaster ride of homicide”; basically, a gang of bad-uns hide in a derelict house with a much-abused female hostage but the building already has an occupant and he’s not happy. Written by Charlie Vargas (Hammerhead), the film stars Randall Morris. You can see some stills at the film’s website and read an interview with Lou about the film on fangoria.com. 9th May 2008
Two new features from Steve Balderson
My pal Steve Balderson is back behind the camera with a brand new feature film - and the third instalment in his series of behind-the-scenes documentaries. After the slightly disappointing documentary Underbelly (which I haven’t reviewed because, although I’ve seen it twice, neither version was the finished cut) Steve returns to narrative cinema with Watch Out. The film began shooting (in Wamego, Kansas of course!) in March and is now in post-production. Adapted from Joseph Suglia’s novel, Watch Out is the story of Jonathan Barrows, a man who falls in love with himself, literally. He is attracted to his own body, carries out an erotic relationship with a blow-up doll that resembles him, and takes pleasure in rejecting the advances of his many admirers, both male and female. He descends into a world of carnivorous priests and Prozac-popping Polish prostitutes and eventually assassinates the world's most popular pop-diva. "You strange creatures," Barrows declares, "you are nothing more to Me than a meal at the fast-food restaurant of life." But who will end up being devoured? (It says here.) Matt Riddlehoover stars as Jonathan, supported by the likes of Peter Stickles (Evilution, Meat Weed America), Jeff Dylan Graham (Witchcraft XI, Dead and Rotting, Dorm of the Dead) and of course Amy Kelly from Pep Squad and Firecracker. The whole story of the movie, from script to screen, is documented in... The Wamego Ultimatum! Find out more at www.watchoutfilm.com 9th May 2008
At last, a British superhero film!
My old mate KD Barker (Kingdom) dropped me a line to let me know that he has just completed his new sci-fi comedy Catalina: A New Kind of Superhero. This effects-filled tale of the world’s first transvestite superhero stars Nathan Lubbock Smith (who had a small role in Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets) with George McCluskey (Minefields, Nine to Five, Taken), Laura Martin, Gemma Head and Cleone Cassidy. You can watch a trailer and two teaser trailers - and read a synopsis - at the Water on the Rock website. 9th May 2008
Danish serial killer flick on DVD
Directed by and starring Kim Sønderholm, Craig is: “the story of a young quiet man turning serial killer in despair - an artsy horror slasher with depth and atmosphere, drama, blood, murder, a dark underworld with plenty of gorgeous undressed women on the way.” The supporting cast includes Russ Diaper (Deadly Pursuit), Peter Ottesen (Last Exit) and Lloyd Kaufman as the god inside Craig's mind. Craig is now available on region-free DVD from www.craigthemovie.com with a two-disc version released in a couple of weeks that will include a feature-length Making Of and other goodies. A German language version is scheduled for June. 9th May 2008
When Evil Calls UK DVD
Johannes Roberts sent me the sleeve for the R2 DVD release of When Evil Calls, out from Sony on 16th June. The movie’s website is www.whenevilcalls.tv 
5th May 2008
Gay Usher in cinemas!
The second in David DeCoteau’s series of Poe adaptations for the gay-themed TV channel here!, House of Usher, has somewhat unexpectedly been lined up for a US theatrical release from 9th May. You can check out the trailer here and my interview with DeCoteau about the film here. Dave’s next Poe picture will be The PIt and the Pendulum. 5th May 2008
Jake West in the Doghouse
Check out the website for Jake West’s next picture Doghouse, a battle-of-the-sexes horror comedy which should go into production this summer. The ‘trailer’ section of the site is actually a great ten-minute mini-documentary in which Jake, Bob Keen and Emily Booth explain what the film will be like. I’m planning a whole load of new stuff on this site connected with Jakey-boy and his films so stay tuned. 5th May 2008
Colour from the Dark - new trailer
Ivan Zuccon dropped me a line to confirm that he is hard at work finishing off Colour from the Dark and that the film will definitely be ready in October. In the meantime, a new trailer is available to view on the Fangoria website. 5th May 2008
Feral Generation premiere, Beautiful Outsiders cast and crew
Andrew Jones’ powerful and gritty The Feral Generation has its long awaited premiere as part of the Swansea Life Film Festival on 4th June where it is up against The Witches Hammer and Summer Scars for Best UK Feature Film. It has also been nominated for Best Wales-Based Production. Meanwhile, Andrew has assembled an amazing cast for The Beautiful Outsiders which should shoot later this year. As well as horror icons Doug Bradley (Hellraiser), David Hess (Last House on the Left) and Giovanni Lombardo Radice (Cannibal Apocalypse, A Day of Violence), he has got the voice of Chucky himself, Brad Dourif, plus Tara Reid from Uwe Boll’s Alone in the Dark and the hilariously awful Incubus. Also attached are Sarah Barrand (Footballers’ Wives), Adam Deacon (Wilderness, Kidulthood), Claire King (Bad Girls, Cold Light of Day) and John Fallon, who has something in common with both Reid and Dourif. He was in Alone in the Dark and he was the voice of a doll in a horror movie - in this case, the ‘Looney doll’ in Freak Out. Then there’s Cyril Nri (Long Time Dead, Talos the Mummy, The Bill), Ari Gill (Zombies of the Night, Call Me a Psycho), Mark Gilvary (Puritan) and Sarah Lloyd (Footsteps, also in Andrew’s first film Teenage Wasteland) plus Hess’ Last House co-star Marc Sheffler and Michael Douglas’ son Cameron! Behind the camera, Andrew will be working with top cinematographer Phil Parmet (Halloween remake, Cyborg 3), production designer Kay Brown (Torchwood), make-up artist Sheelagh Wells (Doctor Who, Blake’s 7) and editor Ian Grey (The Feral Generation). 25th April 2008
The Horror Vault - nine stories in one film
Kim Sønderholm sent me details of his film The Horror Vault which has been in the works for well over two years and is just released this week. Inspired by the likes of Creepshow, Tales from the Crypt and Masters of Horror, this Anglo-American-Danish-Auddie anthology is compiled from nine short films as follows: - ‘When John Met Julia’: a modern twist on Romeo and Juliet, except everything goes a bit wrong... for poor John anyway. Written and directed by Kim Sønderholm, starring Claire Ross-Brown (Craig, Speak of the Devil) and Kim Sønderholm (Rovdrift).
- ‘Delusion’: a black and white, ‘50s-style of horror drama, directed by Mark Machillo, starring Jonaton Trent (Alone with Her, Slaughter), Heather Tom (The Bold and The Beautiful, The Young and The Restless).
- ‘Alone’: a story about being all alone in a sorority house on a dark night. Written and directed by Kenny Selko, featuring Mandy Amano (Ghosts of Goldfield, Coyote Ugly), Jerod Edington (Ghost Month) and Guy Nardulli (Jekyll).
- ‘Mental Distortion’: a story about Pete, waking on on his floor, about to do a gruesome find. Directed by and starring Kim Sønderholm with Maja Muhlack (Rovdrift, Westbrick Murders) and Barbara Zatler (Craig, Rovdrift).
- ‘Dead to the World’: English actor and director Russ Diaper (Deadly Pursuit, The Demon Within) takes a stab at the Ted Bundy legend from a new perspective, with Paul Kelleher (Meatcleaver Massacre, Bane) and Joyia Fitch (The Last Hangman).
- ‘Disconnected’: a black and white little threat of the absurd - dark humor and crude and explicit torture mixed in one. Directed by David Boone and Josh Card.
- ‘Echoes’: a man wakes up, tied to a bed in what seems to be a nursing home, knowing little of what is going on. Directed by Gabriel Dowrick (Nailed).
- ‘The Demon’: a man, chased by his own ghosts and desires, picks up a young pretty woman hitchhiking at the side of the road, coming seemingly from nowhere. Or is she? Directed by Thomas Steen Soerensen.
- ‘Retina’: a black and white and extremely absurd and nihilistic story about... well - you're the audience - you decide! Directed by by JP Wenner starring Rachel Grubb (The Monster of Phantom Lake, Cave Women on Mars) and Heather Amos.
You can find out more and order the film from www.thehorrorvault.net.  25th April 2008
Deadly Pursuit completed
Russ Diaper (see above) recently completed his thriller Deadly Pursuit, starring Kim Sønderholm (see above) and sent me this poster. Expect a review soonish.
12th April 2008
Summer Scars and Bane at LIFF
Julian Richards’ Summer Scars and James Eaves’ Bane are both screening at the London Independent Film Festival next week. Julian’s film is on at 7.45pm on Monday 14 April, followed by a Q&A and the festival’s opening night party, and Jim’s is on at 2pm on Thursday 17th April. I have been sent the first screener of Bane and hope to have a review on-line this weekend. 12th April 2008
The Cellar Door on R2 DVD
Revolver release psychological horror movie The Cellar Door on R2 DVD on 26th May (rrp. £12.99). Directed by Matt Zettell (1st AD on Gacy and Monster Man), it stars James DuMont and Michelle Tomlinson. The DVD includes interviews with the lead actors plus cinematographer Skye Borgman and editor Franklin Peterson. Find out more on the film’s website. 12th April 2008
JR Bookwalter presents Poison Sweethearts
Press release: Tempe Video is proud to introduce the first collaboration between executive producer JR Bookwalter (Ozone, Witchouse 3) and the directing team of The Campbell Brothers (The Red Skulls) with Poison Sweethearts, a throwback to the '60s style of grindhouse cinema. The first in a new series of Tempe originals lensed in HD! On the depraved streets of Cleveland, young women are dealt hard lives. Trudging through days of filth, poverty and crime, they do what they can to survive. Women backed against a wall - mistreated and abused - now, see them strike back with horrifying vengeance! A beautiful dame forced to sell her body for her pimp. A sweet 16-year-old girl starved for affection who turns to a pair of smooth-talking breakdancers she meets in the park. The kitten who sacrifices her freedom to care for her drunken, degenerate father. Witness these blood-soaked stories and more in a cautionary tale of what happens when innocent women are pushed too far! It’s released on 15th July, priced at $24.99. 12th April 2008
Monster from Bikini Beach
I don’t know anything about Monster from Bikini Beach except that it’s about a giant mutant catfish and it’s screening in Sacramento on 2nd, 3rd, 9th and 10th May. Check here for details and pictures. 12th April 2008
Brain Damage new releases and trailer
Brain Damage Films has four new titles hitting shelves on 6th May for a kibblesworth under ten bucks each: David R Williams’ Frightworld, Bill Zebub’s (!) Kill the Scream Queen, Kirk Bowman’s Bloodsucking Babes from Burbank and Neil Johnson’s To Become One. You can see a censored (for nudity) trailer for BDF’s own forthcoming production Death Factory: Bloodletting on YouTube. 12th April 2008
Pickman goes to Rio
PIckman’s Model has been selected to play at the RioFan festival in Brazil, which runs from 30th April to 11th May. There’s some sort of Lovecraft theme to the programme and also a retrospective of Coffin Joe’s films but for more information you will need to (a) check the website and (b) be able to read Portuguese. 12th April 2008
Man Who Sold the World screening in London
There is a screening of Man Who Sold the World at the Candid Arts Trust in Islington on Tuesday 15th April. The film is on at 7.00pm and director Louis Melville is doing a Q&A afterwards. 9th April 2008
When Evil Calls R2 date
Johannes Roberts' When Evil Calls (not to be confused with Evil Calls) will be released in the UK on 16th June by Sony. 9th April 2008
Poultrygeist screenings in the UK
Lloyd Kaufman’s Poultrygeist is touring the UK. Unfortunately you’ve just missed the screening in Northampton but you can cath it at Leicester Phoenix on 18th April (find me in the bar!), the the Newcastle-upon-Tyne Empire on 2nd and 3rd May and at the Aberystwyth Arts Centre on 16th May. 9th April 2008
Conor Timmis mania hits South Wales!
Visitors to the Swansea Life Film Festival which runs from 31st May to 7th June will get a double dose of Conor Timmis as both Kreating Karloff and Pickman’s Model have been selected for screening. The festival will also show Summer Scars and The Witches Hammer. 9th April 2008
Troll 2 film-making contest!
News release: Filmmakingfrenzy.com, a popular website for hosting filmmaking competitions, has launched a contest seeking the best Troll 2 inspired film. The competition, open to everyone, will give fans the opportunity to honor their favorite film, Troll 2, by creating a short film (up to five minutes in length). All films must be inspired by or be an homage to Troll 2. The top 10 films will be chosen by online voting at filmmakingfrenzy.com and will be screened for audiences at the upcoming Nilbog Invasion Event, a weekend long Troll 2 festival hosted by Austin’s Alamo Drafthouse. The Nilbog Invasion event takes place June 27-29 in Morgan, Utah, the original filming location for Troll 2. The winning film will be selected by Michael “Joshua” Stephenson, Troll 2 lead actor and director/writer of Best Worst Movie, the upcoming feature length Troll 2 documentary. The winner will receive an all expense paid VIP trip to attend Nilbog Invasion where they will meet with the cast and crew of Troll 2 and enjoy VIP access to screenings, panels and more. For more information on this contest visit this link. To get started filmmakers only need access to a camera and lots of creativity. To register competitors can log on now to http://www.filmmakingfrenzy.com to create an account (membership is free). Important Dates:
Submit your video on Filmmakingfrenzy.com now until 5:00 CST May 15, 2008
Voting for 10 finalists begins: April 15, 2008
Voting ends: May 15, 2008
Winner announced: May 18, 2008 25th March 2008
The Hammer - indie boxing comedy
I don’t think there are any other sports comedies on this site but if a funny film about boxing is what you’re after, check out The Hammer, directed by and starring Adam Carolla that has been called "pure comic gold" (Village Voice), "hilarious" (Howard Stern), "strong crowd pleaser" (Variety) and "delightfully funny" (Hollywood Reporter). Ebert and Roper gave it ‘two thumbs up’ and put it on their ‘three to see’ list. Apparently Eli Roth thinks it’s great too. I can’t claim to know much about the film but they asked me to give it a plug and I’m always happy to mention indie productions that take the time to contact me. Find out more at www.thehammermovie.com 25th March 2008
Funny Games artwork
Here’s the UK poster for Funny Games. There’s a website for the film at www.funnygamesthemovie.co.uk which has the trailer (various sizes and formats), screensavers, competition etc - although it really needs a ‘skip intro’ button. Other than that, I don’t know much about this to be honest, except that it’s a remake, by the same director, of a notoriously nasty Austrian film from about ten years ago.  25th March 2008
Would you believe... a martial arts film from Chile?
Revolver release the first ever Chilean martial arts feature on R2 on 5th May. Kiltro is “a romantic action epic, starring legendary stuntman Marko Zaror, as Zamir, a two-fisted street fighter who is in love with the beautiful Kim (Caterina Jadresic), whom he once saved from a brutal assault. When Kim’s father, who runs a local Tae Kwon Do school, is confronted by a villain from his past, Zamir vows to protect his beloved and her father - but first he must travel to a remote desert for spiritual and physical training by an aging fight master, a violent gangster out to avenge the killing of his mother.” How brilliant does that sound? I have a screener of Kiltro on the To Be Watched pile and will get a review up as soon as I can. 25th March 2008
Two new creature features
I am indebted to Avery Guerra for alerting me to two new low-budget creature features. Serpent Lake is a sort-of-Nessie movie set in Minnesota, directed by Joel Trujillo who previously helmed some Romero-esque zombie films - find out more at jftproductions.com Birth of a Legend: The Story of the Wawa is also about a lake monster although this one is in Alabama and seems, from the trailer, to concentrate more on sexy chicks than the creature itself. You can find out more and order a copy at birthofalegend.com. Please note that I haven’t seen either of these and don’t know anyone involved so I’ve no idea if they’re any good but I’ll happily give ‘em a plug. 25th March 2008
Mr McKinley rides again
David Lilley and Stephen Gray (The Hand) recently shot the follow-up to their marvellous silent micro-short Fate and Mr McKinley. They have also completed their Victorian post-apocalypse short Vespers, which I can’t wait to see. Next up is a second outing for Lucy Spook, last seen in The Birthday Wish. Find out about all of Dave and Steve's projects at www.loonatikanddrinks.com  25th March 2008
New British vampire feature - Blood and Roses
Blood and Roses is a new low-budget British vampire film currently in post-production. Directed by Simon Aitken (Good Cop/Dead Cop), it stars Marysia Kay who is fast becoming a regular name on this site with roles in Hardcore, Forest of the Damned, When Evil Calls and Colour from the Dark. Written by Ben Woodiwiss (who was in Citizen Toxie, apparently!), the film was photographed by Richard J Wood (Stag Night of the Dead) and features prosthetics by Brendan Lonergan who has worked on the likes of Troy, The Mummy and Resident Evil. You can see the trailer for Blood + Roses (as the typography has it) on YouTube, find out more about the people behind the movie at independentrunnings.com and bookmark the not-really-anything-there-yet website at www.bloodandrosesmovie.com
12th March 2008
Steve Lawson short on YouTube
Dead Lane, a short horror thriller which Steve Lawson made before Insiders is now available to view on YouTube. Steve has cut it up into three parts which you can watch here, here and here. I’m not in this one although I was actually working alongside Steve at the time in the offices of East Midlands Arts Board. 12th March 2008
Watch Eddie Loves You online
The absolutely wonderful Eddie Loves You is now available to download in its entirety from the Darkline Entertainment website. Karl Holt reports that ‘legal problems’ hindered the film’s distribution, presumably because Eddie is actually, you know, Elmo. 12th March 2008
David Winning’s latest - Swamp Devil
David Winning reports that his muddy-tree-monster-thing movie Swamp Devil is now on the RHI Video on Demand website (“it’s the new world”) along with his previous picture, killer bee flick Black Swarm. You can see trailers for both films on the site. If you fancy catching Swamp Devil (which stars Bruce Dern) on the big screen, it’s playing at the Houston Film Festival on 17 April and Dern himself will be in attendance to pick up an award. Here’s the synopsis: The southern bogs are among the most amazing of all the habitats on Earth, a mile-wide slow-moving river of grass and decay, home to an amazing array of wildlife. Some wilder than others. Responding to a call that her estranged father, Howard, is dying, Melanie Blaime returns home to the nearly deserted small southern town of Gibbington. Once there, her friend, Jimmy Fulle, comes clean with the truth: Melanie’s father is not dying but rather on the run and in hiding from charges that he murdered a teenage girl in the swamps—the latest in a string of grisly slayings. But when the sheriff is attacked and killed, it is clear that the culprit is someone, or something else. And there’s something funny about that swamp… If a foul vine-choked mass of mud and earth rises from a swamp and no one’s around to hear it, does it make a sound? Swamp Devil will let you know. 12th March 2008
Dreamscape director podcast
Daniel J Fox discusses Dreamscape in a podcast recently added to the Sci-Fi Talk website. You can listen to it here. 12th March 2008
Making of Bane and The Witches Hammer - online
James Eaves reports that he is very close to finishing his hotly anticipated sci-fi/horror movie Bane and there are now four Making of Bane ‘webisodes’ on YouTube here, here, here and here. There is also a bunch of Making of The Witches Hammer webisodes on-line: Out-takes, Main Challenges, Sound Design, Weapons, Stephanie Beacham, Casting Rebecca, Steve’s Cameos and Fighting. 19th February 2008
Delta Film Award - call for entries
Entries are now being invited for the 2008 Delta Film Award, presented to the best amateur movie screened at the 19th Festival of Fantastic Films, Manchester, 17th-19th October. Material submitted should fall into the broad categories of science fiction, fantasy and/or supernatural horror. The closing date is 26th August. All finalists will be offered a one-day membership to represent their film. Entry form here. 18th February 2008
Underbelly US premiere
Steve Balderson’s belly-dancing documentary will receive its US premiere at the Boston Underground Film Festival on 23rd March, four days after it screens in London. Tickets on sale soon. More info at UnderbellyMovie.com. 13th February 2008
Ferryman finally makes it to UK DVD
That rather good body-jumping horror The Ferryman, which was originally announced for UK DVD release last year, finally hits the shops on 17th March. The disc includes deleted and alternate scenes; 'On the Set: Walkabout with Tamer Hassan'; 'Improvisation with John Rhys-Davies'; bloopers and out-takes; original casting audition tapes; 'Behind the Scenes of The Ferryman'; and a trailer. 13th February 2008
A Day of Violence - new art
Here’s the latest artwork for Darren Ward’s A Day of Violence, the title of which has now been abbreviated to... 
13th February 2008
Pickman's Model DVD details
Here’s the DVD sleeve for the new short film based on HP Lovecraft’s 'Pickman’s Model'. As well as the 19-minute film itself, the disc includes a commentary with actor Conor Timmis, writer Justin Iacchi and director Gary Fierro; a Making Of documentary; a featurette on make-up artist Norman Bryn (who has recently been working on Cloverfield); a trailer; a slideshow of production photos; and an ‘interactive’ version of the original story. I’ll be putting a review on the site just as soon as my copy arrives. 
13th February 2008
Latest film from the Planet team
One Day Removals, the new black comedy from the makers of The Planet, is finished. There’s a website here and the Aberdeen Evening Express has scored the first review. 27th January 2008
Rondos voting open
The nominations for this year’s Rondo Awards have been announced and you have until 8th March to get your votes in. Frankensteins Bloody Nightmare, which is up for Best Independent Production on DVD, is almost much the only thing anywhere on the ballot that I can claim any familiarity with. Once again, this site has been cruelly overlooked for the Best Website or Blog award... 27th January 2008
Summer Scars world tour
After winning Best Actor at Austin Fantastic Fest and being nominated Best UK Feature at London's Raindance, Julian Richards' latest feature Summer Scars has carved out a gruelling schedule for Spring 2008, including screenings at: - Oxford Film Festival, Mississippi - Feb 6th to 10th
- Fantasporto, Portugal - Feb 25th to March 9th
- Bradford International Film Festival, UK - Feb 29th to March 15th
- Malmo Film Festival, Sweden - March 11th to 15th
- Cine Excess, London - March 21st to 24th
- Philadelphia Film Festival - April 3rd to 15th
- London Independent Film Festival April 23rd to 27th
- Swansea Bay Film Festival, Wales - May 31st to June 7th
Next week Julian will be attending the European Film Market at the Berlin Film Festival where he is looking to close a North American distrubution deal for Summer Scars. "We have been selected for 21 festivals since September 2007 and the positive reaction Summer Scars is receiving from festival audiences is attracting the attention of distributors worldwide,” he says. “We have been approached by several North American companies, so I'm hoping to have something concrete to report after Berlin." 27th January 2008
Chris Ray debut feature: Reptisaurus!
Christopher Douglas-Olen Ray, director of cracking gangster short Time of My Life, has just wrapped principal photography on his debut feature, Reptisaurus. Featuring a cool-looking CGI monster, this is loosely based on an old comic-book which actually started life as a Reptilicus spin-off then changed its title after two issues. Chris’ dad Fred is helping a little with effects and post-production, the producer is David Sterling (Camp Blood I and 2) and the cast includes Cal Wein (Dead End Falls, The Vanquisher) and Buck Rogers himself, Gil Gerard (who worked with Fred Olen Ray on Mom, Can I Keep Her?, Fugitive Mind, Air Rage and Nuclear Hurricane). 21st January 2008
Underbelly world premiere in London
Steve Balderson's belly-dancing documentary Underbelly is to have its first UK screening at the Renderyard International Film Festival in London on 19th March. 21st January 2008
New spooky short
Martin Pavey (who recently worked on the soundtrack of the Pakistani zombie feature Hells Ground) is about to start work on a new short ghost film with the working title Prelude. Directed and produced by Martin from a script by Andy Davie, the film stars Sara Dee (Witchcraft X, Demon Hunter, Room 36) and Simon James Morgan (Man Who Sold the World, Seed of Chucky). The DoP will be Sam Montague, whose work as a TV camera-man includes The X Factor and The Apprentice! 21st January 2008
Mark Redfield interviews Caroline Munro
Caroline Munro (The Spy Who Loved Me, Captain Kronos: Vampire Hunter - oh come on, you know who Carline bloody Munro is!) will co-star with Mark Redfield in Mark's forthcoming feature The Madness of Frankenstein. Meanwhile, an interview between Mark and Caroline is now available to read on the Redfield Arts website. 16th January 2008
Bouff to attend FFF!
The first three guests for this year's Festival of Fantastic Films have been announced and one of them is Emily Booth, star of Evil Aliens, Pervirella, Cradle of Fear and other cult classics. Bouff should prove a popular draw, as indeed will the other two announced guests, Dr Phibes director Robert Fuest and composer John Scott. The FFF is in Manchester, as always, over 17th-19th October. 16th January 2008
Hatchet game online
The UK website for Hatchet - out on DVD on 28th January - has got a game where you have to chop down a door with an axe without whacking the bloke behind it. Far too complicated for me but if you're good at that sort of thing you could win a Nintendo Wii. 11th January 2008
Creature FX exhibition in London in February
Tristan Versluis and chums are organising Monster Mash, a two-day exhibition of creature and make-up effects in London over the weekend of 9th-10th February. It’s at The Old Sail Factory, 11 West India Dock Road, runs from 10am to 4pm on both days and admission is three quid. No details yet on precisely who/what will be there but we’re promised “a multimedia exhibition including art, sculpture, creature design, animatronics, short films and much much more.” Find out more at the MySpace page. 11th January 2008
Red Princess Blues Animated on-line for just one month
Red Princess Blues Animated: The Book of Violence, the seven-minute anime-style prologue to the forthcoming live-action feature by Alex Ferrari (Broken, Cyn), is available to view online but only for 30 days (from 7th January, which is when the announcement went out). You can watch it here. 11th January 2008
Watch a trailer for Steve Balderson's belly-dancing documentary
Steve Balderson (Pep Squad, Firecracker, Wamego) has been busy filming a documentary feature about belly-dancing, Underbelly, the trailer for which is now available to view on the Dikenga site. The DVD will be released in March but you can pre-order it from Steve now. 11th January 2008
Wrestlemaniac R2 DVD
Wrestlemaniac will be released in the USA by Anchor Bay on 11th March. Whereas the UK disc from Revolver was completely vanilla, the R2 release will have a trailer, a Making Of featurette and a commentary by director Jesse Baget, cinematographer Tabbert Filler and actor Adam Huss. One week later, Anchor Bay release The Lost which stars Robin Sydney. 11th January 2008
Day of Violence teaser trailer
A one-minute teaser trailer for Darren Ward's A Day of Violence is now avilable to watch on the Giallo Films MySpace page. 5th January 2008
Room 36 coming to DVD
Yesterday I met up with director Jim Groom and composer/cameraman Scott Benzie to shoot an interview for the forthcoming DVD of Room 36. The film will be released in the UK around about Easter and will include two documentaries, one on the making of the film and one on its tortuous, 14-year journeyof post-production and release. Most of the surviving cast and crew are participating.  5th January 2008
Forest of the Damned special edition - in Germany
Johannes Roberts (who I bumped into at a cinema bar last November) sent me the cover of the forthcoming German' special edition' of his film Forest of the Damned, which stars Shaun Hutson, Tom Savini, Nicole Petty and Marysia Kay.
Jo says: "Forest of the Damned has become incredibly successful in Germany. They are releasing a special edition DVD with metal casing later this year. I’m not sure of the other differences but I thought you’d like to see this anyhow. It’s picking up a massive cult following there." 5th January 2008
Grindhouse day at Leicester Phoenix
Next Saturday, Leicester Phoenix Arts has a 'Grindhouse Day', kicking off with a rare big-screen showing of Basket Case, followed by both halves of the Tarantino/Rodriguez Grindhouse double feature, Death Proof and Planet Terror. There will also be original grindhouse trailers and adverts with the whole event running almost non-stop from 4.30pm to around midnight, 12 quid all in. (There's an unrelated but equally fab treat earlier in the day with Jason and the Argonauts screening at 2pm.) 5th January 2008
Minds of Terror clips on-line
Chris Mackey has posted three 'Making of Minds of Terror' clips on YouTube. Making Of, Part 1 is a six-minute sequence with clips from two earlier Mark Adams projects shot on the same locations: The Unknown Horror and Deathgrip. Making Of, Part 2 runs eight minutes and compares Minds of Terror with the other versions of the film: the feature Lost Souls and the two short films, Lost Souls and Evil Thoughts and Stone Ridge. The third clip is an eight-minute on-set interview with Joe Estevez. For more on Minds of Terror, check out my great new interview with director Mark Adams. - Old news (Jul-Dec 2007)
- Old news (Jan-June 2007)
- Old news (Jul-Dec 2006)
- Old new (Jan-Jun 2006)
- Old news (2005)
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