Alright you primitive screw-heads... Bruce is back.

"My Name is Bruce" is not going to be for everyone, in fact... it's a film by Bruce Campbell for Bruce Campbell fans. "Bruce leads a posse of dim-witted residents of Gold Lick, Oregon, in search of Guan-di, the Chinese god of War." This is, of course, after the citizens of Gold Lick mistake the real Bruce Campbell for his character, Ash, from the "Evil Dead" series. It oozes Bruce Campbell and I love the concept, but I haven't seen the movie. As for recent "Bruce Campbell films for Bruce Campbell fans", I loved the concept for "Bubba Ho-Tep" when I first read about it and I thought it delivered. As one of those Bruce Campbell fans, I have to say, I'm looking forward to "My Name is Bruce".

However, what I'm really interested in is how this movie does. It's directed by, stars and is produced by Bruce Campbell... without question, it's a Bruce Campbell vehicle. So, how much 'pull' does he actually have? I'm betting that he has more than enough to make this work, which says a lot. He knows his audience, he knows what they want, he knows what they'll pay and what he can expect to get back... and then he comes through. It's a model that all genre filmmakers should follow - know your audience, know what to exepect back, then make your film with all that in mind.

Here's the link to the "My Name is Bruce" page on Bruce Campbell's official site. The trailer is below...

2007 Box Office Gross for Horror Movies

I went through the numbers and here ya go, a list of what all theatrically released horror movies grossed at the box office in 2007.

In all honesty, it doesn't prove or show much, but there's a few interesting things to note. The most glaring thing that I can see is that the two highest grossing horror movies are rated PG-13. (edit: actually, "I Am Legend" didn't make it in this list for some reason, so, in fact, the top THREE horror movies are all rated PG-13) It may just be an anomaly and mean nothing, but let's just pretend that it does mean something. Let's just pretend that Hollywood now wants to pump out more PG-13 rated horror, so they can appeal to a broader audience. (Also, PG-13 is the top-rated MPAA rating of the last 10 years) If you consider that the top three highest grossing horror movies of 2006 were "Saw III" at #27, "The Omen" at #55 and "Final Destination 3" at #56, which were all R rated and that 2005 had "Saw II", "The Ring II" and "The Amityville Horror" as the top three grossing films (of which only "The Ring II" was PG-13), it's the first time in a while that the top films are PG-13. So, if you see things trending towards more 'big-budget' PG-13 horror in the theaters, that should create a demand for R rated horror on DVD because that fan base will be forced to look elsewhere... which could open up the DVD market for low budget horror filmmakers. So, a negative could really be a positive. ...or it could mean nothing, who knows?

Another thing to note is that this list is box office gross, it has nothing to do with DVD sales and if you look near the bottom, there's a lot of films that didn't do much in the theater's, but are doing well on DVD. (Think "Hatchet", "Descent" and "Leslie Vernon")

The number is where they're ranked overall and I included the rating just for kicks...

#30 - Disturbia (PG-13)

#32 - 1408 (PG-13)

#36 - Saw IV (R)

#39 - Halloween (R)

#43 - Resident Evil: Extinction (R)

#56 - 30 Days of Night (R)

#61 - Pan's Labyrinth (R)

#66 - The Messengers (PG-13)

#67 - The Number 23 (R)

#71 - Zodiac (R)

#79 - 28 Weeks Later (R)

#81 - Mr. Brooks (R)

#83 - Hannibal Rising (R)

#88 - The Reaping (R)

#89 - Grindhouse (R)

#92 - The Mist (R)

#102 - The Hills Have Eyes II (R)

#115 - Hostel: Part II (R)

#118 - Dead Silence (R)

#170 - I Know Who Killed Me (R)

#177 - P2 (R)

#187 - Black Christmas (R)

#206 - Blood and Chocolate (PG-13)

#222 - Captivity (R)

#248 - The Abandoned (R)

#261 - Skinwalkers (PG-13)

#271 - Paprika (R)

#273 - After Dark's Horrorfest 2007 (Not Rated)

#324 - Fido (R)

#395 - Rise: Blood Hunter (R)

#423 - Black Sheep

#441 - Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (R)

#500 - The Last Winter

#504 - Wind Chill (R)

#526 - The Tripper (R)

#573 - Descent (R)

#615 - Hatchet (R)

Hollywood's biggest enemy can be your best friend

There's absolutely no question on where the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) stands on P2P file sharing. They made that stance very clear in this press release, which praises a proposed bill that would require colleges to come up with ways to help movie studios and record labels prevent trading in copyrighted works. In the press release, it states that "the MPAA's most recent data shows that the U.S. motion picture industry lost $6.1 billion to piracy in 2005." Further, they truly show their ignorance by stating that "illegal downloading doesn't just hurt the motion picture and music industries, but it can also be harmful to universities as it puts their systems at risk for security purposes, takes up bandwidth, and slows systems that are designed for research and other educational purposes." Well... it definitely takes up bandwidth, I can vouch for that.

I'm sorry, but how can you come up with such an exact number? Do you know exactly how many films got downloaded and, if so, how many of the people who downloaded them would actually pay to see that same movie in the theaters, given the chance? The numbers have to be far more vague than that and I'd really like to see how the MPAA came up with those numbers. There's no way that P2P file sharing really eats into the business that much and even if it does, the figures wouldn't be that quantifiable, but I can let it go. Obviously, they're pissed off and, simply for the sake of not having to write about it any more, let's say it's with good reason. Having said that, file sharing isn't a bad thing for all filmmakers. In fact, for low-budget filmmakers, it can be a really good thing. Read this post from TorrentFreak and consider the two examples they site, "The Man From Earth", a low budget sci-fi, and "Day Zero", a low budget horror. Essentially, having pirated versions of their films distributed through the torrent sites created a buzz on IMDb, Amazon and elsewhere on the net, which built awareness and created two things that every low budget filmmaker wants - an audience and DVD sales.

The studios have a different way to create that audience and sell tickets, it's called marketing and advertising. The studio's spend millions upon millions of dollars to market their theatrical releases and it's all geared at getting as many people into those seats on opening weekend as they can. Negative buzz can kill an opening weekend and the studios do everything they can to avoid it, including: not screening for critics, reshooting after test screenings with target groups and locking down sets. If the studio thinks they have a stinker on their hands, the film is dead in the water if a DVD screener or workprint was available for download a week before the film was released. When it comes to P2P file sharing, the studios really don't have much to gain, but they sure have a lot to lose.

On the flip side, most low budget filmmakers have little or no marketing budget and they usually have nothing to lose. If you throw your film onto a filesharing site and people think it stinks, so what? ...but what if people think it's good? Well, maybe those people tell their friends about it. Maybe they write a review on IMDb or Amazon. Maybe they go to your website looking for more information. Maybe they create enough buzz to generate some real sales. Maybe it will start opening doors and get you a real budget for your next film. Maybe it's exactly what you need - a free marketing tool that also creates an audience, while giving you feedback.

The studios will always resist anything that threatens the stranglehold that they have on the industry and they truly can't stand the file sharing sites. All they'll ever see it as is just a bunch of punk kids that are taking money out of their grubby hands. I've got news for them, though... one way or another, file sharing isn't going anywhere.... and it may just be the tool that allowed low-budget filmmakers to break in.

The only worthwhile DVD release on Christmas Day

I thought we'd be able to post a few things over the holidays, but that didn't really happen. So, now that we're sobering up a bit, it's time to get things back on track.

There really wasn't any DVD releases on Christmas Day, so I'll take the opportunity to discuss what was released, the HD DVD and Blu-ray versions of what was, far and away, one of the best films of the last few years - "Pan's Labyrinth". "Pan's Labyrinth" was written and directed by Guillermo del Toro and was produced and distributed by the Mexican film company, Esperanto Films with a budget of $19Million - which is extremely low, considering it had its fair share of effects. It's also a little strange that del Toro would do a lower budget film at all, as "Labyrinth" comes off the heels of "Hellboy" and "Blade II" and he probably could've done another studio film with a bigger budget and, presumably, a bigger paycheck.

Having said that, del Toro does tend to mix up the films he does, shooting a big-budget Hollywood film like "Hellboy", "Mimic" or "Blade II", then following it up with a lower-budget film like "Cronos" or "The Devil's Backbone". A lot of horror and genre fans know exactly who Del Toro is because of the afore mentioned films, but "Pan's Labyrinth" has put him on mainstream Hollywood's radar. Currently, he has three films in various stages of production, "Hellboy II: The Golden Army" - obviously, the sequel to 2004's "Hellboy", "3993" - a ghost story about 'the hostages left to fortune by the past' set in 1990's Spain and with connections with the Spanish Civil War in 1939 and "At the Mountains of Madness" - a chilling recollection of an Antarctic expedition's uncanny discoveries and their encounter with untold menance in the ruins of a lost civilization.

"Pan's Labyrinth" was shot over 11 weeks, from June to October in 2005, in and around Madrid and was first released at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival on May 27, 2006, where it received a 22 minute standing ovation. Its first release in an English speaking country was at the London FrightFest Film Festival on August 25, 2006 and it had it's general release in December of 2006. It was first released on DVD in the U.S. on May 15, 2007 through New Line Home Entertainment. Now, the high def and blu ray releases are being released and they offer picture-in-picture commentaries, exclusive web content and DTS-HD Lossless Master Audio in 7.1 surround sound, which is a first for New Line. It's critically acclaimed (for what that's worth) and has won numerous awards from various institutions, including the Academy Awards.

There's various reasons that I hold this film in such high regard. First off, for what they were setting out to do (and subsequently accomplished), it was done on a modest budget. Further, it was critically acclaimed and won numerous awards, even though, for all intents and purposes, it was a horror movie. Also, they preferred to use complex make-up and puppetry for most of the effects, as opposed to using CGI (even though they did use some CGI), which is rarely done anymore, but created some very convincing effects. All this, and much more, make this one of the most monumental films of the last few years and if you haven't seen it, you must. If you have seen it, buy the DVD and check out the Blu Ray and HD DVD versions...

"Pan's Labyrinth":

New Horror DVD's coming out today that are worth checking out...

Christmas is seriously starting to eat into my free time, but I had to post something about the new horror DVD's that are coming out today. There's a few mentionables and I'm not talking about Rob Zombie's "Halloween" (even though I'm now mentioning it), which I would rank just below "Halloween III: Season of the Witch" in the "Halloween" series. For perspective, III didn't have anything to do with Michael Myers... and it sucked.

Regardless, Rob Zombie's vision of "Halloween" comes out on DVD today and having said that it sucked, I have to admit that I haven't seen the unrated director's cut. I heard Rob Zombie talking about how there were various versions out there and he was pissed about how it got hacked up and, blah, blah, blah... Since I love "House of 1,000 Corpses" and I thought "Devil's Rejects" was okay, I'll give the unrated director's cut a shot... but it'll be on a really short leash.

The old-school American horror that is "not a remake, not a sequel and is not based on a Japanese one" - "Hatchet" finally comes to DVD. I'm a complete and total sucker for this. It was a massive hit on the the indie horror festival circuit, it was made on a limited budget, it stars Kane Hodder as Victor Crowly, it's got Robert Englund and Tony Todd in cameo's, it's got laughs and a whole bunch of good deaths. An homage to the American Slasher film - "Hatchet", awesome. By the way, expect the sequel soon.

Now, how about a little Bruce Campbell action??? This is actually the first I've heard of "Man with the Screaming Brain", but Bruce not only stars in it, but he also wrote and directed it. It was originally made for the Sci-Fi network in Sofia, Bulgaria for something like $850,000. It looks like it originally came out in 2005, so where's this been? ...oh, and don't worry, Ted Raimi IS in it. Expect a LOT of Bruce Campbell in this - that means slapstick humor, some blood and a bit more slapstick humor.

"Boy Eats Girl" is an Irish flick that was made for around $5Million. Not a super low-budget, by international standards, but definitely low by North American standards. I think it's recently been picked up by Lionsgate and rereleased in North American, as I've found two different versions of the cover art. I always find horror from the U.K. to be hit or miss and I haven't seen "Boy Eats Girl", but it's always worth checking them out becuase it's good to know what kinds of horror other countries are watching. I was pleasantly surprised by some recent horror films out of the U.K., including "Evil Aliens", "Black Sheep" and "Creep".

There's a few other movies out, but... unfortunately, I don't have time today to write about them.

Out on DVD today, Dec 18, 2007:

Machine Girl Trailer - best trailer I've seen in a long time...

What do Asian filmmakers "get" that we, in North America, don't?!?! Check out this trailer for "Machine Girl", if you don't want to check it out after seeing this, there's something seriously wrong with you. ...or, on the flip side, maybe there's just something seriously wrong with me, I don't know.



What could the budget of this been? I'm betting $2Million, at best. Further, this movie's got buzz and I'm betting that everyone involved makes money... from the investors and whatever studio's involved, to the producers all the way down to the distributors. Is it the plot? Nope... looks pretty simple - you kill my family, now I'm going to kill all of you. Is it the acting? Judging from the trailer, I seriously doubt it. Is there a big name attached? Not as far as I know.

When I see a trailer like this, I just scratch my head and wonder, "why the hell are the studio's stuck on just remaking stuff?" The only people taking risks anymore are the truly independent filmmakers - guys like the crew that made "Murder Party", which... on a side note, if you haven't seen, you must. I mean, do you think a studio would take a risk on something like this? "Hey, we've got an idea. Cute schoolgirl's family gets killed, she loses a limb or two. Then, she makes weapons to attach to the nubs that are left behind and goes on a killing spree. What do you think?" "Well, that sounds interesting... but, our next movie is a remake of "Pumpkinhead" that we're dumping $100Million into it and it stars George Clooney.

I really think that sooner than later, this, really, is where things are going. You'll see more, quality, lower budget films that are loaded with originality. They're easier to make and easier to make money on. Take note...

Striking WGA writers to "move online"?

I was just reading this article from The Financial Times, which basically insinuates that the strike could push all the writers to work directly with internet based entertainment companies or start up their own online based projects, hindering the future of the entertainment industry. Granted, The Financial Times isn't saying this, Patric Verrone, president of the WGA West, is saying this... and he's just saying it's possible. They even mention Will Ferrell's comedy site, funnyordie.com, as an example.

It's an interesting scenario and saying something like this is more just a tactic to scare the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) into hurrying up and ending the strike, but... is this really a viable option for writers? I just don't think they could make as much money, or get as big an audience, if they were strictly in online. In fact, if I remember correctly, outside of "The Landlord", Funnyordie.com has had a rough time mainting traffic and it's backed by A-List, Hollywood heavyweights. That's also not to mention that I don't see too much advertising on that site, so I wouldn't be surprised if Funnyordie.com loses money and it's just a vehicle to throw out ideas, get ideas and find new talent. Now, I'm not saying that because I'm on the side of the AMPTP and think that people are losing money in online and it's all "promotional", I'm definitely not. I'm saying that whether or not these online entertainment sites are making money, there's no question that online initiatives are dwarfed by how much is being made through traditional outlets. Long and short, I really don't think, relatively, that media conglomerates are making much money in online. If entertainment IS to make money online, there's going to need to be some huge, fundamental changes in how the industry works and I do think it's coming.

So, what are these fundamental changes? I don't know (I have some ideas), but I do think we're on the verge of a massive change in how we view movies, tv and entertainment. This strike won't flip this bad boy around overnight, but it may just be the catalyst we need to make some changes and changes can only be good. If they can figure out easier ways to make money through online and alternate distribution methods, the floodgates will burst with independent films and projects. So, if you're a writer, filmmaker or doing anything in indie film and you're "on the outside - looking in" on issues like the strike... We need to let these guys duke it out, it may just start the wave of change we need to create new, better forms of distribution.

Some new, kick-ass horror to be screened at Slamdance

I could write pages upon pages about the Slamdance Film Festival... and probably should in my film festivals section, but... uh, well... you know.

Slamdance is a true representation of what independent filmmaking is all about and it has the balls to take place in Utah at the same time as Sundance. It's a festival "by filmmakers for filmmakers" and showcases undistributed films by emerging filmmakers. Of course, with being a "true" independent film festivals, you're going to get a slew of horror. So, there's always going to be a bunch of artsy crap, then there's these films that look awesome - I've also linked to their own sites:

"Paranormal Activity", written and directed by Oren Peli. On the Slamdance site, it just says, "A supernatural thriller featuring shocking footage of a demonic haunting", but there's a bit more to it than that. It's about a young couple that suspects that their house is haunted, so they set up video surveillance... their surveillance and home videos have been edited into this 99 minute feature film. Brilliant! Keeps the budget low, the low-budget feel is justified and it all makes sense. I can't wait to see it... the buzz is really big.

"Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer", written and directed by Jon Knautz is "about an angry young plumber who witnessed his family's brutal murder when he was a child. Unknowingly, he awakens an ancient evil which forces him to confront his past and deal with the monstrous reality of the present." Once again, that blurb does NOT do the film justice. First off, you've got a great Robert Englund cameo AND it looks like it's filled with beasts, ghoulies and monsters. Think "Reanimator" meets "Evil Dead" meets "Slither". The better blurb is: Jack Brooks is a plumber who fights hellspawns, cameo by Robert Englund. I can't get enough of movies like this, they remind my of early Sam Raimi and Peter Jackson.

Finally, the last one that interests me is "Trailer Park of Terror", directed by Steven Goldmann. "Six troubled teens become stranded in a ramshackle trailer park where they meet Norma, an undead, trailer-trash babe with a killer body and cursed brood of Redneck Zombies." "Trailer Park of Terror" is based on the popular Imperium Comic series and, yeah... that blurb kinda sums it up.

Check 'em out, if you get the chance...

New horror worth checking out on DVD today

From now on, instead of writing about each movie that comes out, I'm just going to write about the ones worth mentioning. Saves me some time and makes this all a little more worth while... who needs to read about something that no one cares about? Anyways...

Brightly Entertainment has so much faith in the campy "Bikini Bloodbath" that they went out and finished the rest of the trilogy before the first one even came out - expect "Bikini Bloodbath 2: Bikini Bloodbath Car Wash" and "Bikini Bloodbath 3: Bikini Bloodbath Christmas" to hit the shelves in the next year or so. This first in the trilogy is about seven high school girls at a slumber party, who encounter a maniacal chef on a killing spree. It stars the always busy Debbie Rochon and a slew of young, well, bikini clad girls. I haven't seen it yet, but where could they possibly take the franchise from there? It would be like making a trilogy out of "Regarding Henry". It's written, directed and produced by Jon Gorman who, as far as I can tell, has nothing but the "Bikini Bloodbath" series to his credit.

"Hack!" is written and directed by Matt Flynn, who boasts on his 'mini biography' on IMDB to have written over a dozen scripts, most of which have been picked up. However, he only has "Hack!" and "The Light" to his credit and "The Light" is a short. I can't throw stones though, who hasn't lied on a resume? "Hack!" has a fairly healthy budget of around $2Mill for a low-budget, straight to DVD horror flick. So, you can expect a good, polished look, but I wouldn't expect much out of the story. Chock-filled with cliches, ripped-off dialogue and references to old horror movies, it probably won't excede your expectations. It'll land right where you think it should, alphabetically between "Gravedancers" and "I'll Always Know What you did Last Summer" on your 'only watched once' shelf. All things considered, that's not too bad...

"Undead or Alive" gets a big, fat, stinky WTF? However, it does have a great tagline - "Guns don't kill people. Zombies kill people." Feel free to use that, by the way... because no one's going to remember this film. It's written and directed by Glasgow Phillips, one of the writers of "South Park". "Undead or Alive" is a cowboy/zombie/comedy starring Saturday Night Live's Chris Kattan and "Desperate Housewives" James Denton. It's gotta be worth seeing, just to find out what the hell they were thinking. Seriously, how did this get a green light? Then again, he wrote for "South Park"... alright, I'll check it out, but... Chris Kattan? Wasn't C Thomas Howell or one of the Corey's available?

"Footsteps" is by first time director (and writer), Gareth Evans. The Welshman directed a short in 2003 when he was in film school and ended up helming his first major production a mere 3 years later. It premiered at the Swansea Bay Film Festival, where it won "Best Film". Unearthed picked up the rights to distribute it in the U.S. and.... here it is. It's about a loner who gets wrapped up in the world of snuff films and looks very serious. Don't expect any one-liners or levity here.

I'm very excited to report that "Blood Descendants" is, officially, the first ever slasher flick with an Amish killer. "Fulfilling a deadly curse, Jacob Bradford rises from his grave after more than a hundred years and exacts bloody revenge against the descendants of the men who murdered him." Simple plot, inventive slasher - expect violence, language and sex... and hopefully you can get over the fact that the killer sorta looks like Randy Quaid from "Kingpin".

Lastly, I wanted to mention both the rerelease of the original "Silent Night, Deadly Night" and "Tales of Terror Collection: From Tokyo And All Over Japan". "Silent Night, Deadly Night" is an all time classic, far better than the remake and is out in perfect time for the Christmas holidays. Remember, a family that slays together, stays together. "Tales of Terror Collection: From Tokyo And All Over Japan" is brought to you by Japan's up-and-coming masters of horror and is based on "Tales of Terror" told to the writers from different sources all over Japan. Japanese filmmakers brought us the J-horror wave, so I can only assume that checking out what the up-and-comers are doing would be worthwhile...

New on DVD - December 11, 2007:

"Most Liked" Screenplays of 2007

I'm commenting on this post from "/film", the blog that can be found here. "/film" is a great blog about about alternative movie news and reviews. The post is about a list that's put together by a guy who polled 90+ people in the industry to find out their favorite new, unproduced screenplays. However, I think it gives a bit of insight to the industry...

I can't help but notice that it's loaded with political drama's and horror is extremely far and few between. #7 - "The Road", about a ravaged postwar American landscape looks kinda interesting, but it sounds like you could easily throw Kevin Costner in there and call in "Postman II". It's based on a book from Oprah's book clubs, so... okay, enough said. Then, way further down the list we find "Jennifer's Body", "World War Z" and "Zombieland". "Jennifer's Body", about a possessed cheerleader, is from Diablo Cody, who is getting a lot of press lately, due to her "Juno" script. I've been hearing about "World War Z" for ages. It's based on the Max Brooks book about the aftermath of the zombie-human war. I heard Brad Pitt's production company picked up the rights... I'm way too lazy to look up his production company's name right now. Finally, "Zombieland" sounds a lot like "World War Z", but with a comic twist.

So, when are executives going to actually take a look at the numbers and get it? Last I checked (and I did check), in 2006, horror movies made up less than 20% of theatrically released films, but brought in around 35% of the years revenue. Politcal drama's made up around the same perentage of theatrically released films, cost a whole lot more to make and brought in around 10% of the years revenue. (all these numbers are approx., I checked it all out a while back and will have to go do it again) My question is, why are the studios into movies that don't make money?!?! If I pitched a politcal drama about (fill in the blank political figure) that ensued after (fill in the blank scandal) of (fill in the blank year), It'll get read and someone's interested... however, the 100's or 1,000's of original horror scripts that get tossed around never make anyone's "to do" list unless they're based on a book, written by someone who previously wrote political thrillers or is a remake of a classic horror film that should not be remade.

Where's all the original, kick-ass horror scripts? Right now, being produced on shoestring budgets and distributed independently, but that'll change... one day.

Digital Cinema - the next big shift in Hollywood?

So, the music industry sorta missed the boat a while back and is desperately trying to claw it's way back to profitability. The digital "revolution" came along, the major labels didn't change their distribution structure and guess what? They paid the price... and they all paid the price, from the labels all the way down to the artists. Now, what can Hollywood do to avoid the same fate? P2P file sharing, VOD, IPTV and the like are all starting to chip away at the business and some people, like Mark Cuban and his 2929 Entertainment, are trying to shake things up by doing simultaneous releases online, in theater and on DVD. However, the studio's aren't biting, they're pretty much operating the same way as when 'moving pictures' first added sound.

Under the current theatrical distribution system, the theaters tend to only screen big budget movies. The reason they do this is because they need to ensure that they can sell enough tickets to pay for the cost of screening the film. A movie that only screens once or twice just doesn't make much economical sense. However, what would happen if we could eliminate the cost of shipping the film... and eliminate the time it takes to get to the theatre... and the cost to make it... what if we could just eliminate ALL of that and deliver it to the theaters instantly, on demand. What if we could send movies to the theater digitally?

In my opinion, digital cinema is going to change up everything for indie filmmakers, especially horror filmmakers. There's such a huge fan base for horror and, quite frankly, you don't need a massive budget to be good. A few days ago, I stumbled across the website of a company called International Datacasting, check out their site here. They specialize in products, systems, and service for broadband multimedia content distribution via satellite. Once of their products is digital cinema. Here's a schematic of how their system works...

Essentially, they take any sort of digital media and broadcast it, through a satellite system, to any destination, in a high quality format. Now, what would happen if theatres had this technology? Well... imagine a low-budget horror night in the cineplex where the theatre shows three trailers and the audience could vote on which one they want to see through text messaging, then which ever film gets the most votes would screen instantly. It would be a whole new market for low-budget filmmakers. You could upload your film to a central site and theatres across the world could opt to pick it up and screen it anywhere. No transferring to film, no shipping reels, no distribution costs. Just upload and screen it anywhere. What would this mean to the theatres? Infinite amounts of more product and choice at lower screening costs. All of a sudden, you could screen whatever your audience wants. If there's enough people that want to watch low-budget horror, screen low-budget horror. If people want to watch live sports, screen live sports. If people want to watch "Pirates of the Carribean VI", screen it. What would this mean to the studios? Well... obviously nothing good in the short term.

The studios, essentially, have what's called an oligopoly on a product, which means they're in a market that's dominated by only a select few. They can control what goes out by talking with each other, figuring out release schedules and not interfering with each other. This could be called collusion, which "takes place within an industry when rival companies cooperate for their mutual benefit." Having said that, there's no reason that they can't adjust their business plan and compete in this new marketplace. Maybe they could cater to a wider variety of people by making more product? All you'd have to do is spread your money around a little. Spend less per project and make more films. It may mean that all the above-the-line guys have to work a little harder and it may also mean that the studios would need more producers, directors, writers, etc... a big shift from the current system, to say the least.

I could write a book about this... but to some up, digital cinema would help the movie theaters, by offering more product at lower costs. It would help filmmakers because it opens up a new, more efficient, lower cost form of distribution into theatres. It would benifit film-goers, as it would offer them more choice. ...but it would hurt the studios in the short term.

So, we're not there yet, but we will... one day.

George W Bush finally recognizes a true threat.

I knew it...

New horror available today - Dec 4, 2007

Finally, it's a good week in horror... especially the low-budget variety. As usual, there's a bunch of rereleases, compilations and other garbage, but there's enough new stuff out here today that I don't have to tell you about the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer / Drive Me Crazy" double pack... although I really want to.

Relative newcomer, Gregory Wilson directs "Jack Ketchum's The Girl Next Door". I'm assuming they threw the "Jack Ketchum" in there so you don't confuse this one with the Elisha Cuthbert's Romantic Comedy of the same title. Although you don't have a half-naked Elisha Cuthbert, you do get 'sadistic torture and sexual abuse, nudity, language and strong sexual dialogue - all involving children'. Elisha... or child torture porn? I don't know, toss a coin. Based on the true story from 1958, it's about a teenage girl who is tied up in a basement and abused by her male cousins and neighborhood kids, under the orchestration of her aunt. I guess Elisha didn't want the part? It's got a lot of buzz and is probably worth checking out.

"Darkplace" stars the huge, tall freaky dude from "Devil's Rejects" and "Big Fish". Here, he plays the lawyer boyfriend of Elisha Cuthbert in Manhattan when they... okay, he plays a terrifying hillbilly giant who, along with the local preacher, exorcise their ritual of dark cleansing by locking you up inside an ancient box, forcing you to face your inner demons. A 10 year old boy gets locked up and his darkest fears sets loose an inferno of relentless evil. It's directed by Philip Adrian Booth, who's done a few other decent horror films and it's released by Spooked Television Releasing - a division of Spooked Productions.

There's not a lot out there about "The Devil of Blue Mountain", but I'll give it it's due because it's written and directed by Hollywood.com's Top Underground Filmmaker of 1998, Joshua P. Warren. I believe he won the award after making "Inbred Rednecks". It's about a 'harrowing journey, following a disturbing abductor as he drags two attractive young women through a twisted wilderness.' Hmm... kinda sounds similar to...

"Razor's Ring" is about an ill-fated businessman, who is abducted by not one, but two killers and then taken to meet their even more sadistic (and hungry) family members. The Amazon.com tags include: horror, thriller, cannibal, rape and coming of age. So, it's kind of a coming of age horror about rape and cannibalism. It's not rated, by the way.

Speaking of low-budget, shot on DV (maybe even VHS, in this case), how about "Stiff Odds"? It's about the grim reaper, who's a conniving little twit and bears more than just a slight resemblance to a raging erection. He owns a booking business where the deceased can bet their luck on who's kicking the can next. Death then resurrects three disgruntled zombies, while two nit-wit teens get caught up in his mayhem and become pawns in this 'chop 'em up thriller'. Yup, you read that right. Don't believe me? Check out the trailer!

I'll quickly go through the other films of interest: "Disintegration" is about a guy who's a decendant of the union of angels and men and must find other decendant's or else he'll go mad. "Caregiver" is a nurse who works at a halfway house for dysfunctional teenage girls, then goes insane or something. "Mrs. Amworth" looks like a remake of the 1976 UK film of the same name, which is about a sexy, next door neighbor vampire who terrorizes a sleepy town. "Werewolf: The Devil's Hound" is as low-budget as they come. However, one reviewer wrote "hysterical and gory, what's not to love?", while another wrote, "it's more like "Werewolf: The Devil's Turd". Well... I'll guess you'll just have to judge for yourself.

New on DVD - December 4th, 2007:

Nevermore Film Fest coming up...

Go check out my Horror Film Festivals post. I've updated the Nevermore Film Fest section, as it's coming up pretty soon - February 22 - 24th, to be exact. I believe they're coming dangerously close to the submission deadline, so if you're looking to submit - do it now! If you're not looking to submit, but you're in the area - go check it out. They always have a pile of good movies.

Horror movies at Sundance

Sundance is the largest independent film festival in the U.S., so big that it can barely be called an "independent" film festival. It's more a launching ground for movies that aren't considered 'blockbusters', but have decent budgets and are backed by industry professionals . Where's the shot on DV films, put together on a shoestring budget by a couple of half baked kids from South Dakota? They're at Slamdance, which takes place in Park City at the same time. I might actually be going to Slamdance this year, check out their website here. It's a true showcase of independent horror. In any case... there's a bunch of horror titles screening at the Park City at Midnight lineup, part of the Sundance Film Festival.

"The Broken" is written and directed by Sean Ellis, who's biggest film to date would be "Cashback", the romantic comedy. "The Broken" is about a girl who sees herself drive past in her own car, so she follows this mystery woman up to her apartment and... then events take an eeire turn for the worse.

"George A. Romero's Diary of the Dead" has already screened up at the Toronto International Film Festival and has been picked up. Not only has it been picked up, they're already talking sequel, either way... they're screening it here.

"Donkey Punch" has the best title of the entire festival, but I wouldn't call it a horror. It's a about a bunch of guys who go out partying, one dies, then all hell breaks loose as they decide what to do.

"Funny Games" is written and directed by Michael Haneke, who's made a bunch of films over in the U.K., including... "Funny Games", which he made 10 years ago. The new one has American actors, same U.K. plot. Sweet.

Quentin Tarantino's 'Quentin Tarantino Presents' banner is releasing "Hell Ride", which was produced by Quentin Tarantino after Quentin Tarantino inspired Larry Bishop some years ago to write, direct and star in his own movie. He did just that. Why, exactly, is this at an independent film festival? Can anything with Tarantino's name on it possibly be considered independent? It's a bloody, sexy tale of motorcycle revenge, which doesn't sound like a typical Tarantino film to me.

"Otto" is definitely an indie horror. Written and directed by Bruce LaBruce, it's about a lonely gay zombie who searches for love and meaning in contemporary Berlin.

I can't say I'm excited for "Hell Ride" and I still haven't seen "Diary of the Dead", but I really need to. The other seem to fit the bill or indie horror, as well. Like I said earlier, take a walk over to The Slamdance festival... it'll be worth the price of admission and, no, it's not free.

Horror Writers on Strike - They Eat Scabs

An article from The Hollywood Reporter - "Striking horror writers haunt Warner Bros." Here's the link.

New low-budget Horror available today - Nov 27, 2007

Only a few DVD's to report about today, so few that I'll even talk about the rerelease of "The Omega Man". (if you didn't know, "The Omega Man" is basically a previous version of "I am Legend" - it's actually the second movie to be made from the original Richard Matheson novel) Then there's the made for TV and should've stayed there, "Skinwalkers", as well as "This Hollow Sacrament" and "Day X".

"Skinwalkers" is "from the producers of "Resident Evil" and the director of "Jason X", who would be Don Carmody and James Isaac, respectively, and it marks the first collaboration between Lionsgate and Constantin Films. Shot entirely in Canada, the coolest thing about this movie is definitely the poster. Seriously, it's a cool poster. I can't say much good about the movie, so I won't say anything at all. However, if you want to see what Lionsgate marketing dollars look like, check out the website. Hell, they didn't even need the website, they had me at the poster... and it really is a cool poster.

"This Hollow Sacrament", distributed by Unearthed Films, is the only true independent horror being released this week. It's written, directed and produced by Greg William Stechman and was made between August and December 2005 with a budget of $200,000. It's based on the true events around the murder of four young women in Northern California in the late 1990's and the subsequent criminal investigation. Stechman's been called "an original voice in the popular serial killer subgenre". It's his debut film, so buck up and check it out, the buzz is really good.

"Day X" is being released by Image Entertainment, even though I read that it was actually made in 2005. 'As a mysterious outbreak transforms the general populace into a throng of marauding, flesh-eating creatures, eleven strangers find themselves trapped in an abandoned steel mill." So, it's a zombie movie... I can't find out much else, but it's only 81 minutes long, so I'll check 'er out. Can't be THAT much of a waste of time.

Okay, so "The Omega Man" is being released on DVD again and why not? "I am Legend" comes out this Friday, may as well try and make a few extra bucks, huh? Anyways, "The Omega Man" was made in 1971 and stars everyones favorite gun-toting republican, Charles Heston. It's the second version of the novel, the first being "The Last Man on Earth", starring Vincent Price. "The Omega Man" really is a pretty good movie, even though it could be viewed as kind of goofy now... however, if you're interested and haven't seen it, it's worth a watch.

New on DVD - November 27, 2007:

The writers are on strike? Go get yourself an agent

Quick note here - The WGA is on strike, so, obviously, the writers aren't working, the producers are sticking to existing projects, studio heads have their hands full and guess what all the agents are doing? My bet is - not much. Could be a great time to try to get something in front of one of them. I'm not saying you'll get a job, that would make you a scab, but it's probably a good opporunity to get something read. Here's a list from the WGA of agents who represent film, television and interactive. Pick up the phone and start calling. You never know, it's either talk to you or watch Oprah reruns.

28 Days Later + C.H.U.D. - story = Mulberry Street

I just saw "Mulberry Street" a couple days ago - here's a link to the official site. They definitely had a bit more budget than a lot of the crap/low-budget gems that I'm used to watching and it had a great feel to it - almost exactly like "28 Days Later". "Mulberry Street" screened at a ton of festivals, is part of the "8 Films to Die For" festival that runs November 9 - 18 across the country and Lionsgate picked it up, so you can expect to see it out on DVD soon. It's a great film to watch if you've got some budget and want to know what the festivals are looking for. It had a dark, artsy feel and I'm pretty sure it had some sort of politcal/sociological slant, but I'm not entirely sure. I was a bit buzzed and into the rat people.

Speaking of the rat people, they reminded me of C.H.U.D.'s, which, of course, can only be a good thing. The all-time classic, "C.H.U.D", takes place in New York and is about a bunch of deformend, cannibalistic, humanoid, underground dwelling vagrants, who lived in the sewers and ate people... "Mulberry Street" takes place in New York and is about an outbreak that turns people into a bunch of deformed, cannibalistic, humanoid, above-ground dwelling rat creatures who eat people. You know what they say, don't try to reinvent the wheel, ripping off classics is just paying homage to it. And, yes, I'm calling "C.H.U.D." a classic.

Side note here: C.H.U.D. needs to be remade...

My only issue with "Mulberry Street" was with the writing, which is a minor flaw when you're talking about horror. For example, I just read that one viewer thought that the girl coming back to find the boxer was his girlfriend and I'm pretty sure it was supposed to be his daughter. That storyline is weaved throughout the entire movie, so if two movie-goers have completely different opinions about who she even IS, you've got a problem. That's not to mention the fact that I had no clue of what the hell was going on with her at any point in the movie. She had a massive scar on her face that caused her plenty of psychological grief, yet it was never really explained. Granted, it was the fourth horror movie I saw in the span of around 11 hours, so I could've just missed that because I was up grabbing a beer, but that's beside the point. Also, for a movie that was about people turning into rats, it was a little short on humor. You really shouldn't take yourself too seriously when you have people mutating into vermen. I could go on, but I risk spoiling the intricacies of the plot, which was basically - people turn into rats, rat people eat normal people.

I did like it, though. Really. It just goes to show that you don't have to be David Mamet to write horror. In fact, they could've dumbed this down a bit, eased up on the plotty stuff and gone into the rat people a bit more. Ahh... save that for the sequel, "Mulberry Street 2: Matt the Rat".

Cloverfield - Snakes on a Plane or Blair Witch?

I'm not going to ridicule you if you don't know about J.J. Abrams "Cloverfield", which is scheduled to come out January 18th... but, come on. Having said that, all anyone really knows is that it's about a giant monster's attack on New York City - check out the trailer here.

P.S. - I LOVE the poster. (My favorite part of it is the subtle claw marks on the neck of The Statue of Liberty)

Now, as I'm more about films on the slightly lower end of the scale as far as budget's concerned, I'm not as much interested in the film itself as how it's being marketed. If you don't know, they've been keeping a really tight lid on any information about it. (When they auditioned actors, they didn't even read from the "Cloverfield" script, they read from other, old Abrams scripts.) On top of that, they've been keeping knowledge of the project a secret from the online community and only releasing information in little bits. What does this do? It gets the online community all abuzz about the film, especially this one because Abrams is the same guy who produces "Lost". They're minimizing the traditional advertising methods and concentrating more on timed release of information, plus other online, viral efforts. Both "Blair Witch Project" and "Snakes on a Plane" pulled similar marketing campaigns, one just a bit more successful than the other... but why did one fill the theatres and the other didn't do squat. (I have to admit, I liked "Snakes on a Plane", by the way) I can't tell you why, but I sure would like to know the answer.

The internet is the number one growing medium for advertising movies and what's best about that, is that anyone can afford it. Low-budget films aren't going to be able to afford a banner on the front page of Yahoo!, but you can make a Myspace page or create viral clips. The internet, as a marketing tool, evens the playing field a bit, as far as I'm concerned and indie filmmakers need to learn how to use it effectively. I wish I could tell you how, but I don't know... but I'm going to do my best to find out.

Until then, what the F is this "Cloverfield" all about, anyhow?

Patrick Bateman as John Connor

Ain't it Cool News calls it "Bruce Wayne as John Connor", but as far as I'm concerned - Christian Bale IS Patrick Bateman. Regardless, it looks like my personal favorite "American Psycho" will be starring in the fourth installment of "The Terminator", Arnie must be rolling over in his grave.

Read the article here.

Patrick Bateman as John Connor... I like it. However, "Terminator Salvation" is going to be directed by McG. Sorry, not as sold. I'm a huge Terminator fan, I even liked T3... a bit. Well, I liked the ending. However, "The Terminator" with a "Charlie's Angles" feel? I don't know.

New on DVD - November 20, 2007

There's a couple of DVD's that are worth checking out, including: "Zombie Town", "Darkness Surrounds Roberta", "I am Omega", "Hate 2 0" and even "Stir of Echoes 2: The Homecoming".

"Zombie Town", written and directed by Damon LeMay, is really the one worth checking out, mainly because it's a true independent horror. It's a kind of "Shaun of the Dead" meets every other low-budget zombie movie ever made. Parasites are the cause of the living dead in this case... Side note: the only time the I really liked the explanation of why the dead were coming back to life was "Return of the Living Dead", so let that be a lesson - you don't need to explain why the dead come back, they just do. Anyhow... these guys have been working on this film since 2005, so... do them a favor and check it out.

"Darkness Surrounds Roberta" is an American indie horror, shot entirely in Italy. According to the director, Joe Zaso, he "was trying to make a giallo film for the SAW crowd”. So, if you check out my last post, check this one out to see what those foreign horror investors are into. This flick is supposedly filled to the brim with violent murders, mayhem, decadent sex, and untold mystery. I like the odd 'giallo" film... and I like nudity, so... I'll check it out.

Our buddies over at 'The Asylum', the production company that basically rides the waves of other, big name movies, by bringing out films that are very similar ("Snakes on a Train", "AVH - Alien vs. Hunter", "Pirates of Treasure Island"... you get the idea) are coming out with "I am Omega", the blatant rip-off of "I am Legend". That's all I have to say... I love these guys, seriously.

"Hate 2 0" is another shot in Italy horror. I haven't seen it, but it's getting decent reviews. It's about a bunch of girls who go to fast on nothing but water at some cabin, when... it turns out that there's something in the water.

Then, finally, there's the made for TV sequel to "Stir of Echoes", "Stir of Echoes 2: The Homecoming". Hey ladies, it's got Rob Lowe in it...

New on DVD - November 20, 2007

Tons of money for indie filmmakers, seriously

Apparently there's tons of money out there for indie filmmakers, or so says "Hollywood Today" in this article.

A weak currency will always attract filmmakers and producers from other countries, it's simple economics - they come over and pay a fraction of what it would cost to film in their home country. This has always worked against the U.S., driving Hollywood studio's to places like Canada, Mexico and overseas. However, I never really thought about foreign investors and distribution. Effectively, an investor from, say, the U.K. can now fund a $500K project in the U.S. for around half of what it would've cost him a year ago. So, what does this mean? I guess you're going to have to write scripts that'll gain the interest of overseas investor. What kinds of stories do overseas investors like? Good question, let me know when you figure it out... until you do, I'm going to write a script where a British police chief buys a haunted Italian Villa next to a lake that's inhabited by a huge, mutant lizard that steals children and regurgitates them out into a Chinese rock garden.

Time for a new Hollywood?

Could the writers strike spark a radical shift in how the Hollywood system works? Check out this post by Marc Andreesessen on his blog. Andreesessen's a smart guy, a lot smarter than me... If you're a computer nerd - he's one of the co-author's of Mosaic, a co-founder of Netscape, was the chair of Opsware and a co-founder of Ning. If you're not a computer nerd - he's a guy who's made a truckload of cash in the Silicon Valley.

Ever since I read "The Long Tail", which I recommend reading, I've come to the realization that the Hollywood studio system is going to collapse. Well, not collapse, but fundamentally change. What would be the catalyst to shake things up? Personally, I thought it would just be time. Very slowly, bit by bit, you would see small, independent filmmakers and studios starting to make some money, by utilizing the web and it would eventually, somewhere down the road, hit critical mass and change how things work. Now that indie movies can be made for nothing - shot on DV, cut on a PC, marketed on the web, but... can you pay a mortgage with the handful of DVD's you sold on Ebay? Not likely. However, according to Andreesessen, the writers strike may just be the straw that breaks this big girl's back and pushes us to a new system.

Now, a Hollywood studio system shifts towards a system like Silicon Valley's is a really good thing for almost everyone except the studios. It'll be a very good thing for people who are into horror, specifically low-budget horror. Not only will there be a flood of it into the market, every indie horror filmmaker worth his weight in prosthetic arms will have access to venture capital, as well as distribution channels for their finished products. Who's kidding who? Much like porn, horror has always broke ground on being as cheaply produced as possible, without losing much of its audience. So, if there's a bunch of financiers running around, ready to throw money at low-budget project, you can bet that a lot of them are going to be of the horror variety.

What can I say? I'm ready for it... make sure you are, too.

THE WILD MAN OF THE NAVIDAD

Just reading through Fangoria online and came across this article about "The Wild Man of the Navidad", a new horror from Duane Graves and Justin Meeks. It's their first feature, but they've had a few short films distributed on compilation DVD's from POPcinema. What's really cool about it is that Kim Henkel, co-scripter of Tobe Hooper’s classic "Texas Chainsaw Massacre", is one of the producers. Graves and Meeks studied film under Henkel at Texas A&M, who also produced their short films. Let that be a lesson, if you go to film school - abuse your professors, if not - abuse your contacts. Do whatever it takes to get your movies made!

New on DVD - November 13, 2007

Once again, it's slim pickin's today, but there are definitely a few DVD's worth mentioning.

"Jerome Bixby's The Man from Earth" isn't really a horror, per se, but it's getting a ton of buzz. It was shot on DV for next to nothing and is a great example of how to make a decent movie on no budget. I'm not sure which festivals it showed at, but this one's worth checking out... It was written by Jerome Bixby and was conceived in the 60's and finished on his deathbed, less than 10 years ago. It's about an impromptu goodbye party for Professor John Oldman, which becomes a mysterious interrogation after the retiring scholar reveals to his colleagues he is an immortal who has walked the earth for 14,000 years.

"Innocence" is a Canadian independent film that's been touring the festivals for the last few years. Once again, it's not really horror, although it has some horror-esque elements. "Innocence" takes place at a remote French boarding school in the woods where little girls arrive, and sometimes leave, in coffins.

There's a few others of interest, including "The Period", which is about a girl who has her period every day and it's a never ending Nile of Blood. "Rise of the Dead" is about a baby who accidentally dies, but then comes back to possess people and tries to kill his natural birth mother. "Creature from the Hillbilly Lagoon" actually screened at a few festivals. I think the title says everything you need to know before making a decision on this one. The last one I'll mention is "Welcome to the Jungle", about cannibals.

New on DVD - November 13, 2007:

Horror Screenplay Competitions

PAGE International Screenwriting Awards

Deadlines - Early Entry is Jan 31st, regular deadline is Mar 15th and late entry is Apr 15th

Link to Dead Harvey post on PAGE International Screenwriting Competition

The PAGE Awards were established by an alliance of Hollywood producers, agents, and development executives. Our goal: to discover the most exciting new scripts by up-and-coming writers from across the country and around the world. And due to the success of our winning writers, the PAGE International screenplay competition is rapidly becoming one of the most important sources for new screenwriting talent within the Hollywood community and worldwide.
It's a Catch 22. While producers and agents continually complain that they can't find good material, talented writers who live outside Los Angeles and have no "connections" within the movie industry find it virtually impossible to penetrate the barriers of the Hollywood system. Our objective is to bridge that gap – giving new screenwriters the opportunity to get their scripts into the hands of industry professionals, while also serving as a much-needed resource for Hollywood producers, agents, and studio execs who are searching for quality material.

ABOUT THEM - The administrators and judges of the PAGE International screenwriting contest are all working professionals in the film and television industry, and they, their partners and associates are always seeking fresh and innovative new projects. They're looking for a wide variety of material, so we encourage writers to submit all types of screenplays, and we present awards in ten different genre categories.

Link to their site

Link to "how to enter"

Link to "prizes"


Shriekfest Film Festival

Run by Denise Gossett and Todd Beeson, this is one the best horror fest's of the year and 2008 call for entries is currently open. Deadline will be somewhere around late June. (It's not up on the site right now) They recently announced a new relationship with C.A.A. (one of the biggest agencies in town) and their horror division. "C.A.A's horror division is actively searching out directors and screenwriters for representation. C.A.A will also be a finalist judge of all finalist films and screenplays."

AAA 'Access, Acclaim, Achievement' Screenplay Contest

This contest, sponsored by creativescreenwriting, not only looks like it's always accepting submissions, it looks like they just randomly give away prizes whenever they feel like it. They had winners from June '05, December '05, June '06, January '07 and February '08. They're currently looking for submissions for their 'Spring - Summer 2008 Contest'. It says they're sponsored by 'creativescreenwriting' (all one word) and I have no idea what the hell that is, but they have prize money and prize money is nice. Remember, "AAA" stands for Access, Acclaim, Achievement... but, I'm thinking it stands for "get me at the top of every listings page".

International Horror and Sci Fi Screenplay Competition

They're not accepting submissions now, but they will be some time in May (so, depending on today's date, click on the link, they may be accepting now). Screenplay winners not only win cash prizes, but they also get the opportunity to have their screenplays reviewed by major entertainment companies. Well, one major entertainment company, Lionsgate. The other two, Jaret Entertainment and Energy Entertainment are a slight step down.

Screamfest Horror Film Festival and Screenplay Competition

This is the largest horror film fest of the year. They were formed a few years back by film producers Rachel Belofsky and Ross Martin to give emerging filmmakers in horror and sci-fi a venue to showcase their work to people in the industry. They have a bunch of success stores and they're currently accepting submission, deadline is August 15, 2008.

Eerie Horror Screenplay Competition

This is part of the Eerie Horror Fest and they're now accepting submissions, final deadline is August 1, 2008. These guys are also one of the more respected names in this category... and what's really cool is that they also incorporate video games. So, you can submit your film, screenplay and video game all at the same time.

Extreme Screenplay Contest

To find exceptional screenplays to promote to Hollywood and to provide feedback to all entrants. They actually seem like they're more of a service than a contest, but... there is a contest. (Entry fee: $40)

Gotham Screen

They're not accepting now, but may be soon. They were set up by a group of Gotham based producers and productions companies and claim to be the newest addition to the international screenplay contest circuit. They're specifically targeted at up and coming writers who don't have agency or management representation yet but would otherwise have the talent and craft to make it in an increasingly competitive marketplace. Check the site for new dates, etc.

Screenplay Festival

They're open to all genres, specifically: Action/Adventure, Comedy, Drama, Family and Thriller/Horror and they give awards and stuff, but I'm not going to go into to much depth, as it's not really about horror, although you can enter your horror script. I'm just thinking that what they think is good horror, may not be what I think is good horror. Either way, they're now accepting submissions, final deadline is October 1, 2008

Slamdance Horror Competition

Slamdance is another one of the big ones of the year. The Slamdance Screenplay Competition is dedicated to new writers, accepting screenplays in every genre, on any topic from every country around the world. Their mission is to bring attention to the most talented emerging screenwriters and introduce them to the industry. There's various reasons to enter Slamdance, including: $7,000 first prize, a bunch of prizes for the top 10 screenwriters and production companies, studios, agencies and managers request to read their top scripts. Final submission date is June 2, 2008

Worldfest - Houston Int'l Film Festival

It was April 11-20. However, it's one of those festivals that is open to EVERY category, like... there's an award for best Public Affairs program in Television and Cable Production, as well as best Horror/Thriller/Mystery Screenpaly. So, excuse me if I haven't been keeping a close eye on this one. I'll be sure to keep you posted NEXT year, though.

I don't have much info on the following competitions, as they're new to me. I'll get more and fix these up later. Until then, the links do work.

Terror Film Festival

Deadline is May 1, 2008.

H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival

I covered these guys in the film festival section, but I wasn't aware that the accepts screenplays, as well. So, there you go. You learn something new every day.

2008 Great Lakes Independent Film Festival

They boast as being one of the top 100 most popular film festivals in the world, has various horror screenplay categories. Final deadline is August 30, 2008.

Rhode Island International Film Festival

Another festival that's covered in our film festivals section, but not in our screenplay competitions. A lot of these guys have screenplay competitions, who knew? They're final deadline is July 15, 2008.

The Movie Deal! Screenplay Contest

Respected Industry Judges, Potential Review for Representation by a Hollywood Lit. Agency and A chance to Have your movie made. Final deadline is September 30, 2008.

New on DVD - November 6, 2007

New on DVD this week is a long list of movies that I haven't seen (but kind of want to) and a couple of low-budget films that I have seen, that should be checked out.

"Blood Car" was screened at a ton of horror film festivals over the last year or so and was a bit of a fan favorite. For a low-budget horror movie, I have to say... it's pretty good. For that reason only, do pick this up and support indie horror. "Amateur Porn Star Killer" is another one that you need to check out. It's extremely low-budget, it was filmed in something like 4 hours and it was made in 2004. It's finally coming out on DVD now after bouncing around a bit. Once again, for the sake of indie horror, check it out. The last indie horror that needs to be mentioned is "Horrors of War", an extremely ambitious film that screened at a whole bunch of festivals. I know very little about... but I'm definitely going to be checking it out soon. The plot? "Feeling the pressure from Allied advance, Hitler unleashes his secret weapons giving rise to a type of warfare the world has never seen." The weapons? Zombies, werewolves and other monsters.... like I said, check it out. Also, be sure to check out "She Wolves of the Wasteland", "Blood Monkey", "Werewolf in a Woman's Prison" and "The Slaughter".

New on DVD - November 6, 2007

Film Festival page is finally... kind of updated.

If you click on the "Film Festival" page, I've finally written up a bit of a blurb on each horror film festival, plus I've arranged them chronologically. My next step on that section is to start contacting all the festivals, so I can relay any news from any of them, as well as information about deadlines, etc. I'd like to encourage people to enter them, so it's best to find out as much as I can about each one...

Next up, I'm going to do the same with Screenwriting competitions.

I'm getting there, bare with me...

New on DVD - October 30, 2007

Considering that it's the day before Halloween, I'm pretty surprised that there's next to no decent horror movies getting released today - actually, check that, there's NO decent horror movies getting released today, considering the big release of the week is "Captivity", starring Elisha Cuthbert. "Captivity" could be the movie that ended the torture horror subgenre that "Hostel" started. On paper, it's got everything going for it, but... guess what? It sucks. Then, there's a massive step down to "The Initiation of Sarah", which is based on a 1978 TV movie... okay, haven't seen it and probably won't. I will say that I may have to get the, new to DVD, but not so new horror flick, "Basket Case 2". If you haven't seen the "Basket Case" movies, you're missing out... big time. However, if "Basket Case 2" is just coming out now, where's "Basket Case" 1 & 3? Maybe they're doing a whole Frank Henenlotter thing, as he's the director of the "Basket Case" movies and also made "Brain Damage", which is being rereleased, also. "Brain Damage" is definitely worth checking out, but... believe me, it's no "Basket Case". What else is out this week? Piles of old, mediocre, foreign horror films, such as "Hell of the Living Dead", "Study Hell", "Rats: Night of Terror" and "Insane in the Brain". Wait for next week, when we finally get "Amateur Porn Star Killer", "Blood Monkey" and "She Wolves of the Wasteland". Slow couple weeks...

New on DVD - October 30, 2007:

New on DVD - October 23, 2007

There's no real massive horror release this week, but there is a bunch that are worth checking out. "Hostel - Part II" (uncut version) wasn't great, but is worth picking up. I wouldn't really call "Fido" a horror, so to speak, but it's got a bit of gore and it's definitely a unique take on the zombie genre and I thought it was worth watching. "Saw III - The Director's Cut" is also out, along with a new "Saw Trilogy" pack. "The Tripper" is directed by David Arquette and if you thought he was weird, check out his movie. I'm thinking he tried to get political, but it's really just... strange. Paul 'Pee Wee Herman' Reuben's has a fairly memorable role in it. Also out is "Buried Alive", "Cutting Class", 1408 rip-off, "Apartment 1303", Saw rip-off, "Gag", "Trap" and "Kaw"... a horror about crows.

New on DVD - October 23, 2007: