I was recently sent some updates from Louisville, Kentucky's very own horror film festival, The Fright Night Film Fest, which will be August 15-17 this year. What you'll find below is from their press release that's geared towards the filmmakers...Fright Night Film Fest is the largest genre show in the Mid South. Our festival has risen to prominence and has attracted worldwide attention. Our films come from Spain, Sweden,Canada, England, LA, New York and of course all over the Country. Not only are we a Film Festival and Convention, we are an industry show providing educational forums for actors, producers, investors, directors and others wanting to break into the industry. We support the independent community by providing a forum for their film and a voice of support to help them get distribution. As a direct result of our show we have helped launch the careers many filmmakers.
This year the Kentucky Arts Center will be hosting our “Silver Scream Awards” in Whitney Hall where we will be expecting over 2000 people to attend to walk the Red Carpet. This will be the venue for celebrities, filmmakers, families, press and the fan's to enjoy a great night honoring those who work so hard for their craft.
You filmmakers are not going to want to miss this opportunity to get your film in competition. We are still accepting submissions until July 24th, 2008.
Combined with the Film Festival is the Horror Convention with over 32,000 sq. feet of vendor space. We are also bringing in over 30 Celebrities…. Angus Scrimm, Mick Foley, a 30th Anniversary Reunion with the “Halloween Cast”, Adams Family Reunion, just to name a few.
This year we are working heavily with the Make-A-Wish foundation to provide one child with a wish. You are not going to want to miss the 2008 Fright Night Film Fest.
We'll update their entry in our horror film festivals section and be sure to keep you posted on any updates that they may have... for more information on the festival, you can go check out their website here.
", which was one of the most ambitious no-budget horrors I've ever seen. Anyhow, when I was asking him what advice he would pass on to other filmmakers, he told me about a couple books that I had never heard of before. First one is "
" and "
". He told me that "the first tells you how to get the best effects possible, the second, how to be the best team leader/director possible. No kidding."
. I'm barely half way through it, but I can say that it's great insight into how Hollywood actually works. It's basically about how the studios work and if you're into the business behind Hollywood, it's a great read.
" yet, but it's all qued up, ready to be watched tonight. I'm not going to lie, I'm really excited about it, as in the next few days or so we're going to be posting an exclusive interview that Brad did with the director, Brett Sullivan and, I have to say, it's one of the better interviews we've had. So, I don't want to say too much, as we're going to get into things in more detail then, but it did win best film at Shriekfest and it won the special jury prize at the Canadian Filmmakers Festival, as well... and Brad said it was great. And if Brad don't know, nobody knows. It's about a young psychology student, trying to rebuild her life, who rents an old house and, unknowingly, awakens an evil specter. There's a lot more to it, but you'll have to wait for the exclusive interview which we'll get to soon...
" aka Rambo IV, but that question has been answered... and the answer is yes. Now, the next question isn't whether or not this fourth installment was good, it's how long do I have to wait for the fifth one? They've confirmed that it's in the works and I'm pumped. Remember, 'Heroes never die... They just reload.'
" is from 'well known public speaker, strategic alliance consultant and feature film and television producer and director', Nick G. Miller. Seriously, this guy does it all and appears to 'get it', too. Not only has he produced television shows such as "Wild On", but he's also been instrumental in negotiating product placements in feature films such as "War of the Worlds". "Chronicles" is based on what appears to be a true exorcism and it's shot documentary style. It's the story of two amateur filmmakers who, at the request of the church, document an exorcism over a three day period.
" comes from first time writer/director Tom Skull, who was found by accident at a film festival by producer Belle Avery. Skull had handed her his home movie from when he was 8 years old, which won the heart of Avery. She went on to produce "Grizzly Park" and they managed to put together a decent cast, including Glenn Morshower from "24" as Ranger Bob. It's about eight miscrients who are sent to do community service at Grizzly Park, where they are hunted by an escaped serial killer along with the animals of the forest.
" is an award winning, indie film from Sweden, directed by Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein. It won best film and best cinematography at the Gulbagge Awards, as well as the audience award at the Stockholm Film Festival. It's been described as a "cheaper Swedish version of "The Matrix", but does get good reviews... think "Vanilla Sky", "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" and "28 Days Later" all mixed together with Swedish actors and a lower budget.
" stars Dougray Scott as the title character and Tom Skerritt as the other lead. It's directed by Paolo Barzman, who's a mainly a TV director... and I think this originally aired on TV somewhere, I'm not sure. Either way, I think this is the fifth new, low-budget version of "Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde" that's come out this year.
" is from the director of the J-horror, "Suicide Club", which is a darn good movie with one of the most unbelievably awesome openings to a film I've ever seen. This is sort of a sequel, where a teenage girl escapes from her town and heads to Tokyo, only to get involved in a cult that prostitutes girls for domestic roleplaying... all the while a string of mass suicides is sweeping the nation.
", unless it's the one year anniversary of it's last DVD release. It's still the Dave Meyers version, produced by Michael Bay's Platinum Dunes, starring Sean Bean. Maybe it has some new features or that alternate ending where the girl beats Ryder's head in... I don't know.
" and "
" are being rereleased and if the whole no-budget horror scene is your thing, study one of the masters... "
" comes out and includes most of his classics.
". It's being released by The Weinstein Company and Genius Entertainment tomorrow, simultaneously with yet another new edition, rerelease of "Night of the Living Dead". "Diary" was shot, independently, in 2006 on a budget of around $2Million, which is quite low considering it's Romero and he had a budget of around $16Million for "
", but that was studio backed and he wanted to get away from that 'whole scene'. "Diary" had its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival and was picked up by the Weinstein's four days later. A lot of people were disappointed with the film, but with no really good reason, as far as I'm concerned. It's an f'ing zombie movie, not his best, but is a Romero zombie feature. In fact, I thought it was pretty good. There's the usual, Romero, heavy handed social commentary and the lack of subtility, but that's him. There's also lots of good zombie deaths and the effects are great... and, if you're a horror fan, which you are, you just have to see it. End of story.
" is another Sci-Fi Original. Originally called "Wraiths of Roanake", it was the first produced script from Rafail Jordon, who has gone on to write three more Sci-Fi movies, including: "Copperhead", "Yeti: Curse of the Snow Demon" and "Captain Drake". It was directed by Matt Codd, who's spent the bulk of his career in the art department, but has dabbled in directing with "Epoch", "Shark Hunter", a couple others before this. It premiered on the the Sci-Fi Channel on October 13th, 2007 and it stars TV's "Highlander", Adrian Paul. In going through the different comments and ratings on it, my favorite has to be, "Overall, this was surprisingly un-retarded for a Sci-Fi Original". Enough said. For what it's worth, it's supposed to be one of the better Sci-Fi Original's of the year.
" actually came out a few years back, but not long enough ago for me to consider it a rerelease. In fact, I'm not sure if it's ever been available on DVD before... It's a great, low-budget, shot on DV indie horror that's written, directed and produced by Dan Zachary, who's supposedly working on another feature right now called "Slow the Decay". "Darkest Hour" is about a sleepy town that was terrorized by a skull-faced maniac and a group of actors who visit the town, trying to cash in on the town's noteriety by hosting an interactive murder mystery party based on the killings... then, of course, the party guests start getting killed off, one by one.
" is an award winning feature, which was written, directed, produced and edited by Damon Vignale. It won best lead performance by a female, best lead performance by a male and best picture editing at the Leo Awards. It's about a police detective that's swept into a web of deception and, in search of the truth, finds herself in a contest with forces of the occult. It does have a couple of great actors in it, in Sarah-Jane Redmond and Michael Eklund and it is award winning, so... what more do you need to know? Go check out the trailer on our Youtube page, it looks great.
" is from Adam Ahlbrandt, who wrote, directed, shot and edited the film. I haven't seen the film, but I'm going to have to now... The film stars relative nobodies, Clayton Haske, Tony Luke Jr, Allison Persaud and a few others and the trailer I found looks good and I think it may be shot on DV... However, wikipedia 
" is a modern adaptation of the classic story that came out in 2006 and stars indie-horror favorite, Tony Todd. It's written and directed by John Carl Buechler, who's won various awards for his special effects work, but has also directed a few horror classics, including: "Troll", "Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood" and "Ghoulies III: Ghoulies Go to College". Well, okay, they're horror classics to me. Anyhow, this updated version, which takes place in modern day LA, is getting good reviews and it should deliver on the gore, as it's made by a certified gore wizard... and Tony Todd's in it.
", Susan Hippen, but I do know that I like I like any low-budget indie that involves blood, babes and butchering, especially when it all takes place in a sorority house. It stars Kira Madallo Sesay, who actually came up with the story and then must have sold Hippen on the idea, which is about an uninvited guest to the Kappa Tau Omega sorority house, whose motto is Kappa Kappa Kill!
" could be awesome... well, in a Troma kind of way, anyhow. I don't think I even need to tell you the sub-genre, what else could it be? It's comedy horror.... and it was made in Australia a few years ago and was then picked up by Troma. The story screams Troma, as it follows the exploits of a crazed vampire hunter named Dr. Ludvich as he attempts to steal the family crest from the evil Count Blaughspich's coffin. Ludvich needs the crest in order to prevent the Count and his castle full of mutant freaks from returning to the "mirror world"... In regular Troma fashion, expect depraved vampire sex and well hung werewolves. Now, knowing all that... believe it or not, the film had it's world premiere at Cannes.
" in this post, as it really came out in 2001. However, much like "Darkest Hour", I'm not sure if it's been previously available. "Slashers" is about Japan's number one extreme reality show, which is having it's first all-American special and to win a million dollars, all you have to do is stay alive. I've heard this plot a few times, but this go 'round the 'reality show gone bad' genre seems to be a little more extreme, but that tends to happen when you throw in that Asian twist. "Slashers" is written and directed by Maurice Devereaux, who also made Fangoria's "Lady of the Lake". It's really more of a "Running Man" rip off than anything, as contestants enter a 'dangerzone' where all hell breaks loose as they fight against three bloodthirsty 'slashers', Chainsaw Charlie, Preacherman and the psychotic medic, Dr. Ripper.
", as I rarely revisit old horrors, unless there's nothing else coming out that week. However, I wanted to cover this as there's some classics in this 5-pack of Chris Seaver's splatter comedies... you get the two pack rerelease of "Film Crew" & "Wet Heat", plus "Destruction Kings", "Mulva 2: Kill Teen Ape!" and "Quest for the Egg Salad". Without going into too much detail, Seaver is as low-budget, indie horror as you can get and he, without question, has a unique voice in the genre and knows what he's doing. If you want to learn how to separate yourself from the rest of the pack and get noticed or just watch some well done, no budget films, check these out. Outside of what's included in that splat pack, you'll also need to see "
" is a french film, written and directed by Xavier Gens, who went on to direct "
" right after this. "Frontier(s)" was supposed to be in the 2007 '8 Films to Die For' festival, but the MPAA said that, as it stood, it was going to get an NC-17 rating and in order for After Dark Films to get it to an R rating, they were going to have to cut the last 40 minutes. Considering that the unrated version is 108 minutes, that would've made the R version around an hour long and, I can only imagine, not worth watching. So, rightfully, After Dark said they wouldn't cut it and left it out of the festival... It just got a limited theatrical release on May 9th and less than a week after it's theatrical run, it's now coming out on DVD. So, what's the fuss about? The plot seems somewhat familiar, but apparently the last 40 minutes or so are brutal, disgusting, demented... and, of course, I mean that in a good way. "Frontiere(s)" is about a robbery gone wrong, which is an ongoing theme this week, where the group of crooks are split up and some of them take refuge in a seedy hostel, which just so happens to be run by a bunch of neo-Nazi cannibals, desperate for a New World Order, that will go to any lengths to turn their fascist fantasy into reality. So, if you were into "
", "
" and "
", this sounds like the extreme version...
", as it just screened at Tribeca and here's what I had to say: "Cottage" stars Andy Serkis, who played Golum in "The Lord of the Rings" movies and it's being billed as "
" meets "
". However, "Shaun of the Dead" was about zombies, "Evil Dead" was about, well... zombies and this is about a kidnapping gone wrong. Either way, it's an indie film and it's about a kidnapping plot gone horribly awry when two brothers and their shit-talking hostage stumble into the wrong farmhouse in a gory horror-comedy. It's directed by Paul Andrew Williams, who's only other feature is "London to Brighton", an award winning drama. Either way, it looks pretty damn good. I'll tell you what, there's been a lot of good horror-comedies coming out of the U.K. lately, such as "Severance", "Shaun of the Dead" and "Boy Eats Girl". Apparently, the farmhouse they stumble into is inhabited by a Leatherface kind of character or something... So, okay, okay, it's a horror. (note: I had a chance to see it since I wrote that post and, yes... it would definitely be classified as a horror. A comedy-horror, but still a horror. It's really well done, looks great, it's funny and does deliver on the gore. If you liked "Shaun of the Dead", you should enjoy this... Personally, I enjoyed "Evil Aliens" and "
" more, but it does rank up there with them)
" is another film that just doesn't sound like a horror, but it won best feature film at the New York City Film Festival, so... I'm guessing it should be classified as a horror. Once again, though, I'll reserve judgement on my official classification until I've seen it. "Botched" stars Stephen Dorff (who won best actor at the festival) and a cast with a few other people that you may recognize. It was written by three guys: Derek Boyle, Eamon Friel and Raymond Friel and was directed by Kit Ryan. It's a horror/comedy about the only survivor of a heist gone wrong (I can't make this up, that's three in a row about heists gone wrong), who finds himself dealing with serial killers, insane hostages, double-crossing psycho Russian hardmen and the real possibility of a horrible death.
" was written by Daniel Kay (with a bit of help from Tony Giglio) and was directed by Giglio. It must have had a decent budget, as it was 'from the producers of "Live Free or Die Hard" and "Lord of War"', plus it's got a decent cast and Giglio has made a few Hollywood style films, including "Chaos", "In Enemy Hands" and, uh... "Soccer Dog: The Movie". Either way, I don't seem to remember this coming out. The plot is, as usual, quite stereotypical, there's this heist that goes wrong and... Actually, it's far more cliched than a heist gone wrong. A boyfriend and girlfriend go camping with their friends, they're advised to stay away from a specific trail, they go anyhow and they end up encountering a pack of psychopaths. However, here's where it gets good - the psychopaths are a deranged fanatical religious family that kidnaps hot chicks in an attempt to procreate offspring. Sign me up...
", director Shane Ryan brings you "
", his third feature film. Well, he shared directing credit on his first feature, "Big Boobs, Blonde Babes, Bad Blood", but whatever, it counts... Seriously, though, APSK could turn into a bit of a series for him, as they're starting to get a bit of notoriety. They're low budget, shot on DV films, but they're meant to look like snuff films, so they work... and they work really well. What I really like about these are that Ryan doesn't try to do too much with what he has, instead he knows his boundaries, works within it and creates films that, basically, are justified in the way they look and play out. Also, it's got boobs and gore... 'Humiliation. Rape. Murder. You know the drill'. Support indie-horror, check it out.
" - Boooooo.........