I'm gearing up for the long weekend, which means stocking up on booze and not working tomorrow. So, I've got a quick post here on some horror film festival stuff, plus I'll be posting another interview we did some time this afternoon... and, I know this picture has nothing to do with anything that I've written below. I just like the picture. If you're interested, it's Natasha Talonz, who talked with Horror Society about a film she acted in, "The Horror Convention Massacre 2". I found the pic on their site... I know we just mentioned the The Madison Horror Film Festival last week, but they already have a pretty cool update that I thought was worth mentioning. They've partnered with Apprehensive Films and are offering a distribution deal to the winners of the Best Short film and Best Feature film categories. I think it's a bit of a no brainer to distribute the winners, as it's a win/win for everyone and I think you're going to see more people stepping up and doing stuff like this... so, click on that link there and get your film in the festival.
Here's a new one, I think... I don't remember mentioning the Horror Society OR the fact that their having their 1st ever film festival this October - October 11th in Chicago, to be exact. According to them, they're "bringing you the most brutal, blood filled, and extreme horror ever seen on the big screen." Plus, it's all low-budget, underground horror and their goal is to provide "a platform for aspiring independent film directors and talent to debut their work and skills to Chicago." They've already filled the slate of films, so you can't submit or anything, but if you're in the Chicago area, do check it out.
So, here's another good festival that's done accepting films for the year... The Sacremento Horror Festival is October 17th - 19th this year and they "exist to deliver high-quality independent and popular studio-release horror films, sci-fi features and short films to the horror movie fan." They're also doing something pretty cool this year, called their "2008 Film Challenge - The Final Minutes of a Slasher/Zombie Film." It's a great idea and I'd love to see the submissions. It's too long to explain here, but it's worth reading about, just because it's a great idea. Check out the details of the challenge here.
to buy yourselves a copy and support independent film making! There's also a book available at 
that screenwriter Shannon wrote based off the movie.
" (an awesome film), the rereleases of "
" (has to be mentioned), the release of the J-Horror, "
" (there's an American version in production right now), two classic cannibal films, "
" and "
" and, finally, the "
", which really deserves more than just that, but... I'm going to give ALL of Tromadance its due in an upcoming post. So, as usual, PLEASE click on the titles if you'd like to buy the films from Amazon and/or go to our 
", which was directed by Mark James and Phil O'Shea, written by Phil O'Shea. It won 4 awards at the Milan International Film Festival and they were all the big ones; Best Film, Best Editing, Best Cinematography and Best Actress. If THAT doesn't impress you, maybe the idea behind it will. "Whilst making a documentary, filmmaker Holly meets the highly enigmatic and beautiful Vicki who claims she is a real-life vampire. By turns fascinated by and attracted to her, Holly thinks that Vicki could be her soul mate and soon the two embark on a passionate affair. However Vicki's lust for blood is growing and when Holly discovers that Vicki is pregnant with a 'vampire' baby, she is drawn into a spiral of death, deceit and betrayal from which she will never emerge." That's right... lesbian vampires and, by the way, the lead actress is the Princess from Hellboy II. Reviews are awesome, too.
" comes from director Adam Wingard, who also co-wrote, shot and edited the film, and it was his first feature film. He made two horror shorts before this and one short and another feature after. This film has an unreal cast, with Bill Moseley as the smiling maniac called 'Mr. Suitcase', as well as scream queen Tiffany Shepis and Tom Towles from "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer". 'Mr. Suitcase' carries a suitcase full of razorblades and he unleashes a super human killer on a group of kids, so they are forced to take up arms with an insane Chili enthusiast if they want to survive. Fangoria calls it a "gorfest that does what so many recent low-budget shockers claim to do" and Fantasia called it "a well-shot, unsettling gorefest" with "excessive bloody effects". Dead Harvey says, sold! Where do I get my copy?
" is from Travis Irvine and, yes, it's about killer racoons. It's Irvine's first film and it's as low-budget indie horror as it gets. First off, I can't get enough of the title... using 'night' twice is just awesome. Secondly, believe it or not, I found a review of the film on nytimes.com, 
", formerly called "Eat Your Heart Out", is from James Tucker, written by Joshua Nelson and it's being released by Lionsgate. It's about a desperately lonely man who finally meets the love of his life, but unfortunately for him, she's a prostitute who is, literally, feeding on the men of New York. "Sex will never be the same..." Disturbing violent and sexual content, language and nudity follow.
" looks like another kick ass indie horror, this one from Scott Phillips. It's got an unreal cast, including Trent Haaga (Troma veteran), Gunnar Hansen (the original Leatherface) and a bunch of other low-budget indie horror regulars. It's about a dangerous, bloodthirsty 'family' traveling in a van, who decide to outdo a previous notorious 'family' by slaughtering every person in a remote small town. Now, here's the capper... on their myspace page, they say they had "several less-than-appealing offers for distribution" and they've "decided to take matters into (their) own hands and distribute the movie (themselves)". So, here is yet another chance to support indie horror! Pick up a copy!
" is an Australian horror from writer/director Kieran Galvin and this is one along the lines of "Jack Ketchum's The Girl Next Door" crossed with "Black Snake Moan" or "Misery". It's about a sultry swindler, Liz, who attempts to commit suicide, but is rescued by a lonely tow truck driver... who takes her to his remote farmhouse, convinced that she's the wife who abandoned him years earlier.
", which comes out today. It was made in 2007, was based on the 2003 computer game series of the same name and had its premiere in Montreal on July 22, 2007 during Fantasia Fest. The film is as offensive as it gets... and I don't mean with gore, I mean it's just offensive. The opening scene has two guys hijacking a plane to the Bahamas, only to be overpowered by the passengers, who, in the struggle for control, end up driving the plane into the South Tower of the World Trade Center. It had a budget of $18Million and after it's theatrical run, managed to gross a grand total of $142,761 worldwide. I, uh... think that says it all. Wow, Uwe... wow.
