Independent Horror

All posts tagged Independent Horror

Final Girls Unleash Official Trailer!

Published January 21, 2015 by biggayhorrorfan

final girls
2015 is already shaping into a bloody fantastic year. I’ve totally found a way to cover up my balding spots…and Final Girls, director-writer Matt Storc’s femme based horror opus, is finally going to see the late of day! After a series of post-production set-backs, an official trailer has finally been released.

Final Girls will, also, receive its first screening at Panic Fest in Kansas City, Missouri over the weekend of January 30 – February 1st, 2015. There will be a Q and A with Storc and cast members after the screening, as well. Congrats, all!

https://www.facebook.com/panicfilmfest

Until the next time – SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!

http://www.facebook.com/biggayhorrorfan

Doug McKeown’s ZADD!

Published November 8, 2014 by biggayhorrorfan

ZADD

ZADD


Sticky rivers of beer and pop; ghoulish make-up; excited horror fans getting to work with the genius mind behind one of the 80s most beloved creature flicks. You don’t come across those ingredients everyday – so when it comes along, you jump on that spongy beast with enthusiasm!
BGHF, Wendi and Chad

BGHF, Wendi and Chad

Indeed, after twenty some years away from the horror film making field, Douglas McKeown, director of the chewy, beloved Deadly Spawn, set upon Chicago this October, with a cinematic vengeance. In a matter of days, he and a bevy of local talent (including amazing DP and film editor Jayme Joyce) created a fun, short terror film (ZADD) with a pertinent social message attached to boot!

Jayme: capturing magic

Jayme: capturing magic

Eager participants (including artist Mitch O’Connell and his infant son, Double Page Spread’s Wendi Freeman, Chateau Grrr’s Chad Hawks and myself) gathered at the historic Portage Theater, one Thursday, for an afternoon of intense mayhem. We were all playing ghouls who had been run over by an extremely dangerous drunk driver. Once some minimal grey face make-up was applied (often by McKeown himself), we lumbered into the theater. Soon we were all hovering behind the seats in the theaters, trying to ignore the calcified remains of beverages that had dried on the floors and were now sticking to our hands. After appropriately scaring our murderer, an action that McKeown directed with knowing insistence and humor, we washed our deadliness off in the theater’s tiny sink and soon adjourned to a local parking lot. There, we enacted our death scenarios. Let’s just say, anyone who ever had a fantasy involving James Brolin and 70s cult masterpiece The Car slept soundly that night.ZADD car

After a day and a half of consistent editing and some voiceover magic, ZADD premiered at The Massacre 2014 on Saturday, October 18th, before a rare screening of Deadly Spawn. With a solid premise, a surprise cameo appearance from Ari Lehman from Friday the 13th and a ghoulish sense of 50s monster movie dread, this little flick proves that McKeown hasn’t lost any movie making magic.

McKeown & ZADD Cast

McKeown & ZADD Cast

Be sure to keep up with McKeown at: https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Deadly-Spawns-director-Douglas-McKeown and, while you’re at it, urge him to procure an online release for ZADD as soon as possible.

McKeown & BGHF

McKeown & BGHF


Until the next time- SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!

http://www.facebook.com/biggayhorrorfan

Paul Leeming’s Pieces of 8

Published November 7, 2014 by biggayhorrorfan

pieces of 8
Controversy is never a bad thing. Right?

Accomplished director Paul Leeming is finding this out with his visually stunning, syrupy ode to female regret, Pieces of 8. A quick yet potent look at the specific damages that personal freedom can promote, this ripping horror piece has been gaining protests from those who believe it buys into a pro-life agenda.

But here, Leeming, a pro-choice atheist in real life, seems to be simply acknowledging the fact that, while a vital option, there is nothing easy about the decision to terminate a life. This is something that this richly acted, agonizingly gorgeous piece brings home hard.

You can keep up with Leeming and his production company Visceral Psyche at

https://www.facebook.com/visceralpsyche.

Until the next time – SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan

http://www.facebook.com/biggayhorrorfan

Review: The Horror Network, Volume 1

Published October 22, 2014 by biggayhorrorfan

horror network
I’ve never been accused of having an international flair. Hell, I’m lucky if I don’t knock over half my collectibles when stumbling awake in the morning. Therefore, I am thankful that reel EPIC entertainment provides a true continental experience, for everyone, by including haunted offerings from Spain, England and America in their latest terror anthology, The Horror Network, Volume 1.

Nicely, the five short subjects included are beautiful directed, filmed and acted. The production, also, sets itself apart from other offerings by allowing its fright fueled antics to originate from very real life horrors. Thus, such subjects as war crimes, pedophilia, child napping and domestic violence are given fantastical and, occasionally, true to life treatment, here. horror network poster

Therefore, those expecting the goofy antics of Creepshow or old school Amicus collections may be slightly put off, but those wishing to experience some genuine and emotionally viable horror will find plenty to intrigue them with these smart and often ultra-artistic nightmares.

Be sure to become a part of The Horror Network at:
https://www.facebook.com/themacabremovie

Until the next time – SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan

http://www.facebook.com/biggayhorrorfan

Review: Snake With A Human Tail

Published October 1, 2014 by biggayhorrorfan

snake
I can list off my favorite monsters for you, quickly: The Wolf Man, Godzilla and the Catholic Church.
Amendment: I kind of loathe the last one, actually.

Thankfully, doing what only the best of exploitation film can do, director-writer Spencer Gray explores the true insidious nature (and the hideous aftereffects) of perverted Catholicism with his attention grabbing short film Snake with a Human Tail. Mixing sharp social observation with gritty atmosphere, Gray shows that there is often no true escape from a corrupted childhood.

Opening on a therapy session with Father Fulci, the main character, the audience soon discovers the deep wells of this calm and collected clergyman’s sexual transgressions. A pedophile and erotic deviant, Fulci soon shows that his redemption is not soon at hand. But his love for a transgendered prostitute named Karma may ultimately be Fulci’s downfall. The nervy, confrontational Karma has a secret connection to Fulci’s past and things are about to be blown wide open!

Gray fills the screen, visually, with a 70s noir style while encouraging his cast to downplay the story’s outrageous factors with subtlety and restraint. Of course, there is bloodshed here, but the true violence centers around Fulci’s past crimes, an unforgiveable stain.

As Fulci, genre veteran Marv Blauvelt connects with a surprising languidness. While it would have been nice to see an actual transgendered actress in the role of Karma, Shari Davis ultimately earns respect (and sympathy) with her hard nailed vulnerability.

Snake with a Human Tail is, currently, playing the festival circuit. You can keep shedding along with it at:
https://www.facebook.com/snakewithahumantail

Until the next time – SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!

http://www.facebook.com/biggayhorrorfan

Review: Claudia Qui

Published August 2, 2014 by biggayhorrorfan

claudia qui main
Reminiscent of such slow burning 70s pictures as John Hancock’s dreamy Let’s Scare Jessica to Death and (even) the Shirley MacLaine supernatural opus The Possession of Joel Delaney, writer-director Tonjia Atomic’s (55 minute) Claudia Qui is an intriguing, music laden adventure.

After discovering an ancient photo among her personal work files, photographer Claudia (a fine Barbara Burgio) soon begins to exhibit weird behavior. These occurrences are mild, at first, but soon begin to take over her life. As her concerned boyfriend (a very natural Don Ayers) fights to hold onto her, Claudia seems ready to dive, completely, into the characteristics of the mysterious persona that has been haunting her.claudia51

Filled with Josh Phenicie’s simple yet beautiful cinematography and some fine editing (including Derrick Carey’s opening and closing title sequences), Atomic allows us to amble through Claudia’s dreams (done with nice black and white photography) and somnambulant waking states. This, ultimately, creates an ending that surprises and compels viewers.

Imbued with an intimate knowledge of the arts scene and a meticulous background score of fine tunes, Claudia Qui is not a film for those who enthuse for the quick kill, but for those who like to dive into the psychological crevices of the very impressionable mind.

Be sure to keep up with all of Atomic’s vibrantly eclectic projects at http://www.tonjiaatomic.com.

Until the next time – SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!

http://www.facebook.com/biggayhorrorfan

Review: Scum

Published June 27, 2014 by biggayhorrorfan

scum
After working all day at Big Bo’s Big Body Parts Shack, I often feel particularly filthy.

My outsides could never look as corrupted as the insides of the lead character in Zach Schildwachter’s potent short, Scum, though. Utilizing testimonials from real life serial killers to populate his killer’s thoughts, Shildwachter creates a very potent, nearly poetic examination here.

Nice editing, solid performances and a sure sense of filmic purpose mark Scum as a vital calling card, making viewers eager for more fine, independent horror from the shores of Ohio, where this mini-opus was filmed.

Until the next time – SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!

http://www.facebook.com/biggayhorrorfan

Review: Bunni

Published April 17, 2014 by biggayhorrorfan

bunni
I grew up in Deadwood country where the local, maniacal caterers at shotgun weddings (and other less public functions) would try to get us kids to eat the rabbit legs, that they had prepared, by telling us that they tasted just like chicken.

Well, I have to tell you, that while much meat is exposed, mangled and manipulated in Red Serial Films’ fun, slasher-like Bunni – none of it probably tastes like chicken!

Writer-director Daniel Benedict places his tale on Halloween night which, smartly, allows for his very attractive female cast to be clad in very little costuming due to the plotline and, as a bonus, many of these ladies, including plucky Mercedez Varble (as the piece’s final girl) and Cat Geary (who gives the villainess some saucy menace), have nice volumes of presence, as well.bunni2

Wisely, Benedict keeps the action moving once his premise is set up, also. After the protagonists enter a seemingly abandoned warehouse (that holds youthful memories for one of the characters), clothes soon get dropped and blood almost immediately starts spurting. Ben Rich’s special effects make-up designs are gruesomely effective and even hint at a bit of feminism as the most misogynistic male character gets it in the nastiest way.

And while she may not knock Mrs. Voorhees off her mantel as the filmdom’s most famous femme killer, Bunni, herself, brings a nice modern appeal to Benedict’s sisters-doing-it-for-themselves revenge motif. She is a nice focal point, visually and emotionally, for those who believe women are much more powerful (and much more vicious when wronged) than men.

Mostly, though, Bunni is an enjoyable horror film that knows exactly what it is doing and doesn’t waste much time getting there. Its a fun, fast ride and an honorable throwback to those 80s classics that so many of us love and admire.

Bunni is currently wrecking havoc throughout the convention circuit. You can keep up-to-date with showings and release dates at https://www.facebook.com/RedSerialFilms.

Until the next time – SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!

http://www.facebook.com/biggayhorrorfan

ShaLenn Madness!

Published March 29, 2014 by biggayhorrorfan

mediatrix2
So, I had this uptight designer make me a baseball cap consisting of nothing but ice. I was just trying to be as cool as some of these awesome independent exploitation directors that I know. It didn’t work. Still, my consolation prize is that I can promote these spine tingling ladies and gents until time freezes over or my bloodstained weave falls out. Here goes…

Cory J. Udler, founder of ShaLenn Productions and that awesome king of Wisconsin filmic craziness, is at it again! His brilliant freak-out on American values and small town perversion, Mediatrix, is now available on VHS (see photo above).

First Day of Girl filming.

First Day of Girl filming.

And…continuing in that film’s delirious vein, he is now hard at work on his next feature, The Girl Who Played with the Dead! Featuring performances from (former) Fangoria goddess Shannon Lark and cult icon Lloyd Kaufman, this epic is sure to push all of Middle America’s (way too) fuzzy buttons.

You can keep track of Girl at:
https://www.facebook.com/thegirlwhoplayedwiththedeadmovie

…and purchase Mediatrix at http://www.incestdeathsquad.com.

In a parallel universe, this HAS to be the perfect couple: director Cory J Udler and BGHF!

In a parallel universe, this HAS to be the perfect couple: director Cory J Udler and BGHF!


Until the next time – SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!

http://www.facebook.com/biggayhorrorfan

Review: Antisocial

Published January 22, 2014 by biggayhorrorfan

antisocial
I hate it when Medusa visits my local gym. With just one glance, everyone gets stoned.

Similarly, with Cody Calahan’s fun and bloody Antisocial, being released on DVD on January 28th, 2014 by Breaking Glass Pictures, a group of friends find themselves facing down a zombie-like virus that infects them via excessive online viewing.

While the statement on the dangers of media and overreliance on the internet is a bit obvious here, Calahan works with a steady pace and detailed eye making the viewing experience, as a whole, a truly enjoyable one. A gruesome scene involving surgery on a squirming yet determined patient and the use of a brightly hued strand of Christmas lights as a weapon add visual fuel to this fire, as well.

Mylett

Mylett

Vestiges of well known terror flicks such as Night of the Living Dead and Cabin Fever are present here due to the plot circumstances. The main characters, a group of college friends, are isolated in a house together when the outbreak hits. The nice twist, though, is that everyone, despite their faults, cares about each other. Watching them work, hard, to help each other survive adds a nice poignance to the material and points to Calahan’s skill in working with his cast.
Barret

Barret

As the determined heroine, Sam, Michelle Mylett radiates with a nice sense of grit and innocence. Cody Ray Thompson, Adam Christie and Ana Alic all deliver as her fellow victim/friends, as well. Ry Barret, well known for such independent Canadian horrors as Desperate Souls, Psycho Ward and When A Tree Falls, compels with a star making charisma as the headstrong Chad, as well. Its a smaller role than the others, but Barret makes every moment of his screen time count.

You can keep up to date with Antisocial at https://www.facebook.com/AntisocialTheMovie and Breaking Glass Pictures at http://www.breakingglasspictures.com.

Until the next time – SWEET love and pink GRUE, Big Gay Horror Fan!

http://www.facebook.com/biggayhorrorfan