A Note of Thanks From Chris and Mike as All Things Horror Turns One

MIKE: So All Things Horror turns a year old today. It feels incredibly weird and satisfying to type those words.

I remember standing in my kitchen knowing that I wanted to start writing again but also knowing that I couldn’t keep up with music like I‘d used to in a former life writing about punk and indie for a fanzine later on a blog.

Actually let’s go back further. A few years ago when I lived in Boston proper, I’d host a horror movie night every Sunday. I met some of the best friends I’ll ever make lounging around and bantering back and forth over The Thing, Dead Birds, The Beyond, Street Trash, Frankenhooker, The Prowler and more. We’d get together when films like Land of the Dead hit theaters, dress up like zombies and shamble town Landsdowne Street past all the incredulous nightclub revelers and make our way into the theater. As time goes on and friends started to move away, as I moved in with my then girlfriend and now wife, the lovely Miss Clare, it became harder and harder to get the gang together. I wanted to get that sense of camaraderie back, a place where we could talk about horror movies amongst friends without the trolling of message boards.

I think I was spreading some peanut butter over crackers when the idea came to start a new blog with friends. In a geeked out state I texted Chris and the site was born (I didn’t know I was supposed to hate H2 with every fiber of my being. Sorry about that). I can’t express enough the debt of gratitude I owe him. His knowledge and passion for horror exceed my own. More importantly, if anyone ever is ever lucky enough to meet him, you’ll know within minutes he is one of the sweetest, most generous people ever.

I want to give a huge thank you to anyone that reads this site. When we started out I thought I’d be happy with fifty people a day looking us up. In one year we’ve hit over two hundred subscribers on top of all the random folks that find us each day. I’m still blown away by the response so far.

I also want to give a massive thanks to the horror blogging community. I won’t mention anyone by name, because I’ll leave someone out. Just know that I really enjoy all the back and forth the commenting on each other sites, and the emails and exchanges over the past year. I hope I get to meet more of you at screenings, conventions and festivals over the next year. Thanks also to the myriad of film makers that have submitted their works for review, as well as given us permission to screen their work for our Boston audience.

Can I have a final moment of self indulgence  to talk about the year’s high points (regarding the site that is-nothing will top the birth of Ada. Dear lord I love being a daddy)? Getting an unsolicited press pass to cover the NYC Horror film fest ranks near the top. Starting our monthly film night is up there. And today, I found out my review of Dawning was quoted for the new trailer. I’m not going to lie, I got super geek up over finding that out.

Thanks again to everyone that reads and comments and contacts us. This has been a freaking blast and we’re just getting rolling.   

CHRIS: My Gory, Goofy, Grand First Year at All Things Horror

I don’t have any children, but goodness knows I’m old enough to have a few young uns running around annoying people in restaurants or wiping snot everywhere. I guess in my mind I’m perpetually 13, but in reality, I should have the whole married with children and career and two cars in the garage checklist nearly complete. Oh well, I never had those kind of goals to begin with and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. I guess horror blogging has been serving as my surrogate brood, and I’ve given birth to a lot of angry, writhing little posts over this past year. The writing has been cathartic in a very positive way, but sometimes the posts have to take hammers to people (movies) and smash their skulls. Yep, I’m stealing some imagery from Mr. David Cronenberg here, but hopefully one or two of my word babies will survive and thrive and someone reading in the future may say “ya know, that Chris guy had a few interesting things to say, after all”. If nothing else, I have a profound…that’s right PROFOUND, love and respect for all things horror, and I hope anything I post reflects that.

How did this family come to fruition? Well, a little over a year ago I was approached by my good buddy Mike to start up a horror blog similar to some of the favorites we’d been reading over the years. I’d been a fan of the Vault of Horror and Final Girl for a while not really connecting that the hilarious and insightful Stacie Ponder and the venerable, stately Brian Solomon were actual real people just like me. Their sites had such attention to detail, style, and superior writing that I figured they were on the level of staffed sites like Dread Central or Bloody Disgusting. Nope, turns out they were actual real people who responded to my comments and even answered email with gusto. What a concept!

So yeah, Mike threw out the bait, and I bit. Now, one year later, I am still biting. Maybe more like chewing. Anyway…I think it’s going pretty well for someone who never seems to get anything finished (see: checklist above). I now have over a hundred reviews, articles, and interviews to my name, posts that I believe I put a lot of heart and thought into even if they were presented in that rushed format of “I’m posting this shit from work while trying to hide that fact that I should actually be working” way of misspelling things, naming incorrect actors, and all manners of shit a good editor would mark in red pen and give me a nice firm slap on the proverbial butt.

It’s no secret that Mike and I met on a construction site many years ago, both of us homeless after repressive economic acts by the Reagan administration. After an epic fight following a “friendly disagreement” over some special sunglasses…no wait, that’s a scene in They Live… Anyway, the actual  way I met Mike was when he was hosting a horror movie night at his place in Allston Rock City, and I weaseled my way into the group with some smooth talk and a fistful of movies. We have since become great friends and I truly love working alongside him on the site as well as our monthly film screening series All Things Horror Presents. We’ve gotten really close by holding each other during scary movies, and have taken turns cleaning up the pee on our seats.

Mike, we’ve come a long way, baby! Glad to have met all you wonderful readers, bloggers, and filmmakers along on the ride! 

Mike has faith in The Last Exorcism

Can the last few minutes of a film completely destroy one’s enjoyment of everything that had preceded it? That was the question I found myself asking heading out of The Last Exorcism. Until the ill-conceived climax, Daniel Stamm had put together one hell of an engaging and thought provoking film.

The film rest largely on the shoulders of its two (and in one case double jointed) leads. Both prove more than up to the task, and anyone that sees this film should be prepared for two of the best performances in a horror film in a long while. 

In his role of Reverend Cotton Marcus, Patrick Fabian has created one of the more complex, thoughtful protagonists in a genre film in a long while. He easily conveys the natural charisma of an evangelical preacher. As he states clearly in the beginning, his fiery brand of sermonizing fills the coffer which is needed since the church can’t pay bills with love. Our good friend Cortez the Killer refers to Cotton as a “rockstar” amongst his congregation (read his review, it’s a damn good one)  So confident in his ability to rile up a crowd, on a bets the camera crew he can insert the recipe to his mother’s banana bread into his sermon and his flock will be none the wiser. When the congregation responds to his culinary advice with a hearty “Amen”, he gives the camera a smirk. Cotton could have easily come off as smug or unlikeable, but in Fabian’s hands he becomes a person whose motivations you understand and easily root for. Underneath the Sunday morning blustering from the pulpit is a man dedicated to his family, who also believes the exorcism work he’s done helps his subjects much the same way a psychiatrist would. A lesser performer would have played the role for camp, or leaned too heavily on the faux preachers seen far too often on television, sweating up a storm while preaching fire and brimstone, their rhetoric creating a distraction while their free hand reached for your wallet. That type of performance would leave a crowd rooting for a downfall. Fabian comes off as a man amused by his own ability to rile a crowd, and sees himself more akin to an entertainer than a priest (a later scene featuring a phone call with his wife and an offhand comment about health insurance later on provides an incredibly simple an honest revelation as to his motivations as well).

As the film begins, Cotton has decided to expose exorcisms as sham and potentially dangerous practice. He relates to the audience that after the premature, but relatively healthy, birth of his son, he found himself giving thanks to the doctors and not to God. This triggered his crisis of faith that spanned years, leaving Cotton with self doubt as to whether he can continue to lead his congregation. As he reads stories of exorcisms gone fatally wrong, along with the Vatican’s plans to expand the practice, his conscious will not allow him to continue. He has hired a crew to follow him on his last exorcism, during which, like the great and powerful Oz, he will pull back the curtain and expose the parlor tricks used to deceive the participants.

This leads him to the remote farmhouse of the Sweetzers. Sixteen year old Nell seems to suffer from delusional behavior, and in a blacked out state has been killing off the family livestock. The devout fundamentalist family believes the girl to be posses by demons and have reached out to Cotton to perform an exorcism.

As Nell, Ashley Bell’s performance is every bit on par with Fabian’s Marcus. We meet her as a shy home schooled girl who has been kept away from the outside world as a whole by her puritanical father. The innocence Bell brings to her characterization never feels forced. There’s a genuinely sweet moment where Nell gushes over a pair of Doc Marten boots the crew woman gives her as a gift. That Bell can morph from a sweet, religious young girl to a genuinely unnerving presence during her black out scenes in a testament to her performance. Apparently Bell is double jointed, and the grotesque contortions we see in the film are all her-there’s a refreshing lack of CGI in this film. She also delivers creepy small moments, such as a brief smile she gives to the cameraman as a door closes. Bell effortlessly shifts her moods from naïve young girl, to someone bewildered by her seeming lack of memory as to what’s going on, to crazed lunatic.  

In fact, the film downplays a lot of the standard horror fare. Scenes that featured prominently in the trailer, such as Nell crawling along the ceiling, never make an appearance in the final product. The lack of the fantastical play to the films strengths, as it raises questions as to whether or not Net genuinely suffers from possession, or suffers from psychological trauma. After the first exorcism fails to take hold, we learn more about Nell and why she may be suffering. Possessed or not it, Nell’s violent behavior escalates, while Cotton and the two film makers debate whether to pack up and go. It’s a terrific small moment in the film, where the cameraman argues there’s a difference between a sixteen year old girl and a sixteen year old psychopath, even while Cotton argues the three of them should be able to easily overpower her if things get bad. The scene provides logical reasons for their behavior, something far too often missing in the genre.

This middle section of the film is where Fabian shines as Cotton. Faced with a true believer in the form of Nell’s father, the huckster reverend seems genuinely shaken when confronted with the flip side of absolute faith. That he’s far removed from the ringing choruses of Hallelujahs from the Sunday flock hits him hard, as he finds himself face to face with a father (Louis Herthum) that will go to unnerving lengths to restore his daughter’s soul.  That Marcus refuses to cut and run is a testament to his character. He develops a genuine sense of responsibility for the girl, and makes numerous attempts to get her outside help, but is stymied in his efforts. It’s in these moments that we truly believe that while the reverend may not have believed in the spiritual power of his craft, he genuinely sought to heal them.  It’s not until the girl’s father threatens to save her soul through drastic measures that Cotton agrees to perform another exorcism.

The climactic exorcism delivers on chilling and unnerving moments. A desperate Cotton tries to revive long dormant faith in order to save the girl, with every ounce doubt and hope equally etched into his face. Bell’s performance here is truly unnerving, and there are moments where I had to turn away from the screen cringing. That it ends with a completely unforeseen yet satisfactory conclusion is a testament to the different type of horror film Stamm wanted to make.

Stamm also deserves praise for not constraining himself to the typical tropes of “found footage” horror. He provides a score for the film, something that might detract from the illusion of reality but provides for strong emotional cues during the moments of terror. The close quarters of the simple farmhouse also lend to the claustrophobic nature of some of the scenes, matching [REC] in this regard. More than anything shown on screen, the fear of the unknown of what lurks around each corner or behind locked doors lend itself to a sense of dread.

The wheels come off the wagon in the last ten minutes. After achieving a breakthrough during the second Exorcism (one I didn’t see coming), the film reaches what could have been its closing point. Granted it was an ending that would have been very far from typical, but to this point The Last Exorcism had been anything but standard horror fare. A chance passing leads the group to make one more run at playing the Scooby Gang.  From this point on until the credits roll a few short minutes later, the film takes a turn for the conventional. I won’t spoil the ending here, but it undercut a lot of what made the film work so well, and betrayed the characters developed earlier (I will say that the more I think of it, the more I’ve come to accept cotton’s last few moments in the film). It is also guilty of the most egregious flaw usually found in the fauxumentary horror film-when the shit truly hits the fans, why would you weigh yourself down with the camera when sprinting for dear life-and hold it at shoulder level no less? A third person perspective of that shot would prove to be laughable. I get that it’s done to set up a final jolt, but a decade after the Blair Witch Project some creative type must have a better way around this flaw.

I began this review asking if the last few minutes of a film could ruin the enjoyment of the work as a whole. I probably wrote that around noon this morning. Since then I’ve endured the commute from hell and am now ensconced in a hotel room, polishing this review off. Given the time I’ve had to weigh in between now and then, I’d have to say this film ranks high on my list of the year’s best horror. I was please to see the box office take just north of twenty million for the weekend. This tells me that the horror audience will support a well made, thoughtful film despite the lack of a name actor, franchise, high gore content or body count behind it. Compare The Last Exorcism’s returns (production budget came in just under two million) to Predators, a film with a built in fan base, that premiered just south of twenty five million, or even Piranha 3D (admittedly, a much different and very fun cinematic experience) at about ten million. To do this towards the tail end of August, when studios typically dump movies onto theaters with lowered performance expectations, makes the tally all the more impressive. While I don’t need a sequel to this film, hopefully it will serve as a stepping stone for other low-budget, intelligent horror to hit the big screen. I’m going to give this film a second go tomorrow evening, after work wraps up.

Why Session 9 Scares the Hell Out of Me

Brad Anderson’s Session 9 lends itself to nearly endless amounts of discussion and speculation. Filmed on site and the now demolished ruins of the Danvers State Mental Hospital, the location lends itself to the one of the most atmospheric psychological horror films of the decade.  The ensemble cast turns out top notch performances with even a pre-sunglasses wearing David Caruso has moments that hint why he was supposed to be the next “BIG THING” and not the punch line bag he morphed into since. The excavated session tapes which lay out the story of Mary, the young girl institutionalized for murdering her family provoke chills throughout. Session 9 has aged remarkably well, and warrants revisiting many times over. While we could go into any of the above facets of the film in great length, I want to specifically talk about what terrifies me the most about the film, and how recent fatherhood has given me a new appreciation for it.

Before reading any further, please be warned that it’s tough to analyze a movie without spoiling it. Since the movie is readily available via Netflix Watch Instant and Google Video, there’s no excuse to not watch this film. You can find it for ten bucks on DVD and trust me; this is one you want to have in your collection. Watch the film first, and then feel free to come back later and tell me what you think.

What it all boils down to is sometimes you just have a really bad day. For Gordon (Peter Mullan) that day sparked the tragedy and horror to follow. Desperate to land the asbestos removal job in order to make payroll and put food on his recently expanded family’s table, he makes concessions before thinking of the ramifications. When the viewer spies Peter sitting outside his home in his van, armed with a bag of groceries and roses for his wife, the enormity of promising a to deliver job in half the time needed for less money than it’s worth hits him. Already feeling the first cracks of stress, the chain of events that occur when he walks through the front door trigger the action of the film.

While the voice of Simon floating from the session tapes leads viewers to believe something supernatural has taken possession of Gordon, the answer remains much simpler. In his own words Simon states he “lives in the weak and the wounded”. Take this to mean that Simon lives as a part of nearly everyone. Anderson’s film simply points out we all have a breaking point, from which even the most stable person can cross and never come back from. Once that moment comes, we simply disassociate from ourselves, perhaps thinking that there will be a mulligan if we take our actions too far.  

Session 9 seems to have weighed heavily on me since I’ve become a father. There was a moment the other a night where I went to check on my daughter after her midnight feed. I pulled the rocking chair up next to her crib just to spy on her for a few minutes. She was having a rare moment where she was awake, but also content, and when she looked up at me she gave me a massive smile and grabbed at my finger. For a moment my heart burst with love for this ten pound sack of flour with hair and lungs that can compete with an air raid siren. Then it hit me. It doesn’t stop. I’m completely responsible for her well being and there’s no finish line, no point where you just put your hands together and say “well that’s that”.  There could be that one day where work’s Outlook inbox is overflowing with “urgent” items, the heating bill is due, the fridge is empty and the kid just won’t stop crying no matter how much we try to feed her, keep her in clean diapers or coddle her. There are moments you can’t come back from, can’t take a mulligan on. All it takes is one bad day, just one moment before you turn life into shit. Everything takes on a hyper reality as a new parent.

 It’s hinted in the film that fatherhood changed Gordon’s outlook towards his company. Time formerly spent enjoying after work beers with the crew evolved into hours of escalating worry over where the next job would come from, which led to losing work due to sloppily presented overbids. The lack of work only ratchets the pressure u for Gordon, as we increasingly worries if he can stay afloat and support his household.

There was a story in the news lately about a mother who left her newborn daughter in the bathtub to drown. She didn’t stuff her head underwater and hold her under she died, she simply laid her in a tub with just a bit too much water, closed the door and went about her day. After checking back on her to make sure she had died, she fixed her elder son lunch, then logged into Facebook. When her husband returned home from work, she casually mentioned their baby had died. Her rational? She simply found the burden of caring for two children too stressful.  These aren’t uncommon occurrences. While there are scares aplenty throughout the film’s run time (the lights going out one by one as the generator conks out leaving a nyctophobiac to retreat screaming panic springs to mind) the connections you can make between Gordon and the crimes ripped from the headlines stay with you long afterwards. There is no better example of true horror than a work that creeps into the idle recesses of one’s mind long afterwards.

Mullen handled Gordon’s own breakdown on film in such a heartbreaking way that it lends my sympathy not only to his character, but to the true life cases where a parent finds themselves simply overwhelmed by the responsibilities at hand. Yes it’s by his own hand his colleagues and family meet their end, but he had mentally checked the moment the boiling pot of water scalded him. That became his tipping point, the moment where the stress of work and family, and the unrelenting noise of his barking dog and crying infant became too much to bear. From that moment on, Gordon’s mind vacated the body, allowing the Simon that lives in each of us the chance to take up residence.

If there’s one characteristic that defines Gordon’s state, it’s one of extreme tiredness. We see the deep crag lines in his face from the backbreaking hours of breathing in toxic air day in and out. Phil comments on Gordon’s turned appearance at the start of the film, asking if the baby’s keeping him up at night. Later, when his nephew asks how his Aunt has been feeling, Gordon can only reply with how tired she’s felt. The way he draws the line out lends a sense of pleading behind his words. Obviously, at that point he’s killed his wife and baby Emma. He’s in such a state that he only knows he’s done something horrible, but remains disconnected from how awful his actions are. The closing moments of the film find Gordon bawling into his broken phone, still imagining Wendy on the other end of the line, with his breakdown complete and its results surrounding him. The closing shots of the man referred to earlier as the “Zen master of calm” reduced to insanity by the stress of work and responsibilities of home stick with me now long after I’ve hit stop on the DVD player.

Anderson’s should scare the hell out of people because it could simply be seen as a mirror reflecting back the viewer’s own life. The ultimate loss of control, and the tragic consequences that a few bad moments leave in their wake are far more terrifying than any monster Hollywood could think to create. Anyway, I have to go. It’s time for Ada’s 230 AM feed. 

Beware The Podcast-Catch the first episode now!

Chris and I recorded our first podcast last week in a giddy rush of enthusiasm after getting blasted in the face by the jolly good time that is Piranha 3D. Armed with a pair of USB mics and an endless supply of scrumptious Mexican chocolate from Tazos, we banged this thing out in no time flat. Bear in mind it's our first episode, so the technical quality may be a bit lacking.

I spend a lot of time in my car. It's not unusual for me to put in 200 miles in a day on my way to meet up with my clients. There's only so many times I can listen to the music on my iPod and after an hour of sports talk radio, I'm reaching for the Advil. In the past couple months, the horror podcasts I've subscribed to have gotten me through those multi hour stretches with nothing but asphalt and white lines as far as the eye can see see. After listening to many hours of some of my favorites from Horror Etc., The Vaultcast , Bloody Good Horror amongst others, I finally gave into the urge to start one of my own.

You may have noticed that we're not calling this the All Things Horror podcast. There's a good reason for this. Aside from Chris and myself, we're going to have another horror host for future episodes. We could tell you the person's name, but we're going to hold off just to keep you coming back for more. Let's just say he or she is another horror blogger and said person is nearly universally beloved by all of us. Since it's not just an ATH jam, we figure it's pretty stupid to use that for a title. Since all of us love American Werewolf in Paris London, and think that John Landis is the bees knees, we came up with a riff on the famous warning from the film for our title. Between Skype and the new Google voice service, we should have zero problems getting together on a regular basis to babble on about our favorite films.

You can listen to our first episode below, or you can click and add us to your current podcast subscriptions. In our first episode we talk about Alexander Aja's Piranha 3D, whether it delivered on its promise of a bloody good time, and if there's such a thing as too many boobs.


Let us know what you think and give us some feedback for future episodes.

All Things Horror Turns One and We're Giving Away Presents

On August 30^th, our site turns a year old and to celebrate we want to give our readers some presents. Chris and I are thankful for everyone that reads the site. In just under a year we’ve hit 225 total subscribers, and every day we see our overall readership go up. When I first started this site, I thought it’d be a big deal if a couple hundred people a week check us out, and thanks all our readers, we’ve far surpassed our initial expectations. We hope to continue both the site and our film nights in the coming year with more multimedia posted. As a thanks to our readers, we want to give away some presents of our own. These aren’t your “oh great Aunt Sheila is giving me a hand knit sweater with a pink bunny rabbit pattern” garden variety level of gifts. Check out what we’re giving away.

THE COMMUNE DVD

Elisabeth Fies feature length debut tells the creepy story of a young girl manipulated by her absentee father’s hippie commune. This is one of the finer bits of indie psychological thrillers we’ve been fortunate enough to stumble upon.

$20 Gift Certificate to Fright Rags

Simply put Fright Rags puts out the best horror themed clothing on the web. I’ve proudly been rocking my They Live “Obey” design for the past few weeks. With dozens of original designs along with cult and horror classics screened for you to wear proudly, there’s something for every horror fan at Fright Rags.

The “Andre Dumas ‘Don’t Go In The Water’” Appreciation Award

We have nothing but love for our good friend Andre, the hostess of The Horror Digest. Her beauty is only exceeded by her writing ability. In honor of her phobia of water-based horror movies, we’re giving away a twin pack of terror for all the land lovers out there: the new special addition from Shout! Factory of Joe Dante’s Piranha, as well as the special edition of the film that made it unsafe to go into the water, Steven Spielberg’s Jaws.  

Finally…

If you’re any sort of zombie fan, then you’re giddy with excitement over the upcoming AMC program The Walking Dead. Halloween night just got a million times awesome with the announcement that it will mark the premiere of the pilot episode. The date can’t get here quick enough, but what’s a fan of the living dead to do between now and the debut?

How about wading through your way of nearly 1100 pages of source material? We’re giving one lucky winner The Walking Dead Compendium Vol 1, which collects the first 48 issues of Robert Kirkman’s tale of the zombie apocalypse and how a small group of survivors try to get by in this new world.  I especially loved the early issues of this book, as Officer Rick Grimes does his best to hold his family and new friends together under incredible duress. Much like Romero’s ‘Dead” films, we’re often reminded the true threats do not come from the zombies, but from the selfishness of men.  

So how do you enter to win one of these prizes? Oh it could not be any easier:

1. Send an email to allthingshorroronline@yahoo.com
2. Put “Contest” in the subject line
3. Drop us any sort of note-what you like about the site, what doesn’t work, and what you’d like to see in the future. Or just say hello. Or tell us to piss off. It’s all up to you.
4. We’ll pick winners randomly from any of the emails we receive before Noon on August 30^th and announce them that evening.

Thanks again to all our readers; we look forward to many more years.

Remake vs. Original: Piranha

Ok, before I even start with this comparison, I should not that there’s debate as to whether or not Alexander Aja’s Piranha actually constitutes a true remake of the 1978 original film. It definitely stands on its own in terms of story, the origins of the piranha differs greatly, and it really doesn’t retell the story of Joe Dante’s film. That said I doubt the new one would exist without the Corman produced film, and I really just want an excuse to talk about two fun as hell movies.

The two films both deliver on what they set out to be. Roger Corman set out to do what he did so well for so long: take the concept of a blockbuster film, add more blood and more boobs, make it on the cheap and rake in the profit. In the case of Piranha, Dante, in his first directorial feature delivers a note-perfect send up of Jaws. The updated version set out to make a cheesy horror film that delivered a high quotient of gore, gratuitous nudity and good times, and it delivered all three in spades. This is the rare case where horror fans don’t have to get up in arms over a classic property getting tarnished.

One trait the two share is the tip of the cap to Spielberg’s classic popcorn flick. Just in case you had no idea what you were in for, Dante kicks off his film with a pair of hikers sneaking into a hidden government facility for a, you guessed it, midnight skinny dip. After the two unwittingly become fish food, we cut to our lead lady and bounty hunter Maggie (Heather Menzies) playing the arcade version of Jaws. Well done, people. If you can believe, Aja one-ups the homage by getting Richard Dryfuss to reprise his Jaws role in the new versions opening scene. This inspired piece of casting goes down as my favorite cameo in a film, edging out Bill Murray in Zombieland.


Piranha ’78 works do well because the cast play off one another perfectly. Menzies manages to make her character competent (she pretty much solves her missing persons case in a day and uses tricks she’s learned on the job to get herself out of numerous scrapes) while still exhibiting odd character quirks that humanize her. She works terrifically with Bradford Dilman’s Grogan character (in a role that must have served as if not an inspiration, then a blueprint for Ron Burgundy) but the two aren’t forced together in a shoehorned romantic entanglement. Aside from his role as the bombastic television station owner in UHF, this might be Kevin McCarthy’s greatest performance as the semi-mad genetic scientist Dr. Hoak. While Dante and screenwriter John Sayles had no illusions that they weren’t making anything other than low budget cheese, it says a lot for how much they put into their craft by not making Hoak completely a one note bonkers mad genius. While he provides the needed exposition as to how the flesh eating fish came to be, and comes off as someone that puts science above humanity, he gets the most moving death scene in the film. When he spots the boy clinging to an overturned raft for dear life, Hoak leaps into the lake, despite knowing full well he’s signing his death sentence.

If only Dr. Hoak had done experimental gene splicing with himself and Mark Spitz, he may have lived.

It’s a good contrast between his modern day equivalent. While it’s a fun while it lasts five minutes of screen time, Christopher Lloyd doesn’t get much to do as he pretty much plays Doc Brown as a paleontologist with a John Waters moustache. It’s indicative of the performances in the update as a whole-on one hand, they’re fairly one note. O the other hand, every single person involved in this movie looks like they’re having the time of their lives.

OK, who am I kidding here? The reason you watch a movie about man-eating fish is because you want to see said man-eating flesh chomp on some tender vittles, not because you’re expecting a Kenneth Branagh Tour De force of emotional outpouring. Both films deliver what you want in spades, and Aja’s film manages to be something very few horror movies the past decade have been-FUN. If you’re looking for the typical dour, xanax riddled emo kids that have descended on the genre like locusts, you’re watching the wrong film. Whether the camera is feasting on the endless array of suntanned naked flesh sweating under the Arizona sun, or zooming in on a school of piranha devouring the party goers, Piranha never takes itself seriously for a moment, and is just a fun way to kill brain cells for ninety minutes.

Riley Steele & Kelly Brooks in Piranha 3D

While I definitely found myself rooting for the fish and not the jackass frat kids, there is no shortage of eye candy in this film. Plus, Jerry O’Connell deserves some type of award for his thinly veiled portrayal of smut peddler and genuine creepy asshat Joe Francis. When he’s not snarfing tequila off silicon enhanced chests, he’s having an absolute shriek plowing through his scenes in wide-eyed douche bag fashion. You know he’s going to get his comeuppance at one point, and his death scene (last line included) delivers the goods. I strongly urge you to catch this in a theater, where it plays great to an enthusiastic crowd. While the Piranha are obviously a CGI creation, there remains a large amount of cartoony and practical gore in the film, and props go out to some outstanding kills. I could easily do a “top 10 deaths” in this film, and my top two wouldn’t even involve the Piranha. There’s one moment where a girl gets her hair caught in a boat propeller, and without spoiling anything, let me just say that it will go down as one of m top five favorite kills in a movie of all time.

One area it only dips its toes in the water is with regards to putting children in peril. It continues the trend of small children being untouchable in a horror movie. I think we’re about five years away from a reedit of Jaws where Alex Kintor lives and Mrs. Kintor slaps Chief Brody for failing to rescue his water raft (I’m also slightly afraid that in the upcoming Star Wars blu Ray, not only will Han not shoot first, but he and Greedo will simply agree to disagree and go about their separate business). Dante has no such problem in his film. The campsite massacre is a genuinely disturbing sequence as kids are indiscriminately picked off and devoured by the fish. I also love the practical effects in the film, and what they’re able to get away with for short money. The piranha work because you never quite get a good close up of them, everything is cut super fast, and, accompanied by Pino Donnaggio’s score for the film, give them a sense of overwhelming menace.

Gore in 1978

Speaking of the score, comparing the original versus the update has made me long for the days when film’s actually composed a sound track, rather than just compile whatever pop tracks are hot that day. If I have one real beef with Aja’s film, and I know I’m veering into “You crazy kids get off my lawn!” territory here, is it contains the most obnoxious sound track I’ve ever been subjected to in a film. The eighth rate blast beats made me long for the simple motif that accompanied the original fish’s arrival whenever they burst on to the scene.

Gore in 2010

Like I mentioned earlier, horror fans of all sorts should come to love and embrace both these movies. I’m giving a slight edge to the original, because it should be clear to anyone that watches the film that yes, the cast and crew knew they were making a knockoff, but they were intent on making the funniest, scariest knockoff that time and budget would allow. It’s a lesson in film making that the “mockbuster” folks at The Asylum and SyFy channel could learn a great deal from, as they consistently churn out lowest common denominator crap and scratch their heads in wonder at the scorn they receive online (due to scheduling push backs, the knockoff Mega Piranha actually premiered on SyFy about six months ahead of Aja’s film). I also loved the little quirks of the film, like the sensational newspaper headlines that pop up throughout, and the one liners like "Cool your jets" (can that come back into everyday vernacular please?) and the deadpan exchange between Dick Miller's wonderfully assholish resort operator and his hapless underling: "What about the goddamn piranha?" They're eating the guests, sir." I can forsee many a drunken weekend evening viewing both movies  back to back with friends.  In both the case of the new and the old, B Movie doesn’t have to equate to Bad movie.

The Works of Jon Springer: Maybe It's that Rough Minnesota Weather

I'm giving you ten seconds to name one great filmmaker from the mid-west. Counting down...now! Ok, times up! If you came up with more than one, I'll be very surprised. We just don't think about films being made smack dab in the middle of our vast country. That's reserved for places with reliable weather or accessible locations. The many talented people born of the mid-west inevitably migrate to L.A. or NYC to escape lack of opportunity, scant support, maybe even boredom. So how the hell did Jon Springer get so good? His body of work is astounding and diverse, ranging from horror to religious allegory, to cautionary science fiction. It would seems he's a bit of an exception considering many of his films put a lot of Hollywood directors to shame. If you're unfamiliar with his wide range of work, well this is the introduction you need. Even though I’m limiting this piece to three shorts, there is much more to find at Jon’s production site Cricket Films



No doubt the urgency of nature, the isolation, the punishing weather has given Springer the opportunity to devote every ounce of himself to his work where a bustling city might prove a distraction. I get the feeling that Jon doesn’t like taking things the easy way. Here we see a filmmaker at work that is very in control of his craft, very detailed, and very driven. He's possibly a perfectionist, but definitely an artist who is in love with everything he produces. Ok, I know I may be over-stating the severity of the Minnesota climate, however once you’ve been snowed in for an extended period, you start to notice all sorts of little details in the furniture, the insect life in your room, or the mysterious creaks of your home settling into the pressures of wind and ice. It’s here in these details that Jon Springer really shines.

I got to talk to Jon briefly last year when his latest directorial effort The Hagstone Demon screened here in Boston. Read that interview here if you’re so inclined. The film is very much a slow burn requiring the right amount of patience, but I did enjoy it for its thematic elements as well as the gorgeous cinematography. It's a film that fits right alongside the work of Stanley Kubrick and Roman Polanski, joining those great works of film fiction like The Shining or The Tenant where the building is just as much a character as the players themselves. With his carefully composed shots I might even draw a comparison to Michael Haneke's static, but ultimately beautiful and striking work in Time of the Wolf or The White Ribbon. What's very clear is that Springer always has a specific vision and works meticulously to achieve it.

Hopefully a well-deserved appreciation for Springer's films will manifest over the next few years as his work gains prominence on the internet. That's what the medium promises after all, and it would be a real shame if only a handful of people witnessed the allegorical and striking work he's delivered time and again. To satiate you until then, check out a few of these works:

Dollface (2009)



No doubt channeling the isolation of harsh winters in his home state Minnesota, Springer delivers a disturbing puzzle with his short Dollface. Utilizing carefully placed static shots and stark black and white photography, the meticulous feel mimics that of someone with a lot of time on his or her hands. Each shot is like staring at the wall and counting cracks in the ceiling, but I don't mean that in a bad way. In fact, at only 20 minutes in length, Springer is able to create a good bit of tension while commenting on sexual frustration and repression, and finally, transformation. Another “slow burn”, it gives the viewer time to contemplate a great deal before a gooey and disturbing climax.



Aside from the crisp photography, some highlights include lingering views of odd but beautiful wood carved furniture, tension filled basements and staircases, and a haunting piano score. Tiffany Moy does a great job as a young painter who takes on a house-sitting job in the impressive but ominous home of a businessman.

Dollface Part 1



Dollface Part 2



The Wood Witch (2005)



The Wood Witch is a striking fairy tale and allegory about the innocence and purity of youth and its struggle against corrupt and archaic evil. When two children find a toad, they decide to return it to the bog of the Wood Witch where it belongs. By trespassing, they anger the Wood Witch who pursues them to their home of powerful religion and love. What transpires in a scant 8 minutes or so is an epic struggle between ultimate good and profound evil as the children attempt to thwart the Wood Witch and escape her wrath. The true test is whether or not their faith and love is strong enough to keep them alive.

Video removed by director's request because The Wood Witch (originally shot in 35mm) will soon be available in a newly transferred HD version.

Living Dead Girl (2003)



Living Dead Girl is another potent allegory in which a recent zombie apocalypse stands in for lost souls searching for meaning. After a botched stand-off at her apartment, a beautiful young woman is infected by a zombie plague of sorts. She flees the scene to find herself stumbling around amongst the confused, angry, and hungry undead. The undead are driven by an insatiable hunger, but it may not necessarily be for human flesh. Living Dead Girl bounces between B & W and color and packs a lot into a very brief 8 minutes or so. Aside from the great intellectual content, there are plenty of great gory flesh eating moments to keep the most jaded zombie fan interested. Jon gave me a heads up that Living Dead Girl (originally shot in 35mm) will be available in newly transferred HD on September 15.

No Video for Living Dead Girl is available, but will be screened in a future presentation of our All Things Horror Presents series.

All photos are courtesy of Jon Springer/Cricket Films

Fantasia 2010!

Fantasia is an experience. If you've never been, I'll give you a quick picture of what it's like. About eight hours in the car with a few rest stops and an hour-long stop somewhere in Vermont or New Hampshire for lunch. Leave around 9am, get there at about 5pm. Check into the hotel, quickly unpack and get some food, then hustle down to the first screening. Grab a snack. Get to the next movie across the street. Go the sponsor's patio and bar for drinks and hanging out with industry folk 'til the wee hours of the morning. Walk back to the hotel and successfully fall asleep at 3am, perhaps 4 or 5am if it's an especially fun night. Repeat lots of movie screenings and premieres, and networking (perhaps a party if you're lucky enough to be invited) for several days. Drive home happy but exhausted.

It ends the same every year. You wish you could stay longer and regret running out of cash to house and feed yourself. I'd stay the entire three weeks if I was able.

On to the reviews.

Phasma Ex Machina, Matthew Osterman, USA

The rumor circulating is that Fox has already optioned this title for a remake. That's bewildering, seeing as the film is already in English – no subtitles. Perhaps they just want to put in some big name talent and see what happens. This is good and bad. Good because cinema snobs like us will always want to go back and see the original film that inspired the remake. Writer-director Matt Osterman will get some great exposure and will hopefully go on to make more films. Hell, he might even be hired to direct his own remake, (ala Funny Games) you never know.

The bad? It might not stay as true to Osterman's original vision. They may replace lead Sasha Andreev, who's versatile and easy on the eyes. In his very first scene, he's at his parents' funeral, and he portrays some pretty real emotion. His older brother Cody to slacking pre-teen James (Max Hauser) is believable and resonated (with me as an older sibling bringing up younger ones) as true.

The story is thus: Cody and James' parents die prematurely, and Cody, barely out of high school himself, is forced to become the head of the household. Cody's a pretty smart guy who's working on something fairly complicated in the garage. That something just might be a machine that can bridge dimensional planes and bring the dead back into our world.

Without giving too much away, Cody befriends Tom (Matthew Feeney), an engineer who also geeks out with spare parts and electrical currents. Cody's experiment starts working, and Tom's deceased wife of six years returned and does chores around their house like she never died. Tom's really freaked out at first, and begs Cody to stop the machine. Unlike Tom, Cody is still mired in grief, and does not acquiesce – his goal is to bring back his parents. And maybe it worked – Cody and James are starting to hear things in the house. Footsteps. Shadows. Glimpses of people in their home. Eventually, Tom gets used to having his lovely wife back, while Cody's not so lucky. It's not his parents who are back home. It's a couple far more sinister. Without giving anything away, there's a race to protect James, while Tom will stop at nothing to keep his wife.

Phasma Ex Machina is a deftly-wrought drama with a science fiction backbone and a splash of the supernatural. There are some genuine moments of dread, and discovering these in cinema is what every horror lover lives for.

Phasma Ex Machina Trailer from Phasma Ex Machina on http://vimeo.com

We Are What We Are, Jorge Michel Grau, Mexico

Fresh from Cannes, this film surprised and delighted me with its gallows humor as well as its serious take on flesh eating. A middle-aged man dies at the local mall, and leaves behind... a family of cannibals. As the clan grieves, they try to figure out how to survive without the him, their foundation. Useless as he was, he provided food for the group, and unless someone steps up, they'll starve without him. (I guess they don't believe in sides in addition to the main course.) In-fighting occurs over who's next to lead, and a prostitute becomes fodder for an at times, hilariously botched hunt. But because Momma don't like street girls, the catch is thrown back at the feet of her friends with a warning that can only be delivered by a seriously pissed off matriarch. The laughably incompetent police then attempt to find this familial band of killers. I may have already given too much away, but if you get a chance to to see this movie, jump at it. IFC has picked up the rights to distribution, so chances are good you can at least catch it on dvd sometime soon. We Are What We Are is perhaps one of the genre's finest films to ever escape Mexico.

The Neighbor Zombie, Oh Young-doo, Ryu Hoon, Jang Yoon-jung, Hong Young-geun, South Korea

The plight of the anthology film is that the stories don't always connect well within the broader context of the piece. Here are four directors with four, loosely connected takes on the modern zombie mythos – an action film involving a crooked drug company, a love film whose couple tries to escape quarantine, a mother-daughter story, and a revenge story. As a result, there is often a loss in translation that's more confusing than hilarious. However, that's not to say that the film itself as a whole is a throwaway. One of the more interesting stories is the segment that deals with former zombies. They've been cured, but now face discrimination in the workforce, in culture, and life in general. This innovation could have served as a feature film in itself entirely. It's never been done before, and was the most interesting piece of the story by far. Of course, revenge in cinema is always satisfying, and there's a decent vignette on that here as well.

Re-Animator and Nevermore: An Evening With Edgar Allan Poe, Stuart Gordon, USA

For two nights at the Rialto, the incomparable Jeffrey Combs channelled Poe in his one-act show with frightening accuracy. I can't recall another performer who's used a Virginia lilt in his impersonation. Combs ran through a juggernaut of emotions as his doppelganger Poe swung from drunk hilarity (dancing a frenetic jig while reciting The Bells) to somber devastation (Annabel Lee). Combs also attended a packed-house, 25^th anniversary screening of 80s splatterific horror comedy Re-Animator with director Stuart Gordon and screenwriter Dennis Paoli. The trio weren't intending to stay for the whole film, but found the audience so appreciative that they couldn't leave. I've gotta say, it was fantastic. The theater was filled with a huge percentage of kids who'd never seen the film, period. The energy was high and to see such an amazing cult classic as Re-Animator, with all the cheering, hooting, and laughter, was a killer experience.

If that weren't enough, Gordon and Paoli also taught a masterclass on adapting H.P. Lovecraft at new screening room, Blue Sunshine. They discussed the difficulties of Lovecraft's endlessly adjective-filled prose in bringing his work to the big screen, answered questions, and read passages. The audience was also treated to specific clips from their work after said passage, including Castle Freak, From Beyond, Re-Animator, Dagon, and Dreams in the Witch-House.

Here's a link to a cool interview with Combs and Gordon from Panorama-cinéma via Twitch:

http://twitchfilm.net/interviews/2010/07/fantasia-2010-a-conversation-with-stuart-gordon-and-jeffrey-combs.php

It was a once-in-a-lifetime chance to meet and interact with these titans of terror, and I'm grateful to Fantasia. Can't wait til next year! Until then, it's on to Rue Morgue's Festival of Fear in Toronto and David Cronenberg.

With Master of Horror, Stuart Gordon at the Rialto Theatre.


With Jeffrey Combs at a private party.


With the last third of the trifecta, screenwriter Dennis Paoli.


The all-black brigade! Left to right: Rue Morgue Editor-in-Chief, Dave Alexander, myself, Stuart Gordon, and Dave's girl Marie-Eve.

The Non-Horror Films of Legendary Horror Directors

I know it’s shocking to hear, but not all horror film directors set out specifically to make genre films. We all know that horror is the “easy” genre to break into the film world, what with the built-in audience of dedicated fans and their disposable dollars. Not to mention the fairly easy marketability of exploitation. Just look at the success of icons like Roger Corman and Samuel Arkoff. They knew the best way to make a few bucks was low-budget horror and sci-fi. A person only need to attend a horror convention or two to know that horror fans are ravenous and will support just about anything the genre has to offer. There is an audience for nearly everything, and even though wide theater release is rare these days, success can be found in DVD, online, and On Demand sales.

We all know that filmmakers like David Cronenberg and Sam Raimi got their starts in visceral and violent low budget horror films. Since, they’ve gone on to become pretty big deals in Hollywood as Oscar contenders or managers of mega budgets. Those two directors in particular are obvious choices with several non-horror films in their canon, but we may also consider directors like Peter Jackson and Guillermo del Toro who are still making fantasy-based films, but for a more conventional and less discerning audience. I’m not trying to diminish their hard earned success, but if you compare Dead-Alive with something like The Lovely Bones, there’s a gore spattered world of difference, no?

Unfortunately, due to matters of ego, money, status, trying to please critics, or simply lack of interest or ideas, a lot of directors break away from horror as soon as they find their footing. With a modicum of success, they are ready to leave the nest with wings flapping double time, often forgetting, or worse, denying their horror roots. In some ways, it’s understandable. To this day, the horror film is still the whipping boy of the film community. Those rare instances where horror films are lauded by the top critics are usually the most sterile and least envelope pushing of the bunch. Maybe a big name director or actor is attached lending “validity” to the film. Who knows, but it really sucks. If a filmmaker is somehow “cursed” with success (for example: Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez of The Blair Witch Project fame), they may inadvertently be pigeonholed into making them for the duration for their careers, quite possibly expected to deliver the exact same film over and over.

The choices I made in this write up are not necessarily directors who wanted to leave horror behind, but it’s about the non-horror films they made that were either ignored, hated by fans, criticized for “selling out”, or were just crappy. Most are considered missteps or oddities in the respective careers of their maker, but a few are pretty damn good.

George A. Romero’s Knightriders (1981)



Poor George Romero, forever relegated to being the zombie guy when a lot of his best work resides outside of his popular Dead series. I’m a fan of the recent entry Survival of the Dead, I really am. I gave it a positive review a few months ago and I stand by it being a pretty fun time at the movies. I’m often accused of being a Romero apologist, and I’m sure that’s true to an extent. I did live in Pittsburgh for a few years and made regular treks to the Monroeville Mall to re-enact key scenes from Dawn of the Dead, after all. With that confession, I’ll say that I’d really love to see what else Romero has up his sleeve when able to break away from the zombie stranglehold.

Anyway, I’m going to make a bold statement here: Knightriders is a better motorcycle flick and statement on the struggle for personal freedom than Easy Rider. No, I’m totally serious, and it all boils down to a completely naked and honest script by Romero who is clearly battling his ideals with compromise, even to this day. It’s like everything boiling within Romero’s brain was poured out in the story. It doesn’t hurt that the performances by Ed Harris and Tom Savini are stellar. Sure, the damn thing is long at about 2 hours and 20+ minutes, but it never seems to drag (great stunt work). Highly recommended from this Romero apologist!!!



Stuart Gordon’s Stuck (2007)



In my opinion, Stuart Gordon is the horror world’s most consistent filmmaker in delivering smart, scary, gruesome horror films with an undercurrent of sly humor. With a background in theater, Gordon’s strongest points are mood, setting, and performance, as evident in great stuff like From Beyond, Castle Freak, Dagon, and, of course, Re-Animator. With Stuck, Gordon has crafted a darkly rich story ripped from the headlines of any sensationalist rag. Mena Suvari (American Beauty) gives a great and underrated performance as a young woman who inadvertently takes home a hit-and-run victim STILL STUCK TO THE WINDSHIELD OF HER CAR. Stuck is nicely paced, acted, and morbid in all the right places. Yet, I still wouldn’t classify it as a horror film when compared with the rest of Gordon’s body of work. (see also: Edmond)



Wes Craven’s Music of the Heart (1999)



Look, maybe Wes Craven has stumbled quite a bit since his highly successful Scream series, but the man is clearly intelligent, very talented, and certainly a legend. His output contains some of the most effective, brutal, and well-crafted films the genre has to offer. Just off the top of my head, some of the absolute best horror films were created by the former college lit professor such as The Last House on the Left, The Hills Have Eyes, and A Nightmare on Elm Street. Craven is inarguably a master, especially when he’s able to do things his way.

However, it may have completely gone over your head that Craven also made a drama starring MERYL STREEP. Yes, the Streep of 1,000 Academy Award nominations. That very Meryl Streep, can you believe it?! This from the guy who filmed Krug and Co. making a young woman piss her pants. I haven’t seen Music of the Heart (nominated for many awards), but it’s based on the true story of teachers fighting budget cuts at the Harlem School of Music. I’m kinda curious about it, I have to admit, even though I’m not a Streep fan.



John Carpenter’s Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992)



When all is said and done, John Carpenter is probably my absolute favorite filmmaker. Period. Not only is he an auteur, but he’s also a musician, and a rebel. Mentioning his name these days brings about grumbles and scoffs due to recent output, but the man is responsible for many of the best films ever made. I don’t even need to mention them, do I? Screw it! Halloween! The Thing! Prince of Darkness! The Fog! In the Mouth of Madness! Big Trouble in Little China! They Live! Come on, I bet you’ve seen all those movies at least 20 times each.

I really haven’t seen Memoirs in a very long time, but it’s a comedy with Chevy Chase, Daryl Hannah, Sam Neill in which Chevy Chase comes down with a case of the invisibles after a binge drinking accident. I’ll probably revisit it as I’d planned to re-watch a number of soggy Carpenter stuff like Village of the Damned and Ghost of Mars. Maybe it’s better than I remember?



Tobe Hooper WTF?!



Some might say Tobe Hooper hasn’t made a horror movie in decades. I’m going to take a hit here and say that for the most part I enjoyed The Toolbox Murders and Mortuary. Sure, they were both a little goofy with Toolbox’s awkward supernatural element and Mortuary’s abundance of horrible CG effects and nearly nonsensical story. You’re probably wondering what non-horror film I chose for Mr. Hooper, eh? Did Tobe Hooper make some sort of secret film with Meryl Streep? Did he attempt his own film version of a respected Mamet play? No, Tobe Hooper’s non-horror movie would have to be The Mangler, one of the biggest missteps in a career that is arguably the biggest letdown in horror. What a waste of an awesome Stephen King short story. Tobe, I love you, but please find yourself again! I know you can recapture the spirit of your best work!

Students can earn a $1000 Scholarship to Study Horror Courtesy of Star Costumes

For all you horror scholars out there, we just got an email that should perk the interest of anyone looking to get there smarts on. The folks at Star Costumes have just announced the creation of a $1000 Scholarship aimed at students that are studying with hopes of working in the horror industry.

This strikes me as a fantastic idea, and in the spirit of what the horror community is all about. Anyone that is currently working to put themselves or kids through school, or signing a monthly check to the loan sharks at Sallie Mae understand full well high cost of higher education.

Here are the details from the Star Costumes website (the deadline to apply is Halloween-naturally-with a winner to be chosen on November 5th):

Scholarship Amount

Star Costumes is awarding $1,000 to a student studying to work in the horror film industry.

Why a Horror Scholarship?

We love horror! We make our living selling scary costumes, makeup and masks, and we owe a lot of our success to the creative output of the horror industry. This scholarship is our way to give back, and to help the horror industry continue to terrify us in the years to come.

Currently, there are no other scholarships designed specifically for students planning to enter the horror industry. Our goal is provide assistance to help the brightest and most creative students meet their expenses and help launch their career in horror cinema.

Eligibility Requirements:

Horror Scholarship candidates must meet the following criteria:

• A citizen of the U.S.;
• with a 3.0 GPA;
• 18 years or older
• who's currently studying full-time at a undergraduate or graduate post-secondary institution.
  

 

The student must be studying in a field designed to prepare them for work in the horror industry. This could include careers such as:

• Makeup artist
• Special effects artist
• Costume designer
• Set designer
• Lighting designer
• Film sound artist
• VFX/CGI artist
• Postproduction specialist
• Film critic
• Screenwriter
• Cinematographer
• Director
  

 

Application is Easy

Just fill out our application form online, along with an essay. The essay provides chance to distinguish yourself from other applicants, and should be in the range of about 300-400 words. Suggested topics include:

• What sparked your interest in the horror industry.
• Your accomplishments and goals as they relate to horror cinema and related fields.
  

Application Deadline

The deadline to submit your application is October 31st, 2010. The winner will be notified on November 5th, 2010. The winner will need to provide relevant transcripts to verify GPA and enrollment, after which the scholarship award can be claimed right away. There is no fee to apply for this scholarship. 

The Ideal Candidate

We're looking for someone who can demonstrate their creativity and passion for horror cinema and distinguish themselves from other potential applicants. The best way to achieve this is through a unique and interesting essay.