What I'm Looking Forward To In 2011

2010 is about to crawl into bed and turn out the lights in just a few short hours. We've taken a look back at the year that was, so how about a brief nod towards the future. In no particular order, these are the things I'm looking forward to next year:

1. American Mary Jen and Sylvia Soska created a modern grindhouse classic with their feature debut Dead Hooker in a Trunk. Their hotly anticipated followup film makes it look like their expanding into considerably darker territory. I can't wait to see how it turns out.
2. More Horror Etc podcast episodes I'm going to put somewhere in the vicinity of 18 to 25,000 miles on my car this year and those long stretches on the Mass Pike sure go by much faster with Tony and Ted (and sometimes Doug) waxing rhapsodic on their favorite films. This weekly podcast is 160+ episodes strong and routinely goes past the two hour mark, yet the shows rarely drag. From their multi-episode Halloween retrospective, to their play along fan commentaries to recent favorites like the Hannibal Lecter retrospective that had me jonesing to watch Silence of the Lambs, Horror Etc keeps me endlessly entertained and engrossed. 

3. Kevin Smith's "Red State" & Joss Whedon's "Cabin in the Woods" Film sites are in a huff that Kevin Smith is refusing to do any sort of junket for his first foray in to horror. While he's acting like a petulant child I really don't care as I'm far more interested in whether this story about a group of kids that run afoul of a right wing religious fanatic clearly inspired by Fred "God Hates Fags" Phelps actually lives up to the buildup I'm giving it in my mind. I don't know much about the Whedon penned and produced aside from the catchy tagline posters that came out a helluva long time ago. It coming from the magical pen of Joss Whedon, I can only imagine it's going to be a snark filled blast of a film that will undoubtedly spoof horror in a much more clever way than the far more hyped Scream 4 will this spring.

4. Nailbiter Patric Rea has released a slew of amazing short horror films over the years and is wrapping up post production on this feature film. A mother and her small children try to seek shelter from  a twister, only to find out they're not alone. Check out his latest short-Get Off My Porch-for free at vimeo.com
5. Expanding on the All Things Horror screening nights Our first year went well, and I can honestly say that the first Wednesday of each month is the night I most look forward to. We lined up some amazing films in our first year (The Commune, Satan Hates You, Long Pigs, Pig Hunt, Dead Hooker in a Trunk, Dawning amongst others) and that's excluding nearly fifty short films we screened. My goal this year is to find a larger venue for bigger events, even if it's only on an occasional basis on top of the monthly night. 
6. Working Closer With Horror Bloggers  One of the most satisfying parts of running the site has been communicating back and forth with other sites. Not too long ago, a few asked a few sites I respect if we could form an informal partnership. When one of us come across a project (a feature, a short, a novel, etc) that we think are up the alley of the rest of the group, we trade contact info or recommend whoever has contacted us to review their film also reach out to the other members. The only goal is to raise more awareness around a number of projects that are way more deserving than the dreck the larger sites are constantly overhyping while cashing advertising checks. We'll see what fruit this bears next year. All I can tell Boston area horror fans is read this and the item above it and get fucking pumped.
7. Getting Back Stateside and Playing: Dead Rising 2 The over under on me popping this in to the Playstation once we get home from Logan Airport is four minutes. I need to carve me up some zombies with a table lamp modified with Ginsu knives now dammit!

Mike's Top Ten Horror Films of 2010

If you only paid attention to mass market horror films that came out in 2010 then you undoubtedly walked away disappointed. Wes Craven made a film so bad it made fans wish for the glory days of The Hills Have Eyes Part 2". The Wolfman was pretty to look at, but a convoluted mess of a story that wasn't helped by Anthony Hopkins putting all scenery between two slices of rye and adding a dollop of mayo for the world's largest ham sandwich. The alleged final entry to the Saw franchise came with a tag line-The Traps come Alive!- whose banality was only met by the turgid plot of the final product itself. Oh, and the Elm Street remake was so poor I debated whether or not to shut everything down if that was the kind of swill I'm left to write about.

Imagine the state of mainstream horror at the end of 2010 as such: we the horror fan are Charlie Brown, and the studios, the producers, the directors and the marketing teams are Lucy. They're tantalizingly holding the football with the promise that this time will be different, yet once again the ball is pulled out from under we the fans at the last moment, and we end up lying flat on our backs wondering just what the hell went wrong. Except the football is a rock and studios hammer it in to our crotch as a parting shot while leaving the theater.

Then again, if you only paid attention to mass market horror films you probably aren't reading this site. We were lucky enough to get our hands on some truly amazing films this year. Why the hell should I overlook a film that's head and shoulders above a multimillion dollar turd that gets more press just because a studio bigwig cuts Harry Knowles a check to slob the knob over it?

Release dates are a funny thing, and I'll admit I'm playing a bit fast and loose with the notion of what came out when. Some films are currently making their way through the festival circuit before gaining a wider release or distribution next year. Some titles debuted overseas last year before getting a theatrical or home video release stateside.

The 800lb Gorilla in the room is Black Swan. I finally watched it just before leaving on vacation and it's undoubtedly one of the most enthralling films of the year, and should be on the short list for an Oscar. No one does obsession like Aronofsky. That said, it just didn't strike me as a horror film, as much as I'd love to claim it as one. Hence its exclusion.

10. Cabin Fever 2 "Spring Fever" This was an oddball choice for me but the more I think of it, the more I'm sure it belongs on the list. I ignored it when it first came out, as it was a direct-to-video sequel to a fun, but by no means classic film, and director Ti West lobbied hard to have his name removed from the credits after studio interference forced reshoots and unwanted additions.


The only two returning characters from the first film. Yes, I said two.


When you get past the obvious studio touches, such as the unwarranted strip club scene, CF2 is a fantastic black comedy filled with gross out moments that fans of Dead Alive will give an enthusiastic thumbs up to. The action moves from a backwoods cabin to a high school prom, and aside from the flesh eating virus, students have to deal with government agents on a seek and destroy mission as well. The highlight of the film is the swimming pool scene where the high school jock and a mountain of a woman get in on in the water before the girl literally dissolves into a ooey pile of organs. Good stuff.

9.  Long Pigs (Chris' review) The first of two fauxumentaries on this list, Long Pigs owes a great debt to the french film Man Bites Dog. But while that film's central figure was a whirly dervish of manic energy keen to spout nonsensical philosophy with enough joie d'vrie that you couldn't help but keep your eyes and ears glued to him, Long Pigs' Anthony McAllistair is a bit of a schlub, the kind of person you'd pass on the sidewalk and never give a moments thought or second glance to. LP manages to be both thought provoking and disturbing, oftentimes within the same scene. There's no rhyme or reason to McAllistair's madness, he simple finds no reason to remove man from the food chain.

8. La Meute (The Pack)  (Mike's review) The French once again show Americans how to make an instant classic, though this time they dabble in the Monster genre. You wouldn't know it at first, as The Pack blends a roving gang of motorcycle hooligans, a demented family that runs an off road pub and a pack of underground flash eating mutated dead miners into one hilarious and horrific mash of a film.



7. Frozen (Mike's review) Before heading to the swampy bayou to resurrect Victor Crowley, Adam Green made the world's most compelling argument to stay in the ski lodge sipping hot chocolate rather than risk life and limb on the slopes. More than anything else, he coaxed three amazing performances out of Emma Bell, Shawn Ashmore and Kevin Zegers, allowing them to create a trio of characters whose predicament you felt invested in. During a time when most twenty somethings on film simply add to the body count, that's no small feat.

6. Dead Hooker in a Trunk (Mike's review) Catchy name aside, this film delivers a pantsload of fun during its run time. Jen and Sylvia Soska bring a Warner Brothers cartoonish element of violence to a live action film. Aside from a number of "holy shit" moments and a pair of scenes that aren't for the squeamish (especially one that will have dudes covering their ghoulies and averting their eyes), DHiaT is also brilliantly funny, with some of the best moments spawning from CJ Wallis' "Goody Two Shoes" ultra christian character. Really, if you're any sort of fan of the film's that 42nd Street used to churn out, you know you want to watch this film. I can't wait to the ladies' next film, American Mary, to hit later on this year.

5. Make Out With Violence  This film made the festival rounds in '09 before getting a BluRay release earlier this fall to little or no fanfare. It's one of the most beautiful and haunting movies I've watched this year, even if the horror only occurs on a peripheral level. When the beautiful and charming Wendy disappears, a massive hole is left in the lives of everyone that knew her. When twin brothers find her drowned, reanimated corpse tied between trees by the river, they do their best to bring her back to life, or in failing to do so, to find a new way to love whatever has taken over her body. Imagine if the film Deadgirl wasn't completely populated by irredeemable douche bags and wasn't a complete piece of shit as a film and you have the massively superior MOwV.

Where Make Out with Violence succeeds is in capturing that last summer between high school and college, and the confusing time when the young think they should have the world in their grasp, but don't even know how to reach out to the person next to them. Its characters are frail, and beautiful and damaged. Make Out With Violence is the only film I've ever seen that makes telling the best friend you've ached over for years that you love her every bit as terrifying as harboring a zombie in your bedroom. The creative team of the Deagol Brothers (no relation) took year's to not only write and direct this film but also create the perfect indie pop soundtrack to the movie as well. This might be the only horror film I've ever seen that would be appropriate Valentine's Day material.

4. Let Me In (Mike's Review) Let's avoid argument as to the better film, and say that the American version of the Swedish film often hailed as "the greatest vampire film of all time" (none of these people have seen my Castlevania inspired home movies with me in the role of Simon Belmont presumably) is world's better than even the most adamant fanboy that still lives in his mom's basement expected it to be throughout all those month's of making impassioned posts decrying both its existence and director Matt Reeve's parents for having the gall to have conceived him many moons ago. Reeves' version did a much better job selling two central conceits of the novel. First, Kodi-Smit McPhee did a much better job selling the fact that even without the introduction of Eli/Abby in his life Owen/Oscar would have grown up to be a bad character. The combination of poverty, the broken home, the absentee father and alcoholic mother and the daily brutalization at the hands of bullies while adults looked away would have steered this boy down the inevitable path of violent crime if he'd never befriended the vampire girl. Second, while the original film finds beauty in those final moments on board the train, the American version tipped its hand that the relationship would turn sour down the road. When Owen sees the photo strip of Abbey and her handler in much younger days, a dawning look of terror spreads across his face. He'll get older, his body will fail him and he'll remain unflinchingly loyal to a creature that can never truly love him. This added a more sinister edge to the film. While it didn't deviate from the original to completely justify its existence, it certainly didn't embarrass itself either. Of course both horror fans and mainstream audiences stayed away in droves.

3. Lake Mungo (Mike's Review) This Australian export had a blink and you missed it theatrical run as part of the After Dark series and now can be found on Netflix Watch Instant. The harrowing, faux documentary story of Alice Palmer and how her family attempts to cope with her drowning. This film slowly burns as it reveals the complex life and relationships of the young woman, and it left me with a building sense of dread as the minutes crept on. The climax in the dried out Lake as Alice records what was to be her fate is simply one of the most bone chilling scares of the year.

2. The Last Exorcism (Mike's Review) This came oh-so-close to number one, it's just THAT DAMNED ENDING that knocked it down a peg. I've come to accept it, but that doesn't mean I have to like it. Until those last few minutes however, TLE is an outstanding character study of a faithless minister with a troubled conscience (Patrick Fabian) and a confused teenage girl (Ashley Bell). The "is she or isn't she?" cat and mouse scenario director Daniel Stamm sets up is brilliantly executed and for my money, both Fabian and Bell should get serious consideration for Oscar's this winter. Fabian had me the moment he slyly winked at the camera while rousing the congregation with his mama's banana bread recipe.

1. Dawning (Mike's Review) This film holds a special place in my heart, as it was the second movie Chris and I screened for our monthly indie series and though it was a light crowd (if memory serves we did just a little better than breaking even) everyone that walked out of the theater seemed genuinely blown away by the film. Dawning is simple film with a simple premise: A family finds itself trapped in the woods after a blood covered stranger breaks in to their home. Simple premise, complex movie perfectly executed. If you're looking for a slasher's paradise of over the top gore you'll be disappointed. If you're looking for a gratuitous nude swimming scene with the starlet you'll be disappointed. If you want a male lead that delivers zany one line quips with arched eyebrows, you'll have to look elsewhere.

What you will find is a harrowing look at how personal insecurities and inability to be honest with those one's supposed to be closest to can doom us. Holtgrewe's characters do themselves in because they believe the worst things about them are true, and they lack the courage to confront themselves when pushed. Dawning leaves you chomping your nails to the quick not because of invisible boogeyman lurking somewhere in the woods, but from the conflicts within the walls of the cabin. When pushed in to a desperate situation, years worth of slights and insults (both real and imagined) rear their ugly heads. Dawning's characters dig their graves more so by failing to overcome their inner demons than by any external forces.

There you have it folks, our top ten in what was a topsy turvy world of horror. Before the year bows out, I hope to post what I'm looking forward to next year.

Amy's in the Attic: Kinky and Brutal Tribute to Sleazy European Exploitation

Amy's in the Attic (2010)

Written and Directed by Matthew Saliba
http://www.facebook.com/sinema.saliba

http://www.myspace.com/matthewsaliba

I'm a little concerned. I just finished the full 23 minutes of Amy's in the Attic, Matthew's Saliba's depraved tribute to European exploitation, and I was disappointed when it ended. It concludes with a bruised and bloody young woman confined to a tiny cage, an image I should have been relieved to see fade to black. However, the sick bastard inside me was left wanting more. This is one of those moments where I find myself wondering if there's something wrong with me. I mean, I know that if I'd come across her situation in real life, I certainly wouldn't cheer for more. I'd be repulsed and outraged. So why does a relatively nice guy like me seek out disturbing and violent movies? Well, it's because Matthew Saliba gets them so right, and I may even be able to learn a little about myself by watching.

Under the moniker of his production company Sinema Saliba, Montreal's Matthew Saliba has been churning out sexually-charged subversive films over the past decade. With films like The Manipulator and the Subservient, Pandora's Paradox, and the "Dark Lotus" portion of Frankenstein Unlimited, he delivers provocative films in beautifully shot packages. It's clear that he wants to push your buttons, but at the same time shares a love of beauty with all the taboo imagery. It's a fair compromise because you can tell yourself you're in it for the art when you might actually be in it for the perversity. In these forbidden worlds, Saliba is your guide. You can jump off anytime, but I bet you'll stay on board until the last stop.  

(Is it the sillhouette of a man or demon?)

Taking inspiration from a number of 60's and 70's classic Giallo films, as well as cues from sleazy grindhouse era exploitation, Saliba's latest offering is a short but effective tribute. It's a film that clearly has tongue planted firmly in cheek, but doesn't stop it from  becoming an endurance test. It's a world populated by beautiful women with dark secrets and dashing, dangerous men. If you're familiar with these types of films, you'll see tributes all over the place from jarring jump cuts leaving out crucial dialogue, to cheesy sub-titles, to the overstated acting. Saliba even starts the film with a disclaimer proclaiming that portions of the film have been reconstructed in Italian with English subtitles in order to deliver an uncut print. The strengths of the film rest on Saliba getting all those details just right in a way that is more homage than self-referential parody. Most of all, the film is truly sleazy and I guarantee you will feel icky watching it.

Six bored frenemies spend an alcohol-infused evening insulting each other to stave off boredom. At the suggestion of Alucard (played by Saliba), they agree to participate in a game in which one of them is randomly chosen to be a "slave". The loser must submit to every command of the group, a seemingly harmless affair at first. Amy (the excellent Kayden Rose) is chosen as the slave and voluntarily endures hours of degradation, humiliation, and violence. How far will the group go? More importantly, how far will Amy let them go? It is just a game after all, isn't it? A night of escalating debauchery pushes everyone over the edge into a darkness from which no one may recover.

(Does this brief moment of regret look familiar?)

Special note needs to be given to the superb cinematography of DP Kamel Khalifa. Even though it was shot in HD, the film looks like it was produced on 16mm with vivid red and yellows really standing out. The decision to process the digital footage with a filter was a good call to give it the appropriate "film" look. There are some truly stunning shots throughout the film including the ominous silhouette of a shadowy presence, a building bathed in red that looks straight out of an Argento piece, and the noir-ish lighting of the attic. There is also some clever editing despite perceived limitations in sticking with the expected sensibilities of cheap exploitation. The set design is also spectacular with the type of adorned furniture you'd expect to find in the homes of 60's and 70's well-to-do people. There is also an excellent soundtrack including a very appropriate Donovan tune. Clearly, the production team was committed to delivering an authentic ode to the era, and succeeded highly.

According the Saliba, a feature length version of Amy's in the Attic is in pre-production. I'm certainly interested to see what direction he'll take in building upon the challenging foundation he started here. It's definitely worth a watch even if Eurotrash cinema isn't your thing.

Amy's in the Attic Trailer

Holiday Horror Schwag or "What Santa Brought Mike This Year"

Is everyone enjoying that post-holiday comedown? The last week of the year, with the space between Christmas and New Year's is always the time of year when not a heck of a lot gets done. Maybe it's the five pounds of ham devoured as a holiday meal, or the wistful longing to be back home playing with one's new toys instead of a cubicle filling out year end reports when it's a short week anyways. For my East Coast brethren, perhaps getting stuck waist deep in a blizzard has you drawing the curtains and crawling back in to bed with hot cocoa for a DVD watching marathon with films newly ripped from cellophane wrapping.

As for me, I'm over the pond with the in-laws, bemoaning the lack of wi-fi in Pentuawan, a quaint Cornish seaside village where my wife grew up. It's gorgeous, but cold. As I delay my year's top ten for one more night and wait for Ada to wake up for her midnight feed (pulling double duty tonight so the wife can get an undisturbed rest in the upstairs bedroom) I thought I'd post the horror related gifts I found under the tree this year:

Sad Jason "Friday the 12th" Tee Shirt

I think it's important to know that even the worst machete wielding homicidal maniac can have his heart broken too.  The puppy dog look adorning Jason's face is similar to what a five year old's might look like when being told to get ready for a trip to Mount Splashmore, only to be dropped in front of the dentist's office for a routine cleaning.

Dead Rising 2 (for the PS3)

I'm really excited to get home and pop this into the Playstation, as I loved the first game, and the sequel promises to fix some of the annoying quirks it had (poor save system, stupid NPC's that wandered in to zombie hoards, spontaneously infecting players with leprosy). Moving from the mall to a Vegas-like location, players get to do battle with HUNDREDS of zombies at once, while combing objects such as lawn mowers, baseball bats and gumball machines in to implements of undead mauling weapons. Clare offered to give this to me before she left for England ahead of me, but I opted to not get fired from my job by ignoring all work for two weeks to do battle with zombies. Expect a full review in a few weeks which may or may not be written with more than a smattering Beavis & Butthead inspired "heh heh heh heh teeppee for zombie bunghole heh heh" comments

Halloween/Trick 'r Treat silk screened poster

Without a doubt the coolest gift I received this year, and one of the many reasons I'm thankful Clare said "I Do" was this limited edition (50 in existence) 18x24 framed silk screen from Lost Highway that combines two classic holiday films: John Carpenter's Halloween and Mike Doughety's Trick 'r Treat. The print is simply gorgeous, this attached JPEG does it zero justice. I can't wait to get this home, frame it and display it proudly in our living room. Available from Lost Highway, there may be a few left, along with other gorgeous pieces of art that any self respecting genre fan needs to pick up. (Link to Lost Highway)

Finally, the best gift of all may have been delivered the day after Christmas by the Cincinnati Bengals as they eliminated the Chargers from the NFL playoffs. The Bolts needed to beat the hapless Bengals to have any chance of moving on and they did what any football fan with an ounce of knowledge knew they'd do. They choked, proving once again that Phillip Rivers is no Tom Brady. Maybe next year someone will remind Norv Turner that the preseason doesn't extend past Labor Day and games in September count. In Yo' Face Cortez.

Merry Christmas from All Things Horror!

Here's hoping all our readers are having a great holiday with family and friends. We've slowed things down a bit to refresh and retool this holiday season, but rest assured we have great things lined up for year's end and in to 2011!

The Indie Beat: Gimme "SHELLTER"

It’s a little late in the year, but the award for sickest, vilist and most out there horror film of 2010 has been captured by Dan Donley’s indie gem Shellter. Donley managed to make me squeamish enough while watchingthat my stomach roiled more than once and I had to set aside dinner.  While there’s a fair amount of gruesomeness to the proceedings, that wasn’t what set me off. Rather, it’s the intense mental breakdown of Shellter’s lead, and a situation which forces her to commit atrocious acts just to survive another few minutes that set my teeth on edge. It’s one of the most disturbing films I’ve watched this year, yet I can’t wait to give it another go round.

Zoey (Carrie Sanders in her feature debut) wakes up disoriented and confused in an underground bomb shelter. Hazy recollections (filmed in blowout colors with muted audio that enhances their dreamlike quality) start to come back to her of men in hazmat suits taking her out of her home. Soon she’s met at her bedside by The Doctor (Will Tulin) who solemnly informs her that a viral outbreak causes the infected to eat the living. He tells her he has been rescuing survivors, few as they are, and bringing them in to the shelter. He tells her the food and water supplies have been contaminated, and feed her a specially prepared meal before sticking her with a sedative. The Doctor uses this sedative over and over to keep his patient disoriented and pliable, wearing down her cognitive capacities. While in this forced sleep, snippets of memory return to Zoey, and we learn the rescue team's motives and actions may not have come from a place of pure intent. 

Tulin is fantastic in the role of the psychotic Doctor. Much like Dieter Laser was born to play the role of Mad Scientist in The Human Centipede, Tulin, who resembles a bug eyed Clint Howard, owns the screen as the twisted Doctor, whose rules and research quickly become obvious that they are for his own amusement, and not meant to stem the tide of any viral outbreak.  His every action centers on physically and mentally breaking down his patients, and he takes a special liking to Zoey as she’s the first to not give in to his advances immediately. He goes about his business of torture in a matter of fact way, with a zealot’s certainty that all his actions are in the right. Through sedatives, drugs and starvation, he is able to manipulate first the nurse, then Zoey, to take part in his increasingly bizarre experiments. He sees no irony in hiding from the infected while preparing meals out of the survivors that he's rescued. 

Tulin initially finds himself assisted by The Nurse, and it speaks to the depth of Donley’s film that she initially comes off as a terrifying figure (her introduction is a fantastic jump scare) to one the audience will find sympathy for. Clad in a blood-stained uniform, The Nurse has had her lips (both sets of them) sewn shut for, as The Doctor claims, “telling lies”. With Zoey under his thumb as a new plaything, The Doctor quickly tires of his assistant, and she meets a gruesome and sad slow torturous end.

Make no mistake; you will see a lot of torture in this film. From scenes of forced cannibalism and intravenous feeding (through the nostril with a meal comprised of pureed foot and bone no less), lobotomies, rape and body modification, Shelter will be a tough watch for most people. A starved Zoey is reduced to drinking urine and slurping cold soup out of a filthy bedpan in addition to chunking down pieces of cooked human flesh in order to survive.  

While the film is chock full of gory, disgusting scenes, it’s not the over the top carnage that makes Shellter such an uneasy, compelling watch. Donley creates situations for Zoey where she must make a choice that boils down to “her or me”. There’s a scene where The Doctor forces Zoey to zap a new refugee with an electrical shock every time the new girl answers a question incorrectly.  As the voltage raises with each incorrect answer, the helpless woman is left screaming for mercy at first, until she can no longer answer at all, her muscles gone slack and eyes rolling in to the back of her head. Still, The Doctor berates Zoey to “Increase the Voltage” and “Push the Button” quickly, warning her that it could just as easily be her in the chair. Despite her reservations and shaking hands, Zoey complies every time, until the woman in the chair is nothing but a smoking husk.

What follows is even more revolting. Another woman is brought in, and when she refuses the Doctor’s advances, he decides to lobotomize her to make her more pliable. While the restrained woman begs for mercy, Zoey has to make the same choice all over again: “her or me”. Demonstrating once again the lengths of debasement one will go through just to survive, Zoey holds the woman’s head in place so the procedure can continue.  It’s at this moment the Doctor knows he owns the woman, heart and soul, and from that point on, there’s little difference between Zoey, and the lobotomy victim. Sapped of her free will, there’s little she won’t do to please the Doctor. It’s not until the cycle we saw wind down at the beginning of the film starts up again before she finds the urge to fight back.  

While Donley isn’t afraid to push against boundaries of what audiences will find acceptable in a film, his work doesn’t come off as gratuitous. Earlier this year, I had the misfortune of watching Penance, (my min review can be found here) a film so revolting it could only be done by someone with deep seeded mommy issues.  Shelter treads the same grimy territory, but concerns itself with exploring just how far a person will go to survive, even when the conditions are intolerable. It explores whether we take action based on experience and upbringing, or if deep down we’re little more than walking husks of base instinct.

Being a horror film, things have to come to climax with a twist ending. If you pay any attention at all to the film, you’ll probably figure it out within the first twenty minutes. Shelter still manages a clever spin on the twist that plays with the idea of the Stamford Experiment, and how long it takes for someone to breakdown under incredible duress.  

Shellter isn’t for the weak of heart and it’s not going to be every horror fan’s cup of tea. If you objected to the Saw and Hostel franchise because of the violence (as opposed to the more legitimate reason that they’re just not very good films) you won’t like this film. But if you’re looking for something to push your boundaries, or want a well crafted, low budget indie film, give this a download at IndieFlix, or order it from Amazon. 

Sorry for the ad in the trailer, it's the only embeddable one I could find. I'm a little concerned over who Disney thinks their target audience is for Disneyland nowadays.  

Shellter - Trailer
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The Short Rounds: Simone

What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done when you’ve gotten blackout drunk? Who amongst us hasn’t woken up after a night of tossing back far too much devil’s brew with no memory of shenanigans indulged in the evening before?

Our title character in the short film Simone wakes up looking like a woman about to take the dreaded walk of shame. Simone (Jennifer Ward) wakes up in a strange bed, naked except for a pair of panties, her makeup smeared, eyes bloodshot, and hair a tussled bird’s nest. As the events from the previous night come back in small doses, it becomes apparent that Simone didn’t just have a typical night of binge drinking.  

Director Joops Fragale manages to hold interest by walking the fine line between gory horror and eroticism. As Simone makes her way through her unfamiliar surroundings and begins to piece back the events of the previous evening, we get glimpses as to what might have happened. It starts with tiny moments, like noticing the smeared blood on her fingertips as she checks her voice mail. Things escalate, and it’s a no brainer to say that anytime you wake up puking hair, and that hair isn’t your own, you’ve had a tough night.  

As Simone makes her way through her unfamiliar surroundings, following a blood spattered trail through the rooms, snippets from the night before come back to her. After meeting Eve (Erin Cline) at a bar, the two hit it off, toss back some shots and head back to Eve’s for a steamy night of late night Cinemax inspired loving. Mixed in with shots of steamy passion are glimpses of the following morning of carnage until Simone comes face to face with the brutal ending to her tryst.

Despite its short run time, Fragale does a fine job dragging out the suspense as to what happened the night before. There’s a terrific chemistry between Simone and Eve and their love scene comes off as hot without feeling like a cheap porn rush. The flashbacks to the night before and the slow reveal to what happened are well executed. Fragale does a terrific job of keeping viewers guessing as to what happened, as we're left every bit in the dark as Simone as she her memory returns in fragments while coming down off her hangover.The hair-puking scene is a standout, and from that moment on the film had my rapt attention.  

My one piece of advice would be to cut the last few seconds out of the film. It didn’t need a Paranormal Activity tacked on jump scare. Nor does Fragale need to beat his audience over the head with Simone’s secret. It stands out, and not in a good way, against the slow build up and reveal from the previous sixteen minutes of film. As it is, the moments that precede it, with Simone and Eve bathed in the moonlight on the kitchen floor, are haunting and beautiful, and everything that comes before it leads nicely into those few seconds.

One nice thing about Simone is you can judge this one for yourself. Head over to the website and order your own copy (386 Films website). The official copy comes with a making of feature, behind the scenes footage more, totaling about 85 minutes of extras. Take some extra Christmas cash and add a terrific new indie short to your collection. 

Simone (Trailer) from Joops Fragale on Vimeo.

An Invite to Debauchery: Satan Hates You! in NYC for One Week Starting Dec. 17

NYC area horror fans, here's your chance to see one of our favorite horror films of the year, James Felix McKenney's Satan Hates You! On Friday, December 17, Satan Hates You! starts a one week run at the reRun Gastropub Theater. Satan Hates You! is an unclassifiable treat for horror fans that combines allegory, dark humor, and splatterific moments with a fantastic cast that includes genre favorites Angus Scrimm, Reggie Bannister, Debbie Rochon, and Michael Barryman in roles that transcend mere cameo. Celebrate the holiday season in true demonic style!

For all the details, here's the press release from Monsterpants:

Don't forget -- SATAN HATES YOU begins its week-long run at reRun Gastropub Theater in DUMBO, Brooklyn on Friday, December 17th!

Please join us tomorrow, opening night, for a Q&A with lead actors Christine Spencer and Don Wood, writer-director James Felix McKenney, actor-producer Larry Fessenden, cinematographer Eric Branco any other members of the cast and crew who happen to be in the neighborhood.

A horrific tribute to Christian "scare" films and the comic book tracts of Jack Chick, SATAN HATES YOU boasts an ensemble cast of scare-flick icons, including Michael Berryman (THE HILLS HAVE EYES), PHANTASM's Angus Scrimm and Reggie Bannister, scream queen Debbie Rochon (TROMEO & JULIET) and producer Larry Fessenden as a demonic imp.

"Satan Hates You is a clever collision of flamboyant gore and social commentary that never goes too far with anything save mordant wit"

- John Anderson, VARIETY

COME EARLY FOR LIQUOR &  SNACKS! Last call 5 minutes before showtime

Get your tickets before it's too late:
http://satanhatesyou.eventbrite.com/

reRun
147 Front Street
Mezzanine, Rear
Brooklyn, NY 11201
http://reruntheater.com/

http://www.satanhatesyou.com

The Short Rounds-"The Lake". Yes, There's Something About The Water

“Do you want to live forever? Hawkman DIIIVVVE!”

                 -Prince Vultan Flash Gordon

I’ll make no apologies that the above quote is one of my favorite in any film ever. Maybe it’s because eve at five years old I recognized that a flying quasi midget with a beard you could nest a flock of seagulls in commanded respect. Also, who better to raise philosophical questions debated ever since man was eaten by Sabre tooth tigers than a shirtless Brian Blessed? 

Jason Dodson’s short film The Lake has a decidedly different take on the legend of Ponce de Leon and the Fountain of Youth. The traditional wisdom is a dip in the mythical waters would maintain one’s youth and virility. Dodson’s horror goes in a completely different direction, where its immortals are a bloodthirsty pack of ghouls trading reason for a bad skin condition, superhuman strength & speed, and an insatiable bloodlust.

Stop me if you’ve heard this one before. A group of attractive twenty-somethings head out to the woods to get in touch with their inner Henry David Thoreau and to drink themselves into oblivion. Very bad things live in the woods, and before the night is over, they’ve turned the friends in to pulpy, broken meatsacks.  

I loved the opening moments of the short film. Dodson grabs viewer attention with a desperate 911 call providing the soundtrack to brief snapshots of carnage: a bloodstained leaf where drops of blood audibly plop and mark the passing of time; a dead hand, and a gore streaked hammer that fills the foreground before panning and zooming on the death convulsions of its target.

What follows is a brief bit of exposition. The friends debate the legend of the nearby lake. According to legend, a priest brought a number of terminally ill patients to the lake, believing it held rejuvenating and healing powers. While one girl says they shouldn’t be quick to dismiss the myth, another is quick to dismiss her. The other pair of friends would rather sit back and do bong rips rather than take part in the conversation.

At an eight minute runtime, Dodson packs a decent amount in a small package. While it owes more than a small thanks to The Descent, the shots of the deformed stalkers circling around the campsite through night vision looks fantastic. The friends quickly panic and run screaming through the woods which make them easy pickings.

My issue with the short is the end doesn’t reconcile the phone call that opened the short.  With the way the humanoids stalked and hunted the friends, it felt like those opening moments were cut from a different film all together. While I can forgive a lot of things when watching flaky skinned cannibals rip a group of folks to shreds, I’d still like to connect the dots of the story.  It also didn’t make sense to me that these humanoids would suddenly develop the ability to use blunt tools caving in skulls.

Overall, The Lake is worth a watch, and you should make it a point to seek it out as it makes rounds through the horror festival circuit. Dodson has a strong eye for the visuals, as evidenced by the opening shots and the way his humanoids blend in to the background before striking out at the tensest moment.  It’s the dialogue and narrative cohesion that could be improved on. I’d be up for seeing what he could do with a tightened up script for his next project. 

The Coming Soon Corner: New Films From The Soska Twins and Maude Michaud

Can we file this post under either "Better Late Than Never" or "Rad Women Be Makin' Movies!"

Earlier this year we were lucky enough to screen the debut feature from Canada's Jen and Sylvia Soska. Delivering on the madcap exploits implied by its title, Dead Hooker in a Trunk boasted over the top violence akin to a live action adaptation of a  Coyote versus Roadrunner cartoon.

Not a pair to rest on their laurels, the sisters are hard at work on their follow up American Mary. This past weekend they unveiled the first teaser trailer for the film. While a one minute trailer won't reveal too many details, it seems the pair are expanding their storytelling chops, leaving behind the exaggerated mayhem of their debut for a more psychologically chilling tale this time around. Judge for yourself by watching below and stay tuned here for more details as the film gets closer to release.



But wait there's more...

All Things Horror favorite Maude Michaud also recently released a trailer for her next short film Red. At our June screening event Ms. Michaud revealed to our audience her fascination with the idea of snuff films, and her follow up to Hollywood Skin  explore the dark terrain of videotaped murder. The teaser definitely does that-it teases an erotic side to the horror (an idea she played with in her contribution to Frankenstein Unlimited) and it boasts a special appearance by Shannon Lark. So you have a film by one of my favorite new directors featuring an actress who I'd watch read the phone book and still think it was awesome. This equals Must See watching in my book.


RED - trailer from Maude Michaud on Vimeo.


With Bleefest making monthly inroads for women directors, a new film by the Soskas, and a number of female driven projects on the map for next year, 2011 is shaping up to be the year of the woman horror director. I for one am pretty stoked.

Michael Mann Must Be Livid: The Keep on Netflix Watch Instant

I'm not sure how this happened, but I hope Netflix continues to offer films currently unavailable or rarely found on VHS/DVD for view on "watch instant". I have a rather large list of films just aching for a proper release or re-release, Michael Mann's The Keep being at the top of the pile. Sure, Mann has all but divorced himself from the film, one that he, and a lot of critics, considers an embarrassment. I, however, shouted for joy when The Keep came up as a recommended movie on my account. While it does have its problems, it also gets a lot of things right. Both a commercial and critical failure, the film has attained a cult following based on its successes.

Based on the outstanding novel by F. Paul Wilson, Mann's version takes certain liberties that fans of the book may not appreciate. However, even back before he made stylish films like Manhunter and Heat, Mann had shown promise as a unique visionary. Even though the story gets confusing, the film has a suitably creepy atmosphere that may fall short of the terrifying novel, but is effective in its own right.

Taking place during World War II, a group of German soldiers arrive at a small village in the Carpathian Mountains of Romania. Overlooking the village is an oppressive keep built by unknown forces many centuries before. The German troops take over the keep, some hoping to unlock its secrets, and others seeking fortune. They soon find themselves at odds with the German SS, officers with questionable tactics when it comes to dealing with the Romanian villagers. A couple of greedy soldiers accidentally release an evil presence, Radu Molasar, who stalks them for their lifeforce. The Germans enlist the help of a history professor and his daughter to decipher messages on the keep's walls and hopefully rid themselves of the evil plaguing them.

The film features a veritable who's who of fine acting, including Scott Glenn, Gabriel Byrne, Jurgen Prochnow, and Sir Ian McKellan. The soundtrack by Tangerine Dream is excellent, even though it feels a little out of place at times. Something about synthesizers and WWII war films doesn't quite gel, but the music is certainly a benefit.



Despite his desire to bury the film, I'm glad Mann's version, in all its imperfect glory, is available for horror fans to experience for themselves.

The Keep Trailer

Matthew Garrett's Beating Hearts: Star-Crossed and Blood-Spattered

Beating Hearts (2010)
Written and Directed by Matthew Garrett

Obsession is a word I attach to few things, but there are instances where an artist's work completely takes over my brain. It rarely happens, but when it does, I find myself digging and digging at it until something bleeds or a restraining order is issued. To me, Matthew Garrett's moving short Beating Hearts is one such work. I've literally watched it eighteen times (and counting), and just as I think I've found all the answers, I notice something new. I get increasingly more puzzled each time I view it, and for that I love it. It's not that the narrative is overly complicated or hard to follow. Not at all. It's the fact that the film is so layered with subtle symbolism that I find myself sighing in awe of it all. Garrett isn't one of those filmmakers who hits you over the head with the thematic elements. He trusts that his audience is intelligent enough to figure out the clues, and refreshingly doesn't pander.

Beating Hearts starts with a bang disguised as a whisper, and a bloody one at that. I'm hesitant to even outline the story because it would give away too much. On a tranquil morning, a young girl awakens her mother in a seemingly innocuous manner. After a surprise occurance, the somber girl finds herself fleeing with her grandfather on a boat heading for an unknown destination and a staggeringly depressing climax. In between is Garrett's twisted take on family dysfunction, one that will leave you breathless.

Beating Hearts is anchored by great performances from the leads Gianna Bruzzese as "the girl" and Peter Coriaty as "the grandfather". At once understated and commanding, each do a stellar job of capturing the necessary tone for the bleak film. My hat is off to Garrett for finding such talented actors to fill the uncomfortable shoes of the characters. The work of Bruzzese in particular needs mentioned as she tackled the provocative story with a maturity nearly impossible to find in American child actors. 

Another aspect that makes Beating Hearts excel is the perfect pacing. The editing is concise and sparing and a perfect compliment to the meticulous shooting. Each beautifully composed shot and subsequent piecing is perfectly rendered . Remember when I talked about obsession up at the top? Well, clearly I'm not the only one. With Beating Hearts, along with as his excellent feature film Morris County, Garrett has proven that a little obsession might be just what we all need.

Garrett's worlds are populated by monsters, but they are the human sort that makes it hard to tell them apart from the "normal" people. In his work, where family might offer refuge and safety, they nearly always provide catastrophe and ruin. His suburban landscapes are no less dangerous than the more tradionally violent counterparts, those places from which suburbanites fled, but secretly brought their own brand of horror. Garrett knows what lurks in the hearts and minds of the inhabitants, and proves that nowhere is, indeed, safe. 

Beating Hearts is making waves on the festival circuit, receiving accolades from audiences and critics alike. We had the pleasure of screening the film as part of our monthly series and look forward to the future work of the immensely talented Mr. Garrett.

The Coming Soon Corner: GRAVE ENCOUNTERS Shows What Would Really Happen If...

...one of those god awful SyFY Ghostbuster shows encountered a true paranormal event

If there’s a sub-genre of horror films I haven’t grown tired of, it’s the “found footage” variety of scares. From Blair Witch Project, to [REC] to the original Paranormal Activity these mockumentaries suck me I and allow me to suspend disbelief, and more often than not they scare the pants off me.

The trailer for upcoming film Grave Encounters looks like another worthy entry in the genre. I love the premise of this film, and am of the mind this is how one of the bogus television crews from dreck like Ghost Hunters would react if the ever came across a true haunting.

Check out the trailer  and the official synopsis below. No word on a release date, but the producers hope to make the festival circuit run beginning early next year. A brief word of caution-if you're a nancy boy like me, then don't watch this trailer at 3am when you can nod off to sleep. There's a moment about a minute forty five in that gave me a bad case of the heebie jeebies. 

SYNOPSIS:

Lance Preston and the crew of "Grave Encounters", a ghost-hunting reality television show, are shooting an episode inside the abandoned Collingwood Psychiatric Hospital, where unexplained phenomena has been reported for years.

All in the name of good television, they voluntarily lock themselves inside the building for the night and begin a paranormal investigation, capturing everything on camera.

They quickly realize that the building is more than just haunted - it is alive - and it has no intention of ever letting them leave. They find themselves lost in a labyrinth maze of endless hallways and corridors, terrorized by the ghosts of the former patients.

They soon begin to question their own sanity, slipping deeper and deeper into the depths of madness, ultimately discovering the truth behind the hospital’s dark past…and taping what turns out to be their final episode.

Elisabeth Fies about BleedFest & The Hurdles Female Genre Directors Face

With BleedFest (official site) kicking off its monthly run Sunday December 5th, fest director Elisabeth Fies (The Commune) took some time to talk about why she created the event, what attendees can expect. Most importantly, Ms. Fies talks very candidly about the state of female directors, writers and producers within the industry as a whole, with a particular focus on the horror and genre cinema realms and isn't afraid to hold back her anger at the continued exclusion of her talented female comrades when it comes to gaining the notoriety and opportunities they've worked for and earned. 

Hi Lis, Thanks so much for taking the time to do this interview. You must be absolutely swamped with last minute stuff before Bleedfest rolls out the red carpet Sunday morning, how's it all going so far?
Hahahaha yeah. It's AWESOME. The downside to not being ignored by the industry is ten minutes ago I was literally texting my producer about our horror movie shoot on Monday that I'm directing while you and I were Facebook IMing about an interview and I was sending the press release about our Red Carpet Event at Bleedfest off to friend and superstar Tara Cardinal for advice while trying to update our website......crazy!

So where did the idea for Bleedfest come from?
I was tired of watching my peers' work be ignored by the top tier fanboy programmers and reporters who systematically ignore the women making terrific genre movies.

With regards to programmers and press ignoring women making gene movies, are you starting to see the pendulum swing in the other direction? It would seem like your feature received a lot of attention, and your friend Ms. Gusack's film (In Memoriam) finally received distribution and terrific write ups and the Soska twins seem like an unstoppable force of nature.
No, the top tiers are still ignoring us. The comic/thriller/fantasy/horror/action genre world is very strange, because the fans and bloggers love us, and the top tier gatekeepers who have the ability to make a career continue to claim we don't exist. Well with all due respect, none of us have received distribution, been a feature story in Fangoria, been invited to the Masters of Horror meetings, or had our movie at Fantastic Fest. And In Memoriam is self-distributing on one platform: IndieFlix. So yes it's finally actually possible to see it, but it didn't get her a meeting with Uncle Spielberg and get distributed in theatres like Paranormal Activity, which I assert looks suspiciously like it in tone and story and does half the job of frightening storytelling that IM did.So while I am grateful for the attention indie press has paid these ladies, they are still ignored in any kind of industry situation that would get them an agent, distribution deals, or actually paid. Compare any of those ladies to the career projectory of the men from The Signal. Or Hatchet. Or Ti West. Or Paul Solet. I can go on and on. These men mad no budget to low budget movies that are completely comparable to a dozen thriller and horror female directors who have not received distribution, press, invites to MOH, and agents. So WHAT THE FUCK?

Why do you think female directors have trouble getting their just due?
Because the people in power at top tier production companies, agencies, press sites and film festivals are systematically ignoring them and denying they exist. WHY they're doing that, you'd have to ask them. It's certainly not good business. But I'm tired of confronting them and hearing it's because we don't exist or don't make good enough films. That's bullshit, and that's why I created Bleedfest.

I can understand that, but the directors you've mentioned definitely have cache with fans, where someone like yourself or say a Stacie Ponder, both of you have made totally kickass horror features this year, and like you say, outside the indie fans that seek this stuff out, never get mentioned nor invited to the inner circle.
Right and Mick Garris was confronted on Facebook after the last MOH summer meeting and said that Katt Shea and Mary Harmon didn't want to go to the meetings, thus there were no other female horror directors to invite. He's been introduced to me four times through Katt Shea, and knows Devi Snively quite well, and has been interviewed several times by Heidi Martinuzzi for her website and her documentary and knows about the huge encyclopedia of female directors she's almost done compiling, so why would he lie and say he doesn't know of any other female directors? It's not like there aren't over a dozen women I can name in under 30 seconds who deserved to be at that networking meeting as much as three of the new nobodies they invited. This type of exclusion is devastating, because the MOH TV show evolved out of these monthly fun gatherings of these guys getting together to shoot the shit and compare notes. You have to ask the men why they have no interest in being friends with women, in mentoring them, in working with them, and continue to lie and present a united front of positing to the world that we don't exist. And I 'm not saying getting into the MOH is the be all end all; a lot of these guys can't get funding for their own projects and don't have "power". But they're helping each other and they're presenting themselves as the exclusive horror filmmakers to Hollywood. So what do they gain by not having Debra Granik or Susan Montford or Amanda Gusack or Barbara Stepansky there? They've all directed movies with stars that are over a million dollars, so they're bigger and more qualified than the latest straight to DVD indie male directors they invited. But Hollywood is most interested in hot white 25 year old directors. But the thing is, the situation is not different in any other film genre. WHY it matters that women are excluded in horror and thriller inner circles is because it was the only door left for indie filmmakers to break into Hollywood. Traditionally if you make a low budget exploitation film that you can get an agent and get hired for paying jobs.

Right, Roger Corman's often noted for starting the careers of Joe Dante, James Cameron, Francis Ford Coppola even Martin Scorcese, but you rarelyr hear a female director in that category.

That's the thing; Roger DID give starts to two women through exploitation! In the 70s he gave Stepahnie Rothman Terminal Island, and in the 80s my dear friend Katt Shea stallked him until he let her direct Stripped to Kill. And when Katt's movie became Roger Corman biggest grossing movie ever, he came back to her and hired her for two more features. Then she moved on to Hollywood and became the toast of Hollywood in 1990 when Poison Ivy won at Sundance.

But now that Corman has retired, why aren't other companies following his lead? Where is a female written or directed film from After Dark Horror Fest or from The Asylum? Is reinforcing the sexist status quo really more important to businessman than making money? Because women have more frightening things happen to them in real life every day, they're more in touch with their emotions, they're a completely untapped resource for fresh horror ideas, and you could print your own money marketing your company as the first of the new century to give a woman a chance. It's bad business. These production and distribution companies are not behaving as if they care about making money. In Memorium could have been bigger than Paranormal Activity if Spielberg had chosen it instead. IM is one of the best movies I've ever seen. I defy you to not be scared shitless by it, and to ever forget it. Why hasn't The Asylum bought it and retitled it Paranormal Entity 2?

Fantastic Fest and Scream Fest played maybe one or two movies by women out of huge lineups, and this was AFTER Viscera and Bleedfest got so much indie press this summer. The facts are that After Dark Horror Fest has never chosen to release a film by a woman.Etc. Etc. ad nauseum. It's fucking across the board. I'm not here to say why. I'm here to say "Stop presenting is as it's because female filmmakers don't exist or aren't as good as the men. JUST. STOP. THE. BULLSHIT." Because that's what programmers and top tier journalists are presenting to the public by excluding us...the assumption that they're fair, and women just aren't good enough.

Outside of screening genre films created by women, it sounds like the goal is to help earn the creators representation. What, if any, reaction to Bleedfest going monthly has you received in the mainstream or from other festivals so far?
Well, since they can't make any money by selling their movie because everyone has pirated everything, wouldn't it be nice if they could earn a living by being hired for rewrites and for hire directing gigs? Why shouldn't they be? Bleedfest has received no mainstream reaction.

But we just are starting working on the monthly series three weeks ago. Give us a few months to shame people into jumping on our bandwagon. I mean, you have to be a douche to not support Bleedfest. ;)

How has it been received by your peers, both male and female? Are you getting buried in submissions so far?
Filmmakers are funny, and I do this myself...it's hard to actually get a DVD burned, the envelope addressed, and mailed off with the correct postage. Lots of steps there for an artist to procrastinate or goof up. So with the submission details just being released to the general public, I don't expect an avalanche. I already hand selected and booked January and February by talking to mid level programmers/activists/friends and selecting favorites that have played alongside my feature The Commune on the indie festival circuit the last year. I did get a really bizarre email from a male director who had made as close to a snuff film as you can legally get and was sure from reading our mission statement that he was the perfect match for Bleedfest. I think we might need to rewrite our mission statement.

Ahaha. That's fucking awesome. With regards to Bleedfest and promotion it’s received. , and has James from Planet of Terror and Hannah has been championing women in horror month, but how have other indie sites done with coverage?
It's really hard to put on a festival, and it's SOOOO wonderful to have you as a partner promoting lady filmmakers. I can only hope that enough indie people will reach a tipping point that Hollywood can't ignore. I'm working on updating all the press we've gotten so far tonight. Indie bloggers and journalists have been super cool and excited. And it all helps to raise our Google search numbers and our IMDB scores, which are goofy indicators Hollywood people use to determine if you're marketable. So that's all good. But...this is kind of insulting but it's the truth from a big Hollywood publicist's mouth...these sites are considered BY HOLLYWOOD to be run by "fan enthusiasts". The order of importance goes more like Variety/Hollywood Reporter, LA/NY Times, Washington Post, CNN, Huffington Post, Salon, etc...and work your way down to Fangoria being one of the last influences...anything below that …But again, if fan enthusiasm and indie journalists can build something like a woman getting onto the cover of Rue Morgue or Fangoria, and then getting their movie released into a theatre for a week instead of going straight to DVD by a tiny distributor or being self distributed...THEN these ladies can get reviewed by LA Times, and Variety...

It COULD work...it HAS worked But they need to play at Fantastic Fest. They need Harry Knowles to write about them. And don't forget, we've all worked full time on our movies for 3-5 years. We all invested and lost our life savings, and we all have film school student loans to pay back. NONE of these women are "hobbyists". They're serious businesswomen who are being discriminated against. And one thing I haven’t pointed out is "The Powers That Be" aren't all men...there are plenty of women in choosing positions who are making the same choices. But my point isn't Evil Men Run Hollywood...it's let's change this cultural misperception that A) Women don't make anything but chick flicks. B) Women don't want to see anything but chick flicks C) Men don't want to see anything made by or about women D) It's okay to use a word like"chick flick" when it's actually reinforcing all of the above BS sexism. I'm usually more humorous, but when you drill down these issues are so important to women's financial health, their creative health, and even something like men being culturally shamed out of enjoying a movie with a female protagonist effects their ability to emphasize and have healthy relationships with EVERY female relationship in their lives. It's really to society's benefit and to Hollywood's financially to end the systematic discrimination of female filmmakers. Sorry, not emphasize...empathize.

The underground indie crowd has been amazingly supportive of women...Mike McCarthy of BSIFF gave half his awards to women, Bill Dever at B Movie Celebration regularly schedules and awards at a 50/50 gender divide (a couple years ago ALL the Emerging Director nominees were female in a non-gender specific category) and BleedFest's brother festival Horrible Imaginings by Miguel Rodriguez played 60% female filmmakers!

Talk to me about this month's lineup. What are people in store for when they buy their tickets? The December lineup is called "Thrillers"-what can audiences look forward to from this month's films?
They can look forward to being thrilled! Thrillers are always hard to categorize, because to keep them fresh. Most storytellers end up combining them with other genre formulas like action, drama, or horror. Even screenwriting gurus can't determine what really defines a thriller. For my personal filmmaking purposes, I define them as threats to the mind and soul versus threats to the physical body.

We have an AMAZING thriller feature by Caroline Du Potet. It stars Anne Parillaud from La Femme Nikita, and I caught it in October at Bram Stoker International Film Festival where Caroline won Best Director and my film The Commune won Best International Picture. It’s called IN THEIR SLEEP (IMDb page). It's about a woman whose teen son either killed himself or had an accident, and a year later she's separated from her husband and trapped in grief when she meets a hot teen boy who is bloody and needs help. But should she help him? Should she mother him? Should she fuck him? Even if he is a killer, should she still do all of the above because it's the only way to heal? It's very French, in the sense of the new genre cinema they've been making the last five years. Boundary pushing and disquieting; great filmmaking. IFC is releasing IN THEIR SLEEP on VOD December 3rd. At first I was a little freaked out about what that meant for our festival, but ultimately I think it's terrific for her and that we can get her press for both!

One of the things we're trying to do is be a Festival Event; a “Festival 2.0”. I'm talking to as many underground smarty pants as I can about how to get as much attention for the filmmakers as for the festival itself.

What do you mean by Festival 2.0?
I mean really, theatrical release are dying, film festivals are dying...it's not that helpful to get 100 or 1000 eyeballs on a film at one event...it's about VOD, press, partnerships, people who are experts on the wild west of the web frontier...we're' staying cognizant of our ultimate goal of getting these filmmakers SEEN. Ultimately what WOULD be a game shifter is we could get this indie VOD/computer channel of indie films going and supported by you amazing underground indie fans, journalists, etc...Then we circumvent Hollywood all together and eventually if anything they would be coming to us.

Ooph, Ada woke up for her midnight snack....last question and thanks so much....tell us a little bit about what your next horror film is about?
Awww hi Ada! Next film is called I HATE LA. It's an anthology I produced of short films by female suspense/horror filmmakers. Interlocking Twilight Zone stories specific to each boroughs of LA's characterizations...super fun and smart and scary. We're premiering it at February 6th's Bleedfest. And I'm almost done shooting the first act of PSYCHOSEXUAL, an 80s style pscyhothriller where the gender roles are reversed and it's slutty men's sexualized corpses being left all over the city and found by an overweight detective who doesn't initially care because she's too busy balling loose men. Fun times.

Thanks so much for the great talk, Mike!

I want to give Ms. Fies a huge thanks for giving us a huge chunk of her time to talk and wish her the best of success when it comes to both BleedFest and her own upcoming projects.