It's The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year

With all due respect to Andy Williams, I’ll take October over Christmas seven days a week and twice on Sundays. It’s a time for bizarre costumes and, horror movie marathons on the boob tube and a cascade of Twix bars and Kit Kats and Saturday afternoons picking apples and pumpkins in an orchard with the crisp fall air blowing around my hoodie and cargo shorts. Lending to the appeal is the fact that in New England we actually have seasons. While it might be nice to roll out of bad to seventy five and sunny in San Diego year round, the fact that we live under soul crushing conditions for large chunks of the year gives a greater appreciation for fall weather before four months of scraping ice off frozen windshields while gales of wind tear tiny razor cuts into our faces and ears.

Of course, Halloween is the main attraction and there’s no shortage of festivities. The list below is just the tip of the iceberg. Bookmark this post as it will be consistently updated and added to throughout the month as new events get listed. If you have an event or activity you want posted, send an email to allthingshorroronline@yahoo.com for consideration.

Of course, it wouldn’t be the first, nor the last time I mention our own SHUDDER FEST coming up October 14^th and 15^th at the Somerville Theater. Two night, four features and a dozen short films that represent the best new independent horror movies. Click our official page for more details/lineup/schedule & tickets

The Coolidge Corner Boston’s premier independent theater has a slug of horror themed programming culminating in a marathon orgy of horror. Here’s this year’s list of events:

Saturday October 1^st J. Cannibal’s Feat of Fest XI:

Halloween season kicks off at the Coolidge Corner Theater (Brookline, MA) with a screening of Italian gorehouse spatter film  DEMONS. There’s also a performance by the Black Cat Burlesque and live music from Acaro (official site)

Saturday October 7^th Special screening of POPCORN. This cult classic from the early 90’s is getting a special screening on a 35mm print. This is a fundraiser for the special edition release of the film on DVD and blu ray.    

Coolidge After Midnight Additional special events:

The Stephen King Series

The Dark Half October 7^th & 8^th (Midnight)

Creepshow October 14^th & 15^th (Midnight)

Pet Sematary (October 21^st & 22^nd)

Also of note:

The Dead Saturday October 15^th (11:59 pm)

Zombie October 21^st &22^nd (11:59 pm)

An American Werewolf in London October 28^th (11:59 pm)

The 11^th Annual Horror Movie Marathon featuring Return of the Living Dead and Suspira (more announcements to follow soon)

Other Events

Jack O’ Lantern Spectacular at the Roger Williams Park Zoo (Providence RI) the artistry and spectacle of 1000’s of carved pumpkins on display depicting iconic characters, people and scenes from our favorite movies. The detail and craftsmanship that goes into this attraction is outstanding. His year’s theme is “A Journey Around the World” with the seven wonders featured prominently.(official site)

Barrett’s Haunted Mansion(Abington MA) This year marks the twentieth anniversary of the South Shore’s premier haunted attraction. The brave of heart of welcome to navigate their way through multiple vignettes of terror. Part of the fun is the “ghouls” change every night, so if you go multiple times, you’ll get a different experience with each pass through. Even braving the at-tiles too long and slow moving lines are fun as they project iconic scenes from famous horror flicks while costumed weirdoes sneak up and spook patrons.  This is a five minute drive from my house and I can’t wait to take friends this fall. (official site)

Spooky World/The Fear At Fenway (Boston, MA) The only thing scarier than The Sox September Swoon is the hallowed grounds of Fenway Park (who am I kidding, that place is an overpriced crap hole, build a new stadium all ready!) being transformed into Halloween Fright Fest. The main attractions include a 3D labyrinth, a haunted cemetery, a haunted mansion and Josh Beckett sitting on an aluminum chair drinking Coors and making his ever increasing paunch talk in funny voices while John Henry's calk white visiage looms disapprovingly in the background. The Spooky World showcase is always hotly anticipated in New England, and this year shouldn't prove to be any different. (official site)

This tunnel makes for pants crapping time when it's pitch black

Fort Adams Fortress of Nightmares (Newport RI) Considering how many soldiers must have died within this stone fortress, Fort Adams must be the ideal spot for paranormal activity. Every fall they put on a “two-fer” attraction. If you love the glamorous world of ghost hunting as seen on Paranormal State and, well, Ghost Hunting, then take a tour of the grounds with The Rhode Island Paranormal Research Group and find out if the dead still roam the earth. There’s also an elaborate haunted house set up within the fort, and I would challenge even the most jaded, unimaginative tough guy to not tinkle his undies a wee but when making his way down a 300 year old pitch black encampment when a stranger’s hot breath starts bearing down on the back of his neck. (official site)

Rock and Shock Festival (Worcester MA) Combining a love for heavy metal with a love for horror, Rock n Shock lines up a weekend of stars for their festivities. This year’s musical lineup includes-holy cow I’m out of touch with music. Horror special guests include Robert Englund, Lance Hendrickson, Bill Mosely and Roddy Piper among many many others. There’s also a film fest wedged in their as well. For a complete schedule check out the (official site)

Spooky World Theme Park & Movie Memorabilia Sale (Sudbury, MA)For the collectors out there, this is a unique opportunity to get your hands on rare movie props and costumes, vintage video games, framed lobby poster art, and a veritable treasure trove of monster and Halloween props used to scare the bejesus out of kids in various haunted attractions. This event takes place rain or shine over Columbus Day Weekend. (online press release)

Chloe and Attie: Nursing the Sick and Evil

Chloe and Attie (2010)
Directed by Scooter Corkle
Written by Scooter Corkle and Clif Prowse

Back in 2010, I was able to catch a short film called Chloe and Attie at the Rhode Island International Horror Film Festival. It became not only my favorite film of the fest, but also one of my favorites period. The talent behind the work, Scooter Corkle, is now raising money to make a feature length version. I encourage you to check out the short first, and if you enjoy it as much as I did, maybe consider donating to Scooter's effort here: Chloe and Attie Feature Film Fundraising Page on Kickstarter

Now for a review...

Many of us at some point have been thrust into caregiving duties for another human. Whether it's soothing a child experiencing her first ear infection, or administering pain killing drugs to a terminally ill patient, folks have been nursing other folks since the inception of humanity. This hits me on a very personal note as my life partner has cared for me during two incapacitating hospital stays, always beside my bed with whatever I may need. Is it fair that one person has to make what amounts to a sacrifice to the other's wavering health? The degree of selflessness it requires is something that separates the saints from the mere mortals. This is just one question at the heart of Chloe and Attie.

In this brooding short, director Scooter Corkle explores the co-dependent relationship of twin sisters. Chloe and Attie would possibly be classified as "spinsters", both getting on in years with only each other for company. Bedridden and unable to move, Attie is ailing. Chloe diligently provides for her every need. Their days are spent with Attie silently deteriorating in bed while Chloe occupies herself with crossword puzzles between cleaning, feeding, and medicating Attie. It appears that Chloe has made a lifelong sacrifice in the caregiving of her sister. She now prepares for the inevitable departure of the husk that is now Attie.

As the story moves on, we find that Attie possesses an incredibly horrifying power. This changes the story dynamic completely. Was Chloe motivated by sibling love, or by a deep-seeded fear of being on the receiving end of Attie's fury? Just who is saddled with whom is suddenly blurred. Perhaps Chloe was only protecting herself from harm. Is she, in fact, protecting the world? While all those factors may be true, Corkle gives us glimpses of true love between the two. Throughout their lives, fear has given way to complete and utter devotion by Chloe to her sister.

Chloe and Attie ends with a twisted final "hurrah" as Attie , her body covered in bruises and bedsores, leaves her bed to perform one last time. A brutal moment at the expense of a young couple brings a slight grin to Chloe's face. However, when life finally fades for Attie, we can't tell if the look on Chloe's face is one of grief or relief.

Chloe and Attie is incredibly beautiful in its dreariness. Every shot is captured with absolute love. The sound design enhances everything from the simple crinkling of a newspaper, to the sounds of rustling sheets. Corkle's film is a penetrating look at aging, terminal disease, family, and responsibility. It's also an interesting play on the concepts of good and evil. While everything about it is depressing in theme and aesthetic, there are fleeting moments of love, hope, and beauty. I find this representative of any situation where one person is forced to watch another deteriorate or suffer. There are always the "good" days, but more of the bad for all involved in dealing with debilitiating conditions.

I'd be remiss not to mention the unflinching perfection of the leads, Jacqueline and Joyce Robbins, as the twins. Each performance is so nuanced that you'll be squirming with apprehension, but glued to the screen with anticipation. Jacqueline Robbins gives more of herself as the atrophied Attie than most Hollywood stars when they're gesticulating and sobbing all over the place. Joyce Robbins is the perfect foil to Attie, meticulous, thoughtful, weariness expressed in the eyes and gestures without uttering one word. Brilliant performances all around! Let me also mention the stunning cinematography of Director of Photography Norm Li, and the concise editing (and sound design) of Aynsley Baldwin.

Chloe and Attie is ambiguous, grim, and nearly hopeless. But guess what? So is life at times. Scooter has presented us a slice of fiction that does not sugar-coat the situation. It doesn't give us false hope that some miracle is out there to help get us through sickness, aging, or alienation. When one is laying in a hospital or hospice, wheel-chair bound or otherwise incapacitated, IV's pumping you full of drugs, poked and prodded by doctors, the that last thing you want to hear is fucking fluff about how it's all going to be better. All too often, it isn't. How's that for truth?

Chloe and Attie Trailer

I DIDN'T COME HERE TO DIE Proves Charity Is For Suckers

Written & Directed by: Bradley Scott Sullivan

Official Site: http://www.twothirtyfive.com/235/idchtd.html

Every now and again we run a segment listing life lessons horror movies have taught us. The new indie horror comedy I Didn’t Come Here To Die is full of kernels of wisdom for the viewer to use in daily life.

Lesson number one is volunteering is for suckers. While helping saving the world or giving back to those less fortunate than you in the community might seem like a swell idea, it’s really nothing more than a great way than to have the world at large pull a Lucy and yank the football out from under you at the last moment, leaving you to topple backwards and land in a pile of your own shame. More importantly, volunteering raises the chances you might end up with a chainsaw wedged into your face due to circumstances surrounding a blistering hangover and a blatant disregard for safety equipment. The worst thing a lifetime of playing Xbox will get you is gamers’ thumb.

In IDCHTD, six twenty-something volunteers head out to a remote wooded area in order to build a campsite for disadvantaged city youth. Led by team leader Sophia (Emmy Robbin, a young woman that looks an awful lot like Hope Solo) this group of misfits each has their own less than altruistic reasons for signing on.  As with most easily preventable tragedies in life, alcohol plays a crucial role in screwing things up for everyone in an irrevocable way.

After an opening sequence that finds an out of his element cop getting attacked by an eyeless lunatic, you’ll have to sit through a little bit of the getting to know the cast phase of the film before the splaction (splatter + action) starts but luckily the cast is good enough that you won’t reach for the fast forward button on the remote. Aside from Sophia there Danny (Kurt Cole) a young man with a mysterious past-anyone close to him seems to wind up dead or missing under vague circumstances the nerdy Steve (Jeremy Scott Vandermause) and overachieving butt kisser Miranda (Mari Graf) who labors under an affliction called “mom butt”. A duo of partying malcontents Julie (Indiana Adams) and Chris (Niko Red Star) rounds up the group.

Without giving away too much, let me just state that IDCHTD is one of the more enjoyable horror comedy romps I’ve had the fortune to stumble upon in a long while. What sets the film apart is Sullivan’s sense of whimsy among the carnage. IDCHTD takes a situation played out often in horror-“A group of sex starved young adults head out into the woods only to wind up in pieces”-and twists conventions ever so slightly on their ears. Instead of a masked psychopath, our crew meets their makers due to poor judgment, panicked and sloppy decision making and a blatant disregard for one’s surroundings.  The best moments in IDCHTD play out in a vein similar to the Final Destination series, except instead of a chain of microscopic occurrences setting off a domino cataclysm, our volunteers might still be around if they abided by the old expression “look before you leap”.

Sullivan’s love of the absurd extends past the death sequences. In a fantastic bit of surreal comedy our lone survivor finds themselves transporting a vanload of dead friends off site when faced with the flashing lights and blaring sirens of the local law. It’s a scene that speaks to the ennui of a cop that has logged too many hours patrolling quiet the back roads that could serve as inspiration for an Ansel Adams photo shoot, and the simple fact that sometimes he just gets bored. The scene feels a bit like the fat kid trying to wedge himself between a pair of bombshells in a group photo yet somehow just fits and damn if it isn’t my favorite scene in the film.

Sullivan also keeps the viewer engaged with characters capable of making sharp left turns. There's no better example than "Mom Butt" Miranda, who after a few slugs of bourbon transforms from the president of the Hilary Clinton fan club into a lust driven sex kitten with the mouth of a five dollar street walker. He keeps viewers on their toes so as to stop anticipating the obvious and instead embrace the absurd. 

IDCHTD manages the rare feat of making a smart film about dumb kids. Given the opportunity to find an audience (whether theatrical of home video) Bradley Scott Sullivan is going to take his place among the leaders in the new wave of horror movies. His film tips a cap to the early days of Peter Jackson and Sam Raimi when horror movies didn't feel the need to distinguish between grossing out the viewers while making them laugh hard enough to snort soda out of their nose holes. Peter Jackson may have traded horror for hobbits, but his influence can still be felt today in the ways that terror can come with a sense of mischief. 

I Didn’t Come Here To Die plays as part of SHUDDERFEST Saturday October 15^th at the Somerville Theater, Davis Sq. in Somerville MA. The program starts at 7pm. Tickets are available through TICKETLEAP  

Trailer For Upcoming Psychological Horror Flick EXHUMED Hits Web

The trailer for Scorpio Films Releasing next project has just hit the web. Written by Guy Benoit and directed by  Richard Marr Griffin, the pair responsible for the jaunty ode to 50's sci-fi horror Atomic Brain Invasion, Exhumed takes a sinister turn into much darker territory.

Exhumed premieres Friday November 11th with a pair of showings at the Orpheum Theater in Foxboro MA. The film veers towards examining inner neurosis and psychological horror in its portrait of a damaged and fractured family. Many of Griffin's usual acting troupe return, including star Sarah Nicklin (Nun of That, The Disco Exorcist). The young woman has proven fearless in other roles before, and it should be fun watching her performance with darker material. Genre veteran Debbie Rochon also stars-and may I add hat in black in white she looks even more lovely, resembling Kim Basinger even?

Check out the trailer below and stay posted here for more updates on Exhumed.

SHRIEKFEST Kicks Off This Thursday

Friends on the left coast should already have these dates circled on their calendar but if not grab your trusty magic marker before reading the rest of this post. The 11th annual SHRIEKFEST kicks off late this week with more than three dozen horror film over four nights in downtown Los Angeles.

Of course, even if you’re 3,000 miles away from the festivities (like me) it’s still a good idea to checkout and bookmark the site. The films playing at Shriekfest represent some of the best new offerings in independent horror. These are the films you’re going to get geeked up over in the coming months as they screen in your vicinity or get picked up for distribution.

From the press release:

Shriekfest Film Festival announces 2011 Schedule: 

37 FILMS * 4 NIGHTS SEPTEMBER 29-OCTOBER 2nd, 2010 (Los Angeles, CA) 

SHRIEKFEST INTERNATIONAL HORROR FILM FESTIVAL is thrilled to announce the full, expanded schedule for the ELEVENTH annual horror film festival, returning to Raleigh Studios Chaplin theatres, September 29-October 2nd, 2011. 


Festival goers will once again enjoy the finest in independent cinema from around the globe, selected from submissions that came in everywhere from London to New York; from Utah to Spain. >From our opening night screening of THE FEED, featuring Lloyd Kaufman, to the shorts from Australia, Brazil, United Kingdom, France, Germany, New Zealand, and finally to the World Premiere of Tammi Sutton's ISLE OF DOGS, starring Barbara Nedeljakova (Hostel) and Andrew Howard (I Spit On Your Grave, Limitless). The 11th Annual Shriekfest International Horror Film Festival has worked hard to present a festival as diverse as the fans of the Los Angeles city itself. 


American independent films are also well represented this year, on Friday, September 30th – THE MILLENNIUM BUG, as well as RAGE and OPUS, both of which are screening on Saturday, October 1st. We can't leave out THE MOLEMAN OF BELMONT AVENUE starring Robert England, THE ORPHAN KILLER and ABSENTIA, starring Doug Jones. 


Not to leave out our fabulous selection of short films. Movies like MURDERABILIA, ZOMBIE, PROFILE, SADNESS, ROTTING HILL and the stunning NEGATIVE IMAGE challenge the viewers with provocative, well crafted original stories. Once again SHRIEKFEST Film Festival exceeds at challenging the idea of what a horror film festival should screen, with eclectic selections (THE DEAD INSIDE), to science fiction (PIG), comedy (THE LIVING WANT ME DEAD), and even the bizarre (SUMMER OF THE ZOMBIES). 


Entrance to SHRIEKFEST Film Festival 2011 is $8.00 per block, an All-Fest Pass, good for all four days of the festival, is now available on our website, for just $99.00, this pass includes the opening night party. 


All films are un-rated, and unless specifically noted no one under 17 will be admitted without a parent or guardian's accompaniment or permission. For more information on THE 2011 SHRIEKFEST FILM FESTIVAL, as well as news about other related events, including the Opening Night Party and the networking events, please visit our website: www.shriekfest.com


I've gone through the festival lineup and here's a handful of the film you should check out/keep an eye on:


OPUS (feature) Synopsis Seven strangers show up to an abandoned home to star in an independent horror movie only to learn too late that it falls under the "snuff film" sub-genre.  





THE MOLE MAN OF BELMONT AVENUE (feature) Synopsis: A pair of inept landlords hunt the subterranean creature that's been eating the tenants. Features Robert Englund and members of Chicago's famed Second City comedy troupe. This one had me at "A brothel has many prostitutes".



THE MILLENNIUM BUG (feature) Synopsis: A family gets kidnapped by inbred psychopaths just in time for giant underground monsters to wake up from hibernation with a hunkering for red meat.





ISLE OF DOGS (feature) Synopsis A cuckolded husband out to seek revenge on his wife and her lover sets off a deadly game played with axes, shotguns and mounds of cocaine in this British thriller.



ABSENTIA (feature) Synopsis: A woman tries to move on after declaring her spouse dead "in absentia" in this unnerving and atmospheric chiller. 

All Things Horror presents "SHUDDER FEST" October 14th & 15th

Friday October 14th & Saturday October 15th