Thursday 30 July 2015

Film news (UK): Film4 FrightFest 2015 announces largest ever Short Film programme, including All 4’s A Moment of Horror series


Film4 FrightFest 2015 has expanded its Short Film Showcase event, with three strands and over thirty shorts from around the world, including eleven World Premieres and seven European Premieres. With films from thirteen countries, this is the most diverse and exciting shorts event yet programmed.

Highlights include the London premiere of actress Karen Gillan’s intense directorial debut COWARD, and the UK premiere of SHEVENGE, a darkly funny tale of revenge, directed by BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER alum Amber Benson. Local FrightFest alumni will also be returning: screenwriter and director James Moran is back with screams and laughter in GHOSTING, and Dan Auty brings us nostalgia and magic children in his new short PARTY 85. We will also be featuring the World premiere of SURGERY, the frightening new short by The Clemens Bros, sons of legendary UK screenwriter Brian Clemens, as well as the world premieres of THE ALPHA INVENTION, a chilling sci-fi short starring Billy Boyd and DARK.NET starring Johnny Vegas. Additional highlights include Mike Williamson (IN THE WALL) returning to FrightFest with the World Premiere of his new short DEATHLY, featuring a score by composer Clint Mansell (MOON/ REQUIEM FOR A DREAM) and THE LAKE directed by 14 year old Nathan Ambrosioni, who also has his feature HOSTILE playing in our Discovery Strand

Spain features prominently with five shorts in the selection, including multi-award-winning TUNING OSCAR, a twisted romantic comedy by Mikel Alvariño, the experimental dance-horror YOU WILL FALL AGAIN, and DISCO INFERNO, the Giallo-inspired fever dream by Alice Waddington.

This year’s selection also features a record nine shorts directed by women, including the hilarious VINTAGE BLOOD by Abigail Blackmore (starring Indira Varma), the disturbing SEND IN THE CLOWNS by Kate Shenton, the side-splitting A FAVOUR by Izzy Lee, and the creepy thriller TWO MISSING by Claire Fowler.

PLUS!
For the first time ever, this year Film4 FrightFest will premiere six horror –themed short films from the brand new All4, which replaces 4OD.



The series, entitled A Moment of Horror, consists of six individual episodes and will premiere throughout the festival. All films will then be available exclusively on All 4 atwww.all4.com/shorts.

 

The creepy encounters in the series include the tale of a young mother who discovers she feeds something much more sinister than her own baby; a janitor who notices the doors he closes on his nightshift never remain shut; and an anxiety sufferer whose troubles take a physical form during a bath-time black out. A Moment of Horrorwill disturb your perception of the mundane, and plant images in your head that will make you think twice before turning off the light at night…

 

FrightFest Short Film Programmer Shelagh Rowan-Legg said today "We are thrilled with the short films programmed this year, with 31 titles from Europe, North America and the Middle East. These films show the incredible diversity of fantastic genre cinema, from gory horror to creepy thrillers to chilling science fiction to moody experimental, with films that are both live action featuring amazing actors, and stunning stop-motion animation. FrightFest audiences have the opportunity to see emerging talents as well as regular favourites."

For full programme details go to: www.frightfest.co.uk

 

Follow: @film4frightfest @cloutcomcouk

Friday 24 July 2015

FILM NEWS (UK): Film4 FrightFest 2015 announces guest line-up plus reveals festival trailer


Barbara Crampton, Rick Wakeman, James Cosmo, Toyah Willcox, Neil Marshall and Bernard Rose amongst dazzling array of guests set to re-animate FrightFest

Scream Queen legend Barbara Crampton is Film4 FrightFest’s special guest icon, appearing in no less than four films in this year’s line-up. She stars in WE ARE STILL HERE, ROAD GAMES and SUN CHOKE plus makes a cameo appearance in TALES OF HALLOWEEN. Not only will Barbara be introducing all her films, she’ll also be talking about her amazing career during a special interview event, hosted by Alan Jones, on Sun 30 Aug, 9.15pm.

She said today: To say that I am overjoyed, excited and eager to attend FrightFest as a guest is putting it mildly. This festival has been on my radar for some time and to be included and have four films screening is a welcome nightmare from which I hope never to wake”.

FrightFest also celebrates the prolific and enduring artist Graham Humphreys, who will be talking about his career designing posters in the DRAWING BLOOD event on Sun 30 Aug, 7pm. Another special event to look forward to is Film4’s own Catherine Bray, who will be hosting a DIY FILMMAKING panel discussion on Sun 30 Aug, 11.15am.


FrightFest is also delighted to host British writer/director Bernard Rose. The director of the highly acclaimed cult horrors PAPERHOUSE and CANDYMAN makes a triumphant return to the fear forefront with his FRANKENSTEIN reboot.

There will be a stellar line-up for both the opening and closing films. In attendance for CHERRY TREE will be director David Keating and leading cast members Anna Walton, Naomi Battrick, Sam Hazeldine, Patrick Gibson and Minnie Phipps. For TALES OF HALLOWEEN there will be three of its directors – FrightFest veteran Neil Marshall, Axelle Carolyn and Mike Mendez.

The eclectic mix of guests also includes AAAAAAAAH! debut director & actor Steve Oram and his co-stars rock legend Toyah Willcox, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Noel Fielding and Alice Lowe; Director Corin Hardy will be taking time out of prepping his reboot of THE CROW to present THE HALLOW; director, and ‘Emmerdale’ soap opera legend, Dominic Brunt, will be there with his latest thriller BAIT, alongside leading cast members Joanne Mitchell and Rula Lenska and Paul Hyett will be introducing the world premiere of his creature feature HOWL with cast members including Rosie Day and Ed Speelers. We also have HAWK THE SLAYER director Terry Marcel with star Ray Charleson and composer Rick Wakeman and for CAPTAIN KRONOS: VAMPIRE HUNTER, Brian Clemens sons, Sam and George Clemens, will attend, alongside Hammer Horror legend Caroline Munro.

Directors will be out in force this year. Joining us in the main screens are NINA FOREVER directors Ben and Chris Blaine, CURVE director Iain Softley, ROAD GAMES director Abner Pastoll,  DEATHGASM director/writer Jason Lei Howden, JERUZALEM directors Doran and Yoav Paz, NIGHT FARE director Julien Seri, SOME KIND OF HATE director Adam Egypt Mortimer, THE DIABOLICAL director Alistair Legrand and WE ARE STILL HERE director Ted Geoghegan.
Given the expansion of the Discovery Strand it’s no surprise there are a record number of directors supporting their films. These include SUMMER CAMP director Alberto Marini, Director Valentin Javier Diment, who will be coming from Argentina to present THE ROTTEN LINK and Nathan Ambrosioni, the 14-year-old French director of HOSTILE, who, legally won’t be allowed to watch his own movie.

Let’s hear it too for directors Mark Murphy (AWAITING), Adam Levins (ESTRANGED), Russell Freidenberg (WINDWALKERS), Liam Regan (BANJO) Jaron Henrie-McCrea (CURTAIN), Benjamin J Cresciman (SUN CHOKE) Ruth Platt (THE LESSON) Eugene McGing (THE UNFOLDING), April Mullen (FARHOPE TOWER), John Fallon (THE SHELTER) and Paul Goodwin (FUTURE SHOCK! THE STORY OF 2000AD), who is attending alongside regular FrightFest guest, producer Sean Hogan.

There’ll be other familiar faces too…HANGMAN director Adam Mason is back, alongside MOST LIKELY TO DIE director Anthony DiBlasi, NEVER LET GO director Howard Ford and WORRY DOLLS director Padraig Reynolds.

The stars of the films are here in their charismatic numbers (with more to be confirmed) and include Diana Vickers (AWAITING), Abigail Hardingham and Cian Barry (NINA FOREVER), Andrew Simpson (ROAD GAMES), James Cosmo, Amy Manson and Nora-Jane Noone (ESTRANGED), J.LaRose and Castille Landon (WIND WALKERS), Laurence R. Harvey and Dan Palmer (BANJO), Angela Dixon (NEVER LET GO), Robert Hands, Evan Bendall, Martin Pryca and Michaela Prchalova (THE LESSON) and GODDESS OF LOVE star, co-writer and producer Alexis Kendra.
Key producers and writers attending include DEATHGASM producer Sarah Howden, producers Junyoung Jang and Guillaume Benski (ROAD GAMES), producer Shaked Berenson (JERUZALEM), WIND WALKERS producers Strath Hamilton, Marcy Hamilton, Heather Rae and Dori Sperko, CURTAIN producer/co-writer Carys Edwards, III producer Frank Ellrich, THE SHELTER Exec Producer Berge Garabedian and CONTRACTED: PHASE 2 writer Craig Walendziak.

Festival promo trailer:

Single tickets cost £13.25 and go on sale Sat 25 July at noon and will only be available online at: https://live.advancedticketing.co.uk/k?v=frightfest
Screens 5, 6 & 7 will house the main event while the Discovery strands will play in Screens 3 & 8.  The Discovery at The Prince Charles cinema strand will be in Screen 1.
For full programme details go to: www.frightfest.co.uk

Tuesday 21 July 2015

Competition: Win Dead Shadows on DVD


To celebrate the release of the must-see sci-fi horror ‘Dead Shadows’ out on DVD 27th July 2015 - we are giving away a copy.

Exciting debut director David Cholewa delivers one of the most inventive and atmospheric sci-fi horrors in recent years, where the people of Paris undergo an monstrous transformation after a mysterious comet passes through the sky.

Available to order on Amazon:
Dead Shadows [DVD]

Synopsis:
11 Years ago Chris' Parents were murdered the same day Halley's comet was passing in the sky. Now a new comet is appearing and bemused locals gather to view this slightly unnatural phenomenon.

As night falls, Chris discovers that people are starting to act strange, becoming disoriented and violent and it all seems linked to the comet. It doesn t take long before people begin to mutate into something far beyond this world. In a fight for survival, Chris tries to escape from his building with the help of a gun taunting neighbour but will they make it out alive?

To Enter:

Competition Closed

Winners will be chosen randomly and will be informed via email.

Monday 20 July 2015

Film News: Horror Channel ushers in UK premieres for Saturday nights



Sky 319 / Virgin 149 / Freesat 138 / Freeview 70

Saturday nights in August just got scarier as Horror Channel ushers in four UK premieres plus there’s a network premiere for Anthony DiBlasi’s CASSADAGA.
 
There are first TV showings for Josh C. Waller’s all-female fight-to-the death thriller RAZE, Paul Soter’s house-haunted DARK CIRCLES, Jason Cuadrado’s shock-ridden DEVIL MAY CALL and the well-reviewed supernatural chiller THE TORMENT, from Andrew Cull & Steve Isles.
 
Plus, from Anthony DiBlasi, the writer/producer/director of Clive Barker’s Dread and the up-and-coming FrightFest presentation Most Likely To Die comes CASSADAGA, a uniquely twisted disturbing nightmare, which will have audiences riveted and repulsed at the same time.
 
Sat 1 Aug @ 22:55 – CASSADAGA (2011) *Network Premiere


Devastated by the death of her younger sister, deaf art teacher Lily Morel (Kelen Coleman) seeks solace at the Florida based spiritualist community of Cassadaga. But instead of finding closure, she contacts something else - the vengeful ghost of a murdered young woman. Part Southern Gothic horror, part giallo, this shocker gains enormous atmosphere from being located in the real Cassadaga known as ‘the Psychic Capital of the World’. Also stars Lousie Fletcher and J LaRose.

Sat 8 Aug @ 22:55 – RAZE (2013) *UK TV Premiere


Sabrina, (played by Tarantino discovery Zoë Bell), is imprisoned, alongside a large  group of other women, in a mysterious underground fortress  run by the diabolical husband and wife team of Elizabeth (Sherilyn Fenn) and Joseph (Doug Jones). The women must fight to the death for the entertainment of a secret group of rich ‘guests’  in order to save their unsuspecting loved ones on the outside from killed by hired snipers

Sat 15 Aug @ 21.00 – DARK CIRCLES (2013) * UK TV Premiere


New parents Alex (Jonathan Schaech) and Penny (Pell James) retreat from the city and move into a place outside town, Persistent sightings of a strange woman in the house has them wondering if they are suffering from hallucinations, or if their new property holds a dark, supernatural presence. As their fragile grasp on reality spirals into delirium, Alex and Penny find themselves nearly helpless to deal with the horrific truth of what is really going in their sinister new home.
 
Sat 22 Aug @ 21:00 – DEVIL MAY CALL (2013) * UK TV Premiere


Blinded in an accident, Sam (Corri English) has rebuilt her life by helping callers on a suicide hotline. When she informs an obsessive caller (Tyler Mane) that she's quitting, he takes the news very personally. What begins as a quiet shift at work, becomes a frantic fight for survival against a relentless killer in the darkest, deadliest night of Sam's life.
 
Fri 28 Aug @ 22:50 – THE TORMENT (2010) * UK TV Premiere


A young London couple receive a visit from their friend David (Giles Alderson) who tells them that his girlfriend has been unfaithful and needs a place to stay for the night. They welcome him in but it’s not long before David starts seeing a figure out of the corner of his eye. As he investigates, he comes face to face with something utterly nightmarish. But this isn't his first encounter with the horrors that lurk in the dark. He's met them before...and now he's brought them with him to his friends' apartment.
 
TV: Sky 319 / Virgin 149 / Freesat 138 | Freeview 70

Thursday 16 July 2015

Film news: Double bill of desert action movies set for UK release Aug 2015

The “explosive” award-winning 3 NIGHTS IN THE DESERT stars Amber Tamblyn (Two and a Half Men), as Anna, a pill-popping neurotic pop-star who is reunited after ten years with her former bandmates Travis played by Wes Bentley (Hunger Games) and Barry (Boardwalk Empire’s Vincent Piazza). They travel to a remote desert location, hoping to heal old wounds and sexual conflicts. They hear about a cave with mysterious healing powers but then discover that a whole bunch of new wounds are about to be inflicted…

The Director is Gabriel Cowan, who is known for producing acclaimed horror films such as Cheap Thrills, Bad Milo, The Scribbler and Static it also features music from the hit Indie band Edward Sharpe and the magnetic Zeros.

3 NIGHTS IN THE DESERT will be released in the UK on DVD and Download simultaneously on Aug 15 2015

RRP: £12.99  Cert: 15 Running Time: 90 min Language: English

Trailer:


---

Dubbed “Sergio Leone meets Robert Rodriguez”, TREASURE OF THE BLACK JAGUAR follows the violent quest of buddies Anthony (Cameron Van Hoy) and Shlomo (Michael Drayer) to uncover a valuable but cursed artifact. They break out of prison with famed treasure hunter Blake West (Timothy V. Murphy) and journey into the unforgiving Californian desert. There they come up against Blake West's former employer, a Japanese industrialist (Masayuki Imai), who is determined to beat them to the treasure by any means necessary…

Cited as a “real gem of indie cinema” by Flickering Myth, the film is directed by Mike Bruce, whose video for Noel Gallagher's AKA...What a Life! made the Top 20 Most Awesome Videos of 2011

TREASURE OF THE BLACK JAGUAR will be released in the UK on DVD and Download simultaneously on Aug 29 2015.

RRP: £12.99  Cert:15  Running Time: 120 min  Language: English

Trailer:

Monday 13 July 2015

Competition: Win GirlHouse on DVD

GirlHouse is out on DVD on 20th July and to celebrate we have a great competition for you and 3 DVDs to give away

Synopsis:
When a beautiful young woman enters the Girlhouse, a seamy world of all-you-can-eat, live-streaming internet fantasy, she piques the interest of one particularly disturbed online viewer.

Hacking the site’s apparently impenetrable security protocols, he sets out to meet the girl of his dreams – and nothing will stop him from the face-to-face encounter of his dreams.

Combining giallo shocks worthy of Dario Argento and the stalk-and-slash sensibilities of the Halloween series, GIRLHOUSE is an incessant, brutal chiller directed by Trevor Matthews, the star of Jack Brooks: Monster Slayer. A cult classic in the making...

Win This:
GirlHouse [DVD]

Competition Closed

Winners will be chosen randomly and will be informed via email.

Exclusive interview with Oklahoma Ward & Nicole Alonso ahead of CRAWL OR DIE UK broadcast

OKLAHOMA WARD & NICOLE ALONSO, director and star of CRAWL OR DIE reveal that CRAWL OR DIE 2 is definitely on its way!


Oklahoma Ward’s much-praised CRAWL OR DIE is to receive its UK TV premiere on Horror Channel on Fri 17 July, 10.55pm. The alien-monster shocker takes claustrophobia to new heights and depths in its futuristic depiction of a rescue mission through a maze of ever-shrinking tunnels. The undoubted star of this indie genre hit is Nicole Alonso who plays the unstoppable ‘Tank’, a mohawk-sporting warrior who’d give Arnie a run for his money.
 
Ahead of its eagerly-awaited showing in the UK, we spoke to the director and star, who just so happen to be real-life partners as well as running their own production company, Backyard Films.
 
So guys, first of all, how pleased are you that the UK’s Horror Channel are screening the film?
 
N:              Oh, very pleased! We have gotten many UK fans asking us when/where they can see CRAWL OR DIE, I’m thrilled to finally be able to give them an answer!
 
O:              Greatly! Since the release of CRAWL or DIE we are contacted every other day on social media by fans in the UK asking where they can see the movie. Excited that now we can proudly tell them where they can experience CRAWL or DIE!
 
Let’s rewind…how on earth did the ‘aliens in a tunnel’ idea come about?
 
O: Two of some of my favourite movies scenes growing up were ‘The Great Escape’ (escape tunnel digging scene) and the ‘ALIENS’ scene where Bishop goes into the small metal tunnel and starts crawling - that scene terrified me! The tunnel was so small I thought if Bishop runs into one of those aliens in that small tight tunnel - he’s got no room to fight! He’s dead. I was disappointed they cut away from that scene/scenario so quickly. When I sat down to write my trilogy I started with the character of ‘TANK’ first. ‘TANK’ and my respect/love for her is my main focus and reason for making the trilogy. I love everything about her. I then decided - now I’m going to put/test TANK in the worst scenario I could imagine - see if she is really as tough as I wanted her to be - and that was the spark that drove the idea of combining the tunnels from both of the movies mentioned above and thrusting ‘TANK’ into them.
 
How did you raise the finance?
 
O: We saved up enough money over three years by giving up a car/living in garage/going out to dinner - taking vacations etc. During that time we managed to buy a cheap broken down home - take a half year and remodel that home and sell it for a small profit. Then we started building the ‘CRAWL or DIE’ set by hand. Day and night Nicole and I worked building the set by hand - which took us a year.
 
Nicole, how did you prepare for the role?
 
N: There was quite a bit that went into preparing to play TANK. I’d first say that I was pretty intimidated to take on the role as I am nothing like TANK in real life. I’m quite shy and reserved, so I knew it was going to take a lot of work to make this believable on my end.
 
I spent a lot of time in the gym - 6 days a week. I knew the role would be physically demanding and I wanted to be as prepared for that as possible.
 
Oklahoma Ward gave me several movies to watch and study the characters in the films to get a good idea of how he saw TANK. Most notably and most helpful were Alien (Ripley), Terminator 2 (Sarah Conner), G.I. Jane (Jordan O’Neill) and Domino (Domino Harvey). I found all these women, while tough as nails, to still be human and still be WOMEN. They had emotion and fears and struggles, but what made them badass and tough was they kept going even when things seemed hopeless.
 
It was very important to Oklahoma and myself that TANK wasn’t just a one dimensional character. She’s not a guy - she’s not a robot - she’s not Rambo. She definitely struggles and isn’t prepared for the situation that she is thrown into - so we wanted all that to show. Her strength comes from the fact that she refuses to give up - no matter what.
 
I also studied the online blogs of a few female marines to get some insight on what it’s like to be a woman in a male dominated field.
 
Once the set was built and I had the script - I slept in the tunnels. I lived in those tunnels and I studied the script backwards and forwards to really get into who TANK was and what she was going through as she faced this horrible situation.
 
Have you got any action movie heroes/heroines?
 
N: Most definitely Ellen Ripley (Alien Franchise) and Sarah Conner (Terminator Franchise). Those women changed how I saw badass women in film and to this day are still my favorite. If you want a more recent reference - I really loved Furiosa in the new Mad Max: Fury Road.
 
O: Tons - ‘TANK’ would be my first hero - other than her, Ellen Ripley takes the prize. She’s real. She’s not a superhero. She’s tough. Determined. Strong willed - like ‘TANK’ in ‘CRAWL or DIE’.
 
It’s been dubbed ‘the most claustrophobic film ever made’. Must have been hell filming it. Tell us your own horror stories…
 
N: Personally I’m not claustrophobic. I used to get a kick out of seeing how small of a space I could squeeze into when playing hide and seek (dryers, cabinets, buckets, etc.). I just KNEW going in that I wouldn’t have any problem filming in the tunnels - boy was I mistaken.
 
All of these tunnels were REAL tunnels (approximately 40-50 feet in length) with no cut outs or escape hatches. The only way out was to crawl out or wait for 45 mins while you were cut out. The smaller the tunnels got - the more difficult it became to spend time in there. There were some days in the dirt tunnel and the smallest metal tunnel that we were in there for hours at a time. It got very claustrophobic at times and became difficult to breathe. Luckily - all the actors and crew were troopers and we didn’t have any ‘incidents’, but there were definitely multiple times I had to stop, breathe, and tell myself I was going to be ok.
 
O: Toughest part of filming the movie was - the tunnels were real. No escape hatches. Fifty feet long. If you got stuck you had to be cut out. Inside the tunnels were live spiders and scorpions crawling within them. That was always fun while filming. For me the toughest part of filming was near the end of the movie when only I and the actor Nicole Alonso could fit in the tunnels. The tunnels were so small it would take me thirty minutes to crawl into them - and then a battery on the camera would die and I’d have to crawl backwards out - grab a battery - crawl back in. At one point the tunnels was so small that even when I had extra batteries with me I had no room for my arms to reach back and grab them so I’d have to crawl out to put them in the camera. That was a grueling fifteen day shooting scene.
 
Are either of you two claustrophobic?
 
N:              Oops, guess I jumped the gun on this with my answer above. But, no - I’m not.
O:              Not at all. Although - one of my actors didn’t realize they were and by day three we had to let that actor go and find a replacement.
 
Are you pleased with how the film has been received?
 
N: Immensely pleased! Aside from filming the movie which is ALWAYS my favorite part of the process - hearing from all the fans has been the best thing ever! It’s blown my mind how much the fans and horror blogs have supported our film and gotten behind TANK! There is a hashtag on twitter called #TANKarmy and people just love this character. As an actor - there is nothing more rewarding than knowing a character you brought to life is connecting with fans. I get messages from women and men alike telling me how much TANK has inspired them in their lives, and I honestly can’t think of anything better.
 
O: Absolutely! To make a movie - completely independent - with our own money - no contacts in Hollywood and receive over one hundred great reviews - have a global audience and a rabid ‘TANKarmy’ fan base that write us every other day telling us how much they love TANK and the movie - really is a dream come true! It’s been a five year journey with this movie on a budget that is below poverty level and we got it done and out. Pleases me every single day. Was it tough - hell yes it was tough - but the fans writing us from all over the world - that makes all the struggle worth every second it!
 
How did you two meet? Nothing mushy please…
 
N:              HA! If you knew us - you’d know we are far from mushy, so no worries! lol. We actually met when I auditioned for Oklahoma’s first film ‘The Isolation of Subject #136’ and got a small role. We were friends and roommates for nearly 2 years before we stated dating and I must say (and here comes the mush) I haven’t found anyone else I love working with more. I respect the hell out of Oklahoma and I think he may very well be one of the most talented people I’ve ever met (and I’m not saying that because we are dating!). ;)
 
O:              We met during an audition. Years later we ended up sharing an apartment to save on rent in L.A. We became friends. I would give her advice on people she was dating and she me. After years of friendship - we realized at the same time - we spent all our time with each other working on movies and edits of projects and just hanging out as friends. It was the day I realized she may be one of the hardest working people I had ever met that it hit me - she’s the one. Luckily - she had the same feeling - although - hey… she snores.
 
The End Credits tells us that ‘Tank’ will return. When?
 
N:              Very, very soon! We are in the middle of some exciting negotiations, so we can’t officially make an announcement yet, but I promise you we will have some great news in the very near future!
 
O:              We are looking over offers from studios and producers currently - deciding if we want to go that route or do it all ourselves again. Too many chef’s in the kitchen makes us very cautious. Either way - filming will start winter 2015.
 
What other projects are you both working on? Anything for FrightFest?
 
N:              All of our focus is currently on the next step in the CRAWL OR DIE Trilogy. And I would say - yes - we’d be ecstatic to be considered for FrightFest!
 
O:              If Fright Fest is willing to look at CRAWL or DIE 2 - you betcha’! We’d be honored!