"Shallow Waters" Dives into Kickstarter for Funding

Montauk Studios recently send the horror chamber Kickstarter information for their latest film "Shallow Water" The horror film is being directed by is a longtime special effects artist Sandy Collora

He's looking to raise $85,000 dollars by June 30th in order to make this film happen.

To contribute to this Kickstarter, you can go to: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/292967578/shallow-water-20

Press Release:

Sandy Collora is a longtime special effects artist who helped create some of the more renowned and revered creatures in modern cinema. He produced and directed the fan film Batman: Dead End, hailed by filmmaker Kevin Smith as "possibly the truest, best Batman movie ever made". Collora has announced his long-awaited return behind the camera with an anthology of "long shorts" - 20 to 30-minute original genre films. His first entry in the anthology is Shallow Water, a gritty and intense film that unleashes a new cinema creature unlike anything seen before. To help fund it, Collora has launched a Kickstarter campaign.

Shallow Water combines Collora's three greatest loves - horror, the ocean, and the environment. "The underlying theme of Shallow Water is simple. Humans repeatedly disturb the ecosystem, and the planet gets pissed off." In the film, Collora introduces the Tiburonera - "he who hunts sharks", which he promises will be "terrifying and different".

Shallow Water will be the first of a series that he plans to combine and release as an anthology feature, in the vein of Creepshow and Heavy Metal. Collora believes Hollywood has dropped the ball in introducing fresh new genre concepts. While he attributes it to pressures faced by studios to prioritize safety in meeting their bottom lines, he also feels sequels and remakes are now excessive, and have compromised the art.

Laments Collora: "I love genre films. I grew up on the original Alien and Predator, and they are awesome. But it's too long since we had something new, unique and powerful in that space."

After producing the feature film Hunter Prey, and publishing three volumes of The Art of Creature and Character Design, which he funded with the help of Kickstarter, Collora now returns to short film and to crowdfunding.

Shallow Water proved too costly to finance as a feature with crowd funding, and that started Collora on the path of the anthology. He seeks $85K from fans to help him make it happen. "With Kickstarter, I can stay independent, and not compromise my vision. That was a big factor in the success of Batman: Dead End. But Shallow Water is longer, with more effects - more ambitious, if you will - so I hope to augment the cost with monies from Kickstarter. For this reason, I went to town on the Rewards for people who back it - great value at a low cost, and for those with more to pledge, some pretty intense limited edition collectibles. I was proud Kickstarter designated this campaign as a "Project we Love" on its very first day, and I think it was because of the cool Rewards."

Shallow Water tells the story of a small group of fishermen who embark on a fishing trip to find a remote and mythical fishing hole deep in the Sea of Cortez. They scour the Baja peninsula, find it, but encounter unexpected sea life. Adds Collora: "It's Mother Nature versus Human Nature."

"I love Sandy's work. This is a great story, the creature is fantastic, and I love the reliance on practical effects. This is what the independent film movement is all about.." adds Steve Johnson, an Academy Award-winning special FX guru.

Review: "Girl in Woods"

Sometimes when reviewing a film for either of my sites, I’ll go into a film where I haven’t seen a trailer. It gives me a chance to go into something without having an opinion on it. When “Girl in Woods” came across my way, I was interested because I like horror films and I like some of the main cast involved including Juliet Reeves (“Automaton Transfusion”, “Zombies, Zombies, Zombies!”), Charisma Carpenter ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer", "Angel", “The Expendables”).

The film is about a woman (Juliet Reeves) who’s struggling with the death of her fiancé (Jeremy London) while stranded in the mountain wilderness trying to survive. She begin to have a tough time dealing with the elements as her state of mind starts to crack as she starts to go insane. To make matters worse, she begins to notice that something dark is following her every move. This leads her to find something about herself that she hasn’t noticed in a long time. Will it help her find a way out of the woods or lead down a road of horror beyond what she’s seen before. “Girl in Woods” also co-stars Charisma Carpenter and Lee Perkins.

Sometimes films can surprise you in a good or bad way. Going into “Girl in Woods”, I thought that this would at least an entertaining film because it had the feel that it was my type of film from the first half hour. But after watching it, I was surprised that this was more than a psychological horror film, as this had a couple of good scary moments and a great lead performance.

First off, this film had very good direction from writer/director Jeremy Benson. One of things that makes his direction work for me was the way that he directs the action and the wilderness scenes. The scenes were handled in a way that it helps keep your interest with the story at hand while providing some tense moments. This film has a lot of scenes in that wilderness where there was little or no dialogue. What Benson does well is to use that atmosphere to his advantage. It helped create a sense of dread that helps the film move along. The other thing that I liked was the fact that he does a great job directing his cast. Whether it’s the hallucination flashbacks to making sure Reeves’ performances fit the main character’s state of mind, everything is done in a way that this element works so well with the rest of the film.

Speaking of Juliet Reeves’ performance, it was very good and helped this film be what it is. She does a great job taking on this complex role as she has to play three versions of her character. By making each version work, it kept my attention and making her character an interesting one to watch. If one of those characters of aspects of her character didn’t work, it would’ve taken away some of the psychological aspects in which this film is going for.

The screenplay written by Benson was an interesting but good one. What he does very well, he manages to do a good job focusing on the main character’s state of mind. Whether it’s the way that he focuses on the psychological problems to her dark past, everything is done in a way that makes the character interesting. It made everything that went on in the film work so well that I was l kept interested in the story. The other thing that it does is provide some horrifying moments. Benson does a good job making sure that those scenes fit the context in the story so that it has a purpose. It also helped keep the story moving, as it doesn’t become boring or dull to watch.

This is definitely a film that you should check if you’re into psychological horror as it’s one of the more effective ones that I’ve seen in a while. With Juliet Reeves’s performance and Jeremy Benson’s direction, “Girl in Woods” is a terrifying psychological horror film that will make you afraid of the woods.

Review Rating: Four Stars

Official Stills for the Upcoming Heist Thriller "The Last Heist"

XLrator Media recently send us stills for their upcoming release "The Last Heist". The upcoming thriller stars Henry Rollins, Torrance Coombs, Victoria Pratt and Mykel Shannon Jenkins.

"The Last Heist" hits VOD and theaters in limited release on June 17th.

Plot Synopsis:

A bank heist descends into violent chaos when one of the hostages turns out to be a serial killer. Trapping the well-organized team of bank robbers in the building, the killer is now picking them off one by one... Actor/writer/musician Henry Rollins (Black Flag) stars in this dark suspenseful thriller.

Preview Pages of Issue #16 of "Puppet Master"

Action Lab Danger Zone recently send the horror chamber over preview pages and the official kill cover for issue #166 of "Puppet Master". The issue is written by Shawn Gabborin with art and standard cover by Antonio Ontiveros (pencils/inks) , Dan Olvera (colors)

Issue #16 of "Puppet Master" hits stores on June 15th.

Plot Synopsis:

Welcome to the Bodega Bay Inn!! Free Wifi! Free Premium channels! Free Continental breakfast! We should probably leave the killer Puppets out of the brochure, right? They’re trying to be better… trying. Strangers come and go in the hotel business, but there’s something really off about Samuel. Anyway, Rooms available! “VACANCY” starts now!

Review: Scare-A-Con: New England

Conventions are something that I love going to as I usually go to a couple of a year. Whether its Rhode Island Comic Con to Terror Con to Rocky Horror Conventions, I usually love going to them unless I get locked out at a convention like I did at RICC 2014 because of overcapacity. The decision to go out of state for Scare-A Con: New England was an easy one since I’ve heard good things out their convention in New York and the fact that Terror Con isn’t running for the second year in a row. It’s been a week since I went to Scare-A-Con: New England, I felt it was time to reflect about it.

The convention was a very good convention for a first year convention. One of the main reasons that I liked about it was the fact that everything ran smoothly. Never did I get a sense that there was a sense of major disorganization. The panels ran on time and I also liked that the moderators knew what they were taking about and asking questions to various guests at the panels as it helped made the panels works. “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” shadowcast performed by The Kids of Albany was a fun time as it felt like a party atmosphere. The VIP party was a good time as the entertainment was good and everyone was interested while chatting amongst other congoers and celebs. The film portion of the convention may have not been running on time the last day but at least they gave me chance to catch both the films playing on that day and it did cut the wait time that I had to catch the bus back home. Overall, the events presentation was good. The convention floor moved very well. Never did I feel that I got bogged down by traffic or by long lines. There were a lot nice guests at the convention including Sean Whalen (The People Under the Stairs, Laid to Rest), James Lorniz (Frankenhooker, Street Trash), Patty Mullen (Frankenhooker), Tom Atkins (Night of the Creeps, Escape from New York) P.J Soles (Halloween, Carrie), Felissa Rose ( Sleepaway Camp, Cesar and Otto’s Summer Camp Massacre), Andrew Anderson (The Wrestler), Tony Moran (Halloween), Jordan Ladd (Grindhouse, Cabin Fever), special effect wizard Cleve Hall (Ghoulies, Terrorvision) and Traci Beaulieu and Frank Conniff from Mystery Science Theater 3000.

Also there were very good vendors and podcasters there including Rock N Horror Appeal, Vinegar Syndrome, Mad Z Productions, Flat Foot Films, Trick or Treat Radio, The Dorkening , Phillip Perone and the people over at Dark Discussions podcast.

I also managed to catch two New England Premieres and a documentary while I was there. First, it was a behind the scenes documentary of the upcoming horror film “Death House” which features many horror icons including Kane Hodder, Tony Moran, Sean Whalen and Tony Todd to name a few. This was presented by The Dorkening, they spend some time on the set of the film and go into a little history on the location as well which made this a good watch. It’s something worth check out as its available on Youtube at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzaucdKAnME

“She Kills”, which is homage to various grindhouse films. I won’t go into much about this film as I’ll be reviewing this film here in the next week or two but it was off the wall craziness.

The other film that I caught was “Night of Something Strange”. I really enjoyed this film as it had a mixture or crazy and serious horror elements that made this very fun and terrifying. It also had good lead performances from its leads and had a cameo from 80’s scream queen and one of my favorites Brinke Stevens. A film that you should keep an eye on when it eventually finds distribution.

This was my ninth convention that I’ve been to and it was one of the best I’ve been to blows Terror Con out of the water. This was well worth the weekend getaway from Rhode Island as credit has to go to the organizers of Scare A Con: New England for making this a fun convention and I hope that it’ll be back next year as I would highly consider making the trip back.

"Beacon Point" Makes Its World Premiere at Dances with Films Festival

BlueLantern Films recently released stills for their upcoming film "Beacon Point". The film stars Rae Olivier, Jon Briddell, Eric Goins, Jason Burkey, and RJ Shearer.

"Beacon Point" will be making its world premiere at the prestigious Dances with Films film festival. The film will play will play at the Chinese Theatre on June 10 at 11:45PM

To purchase tickets for this screening, you can goto: https://danceswithfilms.com/beacon-point/

For more infomation on this film, you can visit the film's official Facebook page at:https://www.facebook.com/beaconpointmovie

Press Release:

The prestigious Dances with Films film festival announced today that Beacon Point, the highly-anticipated science-fiction thriller from rising newcomer Eric Blue, has won a plum Friday night slot on the festival’s exciting showcase of upcoming independent gems. The Georgia-produced chiller, produced by Blue Lantern Films, will play at the Chinese Theatre on June 10.

Official Synopsis : A group of hikers on the Appalachian Trail become lost and stumble across an ancient secret that threatens their survival in this suspenseful, surprising journey into fear.

You’ll never want to go camping again after sitting through Beacon Point’s unnerving 85 minutes.

Rae Olivier, Jon Briddell, Eric Goins, Jason Burkey, and RJ Shearer star in an Eric Blue film, written by Blue and Traci Carroll.

Beacon Point at Dances With Films : Chinese Theatre, June 10, 11:45 PM. Tickets here : https://danceswithfilms.com/beacon-point/

 

Troma Entertainment Presents TROMAmerican Summer 2016- FESTIVAL OF FREE!!.

Troma Entertainment recently send the horror chamber information about their upcoming TROMAmerican Summer 2016- FESTIVAL OF FREE!!. It starts on Thursday, June 23rd. Tribute to Joe Fleishaker, Terror Firmer ( run time- 114 min) screening followed by Bands and Performance, T.B.A. Lucky 13 Saloon, Doors at 8:00 PM, First Movie at 9:00 PM, Thursday, July 14th, Junk Bonds: The Return of Junkbucket ( run time- 95 min)& Hectic Knife ( run time- 82 min) Double-Feature Screening & Bands T.B.A.. Lucky 13 Saloon. Doors at 8:00 PM, First Movie at 9:00 PM,Friday, July 29th. 17th Annual TromaDance Film Festival, Day 1, Short Movies and Feature Selections, Afterparty with Bands, The Paper Box, Saturday, July 30th. 17th Annual TromaDance Film Festival, Day 1, Short Movies and Feature Selections, Afterparty with Bands T.B.A. The Paper Box and Thursday, August 25th. Feartown, U.S.A. ( run time- 92 min) and The Slashening (run time- 82 min) Double Feature Screening with bands T.B.A.,Lucky 13 Saloon.

Press Release:

The first ever TROMAmerican Summer 2016- FESTIVAL OF FREE!!, a three month Thursday night Summer calendar event featuring rare Troma movie screenings as well as live performance art, including rock-n-roll music and go-go dancers, on a series of lineups curated by the Troma Team, it was announced today by Lloyd Kaufman, prexy of Troma Entertainment and creator of The Toxic Avenger.

The three Thursday evening dates confirmed on the Calendar for the Festival are slated to be held at Brooklyn Venue and Screening room Lucky 13 Saloon, and each night the Troma Team will spin a soiree to Showcase Strange and Unusual Spectaculars from Tromaville alongside musicians of a shared spirit! Opening night for the TROMAmerican Summer 2016 FESTIVAL OF FREE at Lucky 13 will be dedicated to the memorial for recently deceased, longtime beloved Troma actor, Joe Fleishaker, who died May 24th, 2016 at 62 years old. The actor was a key player in a number of landmark Troma productions including Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV , Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead and Terror Firmer. This first TROMAmerican Summer will be hosted by Lloyd Kaufman alongside his creation and recent webisode sensation, Sgt. Kabukiman, N.Y.P.D, roommate of Doug Sakmann.

To honor the loss in Tromaville, the Troma Family has selected Terror Firmer (1999), Lloyd Kaufman's avante-garde and surreal genre blending dark comedy that takes place on set of a fictional Troma film. Kaufman, who plays a blind director in the movie attempting to keep his film afloat despite real world violence that invades his set, loosely based Terror Firmer on his best-selling book, All I Needed to Know about Filmmaking I Learned from The Toxic Avenger. When a serial killer starts taking out the production team and actors on set, spilled guts and gags run riot. Mark Cummings of Film Topics described Terror Firmer as "Henry, Portrait of a Serial Killer' meets 'Living in Oblivion' through the eyes of Frank Carpa." After the movie there will be a live musical numbers T.B.A. later in this week.

The calendar dates for the TROMAmerican Summer 2016 -Festival of Free! are listed below, important to note is that TromaDance, Troma Entertainment's free to enter and free to attend Film Festival which will mark its 17th anniversary this Summer, is included within the TROMAmerican Summer event calendar, however the venue will be moved on those nights to The Paper Box on 17 Meadow Street in Brooklyn, NY, 11206.

TROMAmerican Summer 2016 - FESTIVAL OF FREE! -CALENDAR
Thursday, June 23rd. Tribute to Joe Fleishaker, Terror Firmer ( run time- 114 min) screening followed by Bands and Performance, T.B.A. Lucky 13 Saloon, Doors at 8:00 PM, First Movie at 9:00 PM.
Thursday, July 14th, Junk Bonds: The Return of Junkbucket ( run time- 95 min)& Hectic Knife ( run time- 82 min) Double-Feature Screening & Bands T.B.A.. Lucky 13 Saloon. Doors at 8:00 PM, First Movie at 9:00 PM.
Friday, July 29th. 17th Annual TromaDance Film Festival, Day 1, Short Movies and Feature Selections, Afterparty with Bands, The Paper Box
Saturday, July 30th. 17th Annual TromaDance Film Festival, Day 1, Short Movies and Feature Selections, Afterparty with Bands T.B.A. The Paper Box
Thursday, August 25th. Feartown, U.S.A. ( run time- 92 min) and The Slashening (run time- 82 min) Double Feature Screening with bands T.B.A., Lucky 13 Saloon.