EXCLUSIVE DEAD HARVEY INTERVIEW WITH KIRK BOWMAN: DIRECTOR OF "BLOODSUCKING BABES FROM BURBANK"

I have to push the new horror releases post to tomorrow... However, in its place, we have something pretty cool. I'll let Brad explain...

A few days ago, I interviewed Kirk Bowman, the director of "Bloodsucking Babes From Burbank". Not only was this a great interview but it was also the first in-person interview for Dead Harvey.

We met at the famous Blue Room bar in Burbank and if you've seen, "Momento", starring Guy Pierce you'll recognize it. The bar is also far less famous for being located behind my old apartment. Thankfully, the Blue Room was in stumbling distance, enabling me to live to do the interview.

Bowman showed up on time and presented me with my own, "Bloodsucking Babes From Burbank" tee-shirt. This was the second piece of merchandising I've received from Bowman; the first being a blood red pen with the title of the movie inked on the outside.

There was a lot of be learned from Bowman, having previously taught acting classes for fifteen years. He's a veteran of eleven features and several shorts. Along with the pen, tee-shirt and copy of, "Bloodsucking Babes From Burbank", Bowman also sent me a copy of his latest comedy, "Curse of the Pink Panties", a very entertaining throwback to the glory days of eighties sex comedies.

Bowman is a rare breed in that he's void of ego and arrogance. He's about one of the nicest guys you'll ever meet and is constantly out there, getting off his ass and making movies. To this, Dead Harvey gives a strong salute.

Following are the audio clips from the Dead Harvey interview:

clip 1 - Tell us about your company

clip 2 - Where did you come up with the title?

clip 3 - How did you get such an attractive actress?

clip 4 - Marketing for investors

clip 5 - How different was the movie from the script?

clip 6 - What draws you to horror movies?

clip 7 - Shooting on a micro-budget

clip 8 - Locations and sequels

clip 9 - Special effects

clip 10 - Shooting style

clip 11 - Pacing nudity

clip 12 - Murphy's law

clip 13 - What would you do differently?

clip 14 - Distribution

clip 15 - Actors

clip 16 - What's next?

ROUND 1: Capturing The Chaos

I feel I should preface this post with an introduction to Sam... Sam's worked as a DP on various indie films (including one of mine), commercials and music videos, plus works at a leading video and motion picture equipment rental house. (I'm not getting into specifics on purpose, not sure if I should) Anyhow, he's a good friend, will hopefully be a regular contributor to Dead Harvey and is looking to help a few indie filmmakers out by answering technical-type questions...

There's a new edition happening here at DeadHarvey. "CAPTURING THE CHAOS" will be a re-occuring part of the blog, discussing the equipment used to capture the Gore, Suspense, Blood, Dismemberment and Death. I'm thinking that the best way to go about this is to let it be comment driven, giving our readers the answers they need to get "that look" or "that shot." We've been discussing what to start with in this section, and thought we'd leave it up to you. Comment on this post and we'll see where this goes.

Film Fest Friday - Fantastic Films Weekend, Phoenix Fear Fest and updates from PAGE

I've got a couple things going on here for Film Fest Friday. First up, I've got a bunch of info on the upcoming, 7th Fantastic Films Weekend that takes place in Bradford, West Yorkshire. Now, for all of us over here in North America, we shouldn't overlook festivals that are in the UK or elsewhere overseas... it may not be easy to attend, but you can definitely submit your films. As for North American festivals, I just found out the new dates for the Phoenix Fear Fest... and, there's some success stories from the PAGE Screenwriting Awards.


The 7th Fantastic Films Weekend 2008 starts on Friday, June 13th and ends Sunday, June 15th and the venue, as always, is the National Media Museum, based in Bradford, West Yorkshire. They sent out a big email and here's who's going to be there and what's going to screen...

We are delighted to be able to confirm the final Guest of Honour line-up at this year’s FFW. Back by popular demand is Robert Fuest, who was a big hit back in 2006 when we screened And Soon the Darkness and The Final Programme. This year we’ll be absorbing ourselves in the wonders of his Phibes films. Peter Duffell joins us for a screening of his Amicus anthology The House That Dripped Blood and jetting in from Belgium will be Harry Kümel, the maestro behind Daughters of Darkness and Malpertuis. Both films are playing during FFW. Finally, meet the team responsible for Tigon’s Blood on Satan’s Claw. Director Piers Haggard – grandson of H. Rider Haggard - will be appearing alongside Robert Wynne-Simmons, who wrote the script. Yes, we would like to include Angel Blake herself, aka Linda Hayden, in the line-up. No, we haven’t got her. All guests appear subject to work (and other) commitments. Unfortunately, Jimmy Sangster has been forced to withdraw due to ill health. We wish him well. And Jenny Agutter has sent her apologies as filming on her new TV series means she will be working over the weekend.

Here's what's playing on each day of the festival:

Friday: Brain Dead TBC, Count Dracula (Pt 1), The Nightmare Man (Pt 1), Spine Tingler!, Vampire Diary, Schalcken the Painter, Black Christmas, Vigilante, Outland 70mm, An American Werewolf in London, The Mist, Val Lewton: The Man in the Shadows

Saturday: ...And Now the Screaming Starts!, Scars of Dracula, Maelstrom (Episode 2), The Abominable Dr. Phibes, Malpertuis, The Day of the Triffids (Pt 1), Dr. Phibes Rises Again!, Z for Zachariah, Savage Streets, Screentalk: Robert Fuest, Poltergeist 70mm, The House That Dripped Blood, Screentalk: Peter Duffell, The Thing 70mm + intro by John Carpenter

Sunday: Cat People, The Most Dangerous Game, Short Films, Dracula (digital), Chiller: Toby, Blood on Satan's Claw, Children of the Stones: Into the Circle, Grindhouse double-bill, Frankenstein, Screentalk: Piers Haggard + Robert Wynne-Simmons, Daughters of Darkness, Terminator 2: Judgement Day 70mm, Screentalk: Harry Kumel, Hell's Ground

In addition there will be daily screenings of I Am Legend at 8.30pm in the IMAX auditorium.

Also, they are already accepting entries for FFW 2009. Filmmakers with new films that fit the themes of the Fantastic Films Weekend are encouraged to submit their work for consideration. The FFW accepts live action, animation and documentary films in both short and feature-length formats.

For more information on the festival, the films in the festival and how to submit your film for next years festival, you can go to their website. The also have a Facebook fans page.


The Phoenix Fear Festival is now scheduled for Saturday, August 30th... Here's some info from their website:

We're back!!! After the great success of our first event - and after a few setbacks (our scheduled 2007 venue closed), plus an appropriate period to recover! - we're delighted to announce the second incarnation! Bigger! Gorier! Saturday-er! We're moving to the Chandler Cinemas, and this time, we've moved to the weekend proper, by popular demand.

We just issued our first call for entries, so we'll soon begin the task of sorting through the films, both feature and short, to see what gems we can find. We're already looking forward to the event, and have a lot of exciting plans in prospect. Stay tuned here for more info...

For more information on the Phoenix Fear Fest, you can go to their website.


Finally, some news from the PAGE International Screenwriting Awards that might get you off your ass and start writing...

My favorite days here at the PAGE Awards are those when I get to announce good news from our winning screenwriters. So today is a great day! As you know, the PAGE International Screenwriting Awards competition has earned a reputation for discovering and promoting some of the most talented new screenwriters from across the country and around the world. Many of our winning writers are now building careers in the industry:

24 PAGE Award winners have optioned or sold their winning scripts
12 PAGE Award winners have acquired representation
11 PAGE Award winners have landed screenwriting assignments
10 PAGE Award winners have movies or television shows in production, aired or released

In the latest news…
Legendary producer Fred Roos (THE GODFATHER, APOCALYPSE NOW, LOST IN TRANSLATION) has signed on to produce Dylan Costello’s 2005 Bronze Prize-winning feature CORONADO. Anne Goursaud is attached to direct. The 2007 Gold Prize-winning drama SLUGGER, by Jimmy Miller, has been optioned by Barn Door Pictures. Acclaimed actress/director Mary Stuart Masterson (FRIED GREEN TOMATOES, BENNY & JOON, DIGGING TO CHINA) is attached to direct. The 2006 Silver Prize-winning family film I’LL BE YOUR BEST FRIEND, by Jennifer Boch-Wawrzyniak, has been optioned by producer Julie Richardson (COLLATERAL, THE MIDNIGHT MAN) and Imaginarium Entertainment. And the new short film DOUBLE, by 2005 Gold Prize winner Keith Ray Putman, is currently screening in the Short Film Corner at the Cannes Film Festival. The psychological thriller was written and directed by Putman and stars Avery Clyde (“Dawson’s Creek,” “N.C.I.S.,” “Medium”).

We're extremely proud of these talented writers, and we're very excited about our fifth anniversary competition. This year our judges will once again present 31 awards in ten different categories. The winning writers will receive over $30,000 in cash and prizes, including a $10,000 Grand Prize, as well as extensive publicity and industry exposure for their winning scripts. If you've already entered this year's contest, thank you for the opportunity to read your work! Our judges tell us that they’ve already read some wonderful screenplays and they’re very excited about sending them up to the next round of judging. If you haven't yet entered our 2008 contest, we’re offering you one last chance to submit your script. Our Final Entry Deadline is Saturday, May 31st. But this is your last chance to enter this year’s contest. In order to be eligible for our 2008 Awards, your entry must be postmarked or submitted online by midnight Saturday, May 31st. We'll be announcing this year’s Semi-Finalists on August 1st. Finalists will be posted on September 1st. And the 2008 PAGE Award Winners will be announced on October 1st. Will your name be on that list?

For more information on the PAGE International Screenwriting Awards, you can go to their website.

"Fear House", another case study in getting an indie-horror made.

Here's the next case study on getting your indie-horror made. This time around we talk to Michael R. Morris, the writer and director of "Fear House". Check out our other case studies in the archived section and, as usual, if you're a filmmaker and would like us to cover you and your film, just let me know. However, I've gotta say, I've got quite a few to get through now... and these case studies don't write themselves... but I will get to them all, I promise.

Film: Fear House
Written By: Michael R. Morris
Directed By: Michael R. Morris
Released By: Lifesize Entertainment

About: When Michael Morris came up for the idea behind "Fear House", he was looking to do "a low-budget horror movie in a single location with a relatively small cast". Further, he "wanted to do something in the psycological vein" and was "interested in the positive or, in this case, negative power of the mind". With the parameters set, he came up with a story about a group of friends and family who pursue an estranged writer to an isolated house only to find that, once they've entered, their own fears will kill them if they leave. "It's creepy, the idea that what's going to kill you is like a snake tied to your ankle: every step you take, it's always right there." Originally, he didn't write the script intending to direct it, but he had just made "Last Seen at Angkor", which he "wrote and directed for pocket money in Thailand and Cambodia" and that gave him the 'in' to direct Fear House.

Budget: Morris received financing from a private investor through Lifesize Entertainment, which was the distribution company that had just distributed his last effort, "Last seen at Angkor". The budget was around $100K and this was Lifesize's "first from-the-ground-up production". Morris "was not personally involved in raising the financing, though (he) did everything he could to cut costs, find people who would work for very little and even (shot his) own B-roll or pick-ups after the shoot was over."

Getting it made: "The film was shot on the Panasonic HVX200, one of the compact HD cameras." As Morris has worked as a cinematographer before, he can talk more specifically about how he achieved the look, "the important key here is that we used the P&S Technic Mini-35 lens conversion to get the 'cinematic' depth of field you're used to seeing in films that are shot through a 35mm gate." With his previous camera experience, he "had a pretty close hand in the shots". In fact, he "may have been a bit annoying for the DP Skye Borgman because (he) was always on top of her about little details". According to him, "she was pretty kick-ass. She worked hard" and to both of their credit, if you have seen the film, it did look great. As for how the shoot went, it was 14 days with a few days off in between and "it would have been nice to have a few more shooting days", but there isn't much he would've changed. "Some scenes (may have) suffered... due to how fast (they) had to shoot them" and it "was a little dark in some places", but he was "very happy with the cast, since they were mostly unknowns off the street". "I hope most of them really go on to great things"...

The effects: The film had some great effects and there was one, in particular, that stood out... Morris went into detail on a few of them, but we'll talk about the decapitated head that ends up in a bucket on the lawn...

"The fact is, we weren't allowed to break the castle windows, nor did the metal fasteners on them allow us to temporarily replace them. So we came up with a clever way to shoot the shot from an angle, eject broken shards of glass along with the fake head out the deep set window casement without actually having to break the real window glass... Next was the flying head through the air. That's self-explanatory, except that I had a real face off with the assistant director, with everybody in the cast and crew watching, about how to do it. We were so pressed for time, and I think he had some elaborate way to orchestrate this shot. I was like, "Let's just throw it!" He was sure we would end up destroying the head and ruining chances for using it in other shots. In the end I won and we just threw the head through the air and a couple of PA's caught the head in a blanket. Probably did about 12 tries to get it right.

The piece de resistance is the actual head in the bucket. I didn't want some fake head in the bucket looking obviously lifeless. I wanted the look of terror on the actress's face as she realized that her severed head was drowning in a bucket (alas, her worst fear). So we shot this with two elements: 1) we put the actress in a kiddie pool with a cut-away bucket around her head, a little red food coloring to come out of her mouth and bingo. 2) the next shot was just the empty bucket sitting on the dirt. We "processed" the two shots together and it looks like a live person's head is severed in the bucket. We originally thought we'd have to have skin flaps and cut flesh, but with the shadowing of the light, we didn't need it. (This shot was influenced by a shot in 'Wolfen' when, after a guy's head is lopped off by a wolf, his mouth is still moving)."

Distributing the film: Because Lifesize financed and distributed the film, they already had distribution secured before they shot a frame. However, Morris offers advice learned from his first film, which Lifesize eventually picked up. "Research festivals and production companies before you even shoot anything. A lot of those entities are very slanted or political, so learn their bias ahead of time. Often times you get a better perspective of what 'works' in your movie before you waste a lot money doing if from the hip." Further, "know who your audience is. I struggled with that on my first film, a vampire movie set in the New York after hours club scene. There are a few basic requirments in the horror genre that helps it sell. You should know how to incorporate them before you finalize your script." However, he then offers up that he feels the genre is getting saturated and "now's a great time to do something never before seen and combine it cleverly with the tried and true genre elements. Go for it."

What’s next: Morris is working on a few things right now and the one he's most excited about? "Shaolin Zombie Masters... need I say more?"

For more information on Michael Morris, you can check out his profile on Alive Not Dead, for more information on Fear House, you can check it out at IMDB and to buy it off Amazon, click on the link below...

Music in Indie Film and an introduction to Tony Longworth

You wrote the script, you got the money and you went out and shot your film. You put effort into the effects - they look good, you got decent performances out of your actors, you're happy with the look you got and now, it's time for post... you just cut it, throw in some sound effects and you're done, right? Well, unfortunately, for a lot of filmmakers, that's what you get... I'm not sure if they think they can't afford music or if they just don't think it's important, but it is. In fact, it can make or break a film, especially an indie film. So, it's with great pleasure that I introduce Tony Longworth and I'll let Tony explain who Tony is...

It’s no surprise that music is one of the most commonly overlooked elements in many independent movies. The indie-filmmaker has a very limited budget, so when the time comes for music, the pot is usually empty and the filmmaker has to resort to using public domain or band written music. Now this music will probably work fine with the movie in question, as the filmmaker tends to spend a long time sourcing the existing music, but it will be nowhere near as good as a score specifically written for that movie.

I guess a lot of filmmakers either think that they can’t afford a composer or they just don’t have the contacts. Let me tell you that there many are composers out there willing to work on low or non-existent budget movies. How do I know this? Well, I’m one of them.

My name is Tony Longworth and I’ve been involved with music and movies for over 15 years now. I’ve been in several bands and I’ve written music for many movies in that time. All of the movies I’ve written music for are of the lower budget variety, with the percentage of them sitting in the horror genre. I’ve only ever been paid upfront once for writing music and that was a meagre £50. In most cases I’m quite happy with a credit in the titles, a copy of the movie and a promise of a cut of any profit made which in nearly all cases is a big fat zero.

Now this lack of incoming money for my music is never going to put me off. Writing music is my passion and I love movies, so I’m going to keep doing what I do. That’s not to say that I wouldn’t like to be paid for what I do, that goes without saying, it just means that I’m not in it for the money alone. My main goal is to bring something good and something original to a movie, I want my music to make the movie live, for it to come alive and thrill an audience with all its different emotions.

I know for a fact that I’m not the only composer in the world who feels like this. Hell, there are hundreds of us, maybe even thousands out there who are looking for good, exciting indie movies to score, so there’s really no excuses – do a little searching on the internet and you’re sure to find a good, willing composer who can bring a little magic to your movie.

Now, some filmmakers might worry that although they’ve found a willing composer, they are in fact not local to them – they could even live on the other side of the world. Well, let me reassure you by saying that this isn’t a problem at all because I actually live in the north west of England, close to Liverpool, and most of the movies I’ve scored are American and my location hasn’t impeded me at all. The internet really has made this planet a smaller place. I know it sounds corny, but I’ve seen that evidence with my own eyes. When I’m working on a project, the director will e-mail, chat or even speak to me across the internet, uploading scenes for me to view, giving me direction. I then send music ideas direct to them electronically, any time of the day – it’s a 24/7 process that is fast and inexpensive. From my own experience it works a treat and I believe that there really is no other effective way of working.

So my advice to all filmmakers, do that search, spend a little time dropping e-mails and you’re guaranteed to find yourself a composer that will make your movie that much better.

Like I said, Tony will be writing further posts on his trials and tribulations as a composer on indie films... Now, if you have any questions on the topic, feel free to email me at ted@deadharvey.com and I'll pass them on to him. For that matter, feel free to email me if you have any questions at all, or want us to cover any topics in particular.

Linkapalooza - May 20, 2008

Some interesting stuff going on out there in Hollywood these days...

Leading Man at Forbes.com - Okay, if there was a spectrum and at one far end, there was Dead Harvey, who's navigating, promoting and working the no-budget, indie horror scene... the other far end would be this guy, Peter Chernin. Some people consider him to be the most powerful man in Hollywood, basically because as President of News Corp, "he runs the most-watched TV network, the largest movie studio (based on year-to-date box office sales), a clutch of cable channels and an expanding array of Internet sites." All the guys who you and I would bend over a couch to get a meeting with would do the same (and probably more) to get a meeting with Chernin... and I mean that figuratively, I think. Anyhow, it's a great article on how he and Disney's Iger basically stopped the writers strike, how he's not going to let an actor's strike happen and where he thinks this whole industry is going. Very interesting...

Indies paving a self-distribution trail on YouMakeMedia.com - When I first saw the title of this, I thought it was going to be about self-distributing DVD's and content online, however... it's about how some indie filmmakers are securing theatrical releases all on their own. There's some great ideas in there...

Netflix to Sell a Device for Instantly Watching Movies on TV Sets on NewYorkTimes.com - Well, the future is here! Netflix is now selling a digital box for $99 that will connect the internet to your TV. It's not like it hasn't been tried before (AppleTV), but they're doing it at the right price. They will house the content on a server somewhere and you can watch whatever you want, on demand. I think we all agree, a box that connects the internet to your TV, tranlating content so it's easy to navigate is where we're going to go. I don't think there's any questions there. It's just about figuring out who owns those boxes and Netflix is taking a stab at it. The problem, once again, will be with the studios, who will be reluctant to give up their titles. Maybe, after they've squeezed all the juice out of them that they can, they might pass them on. However, if you take the studio's problems out if it, this should open up doors for indie filmmakers. Just think, can you see a day where Netflix (or whoever owns the boxes) has an option for you to upload content, design a page, then it's instantly offered to every household that has the box and you split revenues with them? I can...

'Dawn of the Dead' goes 3-D on TheHollywoodReporter.com - Is this for real? Is there really a big enough audience to justify "dimensionalizing" George A. Romero's 1978 original version of "Dawn of the Dead" to stereoscopic 3-D for a theatrical release? Considering that it costs a minimum of $50K per minute to do and that the film is 126 minutes long, someone's going to spend $6.3Million to create this? The original film had a budget of under $1Million! Someone's insane for thinking this makes economical sense... but, I'll go see it.

May 20, 2008 - New Horror coming out on DVD

It's another decent week for horror, with lots of rereleases, double packs and, of course, new releases. The big release of the week is Romero's "Diary of the Dead" and, also, there's enough new releases out this week that I don't have to visit the rereleases... However, I will mention one of them, but only because it's a 5-pack of low-budget horror gems and you don't see that every day. So, as always, you can go to our Youtube page and see the trailers for all of these and/or click on them and buy them off Amazon.

You're on a horror site about horror filmmaking, so I'm going to assume that you've heard of this guy George Romero and his latest effort, "Diary of the Dead". It's being released by The Weinstein Company and Genius Entertainment tomorrow, simultaneously with yet another new edition, rerelease of "Night of the Living Dead". "Diary" was shot, independently, in 2006 on a budget of around $2Million, which is quite low considering it's Romero and he had a budget of around $16Million for "Land of the Dead", but that was studio backed and he wanted to get away from that 'whole scene'. "Diary" had its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival and was picked up by the Weinstein's four days later. A lot of people were disappointed with the film, but with no really good reason, as far as I'm concerned. It's an f'ing zombie movie, not his best, but is a Romero zombie feature. In fact, I thought it was pretty good. There's the usual, Romero, heavy handed social commentary and the lack of subtility, but that's him. There's also lots of good zombie deaths and the effects are great... and, if you're a horror fan, which you are, you just have to see it. End of story.

"Lost Colony" is another Sci-Fi Original. Originally called "Wraiths of Roanake", it was the first produced script from Rafail Jordon, who has gone on to write three more Sci-Fi movies, including: "Copperhead", "Yeti: Curse of the Snow Demon" and "Captain Drake". It was directed by Matt Codd, who's spent the bulk of his career in the art department, but has dabbled in directing with "Epoch", "Shark Hunter", a couple others before this. It premiered on the the Sci-Fi Channel on October 13th, 2007 and it stars TV's "Highlander", Adrian Paul. In going through the different comments and ratings on it, my favorite has to be, "Overall, this was surprisingly un-retarded for a Sci-Fi Original". Enough said. For what it's worth, it's supposed to be one of the better Sci-Fi Original's of the year.

I think "Darkest Hour" actually came out a few years back, but not long enough ago for me to consider it a rerelease. In fact, I'm not sure if it's ever been available on DVD before... It's a great, low-budget, shot on DV indie horror that's written, directed and produced by Dan Zachary, who's supposedly working on another feature right now called "Slow the Decay". "Darkest Hour" is about a sleepy town that was terrorized by a skull-faced maniac and a group of actors who visit the town, trying to cash in on the town's noteriety by hosting an interactive murder mystery party based on the killings... then, of course, the party guests start getting killed off, one by one.

"The Entrance" is an award winning feature, which was written, directed, produced and edited by Damon Vignale. It won best lead performance by a female, best lead performance by a male and best picture editing at the Leo Awards. It's about a police detective that's swept into a web of deception and, in search of the truth, finds herself in a contest with forces of the occult. It does have a couple of great actors in it, in Sarah-Jane Redmond and Michael Eklund and it is award winning, so... what more do you need to know? Go check out the trailer on our Youtube page, it looks great.

"Sight" is from Adam Ahlbrandt, who wrote, directed, shot and edited the film. I haven't seen the film, but I'm going to have to now... The film stars relative nobodies, Clayton Haske, Tony Luke Jr, Allison Persaud and a few others and the trailer I found looks good and I think it may be shot on DV... However, wikipedia says it's narrated by Morgan Freeman and had a budget of $2.35Million??? I'm sorry, but what the f? It's about Jeffrey, who leads a quiet existence and lives in constant fear of being labled a psychopath. He constructs a complex world of denial, as he's haunted by the spirits of the vengeful dead, which he can see and no one else can. So, how does Morgan Freeman fit in? I'll check it out and report back...

This version of "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" is a modern adaptation of the classic story that came out in 2006 and stars indie-horror favorite, Tony Todd. It's written and directed by John Carl Buechler, who's won various awards for his special effects work, but has also directed a few horror classics, including: "Troll", "Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood" and "Ghoulies III: Ghoulies Go to College". Well, okay, they're horror classics to me. Anyhow, this updated version, which takes place in modern day LA, is getting good reviews and it should deliver on the gore, as it's made by a certified gore wizard... and Tony Todd's in it.

I don't know much about the writer/director of "Sorority Sister Slaughter", Susan Hippen, but I do know that I like I like any low-budget indie that involves blood, babes and butchering, especially when it all takes place in a sorority house. It stars Kira Madallo Sesay, who actually came up with the story and then must have sold Hippen on the idea, which is about an uninvited guest to the Kappa Tau Omega sorority house, whose motto is Kappa Kappa Kill!

I gotta say, not only is it great to see a new Troma release, but it looks like "Bloodspit" could be awesome... well, in a Troma kind of way, anyhow. I don't think I even need to tell you the sub-genre, what else could it be? It's comedy horror.... and it was made in Australia a few years ago and was then picked up by Troma. The story screams Troma, as it follows the exploits of a crazed vampire hunter named Dr. Ludvich as he attempts to steal the family crest from the evil Count Blaughspich's coffin. Ludvich needs the crest in order to prevent the Count and his castle full of mutant freaks from returning to the "mirror world"... In regular Troma fashion, expect depraved vampire sex and well hung werewolves. Now, knowing all that... believe it or not, the film had it's world premiere at Cannes.

I was going back and forth in my head as to whether or not I should cover "Slashers" in this post, as it really came out in 2001. However, much like "Darkest Hour", I'm not sure if it's been previously available. "Slashers" is about Japan's number one extreme reality show, which is having it's first all-American special and to win a million dollars, all you have to do is stay alive. I've heard this plot a few times, but this go 'round the 'reality show gone bad' genre seems to be a little more extreme, but that tends to happen when you throw in that Asian twist. "Slashers" is written and directed by Maurice Devereaux, who also made Fangoria's "Lady of the Lake". It's really more of a "Running Man" rip off than anything, as contestants enter a 'dangerzone' where all hell breaks loose as they fight against three bloodthirsty 'slashers', Chainsaw Charlie, Preacherman and the psychotic medic, Dr. Ripper.

I'm only briefly going to mention "Bonejack's Splatter Platters (5-Pack)", as I rarely revisit old horrors, unless there's nothing else coming out that week. However, I wanted to cover this as there's some classics in this 5-pack of Chris Seaver's splatter comedies... you get the two pack rerelease of "Film Crew" & "Wet Heat", plus "Destruction Kings", "Mulva 2: Kill Teen Ape!" and "Quest for the Egg Salad". Without going into too much detail, Seaver is as low-budget, indie horror as you can get and he, without question, has a unique voice in the genre and knows what he's doing. If you want to learn how to separate yourself from the rest of the pack and get noticed or just watch some well done, no budget films, check these out. Outside of what's included in that splat pack, you'll also need to see "Mulva: Zombie Ass Kicker! & Filthy McNasty (Double Feature)"