Wondering About The Oscar Broadcast and A Look at The Week in Horror DVD Releases

Okay, I'll bite... what was with that horror montage in the middle of the Oscar's ceremonies last night? Don't get me wrong, I loved it... I thought it was great, but why did they do it? It seemed so out of the blue. They should have given some horror pioneer a lifetime achievement award right after... or something like that. Didn't it seem out of place? "We know there's a lot of horror fans out there and... we never really acknowledge horror films as actual films, but here's a montage for you. Enjoy!" Roger Corman, the Godfather of low-budget filmmaking and one of the pioneers of schlock horror, received an honorary award at the Governors Awards ceremony - they easily could've tied it in with that. Corman deserves way more than just a wink and a nod, you know? Otherwise, how about acknowledging Romero or someone similar with a lifetime achievement award? I don't know, it just seemed so random. Otherwise, I'm glad that "The Hurt Locker" trumped "Avatar" when it was supposed to. That's not because I didn't like "Avatar", I loved it... it's because "The Hurt Locker" was awesome, low-budget and really deserved it. Really, a lot of low-budget films, and I say that in 'relative to Hollywood' terms, did well. "Precious" was made for around $10Million, "The Hurt Locker" was done for around $11Million and "District 9", made for around $30Million, was well talked about and was, really, an indie film. Anyhow, I'd love to hear your thoughts on how the Oscars went, just leave some comments. Otherwise, let's look at the week in horror on DVD. As usual, you can head to our Youtube Page, where you can see all the trailers and you can click on the titles to be taken to their page on Amazon, where you can read more and/or buy them.

First off, let's just say it's a slow week in horror. I think that's mainly because they're avoiding releasing films right after the Oscars. Also, two of the big Oscar films come out this week, "Up in the Air" and "Precious". "The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day" also comes out, so... it's a good week for the indies to avoid. Having said that, there are a few releases.

If you're hellbent on getting a horror film this week and it has to have some sort of budget behind it, the film for you is "Nine Dead". It has an alright cast, topped with Melissa Joan Hart - AKA Sabrina The Teenage Witch. It's basically a "Saw" rip-off, where a killer kidnaps nine people, who wake up to find themselves all handcuffed to nine separate poles and they have to figure out exactly why they're all there. The film was actually completed in the summer of 2008 and spent several months without a distributor, before being picked up by Fabrication Films. It had a limited theatrical release back in November, but is basically a straight to DVD film. The trailer looks alright, so it could be worth the rental.

I feel like I've already discussed "Demonic Toys 2", but I'm not afraid to push it again. I'll always support Full Moon and Charles Band. The original "Demonic Toys" came out in 1992 and is, obviously, from Charles Band and Full Moon Entertainment. It was basically a new franchise, building off the success of the "Puppet Master" series. Then, Charles Band start mixing all the titles up, we got "Dollman vs Demonic Toys", "Puppet Master vs Demonic Toys" and the characters from the films actually made it into other Full Moon titles, such as "Gingerdead Man" and "Doll Graveyard". This film was originally called "Demonic Toys: Personal Demons" and was released solely via VOD by Amazon last year and it completely ignored any of the afore mentioned sequels. They dropped the "Personal Demons" part of the title and are now releasing it on DVD as, simply, "Demonic Toys 2".

Tokyo Shock is releasing "God's Left Hand, Devil's Right Hand", which is a Japanese film about a kid's ability to dream about and predict the evil intentions of men. He has a dream about a guy reading a book to his bedridden daughter, but the book is a self-made book about barbarously murdered girls. The nightmare shocks the boy awake and causes blood to pour from his neck. Now, slowly dying, it's up to his sister to track down the man and solve the mystery...

Lastly, Cinema Insomnia Slime Line is rereleasing both "Carnival of Souls" and "Night of the Living Dead" and that's about all I know. Read up on them by clicking on the titles. Also, if you're into vampires, for $15, you can't go wrong with "Undead: The Vampire Collection 20 Movie Pack". For less than a dollar a movie, you get a bunch of old vampire films. To be honest, there's some decent films in the collection, such as the original "The Last Man on Earth" (remade as "I Am Legend") and "Nosferatu" (probably the most classic vampire film of all time), to name a couple.

Dead Harvey's Academy Award Preview - Who We're Rooting For and Why

Alright, well... let's acknowledge the 500 pound monkey that's sitting on my couch, drinking my beer and throwing his shit on my walls - this Sunday, March 7th, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, is the 82nd Annual Academy Awards. I know, I know... we're indie guys, and indie horror guys at that, we shouldn't care that much about all these elitists who are just stroking each other, but we do. Why? Well, I could say it's because they nominate the best of the best in the very industry that we strive to be a part of. That is true. I could also say that, at the heart, we're film fans and a lot of the films nominated are just great films and we like to see them honored. That is also true. However, one of the main reasons I like to watch the Oscars is because I think it's a gauge of what Hollywood likes and would buy into. Granted, you never see horror acknowledged, but "Inglourious Basterds" is graphically violent, "District 9" is sci-fi, "The Lovely Bones" deals with horror-like themes, "The Hurt Locker" is gory and "Avatar" is, well... you know what "Avatar" is. Point is, if you're an aspiring screenwriter, get a copy of "The Hurt Locker" or one of the other nominated screenplays and read it. If you're a filmmaker, check out some of the short films and lower budget features. Analyze them. Not like, shot for shot or anything, but why was it nominated? What did they do? Remember... yes, we are trying to blaze new trails in entertainment by creating new distribution models and all that, but this is an industry that dates back hundreds of years and doesn't exactly corner like it's on rails. Also, at the end of the day, don't we all dream of standing up there on that podium and accepting an award? Just a little bit? Whatever the reason, I want to take a bit of a look at the history of the Oscars and also let you know who we're rooting for... Also, I really want to know who you're rooting for and why.

So, what about these Oscars? Well, the first Academy Awards ceremony was held on Thursday, May 16th, 1929 at the Hotel Roosevelt in Hollywood. It was hosted by actor Douglas Fairbanks and director William C. deMille. What's funny is, for 81 years, they were they only duo to host the awards. The second duo? Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin, who will be hosting on Sunday. It's the oldest award ceremony in media and most other ceremonies, including The Grammy's, The Golden Globes, etc... are all basically modelled after it. It's presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which is composed of over 6,000 motion picture professionals. The Academy was originally conceived by the legendary Louis B. Mayer, head of MGM at the time, and it was created to mediate labor disputes and improve the industry's image. Really, the first Academy Awards ceremony was created just to give artistic legitimacy to a business that was really just about money... how times have changed, huh? Yeah, it's vain. Yeah, it's about self-promotion. Yeah, it's just marketing. But, come on, we love it.

Now, I'm going to go through a few of the nominated films that I give a shit about and tell you why...

The big film for me is "The Hurt Locker". I'd like to see it get Best Film, Best Director for Kathryn Bigelow and Best Actor for Jeremy Renner. The film was low-budget, by Hollywood standards, only $11Million and a lot of the budget was because it was shot in the Middle East, mostly in Jordan, just miles from the Iraq border. The film is gritty, it's authentic and, really, it kicks ass. Renner's portrayal of Sergeant First Class William James in the film was unreal and is worthy of the statue. However, I do think that the award will go to Jeff Bridges and he does deserve it, but if I could just draw your attention to the fact that Renner played Doyle in "28 Weeks Later" and Jeffrey Dahmer in "Dahmer", maybe that'll sway some of you. As for Bigelow, you probably know that she's James Cameron's ex-wife and that they're going head to head in the Best Director category. Cameron's already got one of these on his mantle and Bigelow also directed "Near Dark", "Point Break" and "Strange Days", three wicked films that received ZERO Oscars... think about that.

Quickly, I'm pulling for Woody Harrelson to get Best Supporting Actor in "The Messenger", not because of "The Messenger", but because it's Woody. He deserves it and he's played so many quirky roles that we love, from Tallahassee in "Zombieland" to Mickey Knox in "Natural Born Killers". Go Woody.

I'm also putting my weight behind "District 9" for a couple of awards. I'd like to see it get Visual Effects and Best Adapted Screenplay. Let's not kid ourselves, it's highly unlikely to get Visual Effects... "Avatar" is a lock. I just want it duly noted that I got drunk with the CEO of Image Engine, the Vancouver-based visual effects company that did the bulk of the effects for "District 9" and that should be worth something. On the other hand, however, I really do think it has a long-shot chance at adapted screenplay. It was a great script...

Also, I should mention that I am pulling for "Avatar", but I don't think it needs my support. Like I said, I'd like to see Best Picture and Best Director go to "The Hurt Locker", then "Avatar" can win everything else that it's nominated for... seems fair.

Now, who are you rooting for and why? Fill up that comments section!

Another Visit From Writer/Director/Producer, Peter Podgursky

The truth of the matter is, out of all the aspiring indie horror writers, directors and producers that read our regular musings, very few, if any, will go on to become household names. Having said that, if you do, please remember to return our calls. We'll do the same... I promise. Really, we're rooting for all of you and we do everything we can to help. I mean, do you think we get paid for this? Also, I've seen way too many quality indie films based on quality ideas to not believe that the next "Blair Witch" or "Paranormal Activity" could come from one of our readers. All I'm really saying is that it's a tough business and our little niche here at Dead Harvey is to keep you indie horror folks as informed as possible on what's going on in the industry and we're trying to help guide you to the next level... all the while, hopefully, guiding and taking ourselves to the next level, as well. Good, God, please get us to that next level soon, but... I digress. Problem is, most filmmakers will talk with us when their film comes out, we'll stay in touch for a short while, then we'll never hear from them again... which leads me to believe that they've either gone on to big things and don't care about us anymore, they're in the middle of another project and don't have anything to say OR they're done - they took a job at their Father-in-law's box factory to pay the mortgage. Who knows? That is why I like it when I get back in touch with filmmakers and see how they've progressed.

It's been almost exactly a year since we spoke with Peter Podgursky... actually, it's been EXACTLY one year since we posted our interview with him. You can find that interview by clicking HERE. At the time, his short film, "Cheerbleeders", was his USC thesis film and he was about to release some short films on Youtube under his Grumpy Panda Films moniker. Well, it's been a year, he's released those films and he's got some projects in the works. I recently checked out his short film, "Murder Baby", which I'm going to embed below and we had the chance to catch up...



You did the awesome short film “Cheerbleeders” a few years back, what have you been up to since then?

I produced a short starring Neil Patrick Harris entitled "Dracula's Daughter's vs. The Space Brains" directed by Frank Ippolito (who did the Murder Baby effects) and Ezekiel Zabrowski (the team behind the "& Tellers" and "The Growth"). We have a facebook fan page if your readers would like to keep up with it (and they should, it's awesome!) Click HERE

Other than that, I've been doing a lot of writing and making videos for the Grumpy Panda youtube channel with my pal Cindy Fang. We've had two of our video featured on the front page of Funny or Die. And I was a finalist for the ABC Television Writing Fellowship this year (I didn't get it, but I got really close), so that was encouraging.

Now that you’ve had some time to reflect on “Cheerbleeders”, is there anything that you would have done differently or is there something that you didn’t do, but wish you had?

I'm not sure I would do anything differently. I learned so much making it and showing it. Did I make any mistakes? Sure. But I'm glad that I did because I learned from them and I don't think they are the kind of mistakes anybody would ever see in the film.

Any new lessons learned out there that you can pass on to other aspiring filmmakers?

I'm not sure if I have any lessons, but I do have some tips. If you need sound effects check out The Free Sound Project freesound.org . They don't have everything, but they're pretty damn good and the price is right. And I recently discovered that Art Beats artbeats.com gives away a free clip of stock footage every day. Your readers might find those sites useful if they don't already know about them.

Tell us about the short, “Murder Baby”

I had the theme song first and extrapolated a story out of it. My pal Charles Scott and I recorded the theme song waaaay before we shot anything. I told the story to Cindy and we sat on it for a while because we didn't know any babies. Then one day Cindy called me and told me that she found the Murder Baby. When I asked Elijah's parents why they wanted to let their pride and joy be cast as a murderer they told me that he killed the family cat by hugging it too hard. So it seemed like a good fit.

What was the reasoning behind “Murder Baby”, just for fun or was there a different reason?

Mainly for fun. It's nice to complete a small project and get it out there when you're prepping bigger projects. I'm also just curious about youtube. I'd like to figure out how to get popular on it because it's another way to get people interested in what I'm up to. Some people just make youtube videos for a living. That's fascinating.

Gotta ask, tell us how the carnage was done. Love it.

We nailed some linoleum to two shop tables. We cut a hole in the linoleum for Cindy in the gap between them. The shop tables act as a raised stage. Cindy sat on a stool while laying backwards. Frank had a torso prosthetic laying around that we shoved up her shirt and the guts are clay covered in fake blood. Pretty good for clay, right?

What are you working on, what’s next?

Right now I'm prepping three shorts with my writing/directing partner Donna Thorland and making more youtube videos with Cindy Fang. There is some other stuff that I wont jinx because I don't want this post to haunt me if it doesn't work out. If it does, I'll be sure to let you know.

A Look at the Box Office and the Upcoming Week in Horror DVD's

Yeah, Scorcese and DiCaprio won the weekend again with "Shutter Island", but don't fret, horror fans... "The Crazies" didn't do too poorly. Not only did it not do poorly, it's a pretty good film and is getting decent reviews. The film is, of course, a remake of the 1973 George Romero cult classic and it revolves around a town whose water supply has been poisoned by an unknown toxin that drives people insane. What's funny is, the original didn't really do that well. In fact, outside of the hard-core horror fans, it's not really well known at all. The reason I find that funny is, why would they remake an obscure horror film that really only has a cult following? I guess they figured that the hard-core horror fans would go to it because they do know about the original and newer horror fans would go just because it's horror... either way, it's still a great title and a good premise. That and it's an existing script, God forbid a studio green lights an original horror script... In any case, this update is directed by Breck Eisner, the son of Michael Eisner - Ex Disney CEO and Hollywood uber super power. Breck got his start in commercials, then moved on to TV movies, starting with Si-Fi channel's "The Invisible Man". His first feature film was the direct to DVD crime drama, "Thoughtcrimes", which he followed up with "Sahara"... which is considered to be one of the biggest financial flops in Hollywood history. "The Crazies" was his next project, after a few things fell apart... Do realize that there was over 5 years between the two films. He won't have to wait that long for his next film, as next up for him is the remake of "Flash Gordon". Anyhow, let's look at the week in horror DVD's. As usual, you can go to our Youtube Page and check out the trailers by clicking HERE and you can click on the title to be taken to the films Amazon page, where you can read more about it and/or buy it.

It's never a good sign when the bonus feature on a DVD is another entire feature film and they still keep the total cost to under $10.... but that's what you get when you buy "Last of the Living". The bonus feature is "Play Dead", a film by Jason Wiles that stars Fred Durst, Chris Klein and Jake Busey. What blows my mind is that "Last of the Living" is an awesome indie zombedy out of Australia that came out a few years back. It was done on next to no budget and it's right up there in the same vein as "Shaun of the Dead" or "Zombieland", check out the trailer... you'll eat it up. "Play Dead" has a bunch of real names in it and just looks awful, why in God's name would you throw it out there with "Last of the Living"? Honestly, it devalues and takes away from both films. In this case, the sum of both projects is worth less than each project on their own and someone really screwed the pooch when it came to marketing and distributing these films in North America. Unbelievable... I have no clue why "Play Dead" was even made, nor do I know why it was added as a bonus feature here, but "Last of the Living" is from Logan McMillan and it's definitely worth watching. Buy the DVD for that and that alone.

I'm definitely intrigued by "ReGOREgitated Sacrifice", a film by Lucifer Valentine, starring Ameara La Vey. The description says it's about the diabolical depiction of the alternate-parallel dimension of the simultaneous suicide deaths of Kurt Cobain and bulimic porn star Angela Aberdeen, as seen through the mental activity of Angela's journey toward brain death as a result of her self-inflicted death by drowning. There's some clips online and we posted a trailer on our Youtube Page, but they're weird, in a good way... definitely intrigued and the creepy, shot on DV doc look really works... at least in the trailers.

"The Terror Factor" is a micro-budget horror being released by Brain Damage and staring John Sylvia. It won a couple of awards from indie festivals and is, what else? A slasher flick. Looks alright, should be worth checking out.

"Chasing Darkness" is another micro-budget horror, this one released by Midnight Releasing and directed by Jason Hull and starring Todd Humes, Larry Liggett, Renee Porada and Katie Russell. The film is about a hit man who wants to retire, but finds out that a rival gang is actually a bunch of vampires and they've turned his over-jealous girlfriend into one of the undead. For a no-budget film, they've got some good looking action scenes and great make-up. I'm definitely going to be checking this one out. Also, I love the title.

Otherwise, there's a pile of box sets coming out that I'm not going to mention, as they're just cash grabs on mostly shitty films. So, that's all I've got for the new DVD releases...

B-Side Closes It's Doors - A Tribute To B-Side

When you're an indie filmmaker, just a struggling artist trying to get noticed and make your way in the industry, you tend to see the entertainment world from that perspective. You against all those gatekeepers. However, you need to remember that some of those gatekeepers are struggling, too. In fact, the whole industry is filled with people are struggling. From small studios, to distributors, to festivals and everything in between. The truth is, the power and influence in this industry is held by so few, while the overwhelming majority of people in the industry are longing to move up that industry ladder. With that, I'd like to mourn the passing of indie film distributor, B-Side, who just announced that they'll be shutting their doors on March 1st.

B-Side was founded in 2005 and just had their best year ever, in 2009. That's why it was such a surprise to see them close their doors. They were an indie distribution company, based on leveraging the audiences and the festivals. They powered a lot of the festivals websites and connected audiences and gathered feedback on films. They had over 220 film festival partners, including Sundance, AFI and Fantastic Fest. Their platform created direct connections to audiences and used on-demand technology. They were a full service distribution company and they even provided research and marketing services to filmmakers and other distributors. I watched them closely and, personally, thought that their model could represent a bright future for indie film. So, what happened?

Here's some snippets from their release on the webpage... "On behalf of the entire B-Side team, I (Chris Hyams - B-Side Founder & CEO) am sad to announce that after 5 years in business B-Side is closing its doors on March 1." "In the face of the lingering economic crisis and ongoing upheaval in the film business, our investors decided to stop funding the company. Under extreme time pressure, we were unable to secure alternate financing, and are left with no choice other than to shut down." "I am sad to have reached the end of this chapter, but am incredibly proud of what we've achieved. I am confident that our efforts will have a lasting impact on this business. I am also confident that the B-Side team will bring their expectations to new ventures that will pick up where B-Side is leaving off."

What's the lesson here? Well, I'd like to talk with Chris Hyams and see what he has to say, but... I'd say the lesson is, this is a tough business. It's a tough business to turn a profit in and it's a tough business to try something new in. Also, when you're dealing with smaller, indie companies, you need to remember that they're in the same boat as you. There's a fight going on here and it's not filmmakers versus distributors... it's the indie world versus the studio world and everyone in the indie world, from the filmmakers to the festivals to the distributors, need to help and support each other. Otherwise, we'll be seeing more companies like B-Side close their doors.

It's definitely sad to see them go and if you'd like to check out the B-Side site and read the full release, you can click HERE.

Shutter Island wins the box office and a look at the upcoming week in horror DVD's.

As much as I heart James Cameron and talking about the huge success of "Avatar", I'm glad it no longer tops the box office every week... I was running out of things to say. This week, "Shutter Island" tops the box office with a gross of over $40Million, which gives both Scorsese and DiCaprio their best box office opening yet. The interesting story here is that the film was originally scheduled for release on October 2nd, 2009 and it was pushed back for a variety of alleged reasons... from Paramount not having the financing at the time to market a big awards pic to DiCaprio's unavailability to promote the film internationally. In the end, it worked out for them. The film has received generally positive reviews, but, having said that, very few people have the balls to give a negative review to Scorcese. I haven't seen it, but it is Scorcese and it's a noir suspense/horror. Seems like a perfect storm for me. Next week, more horror... the remake of "The Crazies" comes out. Now, let's look at the horror that's coming out on DVD this week and, as usual, you can check out the trailers on our Youtube Page by clicking HERE and/or you can click on the titles, where you'll be taken to their Amazon page, where you can read more about them and/or buy them.

Sometimes, I have no f'ing clue what's going through people's minds. How in God's name did "The Box" get green lit as a $30Million feature? It's based on the short story "Button, Button" by Richard Matheson from 1970 and was later adapted into an episode of "The Twilight Zone" and I think that's as far as this premise should have gone. The film is about a couple who receive a box from a mysterious man who offers them one million dollars if they press the button sealed within the dome on the top. If they do press it, someone they don't know will die. The film received mixed reviews and didn't really do that well. Apparently, they do keep the film intriguing and it's paced well, but the whole idea just seems so implausible, that I don't think it could carry a two hour film...

Personally, I think that "Cirque Du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant" was completely mishandled. I haven't seen it, but right off the bat, I dismissed it. I saw the title, the cast, saw that it was PG-13 and that was it. Done... but here's the thing, they didn't market it properly. You see, I believe that horror geared towards a younger audience is a huge, growing and under served market. Done well, you're looking at "Harry Potter" or "Twilight". Done poorly, you're looking at "The Haunted Mansion" or, well... this. I didn't know that this film is actually an adaptation of the first three books of the series "The Saga of Darren Shan", which is a popular series geared towards young adults. The premise is great, too. It's about a teenager that's pulled into a fantastic life of misunderstood sideshow freaks and grotesque creatures of the night. I think John C Reilly was a bit miscast here, as his presence would lead you to believe that you're getting "Talladega Nights" or "Step Brothers" type humor, which you're not. He's also a big presence, possibly overshadowing the lead. Also, the title doesn't do it justice... it sounds corny. Originally, I wasn't going to pay any attention to it, but now I actually want to check this out.

They're rereleasing "The Caretaker", an indie film that we covered quite some time ago. It's a great little flick and you can read our original post on it here.

"Sorority Row" is a remake of the 1983 slasher classic called "The House on Sorority Row". The film is from Summit Entertainment, who are proving that, lately, they're not too great at producing successful films that aren't called "Twilight". It's got a decent cast, including Carrie Fischer and Bruce's daughter, Rumer Willis, and it supplies everything that you'd want from a slasher flick, from hot girls, to suspense and gore. I haven't seen it, but obviously someone liked it, as they're in works on a sequel.

The Original "Blood For The Muse" came out almost a decade ago, but they're rereleasing it as "Blood For The Muse: The Omega Edition". The film is a great micro-budget horror from Terry West, shot in black & white. It's based on the cult comic about a guy who's driven to blood-soaked extremes for his Dark Muse. He believes that tragedy brought her to him and he becomes a serial killer, preying on call girls. Will his new girlfriend stop his gory rampage or will she become his last victim? You'll have to watch "Blood For The Muse" to find out...

If you're into schlock, they're rereleasing a pile of it. There's "Horror of the Blood Monsters"; "Mikels' Bloodbath Collection: Mark of the Astro-Zombies (2002) / Dimension In Fear (1998) / Female Slaves Revenge (1997) / Cauldron: Baptism of Blood (2004) (4-DVD)"; "Brides of Blood" and "The Alcove".

If you're into Blu-ray, you can now get the awesome "Dead Snow", the original George Romero classic "The Crazies", the new version of "Sorority Row", a personal favorite "Ichi the Killer" and Troma's latest classic, "Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead".

Dead Harvey Nation, I ask you... what do YOU think the future of indie horror distribution will look like?

I'd like to throw something out there to Dead Harvey Nation.

Indie and micro-budget film, especially indie horror, has been much talked about over the last year or so. Most of that talk is thanks to the success of "Paranormal Activity", but that success came in the middle of the worst financial crisis that our generation has ever seen and at a time when all the studios were struggling for revenue. I do think that the big boys are at a point right now where they're willing to look at the indie and micro-budget business model, Paramount's promise to open a micro-budget division is a prime example, but I still don't think they really get it. The problem, as I see it, is that when it comes to low-budget films, the distributors and studios are trying to cram a square peg into a round hole. The problem is, what does that square hole look like... and are they using lube?


The round hole is what Hollywood's been doing forever... sexual innuendo understood and on purpose. You see, to simplify... you make or acquire a film, you market it and then release it into the wild. Aim for theatrical first, then DVD. After that, see if you can't get some revenue from TV or cable or whatever and, after that, it's part of the library. Own content, manage its distribution, try to make as much money as you can at every turn, screw as many people as you can along the way. So, when they deal with indie content, they pick up the rights and throw it into their grinder, which usually means that they barely market it and just throw it out there on DVD. Is that wrong? If it is, why would they think it is? With their existing distribution channels, they can usually turn an easy profit on that, especially since they screwed the desperate filmmaker out of his rights and they paid next to nothing for the content. My point is, I think that a new distribution and monetization system needs to be set up for indie content. Sure, they're turning a profit, but they could be making so much more and they could really create a win-win situation for everybody. Long and short, we need to create that square hole.

Problem is, what's that square hole look like? If we look at the average consumer of indie and micro-budget horror, we can make a few easy assumptions. One - they're horror fans. That means that they probably watch old, new, high-budget and low-budget horror movies, they probably read horror websites and they probably pick up Fangoria or Rue Morgue. Two - they probably spend quite a bit of time online. When you're into a specific niche like indie horror, the web is the best place to find out about new things going on. They probably listen to specific podcasts, read specific blogs and watch online video. Those are the easy assumptions, now let's make some more difficult ones. Three - I'm betting that indie horror fans are more likely to play video games than your average Joe. There just seems to be a connection there. Four - they're probably aware of, follow or have been to horror festivals. Five - they're probably more apt to buy merchandise based on the films that they watch. What horror fan doesn't have a few genre posters, t-shirts or action figures? I could go on and get more in-depth, but let's leave it at that. Now that we have a basic idea of who the indie horror fan is, how do they consume their media?

Knowing all that, if I were given the opportunity to be involved in the distribution and monetization of indie horror content, to start... I would be heavily involved with the indie festivals - support them, sponsor them, attend them, sell at them. Eat them up, make the festivals your cornerstone. I would also have a huge online presence where fans could watch shorts, read about the films and filmmakers and interact with indie horror content. I would try to get deals with PS3 and XBox to distribute content. I would strike deals with and get involved with the fan mags. I would constantly leverage the films against each other and sell related merchandise. After I've thrown the film through that entire process and monetized it as best I could, then and ONLY then, would I throw it out there on DVD through traditional distribution channels.

So, here's my question... and, please, think outside the box. Aside from DVD, how would you consume your indie horror? What distribution channels are out there that we haven't thought about? Long and short, what do YOU think? Am I crazy to think that there's a new distribution model out there?

Interview with Gregory Caiafa, the writer and director of "Intruder"

I don't know if you've noticed or not, but we've changed things up a bit. Not much, really, just a slight change of focus. Way back when, when we first started out, we mainly discussed the industry from a macro perspective and were basically writing like a bunch of indie horror fan-boys - not very focused. Then, as we are aspiring and practicing filmmakers and screenwriters ourselves, we decided to focus more on the filmmakers and the indie horror filmmaking process - getting more focused. Now, we've decided that we really should be more like the "resource" that we claim to be. We should be for the indie horror filmmaker and we should ask the questions that you would ask and pass on the news that you want to know. We want to gather the information that you need to get an indie horror film from concept to completion as successfully as possible - a resource for indie filmmakers. So, you may have noticed that slight change in focus in our blog posts, as well as in the questions we ask in our interviews. We want to talk to indie festival directors, to distributors and to those who've made quality films that were successfully taken to market. "Intruder", from Gregory Caiafa, is one of those quality films and he gives us exactly the type of answers we're looking for.

"Intruder" is a slasher film and, for the most part, it follows the classic slasher film rules. Having said that, there are a few things he does that makes his film stand out... most importantly, the film has great characters and it's written extremely well. From the perspective of a fan, the film delivers everything that a slasher film should - a confined space, a psychotic killer, gore and hot girls. From the perspective of a filmmaker, Caiafa delivers a slick looking film that's a great example of what a low-budget slasher film can be. He takes time to develop the characters and the story, while hitting all the marks that the film needs to. We had the pleasure of discussing the film with him and he offers up a great interview, which is right in line with what we're looking for with our renewed focus...

Tell us about your film, “Intruder” and if you don’t mind us asking, what was the budget and how did you secure the financing?

“Intruder” was a “plan b” movie. I had written a tremendous script for a retro-slasher that would have required way more money than the paltry sum I had at the time, so I quickly wrote “Intruder” to exploit the momentum I had created for myself. The budget was in the extremely low five-figures, and was secured through various sources.

One of my favorite aspects of your film was the character of Lila Red. You did a great job of building her character over the course of the film. Did you have her in mind first or the premise in mind first? Maybe you can talk a bit about the writing process.

Lila Red was the spine of the movie. My intention was to create a dark portrait of a disturbed character wrapped in the shell of a slasher film. I’m most pleased with how that aspect landed. Often, the story itself fails to live up to its protagonist, but people tend to find it compelling nonetheless. It’s unconventional for this type of picture, and many fans may be annoyed by it, but it was a conscious choice I made to separate “Intruder” from the plethora of horror flicks released each year.

I also really liked the killer. Very simple, which, for me, made him seem more real. Talk about creating the killer.

The killer was a gimmick character. Killer Clowns tend to sell well on the retail market, so I stuck one in there. I don’t particularly enjoy that detail – though there are parts I like a great deal. The character itself was meant to exemplify the randomness of violence. It’s as disruptive and unfathomable as the afflictions that haunt the main character. He’s the external force of evil in a film where the real enemy is within. I have also found attempts at a back-story for the killer to be fairly pointless in other slasher flicks, so I didn’t bother with one. At the end of the day, the slasher archetype – with very few exceptions – is like a shark: a mindless, brutal force of nature.

You also did a great job in casting. It was well acted and well directed. Talk about casting and your directing style.

I placed an ad in Backstage East and conducted my readings out of a Knights of Columbus in Brooklyn. We read a couple of hundred people before settling on the dozen or so that populate the film. I’m mostly satisfied with my choices, though there is a key role that I feel was miscast. It was the kind of situation where I didn’t have a strong handle on a character and wound up casting someone who was terrible for a part, before replacing them with someone who was only kinda wrong for it.

Intruder represented a crude type of film school for me. My background at the time was in theory, and I felt the only way to get a handle on the craft was to dive right in. I feel I did more wrong than right directorially. Given my druthers I would have rehearsed the actors extensively and been a little more concerned with the feel of a scene as opposed to simply conveying information. My subsequent directing work has been far stronger as a result of the lessons learned throughout “Intruder”.

You had some great gore in the film, too. Which was your favorite effect and how was it done?

Special Effects-wise, my fave is probably the “eye gouge”. Overall, I put more of an emphasis on impact and aftermath than insertion. I think a cerebral approach often works because it forces the audience to fill in the blanks mentally, and it also demands more of you editorially, as you have to make the effect work in the cut. I concede that may be a tough sell for a generation weaned on the excesses of “Hostel” and the whole torture genre.

Tell us a bit about yourself. What are your influences and what got you in to film?

My influences are pretty much everything made in the 1970’s. Lol. I’m drawn more to character-driven material. I couldn’t list all my favorite films on a single webpage! The Godfather Part II, The Godfather, Taxi Driver, M., The Exorcist; the list goes on and on and on…

Film school: yes or no?

I have a BA in Film Theory, and wouldn’t rule anything out in the future education-wise.

When you set out to make “Intruder”, what was the goal? Was it to make money, were you trying to open doors, get into festivals… and did you accomplish what you set out to do?

My professional objective with “Intruder” was pretty straightforward: create a low-budget slasher for the home video market that would get me a grip on the first rung of the film business ladder. To that extent I have succeeded. And I had no conceit coming in as far as criticism or the quality of the film goes. Rip it apart! As long as it gets its day in court, and as long as it isn’t personal. It’s important to note that, regardless of the relative strength or weakness of a piece, if you have some capacity as an artist the right people will recognize it. This helps you get that elusive grip on that slippery rung.

I’m pleased that many seem to enjoy the film, however I’m more encouraged when fellow filmmakers and fans who may dislike the movie take the time to give me kudos for what I did right. It’s part of the birthing process. You come out, make a bunch of bad movies, and then make a brilliant one that gets you famous (fingers crossed… tightly!).

Maybe you could talk a bit about your decision to make a slasher film and what you did to make yours stand out.

I made a slasher because it’s a niche market that never seems to go away. There have been dry spells here and there, but for the most part, the slasher flick has been a staple of the horror genre since the mid-1970’s. My thinking was that the film would enjoy a slightly longer shelf life if I made it in that milieu. On the downside, a niche market is just that: a small sample of the entire fan base. Your appeal is limited. And the audience can often be unforgiving. Many slasher fans have a ridiculously specific idea about what such a film should be and will excoriate anything that deviates from that paradigm. I went on Netflix and Adam Green’s “Hatchet” – arguably the best slasher film of the post-modern era – has an average of only 2.8 stars out of five. I mean seriously!

Talk about the process of finding distribution. If you could pass on one piece of advice to other indie filmmakers on distribution, what would that be?

As far as distribution is concerned, I sent out an extremely rough draft of the film to a bunch of companies, and got a few offers. More importantly though, I got feedback, which enabled me to make a few adjustments/ reshoots before resubmitting it to various sales agents and DVD companies. Most distributors are broke and it’s highly unlikely you’ll get anything resembling an advance, so what you’re looking for is someone with a track record of making profits from similar work. If they book and promote it well the film could turn over some green.

Honestly, though, my advice to other filmmakers would be to self-distribute. I’m extremely pleased that “Intruder” got into most major online retailers and rental services, however if you’re a newbie with no pedigree, even the “pay-to-play” companies are going to drag their asses when it comes to promoting and booking your film. At the end of the process you’re typically exhausted and just want to get it out there, but you’re going to wind up doing most of the leg work anyway, so you might as well hold onto a bigger piece of the wholesale pie. A credible producer advised me to self-distribute in the very beginning and I regret not heeding his words.

Talk about the indie horror scene, where do you think it is now and where do you see it going?

The indie horror scene is a quirky beast. It’s always a crapshoot. Films are cheaper to make now as technology has democratized the art form. But consequently the market is so glutted that it’s virtually impossible to make any kind of real money out of the gate. Financial considerations are paramount, as money equals momentum in the film biz. But the demand for films is down overall since the internet killed the video star. People are watching youtube and checking out films through pirate sites (shame!). As a result, the current generation has been primed for both short attention spans and free entertainment. Not good for the indie filmmaker. Not good at all. As far as artistic issues go, well, there will always be an audience for a truly scary film, and scary films can be made for any amount of money. “Paranormal Activity” made more than any one of the “Saw” films, and the movie’s budget was about half of what a typical Saw trap costs to pull off. Granted, that’s an anomaly, but it still demonstrates that fine work can be done with meager resources. If you add up all those factors, I think that as young filmmakers make more and more films and hone their craft vocationally, we’ll experience a new vogue of truly frightening independent horror movies in the years to come. It may be a vogue driven more by passion than profit; but that’s fine. If need be, I’d be perfectly happy selling vacuum cleaners door-to-door, provided I could still make a movie a year and get it seen by other people.

Where can people find out more about “Intruder” or get their hands on a copy?

“Intruder” can be purchased through Amazon.com, BestBuy.com, most Bakers and Taylor online retailers, and many Mom-n-Pop shops as well. It can also be rented through netflix. Here's a LINK to its Amazon page.

What’s next for you? A sequel? The film IS left open for one…

I don’t think I’ll be making a sequel. I wrote a treatment for one, and assembled a small production to make it happen. However, that was intended more as a device to keep the first film fresh. I was almost a year out from locking picture without a distributor and figured a packaged duo of films would sell better at the film markets. That plan got indefinitely postponed when I settled on the companies that put the film out on DVD and VOD.

The next step is to make another film. I have a script that’s ready to be lensed and anticipate getting the ball rolling now that “Intruder” has been put to bed. Wish me luck!

The Weekend Box Office, The Upcoming Week in Horror and our usual banter...

It was Valentine's Day yesterday and, well, fittingly, "Valentine's Day" ruled the box office. Really, it's about as far from 'our type' of film as you can get, but there are some interesting things to note about it. First up, how many of you checked out the trailer or one-sheet and thought, "what the fuck... how did they get so many major actors in that piece of shit?" Not only that, how did they keep the budget to under $50Million? Well, as for keeping the budget down, most worked on a discount and other took back-end deals. Why? Because they could shoot their scenes in just a few days and were able to head off to other projects without skipping a beat. Goes to show, keep things as simple and easy as possible for an actor and they'll compromise. Reviews sucked on it, but it did win the weekend. Speaking of badly reviewed films, "Wolfman" was a let down. Turns out that all the bad buzz was too much for it to handle and it came in third place, grossing just North of $30Million... not that great for a film that cost around $150Million to make. What IS interesting is to note that it ranks second all-time, just behind "The Twilight Saga: New Moon", for opening weekend grosses for werewolf movies. Then again, let's be honest, werewolves just don't sell that great. Third, fourth and fifth are the "Underworld" films. Then, in order, it's "Wolf", "Cursed", "An American Werewolf in Paris", "Teen Wolf", "Silver Bullet", "An American Werewolf in London", "Wolfen", "Teen Wolf Too", "The Company of Wolves", "Blood and Chocolate", "Bad Moon", "Skinwalkers", "Ginger Snaps II: Unleased" and, last on the list, at 19th, "Ginger Snaps". So, is it that there's just not a lot of good werewolf movies? Do people not like werewolf movies? Or do they just not make enough werewolf movies? Interesting topic... I'll ponder that. While I do that, let's get to the week in horror on DVD. As usual, you can head over to our Youtube Page by clicking HERE and see all the trailers. Also, you can click on the titles and be taken to their page on Amazon, where you can read more and/or buy them.

"She's Crushed" is an indie film, from Patrick Johnson, that screened at The ShockerFest International Film Festival and The Spooky Movie Film Festival. It's a "Fatal Attraction" type film, where Tara, Ray's one night stand, decides that she wants to keep Ray... and she's an f'ing psychopath. Done well, there's always a market for these films. Why? Because the characters and predicaments are very real... and horror that revolves around real and possible scenarios really are that much scarier. Trailer looks great, I can't wait to check this one out.

"Red Hook" revolves around college freshman Jenny Traylor, as she joins her Welcome Week scavenger hunt at her new college in New York. However, as she and her friends decipher the cryptic text message clues on their cell phones, it becomes terrifyingly clear that the stakes in this game are life and death. I haven't seen this, but let's just say the premise isn't blowing up my skirt. I think an easy change, like... her and her broke friends sign up to get paid to do an experiment at their college and it turns ugly... may have been better. Have you seen "The Killing Room"? There's a lot that can be done with that whole concept - definitely not exhausted. Anyhow, I won't pass judgement here, as I haven't seen it.

It looks like "13Teen" was originally called "For Sale by Owner"... however, there's ANOTHER horror film with that same name, one that stars Kris Kristofferson and Tom Skerrit. This is about a serial killer, who carves the number 13 into his victim's chests and is approaching the town of Emeryville. This, obviously, has the locals a little nervous. Sarah, one of those locals, MAY have just put herself into harms way after she may have let the killer into her house. The story here for filmmakers is to really, really, really think about your title. It's so much more important than you think. I couldn't find SHIT on this movie. "13Teen" doesn't search easy and there's a bigger budget film with the same name as "For Sale by Owner". You gotta be unique.

Speaking of unique titles, "Quiet Nights of Blood and Pain" is a micro-budget horror from Andrew Copp and it's about an vet from the war in Iraq who just can't stop killing. He's trained in the torture and killing of prisoners and even though he's back on US soil, he just can't stop doing his job. It's a tough subject to tackle on a micro-budget, but the trailer looks pretty damned good. Much like "She's Crushed", the premise is plausible, which can make it very effective, if done right.

Olympic Fever... It's Where My Brain's At

I feel like it's been a while since I actually discussed indie horror. Well, I guess both my previous posts this week were on horror. I guess my brain is somewhere else, but it's with good reason. You see, you may or may not know, but Team Dead Harvey is split between L.A. and Vancouver. The Vancouver contingent being myself... the L.A. contingent being everyone else. Now, there's a pretty big event going on up here right now and it's got this whole city buzzing (in fact, they halted almost all the film and TV productions that are going on) and I'm going to be taking it all in... I'm sure you've heard of it, it's a little thing called the Winter Olympics. I actually had the opportunity to go to the final dress rehearsal for the opening ceremonies a couple days ago. The $50Million production will be broadcast to something like 2Billion people tonight, 6PM PST, if you're interested. While I sat there, in awe of the magnitude of the production, I was thinking about how video and multi-media has become so integrated into every form of entertainment. This show is really a spectacle, you should watch it tonight. It's all interconnected, really. Film has moved from simple moving pictures to three dimensional digital video with THX sound. Live performances have evolved from being actors projecting from a stage to actors interacting with digital video, three dimensional effects and Lord knows what... and regardless of the platform, they all try to do the same thing - entertain the audience. It's insane to see how all the media worlds converge now. In any case, I'll be thinking of that when I go to all these pavilions and houses, too. Apparently, I'll be privy to interactive, immersed digital technology at the Korea House, Imax footage of Russian sports at the Russia House, in-window augmented reality displays from Yahoo and the list goes on... I can't wait to check it all out. Anyhow, that's where I'm at right now. However, I did want to mention a couple things that I found in my inbox. You know, to keep with the actual theme of the site.

You want to see what I think the future of indie film will be like? Look no further than Babelgum's Shooting People. It's the largest network of indie filmmakers, boasting over 30,000, and they've just launched a curated channel featured on their online, iPhone and Android mobile application platforms. They also run an online film competition, showcase various films and help crew up indie shoots. Check out the Shooting People site by clicking HERE.

The other thing that I wanted to mention was Bill Zebub's new documentary, "Death Metal: Are We Watching You Die?". Bill Zebub is a legend in indie horror and it's no secret that he flips his time between indie horror and films on metal. God bless Bill Zebub. Anyhow, the street date for the doc is February 23, but some places are allowing for a pre-order. In this 2-Hour doc, you'll get to see legendary death metal bands such as Marduk, Mayhem and Cradle of Filth. Click HERE to see a clip on Youtube.

Have a great weekend and make sure you check out the Opening Ceremonies tonight!