FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Just in time for your devilish revelry, Intervision Picture Corp is putting the bite in Halloween with the home video premiere of The Trail of Dracula. Diabolical. Seductive. Immortal. Vampires have been an icon of evil in folklore and popular culture for more than three centuries, yet only one name still personifies the ultimate aristocrat of bloodlust. Count Dracula has been a looming figure in countless books, films and television series, but his twisted path from literary protagonist to pop culture mainstay is still largely unknown to many.
Join the world’s foremost experts on Dracula – including academics, authors and horror historians – as they explore the untold story of the Transylvanian Count, from the legend of Vlad The Impaler and Bram Stoker’s celebrated novel through its landmark stage productions and classic movie adaptations. It’s a crimson trail of twisted archival materials, startling film clips and rare interviews – featuring Bela Lugosi, John Carradine and Christopher Lee – plus Bonus Materials that include additional interviews with Udo Kier and Werner Herzog, over 90 minutes of Dracula movie trailers, and more!
Full Specs: The Trail of Dracula: All-New Feature Length Documentary Dracula Movie Trailers: Over 90 Minutes of Trailers from 1931-1976 Blood For Udo: Interview with Udo Kier Nosferatu Interview with Werner Herzog Audio Interview with Christopher Lee Audie Interview with Francis Lederer (Return of Dracula)
36 years after the making of the controversial 1978 cult classic I Spit On Your Grave, actress Camille Keaton will appear on screen with director Meir Zarchi in upcoming documentary.
Day of the Woman a.k.a. I Spit On Your Grave was inspired by Meir Zarchi’s experience with a victim of rape. After stumbling upon a teenage girl in a park in the aftermath of a violent assault, Zarchi began to imagine how a woman in this situation might fantasize about revenge. Moreover, he wanted to depict to the audience the real horrors of rape.
The story follows Jennifer Hills, (played by Keaton), a magazine writer from New York City, as she retires to a secluded cabin in the woods to write her first novel. While there she is brutally assaulted, raped and left for dead. But Jennifer is alive. Emotionally destroyed, she no longer writes her novel; instead she finds herself choreographing a horrific revenge scheme to inflict punishment on her assailants.
Upon its theatrical release in 1980, the movie was described by the late prominent film critics Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert as “Easily the most offensive film” they had ever seen, yet hailed by others as a cinematic masterpiece. The debate continued as the movie was pulled from theaters in the United States, then branded a “video nasty” in the United Kingdom and placed on the Director of Public Prosecutions’ list of prosecutable films. Still, 36 years later the film continues to attract both praise and negative criticism and has even spawned a remake in 2010 and sequel in 2013.
Now in production, the I Spit On Your Grave 1978 Documentary will reveal some insight into the madness and the man behind it all. Created by Terry Zarchi (son of Meir Zarchi, who also played a small role in the film), this project will deliver both a personal and informative view that only someone who grew up with this movie can provide.
“Growing up with I Spit On Your Grave has inspired me to tell the story behind the story.” said Zarchi. “This is perhaps the most misunderstood film of all time and Camille Keaton’s involvement will shed some light on the many questions still surrounding the film”.
The first clip from the horror convention documentary Fantasm has been released and is now available for viewing.
Fantasm will have its world premiere at Rock and Shock in Worcester, MA this Saturday, October 19. It will also be screened at Philip H. Anselmo's Housecore Horror Film Festival in Austin, TX on October 25 and at Rhode Island Comic Con in Providence, RI on November 3.
Fantasm explores the bonds formed by the close-knit community of fans who attend horror conventions, with insight from such actors and filmmakers as Tom Atkins (Escape from New York), Heather Langenkamp (A Nightmare on Elm Street), Lloyd Kaufman (The Toxic Avenger), Joe Lynch (Wrong Turn 2), Richard Johnson (Zombie) and more.
In addition to being one of the six conventions at which Fantasm was filmed, Rock and Shock had a profound influence on the documentary. "Rock and Shock was the first convention I went to as a kid," says director Kyle Kuchta. "And those experiences were the inspiration behind Fantasm. To be able to premiere the film there is an absolute honor."
The Rock and Shock premiere is presented by cult film webcast Outside the Cinema. Kuchta will be in attendance to introduce the film, and he'll be at the Outside the Cinema booth all weekend. The 10th annual Rock and Shock horror convention features such distinguished guests as Robert Englund, Robert Patrick, Michael Rooker, Gunnar Hansen, Eric Roberts and more.
The 80s video boom has become a time of sweet nostalgia for movie fans of a certain age but in the UK it was also a time of moral panic perpetuated by ill-informed politicians and a sensationalist media. 'The Video Nasties' witchhunts which led to Britain becoming the most highly censored nation in the western world targeted distributors, store owners and a list of horror movies which were prosecuted as obscene and subsequently banned. David (PLAGUE TOWN, THEATRE BIZARRE) Gregory's two part documentary from 2006 tells the full shocking story and will receive its first official US release as a Limited Edition bonus DVD in the first 3,000 units of Severin Films' upcoming release of HOUSE ON STRAW HILL. HOUSE..., known in the UK as EXPOSE, was one of the final 39 condemned Video Nasties and remains banned in its uncut form in the UK to this day.
Severin Films partners Gregory and Carl Daft developed their passion for exploitation cinema while growing up in the 'Nasty' era in Britain. "There are a couple of really good VHS era documentaries doing the rounds in the US right now but growing up in England we had a very different experience of serious censorial oppression. We thought it might be time to bring out our doc on the period in the US," says Gregory. HOUSE ON STRAW HILL, starring Udo (Andy Warhol's DRACULA) Kier and Linda (BLOOD ON SATAN'S CLAW) Hayden, has the honor of being the only British film that made the infamous 'Video Nasties' list and the Severin Blu/DVD combo will mark its first official fully uncut release on disc. "STRAW HILL has proved one of the most difficult discs we've ever produced due to severely damaged film elements. The master is still not perfect but it's the only way to see the film uncut in its original aspect ratio. We wanted to give Severin fans something extra to compensate for the imperfect presentation of the feature and the fact that it's taken so long to get the disc to market. By including what we consider one of our best documentaries to date, which until now has only been released in the UK, seemed like the way to go. We had considered canceling the title on many occasions because it was such a dire situation but we just couldn't give up on it and we have it to where it's now acceptable to us, and hopefully to our customers. We also have another very exciting nasties release on the horizon so we want to raise some awareness in the US of that grim time for horror fans in the UK."
Other extras in the package include AN ANGEL FOR SATAN - AN INTERVIEW WITH LINDA HAYDEN and an audio commentary with Director James Kenelm Clarke and Producer Brian Smedley-Aston. And as yet one more additional bonus, those who buy the disc directly from the Severin store will get a strictly limited edition (250) VHS replica of the UK Video Nasty release as EXPOSE!
Director Kyle Kuchta is excited to reveal the official theatrical poster for his forthcoming horror convention documentary, Fantasm. The film explores the bonds formed by the close-knit community of fans who attend horror conventions. A high-resolution version of the poster is attached for your use.
In addition to a variety of devoted genre fans, Fantasm features insight from several popular horror actors and filmmakers, including Tom Atkins (Escape from New York), Heather Langenkamp (A Nightmare on Elm Street), Amanda Wyss (A Nightmare on Elm Street), Lloyd Kaufman (The Toxic Avenger), Joe Lynch (Wrong Turn 2) and more.
After being shot at six different conventions throughout the country, Fantasm is currently in post-production. "The film is being submitted to festivals and conventions," Kuchta elaborates. "We're really excited to be releasing it in the fall when the convention season and the horror community are thriving full-force."
For more information on Fantasm, visit the documentary on Facebook and Twitter.
Not every horror filmmaker is out to scare you with oodles and gobs of blood and guts. Not every horror filmmaker throws in a gratuitous tit shot around every corner. And not every horror filmmaker relies on countless jump scares to horrify you. That being said... I am the "Gore Whore" so blood and guts is something I like and the gratuitous tit shot never bothered me either. But there's a time and a place for it. Take all three of these and put them together in the best film in the world and it's not gonna work if the timing is off or if it's just thrown in for the sake of soaking some tits in blood. I know you guys are there are cursing my name right about now but let it marinate for a bit and you'll see I'm right.
A series of documentary footage, audition reels and video diaries are compiled together to tell the story of Ashley Swan (Ava Santana) who takes a role in director Tom Grayson’s (Scott Feinblatt) latest horror film and becomes the victim of a horrendous crime. All caught on film, the events unfold to reveal the decisions and actions that lead to not just one but two chilling and brutal murders. All this being presented to the viewer as evidence in a murder trial. Most of the footage was shot by Danny Wilson (Jeffry Chaffin) as he followed the cast and crew around behind the scenes of the film within the film "My Brother's Keeper".
The acting is pretty solid all around. They do really great jobs and for the most part make acting look easy. They're believable in their roles. Santana plays the innocent and naive actress well but half way through, she transforms into Super Bitch, a petty, unlikable character that cares more about being “discovered” than anything else in life. Feinblatt plays the indie horror filmmaker who slowly goes off his rocker (Hmmm, does film mimic real life? Kidding Scott, you know I dig ya!). Before it's over with, you feel sorry for Feinblatt’s character. All he wants to do is make a horror film his way and nobody, I mean nobody is cooperating and helping him do that. His character may come off as an uptight asshole in the beginning but his descent into madness leaves you feeling like you just wanna give him a big hug. He’s burning out faster than he's filming and at some point, something’s gonna give. You don't see too much of Chaffin as he's mostly behind the camera but he gives a slam dunk performance himself. It's pretty amazing to me that all of them started the film with one personality and finished it up with a completely different one and it's not like you see in some films where one minute a character is normal then BOOM, psycho. No, it's a slow, burning transition that is done with ease. Oh and did I mention there are also special appearances by horror icons Tiffany Shepis and Lloyd Kaufman?? No? Well there are and they give great performances as well.
The film benefits from good writing and it's paced so that you're not flooded with pointless chatter and sub-plots. Yes, it's shot in a documentary style but it doesn't have the shaky Blair Witch Project camera so you don't have to worry about losing your lunch or dinner or breakfast... mmmm, bacon... sorry, got side tracked. Bacon will do that to you ya know? What I like about this film is that Feinblatt and Chaffin had an idea that was different and unique. Yes, the "found footage/documentary" thing has been done before but not in this way. Comparing this to other documentary style films is like saying Friday the 13th is a romantic comedy. If you get the chance, definitely see this one. It's horrifying without slamming you with disturbing images and blood soaked tits, a rarity in this genre.
