Breaking Glass Pictures will be releasing House of the Witchdoctor on DVD/VOD (iTunes, Comcast, Vubiquity) on September 16, 2014. Directed and written by Devon Mikolas, House of the Witch Doctor stars Bill Moseley (Texas Chainsaw Massacre 3D), Leslie Easterbrook (The Devil's Rejects), Allan Kayser (Night of the Creeps), Callie Stephens and David Willis.
Leslie Van Hooten (Stephens) is mourning the anniversary of her boyfriend's murder. Her father (Moseley) and mother (Easterbrook) leave her at the family's isolated estate with her fellow grad students. The weekend takes a turn for the worst when Cliff Rifton (Kayser), a recently released career criminal, and Buzz Schenk (Willis), his drug addict sidekick are hell bent on raging a torturous killing spree. The killers soon realize all is not as it seems in the house. As the body count begins to rise, it seems death is the only escape from the house.
The Sugar Skull Girls film being produced by Potent Media has officially released a teaser trailer featuring Addy Miller (The Walking Dead) and has jump-started it's fundraising campaign on Indiegogo. The film is reminiscent combination of films like The Dark Crystal (1982) and Hocus Pocus (1993) using visual fx technology in combination with practical puppetry.
The film is about three supernatural sisters who are accidentally conjured during a ritual and escape the wrath of The Pale Witch (Carmela Hayslett) who wants nothing more than to drag them back into her world by their cute little ponytails! The film is also an assembly of old school horror actors joining together to make this fun but frightful Children's film. These actors include: Michael Berryman (The Hills Have Eyes, The Devil's Rejects), John Amplas from Romero's Martin and Day of the Dead, and Leslie Easterbrook (The Devil's Rejects, The Afflicted).
I had the pleasure of attending Texas Frightmare Weekend for the fourth year in a row. It's probably one of the best conventions I've been to. Not only is it very well managed but it's local which means once a year our little (read big) family of horror lovers get to reunite and hang out and have a great time. For me, it's becoming less and less about the guests and more about being with friends. This year we decided to get an early start and headed up on Thursday, which gave us the opportunity to go to the Compound Fracture screening at The Texas Theatre. Stars Tyler Mane and Renae Geerlings were on hand signing posters and posing on the red carpet with fans. It was really a great time.
Michael (Mane) left home when he was a teenager and never looked back. Now, after the death of his sister, Chloe (Susan Angelo), he's returning home with his fiancee Juliette (Geerlings) and his angst ridden nephew Brandon (Alex Saxon). On arrival, they realize that home isn't exactly what it used to be. With high walls surrounding the house and security cameras in every nook and cranny it's more of a military compound than anything else. Enter Gary (Muse Watson), Michael's estranged father who, while happy to be reunited with his son and grandson, seems more than distracted by other things. As the strange family reunion commences, an uninvited guest shows up and we learn bits and pieces about the real reason behind Chloe's death and why Brandon is so closed off from Michael. This fractured family will have to come together to fight the ghosts from their pasts and make it out alive.
I could talk about this cast all day long and I still wouldn't be able to express how phenomenal they were in this film. To have four iconic serial killers on one screen is more than epic casting. Mane, better known as the sadistic Michael Myers in Rob Zombie's Halloween films, shows us a softer side in Compound Fracture and delivers a performance that enables horror fans to see what an amazing actor he truly is. He brought depth and believability to family man Michael. Derek Mears, AKA Jason in Friday the 13th, returns to his roots as a tormented evil spirit determined to exact revenge on the Wolffsen clan. As we all know, Mears knows how to do tormented, twisted and evil and he knows how to do it well. Watson shows that his talents go way beyond just stalking teenagers in I Know What you Did Last Summer. His portrayal of the a father with a rapidly diminishing mind struggling to make everyone believe he's still lucid is both touching and impressive. Let's not forget Mother Firefly herself Leslie Easterbrook who does a complete 180° with this character. She's soft and sweet and meager in Gary's shadow but also his rock during the bad spells. Her life in turmoil, she wants nothing more than to keep her family together and she plays it to perfection. Geerlings and Saxon also give stellar performances as the two clueless newcomers. One longs to be part of the family and the other just wants to get away. With this cast of characters, it can only be amazing.
Where most films of this type fall apart is where Compound Fracture flourishes. Writers Mane and Geerlings made sure they had strong, solid characters that their audience would care about. As each layer of the film is peeled back, the viewer is drawn deeper and deeper into the story itself. Director Anthony J. Rickert-Epstein also does a great job propelling the story forward at the right moments. In the end, Compound Fracture comes together nicely and ends up being an impressive supernatural tale. This being the first production from Mane Entertainment, I see nothing but grand things in their future.
To coincide with his appearance at Texas Frightmare Weekend, Tyler Mane will be hosting a special presentation of his new film Compound Fracture and YOU are invited!! The event is taking place at The Texas Theatre on May 2, 2013. As an added bonus, purchase your tickets through Eventbrite using this link, 10% of your ticket sale will go toward our annual fundraiser, Twisted Tails Film Festival, benefiting Paws in the City.
From the press release:
Dallas, TX (April 5, 2013) – Tyler Mane (HALLOWEEN, X-MEN, TROY) brings his new supernatural horror movie COMPOUND FRACTURE to Dallas, Texas during a double feature event that also includes Rob Zombie’s HALLOWEEN at The Texas Theatre on May 2, 2013 for ONE NIGHT ONLY.
Hardcore horror fans will have the opportunity to meet the actor and watch the film with Mane, who played Michael Myers in both Rob Zombie films HALLOWEEN and HALLOWEEN II and now stars in the next-level horror production COMPOUND FRACTURE.
Ticket buyers will be able to choose between three levels of access: the General Admission Ticket to view COMPOUND FRACTURE, the VIP Silver Ticket to view the Double Feature which includes meet and greet with Mane and Geerlings, special collectible wristband, and automatic entry into the nightly prize drawing, and for those who want more one on one time with Tyler Mane, the VIP Gold Ticket will give all the perks of the VIP Silver plus a full-sized movie poster and access to the private after party with the horror superstar. The Grand Prize nightly drawing winner will continue to the final drawing at the end of the multiple-city tour and will be eligible to win a host of prizes, including the chance to be killed by Mane in his next film, PENANCE LANE, or to win the actor’s screen-worn Michael Myers HALLOWEEN jumpsuit.
COMPOUND FRACTURE is a bone-chilling, independent, supernatural horror movie that brings three iconic killers together on the big screen like never before. It will take you deeper than the normal horror-thriller fare, down into a world of family secrets, crazy obsession and unimaginable dementia – and just when it seems you might escape the mad house, you find that it’s the only thing keeping you alive. Watch in horror and admiration as a shattered family comes together when it is faced with complete and utter extinction.
With consistently positive reviews, COMPOUND FRACTURE stars Tyler Mane (HALLOWEEN, X-MEN, TROY), Muse Watson (Ben Willis from I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER, NCIS), Derek Mears (Jason from FRIDAY THE 13th, HANSEL & GRETEL: WITCHUNTERS), Leslie Easterbrook (THE DEVIL’S REJECTS, Rob Zombie’s HALLOWEEN), Todd Farmer (DRIVE ANGRY, MY BLOODY VALENTINE, JASON X) and Daniel Roebuck (LOST, Rob Zombie’s HALLOWEEN I and II, FINAL DESTINATION).
Be sure to check out the video interviews with producers of the film as well as the audience reviews from the Greensboro, NC screening on March 28, 2013.
This weekend I had the pleasure of attending the Horrorhound Convention in Cincinnati, OH. Like many conventions this year the 10 yr anniversary of House of 1000 Corpses is making their rounds. Bill Moseley, Sid Haig, Jennifer Jostyn just to name a few. This inspired me after the day was over to go home and watching The Devil's Rejects. I chose the sequel because I am not really a huge fan of the original and there are not many movies you can say that about.
The Firefly house is quiet and everyone is sleeping until a herd of police surround the property ready to take force and bring down the family. Rufus (Tyler Mane) is already downstairs in his armor ready for battle. Otis (Bill Moseley), Baby (Sherri Moon Zombie), and Mother Firefly (Leslie Easterbrook) join him downstairs were the gunfire ensues. Otis and Baby get away while Mother Firefly attends to a dead Rufus, she is taken by the police squad led by Sheriff Wydell (William Forsythe). Baby and Otis quickly get a car and contact the real leader of their group, Captain Spaulding (Sid Haig). They agree to meet up at a hotel and get a game plan together so they can make their getaway. On the other side Sheriff Wydell is preparing for revenge for the death of his brother in the hands of the sick Firefly family. To him this is personal and he will not stop until they are all dead.
In my opinion this is Rob Zombie's best film to date. In this film Rob really was able to harness what he was trying to do with House of 1000 Corpses. House's story was all over the place were here it is much less clustered and gets the point across quickly. One of the big reasons for the success was bringing back the main crew of Bill, Sid, and Sherri. They really do make a good team. Karen Black did not return as Mother Firefly but Leslie Easterbrook did a fine job of taking on the role. While no one really compares to the likes of Karen, Leslie looks very similar and can act just a crazy as Karen can.
Like most Zombie films this included many cameo's and smaller roles by well known actors and actresses such as Ginger Lynn, Geoffry Lewis and Danny Trejo. Zombie has his regulars he likes to use in his films and it usually works. The best performance in this film however was from Moseley. Not since Chop Top for me has his character been more disturbed. Sid give his good performance as usual and Sherri, well she is Sherri and acts as good as she can I guess. I really do not dislike her but as someone told me recently "she does not emote her emotions!" After hearing that I now pay closer attention to her face rather than the rest of her body and that person is right.
Rob Zombie, if you notice, likes to pay homage to the 70's exploitation films. While never outright saying this movie was set in the 70's or present day, the soundtrack tends to give a different impression. I really like the classic rock as the soundtrack. Specially "Freebird" at the end of the film. It's just fantastic placement for a dramatic ending. To me, I'll say it again, this is Rob Zombie at this best. He may not be able to top this 2005 gem. Stay twisted everyone!
