After Dark Films Announces Seventh Film in After Dark Originals 2 Series: Mischief Night

Los Angeles, CA (October 8, 2013) ­ After Dark Films proudly announces the seventh film in its After Dark Originals 2 series (ADO2), Mischief Night, a story that takes place on the most devilish night of the year where things are not always as they seem.

Mischief Night marks the directorial debut of Travis Baker, starring Brooke Anne Smith (CSI: Crime Scene Investigation), Marc Valera (Melrose Place), and Malcolm McDowell (A Clockwork Orange, Rob Zombie's Halloween).

"After Dark is always on the lookout for material that breaks the mold. Mischief Night's story and its characters are truly demented. We are excited to offer our audience something refreshingly new in the world of horror.” Stephanie Caleb, Executive Vice President, Creative Affairs at After Dark Films

"With Mischief Night, I wanted to subvert all expectations of the slasher film, while also demonstrating due reverence for the immortal classics of the genre. It's a unique Halloween/Breakfast Club mash-up that's frightening, funny, dramatic, romantic...and above all else, very mischievous. My producer Richard Tanne and I are thrilled to be working with After Dark to bring our movie to the widest audience possible."Travis Baker, Director

Synopsis:
Kaylie is just like most other girls her age. She babysits, enjoys stealing from her parents’ liquor cabinet, and has boys who like her. The only difference between Kylie and other girls is that the boy who likes her, wants to KILL her. On Mischief Night, the night before Halloween, Kylie’s true nature is revealed when she is attacked by a psycho who wants nothing more than to see her insides.

After Dark Films, an Independent motion picture studio, was formed in 2006 by director/producer Courtney Solomon and Hong Kong based real estate magnate Allan Zeman. After Dark Films first motion picture film release was An American Haunting (2006) starring Sissy Spacek and Donald Sutherland. Co-founder and CEO Courtney Solomon wrote, produced, and directed this film under the newly formed After Dark Films banner. After the release of An American Haunting, partners Solomon and Zeman formed a multiyear marketing and distribution deal for Horrorfest "8 Films To Die For" between After Dark Films and Lionsgate Entertainment, with After Dark handling theatrical marketing & releases and Lionsgate handling the distribution of all ancillary forms of media. After DarkFilms released Horrorfest 4 in theaters on January 29, 2010.

Building on the success of Horrorfest, After Dark released the first 8 originally produced horror films in January 2011 under the moniker After Dark Originals. They are currently releasing the second series of films After Dark Originals 2 which is a combination of both originally produced and acquired films.

For more information about AFTER DARK ORIGINALS 2, please visit:
www.afterdarkoriginals.com
www.facebook.com/afterdarkfilms
www.twitter.com/afterdarkfilms

Silent Night Remake 2012 - REVIEW

When I first heard that my favorite holiday slasher was being remade I was none too happy.  I'm not a huge fan of remakes in the first place.  As it got closer to the release of the Silent Night remake I saw previews and read reviews and put it together that it really was not a direct remake of the original.  In fact it's basically just a title remake.  So with that being said I thought I would give it a shot and see how well they were able to put this together.

Starting off quite different than the original.  No childhood experiences for our santa killer, they get right into the killing.  The first 2 victims of Santa have been claimed.  A man and a woman who were having an affair.  The man thinks its her husband and he is going to kill him for revenge.  Right before Santa pulls the switch he realizes this is just a madman who is going to kill him for no reason.  Our main character of the movie Aubrey (Jaime King) is awoken by a call from her boss, the Sheriff (Malcolm McDowell), that she has to come into work on Christmas Eve.  The day she has specifically asked to be off to spend with her family.  He does not take no for an answer and she is on duty.  Meanwhile there is a killer Santa still on the loose claiming victims around town leaving little clues to his identity.  The hardest part of catching a killer Santa in this town is on Christmas Eve every year there is a Santa parade were more than 50 Santa's will be dressed up and parading around town.

I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised with this film.  Silent Night sets itself apart from the original all together with a totally different story line.  So this could be considered more of a re-imagining rather than just a direct remake.  I thought the cast is what really sets this movie apart from the original.  A few big names in this one Jaime King, Malcolm McDowell and even Lisa Marie has a small role in the movie.  Malcolm McDowell adds the comic relief with some great one liner's.  Jaime King plays the lead role and she did a great job but something about her character I really did not like.  Her demeanor was too weak for most of the movie, too weak to be a Deputy.  The best parts about the movie are the deaths.  The are all bloody, gruesome and very sadistic.  There is something about the Santa that is just creepy.  The mask that he is wearing adds alot too it, and who doesn't love a killer Santa with a flamethrower.

Steven C Miller deserves a huge round of applause for his work on this movie.  I really thought it was fantastic and exceeded all my expectations 100%.  While I cannot say I like it more than the original, because it's a classic and nothing in my mind can top that.  This remake comes awfully close though.  It has been a while since I watched a new slasher movie with a killer that was so sinister and evil as the Santa was in this one.  I did read a couple reviews on this movie that said the backstory to the killer Santa was not needed.  I disagree totally!  I am someone that needs to know the killer's motives and likes it somehow to make sense to me.  The backstory to the killer in this one is not real elaborate and is really only flashbacks 2 or 3 times throughout the movie, but it was enough.  Did not drag it out too much and got right to the point.  This is definitely a must watch for the holiday season.  Stay twisted everyone!

Anchor Bay Buys North American Rights to "Excision"

LOS ANGELES (chicagotribune.com) - Anchor Bay Films has picked up all North American distribution rights to "Excision", the company said on Tuesday.

The horror film made its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival last month, and if promotional materials are any indication, it is awash in buckets of blood.

The film centers on a delusional teenage outcast, Pauline, who engages in such timeless adolescent activities as scab picking and road kill dissection. Those pastimes create friction with her parents and to repair the relationship, Pauline undertakes a risky operation to help her sister recover from cystic fibrosis.

Commenting on the film's extreme violence, fanboy site GeekTyrant wrote, "'Excision' was a extremely disturbing and twisted movie that I can't get out of my freakin' head. There are visuals and images that are now forever burned into my memory, and that's not a good thing."

The movie marks the debut feature of writer/director Richard Bates Jr.; Dylan Hale Lewis produced. In addition to Oscar winner Marlee Matlin ("Children of a Lesser God") and Malcolm McDowell, the cast includes a number of small screen names like AnnaLynne McCord ("90210"), Traci Lords ("Cry Baby"), Ariel Winter ("Modern Family"), and Roger Bart ("Desperate Housewives").

The deal was negotiated by Kevin Kasha, Josh Thomashow and Marc Barson for Anchor Bay Films; Kevin Iwashina and Christine D'Souza of Preferred Content, Cassian Elwes, and Elsa Ramo of the Law Offices of Elsa Ramo negotiated the deal on behalf of the filmmakers.