Nov. 8, 2007
HORROR GLUT: After Dark’s Second Eight Feature Assemblage of Horror Flicks Haunts with Ghouls, Out of Control Germs, Human Sacrifice, and Enough Blood to Fill a Tanker
By Tony Rutherford
Huntington News Network Critic
Huntington, WV (HNN) – If you have an addiction to horror, this is you week to howl and turn into a movie monster or insane entity. Back in the days of drive-in theatres, it was not uncommon to find triple, quadruple and occasional dusk to dawn showings. Of course, then, it was often a per car load rate.
Inflation has hit, the continuous winding of terror occurs at a multiplex, and you pay per feature. The Sundance for sadistic splatter offers eight pictures, most of which are low budget independents. Last year’s fest served as a launch for international or DVD releases.
Last year’s fest consisted of seven movies, but in the words of some fans it became a “destination event” with the lobbies and auditoriums becoming a little like the “Rocky Horror Picture Show” convention. Some fans raved that they embodied “good old fashioned scary gore” and other viewers called them “just above an amateur effort” or “completely unscary, non-gory and boring.” Bottom line: It’s a matter of personal taste.
The eight films will be shown in a repertory format (for locals it’s similar to the Marshall Artist Series International Fest, Appalachian Festival, WV International Fest… i.e. the eight titles do not show continuously, they rotate. You must check the theatre web sites --- which will be provided at the end --- to see when particular films roll).
And, the fest has an online competition for Miss Horrorfest 2007 whose finalists include Mistress Malice, Sweet Dead Sarah, Nixon Suicide and Countess Bathory . One will replace the reigning scream queen, Black Betty. You can view the “photoshoot” of the contestants in New York for the Nov. 8 crowning ceremony here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/15362505@N03 or http://www.horrorfestonline.com
Here are this year’s chillers, otherwise known as “Eight Films to Die For:”
All Films © by After Dark Entertainment
CRAZY EIGHTS: Traci Lords, Frank Whaley, Dina Meyer, Gabrielle Anwar, George Newbern and Dan DeLuca play childhood friends brought together by a death. Strangely, the departed as a last request asked them to play a “game” finding a time capsule which will unleash unforgotten horrors from the past. Incidentally, the controversial Lords was born in Steubenville, Ohio, then at 15 ran away from home to begin a nude modeling career. She was incredibly full figured so photographers and filmmakers (with the assistance of a false birth certificate and driver’s license) did not question her age. However, once the FBI discovered her underage status, her 80 to 100 X-rated movies became illegal to rent or buy. The government attempted to prosecute the producers of Miss Lords first film for child pornography, but the case fell apart when the government admitted it too had been duped by a fake passport when they allowed her to travel to France to make “Traci , I Love You.” She later became a staple guest star in numerous TV shows and low budget films in the 90s.
BORDERLAND: Three American college grads head south of the border for a little drinking and debauchery; instead , they find dismemberment and death as a group of women lure them into a human sacrifice cult looking for gringos to torture.
THE DEATHS OF IAN STONE: A young man is forced by a mysterious creature into the path of an oncoming train. Rather, than “dying,” he finds himself reborn in a strangely familiar life. Then, he finds himself again killed and reborn. Can he solve the mystery or will he die and be reborn daily for the rest of eternity? (This film has an $11 million budget; about five times the cost of any movie in the 2006 festival.)
LAKE DEAD: Three sisters venture to their grandfather’s old home in the back country after his grisly death. But (surprise?) a psychotic family occupies the property and the women and their friends have just walked through the gates of a redneck infested Hades.
MULBERRY STREET: NYC has a plague that might wipe it out --- an infection that turns residents into savage rat-like creatures. Six recently evicted tenants of a crumbling apartment complex seem to be the city’s only hope in stopping the virus.
NIGHTMARE MAN: After receiving an African mask in the mail, Ellen Morris claims to have been attacked by a “being,” whom she calls Nightmare Man. But her husband and doctors believe she’s schizophrenic and needs some time in an institution. On the road to the facility, the car runs out of gas. With her husband walking to a station, Ellen’s again face to face with the demon.
TOOTH & NAIL: After taking refuge in an empty hospital, a small band of post-apocalyptic survivors plan on re-building society. Once they rescue a young girl from a brutal attack by a band of cannibals known as the Rovers, the flesh eaters began stalking the trapped survivors.
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UNEARTHED: Residents of a desolate New Mexico town must band together after an archeological dig uncovers a creature that leaves carnage and bloodstains on the desert sand.
To obtain the respective schedules for film showings visit the following websites:
Marquee Pullman Square (Huntington) : http://www.marqueecinemas.com/Default.aspx?tabid=584
Phoenix 10 Kyova Mall (Ashland): http://www.movietickets.com/house_detail.asp?house_id=10480
Marquee Southridge (Charleston)): http://www.marqueecinemas.com/Default.aspx?tabid=583
Marquee Galleria (Beckley): http://www.marqueecinemas.com/Default.aspx?tabid=680
HORROR GLUT: After Dark’s Second Eight Feature Assemblage of Horror Flicks Haunts with Ghouls, Out of Control Germs, Human Sacrifice, and Enough Blood to Fill a Tanker
By Tony Rutherford
Huntington News Network Critic
Huntington, WV (HNN) – If you have an addiction to horror, this is you week to howl and turn into a movie monster or insane entity. Back in the days of drive-in theatres, it was not uncommon to find triple, quadruple and occasional dusk to dawn showings. Of course, then, it was often a per car load rate.
Inflation has hit, the continuous winding of terror occurs at a multiplex, and you pay per feature. The Sundance for sadistic splatter offers eight pictures, most of which are low budget independents. Last year’s fest served as a launch for international or DVD releases.
Last year’s fest consisted of seven movies, but in the words of some fans it became a “destination event” with the lobbies and auditoriums becoming a little like the “Rocky Horror Picture Show” convention. Some fans raved that they embodied “good old fashioned scary gore” and other viewers called them “just above an amateur effort” or “completely unscary, non-gory and boring.” Bottom line: It’s a matter of personal taste.
The eight films will be shown in a repertory format (for locals it’s similar to the Marshall Artist Series International Fest, Appalachian Festival, WV International Fest… i.e. the eight titles do not show continuously, they rotate. You must check the theatre web sites --- which will be provided at the end --- to see when particular films roll).
And, the fest has an online competition for Miss Horrorfest 2007 whose finalists include Mistress Malice, Sweet Dead Sarah, Nixon Suicide and Countess Bathory . One will replace the reigning scream queen, Black Betty. You can view the “photoshoot” of the contestants in New York for the Nov. 8 crowning ceremony here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/15362505@N03 or http://www.horrorfestonline.com
Here are this year’s chillers, otherwise known as “Eight Films to Die For:”
CRAZY EIGHTS: Traci Lords, Frank Whaley, Dina Meyer, Gabrielle Anwar, George Newbern and Dan DeLuca play childhood friends brought together by a death. Strangely, the departed as a last request asked them to play a “game” finding a time capsule which will unleash unforgotten horrors from the past. Incidentally, the controversial Lords was born in Steubenville, Ohio, then at 15 ran away from home to begin a nude modeling career. She was incredibly full figured so photographers and filmmakers (with the assistance of a false birth certificate and driver’s license) did not question her age. However, once the FBI discovered her underage status, her 80 to 100 X-rated movies became illegal to rent or buy. The government attempted to prosecute the producers of Miss Lords first film for child pornography, but the case fell apart when the government admitted it too had been duped by a fake passport when they allowed her to travel to France to make “Traci , I Love You.” She later became a staple guest star in numerous TV shows and low budget films in the 90s.
BORDERLAND: Three American college grads head south of the border for a little drinking and debauchery; instead , they find dismemberment and death as a group of women lure them into a human sacrifice cult looking for gringos to torture.
THE DEATHS OF IAN STONE: A young man is forced by a mysterious creature into the path of an oncoming train. Rather, than “dying,” he finds himself reborn in a strangely familiar life. Then, he finds himself again killed and reborn. Can he solve the mystery or will he die and be reborn daily for the rest of eternity? (This film has an $11 million budget; about five times the cost of any movie in the 2006 festival.)
LAKE DEAD: Three sisters venture to their grandfather’s old home in the back country after his grisly death. But (surprise?) a psychotic family occupies the property and the women and their friends have just walked through the gates of a redneck infested Hades.
MULBERRY STREET: NYC has a plague that might wipe it out --- an infection that turns residents into savage rat-like creatures. Six recently evicted tenants of a crumbling apartment complex seem to be the city’s only hope in stopping the virus.
NIGHTMARE MAN: After receiving an African mask in the mail, Ellen Morris claims to have been attacked by a “being,” whom she calls Nightmare Man. But her husband and doctors believe she’s schizophrenic and needs some time in an institution. On the road to the facility, the car runs out of gas. With her husband walking to a station, Ellen’s again face to face with the demon.
TOOTH & NAIL: After taking refuge in an empty hospital, a small band of post-apocalyptic survivors plan on re-building society. Once they rescue a young girl from a brutal attack by a band of cannibals known as the Rovers, the flesh eaters began stalking the trapped survivors.
UNEARTHED: Residents of a desolate New Mexico town must band together after an archeological dig uncovers a creature that leaves carnage and bloodstains on the desert sand.
To obtain the respective schedules for film showings visit the following websites:
Marquee Pullman Square (Huntington) : http://www.marqueecinemas.com/Default.aspx?tabid=584
Phoenix 10 Kyova Mall (Ashland): http://www.movietickets.com/house_detail.asp?house_id=10480
Marquee Southridge (Charleston)): http://www.marqueecinemas.com/Default.aspx?tabid=583
Marquee Galleria (Beckley): http://www.marqueecinemas.com/Default.aspx?tabid=680
