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Good evening film fiends! I hope his regular missive is finding you all well on this chilly evening (here in rainy old England anyway) on the night before All Hallows Eve? in keeping with the spooky season I’m treating myself to a screening of john Carpenter’s eponymous 1978 slasher at Nottingham’s Broadway cinema tomorrow night, complete with a pre recorded Q &A with the master himself. Keep an eye of my social media feeds for a micro review of how the evening went.
On the following day it seems rude for me to not catch the long awaited Blumhouse retconned sequel too, so look out for my review in coming days.

New release-wise, this week I’ve got two great looking little indie flicks for you all to take a look at. Let’s dive in –

 

15-year-old Mia and her parents move to the suburbs of Zürich. While Mia plunges into a wild teenager existence, her body begins to change oddly. First hardly noticeably, but then with a force that threatens to drive her out of her mind. Mia’s transformation progresses inexorably, and she turns into the being which has slumbered within her for years… and is now gaining the upper hand.

There’s something frighteningly fishy going on in Lisa Brühlmann’s shocking debut feature BLUE MY MIND in theatres and On Demand this November through Uncork’d Entertainment.
An elegiac allegory accompanied by hauntingly visceral body horror, BLUE MY MIND is part SUSPIRIA and part THE METAMORPHOSIS but largely incontestably unique.
Luna Wedler and Zoë Pastelle Holthuizen headline a celebrated fantasy-drama about a young woman who faces an overwhelming transformation which calls her entire existence into question. Her body is changing radically, and despite desperate attempts to halt the process, she is soon forced to accept that nature is far more powerful than her.
The VOD will be release on November 13 on such platforms as iTunes, Amazon Instant, Vudu, Google Play, xbox, Fandango Now, YouTube and Dish.

 

This Halloween, a familiar face is going trick or treating.
Days before the November mid-term Elections, three young girls (a Muslim, a Mexican and a Haitian, are stalked by a deranged killer dressed as the President Trump.
From Giant Meteor Films comes the second-most anticipated Michael Myers-centric release of the year, PRESIDENT EVIL – available On Demand this Halloween.
A parody of John Carpenter’s horror masterpiece, PRESIDENT EVIL sees Michael Myers disguised as Trump as he gets about suburbia, hell-bent on killing minorities.   Jose Rosete (THE WALKING DEAD : RED MACHETE), Christian Hutcherson (DARK) and Johanna Rae (PSYCHOS) star in a Richard Lowly film, written by Lowry and Gregory P. Wolk. Producers are Ruben Estremera, Gregory P.Wolk and Francesca Zappitelli.
Days before the November mid-term Elections, three young girls (a Muslim, a Mexican and a Haitian, are stalked by a deranged killer dressed as the President Trump. All in the best possible taste of course.

PRESIDENT EVIL is available this Halloween on Demand (Amazon and other platforms).

On a final note –  to any aspiring independent filmmakers, podcasters or film related writers out there out there reading this, let me know if you’d like me to publicize and/or review your projects, The Stricken Land is always happy to promote new talent and ideas! And as ever, please feel free to share this post and any others on here that you like, far and wide.

Spread the Word!
Ian

 

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This October, GRIMMFEST, Manchester’s International Festival of Fantastic Film celebrated its tenth anniversary with the biggest line-up of film premieres ever, along with audiences to match.

Now the Festival Jury’s votes are all in, and the audience ballots all tallied up, Grimmfest is proud to reveal this year’s award-winners:

Horror Channel Lifetime Achievement Award: BARBARA CRAMPTON (RE-ANIMATOR, YOU’RE NEXT)

Best Feature: TIGERS ARE NOT AFRAID

With Special mentions for ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE and PIERCING

Best Director: JOHN MCPHAIL, for ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE

With Special mentions for ISSA LÓPEZ (TIGERS ARE NOT AFRAID), and CLAYTON JACOBSON (BROTHERS’ NEST)

Best Screenplay: ISSA LÓPEZ for TIGERS ARE NOT AFRAID

With Special mentions for CLAYTON JACOBSON (BROTHERS’ NEST) and ANDY MITTON (THE WITCH IN THE WINDOW)

Best Score: ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE

With Special mentions for PIERCING and SUMMER OF ’84

Best Actor: JUAN RAMÓN LÓPEZ for TIGERS ARE NOT AFRAID

With Special mention for AIDAN DEVINE (I’LL TAKE YOUR DEAD)

Best Actress: MIA WASIKOWSKA for PIERCING

With Special mentions for ELLA HUNT (ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE) and ABIGAIL CRUTTENDEN (AWAIT FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS)

Best SFX: GIRLS WITH BALLS

With Special mentions for AWAIT FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS and FRAMED

Best Kill: GIRLS WITH BALLS

With Special mentions for PUPPET MASTER: THE LITTLEST REICH, OFFICE UPRISING and SATAN’S SLAVES

Best Scare: THE WITCH IN THE WINDOW

With Special mention for SATAN’S SLAVES

Best Short: WE SUMMONED A DEMON

With Special mentions for CONDUCTOR, DEAD COOL and THE OLD WOMAN WHO HID HER FEAR UNDER THE STAIRS

Finally, as voted for by Grimmfest 2018 attendees:

The Audience Award: TIGERS ARE NOT AFRAID

With Special mentions for SUMMER OF ’84, WITCH IN THE WINDOW, ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE, and BROTHERS’ NEST

The Festival Jury Panel consisted of; Actress and Writer Lauren Ashley Carter, Film Sales Agent Caroline Couret-Delegue, Acquisitions Consultant, Festival Programmer and Producer Annick Mahnert, Writer, Actress and Producer Joanne Mitchell, Dread Central Journalist Anya Stanley and Rue Morgue Executive Editor Andrea Subissati. 

Grimmfest is even more delighted to announce that the winners of the BEST FILM and BEST DIRECTOR categories will each be awarded £40,000 worth of post-production services by Festival Award Sponsor BCL Finance Group, which can be used against a future film. 

TIGERS ARE NOT AFRAID is a Mexican magic realist movie written and directed by Issa López, the film has gained huge festival acclaim and awards around the World. It has been championed by Guillermo del Toro who will be producing Issa’s next film. Issa López said: “It’s an incredible honour to receive so many beautiful awards at a festival with such an incredible slate…Grimmfest is the very image of genre cinema’s credibility and substance, and it means a lot to the entire ‘Tigers’ team to be recognized by the festival’s jury and incredible audiences.” 

ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE is a UK Christmas set Zombie musical directed by John McPhail. Since its debut at Fantastic fest last year, it has been making waves around the festival circuit, winning the audience award at the Edinburgh International film festival. It will be released theatrically in the UK and US in time for the festive season. John McPhail, Director of ANNA AND THE APOCALYPSE, said: “I am over the moon to receive this award, to know my peers enjoyed the film… I only started directing 6 years ago, and to receive Best Director award from a film festival like Grimmfest really puts the icing on the cake.” 

BCL have already agreed to partner with the festival next year, when they will again be offering big prizes for BEST FILM and BEST DIRECTOR categories and Grimmfest is also excited to announce the introduction of a new award category WORK IN PROGRESS, in association with BCL. The winning filmmaker will receive access to all-important post production services that will enable the completion of their film.

Michael Laundon, Managing Partner at BCL, adds “All of us at BCL are delighted to be prize sponsors for Grimmfest, as they enter their second decade. BCL was established with a quest to truly help independent movies to not only get made but to be finished. We hope to continue our support of Grimmfest in the years to come.” 

Finally, Grimmfest is thrilled to announce that Barbara Crampton has agreed to become head of the Festival Jury for Grimmfest 2019. 

Grimmfest 2019 will take place in early October in Manchester UK. Film submissions will open December 2018 via Film Freeway. More information about the festival can be found at www.grimmfest.com 

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Good morning film fiends! I have a quadruple whammy of upcoming greatness for you all to feast your retinsa on as well as a cool little short form the Dobrofsky brothers over at Short Story TV. let’s dive in –

It’s going to be a killer Christmas!

The terrifying backstory of the yuletide slaughterer comes to digital and DVD this November with KRAMPUS: ORIGINS, arriving November 6 from Uncork’d Entertainment.
The first World War rages on when a group of American soldiers find a mysterious artifact that can summon the ancient evil of the Krampus.  After the men are killed in action, the artifact is sent to the commanding officers widow who is a teacher at a small-town orphanage.  The orphans accidentally summon the Krampus and the teacher, and her pupils are forced to battle this ancient evil.
Starring Maria Olsen (I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE: DÉJÀ VU, PARANORMAL ACTIVITY 3) and Anna Harr (BETHANY, RESTORATION), and directed by Joseph Mbah and written by Robert Conway, KRAMPUS: ORIGINS on digital and DVD November 6.

This November, Gloria is transforming into something very, very strange.
From director Chad Archibald, and in the tradition of CABIN IN THE WOODS and HEREDITARY, comes THE HERETICS on demand November 6 from Uncork’d Entertainment.

A young woman (Nina Kiri of THE HANDMAID’S TALE) is abducted by a strange man who claims that a cult is hunting her. His goal is to protect her until sunrise but while restrained, she falls deathly ill. As her friends and family search for her, the source of her illness becomes more and more apparent. She’s not sick…she’s changing.
From Black Fawn Films, the award-winning and celebrated Canadian horror machine behind the ANTISOCIAL series, BITE, and LET HER OUT, comes a film that’s “part cabin-in-the-woods thriller, part psychological puzzle, and part demonic possession battleground” (iHorror).
Nina Kiri, Ry Barrett (LIFECHANGER), and Jorja Cadence star in THE HERETICS available on Demand November 6 and DVD January 5 from Uncork’d Entertainment.

 

Leading independent distributor Wild Eye Releasing releases Portuguese horror film THE FOREST OF LOST SOULS on Amazon Prime and Blu-ray this month.

The psychological “coming of age” horror film, written and directed by directed by José Pedro Lopes, also has new artwork to coincide with the Amazon and BD launch.
Ricardo and Carolina are complete strangers that meet seemingly by chance in the FOREST OF THE LOST SOULS , a place where many people go to commit suicide. These two, a young woman and an old man, are no different than the others as they also came to the forest for this very reason.
They decide to briefly postpone killing themselves in order to explore the forest and also to continue talking to one another, as Ricardo and Carolina find themselves intrigued by each other.
However, as the pair go further into the forest it becomes clear that one of them has other reasons for being in the forest, is not who they would have the other believe them to be and is actually a psychopath…

 

KISS KISS, BANG BANG meets classic Hitchcock in the whodunnit of the year!
Winner of no less than 9 major film awards, including Best Feature Film at the Hollywood Boulevard Film Festival and Best Indie Feature at the Los Angeles Film Awards, Clyde Cooper (Souvenir Films) is on the case this November.

Jordi Vilasuso plays Silicon Valley private detective Clyde Cooper. Hired by a tech investor to find a missing woman, the love of his life, who had mysteriously disappeared, Cooper runs into an odd ring of strange women, and weird characters until he finds much more than what he’s bargaining for.
Jordi Vilasuso, Abigail Titmuss, Richard Neil (PRODIGY), Aria Sirvaitis (ROSEWOOD), Isabella Racco (THE DOLL) and veteran actor Lou Wagner (PLANET OF THE APES) star in a Peter Daskaloff film,CLYDE COOPER on VOD November 22.

 

I was contacted this week by the Dobrofsky brothers, the team behind the Short Story TV YouTube channel which, in their own words are ‘Content Warriors here to frighten, entertain and inspire!’ Their newest work is MR HOLIDAY, a very dark short little fil about a serial killer who decides to celebrate new tear by making his very own snuff movie…
Check it out below and subscribe to their channel to see what else the brothers have in store. You can also follow them on Twitter @shortstorytv

Den of Geek founder and all round nice bloke Simon Brew has launched a Kickstarter campaign to crowdfund is new print format film magazine Film Stories. Already a successful podcast, the monthly mag will primarily focus  on mainstream fare but less on superheroes and Star Wars! In their own words -‘Imagine it as the magazine for the smaller screens in the multiplex, and the larger screens in the independent.’

The campaign runs up until 19th November with a target of £10,000. There are loads of different pledge levels and you can check the project out here –

On a final note –  to any aspiring independent filmmakers, podcasters or film related writers out there out there reading this, let me know if you’d like me to publicize and/or review your projects, The Stricken Land is always happy to promote new talent and ideas! And as ever, please feel free to share this post and any others on here that you like, far and wide.

Spread the Word!
Ian

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Good day film fiends! Just one upcoming release to share with you today, but it’s a doozy (I mean, who doesn’t like werewolf films, right?) Check it out below –
THIS OCTOBER, HUNGER SHOWS NO MERCY
From legendary underground filmmaker Todd Sheets comes a howlingly terrifying werewolf movie for Halloween, BONEHILL ROAD!
Emily and Eden Stevens escape one violent situation only to dive head first into another. Terrified and alone they are stranded in the dark woods only to be chased into a horrific scene in a house or horrors. They must work together to get out alive. But what is worse? What is on the inside or out?
Genre legend Linnea Quigley (RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD, CREEPOZOIDS) stars alongside Gary Kent, and David E. McMahon star in Bonehill Road, out from Wild Eye Releasing this week on DVD and on Digital soon.
On a final note –  to any aspiring independent filmmakers, podcasters or film related writers out there out there reading this, let me know if you’d like me to publicize and/or review your projects, The Stricken Land is always happy to promote new talent and ideas! And as ever, please feel free to share this post and any others on here that you like, far and wide.

Spread the Word!
Ian

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A Quiet Place (2018) US Dir: John Krasinski
Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Millicent Simmonds

Several months after the world’s human population has been decimated by blind extra terrestrial creatures that hunt by sound, the Abbott family continue to survive on their isolated farm.
When their youngest son Beau is killed by one of the creatures, their congenitally deaf daughter Regan blames herself. Meanwhile their engineer father Lee (Krasinski) continues to try and upgrade a cochlear implant for Regan and figure out the creatures weakness, while making fruitless attempts to contact any survivors in the outside world. Lee’s heavily pregnant wife Evelyn (Blunt) concentrates on continuing the children’s education whilst making preparations to give birth to their fourth child…
A QUIET PLACE is a terrific achievement and has gone some way to restoring my faith that the major Hollywood studios can still produce engaging multi layered storytelling, and not just endless paint by numbers superhero franchise entries.
Developed from a spec script by Scott Woods and Bryan Fuller, that originally featured only one line of dialogue, writer/director Krasinski sensibly opts for a restrained ‘if it ain’t broke don’t fix it’ approach to what is essentially a creature feature overlaid with familial angst, the film wisely opts for a slow reveal of the creatures, and not just of their appearance but also their abilities and weaknesses. This is a firmly character driven piece that doesn’t drown the audience in flashy cgi or clunky exposition, and is all the better for it. It says a lot about how the cgi revolution has resulted in too many films prioritising spectacle over narrative that A QUIET PLACE’s old school approach to storytelling feels so refreshing.
One of the best examples of this comes from how the backstory of the aliens arrival on our planet and the subsequent breakdown of society is told subtly through glimpsed newspaper cuttings in Lee’s workshop and snippets of deftly crafted dialogue in what has to be a textbook example of world building in a film.
The performances are uniformly excellent, with real life husband and wife Krasinski and Blunt exuding a mixture of fortitude and quiet desperation in the face of their grief and their unspoken fears of what the future may hold for the family. Special mention must go to the sound design by Erik Aadahl and Ethan Van Der Ryn along with the score by Marco Beltrami taking on more significance than usual given the film’s central premise and the attendant sparseness of dialogue for extended periods of the run time.
Stripped of its sci fi trappings, the theme that lies at the heart of the film is the fear of every parent of not being able to protect their children from outside forces beyond their control. The horror genre functions best when putting our repressed fears and anxieties under the microscope, forcing them to the surface through a fantastical narrative device (in this case blind alien predators.)
A QUIET PLACE is a welcome return to old school sci-fi horror in the tradition of ALIEN and THE THING where concept, characterisation and narrative take precedence over empty spectacle (not that the film is deficient in the FX department but Krasinski as writer/director wisely keeps the creatures full reveal for the climax.) Hopefully the film’s healthy box office returns (US$332,583,447 on a bufget ofUS$17,000,00) will bode well for more thoughtful and narrative driven genre cinema of this quality.

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Now in its tenth year, Grimmfest is the premier horror film festival in the north of England, and the organisers were kind enough to grant press passes to The Stricken Land so we could report back on the many delights the festival had to offer. Held at the Odeon Great Northern the centre of Manchester, we were only able to cover the Saturday and Sunday of the festival this year, and due to time constraints we weren’t able to make every single screening, but I’ve compiled all my reviews of the festival highlights for your reading pleasure below. Let’s dive in…

Piercing (2018) US Dir: Nicholas Pesce
Christopher Abbott, Mia Wasikowska, Laia Costa

A married father of one goes on what he tells his wife is a short business trip, instead booking a hotel room with the intention of hiring an escort girl and murdering her.
Grimmfest’s press for Nicholas Pesce’s twisted relationship drama calls it a ‘date movie for psychopaths,’ a succinct description that’s hard to top.
Based on controversial Japanese novelist’s Ryu Murakami’s eponymous 1994 novel, this is a complete oddball of a film that nevertheless engages you through the portrayals of its two neurotic leads even if it’s impossible to feel comfortable at any point during its running time. Quickly turning into a black as night comedy of errors as proceedings fail to go according to the meticulous plan laid out by Christopher Abbott’s emotionally constipated protagonist, Pesce’s film veers off into Lynchian style surrealism, mixing in Cronenbergian body horror, explorations of BDSM etiquette and urban alienation all set  against its retro-eighties style neverworld and a score plucked from Patrick Bateman’s record collection.
A brave, interesting and acutely observed character study with excellent performance from its two leads. No one for a first date though, unless you’re both psychopaths of course.

The Witch in the Window (2018) US Dir: Andy Mitton
Adam Draper, Charlie Tacker, Carol Stanzione

A familial drama wrapped in a haunted house flick, Andy Mitton’s debut plays out like a Spielbergian take on a CONJURING movie with a sliver of ice replacing the sugary sentimentality.
Divorced Dad Simon (Draper) buys an old farmhouse in rural Vermont as a renovation project, hoping to use it as some bonding time with his son Finn. After an ambiguous warning from their neighbour about the house’s dark past, father and son soon encounter Lydia, the malicious spirit of the previous owner. Unbowed, Adam determines to continue the project, but with every repair he makes, Lydia becomes stronger…


Less a full blown horror flick than an affecting observation of father son relationship dynamics, this is acutely well observed with two deft performances by Draper and Tacker.But make no mistake, when Mitton wants to inject unease and then outright terror into the lives of his protagonists then he is a true pro, particularly in the scene when Simon takes a phone call from Finn (you’ll have to watch the movie to get the full import of this sequence.)
The nature of Lydia and the history of the house is wisely kept ambiguous and in the background, allowing the relationship between Simon and Finn to come to form the emotional core of the film. A timely lesson that horror can be so much more than jump scares and splatter. THE WITCH IN THE WINDOW serves as a textbook example why budgetary constraints are no barrier when you have well crafted narrative combined with great performances and direction. One to put at the top of your watchlist.

 

Pledge (2018) US Dir: Daniel Robbins
Zachery Byrd, Aaron Dalla Villa, Zack Weiner, Erica Boozer

A group of nerdy misfit freshmen get invited to a secretive frat house for a wild sex, drugs and booze fuelled party, and the next morning are offered admittance if they will pledge to undergo a series of initiation rituals…
Riffing off the time honoured American campus culture that brought a slew of mostly forgettable frat house comedies to 80’s video stores, Pledge is a tense thriller and a razor sharp commentary on just how far human beings will go to gain acceptance from their peer group.


Director Robbins’ and writer/star Zack Weiner mix in conspiracy theories about real life fraternities like the Skull and Bones society and urban legends around arcane hazing rituals, and then crank everything up to insane levels of malice and cruelty.
The tight pacing and twisting storyline keeps us guessing as to what the outcome will be right up until the brutal denouement. This is a masterful blend of the stalk and slash and survival horror sub genres underpinned by great naturalistic performance by its cast of newcomers. University never looked less appealing.

 

Alive (2018) Can Dir: Rob Grant
Angus MacFadyen, Thomas Cocquerel, Camille Stopps

A ferociously original take on a source material that to reveal in this review would surely spoil the experience of Rob Grant’s viscera spattered thrill ride.
Two strangers, a man and woman  (Cocquerel and Stopps) awake in a derelict abandoned hospital, inhabited by a seemingly unbalanced doctor (a splendidly manic performance by MacFadyen). Nursed back to health after apparently suffering physical traumas, and with no memories of their pasts, the pair realise that the doctor intends that they should never leave…
What follows is essentially an ‘on the run’ escape movie, although we are never quite clear what or where the pair are escaping from (apart from MacFadyen’s psycho surgeon), or where an eventual sanctuary may be. This makes for a deliberately  disorienting experience for the audience and Grant’s assured direction, sense of quiet menace and frenetic pacing keep us guessing right up until the slam dunk denouement. File under essential viewing.

We also managed to cram in horror anthology NIGHTMARE CINEMA, gross out comedy horror throwback PUPPET MASTER: THE LITTLEST REICH and the period found footage chiller THE DEVIL’S DOORWAY while we were there, but I’ll be giving these a second viewing at Nottingham’s Mayhem Film Festival by the time this gets posted, so look out for my review of these in the coming week.

A big thanks to the Grimmfest organisers who were kind enough to grant us press passes for the festival, and to guest of honour and PUPPET MASTER: THE LITTLEST REICH star Barbara Crampton (gutted we missed the showing of REANIMATOR!) who was kind enough to chat and sign stuff. Her Q & A with the audience was a joy to behold, and her tales of working with legendary genre filmmaker Charles Band sent this writer in particular into paroxsms of fanboyness!  We love you Barbara, come back soon! The Stricken Land crew will definitely be making the trip north next year and plan to extend or coverage of this fine event. Keep an eye on the Grimmfest website people, and get this one in your for your calendars for 2019!

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Good morning film fiends, on this the first day of October, everything horror fan’s favourite month of the year! I’ve got a couple of new releases to impart to you this week, but first I’ll get in a quick plug for the Mayhem Film Festival that takes place at the Broadway cinema in Nottingham over  11th – 14th October.

Sponsored by Shudder and Last Exit to Nowhere, the festival covers horror, science fiction and cult cinema so is right up my street as you can probably well imagine. I’ve managed to book some time of from dad duties to go see new horror anthology NIGHTMARE CINEMA, bad taste splatter fest PUPPETMASTER: THE LITTLEST REICH, Nic Cage weirdfest MANDY and found footage period horror THE DEVIL’S DOORWAY. Needless to say I’ll be providing full reviews after my eyeballs have recovered.

November 1st sees the UK release (US 2nd October) of legendary cut filmmaker Don Coscarelli’s memoir True Indie: Life and Death in Filmmaking. The director of classics such as PHANTASM, THE BEASTMASTER and BUBBA HO-TEP takes us on a wild ride through his four decades of independent filmmaking in the Hollywood sharkpool in what promises to be a highly entertaining read for all cult movie fans and indeed, for any interested in the art and process of filmmaking in general. If you can’t wait till next month the audiobook version read by Mr Coscarelli himself releases through Audible on 9th October. Here’s the link to buy it through Amazon in the UK and for US readers here.

Now on to this week’s new flicks –

“In the classic tradition of the 1980’s slasher film” (Horror News), Wild Eye Releasing deliver Blessed are the Children, a Reagan-era slasher throwback that’s part HALLOWEEN, part BLACK CHRISTMAS, and all frights, premiering on DVD and VOD October 23.

Something sinister is following Traci and her friends – who are behind the masks!?
Traci Patterson (Kaley Ball), an adrift 20-something who’s still reeling from the death of her father and her breakup with an abusive fiancé (Jordan Boyd), discovers that she’s pregnant. With the help of her friends, Erin and Mandy (Arian Thigpen, Keni Bounds), she decides to terminate her pregnancy, but quickly after leaving the clinic, she begins seeing and hearing things – shapes in the corner of her eye, strange noises in the middle of the night, and ghoulish figures stalking her every move. Is it guilt or are Traci and her friends in grave danger?
Kaley Ball, Keni Bounds, and Arian Thigpen star in a Chris Moore (PERVERSION, TRIGGERED) film, premiering on DVD and VOD this October.

 

On her 60th birthday, Mary (Rosemary Hochschild) finds her past coming back to haunt her, as a 25-year-old debt means the mob is ready to collect with interest, their sights set on the strip club she has run all her life. There’s only one thing she can do: Mount her defenses and stand her ground in a spiral of violence and revenge that will leave no one in her life untouched…

Dark Star Pictures has acquired North American rights to Orson Oblowitz’s Tarantino-esque crime-drama THE QUEEN OF HOLLYWOOD BLVD.
Dark Star has set an October theatrical (LA) and VOD release for the film, a dark L.A-set noir exploring the one-day odyssey of a woman’s reckoning. Veteran actress Rosemary Hochschild (SUPERGIRL, DESPERATELY SEEKING SUSAN) plays the lead.
The film, starring Rothschild as a strip club owner who finds herself over her head when a twenty-five-year-old debt to the mob comes back to haunt her, premiered at the Boston Underground Film Festival earlier this year.


“Director Orson Oblowitz’s feature debut is a wild ride through the underbelly of Los Angeles, blending genres in a shocking fashion and firmly establishing himself as a new promising talent” said Dark Star Pictures President Michael Repsch. “Playing like a love child of John Waters and Quentin Tarantino, THE QUEEN OF HOLLYWOOD BLVD. will resonate with audiences for years to come.”
“We are really excited to have found a home at Dark Star Pictures for THE QUEEN OF HOLLYWOOD BLVD.”, says writer/director Orson Oblowitz. “Michael Repsch is a true lover of film, devoted to getting great cinema to the masses and we knew with our movie it needed a distributor that was going to nurture it, as well as help set it apart in a saturated market place, Dark Star is that company.”
Playing over the film’s entrancing visuals of L.A is an electric soundtrack featuring such artists as Jimmy Lee, Lee Williams & The Cymbals, The Lovettes and Arlando King & The Earthquakes.
The film, also starring Ana Mulvoy Ten, Roger Guenveur Smith and the late Michael Parks (‘’Kill Bill’’, ‘’Red State’’) in his final film appearance, has its L.A premiere this week at Beyond Fest.
THE QUEEN OF HOLLYWOOD BLVD theatrical release begins October 12 in Los Angeles; the film will be available On Demand October 16.

On a final note –  to any aspiring independent filmmakers, podcasters or film related writers out there out there reading this, let me know if you’d like me to publicize and/or review your projects, The Stricken Land is always happy to promote new talent and ideas! And as ever, please feel free to share this post and any others on here that you like, far and wide.

Spread the Word!
Ian