Happy new year horrorfam! Hopefully the gods see fit to make 2021 a better year than the one we’ve all just endured. Let’s put building the wicker man and making those blood sacrifices on hold for the moment…
This first post of the year brings you good tidings in the form of British indie horror outfit Ash Mountain Film’s latest venture MASK OF THE DEVIL. A retro VHS era style horror that harks back to the era’s golden age in the 1980’s, the film is set to be directed by Ash Mountain’s head honcho Richard Rowntree (DOGGED, NEFARIOUS). MASK OF THE DEVIL will be Richard’s third independent full length feature, and he and the Ash Mountain crew need you help to make the film become a reality. It is currently 86% backed on Kickstarter, with just 7 days to go! Here’s the short link to the Kickstarter page where you can pledge. Just £15 gets you a digital download of the film, bargain! –
Hail there fellow film fiends! I hope everyone is having a splendid bank holiday, and taking the chance to kick back and enjoy some silver screen delights. September 9th is the date set for the worldwide release of Denis Villeneuve’s DUNE trailer, and anticipation is certainly high for the first look at the director’s take on Frank Herbert’s sprawling sci-fi vision.
While we are all waiting, I’ve got a whole barrel load of new and upcoming genre cinema for you all to peruse. So without further ado –
From Freedom Cinema, and director James Di Martino, comes face to face with THE FACELESSMAN this summer. Premiering on Demand August 28, the Australian horror film took home 6 major awards at the Melbourne Underground Film Festival including Best Director and Best Film. Emily is a recovering cancer survivor of three years. Faced with her fear of getting sick again, her best friend Nina plans a weekend away. Six friends venture out to a country holiday house to party over a weekend. Cut off from the rest of the world they soon learn the inhabitants are unsettling red neck individuals who terrorize and humiliate travelers. At the same time a para-normal monster seen as the faceless man haunts the house pushing the friends to their limits.
From writer/director James Di Martino, and featuring WOLF CREEK’s Andy McPhee, Roger Ward (MAD MAX), Lucas Pittaway (SNOWTOWN) and Sophie Thurling (COUNTER PLAY), THE FACELESS MAN haunts digital from August 28.
A group of sci-fi cosplayers get their shot to be real superheroes in director Nathan Letteer’s MONSTER FORCE ZERO. Featuring genre favorite Garret Wang (STAR TREK: VOYAGER), WWE and WCW wrestling legend Pat Tanaka, and sci-fi staple Heath C. Heine (JURASSIC THUNDER, DRAGON SOLDIERS), the action-packed sci-fi jaunt will be available On Demand this October from Wild Eye Releasing.
After their comic book dreams are crushed, a group of sci-fi cosplayers are granted superpowers and are transported into the multiverse to do real battle with evil alien forces bent on earth’s destruction.
Jeff Schneider’s captivating new horror film EVIL UNDER THE SKIN, starring Helen Udy (MY BLOODY VALENTINE, THE DEAD ZONE), arrives on DVD and Digital September 8.
A mother and daughter head off for a secluded weekend to reconnect but little do they know the sordid past of the home they’re staying in let alone the strangeness it attracts as they descend into madness.
Scripted by Luc Bernier, EVIL UNDER THE SKIN stars Helene Udy, Carl Bailey, Tim O’Hearn, Donna Hamblin, and Angela Barajas. Available on DVD and Digital 9/8 from Midnight Releasing.
Featuring a star-studded cast headlined by Tony Todd (CANDYMAN), Dylan Baker (HUNTERS), Robin Bartlett (SHUTTER ISLAND), Samm Levine (INGLOURIOUS BASTERDS), Vanessa Lengies (WAITING…), and Agnes Bruckner (THE WOODS), IMMORTAL – available for sale or rental on demand this September from Stonecutter Distribution. A chilling horror/thriller anthology film told in four chapters, Immortal boasts career-best performances from a cast that also includes Award-winning actor Mario Van Peebles (POSSE, NEW JACK CITY), Lindsay Mushett (BLUE BLOODS), and Jason Stuart (THE INFILTRATORS) with a talented ensemble of filmmakers consisting of Tom Colley, Jon Dabach, Danny Isaacs and Rob Margolies weaving the exhilarating crosspatch of thrills together. Thrown into the face of death only to emerge unharmed, the characters of Immortal are left staring at eternity in the face with uncertainty and fear like they’ve never imagined. The film follows Chelsea, a high school track star who comes clean about sexual misconduct with her coach only to find out her confession might be too late, Gary and Vanessa, a young, expecting married couple who scheme a morbid solution to their financial issues, Ted, a man filled with sorrow who agrees to euthanize his cancer-ridden wife Mary, and Warren, a young man with little direction in life who is forced to discover his new gifts after a tragic accident. IMMORTAL available for sale or rental on demand September 1 from Stonecutter Distribution.
Action superstar Danny Trejo stars in Pikchure Zero Entertainment’s new sci-fi action series PARAGON: THE SHADOW WARS.
In a world where Reapers take souls and demons bargain with humans for their place in the food chain, a new descendent named Jael has emerged. After centuries of civil unrest in the real world, a new war is waging amongst those who are seeking to create a new after-life and Jael finds herself in the middle of it. She must venture into the dark world of Soul Reaping and embrace her new role as the Paragon. Trejo, Amin Joseph, Franziska Schissler, Dilan Gwyn, Khu, and Justin Price star in a series, currently out to networks, that will encompass a 7-episode first season, with each 43-minute episode fixing on the human race dealing with the obliteration of Heaven. PARAGON is a sci-fi action series that follows the different factions of society as they deal with Heaven’s destruction. With only a small piece of the after-life to live for, everyone from Death himself is fighting to claim the Elysian for themselves.
“We have always loved the Sci-fi fantasy genre, and we wanted to create a series that explored one of the most intriguing questions of humanity. Where do we go when we die? And what would happen if Heaven no longer existed?”, says Justin Price, who is also a producer on the series alongside Khu and Franziska Schissler. Price adds, “Paragon is an edgier and grittier cable style series in the vein of FIREFLY and ALTERED CARBON. I believe we have an electric hybrid that explores the human spectrum of dealing with loss and love in a stylistic way. Danny Trejo is outstanding as Kincaid, the half-dead leader of disbanded reapers.”
WIDOW’S POINT, Gregory Lamberson’s highly-anticipated, award-winning adaptation of the book of the same name, premieres on DVD and Digital in the USA and Canada September 1 via 101 Films.
Craig Sheffer (A RIVER RUNS THROUGH IT, NIGHTBREED) leads the cast of the film, alongside KateLynn E. Newberry (HOMECOMING REVENGE). WIDOW’S POINT follows a writer who spends a weekend locked in a haunted lighthouse to help promote his next book, where he is targeted by supernatural forces. Richard Chizmar and Billy Chizmar, authors of the original source novel, adapted WIDOW’S POINT for the screen. The film had a successful festival run, including Shawna Shea Film Festival, where it won awards for ‘Best Feature’ and ‘Best Actor’ for Craig Sheffer, Crimson Scream Horror festival, where Craig also picked up ‘Best Actor’ award; LUSCA Caribbean International Fantastic and Twin Tiers International, where the film picked up the ‘Audience Award’. Widow’s Point was reviewed by Rue Morgue ‘’Sheffer contributes an outstanding display of on-screen insanity…an absolute thrill to witness.” Peter Straub, New York Times bestselling author of Ghost Story, Shadowland and Mr. X commented ‘’Greg Lamberson’s WIDOW’S POINT offers what is very nearly a solo showcase to Craig Scheffer, who responds with bellows and rants, mutters and whispers, and otherwise by strutting his stuff through this lively horror cut-up.” and Delirium Magazine ‘’Lamberson unleashes what may be his finest work to date – at least, his most elegant and restrained.…embedded in a haunted-lighthouse yarn that creeps under the skin and stays there.” WIDOW’S POINT will be available 9/1 on DVD and Digital via 101 Films.
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.
This week serves up a veritable cornucopia esoteric underground movie goodnes in the form of Indonesian zombie apocalypse flick ZETA, sci-fi satire AUTOMATION, along with old skool horror anthology NIGHTMARE RADIO, and topped off with a good old fashioned alien invasion flick in the form of director James Twyman’s INVASION EARTH. Read on…
Film Regions International (FRI) is announcing the release of ZETA a new foreign language horror film that the company has licensed for video-on-demand both in the United States and United Kingdom. The film was helmed by female first-time filmmaker Amanda Iswan and stars Indonesian actors Cut Mini, Dimas Aditya and Jeff Smith. The film is subtitled in English for the U.S. and U.K. territories.
ZETA tells the story about a Deon, a student in Jakarta, Indonesia who witnesses a strange incident at his school when a friend bites a nurse’s neck and becomes a raging cannibalistic flesh eater. Suddenly, he realizes the entire city has become ravaged by a zombie apocalypse caused by an amoeba Naegleria-Zeta parasite. Deon, along with his mother Isma, who is suffering early signs of Alzheimer’s, are forced to quarantine in their sky rise apartment and eventually team up with a rebel gang to get the best combat strategies against the zombie horde.
The film is currently available for rental or purchase on Amazon Prime Video and subsequent VOD platforms will follow soon.
AUTOMATION, a genre mash-up of ROBOCOP and THE OFFICE!
A workplace robot, AUTO, transforms into a killing machine when he discovers he will be replaced by a more efficient model. AUTO fears being terminated and will stop at nothing to prevent his own destruction. The human employees must band together to stop him before it’s too late.
Writer/Director Garo Setian – ‘It seems every day there is another news story or article concerning the threat of machines replacing people in the workplace. We are also seeing stories about the development of robots that can learn to behave more human by observing human behaviour.
So what would happen when a robot with this ability to learn, replaces humans in the workplace, but then faces the prospect of being replaced by more advanced technology? Our movie AUTOMATION is a cheeky take on this concept.
Our goal was to tell an interesting and timely story with characters the audience cares about. So despite the film being a satire of corporate cost cutting and planned obsolescence, there is a true heart to the movie in the relationship between Auto and Jenny.
We are so grateful to our talented cast and crew of pros who came together out of love for this script, and the desire to make something fun. We hope the audience finds AUTOMATION an entertaining 91 minutes that is funny, exciting, has a few surprises and is ultimately kind of moving.’
Release date TBC
10 of horror’s hottest rising filmmakers unite to tell 8 terrifying tales.
A NIGHT OF HORROR: NIGHTMARE RADIO, premiering on Demand and DVD September 1, is a new anthology from brothers Luciano Onetti and Nicolas Onetti. Joining the Onettis are filmmakers Sergio Morcillo, Joshua Long, Jason Bognacki, Adam O´Brien, Matt Richards, A.J. Briones, Pablo S. Pastor and Oliver Park.
Rod, radio DJ, hosts a popular horror-themed show packed with tales of terror for eager listeners. When he receives alarming calls from a horrified child things start to feel off. What ensues is a roller-coaster ride of horror stories…
Premiering in lounge rooms this August, an exhilarating new science-fiction thriller from director James Twyman, INVASION EARTH.
The story follows a group of addicts who attend therapy to avoid being sent to prison, while a TV journalist goes undercover and joins the group to try and expose this as a scam. However, all of their lives are thrown into chaos by the beginning of an alien invasion.
Charlotte Gould, Phoebe Delikoura, Tony Fadil, Jon-Paul Gates, Nigel Thijs, and David Shaw star in the critically acclaimed new film from James Twyman, only On Demand and DVD August 4 from Midnight Releasing.
Before you go, don’t forget to check out our new range of merch available here –
One 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.
Feast your eyes on this collection of upcoming celluloid awesomeness –
Now available On Demand, and coming soon to DVD (pre-order the DVD from Target), THE TENT is the latest film from award-winning filmmaker Kyle Couch.
Winner of multiple awards, and featuring an applauded turn from actor Tim Kaiser, the end-of-days thriller fixes on an apocalyptic event that leaves a man isolated and alone on the edge of the wilderness. Soon enough, another survivor emerges who disrupts the fragile balance of power. Lulu Dahl and Shelby Bradley co-star in THE TENT, available from Gravitas Ventures.
An apocalyptic event known as The Crisis has devastated David’s world leaving him to rely on survival tactics learned from childhood. Isolated and alone, David has taken refuge in a tent on the edge of the wilderness. Soon enough, another survivor emerges, Mary, who immediately begins questioning David’s tactics and ultimately putting them in the crosshairs of “Those Who Walk In Darkness”, unseen creatures that may or may not be responsible for The Crisis.
Sylvia, a lonely 20-something, goes searching for answers after her friend mysteriously vanishes in Whitehall, NY, an Adirondack town known for its Bigfoot sightings. She sets off with a mysterious, charming young woman, Alex, hellbent on getting to Whitehall for different reasons. Sylvia soon learns that hiding in the woods is an evil more sinister than she could ever imagine.
From director Bruce Wemple, and starring Anna Shields, Rachel Finninger, Grant Schumacher, Hannah McKechnie, Catharine Daddario, Dylan Grunn, Peter Stray, Rick Montgomery Jr., and Thomas Brazzle , MONSTROUS premieres On Demand and DVD August 11 from Uncork’d Entertainment.
A murderer finds himself on trial in Hell, caught between a bitter prosecutor and an inexperienced defense attorney.
With an electrifying cast also including Scottie Thompson (TWELVE MONKEYS), Richard Riehle (TRANSFORMERS: AGE OF EXTINCTION), Veronica Cartwright (ALIEN), Lew Temple (ONCE UPON A TIME…IN HOLLYWOOD), Mandela Van Peebles (JIGSAW) and Rebekah Kennedy (CRIMINAL MINDS), feel the heat this summer with LIMBO.
LIMBO, from writer/director Mark Young, premieres August 4 on DVD and Digital from Uncork’d Entertainment.
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.
Feast your eyes on this collection of upcoming celluloid glory –
The world of wrestling meets the bloody battlefields of horror in this July’s PARTS UNKNOWN. After losing their livelihoods, a crazed family of disgraced professional wrestlers embarks on a spree of murder and carnage to satisfy a deal made with a demonic entity from another dimension. William DeCoff, Alexandra Cipolla, and Sarah Michelle star in a Richard Chandler film! PARTS UNKNOWN. body slams onto DVD and Digital July 7 from Wild Eye Releasing.
Horror icon Jamie Bernadette (I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE: DEJA VU, 4/20 MASSACRE) stars in DEAD BY DAWN, from Uncork’d Entertainment.
A suicidal man in a remote cabin is suddenly faced with protecting a kidnapped woman from three killers and their sadistic games. Unable to contact the outside world and with night falling, he falls backs on creating traps to prevent the criminals from gaining entry. It’s a fight to the death where only the strongest will survive until dawn.
From director Sean Cain, and co-starring Drew Lindsey Mitchell, Kelcey Watson, Bo Burroughs, Timothy Muskatell, Bobby Slaski, Detra Hicks, and Skylar Dominique, DEAD BY DAWN available on DVD and Digital now.
Micah Lyons, Tom Sizemore (HEAT, SAVING PRIVATE RYAN) and Glenn Morshower (24, FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS) star in white-knuckle action-thriller THE RUNNERS, premiering this summer On Demand and DVD.
After losing their parents in a car accident, Ryan must raise his rebellious teenage sister, Zoe. One night, Zoe sneaks out to a party and is abducted by a charming older boy who intends to sell her to the cartel for human trafficking. Now, Ryan and his best friend have just hours to track them down and save her before she is sold and dragged across the Mexican border, never to be seen again.
From directors Joey Loomis and Micah Lyons, and starring Micah Lyons, Netty Leach, Joey Loomis, Tom Sizemore, Neal McCoy, Glenn Morshower, Jason Peter Kennedy, and Swayde McCoy, THE RUNNERS is available 7/14 on DVD and Digital from Uncork’d Entertainment.
ALL HAIL THE POPCORN KING paints a vivid picture of award-winning author and screenwriter Joe R. Lansdale who’s written over 50 novels and 500 short stories including BUBBA HO-TEP and COLD IN JULY. Joe is also a Master in Martial Arts and created his own technique. He’s well known for his unique voice andhis generosity and support of other writers and filmmakers.
Filmmaker Hansi Oppenheimer chronicles the life and career of the Lone Star State’s “writer of the purple rage” (The Austin Chronicle), the acclaimed documentary also features new interviews with the likes of Bruce Campbell, James Purefoy, Joe Hill, Don Coscarelli, Mick Garris, Del Howison, Amber Benson, novelist David J. Schow and former Fangoria editor Tony Timpone.
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.
A hail and hearty hello to all you horror hombres and hombrettes out there on this bright and fresh Monday morning! I’ve been hibernating during these end times frantically homeschooling while recruiting a mad scientist from a Charles Band flick to engineer me a machine that can make time. On the up side I’ve racked up a fine store of new flicks from the b-movie barrio for you lots to feat your bleary eyes over while downing your overpriced high street coffee –
OUIJA SHARK HAS ARRIVED! From Wild Eye Pictures and director Scott Patrick comes Ouija Shark, taking a bite out of VOD and DVD this May. A group of teenage girls summon an ancient man-eating shark after messing with a spirit board that washes up on the beach. An occult specialist must enter the shark’s realm to rid this world of the deadly spirit ghost once and for all. We’re gonna need a bigger board. John Migliore, Robin Hodge, Christina Roman and Zoe Towne star in the best possessed shark film of the year!
Ouija Shark is now available on DVD and Digital.
Supernatural’s Richard Speight Jr demands to be DRIVEN this June! Emerson Graham’s nights as a cab driver are filled with annoyances and inconveniences, but until tonight, never attacks and disappearances. After picking up a mysterious passenger her evening goes from working a job to performing a quest as they must race against the clock to stop demons from invading the world. Casey Dillard wrote and stars in a film by Glenn Payne, co-starring Richard Speight Jr (SUPERNATURAL, BAND OF BROTHERS), Jessica Harthcock (ENDER’S GAME), Nicholas Roylance (PUNISHMENT!), Andy Field (AVENGERS:ENDGAME), Bill Luckett (BATTLECREEK), and Leah Hudspeth (THE RESIDENT).
DRIVEN is available on DVD and Digital from Uncork’d Entertainment.
From the makers of THE COVENANT and EMINENCE HILL, BATTLEFIELD 2025 is available this summer On Demand. Weekend campers, an escaped convict, young lovers and a police officer experience a night of terror when a hostile visitor from another world descends on a small Arizona town. Jose Rosete, Anna Harr, Dustin Leighton, Caleb Thomas, Alaina Laethem, Adam Michael Gold, and Titus Covington star in a Joseph Mbah film, releasing July 7 on digital from Uncork’d Entertainment
THE CRAFT meets SUSPIRIA in the bewitching COVEN, set to spellbind audiences on DVD and Digital this summer.
Five undergrad witches come together in order to perform a ritual to invoke the ancient powers of the witch Ashura. The leader of the coven gets carried away and accidentally kills one of the witches during the ritual. She needs the strength of a complete coven to invoke Ashura’s powers and sends them out to find a final witch. As she absorbs power the surviving girls plot to take her down but the possessed witch unleashes hell on campus with only one young witch left to stop her.
Lizze Gordon, Jennifer Cipolla,, Margot Major, Adam Horner, and Terri Ivens star in a Margaret Malandruccolo film, COVEN on DVD and Digital July 14 from Uncork’d Entertainment.
Michael W.Bachochin’s highly-anticipated Psychodrama/science-fiction feature PARALLAXreleases in theatres this summer. A young artist wakes up in a life that she doesn’t recognise, spending her time asleep haunted by nightmares of drowning in a black abysmal void. As she begins to uncover the truths of the life that she’s found herself in, the gravity of her failing reality weighs heavily on her psychological identity and the reliability of her sanity is called into question. Naomi Prentice, Nelson Ritthaler, Hattie Smith and Ted Gianopulos star. PARALLAX, written and directed by Michael W.Bachochin, is produced by Bachochin, Brooke Lorraine and Yuself Baig. Parallax opens in US theatres July 10.
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.
Hail there fellow film fiends! The first new post of the year, so a belated happy new year from me! Lots to look forwards to this year, not least the long anticipated reimagining of Frank Herbert’s sci-fi classic DUNE from Denis Villeneuve. The project looks very promising judging from what little has leaked online, the director looks to have lined up a top notch cast in what will be a two film adaptation of the novel, the first part of which will release in November. On the horror side, the genre has had an underwhelming start to the year with the BLACK CHRISTMAS remake, UNDERWATER and the latest GRUDGE entry all underperforming. Out of all these the Kristen Stewart vehicle UNDERWATER looks the most interesting, but it seems to have been withdrawn form the circuit already so I’ll have to wait for the Amazon release to review it. Shades of VHS classics like DEEPSTAR SIX and LEVIATHAN, both of which I always loved, so I’ll look forwards to that. Looking forwards on the site, I have lots of content lined up with reviews of Brit director Richard Rowntree’s NEFARIOUS, his follow up to 2017’s understated folk horror DOGGED, 80’s retro horror HOUSE OF THE DEVIL and BEYOND THE GATES, along features on Charles Band classics like RAGEWAR and METALSTORM: THE DESTRUCTION OF JARED-SYN. Watch this space and subscribe to get new content in your inbox!
Now that I’ve whetted your appetite, feast your eyeballs on this boatload of new and upcoming I’ve sought out from the cinematic depths –
From director Stephen Gallacher, and in the tradition of HARD TARGET and THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME, comes the nail-biting crime thriller NOTHING MAN. Available January 14 2020 on DVD and Digital, the film stars Daniel Hall as Noam, a frightened amnesiac who has taken himself away from society, living life as a homeless man. When his only friend is murdered in cold blood, Noam sets out in search of justice and truth, but at the cost of unlocking his own checkered past.
Jennifer Jordan, Ric Vince and Tony Goodall co-star in a Stephen Gallacher film, out now from High Octane Pictures.
This January, the sky opens for an almighty battle between good and evil. This Valentine’s Day, Cupid is shooting straight for the…heart.
Writer/director Scott Jeffrey presents the horrifying true story of Venus and Mars’s offspring. Everyone knows the legend of Cupid.. But do they know his dark side? After being horrendously embarrassed by the mean girls at school, Faye, a practicing witch, summons the evil Cupid to take revenge on all those who wronged her. On Valentine’s Day Cupid does in fact rise and will stop at nothing until the walls are covered in blood. The students must figure out a way to stop Cupid and undo the spell before their hearts get broken…very literally. Georgina Jane, Bao Tieu, Michael Owusu, Abi Casson Thompson and Sarah T. Cohen star in a Scott Jeffrey written/directed film, produced by Jeffrey and Rebecca Matthews (PET GRAVEYARD).
CUPID will be released on DVD and Digital February 11 from Uncork’d Entertainment.
From writer/director Harley Wallen, and featuring genre icons Laurene Landon (MANIAC COP) and Yan Birch (THE PEOPLE UNDER THE STAIRS), AGRAMON’S GATE premieres On Demand February 11.
A psychic reader and Medium is invited to a party. Something goes very wrong and something comes over from the other side to haunt the people from the party. They must solve the mystery before it’s too late. Agramon will not be easy to stop. Also starring Kris Reilly, Calhoun Koenig, Harley Wallen and Kaiti Wallen, AGRAMON’S GATE will be available on digital platforms 2/11 from Midnight Releasing.
Martin Gooch’s award-winning sci-fi epic ATOMIC APOCALYPSE premieres On Demand and Disc this February from High Octane Pictures
Described by critics as both an “absolute joy” (CNN) and “eccentric & effervescent” (Projected Figures), the electrifying film is set a post-apocalyptic world where a woman fights to survive and be reunited with her family. In Post Apocalyptic North America, one family fights for survival in this sci-i road trip of epic proportions in a nightmare world without gasoline, electricity, or humanity.
Sheltered mother Kate (Krista DeMille, Best Actress IIFA, SIFF, BSFFF) loses her injured survivalist husband Sam (Ron Roggé, 13 REASONS WHY, STRANGER THINGS) and love struck daughter Suzi (Andrea Sweeney Blanco) in a matter of days after they join handsome loner Joe (Jesus Lloveras) in search of a rumored hidden nuclear bunker full of food and medicine. Suddenly alone and lost, Kate fights to stay alive and reunite with her family. Nature will survive. Would we?
Following its world premiere screening at Sitges International Film Festival, and numerous award wins around the globe, ATOMIC APOCALYPSE comes home to digital and disc February 4.
There’s horror under the roof at this deadly domicile. From Three Hair Production and One Chameleon Entertainment comes A PERFECT HOST releasing February 4 on DVD and Digital by Uncork’d Entertainment.
In director Chad Werner’s film, a group of friends rent an isolated lake house owned by a fitness obsessed man with mysterious intentions. Four friends rent an isolated lake house for a weekend getaway. While the dramas of the friends’ relationships unfold, they are continually interrupted by the home’s owner: a health-obsessed bodybuilder named Tad. Throughout the group’s short stay, Tad’s seemingly affable gestures take an eerie and sinister twist, turning their dream vacation into a nightmare. Mystery entangles this tale that questions the blind acceptance of modern-day practices.
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 please feel free to share this post and any others on here that you like.
Good morning fellow film fiends! What a week has just gone by, with both TERMINATOR: DARK FATE and DOCTOR SLEEP both underperforming at the box office. I’m not massively surprised over the former’s poor performance given it’s mix of tired plot recycling and Hollywood virtue signalling. I’ll admit to being a TERMINATOR purist (I detest the happy ending of T2) but now even the Austrian Oak has gone woke and served up a ‘domesticated’ time travelling killer cyborg, audiences turned out to be predictably non-plussed. Maybe the studios may wake up and smell the non fairtrade coffee now the box office receipts are in. DOCTOR SLEEP on the other hand seems to have been welcomed by critics but largely ignored by audiences, perhaps being crushed by being released in the shadow of the JOKER movie juggernaut. I suspect Mike Flanagan’s SHINING sequel may find more appreciation once it hits the home viewing market. He’s a talented director who deserves to go far.
But never fear, The Stricken Land is here to cheer you up by bringing you all the lowdown on all the best new celluloid schlock newly populating the bottom shelf of the virtual video emporium! This week we’ve got a bumper crop, with creature features, survival horror, high concept sf, fantasy epics and a creepy killer kid flick thrown in for good measure –
Emiliano Ranzani’s BLOOD BAGS, a modern take on classic Italian horror cinema, premieres on DVD and Digital this December.A creature stalks the corridors of an abandoned mansion. Two friends break in and discover that all exits have been sealed off and the creature that hunts them is growing hungry for their blood; there is no escape.From director Emiliano Ranzani, and starring Makenna Guyler (THE BARGE PEOPLE), Emanuele Turetta, and Marta Tananyan, BLOOD BAGS premieres December 3 on DVD and Digital from High Octane Pictures.
Jerome Pikwane’s bloodcurdling ode to the mythological creature THE TOKOLOSHE set to spook audiences this December.
Uncork’d Entertainment will release THE TOKOLOSHE, director Jerome Pikwane’s frightening fictional account of the mythological creature, on digital platforms and disc 3rd December 2019.
Busi, a young destitute woman with dangerously repressed emotions, lands a job as a cleaner at a rundown hospital in the heart of Johannesburg. Desperate for the money so she can bring her younger sister to Johannesburg, she must cope despite the predatory and corrupt hospital manager. When Busi discovers an abandoned young girl in the hospital, who believes she is tormented by a supernatural force, Busi must face her own demons from her past in order to save the child from the abusive monster that pursues them both relentlessly.
In the tradition of THE DARK TOWER, and from the studio that brought you THE JURASSIC GAMES, open the book one the most thrilling fantasy adventure of the year!
From visionary filmmaker Erik Flynn Patton (producer, THE LEGEND OF BEN HALL), an adventure-laden pre-holiday treat that plays like a fantastical, dazzling love letter to THE PRINCESS BRIDE and Stephen King’s THE DARK TOWER.
When the great sorceress Kaeis captured by a mysterious enemy, her young followers devise a plan to rescue her. Jenny Sterlin, Brandon Tyler Harris, and Taylor Rose star.
TOWER OF SILENCE on DVD and Digital December 3rd from High Octane Pictures.
Omri Dorani’s caravan of suspense THIS IS OUR HOME premieres on DVD and Demand this December from Uncork’d Entertainment.
Jeff Ayars and Simone Policano star in the chilling account of a struggling couple who, during a weekend getaway, are greeted in the middle of the night by a child claiming to be their son.Scripted by Robert Harmon, THIS IS OUR HOME is a “measured piece of psychological horror that will follow you home” (Horror Buzz), hitting disc and digital December 3.
Some of today’s biggest names unite with a selection of today’s most visually-gifted filmmakers for a unique cinematic experience that crosses 5 GALAXIES
An assemblage of futuristic, high concept stories about artificial intelligence, 5 Galaxies features Pom Klementieff (GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY), Eric Roberts (THE DARK KNIGHT) and Neil Jackson (SLEEPY HOLLOW) in in a powerful profusion of science-fiction, featuring segments from such visionary filmmakers as Nelson Lee, Kristen Hilkert, Amir Reichart, Vitaly Verlov and Marc-Henri Boulier.Whether its love found in time of over-population or exploration of the unknown and space-travel, 5 GALAXIES has a bit of something for every fan of the genre.Available on DVD and Digital December 10th from Uncork’d Entertainment.
From the director of CLOWNTERGEIST, and from the studio that brought you THE JURASSIC GAMES and ESCAPE FROM CANNIBAL FARM, comes the most controversial horror release of 2019.
A group of friends is torn apart when they become part of two human hunter’s sick game. The men give them ten minutes to hide, and then the real hunt begins.Written and directed by Aaron Mirtes, and starring Lacy Hartselle, Taylor Novak, and Allison Shrum, AMERICAN HUNT begins December 3 on DVD and Digital from High Octane Pictures.
Sandi Somers’ award-winning frozen-frightfest ICE BLUE premieres this November On Demand.
Michelle Morgan (DIARY OF THE DEAD, BATWOMAN), Sophia Lauchlin Hirt (BAD TIMES AT THE EL ROYALE) and Billy MacLellan (STAR TREK : DISCOVERY) star in an atmospheric chiller that will rattle audiences to the core.When home-schooled Arielle’s long-estranged mother mysteriously returns to their isolated family farm, it drives a wedge into her seemingly-perfect relationship with her father and reveals a chilling, dark past.ICE BLUE, scripted by Jason Long, is available now On Demand.
A camping trip goes horribly wrong in writer/director Paul Anthony Rogers’ unnerving CRYPSIS, available On Demand and on DVD December 17 from Uncork’d Entertainment.
A group of friends make a bet to survive on an island. Unbeknownst to them, a mysterious old creature begins hunting them throughout the night. What began as an innocent bet quickly turns into a fight for survival. As night falls, this becomes a fight to the death that no one had anticipated.Rogers co-stars alongside Michael Armata, Anthony Hoang, Jordan Mitchell-Love and Eddie Nason in a pulse-racing profusion of STRANGER THINGS and PREDATOR.
This November, Christian Oliver (SENSE8, HOUSE OF GOOD & EVIL) and Larisa Oleynik (MAD MEN, 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU) come face to face with hirsute terror in John Woodruff’s highly-anticipated horror throwback, ANIMAL AMONG US.
Fifteen years ago, two teenage girls were murdered at Merrymaker Campgrounds. The case was filed as an animal attack, the camp was condemned, and the killer never found. But something horrific still waits in those woods, ready to kill again. Don Frye, Christine Donlon, Jonathan Murphy, Erin Daniels, Heather Tom, Jasmine Dustin, and Whitney Davis star in a film by John Woodruff.Written by Jonathan Murphy. Produced by Murphy and Woodruff. FRIDAY THE 13TH meets DOG SOLDIERS in ANIMAL AMONG US, available on VOD and DVD November 19 from Uncork’d Entertainment..
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 please feel free to share this post and any others on here that you like, far and wide.
Good morning fellow discerning film fans! Feast those tired Monday morning retinas on the following upcoming goodness soon to emerge from the primordial soup of the cinematic underbelly –
This October “It simply doesn’t get much better than the two Bills” (Pop Horror) as horror icons Bill Moseley (THE DEVIL’S REJECTS) and Bill Oberst, Jr (3 FROM HELL) team for director Jeff Broadsteet’s “Jolly” bloody horror epic Devil’s Junction : Handy Dandy’s Revenge. The J.S Brinkley-scripted Halloween treat sees a shuttered TV studio in Detroit haunted by a magician ventriloquist from a 1960’s children’s show, and he’s looking for a new live, or dead, studio audience. Jeff Broadsheet (NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD 3D) directs genre vets Bill Moseley (Rob Zombie’s THE DEVIL’S REJECTS, 3 FROM HELL) and Bill Oberst, Jr. (3 FROM HELL, DEATH HOUSE) alongside Jake Red, Cody Cameron, Arthur Marroquin, Danni Spring, Kyle Anderson and Katelynn Newberry. Returning to the abandoned Detroit television station where they once delighted a generation of children viewers, master puppeteer Mister Jolly re-incarnates his minion puppets for a final performance to settle an old score with Richard. The rare blood moon casts an ominous glow as Mr Jolly unleashes his puppets, lead by the infamous Handy Dandy to seek his revenge. Further complicating Richard’s dilemma is the unexpected arrival to the Studio of his son Steffen and his friends. The group become entangled in the thrilling pursuit by Mr Jolly and Handy Dandy through the annuls of the old studio building. They soon realize that they are in a new version of “Mister Jolly and the Handy Dandy Show” -where pain is the game!
Writer/director Anthony M. Winson’s classy creepfest THE BAYLOCK RESIDENCE premieres on DVD and Digital this September from Wild Eye Releasing. THE CONJURING meets DOWNTON ABBEY in a goosebump-inducing haunted house flick now available!
After the death of her sister, Patricia inherits her family’s estate and soon discovers that something or someone has been haunting the home for decades and harbors a disturbing family secret that she must uncover. Kelly Goudie, Sarah Wynne Kordas and Lindsay Foster help make up the cast.
GLOBAL DIGITAL RELEASING has acquired the worldwide rights to writer / director Anderson Cowan’s feature film debut, GROUPERS.
The film centers around two all-American high school jocks Brad and Dylan (Peter Mayer-Klepchick and Cameron Duckett) who are out for a night on the town when they are approached by the beautiful and seductive Meg (Nicole Dambro) at a local bar. Ready for what they hope will be a night to remember, the guys are subsequently kidnapped, drugged and awaken tied up face to face in an abandoned pool in the middle of nowhere. Absurdity and insanity ensue as we learn that Orin (Jesse Pudles), Meg’s overly flamboyant brother has been the target of Brad and Dylan’s homophobic bullying and that Meg is actually a grad student who plans to perform a psychological and somewhat sadistic experiment on them as part of her thesis, which poses the question, “is homosexuality a choice”. The Cinequest Film Festival referred to the film in its 2019 line up as “a rare, highly original, and super-charged dark comedy that will keep you guessing and contemplating the provocative, yet crucial themes at its essence”. “This is an important film”, stated Global Digital Releasing President Joe Dain. “Homophobia has always been an issue in our society but with the current administration and the potential roll backs of LGBTQ protections in this country, it’s not only timely but Anderson effectively tackles the subject matter in a dark, humorous, yet thought provoking and entertaining way that we believe will resonate with audiences and we wanted to give it the opportunity to garner the attention we feel it deserves.”
The frightening HELLMINGTON from writer-directors Justin Hewitt-Drakulic and Alex Lee Williams is out now on on DVD and Digital. Genre icon Michael Ironside (TOTAL RECALL, TOP GUN, TURBO KID) and Shadowhunters’ Nicola Correia-Damude star.
In 1999, outside the sleepy town of Hellmington, troubled high school senior Katie Owens mysteriously vanished. Nine years later, Detective Samantha Woodhouse, a former classmate of Katie’s, returns to Hellmington for the first time since graduation to deal with the unexpected death of her father. His passing just another tragedy in an already devastating year for Sam: her own daughter was murdered, resulting in a downward spiral of anguish and guilt that has slowly destroyed her marriage and career. Sam soon discovers that her father’s demise is one in a series of suspicious deaths over the last several years, and it appears that the grisly fatalities are becoming more frequent. Even more alarming, every victim circles back to the troubled Katie Owens. Battling hallucinations, insomnia and her own personal demons, Sam struggles to uncover the disturbing truth of what really happened to Katie Owens; a mystery that will lead her to a secretive, centuries-old cult of revenge.
The film they’re calling ‘Blair Witch on Bikes’, Artist’s Rights Distribution presents Matt Wohl’s unique nail-biting indie thriller SCOOTER.
The Three Amigoes are life-long best friends and partners in crime. They became internet famous after their YouTube channel went viral. Each episode of their antics has them undertaking some ridiculous challenge. From racing cars to tricycles and from the waters of the South Atlantic to the bottom of a swimming pool, there’s no challenge too stupid. Like a pack of cats, they always land on their feet. The Amigoes latest challenge is to ride scooters from Miami to New Orleans. Each person has $1000 to get a scooter, pay for gas, food, and lodging. After they select their vehicles and pack their bags, it’s time to hit the road. They soon find that their 50CC scooters are no match of I-95, and they retreat to the side roads to continue their epic 900 mile journey. While the road is smoother, the trip gets a lot bumpier. One of the scooters break down, the friends start to fight amongst each other, and their troubles reach a climax when they witness and video a murder. Stuck in rural Florida with two working scooters, they have little hope of escape, and the killer is hot on their trail. What was once a leisurely trip becomes a fight for survival. They end up captured, tortured, and it’s clear they won’t all survive. When those who are sworn to protect you are the problem, where do you turn? Will they all die in a small backwater town, or can they once again defy the odds and come out alive?
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.
Good morning film fiends! Feast your eyeballs on the triple whammy of trashy cinematic greatness I’ve served up below and wile away those Monday morning blues on the grey drudgery of the morning commute. Rejoice I say and remember it’s just another five days till the weekend…
This October, you’re not even safe on the Sofa!
From filmmaker Bernardo Rao, comes the most ridiculously entertaining horror jaunt of the year, KILLER SOFA on DVD and Digital from High Octane Pictures.
ELECTRIC DREAMS meets CHRISTINE in the heart-warmingly horrific chronicle of a killer Lazy Boy that falls in love with a girl – and the bloody carnage that follows as a result!
Francesca always attracted weirdos. When one of her stalkers is found dead, she looks for comfort from her best friend, Maxi. Meanwhile, Maxi’s grandfather, Jack, a disgraced Rabbi, comes across a reclining chair containing a Dybbuk inside. Jack and his voodoo sorceress partner try to find out where the recliner has been delivered while exploring Jack’s newfound gift for communicating with the other world. Meanwhile the reclining chair becomes enchanted by Francesca and starts committing crimes of passion.
Jed Brophy (THE HOBBIT), Sarah Munn, Stacy King, and Harley Neville star in a horror treat straight out of New Zealand, available October
The book opens on Krisstian de Lara’s spine-tingling Investigation 13 with Uncork’d Entertainment announcing a digital and DVD release for September 10.
Screen icon Meg Foster (LORDS OF SALEM, THE STEPFATHER 2, THEY LIVE) stars in director Krisstian de Lara’s mesmerizingly unnerving INVESTIGATION 13, premiering on digital and DVD this September from Uncork’d Entertainment.
Incorporating traditional narrative story-telling, as well as numerous forms of pioneering technology, including found footage, hand-held cameras, surveillance cameras, and smart glasses, INVESTIGATION 13 is a new-age fright-fest chronicling the tale of a group of college science students investigating the urban legend of The Mole Man, an ex-patient said to still be residing within the walls of the Black Grove Asylum. When members of the group start missing, they soon learn that this myth is more real than they thought, making this 13th investigation one they will come to regret.
From Gorilla Studios, INVESTIGATION 13 also stars Stephanie Hernandez, Patrick Flanagan, Robert Paget, William Alexander, Giordan Diaz, Jesse Ramos and Peter Aratari as ‘The Mole Man’.
Clay Smith wrote the original screenplay, Rolando Vinas and de Lara wrote the most recent version.
INVESTIGATION 13 On VOD and DVD September 10 from Uncork’d Entertainment.
New artwork and a trailer have been released for ONCE UPON A TIME IN DEADWOOD, the new revenge western feature starring Robert Bronzi (recent hit DEATH KISS) and Michael Pare (STREETS OF FIRE) that comes out October 1st in the U.S.
ONCE UPON A TIME IN DEADWOOD concerns a notorious gunslinger who is slipped a slow-acting poison by an heiress and told he has three days to track down and rescue her sister, who has been kidnapped by a band of hoodlums and holds the antidote. Rene Perez directs from his screenplay, with Jeff Miller (THE TOYBOX) also contributing.
Bronzi plays the gunslinger. Pare plays the main villain. The cast is rounded out with Karin Brauns (PLAYING WITH DOLLS series), Lauren Compton (CLOWNTOWN), actor-model Chris Matteis, J.D. Angstadt, Jose Varela Garcia, Justin Hawkins, Tony Jackson, and Sierra Sherbundy.
The movie was filmed in California as well as in Western Leone, near Almeria, Spain, site of much of the filming of the famous Sergio Leone/Charles Bronson western ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST.
Miller (who produced the recent DEATH KISS, which Perez directed, as well as the recent thriller THE RUSSIAN BRIDE) is producing with Ronnie D. Lee (THE TOYBOX, OUIJA HOUSE) through their companies Millman Productions and Ron Lee Productions, respectively.
“If you liked DEATH KISS, you’ll love Bronzi again delivering his brand of justice,” says Miller. “We filmed at recognizable locations where Bronson stood 50 years ago on the classic ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST, and I can’t wait for fans to check out this latest chapter in our series of films with Bronzi.”
ONCE UPON A TIME IN DEADWOOD comes out in the U.S. on October 1st on digital and on November 19th on dvd. Uncork’d Entertainment is handling distribution in North America and international sales.
For more information and updates, please visit the film’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/onceuponatimeindeadwood
Festival News
With this year’s FrightFest now passed, there are two more annual UK film festivals for horror hounds and cult movie mavens to make a beeline for – Grimmfest 2019 in Manchester, and Mayhem in sunny old Nottingham town.
Grimmfest 2020 has already announced it’s line up for this year’s event with one of the highlights been the announcement that the Soska Sisters will be attending showcasing their reimagining of the 70’s lo-fi Cronenberg classic RABID. Other flicks lined up include SHE NEVER DIED, director Audrey Cummings female centric follow up to the 2015 Henry Rollins vehicle HE NEVER DIED, Australian WWII set creature feature BLOOD VESSEL and outrageous splatter-satire, SATANIC PANIC, from first-time director, Chelsea Stardust and Fangoria Films and loads more. Horror icon and all round great lady Barbara Crampton heads the jury with 14 awards including BEST FEATURE FILM, BEST SHORT FILM, BEST DIRECTOR, BEST SFX and BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY, up for grabs with prizes that include over £120,000 worth of post – production support.
For more information on this great festival visit http://grimmfest.com/grimmupnorth/2019/09/grimmfest-2019-schedule/
As well as continuing to make much hay out of its association with medieval armed robbery, Nottingham is also home to The Broadway cinema which hosts the annual Mayhem Film Festival every October. Billed as a showcase for the best features and short films in horror, sci-fi and cult cinema, through premieres, previews, and special events, this year sees HARDWARE director Richard Stanley’s HP Lovecraft adaptation COLOR OUT OF SPACE, nightmarish sci-fi VIVARIUM starring Jesse Eisenberg and Imogen Poots (CENTURION), haunted house thriller GIRL ON THE THIRD FLOOR and twisted suspense thrillers DOOR LOCK and COME TO DADDY.
Two classocs dusted down and brought out of the archive are Nicolas Cage’s VAMPIRE’S KISS and the crinminally underrated late VHS era classic THE HIDDEN.
For more information on this joyful celebration of everything cinematically weird and horrific visit http://www.mayhemfilmfestival.com/news/2019/09/mayhem-film-festival-reveals-full-line-up-for-2019-edition
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.
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