Morning film fiends!

Here I am to ward off those Monday morning blues with a slate of under the radar bad movie goodness –

A man of the cloth turns Jurassic in Wild Eye Releasing’s THE VELOCIPASTOR – coming later this year from the reputable genre label!After a devastating family tragedy, a priest travels to China to find deeper spirituality, but instead is endowed with an ancient ability that allows him to turn into a dinosaur. At first, he is horrified by his newfound superpower, but a local prostitute convinces him to use his newfound gift to fight evil – and ninjas.

https://youtu.be/7Nyb0GqAjKM

Gregory James Cohan, Alyssa Kempinski, Daniel Steere, Yang Jiechang, Jesse Turits, Fernando Pacheco de Castro star with Aurelio Voltaire in the Wild Eye Releasing title.

Devilworks Drops poster and Trailer for UK Supernatural Horror ‘The Young Cannibals’ from writer/director duo Kris Carr and Sam Fowler. 
 Starring Megan Purvis and Hannah Louise Howell, this fast-paced horror follows a group of friends as they arrive at a secluded campsite, where they plan on spending a relaxing weekend by the lake. What they didn’t plan on, was being tricked into eating burgers made of human flesh. This act summons an unrelenting supernatural creature, which hunts them down one by one.

https://youtu.be/i8AjG4uXgJY

The film was produced by Charlie Pride for Bad Taste Pictures.
Devilworks is representing Worldwide rights and will start to sell at the upcoming Cannes 

Juan Frausto, director of Road Kill and Once Upon a Time in the Hood, invites you to log on for a streaming screamfest that will leave one girl possessed… and you on the edge of your seat!
 Playing with a Ouija board is dangerous, and college student Rebecca Clarkson (Katherine Munroe) is now documenting the proof, as day by day a demon takes possession of her while a webcam audience watch the horrific event.

https://youtu.be/ZdzKuBS5jNQ

Eileen Dietz (The Exorcist), Johnny Ortiz (Peppermint), Noel Gugliemi (“Fresh Off The Boat”), Monica Engesser (“Crazy in Love”), and Delilah Cotto (Empire) star alongside James Russo and Katherine Munroe in The Possession Diaries, on DVD and Digital June 4, 2019 from Uncork’d Entertainment.

Connect with Crisis Hotline, from acclaimed filmmaker Mark Schwab, this June from High Octane Pictures.

A cynical counselor at a crisis hotline finds himself in a life or death situation when a young man calls and threatens to kill three people and then himself.

https://youtu.be/73yyrfLfoQI

Corey Jackson, Christian Gabriel and Pano Tsaklas star.
Written and directed by Mark Schwab, and produced by Diamond in the Rough Films, Crisis Hotlinearrives on digital and DVD June 11.

Documentary Examines Beloved, Sometimes Demonized, Children’s Horror Book Series 

            Los Angeles, California – Scary Stories, the highly anticipated documentary about Alvin Schwartz’ iconic Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark book series, will debut in select theaters beginning April 26 via Wild Eye Releasing.
Explore the history of one of the most controversial works of modern children’s literature: The best selling teen classic Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark, which scared a generation of young readers and became one of the most banned books of modern times. Scary Stories creates both the ultimate celebration and dissertation of this iconic piece of horror literature.

Following the limited theatrical release – which includes Los Angeles, New Orleans, Columbus, and Texas – Scary Stories will be available on VOD May 7 with a DVD release set for July 16.
Cody Meirick’s film features more than 40 interviews, from family members of author Alvin Schwartz, to fellow children’s book horror authors like R.L Stine (Goosebumps) and Q.L. Pearce, to folklorists, artists and fans discussing the impact that the books have had on both themselves as well as the culture at large. The documentary also explores the various times in which the books were banned or targeted by parent and religious groups as ‘satanic’ or otherwise too macabre for its targeted teen scholastic audience.

https://youtu.be/d2n5NSJNe9A

Penned by Schwartz and illustrated by Stephen Gammell, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark is a three-volume series consisting of short horror stories for pre-teens and children that were adapted from American folklore and urban legends.  Because of some of the violent illustrations and the subject matter, parent groups, religious organizations and school boards had the books pulled from libraries and schools at various times. A feature film adaptation of the books, produced by horror icon Guillermo del Toro, is due in theaters this summer. 

Good morning film fiends!
Who doesn’t love dinosaurs? If you’re feeling in need of some tasty hors d’oeuvres before the main course of this summer’s JURASSIC WORLD: FALLEN KINGDOM, look no further than  Uncork’d Entertainment’s THE JURASSIC GAMES clawing its way on to VOD this June –

Win the games. Win Your freedom. Every year, 10 of the world’s most lethal death row criminals are chosen to compete for their freedom in The Jurassic Games, a television show where contestants must survive against a variety of ferocious dinosaurs.  The players all die gruesomely in the game zone except for one, the last one standing, the winner, who is granted not only his freedom, but fame and fortune. Survive the dinosaurs. Survive each other. Survive…The Jurassic Games.

Starring Ryan Merriman (FINAL DESTINATION 3) and Perrey Reeves (ENTOURAGE), the film imagines a world set in the near future wherein ten Death Row convicts are chosen to compete in The Jurassic Games, the ultimate virtual reality game show that pits its players against dinosaurs and each other. However, there is a catch… If you die in the virtual game, you also die in reality; and for Anthony Tucker (Adam Hampton), survival is his one chance to be reunited with his children after having been wrongfully imprisoned for the murder of his wife. As the devious The Host continues adding improbable challenges, the characters will find the odds stacked against them as only one victor can emerge as winner and reclaim their freedom.

THE JURASSIC GAMES is the third film from Emmy Award-winning director Ryan Bellgardt (GREMLIN, ARMY OF FRANKENSTEINS). 

THE JURASSIC GAMES will be available on Digital 6/12 and DVD 7/3 (US release dates)

Fan favourite Lance Henriksen stars alongside THE SHAPE OF WATER’s Doug Jones in GEHENNA: WHERE DEATH LIVES, the feature directorial debut of celebrated effects master Hiroshi Katagiri (JURASSIC PARK III, PACIFIC RIM), who also provides the film’s impressive effects, GEHENNA co-stars Eva Swan, Simon Phillips, and Justin Gordon.

Encompassing horror, suspense and a twist that will blow your mind, GEHENNA fixes on five people who enter a hidden bunker from World War 2, only to realise it’s way more than a bunker. Some fates are much worse than death.

Spectral Motion, known for award-winning work on such films as HELLBOY and LOOPER, did the makeup effects on the creature played by Jones.

For any readers stateside GEHENNA is playing in the following cities from 4th May –

Los Angeles – Laemmle Monica

Philadelphia – PFX Roxy Theater

Atlanta – Plaza Theater

Cleveland – Tower City Cinemas

San Francisco – The Roxy

Dallas – AMC Grapevine Mills 30

Detroit – AMC Fairlane 21

Houston – AMC Gulf Pointe 30

Phoenix – AMC Arizona Center 24

Washington D.C. – AMC Hoffman 22

GEHENNA : WHERE DEATH LIVES is released on digital Friday 4th May distributed by Uncork’d Entertainment.

World renown cult filmmaker and former Gloan Globus alumni Albert Pyun (THE SWORD AND THE SORCERER, RADIOACTIVE DREAMS, CYBORG) is back and seeking funding for his 47th feature film BAD ASS ANGELS AND DEMONS! Pyun, whose diverse and innovative career as a filmmaker goes back before the days of Cannon Pictures, where he directed the fondly remembered Van Damme classic CYBORG, as well as DOWN TWISTED, JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH, and ALIEN FROM L.A. With a highly prolific career as a genre specialist, Pyun has been stricken with dementia, and has made several films with this debilitating disease. His fight to overcome his disability goes on, as he seeks funding for his latest effort, set in a post-apocalyptic era where angels and demons duke it out for what’s left of earth. His latest films INTERSTELLAR CIVIL WAR, THE INTERROGATION OF CHERYL COOPER, and ROAD TO HELL were completed while he’s been battling his condition.

Visit Albert’s Go Fund Me page and hear him talk about his new project and how his disease is shaping his creative process.

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