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Nefarious (2019) UK Dir: Richard Rowntree
Toby Wynn-Davies, Buck Braithwaite, Nadia Lamin, Abbey Gillett, Omari Lake-Pottinger

Caution: spoilers ahead!
Hello to you fellow film fiends out there and welcome to the first review of 2021! Let’s all hope it’s a better year than last…
This is actually a post I’ve been meaning to write for a while (sorry Rich!), but with all the happenings over the course of 2020, the blog has been left somewhat neglected, a situation I’m determined to remedy in 2021. But more on that in the next Newsblast article I’ll post in the coming week. Before I launch into my review, I must declare an interest; yours truly helped back the making of NEFARIOUS through the crowdfunding platform Kickstarter, and did a lot of relentless promoting of the campaign on my social media channels. That doesn’t mean that I have not cast a critical eye on the end product, who wants to read a bought and paid for promo anyway? With all that out of the way, let’s dive in…

NEFARIOUS is the second feature length production from indie writer/director Richard Rowntree’s Ash Mountain Films outfit, following on from their debut, the twisted folk horror DOGGED. Moving away from it’s predecessor’s isolated rural setting, NEFARIOUS is a home invasion horror set among the grey concrete environs of inner city England. The home invasion sub-genre has produced several great horror flicks, from Michael Haneke’s FUNNY GAMES (1997), to the likes of YOU’RE NEXT (2011), THE STRANGERS (2008), and most recently two of my favourites that turn the sub-genre’s premise on its head; INTRUDERS (2015) and Fede Alvarez’s DON’T BREATHE (2016).

NEFARIOUS shares much of its DNA with Alvarez’s film; the protagonists are unlikable ne’er- do-wells on the fringes of society, who find an opportunity to take advantage of an individual they mistakenly judge to be weaker and more vulnerable than they are. By the time they realise their mistake it is too late as their intended victim is revealed as a dangerous antagonist. 

Told in flashback through a series of police interviews, the events of the previous day are retold mainly through the eyes of Lou (Nadia Lamin) and several corroborating witnesses (watch out for the director’s cameo as a sleazy cab driver). On a council estate somewhere in England, low-lifes Darren (Buck Braithwaite), Lou, Jo (Abby Gillet) and Mas (Omari Lake Pottinger) are in debt to the local drug dealer. Increasingly desperate to escape their predicament, an opportunity seems to present itself when Clive (Gregory A. Smith), a mentally disabled work colleague of Darren’s, lets slip that he and his already wealthy brother Marcus (Toby Wynn-Davies) are in the possession of a winning lottery ticket. With the help of the others, Darren hatches a plan to burglarise the home Marcus shares with his brother, unaware of Marcus’ horrific secret life…

NEFARIOUS continues the theme established in the writer/director’s last film DOGGED; the fallen nature of the human condition. The true monsters are us, and the film forces the audience to acknowledge this uncomfortable fact. In reality there are no supernatural contrivances, no demonically possessed dolls or indestructible hockey-masked killers signposting their malefic intent just by their unnerving appearance. The person sitting next to you in the theatre could be a sadist, a psychopath, a serial murderer hiding their perverse impulses behind a mask of sanity. Only when they have chosen their victim and manipulated them into a vulnerable position, does the mask slip away and the true personality underneath reveal itself.

Rowntree wisely takes a slow burn approach to the story, before he unleashes the full horror of the situation the protagonists find themselves trapped in during the third act. The production’s tight budget is used sparingly up until this point, with the script deftly concentrating on building character and tension through a combination of tight editing (a running time of just 78 minutes), some ominous foreshadowing, and an approach to the story from the show-don’t tell old school. In contrast to DOGGED, the film refuses to give us any sympathetic characters to relate to (bar the disabled and easily manipulated Clive), all are morally compromised at best,  from petty thieves and junkies at one end of the scale to full blown serial killers like Marcus (another terrific study in sneering malevolence from Toby Wynn-Davies following on from his performances in DOGGED and ESCAPE FROM CANNIBAL FARM).

And just when the audience is allowed to believe the ordeal is over, Rowntree refuses to let us up for air, slamming down a humdinger of a sting in the tail, USUAL SUSPECTS style. The police in the interview room are of course left none the wiser by their interviewee being an unreliable narrator, while the film’s reveal makes the audience complicit in the darkness that the climax infers will continue to hide among the neat and manicured facade of English suburbia, watching and waiting for the next opportunity to reveal itself.

NEFARIOUS is available here – www.amazon.com/Nefarious-Blu-ray-Richard-Rowntree/dp/B082PPZTNP/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=nefarious+blu+ray&qid=1584610338&sr=8-1

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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! –

http://kck.st/3oE3WpN

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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.

Spread the Word!

Ian

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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.

Spread the Word!

Ian

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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…

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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.

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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.
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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.

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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/

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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.

Spread the Word!
Ian

 

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Escape from Cannibal Farm (UK 2017) Dir: Charlie Steeds
Kate Davies Speak, David Lenik, Rowena Bentley, Barrington De La Roche, Peter Cosgrove, Toby Wynn Davies

The Harver clan head out into the English countryside for a camping holiday in an attempt to bury familial tensions and patch up their differences. Clearly no one told them that family holidays are usually the worst recipe for promoting such harmony, but this being a horror flick, we know that our fresh faced middle class protagonists will soon be plunged into some nightmarish scenario that will indeed force them to discover unforeseen strengths and work together to survive. Just your average bank holiday in the UK then…
Said nightmare begins when the Harver’s mobile home is sabotaged by an unseen intruder and mum Katherine (Bentley) narrowly avoids being killed when her tent mysteriously catches fire. The bickering band of soon-to-be-victims head to a seemingly deserted nearby farm, in search of help and contact with the outside world (anal retentive step dad Wesley has suspiciously banned mobile phones from been taken on the trip…he’s played by Toby Wynn Davies, so we can be pretty sure he’ll turn out to be a wrong ‘un.)
There the Harvers encounter the owner, the demented Hunt Hansen (De La Roche) and his hideously disfigured son (Sam Lane), and soon enough the whole family find themselves caged like animals and awaiting slaughter by the Hansens for delivery to ‘The Meat Eater’, a mysterious figure organising a steady supply of longpig to secret ring of discerning customers…
ESCAPE FROM CANNIBAL FARM (CANNIBAL FARM in the US), is the debut feature from writer/director/editor Charlie Steeds’ Dark Temple outfit, a UK retro horror studio that has already seen its second feature WINTERSKIN recently released to the US market and reviewed here on this very site. Various issues with distributors have delayed the release of Escape  to the UK market, but happily, the excellent 88 Films have finally submitted a release date of October 21 this year.
I’ll freely admit I was expecting a Chainsaw Massacre set in the Cotswolds pastiche, based purely on the snippets served up in the trailer, but I was pleasantly wrong footed as Steeds’ script piles on the plot twists and is surprisingly sympathetic towards the films villains, portraying them as victims of tragic circumstance, driven insane by their misfortune. Even a dash of social commentary about generational wealth divides is thrown in for good measure. The director is certainly not shy on the gore either, favouring practical effects (much to his credit!) and piling on the severed limbs, cooked bodies and bone slicing power tools with relish.
From a production values standpoint, the  direction and camerawork are very assured for a debut feature and Steeds has a great eye for colour and lush visuals which go a long way towards compensating against the film’s tiny budget. The cast is uniformly excellent with British horror’s new favourite ‘final girl’ Kate Davies Speak valiantly holding her own against scenery chewing villainous  turns from De La Roche, Cosgrove and Wynn Davies, last seen in Richard Rowntree’s excellent folk horror update DOGGED.
If there’s a fault to be had with the movie, it’s that the script maybe piles on one two many plot twists and thus risks overreaching. Much of De La Roche’s and Cosgrove’s dialogue too, is at times incomprehensible (I guess that’s what subtitles are for.) These seem like minor quibbles in what is an assured debut from the new studio, which curiously felt like a more rounded experience than its follow up feature WINTERSKIN. Although I doubt it will do  much for west country tourism ESCAPE FROM CANNIBAL FARM is a glorious technicolour love letter to the golden age of much maligned lo-fi straight to video horror flicks of the video nasty era from an exciting new player in British horror film making. Long may they reign!

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Good morning fellow cineastes, here’s another lowdown on some upcoming celluloid gems to cheer you all up on the morning commute – 

Afflicted with a dermatological disease, young and beautiful Kira discovers that she can replace her skin with that of other girls. Helped by her lover, she plots a murder and the victim becomes her donor, but when the disease returns, she is forced to find more victims.From writers Richard Stanley and Norbert Keil, REPLACE stars Rebecca Forsythe (THE BRONX BULL), Lucie Aron (BERLIN SYNDROME), Sean Knopp and genre icon Barbara Crampton.
REPLACE is on DVD and VOD October 1 from Uncork’d Entertainment.

Horror fans are celebrating the terrifying new horror treat ASHES, calling the film “gruesome”, “inventive” and “the scares…so effective”!
It’s time to discover what has film fans cowering under their sofa cushions this month!

Now available on Digital and Demand from 1091 Media, when an estranged aunt passes away, a family is creeped out to receive her ashes. And when supernatural misfortunes begin to best them, they quickly discover they have to go through hell to rid of her angry spirit.
From writer/director Barry Jay, and starring Elizabeth Keener, Jeremy Earl, Yumarie Morales, Angelique Maurnaé, and Melinda deKay, prepare to receive ASHES.
Audiences are raving about the effective scares, welcome dark humour and haunting imagery from Barry Jay’s triumphant new genre addition.
ASHES is now available on Digital and Demand. 

Acclaimed “Hitchcockian Journey”* WHAT DEATH LEAVES BEHIND will receive a theatrical release across North America this September and October via Artist Rights Distribution.

Following the premiere in Los Angeles on September 11, the multi-award winner will open in other markets including Ohio, San Diego, New York, Tennessee, Florida, DC and Philadelphia.
Directed by Scott A. Hamilton, and scripted by Hamilton, Chad Morton, Nico Giampietro, and Rachel K. Ofori, WHAT DEATH LEAVES BEHIND tells of a man who, after a kidney transplant, experiences reoccurring nightmares he believes to be visions of his donor’s violent murder, sending him on a dark path of vengeance, leading to an unbearable truth.
Christopher Mann, Vincent Young, Erin O’Brien, Johnny Alonso, Alexandra Tydings, Shaira Barton, Amanda Diaz, Kelly Dowdle, and Khalil McMillan star in a Scott A.Hamilton film.
WHAT DEATH LEAVES BEHIND , from Artist Rights Distribution and Smash Entertainment, in theatres nationally this autumn.
PARTICIPATING THEATRES AND DATES : https://www.whatdeathleavesbehind.com/in-theaters/

Dark Star Pictures will release the critically acclaimed EMPATHY INC in theaters (9/13) and VOD (9/24) this fall. 

Yedidya Gorsetman’s sci-fi thriller tells of an investor in a VR startup discovers that the reality the company provides isn’t virtual.
Hotshot venture capitalist Joel has a multimillion-dollar deal go up in smoke, and he and his actress wife Jessica are forced to move in with her parents and start from scratch. At the lowest and most desperate moment in his life, Joel meets old friend Nicolaus and his business partner Lester, who are seeking investors in a new technology known as XVR—Xtreme Virtual Reality—from their company Empathy, Inc., which is said to offer the most realistic and moving experiences for users by placing them in the lives of the less fortunate. Joel gets the startup its funds but soon discovers that the tech’s creators have far more sinister uses in store for their creation and that the reality it provides its customers isn’t virtual.

Dark Star Pictures and Uncork’d Entertainment present SEEDS, in cinemas September 13 and on VOD/DVD September 24.

 Starring Trevor Long, star of Netflix drama Ozark, nominated for 9 Emmy Awards, director Owen Long’s SEEDS is a gothic horror about a man haunted by his dark past while pursuing some self-care on the New England coast.
After a night of debauchery spirals out of control, Marcus retreats to his family home along the New England coast. Solitude is disturbed when his brother asks Marcus to look after his estranged nephew and niece. As days pass, solace escapes him; he feels baited by a dark force. Is he losing his mind or has something terrible burrowed deep within him? Incubating. Waiting until the climate is right. Haunted by his deepest fears, Marcus struggles not to succumb as he fights to protect Lily, his beloved niece from a monster that lies in wait.Andrea Chen, Garr Long, and Kevin Breznahan star opposite Trevor Long in an Owen Long film SEEDS, written by Steven Weisman, out this September from Dark Star Pictures and Uncork’d Entertainment.

The Joke’s on you when CLOWNADO blows in this September!


Bunker down for Todd Sheets’ twisted new horror film, featuring genre icons Linnea Quigley and Eileen Deitz, on VOD September 3 and DVD September 17 from Wild Eye Releasing!
Cursed demonic circus clowns set out on a vengeful massacre using tornadoes. A stripper, Elvis impersonator, truck driver, teen runaway, and a dude get caught in the supernatural battle between femme fatal and the boss clown from hell.Rachel Lagen, John O’Hara, and Joel D. Wynkoop co-star in “an enjoyable, blood-soaked love letter to the genre*” from the legendary Todd Sheets.


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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Happy bank holiday evening film fiends! First things first – The Stricken Land has joined up with those great folks over at the Smashbomb website! For those unaware, Smashbomb is a review aggregator covering all manner of media, from films, books, video games comics to music as well as stuff like podcasts, tv shows and even tabletop games.

It’s a truly brilliant ‘bottom up’ initiative bringing no nonsense, ‘from the coalface’ honest reviews from media consumers themselves. And with most things in theses days of the Internet Revolution, the best things is that anyone can join in. Sign up now and users can earn kudos points and badges dependent o  how many reviews they post and the level of interaction they generate from other users. And look out for yours truly leading the trash cinema invasion on this, er, smashing new platform!
Any way, enough of my promotional prelude – a veritable plethora of celluloid goodness to while away the remainder of the long weekend –

Dark Star Pictures has announced a June 4, 2019 digital release for the Spanish Civil War whimsical comedy THE BASTARDS’ FIG TREE.
Ana Murugarren’s genre-meshing masterpiece provides a fresh, magical exploration of the horrors of the Spanish Civil War, showing both the brutality of war and its ability to inspire hope and change in a broken society. Karra Elejalde stars.
Near the end of the Spanish War, a “trigger happy” fascist soldier turns into a hermit and gets caught up in the care of a fig tree after the look in a ten year old child’s eyes, son of one of his victims, awakes in him the certainty that the kid will kill him as soon as he reaches sixteen years of age.THE BASTARDS’ FIG TREE. available on digital June 4 (US).

An award-winning new film about a haunted road in New Jersey has been picked up for distribution by Midnight Releasing, who are targeting a summer theatrical bow.

CLINTON ROAD, directed by Steve Stanulis and Richard Grieco, stars internationally acclaimed musician and actor Ice-T (New Jack City, “Law & Order : SVU”), James DeBello (Cabin Fever, Detroit Rock City), Vincent Pastore (“The Sopranos”, Goodfellas), and Erin O’Brien (Pernicious, Killing Joan).
In the film, scripted by Derek Ross Mackay, a widowed fire fighter seeks closure after his wife goes missing on an actual haunted road in rural New Jersey but must unlock the roads secret if he wants to get out alive.

Ace Young (BONES), Katie Morrison (THE BLACKLIST), Bo Dietl (VINYL), and Oscar Nominee Eric Roberts also star. Grieco, Noel Ashman and Steve Stanulis produce. The PVOD release of CLINTON ROAD begins June 14 (US)

Director Mark Wilson’s WADE IN THE WATER, a semi-finalist for the prestigious Nicholl Fellowships in 2018, will premiere at the prestigious Dances with Films Film Festival Wednesday, June 19th, 2019 at 7:15 PM.  
Sure, our man never gives his name. He works from home. His neighbours are all idiots. He doesn’t really “do” friends. But all that changes when a mis-delivered package arrives in his post office box bearing a horrifying secret –one that will set him on a collision course with a predator, the man’s disillusioned daughter, and his own dark past.


Real Rob’s Tom E.Nicholson and Danika Golombek (I AM THE NIGHT) star. Wilson, whose film was awarded “Best Drama” at the 2019 Hollywood Reel Independent Film Festival, directs from a script by Chris Retts.
From writer-director Keith Sutliff, a non-stop thrill ride through the streets of Los Angeles, THE REFUGE in theatres June 28.

A getaway driver finds himself in harm’s way when he gets caught up in a job involving casino heist money in the adrenaline-charged new crime thriller from Keith Sutliff. KS Pictures presents THE REFUGE, starring Keith Sutliff (THE MASON BROTHERS), Julien Cesario (CLOSE RANGE), Matthew Webb (127 HOURS), Reine Swart (THE LULLABY), Stefanie Estes (BETHANY), Demeterius Stear (DEATH POOL), Martin Copping (HAWAII FIVE-O) and Cheyenne Buchanan (A DARK PLACE).
In US Theatres June 28.


From Robert McGinley, the writer, director, and star of the apocalyptic skate punk classic SHREDDER ORPHEUS, DANGER DIVA is the brand new cyberpunk rock-enthused thriller starring Molly Sides of Thunderpussy! Unlike anything before it, DANGER DIVA is a science fiction futurist nightmare for the ages.Marie Adler, CEO of Adler and Associates remarks, “We’re excited to be working with Robert. Everyone knows him as a veteran director and cult-classic hero but with Danger Diva he has really outdone himself.”
Robert McGinley notes, “Marie Adler and her team are true believers in independent film and have a sustainable business plan built to navigate the changing landscape of film distribution. Their sales and marketing approach to DANGER DIVA bodes well for the film finding a devoted audience and I look forward to our collaboration on this and future endeavors.”
In DANGER DIVA, audiences are taken on a dystopian journey into the near future with hard rock singer Devi Danger (played by Molly Sides) as she is coerced into becoming an electronically enhanced new-music diva. Her singing voice is used to control and energize the brains of indoctrinated employees (also known as “Brain Cattle”) that are being used as external processors for the advancement of corporate high tech clients. Operating in a digital sweatshop, these “Brain Cattle” process binary algorithms that serve as a chorus for Devi Danger.  
Writer / director McGinley’s influences for the film came mainly from cyberpunk literature and films; in particular, William Gibson’s “NEUROMANCER” and the science-fiction classic, BLADE RUNNER. Further inspired by the Ella Fitzgerald “Is it live, or is it Memorex” commercial, DANGER DIVA explores the conflict between high tech vs. high touch, and what it means to be human in a digitally enhanced bio- tech future.  
Music anchors these themes with an eclectic rocking score with songs by Seattle-based rock band THUNDERPUSSY and composer Regan Remy. McGinley explains, “In the midst of this rock ‘n roll saga, the audience will have an opportunity to ponder future technology nightmares like the use of enslaved human brains as external hard drive processors, or employing human offspring as vehicles for life extension.”
DANGER DIVA will screen at Cannes Film Festival on May 17th at 8:00PM at Palais des Festivals et des Congrès located at 1 Boulevard de la Croisette, 06400 Cannes, France.

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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Winterskin (UK 2018) Dir: Charlie Steeds

David Lenik, Rowena Bentley, Barrington De La Roche, Peter Cosgrove, Kate Davies Speak

In the frozen wilds of North America, Billy Cavanagh (Lenik) becomes separated from his father (Cosgrove) while on a deer hunting expedition.

Chancing upon a secluded cabin, Billy is shot in the leg by persons unknown, and awakes inside to find himself being nursed by the kooky Mama Agnes (Bentley.)

With no means of communicating with the outside world and temporarily crippled by his leg wound, Billy is warned by Agnes not to venture outside after dark for fear of being attacked and killed by a malevolent creature she cals ‘the Red Man’. Later Billy lets out Agnes’ dog, only for the animal to turn up dead on the doorstep after having being skinned.

The following night, Billy is attacked in the cabin by a hideous skinless humanoid creature and barely survives the encounter.

Meanwhile, a band of hunters led by Old Man Ruth (de la Roche) are scouring the wilderness looking for Billy and his father…

The third feature from upcoming British indie production house Dark Temple Motion Pictures is a tightly paced slice of isolation horror that mashes up elements of the likes of MISERY, SOUTHERN COMFORT and NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD, but which exhibits just enough of its own original DNA and stylistic elan to prevent it becoming just another forgettable bargain bin horror flick.

Writer and director Charlie Steeds here concentrates on establishing a fast moving and efficient narrative, and coaxes scenery chomping performances from both Bentley and de la Roche respectively (the climactic confrontation is the film’s highlight.) Newcomer Lenik is also admirable, anchoring the narrative as the increasingly tense and paranoid Billy starts to realise that all is not quite as it may seem…

Despite a plot twist you can spot a mile off, Steeds pared down script and confident direction keeps your attention, and bodes well for future Dark Temple output.

Although the studio’s third feature after ESCAPE FROM CANNIBAL FARM and THE HOUSE OF VIOLENT DESIRE, I haven’t yet been able to secure copies of these movies to review yet. The former is set go be released this year by 88 Films, so look out for a review soon (hopefully!) I mention this as it’s difficult to glean from watching WINTERSKIN whether Steeds has yet managed to impress a ‘house style’ on his movies yet, as despite marketing Dark Temple’s output as ‘retro horror’, such a ‘feel’ doesn’t come across that strongly.

This is a very minor quibble it has to be said, and WINTERSKIN boasts some strong performances from its cast, conjures up a foreboding yet strangely ethereal atmosphere on a limited budget, and frankly original horror output of this quality from an indie start up outfit is something that we should all be roundly encouraging.

As far as I can tell at the time writing, Dark Temples’ next release will be the fantastic looking THE BARGE PEOPLE headlined by the wonderful Kate Davies Speak (here making a cameo.) Check out the intense trailer at the Facebook page or head over to the Dark Temple website here.

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Good morning bad movie hombres and hombrettes! Just going through my backlog of new release emails, hence the two newblast in a single week. Feast your eyes and souls…

The witchcraft-centric horror film Blood Craft, featuring Dominique Swain (Face-Off), Dave Sheridan (The Devil’s Rejects), Mark Rolston (Aliens) and Twilight’s Michael Welch (The Final Wish) is out now!.

Directed and co-written by genre specialist James Cullen Bressack, the film tells of two witchcraft-practicing sisters (Madeleine Wade and Augie Duke) out to get revenge on their already dead father. Madeleine Wade, who also stars in the film, co-wrote the screenplay.

The film, which will first play festivals through March, on digital April 9th.

The film was produced by James Cullen Bressack, Micah Brandt, James Thomas, and Madeleine Wade.

Official synopsis : Two sisters who suffered abuse as children at the hands of their sadistic father decide, after his death, to use witchcraft to bring his spirit back to get revenge.

Luciana Faulhaber’s unique, female-directed twist on horror films DON’T LOOK releases on VOD and DVD May 14 from Wild Eye Releasing.

Scripted by Jessica Boucher and Danielle Killay, DON’T LOOK centers on five New York City Millennials who escape the big city for a rustic Thanksgiving weekend in the country. But as will happen in horror, something threatens to shatter their peaceful getaway and they are targeted for murder.

The film, Faulhaber’s debut, recreates “the pure fun of 80’s classics like Friday the 13th, The Burning or April Fool’s Day” (Nightmarish Conjurings) with a modern twist.

Director and co-producer Faulhaber says of the film: “It was important for me to create work that shows the female characters as they are in real life – none of us are waiting to be saved by some prince charming.”

Faulhaber stars in the film alongside Jeff Berg, Jarrod Robbins, Curtis K. Case, Lindsay Eshelman, and Javier E. Gómez.

Don’t go into the deep end!

A creature lurks within a swimming pool in Georges Padey’s chlorine-infused frightfest Drowning Echo.

During a visit to friends, Sara (Itziar Martinez) begins having visions and is attacked by an unearthly creature in her friend’s swimming pool. She soon discovers that anyone who comes into contact with the water is in danger and she is driven to confront the mystical and malevolent creature lurking in the depths.

Also starring Jane the Virgin’s Dennis Mencia, Drowning Echo is available now on VOD and DVD from High Octane Pictures.

An atomic blonde is gunning for a kill in Impossible Mission, available On Demand and VOD May 7 from High Octane Pictures.

Rosa, a master assassin with a knack for poisons sets out on a search and destroy mission against a spiritual leader, but conflicts within her own organization may spell disaster for her long before she ever closes in on her target.

From writer/director Gilles Gambino, and starring Jimena Gala, Ben Vinnicombe, and James Giblin, Impossible Mission gets underway May 7 on VOD and DVD.

A horror legend returns this April when writer/director Dan Allen awakens the dead in The Mummy Reborn.

Written by Dan Allen and Scott Jeffrey, The Mummy Reborn tells of a group of teens in financial ruin that decide to rob the local antique store of an ancient amulet. But what they don’t realise is that this tomb is cursed, and when the amulet is separated from it’s master he will do anything to get it back. Our burglars must save the day and return the Mummy to it’s tomb before it is too late to save the world.

Becca Hirani (The House on Elm Lake), Tara MacGowran (Mandy the Doll), and Rita Siddiqui (Pet Graveyard) star in a Proportion Productions release.

Packed with adventure and coffined with scares, The Mummy Reborn is available on now VOD and DVD from High Octane Pictures.

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 publicise 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