Indie Spotlight

2012/09/09 17:05:45 +00:00 | Jonathan James

We're back with a new edition of the Indie Spotlight. Today's feature covers the latest independent horror news sent our way, including a violent vampire tale, the birth of a new slasher, and much more:

The Ecstasy of Isabel Mann: "....the story of troubled teenager Isabel Mann (Ellen Mullen) who is seduced into an incredibly violent sect of day-walking vampires. Her class mates start to go missing and on the trail of the gruesome murders are two detectives; Witham (Neill Fleming) - who believes her to be the prime suspect and Barrett (Matthew Toman) - who has his doubts. Nothing is quite as it seems for those about her as the disturbed teenager runs amok killing at will in the woodlands by her home; aided by her vampire guides Mirjana (Mirjana Rendulic) and Alejo (Karim Elgendy) who are training her in the art of the kill - with horrifically bloody results for those closest to her."

The film was written and directed by Jason Figgis, and stars Ellen Mullen, Neill Fleming, Matthew Toman, Mirjana Rendulic, and Karim Elgendy.

We'll have more information and a trailer for the film in the near future. Until then, you can keep up with the latest developments at: http://theecstasyofisabelmann.blogspot.ie/

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Crowsnest is Now Available: "In late summer of 2011, five young friends celebrating a birthday went missing after an unexpected detour sent them crashing into an abandoned RV. Video recorded by the victims & recovered by police reveals a horrific encounter with the twisted residents of a secluded community, entirely removed from civilization and not pleased at having visitors. Director Brenton Spencer's wildly entertaining horror film takes the best of the found-footage genre and combines it with the sick visions of American horror like DUEL and DELIVERANCE."

We've included the trailer below and you can stream the film at: http://www.sundancenow.com/film/crowsnest/941

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Victorian Undead: "When a lone Victorian woman comes across a strange man walking through the woods, she encounters a lot more than she bargained for. A peaceful afternoon stroll turns into a vicious and bloody struggle for survival, as undead hordes attack."

The film is due out in October and stars Amber Coombs, along with Moog Gravett, Lou Preecy, Jamie Tighe, Charles-Henri Joslain, Rachel Dey, Richard Wilkinson, Frank Poklington, Matt Ingram, Jon Taylor, Rowen Robinson, Brian Clayton, Jo Peacock, Dave Thorpe, and Chris Roe.

Learn more about Victorian Undead at: http://www.paravelfilms.com/

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Sledge: "A True American Horror Story hits you from the beginning with originality. From the skull crushing death, to the killer, Adam Lynch, who in his psyche believes he is living in a movie and video game world. With each kill, he adds to his collection, which happens to be the faces of his victims. As a new group of people show up to the secluded rental camp ground, Adam meticulously watches them all to see if any is worth sparing their life. With Alex (Dustin Bowman) as the funny guy, Sarah (Stephanie Tupper) the girl Alex wants to be with, Nash (Russ Matoes) the pansy boyfriend who takes the insults Alex dishes at him, Shawn (Travis Hanson) the dimwitted friend and Michelle (Desiree Holmes) the girlfriend of Shawn, they begin their camping trip with fun, booze and sex, all the pieces needed for a good horror movie. When the sun rises on the next day however, that is when the death begins and people begin to die, one by one in gruesome and hilarious ways. Sledge is a Horror Comedy not seen before, and will leave you screaming with fear and laughter as you leave the theater. Adam Lynch (Kristian Hanson) is one killer, you don't want to mess with."

Sledge was directed by John Sovie II & Kristian Hanson and stars Dustin Bowman, Stephanie Tupper, Travis Hanson, Desiree Holmes, Russ Matoes, and Kristian Hanson.

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New Horror Label "Primal Screen": Screen Media Films has announced the formation of Primal Screen, a new label horror label that will focus on the development, production, and acquisition of new films relevant to the genre. Screen Media president Suzanne Blech will oversee this new unit of the company and Michael Dwyer and Seth Needle will be in Toronto at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival in an acquisitions capacity to take meetings for worldwide rights.

“Under our Screen Media Films umbrella, we are excited to launch a branded line of horror titles in this still quite profitable genre,” said Blech. “The brand will focus on connecting with fans by releasing unique genre films that literally appeal to their primal thirst for all things horror.”

Added Dwyer, who is Screen Media’s Vice President of International Sales and Acquisitions: “Internationally, Screen Media has been bringing quality genre titles to market since its inception. We look forward to continuing and expanding the scope of that tradition with the Primal Screen label.”

With Primal Screen, the new label will explore all types of distribution deals - from theatrical to midnight screenings to pure digital distribution - by officially expanding its already established relationships in the genre following the domestic release of horror titles such as “Night of the Living Dead 3D: Reanimation, ” “FDR: American Badass, ” “Below Zero, ” and “Inkubus, ” plus international titles including “Sweatshop, ” “Remains – a Chiller Network Original, ” Adrian Garcia Bogliano’s “Cold Sweat, ” Glenn McQuaid’s “I Sell the Dead, ” and Ti West’s “Trigger Man. ”

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Munger Road on DVD/VOD September 11th: "MUNGER ROAD takes place in a sleepy Midwestern town on a night when a group of teens explore the famed ‘Munger Road’ – a spot where a horrific tragedy occurred years earlier. Something terrible happens to the group, forcing the local police to acknowledge there is a returning killer lurking in the area as thousands of people converge on the town for the annual Scarecrow Festival."

For more information, visit our earlier coverage at: http://dailydead.com/dvdvod-release-for-munger-road/

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Holiday of The Dead Premiere: "A film by Mark Berryman and Mike Shands, Holiday of The Dead takes place in one near possible future, when a perfect storm of events creates a bloodthirsty Zombie Horde, leading to Martial Law in the US. It is up to three survivors...can they escape?"

Screening Details- There will be a zombie walk prior to the event, a red carpet event at 6:20 PM, and the film will start at 7pm. CREEPSHOW is expected to screen at 10pm, followed by THE ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW at midnight.

For more information, visit: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Holiday-Of-The-Dead/

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Loteria: "...a short story collection featuring one short story for each of the 54 Loteria cards is now available. Each of the short stories is based on a Latin American myth, superstition, or folklore. The collection written by Cynthia (cina) Pelayo was compiled during graduate studies and in-person interviews to uncover popular legends within the Hispanic community. The collection is available now on Amazon.com for Kindle for $0.99. The print version will be available on Amazon.com this week for $12.99.

Additional Information: "The Mexican board game of Lotería is a game of chance. It is similar to our American bingo. However, in Lotería instead of matching up numbers on a game board, players match up images.

There are 54 cards in the Lotería game, and for this short story collection you will find one unique story per card based on a Latin American myth, folklore, superstition, or belief - with a slant towards the paranormal and horrific. In this deck of cards you will find murderers, ghosts, goblins and ghouls. This collection features creatures and monsters, vampires and werewolves and many of these legends existed in the Americas long before their European counterparts.

Many of these stories have been passed over time throughout the Americas, and many have been passed via word of mouth, just like the tales the Brothers Grimm collected. These are indeed fairy tales, but with a much more terrible little slant."

Learn more about Loteria at: http://www.loteriathebook.com/

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Beyond the Grave Released: "The Brazilian feature film BEYOND THE GRAVE (aka PORTO DOS MORTOS aka MÁS ALLÁ DE LA TUMBA), produced by Lockheart Filmes, is now available on the VOD platform in USA, Latin America and also Caribbean. A mixture of art-house horror, existential road movie and spaghetti western, the movie can be watched instantly on Netflix in more than 40 countries. Winner of two international awards and selected for the Chicago Latino Film Festival and Festival Internacional del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano (Cuba), among others, BEYOND THE GRAVE gained a cult status following among underground film festivals and Internet critics around the globe. Shot in HD on locations in the city of Porto Alegre, the production budget is estimated in US$ 150K.

BEYOND THE GRAVE is the feature directorial debut of 33 years old filmmaker Davi de Oliveira Pinheiro, who also writes and produces. The film follows the post-apocalyptic journey of the Officer (Rafael Tombini) who hunts a mystical serial killer known as the Dark Rider (Adriano Basegio). Across wastelands populated by reanimated corpses, he will put his remaining sanity to the test against a nemesis that could have brought the end of the world. Shooter (Ricardo Seffner) and Nina (Amanda Grimaldi), a couple of teenagers, are the first living souls to cross paths with the policeman on his quest. The younglings have lost their loved ones to the maniac and also seek revenge."

For more information, visit: http://www.facebook.com/portodosmortosoficial

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