Round-Up: Interview with #HORROR Director Tara Subkoff, INTRUDERS Update, Holiday Horror Apparel, ZOMBIE FIGHT CLUB Blu-ray

Intruder alert, intruder alert! Adam Schindler's Intruders will be released on VOD and have a limited U.S. theatrical release this January. Also in this round-up: Derek's interview with #Horror writer/director Tara Subkoff, new holiday horror apparel from Cavity Colors and details on Zombie Fight Club on Blu-ray and DVD.

Exclusive #Horror Interview with Writer/Director Tara Subkoff:

Tara, thanks for taking the time to talk with us. How did you come up with the idea for #Horror?

Tara Subkoff: Someone asked me to write a horror film after they saw a short piece I directed with Lydia Hearst for BB. I was doing a capsule collection with them and I really thought to do this strange little piece that I shot at Carrie Fisher’s house. It was very mysterious and film noir. It was a big success and a lot of people wanted me to do a feature version of it. And I did.

I’m a huge genre fan. I love horror films. I love early Wes Craven, may he rest in peace. I love Last House on the Left, The People Under the Stairs—these movies were a part of my childhood. The Shining, The Exorcist, Poltergeist, Videodrome—these were more psychological horror films that had something to say. I wanted to do something that was an ode to that. I like it when you know the characters and you connect with them. I wanted to do something that felt along those lines.

I also have a lot of friends who have kids and their daughters were all that age [pre-teen] about two and a half years ago. They were being cyberbullied pretty badly. I couldn’t believe what was going on and I couldn’t believe that you could be invisible on Skype and all these things that they have access to. Meanness has always been there and it’s always been terrifying, but the different tools that now you can combine with meanness are mind-blowing. It’s a real horror story.

In addition to the kids being cruel in #Horror, the adults are also quite flawed. What was your approach to the adult characters and what was your experience working with Timothy Hutton and Chloë Sevigny, who are fantastic in the film?

Tara Subkoff: I really wanted to set up the dysfunction of the adults and their world and how addicted to the phone they are. The phone is the most important thing in every adult scene, except for maybe one. I really wanted to set that up so you understand where the kids get it from. So the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.

He [Timothy] was fantastic. He was such a generous actor. And by the way, it was no easy feat to get there [on set] because there was a huge snowstorm. This guy showed up on time and ready to roll. He was a force of nature. He didn’t want to rehearse because he wanted the girls to actually be really scared. The girls, after that first day of working with Tim and Chloë, their acting improved by 110%. They had to raise up to meet the level of acting chops and pure talent that both Timothy Hutton and Chloe Sevigny possess.

I actually wrote a scene that wasn’t in the script for him and Chloe. He also lent us his house to shoot the scene of him and his daughter—that after school scene. He was beyond generous… a true actor’s actor.

While many slasher films star teens or young adults, #Horror boldly features a set of believable pre-teens. What influenced your decision to have your characters be that young?

Tara Subkoff: I actually got into an argument with my good friend Milla Jovovich. She said, ‘You cannot have 12-year-olds, Tara. You’ve got to make them at least 16.’ Stand by Me is really one of my favorite films of all time. ‘I don’t have friends like I did when I was twelve. Jesus, does anybody?’ It’s the last line in the movie, it’s a powerful line, and I thought about writing that from a female perspective. When I was twelve, my friends turned on me every day. I didn’t know who was my friend and it was terrifying. I wanted to really write about that in a really intense way.

Can you talk a little bit about the social commentary in #Horror?

Tara Subkoff: It’s a commentary on where we are as a culture. We’re zombies. There’s a huge zombie resurgence in the genre world. People are obsessed with zombie movies and The Walking Dead… because we’re zombies. We can’t stop. All we do is look at screens from the moment we wake up until we pass out at night. We’re so disconnected from each other. You hardly ever see anyone that looks into someone else’s eyes. It’s terrifying.

I wanted to do a very different feeling and look after they put away their phones. They get kind of softer and almost younger after that. I see it with my friends’ kids who, once they have the phone or go digital for a while, they’re so nasty. It’s like little addicts in a way. And then you take it away from them for a good amount of time and all of a sudden they soften and they get nicer. They become kids and they want to play. If they have that phone, they can just tune out to that thing for hours. And we’re like that, too.

I’m now a co-founder of Bridget, which is a digital platform that’s been launched in ten schools in New York. It’s almost like Snapchat where kids can report bullying and then it’s erased right off their phone, so they don’t have to be seen going to the principal’s office and telling on someone. It’s a faster, easier, and safer way to report bullying, and it’s already saved lives.

I want to be part of a solution in some way, and the film really opened my eyes to what a huge problem [cyberbullying] is. I started doing research into how many suicides have happened because of this and what happens to kids, and the numbers are increasing at a terrifying level. Over 150,000 youths were admitted to emergency rooms last year in the US alone due to self-harm, and over 5,000 suicides. This is increasing at a really rapid level. It’s a huge concern and I think it’s a really relevant horror story for kids today that are going through this.

With #Horror coming out in theaters and on VOD November 20th, what do you have on deck?

Tara Subkoff: I’m writing something right now. It’s not with kids. I decided I’m going to take a breather working with minors for a long time after this one. It’s a very twisted, dark love story that goes wrong. And it’s definitely genre—psychological thriller meets horror. It’s very much about is it really possible to ever trust or know someone?

#Horror synopsis: "Inspired by actual events, a group of 12 year old girls face a night of HORROR when the compulsive addiction of an online social media game turns a moment of a cyber bullying to a night of insanity. Tara Subkoff explores the rarefied world of the east coast privileged through the eyes of a group of 12 year-old girls left alone and pursued by a killer. The film examines a world of escalating cruelty and alienation through an online game where scoring likes comes at the cost of human lives."

Written and directed by Tara Subkoff, #Horror stars Chloe Sevigny, Timothy Hutton, Natasha Lyonne, Balthazar Getty, Taryn Manning, Stella Schnabel, Sadie Seelert, Haley Murphy, Bridget McGarry, Blue Lindberg, Mina Sundwall, Emma Adler, Annabelle Dexter-Jones, and Lydia Hearst.

IFC Midnight will release #Horror in theaters and on VOD on November 20th. The film will play in the following theaters:

• "Nov 20 - IFC Center – New York, NY
• Nov 20 - Arena Cinema – Los Angeles, CA
• Nov 27 – Jacob Burns Film Center – Pleasantville, NY
• Nov 27 – PFS Roxy Theater – Philadelphia, PA
• Nov 27 – The Bill Cosford Cinema – Miami, FL
• Nov 27 – Screenland Armour Theatre – KC, MO
• Nov 27 – Sie FilmCenter – Denver, CO
• Nov 27 – Filmbar – Phoenix, AZ
• Nov 27 – Alamo Drafthouse Mason Park – Houston, TX
• Nov 27 – Alamo Drafthouse Cinema – Lubbock, TX
• Nov 27 – Alamo Drafthouse Cinema – Winchester VA
• Nov 27 – Gateway Film Center – Columbus, OH
• Nov 27 – Capitol Theatre – Cleveland, OH
• Nov 27 – Coolidge Corner Theatre – Boston, MA
• (Additional theatres/markets to be announced)"

To learn more about #Horror, visit:

• http://www.hashtaghorrorthemovie.com/
• Twitter
• Facebook
• Instagram

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Intruders: "Momentum Pictures brings the festival hit INTRUDERS (formerly SHUT IN) to select U.S. theaters and VOD on JANUARY 15th, 2016.

PANIC ROOM meets YOU'RE NEXT in this gripping home invasion horror-thriller, full of shocks and surprises. After three criminals, including fan favorite Martin Starr, break into a supposedly empty house, they find themselves in a deadly game of cat and mouse with the occupant, a shy young woman with a few nasty tricks of her own to play on the invaders."

Directed by Adam Schindler, Intruders stars Beth Riesgraf, Jack Kesy, Martin Starr (Dead Snow), and Rory Culkin. The film was produced by Steven Schneider, Jeff Rice, Lati Grobman, and Erik Olsen. The executive producers are Tommy Vlahopoulos, Christa Campbell, Matthew Lamothe, Brian Netto, and Rob Van Norden.

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Cavity Colors' Holiday Horror Apparel: From Cavity Colors: "Whoa! Check out this awesome sweater we're also releasing this Thursday at 5 p.m. alongside our new enamel pin. HAPPY HORRORDAYS is sure to creep out your family at the annual holiday dinner, and it will most definitely keep your skin warm this winter season! Who wouldn't want these 4 icons to keep you nice and toasty... Stay tuned to CAVITYCOLORS.COM this Thursday!"

Designed by Hillary White, the Happy Horrordays sweatshirt is priced at $40.

From Cavity Colors: "I'm very excited to announce our very first high-quality ENAMEL PIN release is coming this Thursday, Nov. 19th at 5 p.m. (est) - The Killer Mask is a 1.5 inch tall enamel pin with a black dye outline and back clutch. Inspired by THE HAUNTED MASK. Limited to 100 for pre-order. Set your clocks, these will give you a bad case of GOOSEBUMPS!"

Designed by Hillary White, the enamel pins have a retail price of $12 apiece.

Images via Twitter: