Whiskey Grants Wishes in SPIRIT TASTING, from Terror Vision Original Productions and Chris LaMartina (creator of WNUF Halloween Special): "A post-punk riff on The Monkey’s Paw, Chris LaMartina's SPIRIT TASTING follows three former punks (Sean Doherty, Melissa LaMartina, and Trevor Wilhelms) as they toast their late bandmate at a distillery on New Year’s Eve. When a strange sommelier (Matt Lake) invites them to a top-shelf tasting, they discover there’s only one catch: Every bottle requires a “wish.”
But as each of their desires twist into doom, these old friends discover that every pour at the Red Bat Distillery comes at a deadly price.
Director Chris LaMartina appeared last Friday, October 23rd, on The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs to screen his modern seasonal classic WNUF Halloween Special, and first noted there that his new film would be out before the end of the year. SPIRIT TASTING was formally announced this morning at Variety.
Shot in just four days for $40K to celebrate his 40th birthday, LaMartina uses this sobering horror/comedy about life at its midpoint to wrestle with the “what ifs” of the past and the aspirations of the future...
You know, the stuff every middle-aged adult has pondered at some point.
And why four days, you ask? Inspired by romantic tales of B-movie maverick Roger Corman shooting features like The Little Shop of Horrors and The Terror in less than a week, LaMartina had always wanted to attempt the same feat. With the big 4-0 approaching, and the days of throwing blood around the backyard rapidly disappearing into the rearview, he decided it was time to “get the band back together” for one helluva bloody birthday.
Celebrating its seasonal setting, SPIRIT TASTING will screen as a roadshow across America from November through early January with the filmmaker and select cast appearing at all screenings for introductions and Q&A’s. Coinciding with the tour, the film pours onto Blu-Ray with top-shelf bonus features, including a feature-length making-of documentary.
Directed and edited by Chris LaMartina with a script by LaMartina and Michael Varrati, SPIRIT TASTING stars Sean Doherty, Matt Lake, Melissa LaMartina, Trevor Wilhelms, Matt Baughman, Cate Paris, and Tatiana Nya Ford with cameos from Grady Hendrix, Clay McLeod Chapman, Peaches Christ, and Henry Zebrowski. It is produced by Melissa LaMartina, Chris LaMartina, Michael Varrati, and Ted Geoghegan, and Executive Produced by Ryan Graveface."
SPIRIT TASTING's roadshow dates and locations are as follows:
Thursday, November 12th - BALTIMORE, MD (The Senator Theatre)
Friday, November 20th - CHICAGO, IL (The Music Box)
Saturday, November 21st - MINNEAPOLIS, MN (The Heights)
Saturday, December 5th - LOS ANGELES, CA (Los Feliz 3)
Saturday, December 26th - PHILADELPHIA, PA (PhilaMOCA)
Sunday, December 27th - RED BANK, NJ (Base Center Cinema)
Monday, December 28th - BROOKLYN, NY (The Twisted Spine)
Tuesday, December 29th - SEYMOUR, CT (Strand Theater)
Wednesday, December30th - PROVIDENCE, RI (AS220)
Thursday, December 31st - SALEM, MA (Cinema Salem)
Friday, January 1st - CATSKILL, NY (Community Theater)
Saturday, January 2nd - WIND GAP, PA (The Gap Theatre)
Saturday, January 6th - ASHBURN, VA (Alamo Drafthouse One Loudoun)
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HIBAGON: JAPANESE BIGFOOT: "Life is tough for an American in Japan. Jacob is feeling that pressure. His wife Ema seems distant; he is always working late for a boss that doesn’t seem to appreciate the effort he puts in, and his university crush Mary is back on the scene and it appears there could be something there. The only problem for Jacob is Shinji, Mary’s Japanese boyfriend!
Mary and Jacob share a love of camping, but it’s a pastime they haven’t been able to do since they’ve been in Japan. With the pressure mounting after Jacob’s proposal for a new client is overlooked, he decides enough is enough and plans an impromptu camping trip with Mary and some of their friends so they head into the forest for a weekend away of eating, drinking and exploring the beautiful Japanese woods.
Seemingly all is going well, until a chance encounter with a mysterious lumberjack. He tries to invite them to a party, but they reject him. Then he gives them an ominous warning - a warning they should have heeded… “BEWARE OF HIBAGON!”
The movie is scheduled to premiere first on the Shockmania Youtube channel on August 5, 2027 with an exclusive live stream with the director Daniel Grbac, music composer Chris Kanaris and producer Wilco C.J. Rullens. Other digital streaming platforms are yet to be announced. The movie is also planned to hit the upcoming festival circuit, with more information coming soon.
Good news for physical media collectors… the film will be released on region free bluray disc in 2027. More information about the package and contents will be announced closer to release date."
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OBSESSION LEADS 2026 FANGORIA CHAINSAW AWARDS WITH FIVE WINS: "Curry Barker's Obsession led the 2026 FANGORIA Chainsaw Awards with five wins, including Best Wide Release Movie, Best Director, and Best Screenplay. The film also earned Best Lead Performance for Inde Navarrette and Best Kill for its gruesome brick kill.
Hosted by Devon Sawa (Final Destination, Idle Hands, Chucky), the fan-voted awards premiered Sunday, October 25, exclusively on Shudder, honoring the year's achievements in horror film, television, and gaming.
Horror icon Lin Shaye presented the night's final award to Obsession, with Barker calling the Best Wide Release victory "definitely the most shocking one for everybody involved" and reflecting on the film's overwhelming support from fans.
Backrooms followed with three wins, including Best First Feature, Best Cinematography for Jeremy Cox, and Best Score for Kane Parsons and Edo Van Breemen.
Guillermo del Toro's Frankenstein earned two awards, with Kate Hawley winning Best Costume Design and Mike Hill taking home Best Makeup FX. During his acceptance speech, Hill recalled picking up a copy of FANGORIA in 1986 at age 16, crediting the magazine with inspiring his career in makeup effects.
Amy Madigan won Best Supporting Performance for Weapons, while Bryan Fuller's Dust Bunny claimed Best Limited Release Movie. A longtime FANGORIA reader and subscriber, Fuller dedicated the award to the film's 10-year-old star Sophie Sloan, recognizing her performance alongside a cast of seasoned actors.
Other film winners included V/H/S/Halloween for Best Streaming Premiere Movie, Exit 8 for Best International Movie, and Jim Henson's Creature Shop for its work on Five Nights at Freddy's 2.
In television, Widow's Bay won Best Series, while The Last Drive-In with Joe Bob Briggs earned Best Non-Fiction Series for the third consecutive year. Resident Evil: Requiem took home Best Video Game.
This year's ceremony embraced the Halloween season with a sinister harvest theme, opening in a deadly corn maze before drawing host Devon Sawa into a world of scarecrows, pumpkins, and mischief.
Written and directed by Michael Varrati, the ceremony was executive produced by Armen Aghaeian, Tara Ansley, and Abhi Goel, with Amanda Grace Collins serving as lead producer and Phil Nobile Jr. and Varrati as producers.
"Like the genre it honors, the true fun of the Chainsaw Awards is that we have the audience’s permission to push the envelope. Horror fans not only want to celebrate the films and individuals who kept them watching, but they want to do it in a manner befitting the thing they love," said Varrati. "That’s why we can present a special award to a dog who became a fan favorite or send our scream king host into a corn maze to contend with things lurking behind the rows. The audience already knows that the show is a celebration of fright, so we’re given free rein to deliver both the expected ceremony and unexpected hijinks."
Beyond the competitive categories, FANGORIA also recognized several special honorees.
FANGORIA Editor-in-Chief Phil Nobile Jr. presented the Editor's Eyeball Award to rising star Joe Bird (Talk to Me, Leviticus), recognizing his early achievements and promising future in horror. Nobile then surprised co-presenter James A. Janisse with a second Editor's Eyeball Award, honoring Janisse and Chelsea Rebecca, the creators of Dead Meat, for their contributions to horror fandom and introducing a new generation to the genre.
Cujo star Dee Wallace presented the Chainsaw Award for Goodest Boy to Indy, the canine star of Good Boy. Indy appeared alongside director Ben Leonberg to accept the honor after earning enthusiastic write-in support from fans during the nomination process.
The ceremony also featured a tribute from legendary makeup effects artist Rick Baker to his longtime friend Bob Burns, the pioneering monster maker, collector, and archivist whose passion for horror helped inspire generations of artists and fans.
With winners selected by fans, the FANGORIA Chainsaw Awards continue to spotlight the creators and performances shaping horror, from breakout talent to the artists who have defined the genre for decades."
After more than a decade as a consultant in the entertainment industry, Jonathan James launched Daily Dead in 2010 to share his passion for horror. He takes immense pride in Daily Dead's talented team of writers, who passionately explore and celebrate horror as a respected art form capable of telling complex, character-driven stories with deep emotional and cultural impact.
Over the course of his career, Jonathan has written more than 10,000 articles and hosted panels at major conventions, including New York Comic Con and San Diego Comic-Con. He is also consulted with as an expert on horror and pop culture, offering insights on horror history and the latest trends through media outlets, film festivals, and conventions.
After more than a decade as a consultant in the entertainment industry, Jonathan James launched Daily Dead in 2010 to share his passion for horror. He takes immense pride in Daily Dead's talented team of writers, who passionately explore and celebrate horror as a respected art form capable of telling complex, character-driven stories with deep emotional and cultural impact.
Over the course of his career, Jonathan has written more than 10,000 articles and hosted panels at major conventions, including New York Comic Con and San Diego Comic-Con. He is also consulted with as an expert on horror and pop culture, offering insights on horror history and the latest trends through media outlets, film festivals, and conventions.
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