Indie Spotlight

We return with another edition of the Indie Spotlight, highlighting recent independent horror news sent our way. Today's feature includes casting details on The Chair, Camp of the Damned, and Love Sick, trailers for Chimeres and Phantasmagoria, production and distribution news on Australian film, The Pack, and much more:

Exclusive Casting News for The Chair: We've been told that Travis Love (Shumpert from The Walking Dead) has been added to the cast of the upcoming horror/thriller, The Chair. Love will play the Commanding Officer in a flashback scene that features Jimmy (Jacob Banser) and Sullivan (Brian Thompson).

Synopsis: "Based off of the Alterna Comics graphic novel of the same name, The Chair follows the story of Richard Sullivan, an innocent man struggling to escape execution on death row. Witnessing the torture and murder of his fellow inmates at the hands of the prison's sadistic and psychotic Warden, Sullivan decides that the only way to survive is to fight back. But as he matches the savagery and brutality occurring in the prison, Sullivan is forced to come face to face with his own sanity."

Previous casting announcements reveal that Zach Galligan, Eric Roberts, Noah Hathaway, Naomi Grossman, and Bill Oberst, Jr. are already on board. We're told to expect additional announcements in the coming weeks. We've included the recently released teaser trailer below and you can learn more at:

• https://www.facebook.com/thechairhorror

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Chimeres International Trailer: "While on holidays in Romania with his girlfriend Livia, Alexandre is hit by a car. He is rushed to the hospital where he has to undergo a blood transfusion.

On his return home he seems to be suffering from a strange disease, convinced that contaminated blood is running through his veins.

After all isn’t Romania the land of legendary bloodsuckers?

Livia has to face Alexandre’s increasingly strange behaviour and does all she can to save their floundering relationship.

A new take on the vampire film and a love-story, Chimeres has been doing a successful festival round and will be presented to buyers at the Cannes Film Market next week. We hope for a release later this year."

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First Details on Camp of the Damned: "White Lion Studios (formerly Little Sicily Productions) have officially announced that pre-production has begun on their new horror film, "Camp of the Damned," a throwback to the drive in chillers of the 80's. "We wanted to make something with monsters and practical effects, and keep it suspenseful. Don't be fooled, it will be a lot of fun to watch, but this is a horror movie. It's all about the scare!" says the film’s 24 year old writer and director, Ken Cosentino. This will be his fourth feature as director.

The film stars Bill Oberst, Jr., the "face of independent horror," most commonly known for his portrayal as Abe Lincoln in The Asylum's "Abraham Lincoln Vs. The Zombies." Oberst's character is the head counselor at Camp Good Son, a correctional camp for convicted teenage criminals. When unseen demonic forces from within the woods snatch up the campers and staff, only the most dangerous campers, the boys in Cabin 5, and their counselor (Oberst, Jr.) are around to witness the coming of the Apocalypse. Nobody is who they say, and paranoia runs rampant as everyone begins to suspect each other of being a monstrous doppelganger. Also joining the cast is character actor Babette Bombshell (Return to Class of Nuke 'Em High: Volume 1 & 2) and Dawna Lee Heising.

Production is expected between August and September.

White Lion Studios is owned and operated by Ken Cosentino, Nick Arnot, Gary Marino, Matt D. Lord and Baird Hageman. Their company is based out of Niagara Falls, NY and they specialize in low budget filmmaking, special effects, digital effects and vehicle stunts.

Film veteran Chris Olen Ray (son of Fred Olen Ray) has signed on to the project as line producer. The producers plan on a 2015 release of the film, but anyone can get involved and support the film by donating to their IndieGoGo fundraiser. The film's official sponsors include Niagara's Honeymoon Sweets; a chocolate company, and The Hype Magazine; the #1 digital magazine in the world."

For more information on this film, go to: http://www.facebook.com/evilcampmovie

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Radio Free Albemuth Trailer and Release Details: "Freestyle Releasing and Freestyle Digital Media (FDM) announced today that they have acquired theatrical and all DVD/VOD rights to the science fiction thriller, which is based on a Philip K. Dick novel and was directed and adapted by John Alan Simon. The film stars Jonathan Scarfe (“Perception,” “Grimm”), Shea Whigham (“Boardwalk Empire”), Katheryn Winnick (“Vikings”) and world renowned recording artist Alanis Morissette (“Weeds”). Supporting cast includes Scott Wilson (“Walking Dead”), Ashley Greene (“Twilight”), Jon Tenney (“The Closer,” “Scandal”) and Rich Sommer (“Mad Men”). The film was produced by Dale Rosenbloom, Stephen Nemeth and Elizabeth Karr along with Simon and will debut in limited theaters and on all digital platforms on June 27, 2014.

From sci-fi author Philip K. Dick (Blade Runner, Minority Report, A Scanner Darkly) comes his most personal and prophetic thriller to date. It’s 1985 in an alternate reality and Berkeley record store clerk Nick Brady (Jonathan Scarfe, Perception) begins to experience strange visions transmitted from an extra-terrestrial source he calls Valis. He uproots his family and moves to Los Angeles where he becomes a successful music executive with a secret mission to overthrow the oppressive government led by US President Fremont (Scott Wilson - The Walking Dead). With the help of his best friend, sci-fi writer, Philip K. Dick himself (Shea Whigham - Boardwalk Empire, American Hustle) and a beautiful, mysterious woman named Silvia (Alanis Morissette - Weeds), Nick finds himself drawn into a conspiracy of cosmic, mind-shattering proportions. Although it might cost them their freedom or even their lives, they join forces to expose the dangerous truth about the corrupt regime."

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Love Sick Casting Details: "Polluted Pictures is proud to announce that Bill Moseley (The Devil’s Rejects, Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2) has been attached in role of Dr. Christian in their feature film production, “Love Sick,” Co-Starring American Mary’s Tristan Risk, Here Comes the Devil’s Francisco Barreiro, and fellow horror icon Barbara Crampton.

“Love Sick” is the story of Rebecca and Marcus who “have been together for 10 years and after much deliberation have decided to part ways. After separating and being with others, they quickly realize how hard it is to disconnect from one another. The pain, lies, and betrayal all begin to manifest physically within the both of them as well as infect the others who have become involved with intimately. They love each other so much that it hurts... some more than others.”

Also joining the cast are Augie Duke (Bad Kids Go To Hell), Andrew Sensenig (Upstream Color), Camden Toy (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), and Ruben Pla (Contracted, Big Ass Spider).

Polluted Pictures completed a proof of concept piece showing a 3 minute peek into the world of Love Sick with the short film “M is for Marriage,” which will also be included in the upcoming ABC’s of Death 2.5 anthology film released by Drafthouse Films.

The film is currently completing development and moving toward production in the Fall of 2014. Concept art is currently being drawn by Eisner-nominated comic book painter and New York Times Bestselling Author Brett Weldele and the initial poster art is being conceived and created by Phantom City Creative in Toronto. Love Sick is Produced by The Bros. Freeman, Lara Cuddy, Todd Robinson, and Christian Burgess. Written and Directed by Todd E. Freeman."

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Phantasmagoria Teaser Trailer Released: "Three directors, Mickael Abbate, Domiziano Cristopharo & Tiziano Martella, offer us their original visions of fear in three gripping films that encompass the breadth of the genre: Diabolique, Il Serpente Dalla Lingua Acciaio and My Gift to You. Three different shorts about spirits belief and supernatural phenomenons able to surprise the audience in showing original, fascinating and scaring stories drawing on the traditional genre flavors of Thriller, Supernatural, Horror-Comedy, Zombie Action and Slasher filtered though the unique sensibility of each director.

The anthology will have its worldwide market premiere at Cannes on May 20. Italian sales company Open Reel will be handling worldwide sales of the film. Phantasmagoria will make its festival debut at Fanta Festival in Rome, Italy in July.

It has been recently reported that Cristina Puccinelli (L’Ultimo Weekend), Venantino Venantini (City of the Living Dead, Ladyhawke), Sophie Pâris and newcomer Maya Dolan are in Phantasmagoria. The stories are written by Mickael Abbate, Davide Chiara (Nero Infinito), Raffaele Picchio (Morituris), Lorenzo Paviano, Riccardo De Flaviis, co-produced by Extreme Video snc (Anger of the Dead, Morning Star, Zombie Massacre 1 & 2) and produced by M International Films."

To learn more information on Phantasmagoria, go to the film's Facebook at: http://www.facebook.com/phantasmagoria.the.movie

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Limited Edition Occular Rippage T-Shirt Details: "I'm super excited to bring you guys another collaboration with my pal, and amazing artist Mark Riddick. If you've been following my art / company for awhile, you know that I've had the pleasure of collaborating with Mark a few times on some limited edition items that sold out very quickly, but this time, we decided to step it up a notch, and put out 2 new items that you can drape over your lovely skin.

If you're not familiar with Mark Riddick's art take a moment and browse his massive portfolio of insanely brutal art dating all the way back to the early 90's [at] Riddickart.com.

He's designed merchandise for a giant list of bands in the heavy metal genre. From Cannibal Corpse, Black Dahlia, Dethklok, and others.

I am proud to share his awesomeness with you guys!"

For more information on these new items, visit: http://www.cavitycolors.com

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Malignant Trailer and Release Details: "After the death of his wife, a grieving man becomes the victim of a horrific experiment to cure his addiction.

The film will debut May 22 as a VOD premiere from Gravitas Ventures on all major cable and digital VOD platforms, including Comcast XFINITY, Time Warner, Bright House, Cox, Charter On Demand, Verizon, Dish Network, Mediacom, Suddenlink, RCN, Optimum, Frontier, Rogers On Demand, Shaw, Cogeco and EastLink TV, as well as iTunes, Google Play, YouTube, PlayStation, VUDU, Amazon Video and Xbox. There will also be a theatrical screening on Wednesday, May 28 at 7:30 at the Silent Movie Theater in Hollywood.

Malignant stars Gary Cairns (Hero Wanted, Daylight's End) and Brad Dourif. Other principals are Nick Nicotera, Sienna Farall, Steve Wastell, and Jennifer Blanc.

Other credits:
writer/director: Brian Avenet-Bradley
producer: Laurence Avenet-Bradley
executive producer: Andrew van den Houten"

For more information on the screening, visit: https://www.facebook.com/malignantthemovie

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The Midnight Game DVD Release Details: "In this eerie chiller inspired by true events, Olstead stars as a partying teen whose friends decide to perform an ancient pagan ritual found online called ‘The Midnight Game’: Candles are lit. A drop of blood is spilled. Your worst fear is confessed and an entity is summoned. But if the rules are not followed exactly, punishment is promised. Tonight, the game is not being taken seriously. A demonic horror has been unleashed, and now, even daylight cannot stop the nightmares that may destroy them all. Are you ready for the arrival of “The Midnight Man?”

With games, as with life, sometimes it’s play or be played. But beware when it’s play or be prey...

On August 12th Anchor Bay Entertainment dares you to join...The Midnight Game! An official selection at the 2013 Miami International Film Festival, Telluride Horror Show Film Festival and SF Indie fest’s Another Hole in the Head International Genre Film Festival, The Midnight Game promises a new whole spin on the games people play!

With a hot cast including Guy Wilson (“Breaking Bad,” Little Black Book, The Open Door, The Moon and He), Renee Olstead (“The Secret Life of the American Teenager,” 13 Going on 30), Shelby Young (“American Horror Story,” Wild Child, “Days of Our Lives,” The Social Network), Valentina de Angelis (Bereavement, Everlasting, Off the Map) and Spencer Daniels (Star Trek, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button), the rules are simple because there’s only one: survive! The Midnight Game will be available on DVD. Pre-book is July 16th."

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Night of the Living Dead: Origins 3D to Screen at Cannes: "With a seemingly unquenchable appetite for zombie movies, movie-goers will get their fill in 2014 with Night of the Living Dead: Origins 3D, a 3D animated reboot of the original 1968 horror classic. The film features visual effects from The Graphic Film Company, Los Angeles, which relied on the iPi Soft iPi Motion Capture markerless motion capture software solution. The software’s ability to easily create massive amounts of zombie action and seamlessly integrate it with the studio’s complex workflow, provided the filmmakers limitless creative freedom.

“There are a scant few examples of animated horror films, let alone ones that honor a classic like Night of the Living Dead, but this project is very special,” Michael Nikonov, iPi Soft's Chief Technology Architect says. "The fact that most of the film features motion capture, with a substantial amount created using iPi Motion Capture, stands as the best evidence our motion capture solution accelerates creativity easily and affordably."

Produced by noted Hollywood filmmaker Simon West (The Expendables 2, Con Air, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider) and Jib Polhemus,and directed by Krisztian Majdik and Zebediah De Soto, Night of the Living Dead: 3D Origins is a 3D animated (rarely seen in the R-rated horror genre) retelling of the 1968 George Romero-directed zombie classic.

The highly-stylized film, with a look somewhere between 3D animation and a graphic novel, centers on a group of desperate survivors fighting to stay alive barricaded in an abandoned apartment building. Confined, cut off from the world and under constant attack from the undead hordes closing in around them, the six main characters struggle to survive, while also confronting their own sense of compassion and humanity.

“Night of the Living Dead: Origins 3D” is premiering at the Cannes Film Festival on May 16. It is scheduled for theatrical release in Fall 2014."

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Epic Rap Battles of History Tackle The Walking Dead and Breaking Bad: "May 5th is the season 3.5 premiere of Epic Rap Battles of History.

The first battle is going to be Breaking Bad’s Walter White VS. The Walking Dead’s small town sheriff Rick Grimes.

Beginning Monday, May 5, a new battle will be released every other Monday through July 14.

Epic Rap Battles of History is one of the top 10 channels on YouTube with more than 1.5 billion series views and over 9.4 million channel subscribers."

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Web Series, Scream All You Want, Premiere Details: " Two local filmmakers have produced, written, and directed a horror/thriller web series that is releasing on YouTube later this week. "Scream All You Want" is an independent production filmed in various locations around Ottawa, Canada. The first part in the series, called "Scream a Little Dream" follows two paranormal "experts" as they investigate a series of supernatural attacks. Short on time (and support) they race to find and save the next victim's life.

The series is the first film project for filmmakers W. Thomas Leroux and Greg Murphy. “We came up with the idea for Scream All You Want oneFriday afternoon at the local pub,” said Leroux. “We worked on it on and off for a while, and then one day we just decided to go for it.”

Murphy and Leroux auditioned dozens of local actors to cast the web series. They ended up with a talented group of actors playing some of the lead roles in the film, including Emanuelle Carriere, who plays Jenna, Lindsay Gerro, who plays Tina, Vincent Scattolon, who plays Andrew, Ken Godmere as Henderson, Veronika D’Arc as Geiger and Kyla Gray as Sarah.

The web series will premiere on Friday, May 9th on YouTube. Each episode in the 8 part series will air weekly after that."

For more information on Scream All You Want, visit: http://www.sayw.tv

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Echo Dr. Trailer Released: "When their home security system malfunctions, a family struggles to survive an attack against a state of the art patrol guard that believes they are intruders.

Nationwide VOD and retail DVD release [on] June 15. There is also a limited theatrical release (Los Angeles) May 24. [The] distributor is Anderson Digital."

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First Details on The Pack: "Lightning Entertainment announced today that it has come aboard as a financing and production partner on The Pack – an Australian horror/thriller being directed by Nick Robertson (“The Runner”) and produced by Michael Robertson (“The Reef,” “Black Water,” “Road Train”) and Kent Smith (“2:37,” “The Tree”) under their new genre label, Breakout Movies. General Manager and Executive VP Ken Dubow states “Lightning’s production investment in The Pack underscores the company’s commitment to the growth of our business and our ability to get involved with the right film projects at their inception.”

The Pack will be the debut theatrical release of Kojo, a leading post-production and special effects company in Australia (The Babadook, Wolf Creek 1 & 2, The Lucky One, No Reservations) that bows its new Australian distribution operation with the film. Distribution rights for all territories outside of Australia & New Zealand are being handled by Lightning, which will introduce the film project in Cannes.

Producers are eying a late June 2014 start date for principle photography. The film will be shot on location outside of Adelaide, South Australia, with the support of the South Australian Film Corporation.

The Pack follows hardened farmer and devoted family man Adam Wilson, who is shocked to discover that the last of his livestock have been mauled to death on his rural ranch. Making matters worse, his wife informs him that their home veterinary business is failing, making a comfortable future uncertain for their feisty teenage daughter and young son. When a determined bank representative makes a surprise visit to the ranch to threaten foreclosure on the property, Adam firmly reassures his family that they are going nowhere, and that he will fight for the place that they call home.

Adam plans a celebratory feast that night, hoping to allay everyone’s concerns about the future, but dark shadows lurk outside their isolated farmhouse. A large pack of hungry and ferocious feral dogs circle restlessly in the darkness, thirsty for blood, waiting for their chance to attack. Suddenly the power to the farmhouse is cut and the evil hounds are unleashed, triggering a bloody and desperate battle for survival. With no way to call for help, Adam must protect his family from the violent onslaught of vicious evil howling outside their door!"

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First Details on Super Zero: "Super Zero is hoping to be the 2nd greatest film ever made about an overweight guy with cancer who becomes a badass Zombie Assassin and Mankind's last hope.

We are in production and shooting!"

To learn more, visit the film's Facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/SuperZeroFilm or on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/SuperZeroMovie

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Captain Z and the Terror of Leviathan: "In 1714 Captain Zachariah Zicari stops a group of possessed townsfolk from using a powerful amulet that would have released the ultimate evil, the Leviathan. Fast forward to 2014 and the amulet is again in the wrong hands. Can Captain Z save the earth?

Captain Z was made for $15,000 in September of 2013 over the course of 12 days and released just last week. It is an Adventure/Comedy and one early screening allowed a great description of the film, someone said it was basically a combination of Army of Darkness, Doctor Who, and Airplane. We feel that's pretty accurate.

Captain Z originated as a commercial character for Z's Jewelery in Martins Ferry, [Ohio] which eventually lead to the creation and release of Captain Z & The Terror of Leviathan.

It is currently available for sale online on both DVD and BluRay and we are in talks with Amazon to get it on their Video on Demand service."

For more information, go to: http://www.CaptainZMovie.com

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Ao Lado (Aside): "Strange noises happen in the next door neighbor, care for the curiosity kills! Low budget film produced by V Productions and Fear Factory.

Written and directed by J. Vinicius Santos. Produced in Brazil [and] fully independent."

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Blood Lake: Attack of the Killer Lampreys Premiere Details: "Blood Lake is part of the network's third annual MONSTER WEEK (May 18-26) and you never know what what creatures are lurking right outside your door, or as in Shannen’s case, inside your shower!

From the creators of Sharknado, Blood Lake: Attack of the Killer Lampreys serves as a frightening reminder that monsters come in all shapes and sizes and can attack when you least expect. Actors Shannen Doherty (90210), Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future) and Jason Brooks (J.J. Abrams' Star Trek, Days of Our Lives) star in the thriller set in small-town Michigan, where lampreys terrorize the residents, and each dip in the pool or trip to the toilet turns into a life-or-death situation. Looking for their next blood-filled victim, Lampreys, which are eel-like fish with huge-toothed, funnel-like mouths, insinuate their slimy bodies throughout the town's sewer system. There is absolutely nowhere to run, and no one is safe. When are they going to strike next? Who's the next victim? The only thing you can be sure is that it's going to suck—big time!