It's not long now before AFI Fest 2019 kicks off on November 14th, so details on the genre films set to be screened at the festival have been announced. Also in today's Horror Highlights: The Addams Family Halloween screenings, Gibson's Behind the Board interview with A Nightmare on Elm Street composer Charles Bernstein, a look at the short film Bienvenue, Cavitycolors' Halloween: H20 and Halloween: Resurrection apparel, and the poster for Black Wood.

Lineup Revealed for AFI Fest 2019: "AFI FEST 2019 presented by Audi, the American Film Institute’s annual celebration of cinema, will take place Thursday, November 14 – Thursday, November 21 in the heart of Hollywood.

Tickets can be purchased starting October 30 at https://fest.afi.com/tickets/

BACURAU – World Cinema
The inhabitants of a remote Brazilian village realize that their town has been erased from the map. When the water supply is cut, cell-phone coverage fades and a local family is murdered, it becomes clear they are under attack. Tension explodes into a war as the community bands together, determined to survive the assault. DIR Juliano Dornelles, Kleber Mendonça Filho. SCR Kleber Mendonça Filho, Juliano Dornelles. CAST Bárbara Colen, Sonia Braga, Udo Kier. Brazil, France

JALLIKATTU – Midnight

In the tropical Indian state of Kerala, a buffalo escapes. Soon, all hell breaks loose as an entire village tries to wrestle it under control. A teeming world of base human behavior is also unleashed in this unique, adrenaline-fueled, brilliantly assembled and highly experiential spectacle that pulsates with energy from start-to-finish.

DIR Lijo Jose Pellissery. SCR S Hareeesh, R Jayakumar. CAST Anthony Varghese, Chemban Vinod Jose, Sabumon Abdusamad, Santhy Balachandran. India

SAINT MAUD – Midnight

Maud, a reclusive nurse with a traumatic past, takes the task of hospice care for her new patient, Amanda, very seriously – she is determined to save Amanda’s soul from the devil. A sharp, striking debut, this psychological horror story of religious devotion will make you shiver long after leaving the theater. DIR Rose Glass. SCR Rose Glass. CAST Morfydd Clark, Jennifer Ehle Lily Frazer, Lily Knight, Marcus Hutton, Turlough Convery, Rosie Sansom, Carl Prekopp, Jonathan Milshaw, Noa Bodner, Rosie Sansom. UK

DEEP TISSUE – Shorts

A woman orders a special massage. DIR Meredith Alloway. SCR Meredith Alloway. CAST Meredith Alloway, Peter Vack. USA

THE DEVIL'S HARMONY – Shorts

Kiera is being bullied at school, but her a cappella club possess a secret, supernatural power: when they sing, listeners are sent into a state of catatonic, never-ending sleep. DIR Dylan Holmes Williams. SCR Dylan Holmes Williams, Jess O'Kane. CAST Patsy Ferran, Leo Suter, Guy Henry, Bobby Schofield. UK

SUICIDE BY SUNLIGHT – Shorts

Valentina, a day-walking Black vampire protected from the sun by her melanin, is forced to restrain her bloodlust to regain custody of her estranged daughters. DIR Nikyatu Jusu. SCR Nikyatu Jusu & Robin S. Williams. CAST Natalie Paul, Motell Foster, Alexis Nichole Smith, Souleymane Sy Savane, Madison Spicer. USA

THE HISTORY OF MONSTERS – Conservatory Showcase

Evelyn lives isolated in a cabin in the woods haunted every night by monsters of unknown origin. One day she finds a man in the forest and decides to help him. She becomes entranced by the stranger and struggles between her safety and her sexual desires. DIRECTOR Juan Pablo Arias Muñoz. SCREENWRITER Juan Pablo Arias Muñoz. PRODUCER Talya Ster. CINEMATOGRAPHER Tom Meredith. EDITOR Charles Hertley Carter. PRODUCTION DESIGNER Mauricio Abud Friederichsen. CAST Valeria Gonzalez, Oscar Peña. USA

UNDER COVERS – Shorts

On the night of a lunar eclipse, the sweet, salacious, and spooky secrets of a small town are uncovered. DIR Michaela Olsen. SCR Michaela Olsen. CAST Jade Shames, Dylan Stephen Levers, Emily Collins, Robert Kovacs. USA."

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The Addams Family Halloween Screenings: "This Halloween, Thursday October 31st, moviegoers can see THE ADDAMS FAMILY in theaters with some SPOOKtacular Deals.

On Halloween, tickets are only $5 each at Cinemark Theaters nationwide.

You can also Buy One Ticket and Get One Free at Regal, Marcus, Harkins, Showcase Cinemas, Studio Movie Grill, B&B Theatres and Classic Cinemas Theaters nationwide.

Have a SPOOKY, OOKY, and KOOKY Halloween with THE ADDAMS FAMILY!

GET TICKETS"

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Behind the Board: A Nightmare on Elm Street: "NASHVILLE, TN (October 29, 2019) In the new series “Behind the Board,” Gibson takes music fans on an inside and in-depth look at the creation of the groundbreaking music behind their favorite songs, albums and films. As Halloween nears, we are reminded that no horror film would be scary without a perfectly, bone-chilling score to accompany it.

In this episode, Gibson sits down with composer Charles Bernstein to discuss the writing, performing, recording and production of some of the most unforgettable and terrifying compositions in film history and his original score for Wes Craven’s A Nightmare On Elm Street which is considered to be one of the greatest horror films ever made.

Charles was born and raised in Minneapolis, MN and began playing music at an early age (bass, piano). His mother was a pianist for films and his father was a record producer. Charles produced Phil Spector’s very first demo at the age of 15 and learned the techniques of studio recording. A fan of Les Paul and Mary Ford--Les Paul was not only a guitarist, but also an innovator with recording and audio production--Charles’ first score was for the 1969 Oscar-winning documentary Czechoslovakia 1968. In 1984, Charles Bernstein wrote, performed and recorded all instruments on the score to A Nightmare On Elm Street including bass, synths, guitar and percussion. Recently, Charles Bernstein worked with Quentin Tarantino who has included Bernstein's music from White Lightning and The Entity in the soundtracks of his films Kill Bill: Volume 1 and Inglourious Basterds."

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Bienvenue Short Film: "Synopsis: Claire and Mathieu, thirty-somethings, have booked an Airbnb for one night. The apartment looks just like the ad, and all is cool until their attention is drawn to something. Or someone? At the end of the corridor, there is a room. In the room, there is a boy, hiding his face, weeping. Or is he ?...

Original content to celebrate Halloween, JohnDoe producers - specializing in genre cinema – propose a new kind of film length on the French market. In the vein of Mama and Lights Out, Bienvenue is an effective short horror film (3mins), which grabs the audience from its very first seconds, and leads them to a very memorable ending. From the beginning, we aimed to release the film for free on digital platforms, as “Halloween candy” of some sort, for thrill and chill lovers to enjoy. But “premium” candy [goes to] the team behind the film being solely composed of bona fide professionals who fell in love with the project.

JohnDoe Productions
JohnDoe Productions is a Parisian production company founded by Aurélien Molas (writer of Maroni, Crime Time, Furie and La Révolution for Netflix) and François Lardenois, focusing on genre cinema. JohnDoe aims to explore uncharted territories, supporting strong and original projects along with advocating dialog between the writers and the producers. Awarded in France and abroad for our first series Crime Time (International Emmy Wards, FIPA d’Or for Best writing…) and Red Creek (Globes de Cristal, Séries Mania…), we are currently working on the historical and fantastic series about French Revolution for Netflix.

Vincent Julé is a French journalist specialized in pop culture with a focus on genre cinema. He also is a film writer and director. “Just like the short films by Argentinian director Andrés Muschietti and Lights Out by Swedish director David F. Sandberg, I’ve challenged myself and wanted to try to frighten the audience in a very short time. Less than 5 minutes. This is how Bienvenue, an effective and straightforward short film came to be.”

“The idea came to me when I actually booked an Airbnb. You enter an empty place that belongs to someone else; you have to make your marks… This experience was offering me a way to revisit the haunted house genre. After all, haven’t we all feared things might go wrong when booking an Airbnb?”

“This story was also an opportunity to tackle the not-so-common figure of the evil child, like in The Omen or The Village of the Damned. Of course, you’d be surprised to find a child in an Airbnb, you would not understand… Would you feel empathy? These very ingredients allowed me to go for a more original and insidious take on fear itself.”

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Cavitycolors' Halloween: H20 and Resurrection Apparel Release Details: "Who’s excited?! October 31st at 5 PM EST, we’re celebrating our favorite day with the launch of our officially licensed HALLOWEEN: H20 + Resurrection collection!

All new super cozy Crewneck Sweaters, Tees, Raglans, and more!"

For more information or to get your own Halloween: H20 and Halloween: Resurrection apparel, visit:

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New Poster for Black Wood: "Black Wood is a western-horror written and directed by Chris Canfield and stars Bates Wilder, Tanajsia Slaughter, Stelio Savante, David Fralick and Glenn Morshower. The cast is rounded out by Andrew Stecker, George Thomas Mansel, and Casey Birdinground. Eric Corneliuson and Ryan M Hall are producing with Rich Songstad and Chris Canfield. Black Wood has been filming throughout South Dakota.

Storyline: After her family was murdered, Dowanhowee, a Sioux Indian woman, travels alone into the ever-expanding West. She stumbles upon a decrepit town and crosses paths with a notorious outlaw group known as the Dutch Wilder Gang. She discovers one of the men riding a horse belonging to a member of her slain family. Dowanhowee takes revenge on the horse thief and evades the group by racing into an uncharted area known as the Black Wood Forest. Once inside this mysterious land, the Dutch Wilder Gang captures Dowanhowee and after a cruel interrogation the men find value in her and force her to help them with their primary mission; to find a hidden vein of gold. Not long into their journey, they soon discover they must work together and fight for their lives as they have unknowingly awakened an ancient ravenous creature known as The Wendigo."

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Zombieland: Double Tapper Halloween Items: "Set in the post-apocalyptic, overrun by the undead, universe of the highly popular Zombieland franchise, Double Tapper lets players play as well-known characters Tallahassee, Columbus, Wichita and Little Rock, as well as characters from the new film. Players get to slay zombies in dozens of missions in a cross-country roadtrip from the woods of New England to the beaches of California. Players will have no excuse not to “nut up or shut up” when armed with this arsenal of unique weapons that offer fun and creative ways to dismantle hordes of zombies or when facing off against towering zombie bosses."

Zombieland: Double Tapper is available for free on iOS and Android

Here's a look at some of the special Halloween drops that have been added:

  • Tamika Jones
    About the Author - Tamika Jones

    Tamika hails from North Beach, Maryland, a tiny town inches from the Chesapeake Bay.She knew she wanted to be an actor after reciting a soliloquy by Sojourner Truth in front of her entire fifth grade class. Since then, she's appeared in over 20 film and television projects. In addition to acting, Tamika is the Indie Spotlight manager for Daily Dead, where she brings readers news on independent horror projects every weekend.

    The first horror film Tamika watched was Child's Play. Being eight years old at the time, she remembers being so scared when Chucky came to life that she projectile vomited. It's tough for her to choose only one movie as her favorite horror film, so she picked two: Nosferatu and The Stepford Wives (1975).