Horror Highlights: Cthulhu Statue, Level 33 Entertainment DVD Prize Pack Contest, THE ANATOMY OF FEAR, AGATHA, MANOS RETURNS, BARRY BAKER: ASPIRING SERIAL KILLER, ALL THROUGH THE HOUSE

• http://amzn.to/2eGHjlL

Prize Details: (1) Winner will receive (1) horror DVD prize pack from Level 33 Entertainment, including:

• (1) DVD copy of Harold's Going Stiff
• (1) DVD copy of Zombie Hamlet
• (1) DVD copy of The Mole Man of Belmont Avenue

How to Enter: For a chance to win, email contest@dailydead.com with the subject “Level 33 Entertainment DVD Contest”. Be sure to include your name and mailing address.

Entry Details: The contest will end at 12:01am EST on November 1st. This contest is only open to those who are eighteen years of age or older that live in the United States. Only one entry per household will be accepted.

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The Anatomy of Fear Excerpt: Synopsis for The Anatomy of Fear: Conversations with Cult Horror and Science-Fiction Filmmakers: "During in-depth conversations with 21 horror and science-fiction film writers and directors, filmmakers Chris and Kathleen Vander Kaay find answers to this question, along with the inside story on the inspiration, creation, and behind-the-scenes experiences of box office blockbusters. Horror movies have a shady reputation because of their flaws and eccentricities. Horror wants us to laugh when we’re uncomfortable, keep looking when we want to turn away, and live with a total lack of happy endings. Perhaps that’s why we respect these films as a subculture. And because no one expects horror films to toe the line, they get to flirt with madness and imperfection while making the most interesting, controversial observations. That’s why this book exists. Part of the subject matter in horror films is blunt and graphic and doesn’t need further illumination. Other parts are brave, transgressive, explorative, and restless. While exploring these themes with 21 artists, the Vander Kaays uncover a surprisingly honest appraisal of the human psyche."

To learn more about The Anatomy of Fear: Conversations with Cult Horror and Science-Fiction Filmmakers, visit Amazon.

Excerpt:

In a fascinating amalgamation of found-footage style horror and real documentary interview material, director/writer J.T. Petty created S&Man, a film that explores the dark and uncomfortable subject matter of independent, no-budget horror films made by individuals in the direct market and sold from person to person, where no ratings boards exist and no one knows how much of what ends up on screen is great effects… or something much more disturbing.

AOF: S&Man provides more to discuss than almost any of your other films. There are some stories behind it, right? You made this film before The Burrowers, but it wasn’t released until after, correct?

J.T. PETTY: I’m terrible with timelines, but yes, I think that’s true.

AOF: Was it because of the movie’s theme? Why was getting it out such an issue?

J.T. PETTY: I made it for a company called HDNet films. I believe the channel still exists, but while we were in post on the film, the company went out of business, and the catalogue was folded into Magnolia. So the company owned the movie, but it was one more unfinished film that no longer had a budget and was floating in their books. They honestly just weren’t paying attention to it. It played at Toronto and did a whole bunch of festivals and got great reviews, but it didn’t fit into the system. The way it actually came out was the result of piracy. It was traded and downloaded all over the place, and people were writing about it. Someone from Magnolia saw that, thought the film looked interesting, and discovered they already owned it. So they put it out.

AOF: That’s wild. It sounds to me like when George Romero was originally going to name Night of the Living Dead something like Night of the Anubis, and at the last minute he changed the title and forgot to put the copyright on it. Some people believe that film was so prolific because it was free to play. And in a way, that piracy is what ended up giving the film its cult following.

J.T. PETTY: In general, I would say piracy has helped my career, which is probably not a popular stance in Hollywood, but it certainly has been a major arm for distribution.

AOF: I don’t necessarily support piracy, but when it helps distribute work that should be seen, but won’t be seen any other way, I have trouble resisting. Unfortunately today’s film climate has not only a glut of bad movies being made, but also a dearth of good films getting any kind of release. I feel like you have to take it into your own hands to find the work yourself, because the studios won’t be giving it to you.

J.T. PETTY: Yeah, I think things are going to shake out in the next five years or so. But I do hope for a greater democratization of distribution.

AOF: It’s interesting you say that, because the subject matter of S&Man is about the film industry, particularly the fringes of the horror film industry— in some instances the far fringes. How did this concept come about? Did you just go to a convention one time and find out these films exist and wanted to talk about it?

J.T. PETTY: It was after I made Soft for Digging. I was doing a lot of festivals and conventions, and one well known thing about that movie was the low budget. We spent six grand to make it and another nine to finish. So it was a famously cheap film, and people would contact me and tell me they made a movie for two thousand and ask me to watch it. The people who made these films were so creepy and because it was something completely outside the system, it brought me back to twelve years old, and it was scary just putting the tape into the machine. The first time I saw Faces of Death, it was a bootlegged VHS copy. The title was written on masking tape on a third generation VHS. That made it so much scarier, because it wasn’t protected by the creative gates of Hollywood. You know they’re not going to kill anybody in a Hollywood movie. But if you watch something made in Korea, you wonder if the horses really died. Or if something is made in some guy’s backyard. There would be times in the movies, like where Bill Zebub cuts up his own arm, and you can tell from watching that it’s not a prosthetic because he couldn’t do a prosthetic that well. But also because it spot bleeds and all the stuff anatomy actually does. I would come across these moments in these movies, and it’s a weird complicated movie thing, because by and large the movies are terrible and laughable, but when you come across something that’s actually frightening, it takes me back to that twelve-year-old level of being scared, because it’s so unexpected and out of nowhere. I wanted to make a movie that kind of takes you to that experience. A movie for people who’ve seen so many horror movies they can’t be scared anymore. I specifically wanted to scare those people.

AOF: I picture in my mind, every time you pop one of those tapes into the machine, you look like the poor widow at the beginning of 8MM, horrified by stumbling onto this awful thing in the safe.

J.T. PETTY: And snuff films are such a weird urban legend. Everybody knows somebody who saw one, but nobody has actually seen one. But of course they exist, how could they not?

AOF: We could lose count of the urban legends that are partially (or in no way) based on real stories. And in the case of snuff films, someone simply turns on a camera and does something horrible. So it makes sense people believe these terrible films exist, even though they’ve never seen one.

J.T. PETTY: It’s actually kind of encouraging about human nature that more of them aren’t publicly available. The only thing keeping it from happening is the pull of society, and some sense of responsibility.

AOF: In S&Man, you mix the story thread with actual footage of real people in interviews. You didn’t give these people lines, right?

J.T. PETTY: Everything except the Eric storyline is entirely documentary.

AOF: I wasn’t sure what the level was, and now that I know, it’s a little bit more disturbing than I thought. I had assumed there was a level, and you saw real people and then made heightened versions of them.

J.T. PETTY: Well, I am asking the questions and editing the footage. It’s funny, nobody really sees it this way, but I was trying to be as explicitly mistrustful as possible. So many edits are like the cheapest possible Michael Moore tricks. When Debbie D says maybe she’ll be Goldie Hawn someday, and then you cut to some other interview where a person is laughing. It’s impossible not to think emotionally that the person is mocking Debbie D, even though they’re laughing at something else. I think I was putting too much hope in people’s sophistication, because I hoped people would get that Michael Moore feeling from the movie and start to see it was bullshit. But I guess the violence and stuff distracted from what was actually happening.

AOF: What you’re saying is what I felt about the film. But then you look at reviews and hear people talk as though it’s an actual documentary. That is a compliment to your skills as a filmmaker, but also a sad commentary on the people watching the film. I’ve spoken with a lot of people whose films exist in two places at once. Thom Eberhardt said about Night of the Comet that two audiences like it; the un-ironic Emo thing about lonely kids being stuck on the planet, and others who get that it’s a satire. Each of the two audiences doesn’t know the other exists. S&Man rides that line perfectly, with two different groups seeing two different things. You’re obviously not ambiguous about whether or not it’s real; you didn’t do the Blair Witch thing where you hung up fake missing posters, but the fact that the audience can still buy into it years after the movie came out says something.

J.T. PETTY: The biggest lesson for me with that film was how distracting violence can be. My ending voice-over basically says I went looking for something truly horrible, couldn’t find it, and so I made it up. But that’s playing over footage of a woman being stalked and killed, so it’s almost like a magic trick where your brain is so fixated on the woman being killed that you just don’t hear what’s being said. That actually made me think more about news and how violent news has gotten. I’m the last person in the world who argues for censorship, but whatever they’re saying about the facts while they’re showing you dead bodies floating in Louisiana, or Saddam Hussein’s hanging body, is just lost. Spoken words become noise when the images are that strong.

AOF: There was a time where, if they were going to report something disturbing, not only would they not report everything, but they would warn you what was coming. Now it’s being sold, not on the news behind the thing, but on the thing itself. I feel like humor can sometimes have a similar effect, actually. Humor can let something slip by that you didn’t realize, maybe more in a message way. But as you were saying, violence desensitizes us to the rest of the information. Humor pushes the information further than if it’s presented as a dry statement. Basically, the delivery of information can be altered by the emotional state accompanying that information.

J.T. PETTY: It’s almost like language is a program used by humans, and there are all kinds of ways to cheat the system and put a bug into it.

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Trailer for the Short Film Agatha: "The orphan train comes daily, spilling hundreds of children onto the streets of Pennsylvania in the late 1800’s. Desperate and alone, the penniless 7 year old Sophie, entrusts an older woman who hires her to bring food each night to someone living in her attic. There is just one rule: Do not pass the serving table….EVER. As time passes, the child’s curiosity grows bold; drawing her closer to discovering the truth behind the prisoner."

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Manos Returns Cast Announced: "The producers are proud to announce the cast of Manos Returns, a sequel to the cult classic Manos - The Hands of Fate. The legacy cast features Jackey Neyman Jones (Debbie), Tom Neyman (The Master) and Diane Mahree Rystad (Maggie) reprising their roles from the original, plus Bryan Jennings, the son of Manos cast member William Bryan Jennings, taking over his father’s role as The Sheriff. They are joined by newcomers Danielle Daggerty (Clara), Christina Pezzo (Nicki), Nuria Aguilar (Pat), Christopher Barnes (Jay) and Steven Sheilds as Torgo.

Directed by award-winning Seattle filmmaker Tonjia Atomic (Plain Devil, Hobo with a Trashcan), Manos Returns takes place 50 years after the action of Manos - The Hands of Fate. Four friends get lost on a road trip and stumble on a hidden cult lead by the sinister Master and his servant Torgo. As they try to escape, they are caught up in the power struggle between Debbie (given to Manos as a child 50 years ago), her mother Maggie, and the other souls twisted by their time serving the dark god.

Like the original, Manos Returns has a full compliment of Brides for The Master: Rachel Jackson, Bryn Kristi, Tonjia Atomic, Nina Nightshade, Stephanie Lunceford and Emily Watson. Ghosts haunting Valley Lodge are led by cult movie favorite George Stover, with Marlene Cox, Myron Jenkins, Milton Jenkins, Ygal Kaufman, and Robert H. Olin rounding out the cast.

Principle photography for Manos Returns took place in Falls City, Oregon in July, after raising production funds via a successful Kickstarter campaign earlier this year. Kickstarter backers Darlene Darwin (Sheriff’s Deputy), and Derek Singer and Greg Tally (ghosts) appear in the film as part of their rewards.

One thing The Master would especially approve about the new production is the number of women involved: 3 of the 4 producers, all three screenwriters, and 13 of the 24 cast members are female.

“The new script centers quite a bit on the female characters,” said Atomic. “We didn’t plan it that way, but once we asked ourselves how we could give the women a little more agency than they had in the original it just evolved really naturally in that direction.”

Manos Returns is currently in post production. Screening dates have yet to be announced. Manos Returns is produced by Jackey Neyman Jones, Tonjia Atomic, Joe Sherlock and Rachel Jackson.

www.ManosReturns.com"

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Barry Baker: Aspiring Serial Killer Teaser Trailer & Poster: "After receiving his destiny from a fortune cookie, a lonely office worker, Barry Baker, has a hard time adjusting to his new found calling as a serial killer. Just because you are meant to do something... doesn't mean you will be good at it.

Barry Baker: Aspiring Serial Killer is a new comedy-horror series following our "hero", Barry Baker, who desires to be a serial killer--but isn't very good at it. Playing off of classic horror tropes, the 'Barry Baker' series finds itself riding the line of cringe-worthy and hilarious. Created by Tony Ahedo and Natasha Thornton, the first season is currently in production. The 24 minute pilot episode has been completed and is screening in numerous film festivals across the nation. It will be available for streaming on October 31st on Amazon Prime Instant video.

We love monsters, gore, and vomit here at the BBASK team. If you fellow murder enthusiast share one of the three interest, please sign up for our mailing list on our show. We will be sending all kinds of rad updates on our progress and our episodes. Thanks, Killers!"

To learn more about Barry Baker: Aspiring Serial Killer, visit:

• http://www.bbask.tv/

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All Through the House Blu-ray Signing: Press Release: "Los Angeles, CA – Prepare to unwrap some Christmas fear this Halloween. On Sunday, October 30 at 2:00pm the cast and crew from the Santa slasher ALL THROUGH THE HOUSE will be doing a Blu-ray signing at Dark Delicacies, 3512 W. Magnolia Blvd., Burbank, CA 91505; (818) 556-6660. Blu-ray copies can be purchased at: http://ow.ly/WHQh305iWKd

The Dark Delicacies signing features Scream Queens Jessica Cameron, Ashley Mary Nunes, Johanna Rae, Natalie Montera, Kelsey Karlsted, and Tamra Garrett. Also attending are actors Melynda Kiring, Lito Velasco, Cathy Garrett, Lyndon Laveaux and Jason Ray Schumacher, along with writer/director Todd Nunes and producers Stephen Readmond and Christopher Stanley.

The Christmas-themed horror film ALL THROUGH THE HOUSE made its U.S. debut on all major VOD platforms October 4, 2016 and is released by Gravitas Ventures. VOD Platforms include: iTunes, Vudu, Google Play, Playstation 4, Amazon Instant Video, and Microsoft Xbox. The DVD/Blu-ray version is available on Amazon.

Hot off the festival circuit, ALL THROUGH THE HOUSE has received 20 nominations and nine awards including: Best Slasher, Best Editing, and Audience Choice Award (RIP Horror Film Festival, Hollywood, CA), Best Director (Hardcore Horror Fest, Chicago, IL), Best Local Feature (Another Hole in the Head, San Francisco, CA), and Best Supporting Actress (Action on Film Festival, Monrovia, CA).

ALL THROUGH THE HOUSE stars Ashley Mary Nunes (SYFY’S Robot Combat League), Jessica Cameron (Truth or Dare), Jennifer Wenger (Tales of Halloween), and Lito Velasco (Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy). The film’s gory special effects were created by Tommy Pietch of SYFY’S Face Off and Star Trek: Renegades.

Official Synopsis: Fifteen years ago, a peaceful Christmas neighborhood was engulfed by fear when five-year-old Jamie Garrett was mysteriously taken from her bedroom, never to be seen again. Now on Christmas break, Rachel Kimmel comes home from college to find her neighborhood struck again by a reign of terror. A violent killer is hiding behind a grisly Santa mask, leaving a bloody trail of slaughtered women and castrated men on the steps of the Garrett house. Rachel finds herself in a horrifying nightmare as she discovers the twisted secret behind the mask.

Critical Praise: “Nunes does a fantastic job of making sure to keep the blood flowing and having each kill be distinctive and superb in its own way.” – The Movie Sleuth

“All Through the House is the perfect stocking stuffer, the perfect present under the tree. It’s an unpredictable gore fest filled with holiday cheer and unadulterated horror” – Horror Society

ALL THROUGH THE HOUSE was shot in 21 days in the summer of 2014 in Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Lake Arrowhead, CA. Director/Writer Todd Nunes is currently at work on his next horror film Death Ward 13, a remake of the cult classic Don’t Look in the Basement.

Full Cast: Ashley Mary Nunes, Jessica Cameron, Melynda Kiring, Jennifer Wenger, Lito Velasco, Natalie Montera, Jason Rayer, Johanna Rae (Natural Born Filmmakers), Cathy Garrett, Matt Poeschl (“Entourage”), Danica Riner, Kelsey Carlstedt, Lyndon Laveaux, Justice Lee, Sarah Miller, Milijana Riner, Noah Boylen, John Nunes, and Sky Boylen.

US • 2016 • 16:9 • Stereo • 95 mins • Unrated

www.allthroughthehousemovie.com, https://www.facebook.com/allthroughthehouseSLASHER"