Horror Highlights: THE LOVE WITCH UK Blu-ray, HOUNDS OF LOVE, Max Steiner Award, THE GIRL, HOLY TERROR, TWO PIGEONS

Don't mess with the Love Witch. UK viewers will understand what I mean when The Love Witch Blu-ray arrives on March 13th. Also in today's Highlights: Hounds of Love trailer and SXSW premiere details, Danny Elfman being named the recipient of the Max Steiner Award 2017, The Girl Saturn Award nomination details, Holy Terror release details, and a new clip from Two Pigeons.

The Love Witch UK Blu-ray Release Announced: Blu-ray.com reports that Icon Home Entertainment and Frightfest Presents will release The Love Witch on Blu-ray in the UK on March 13th.

Synopsis: "Elaine, a beautiful young witch, is determined to find a man to love her. In her gothic Victorian apartment, she makes spells and potions, and then picks up men and seduces them. However, her spells work too well, leaving her with a string of hapless victims. When she finally meets the man of her dreams, her desperation to be loved will drive her to the brink of insanity and murder. With a visual style that pays tribute to Technicolor thrillers of the 60s, THE LOVE WITCH explores female fantasy and the repercussions of pathological narcissism."

Special Features (via Blu-ray.com):

Audio commentary with Anna Biller and M. David Mullen

Behind-the-scenes with Writer and Director Anna Biller

Interview with cinematographer M. David Mullen

Deleted scenes

Elaine and Jerry
Trish on the phone
Extended scenes​

Ritual 1​
Ritual 2
Ritual 3​
Trish dressing
​Magic bottles​
Elaine cooking​
Tea room​
Police investigation
Alternate scenes​

Renaissance tears
Gemini twins​
Samantha Robinson dance audition

Original Theatrical trailer"

Cover art via Amazon:

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Watch the Hounds of Love Trailer: "HOUNDS OF LOVE will have its North American Premiere at SXSW on Saturday, March 11, and opens in theaters on May 12th, 2017.

Written and directed by Ben Young, Hounds of Love stars Ashleigh Cummings, Emma Booth, Stephen Curry, Susie Porter, Damian de Montemas, Harrison Gilbertson, and Fletcher Humphrys.

Synopsis: In suburban Perth during the mid-1980s, people are unaware that women are disappearing at the hands of serial killer couple John and Evelyn White. After an innocent lapse in judgment, Vicki Maloney is randomly abducted by the disturbed couple. With her murder imminent, Vicki realizes she must find a way to drive a wedge between Evelyn and John if she is to survive. Hounds of Love is an exercise in expertly-crafted tension, offering a bold, challenging debut from writer/director Ben Young.

http://www.houndsoflovemovie.com/"

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Composer Danny Elfman to Receive the Max Steiner Award: Press Release: "Vienna/Los Angeles – March 9th, 2017 – Vienna is without a doubt the music capital of the world. More famous composers have lived here than in any other city – in Vienna, music is literally in the air. It’s no surprise that therefore it’s the Austrian-born composer Max Steiner (“Gone with the Wind”, “Casablanca”), who is one of the fathers of film music as we know it today.

Each year, the Max Steiner Film Music Achievement Award commemorates the Viennese composer Max Steiner. The prestigious award is presented by the City of Vienna during the annual Hollywood in Vienna gala to one of the world’s most renowned film music composers and is a symbol of recognition for exceptional achievements in the art of film music.

The 10th Annual Hollywood in Vienna gala, which has established itself as a leading event of its kind, will take place on September 29th at the historic Concert Hall (Konzerthaus) in Vienna, Austria and is broadcast via TV, internationally in over 35 countries. Hollywood in Vienna CEO and Founder Sandra Tomek is excited to announce that Grammy & Emmy Winner and four-time Oscar nominee Danny Elfman will be bestowed with the 2017 Max Steiner Award.

“Not many living composers can compete with a legacy such as Danny Elfman. His scores shape and influence modern pop culture, and his iconic music is inseparable from Tim Burton’s movies. We will pay homage to this great composer of countless unforgettable soundtracks”, says Sandra Tomek.

Elfman joins an illustrious group of prior recipients of the Max Steiner Award such as Alexandre Desplat (2016), James Newton Howard (2015), Randy Newman (2014), and the late James Horner (2013).

“I’m beyond excited, to be awarded in Vienna”, says Danny Elfman. “I have never been to Vienna and look forward to be there. I’m a huge admirer of Max Steiner”.

Over the last 30 years, Danny Elfman has established himself as one of the most versatile and accomplished film composers in the industry. He has collaborated with such directors as Tim Burton, Gus Van Sant, Sam Raimi, Paul Haggis, Ang Lee, Rob Marshall, Guillermo del Toro, Brian De Palma, and Peter Jackson.

Beginning with his first score on Tim Burton’s “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure”, Elfman has scored a broad range of films, including: “Milk” (Oscar nominated), “Good Will Hunting” (Oscar nominated), “Big Fish” (Oscar nominated), “Men in Black” (Oscar nominated), “Edward Scissorhands”, “Wanted”, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, “Mission: Impossible”, “Planet of the Apes”, “Spider-Man” (1 & 2), “Batman”, “Chicago”, “Dick Tracy”, “The Nightmare Before Christmas”, “Alice in Wonderland”, David O. Russell’s award-winning films “Silver Linings Playbook” and “American Hustle”, Sam Raimi’s “Oz: The Great and Powerful”, “Mr. Peabody and Sherman”, the Errol Morris documentary “The Unknown Known: The Life and Times of Donald Rumsfeld”, Tim Burton’s “Big Eyes”, Marvel’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron” and “Fifty Shades of Grey”. Recently he has provided the music for “The Girl on the Train”, “Alice Through the Looking Glass” and “Fifty Shades Darker”. Up next for Elfman is The Weinstein Company’s “Tulip Fever” and the sci-fi thriller “The Circle” directed by James Ponsoldt and starring Emma Watson and Tom Hanks.

Hollywood in Vienna is excited that Mr. Elfman will perform some special renditions of his memorable songs during the gala.

His work will be performed by the world-class ORF Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by John Mauceri, who conducted the first Hollywood in Vienna concert in 2007 and returns for the 10th Anniversary of this great concert event. John Mauceri’s distinguished and extraordinary career has brought him to not only to the world’s greatest opera companies and symphony orchestras, but also to the musical stages of Broadway and Hollywood, as well as the most prestigious halls of Academia. Regarded as the world’s leading performer of the music of Hollywood’s émigré composers, he has taken the lead in the preservation and performance of many kinds of music and has supervised/conducted premieres by composers as diverse as Debussy, Stockhausen, Korngold, Bernstein, Hindemith, Elfman, Ives, and Shore. As an accomplished recording artist, John Mauceri has over 70 albums to his name and is the recipient of Grammy, Tony, Olivier, Drama Desk, Edison, Cannes Classique, Billboard, two Diapasons d’Or, three Emmys, and four Deutsche Schallplatten Awards.

The theme of the first half of the 2017 Hollywood in Vienna gala concert is “Fairytales” and will feature music from the Disney Live-Action movie “Beauty and the Beast”, “The Narnia Chronicles”, “Finding Neverland”, “The Lion King”, “Life of Pi”, and music from the “Final Fantasy” video game series, celebrating its 30th Anniversary.

Hollywood in Vienna was founded in 2007 by Sandra Tomek (Tomek Productions). The symphonic gala concert celebrates classic and current masterpieces of film music. During the course of the gala concert, the City of Vienna awards one of today’s leading film music composers with the Max Steiner Film Music Achievement Award. The Viennese composer Max Steiner belongs to the most influential pioneers in the history of Hollywood movies and scored all-time classics like “King Kong”, “Gone with the Wind”, and “Casablanca”. The award is meant to be a symbol of recognition for exceptional achievements in the art of film music.

For more information please visit: http://www.hollywoodinvienna.com/

Hollywood in Vienna
September 29, 2017, 8:00 pm
Vienna Concert Hall (Wiener Konzerthaus).

For tickets sales please visit: http://www.konzerthaus.at/"

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The Girl is Nominated for a Saturn Award: Press Release: (LOS ANGELES, CA / March 7, 2017) – Independent film company Blanc-Biehn Productions' horror film The Girl has been honored with a Saturn Award nomination for excellence.

The tense sci-fi thriller is up for a Saturn in the Best DVD/BD Release in the Home Entertainment category, stars Michael Biehn and is directed by his Blanc-Biehn Productions partner and wife, Jennifer Blanc-Biehn.

"A big thank you to the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films for recognizing this exceptional film with a Saturn Award nomination," Blanc-Biehn said of The Girl, which was released domestically in January of this year and has already won Best Feature Film in the Sci-Fi-Fantasy- Horror-Thriller category at the 2016 Burbank Film Festival.

Blanc-Biehn and Biehn will also be in attendance at the 2017 Saturn Awards in Burbank June 28 to celebrate the festivities and cheer on their film, which stars Evie Louise Thompson (Boyhood) as the kidnap victim of a psychopath (Biehn) who holds her hostage in his backyard shed.

When the kidnapper's son discovers - then rescues - The Girl, the two set off a terrifying chain of events, brilliantly showcasing Blanc-Biehn's skillful direction and Biehn's compelling onscreen performance.

Released through United Front Entertainment, eOne Films, Sony and Tony Perez at Splash House Pictures, the film was written by Bradley and Kevin Marcus, executive produced and based on a story by executive producer Lony Ruhman, written by The Marcus Brothers (Kevin and Bradley Marcus) and also stars Tia Carrere, Tristan DeVan, Lorraine Ziff, Hallie Jordan, Jenise Blanc, Raven Carell, Grace Powell, Dana Daurey and Nick Nicholson.

For more information go to the following: www.facebook.com/blancbiehn, www.twitter.com/jenniferblancb, www.jenniferblancbiehn.com, and http://blancbiehnproductions.com.

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Holy Terror Release Details and Poster: Press Release: "Los Angeles, CA, January 30, 2017 (Newswire.com) - The riveting first official teaser trailer for the new supernatural horror film HOLY TERROR was just released today. This film is in post-production via Cineridge Entertainment from the award-winning team who previously brought us SAMURAI COP 2: DEADLY VENGEANCE.

Written and directed by Rich Mallery (SOCIOPATHIA) and executive-produced by Gregory Hatanaka (who helmed SAMURAI COP 2 from a script co-written by Mallery), HOLY TERROR stars MEATBALLS’ Kristine DeBell, Bruce Lee's GAME OF DEATH's Mel Novak, Lisa London (H.O.T.S., PRIVATE RESORT), Kelly Reiter (The Z Virus), Jesse Hlubik (MAY, ALL CHEERLEADERS DIE), Nicole Olson, Scott Butler (WIENER DOG INTERNATIONALS), and Vida Ghaffari (THE MINDY PROJECT, JIMMY KIMMEL LIVE).

Believing the strange disturbances in their home are their deceased son reaching out from the other side, Molly [Reiter] and Tom [Hlubik] ask a medium [London] to make contact. But instead of their child, the three accidentally invite a vengeful demon to cross over. After the demon violently possesses Molly’s younger sister [Olson], the couple enlists the help of a disgraced priest [Butler] and his mentor Sister Catherine [DeBell] to attempt a dangerous exorcism.

“There has been a resurgence of exorcism/possession-type movies, so it’s a little challenging to give audiences something they haven’t seen before. But we have a few tricks up our sleeve that are going to make HOLY TERROR stand apart from the crowd. Plus, we’re going for a real late-’70s/early-’80s feel. Films like THE CHANGELING, THE AMITYVILLE HORROR and of course the original EXORCIST are huge influences on this project," said Mallery.

“I’m really excited to be partnering with Gregory Hatanaka again; this is the fourth film we’ve worked on together,” Mallery continues. “It’s a little strange this time around, since usually he’s directing and I’m the writer/AD, and this time I’m directing and he’s the DP, but we’re totally in sync when it comes to the vision, so we’re like a well-oiled machine. We’ve brought back a lot of the cast of SAMURAI COP 2—Jesse Hlubik, Lisa London, Mel Novak, Kristine DeBell and Nicole Olson—and although this is a completely different type of film, it’s great to have a lot of familiar faces who are used to the way Gregory and I work. We’re both slightly insane, so it’s amazing to be surrounded by people who support our vision.”

“As Rich and I are both rabid fans of 70s AIP and New World horror pics,” Hatanaka adds, “it was only a matter of time before we teamed up to do a film in that tradition. HOLY TERROR works on deep psychological levels, and has an otherworldly, TWILIGHT ZONE-ish kind of feel.”

Holy Terror will be premiering this April on Amazon Prime.

More info at: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5924114/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2

Please join their facebook fan page for updates: https://www.facebook.com/holyterrormovie/"

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Check Out This Clip from Two Pigeons: "What happens when someone starts sharing your space, your clothes, your food, even your toothbrush, all unbeknownst to you? In Dominic Bridges’ sinister dark comedy TWO PIGEONS, Hussein (Mim Shaikh), a wide-boy London Real estate agent, has a hidden houseguest (Javier Botet) who is secretly dismantling his world – from the inside...

Synopsis: Hussein, a wide-boy estate agent, doesn't know he's sharing his apartment with a forgotten stranger, a master of concealment until his unwanted guest’s malicious campaign of sweet revenge starts to hit home.

Website: http://www.twopigeons.co.uk.

2017 SXSW – Narrative Feature Midnighters ***World Premiere***
http://schedule.sxsw.com/2017/events/FS21262
Friday, March 10th at 11:55 pm – Stateside Theatre (719 Congress Ave)
Saturday, March 11th at 9:15 pm – Alamo Lamar (1120 S Lamar Blvd)
Sunday, March 12th at 11:45 pm – Alamo Lamar"