Welcome back to another Horror Highlights! Topping today's feature is Scream Factory's new Blu-ray releases, Killing Ground and Darkness Rising. Also: Lew Temple's discusses his new film Kidnap, we have a look at the winner of t Wither's Full-Concept Video, Read an Excerpt from Scott Shoyer's Horror in the Clouds, and an updated Wizard World Comic-Con schedule.
Killing Ground's and Darkness Rising's Blu-ray Release Details: "From Scream Factory: "We are pleased to announce that we have two new IFC Midnight films planned for release on Blu-ray & DVD this November!
KILLING GROUND – An unassuming couple's vacation becomes a desperate fight for survival in this ultra-raw, unhinged thrill ride. In need of a break from the pressures of city life, Sam (Harriet Dyer) and Ian (Ian Meadows) head to a remote beach for a romantic weekend camping trip. When they stumble upon an abandoned campsite, they're concerned. When they discover a lone, traumatized child nearby, they're scared. And when they encounter two sadistic sociopaths (Aaron Glenane, Aaron Pedersen), they're in for one hell of a getaway. Weaving with unexpected twists and turns, Killing Ground delivers both nerve-shredding suspense and gut-punching realism.
Streets 11/7/17 Pre-order now @ https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/killing-ground?product_id=6393
DARKNESS RISING – A house's horrifying secrets are resurrected in the blood-drenched nightmare, Darkness Rising. For years, Madison (Tara Holt) has been tormented by her memories of a traumatic incident: the murder of her younger sister at the hands of their own mother. Joined by her fiancé (Bryce Johnson, Willow Creek) and cousin (Katrina Law, Arrow, Spartacus: War of the Damned), Madison returns to her childhood home just before it's slated to be demolished. Seeking closure, the trio instead find themselves pursued by the same malevolent, supernatural presence that drove Madison's mother to unthinkable violence!
Streets 11/7/17 Pre-order now @ https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/darkness-rising?product_id=6395"
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Lew Temple Talks Kidnap: "While at Flashback Weekend in Chicago earlier this month, actor Lew Temple (The Walking Dead, The Devil's Rejects) spoke with Nikoleta Morales from Extra News about co-starring with Halle Berry in the new thriller Kidnap. You can listen to the interview below, and be sure to visit Extra News for more about Lew Temple and Kidnap, and follow Temple on Twitter and Facebook to keep up to date on all of his projects.
Kidnap synopsis: "A typical afternoon in the park turns into a nightmare for single mom Karla Dyson (Academy Award winner Halle Berry) when her son suddenly disappears. Without a cell phone and knowing she has no time to wait for police help, Karla jumps in her own car and sets off in pursuit of the kidnappers. A relentless, edge-of- your seat chase ensues, where Karla must risk everything to not lose sight of her son. In this tense, action-fueled thriller, directed by Luis Prieto and from the producers of SALT and TRANSFORMERS, one mother’s heroic attempt to take back her son leads her to ask herself how far she will go to save her child."
Audio Interview Courtesy of Extranews.net:
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Watch Wither, the Winner of the “Clive Barker Presents Reel Fear" Horror Contest: Press Release: "Los Angeles, CA — Today Project Greenlight Digital Studios (PGLDS), a digital content initiative from Adaptive Studios, and Shudder, the thriller and horror streaming video service, announced the winner of the “Clive Barker Presents Reel Fear" Horror Contest.
Based in Chicago, director Daniel DelPurgatorio and writer Anthony R. Williams have been awarded the $300,000 dollar grand prize to bring their submission, WITHER, to life under the mentorship of iconic horror filmmaker Clive Barker. Their winning proof-of-concept video can be viewed here. The film will follow Dr. Spencer Woodrow, who can no longer hide from the ghosts of his past. He has no choice but to revive the dead to trap their souls. In crossing these boundaries, Dr. Woodrow and those he cares about most will suffer consequences far beyond his imagination.
“Participating in Project Greenlight and Shudder Labs was already such an incredible honor, and having the opportunity to make our feature film debut is life-changing. Being selected was so humbling and even more so considering the remarkable quality of the other finalists' work, “ said director, Daniel DelPurgatorio. “A film will only be as successful as the people working on it, and we feel incredibly fortunate to have Adaptive Studios and Shudder in our corner. This partnership is truly inspiring and we can't wait to create a movie that's as frightening and haunting as it is poignant and meaningful.”
Earlier this year, Project Greenlight Digital Studios and Shudder accepted nearly 1,000 entries for original horror film concepts from filmmakers around the country. Ten semi-finalists were then chosen and voted on by the public; the submission with the most votes, The Honeymoon Phase by Phillip and Chloe Carroll, moved on to the Top Five finalist round. PGLDS and Shudder granted the Top Five finalists funding to direct a short scene representative of their abilities. During the final stage of the contest, representatives from PGLDS and Shudder interviewed the finalists, who answered questions regarding crew, casting, creative execution, and more.
“I feel truly fortunate to have Project Greenlight, Adaptive Studios, Shudder and Clive Barker as partners going forward. I am looking forward to working with them to bring our film to life and to scare the hell out of people,” said writer Anthony Williams.
Two additional filmmakers who submitted pitches for the contest and attended Shudder Labs will also have their projects developed as television series for Shudder. Megan Rosati’s BLOOM focuses on a young beauty-obsessed woman who gets a job with a wellness company, but her obsession with their products soon turns nightmarish as she goes a desperate mission to uncover what's really inside their "all-natural" supplements. The second project, titled KNOWN AMONG MOUNTAINS and created by Evan Brace, is set in a small, rural town in the midwest. This quiet community of working class families begins to notice strange things after a discovery in a rock quarry. The series quickly becomes a fast-paced nightmare that has the whole town has to fight to survive a mysterious and unknown element.
Release dates and further details regarding the winning film and television series will be announced at a later time. WITHER, BLOOM and KNOWN AMONG MOUNTAINS will all be developed and produced by Adaptive Studios and Shudder."
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Read an Excerpt from Horror in the Clouds: Press Release: "Austin, Texas – Fresh off his Outbreak trilogy (Outbreak: The Hunger. Outbreak: The Mutation, and Outbreak: Endplay) which redefined the zombie genre and made zombies frightening again, Shoyer is back. This time he tackles and updates the cosmic horror genre and proves that Lovecraft’s creation is more relevant than ever today. But Horror in the Clouds isn’t just a work of fan fiction. Shoyer not only creates terrifying new Elder Gods, he makes them believable.
Shoyer effortlessly creates a new Lovecraftian world where the new Elders are trying to break through. Not only do we see the main characters attempting to hold back these creatures, but Shoyer also takes us to the creature’s realm and inside the creature’s dark, twisted mind. There he offers a glimpse of an alien world full of horrors, suffering, and despair which most people couldn’t dream of in their worst nightmares.
Synopsis:
The Squire family is on what they think is a relaxing family vacation to see the Grand Canyon. When they get to the town of Derleth, it seems they found a quaint little town in the heart of the American Southwest. Instead, all the Squires found was betrayal, secrets, and horrors in the sky. Damien Squire, the father, caught a glimpse of something in the clouds but shook it off as road exhaustion, but once he realizes the creature he saw is real, will it be too late to stop it from entering our world? Ancient bloodlines come into play as the town’s leaders and practitioners of a sacred cult attempt to bring the Elder God, N’Xabez, into our world. A prisoner stuck between its world and ours, N’Xabez demands to be unleashed in our world. N’Xabez requires sacrifices in order to satiate its thirst and hunger, and now that it senses the Squire bloodline is in the town, it knows it can complete an ancient ritual to permanently make it the supreme ruler of our world.
“I really wanted to do something different with this novel,” explains the author, founder of the popular AnythingHorror.com website and community. “Since I had completed my Outbreak trilogy, I wanted to show that I wasn’t a one-trick pony. I have a lot more depth than just zombies.”
Continuing, “The Outbreak trilogy was designed from the ground up to give the zombie genre something new, and I think I accomplished that. I’m very proud of that trilogy. I promised my readers that the violence, gore, and horror in that trilogy will keep coming at them hard and fast, while also having interesting, strong characters that drive the narrative forward. And now I want to do the same thing with cosmic horror. I have a series of novels planned that will be set in the universe I create in Horror in the Clouds. These future novels will explore various facets of that universe.”
Horror in the Clouds, as well as the Outbreak trilogy, are all published by Severed Press. Check out Scott Shoyer’s author page on Amazon.com where you can learn more about the author and his other published works."
Click the cover below to read an excerpt:
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Wizard World Comic Con's Updated Schedule Announced: Press Release: "LOS ANGELES, August 14, 2017 – Wizard World, Inc. (OTCBB: WIZD) today announced that it will add Montgomery, Ala., and Springfield, Mo., to its Comic Con calendar in the remainder of 2017. The Montgomery event will be held Oct. 20-22 at Renaissance Montgomery Hotel & Spa at the Convention Center, while Springfield is set for Nov. 10-12 at University Plaza Hotel & Convention Center.
The new cities, both inaugural Wizard World events, are in addition to scheduled conventions in Chicago (August 24-27), Nashville, Tenn. (Sept. 8-10), Madison, Wis. (Sept. 22-24), Oklahoma City (Oct. 27-29) and Austin, Texas (Nov. 17-19), bringing the current total number of 2017 Wizard World Comic Cons to 16. Additional shows for 2017 will be announced very soon.
“We are excited to be bringing our pop culture celebrations to these two growing cities,” said John D. Maatta, Wizard World President and C.E.O. “We have big things in store for 2018, and the addition of Montgomery and Springfield is a reaffirmation of our commitment to producing high entertainment value for fans across the country.”
Celebrities scheduled to attend the Montgomery show include Nichelle Nichols ("Star Trek"), Jon Heder ( Napoleon Dynamite, The Benchwarmers), Emily Swallow ("Supernatural," "The Mentalist), Holly Marie Combs ("Charmed," "Picket Fences"), Nicholas Brendon ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer") and Briana Buckmaster ("Supernatural," "White Ninja").
Springfield guests to date include Nichols, Heder, Combs, Craig Parker ("Spartacus," Lord of the Rings) and Andrew Gower ("Outlander," "Being Human").
Additional celebrities and creators, as well as entertainment and programming schedules, will be announced soon.
Wizard World Comic Con dates, locations, and venues for the remainder of 2017 are as follows (*denotes newly-added event):
Wizard World Comic Con events bring together thousands of fans of all ages to celebrate the best in pop culture: movies, television, gaming, live entertainment, comics, sci-fi, graphic novels, toys, original art, collectibles, contests and more. Kids 10 and under are admitted free with paid adult.
Wizard World Comic Con is also the place for cosplay, with fans young and old showing off their best costumes throughout the event. Fans dressed as every imaginable character – and some never before dreamed – will roam the convention floor and participate in the famed Wizard World Costume Contest on Saturday evening at each show."
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).
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