Horror Highlights: Rock Horror in Rio Film Festival 2019, HAUNTER, THE RED MOTHER #1, MEGAZOIC, THE INITIATION

At the end of November, Rio de Janeiro is going to be rocking with horror films from around the world. The festival kicks off on November 29th. Continue reading for more in-depth details. Also in today's Horror Highlights: Haunter Season 2 release details, a look at The Red Mother #1 from BOOM! Studios, Megazoic 4-part book series release details, and casting news for The Initiation, featuring Naomi Grossman from the American Horror Story franchise.

Rock Horror in Rio Film Festival 2019 Announced: "The Rock Horror in Rio Film Festival announces the dates and venues of the 2019 edition that brings an electrifying selection of 53 films from 12 countries in the genres horror, suspense, fantasy, sci-fi, and animation. It will be 10 days of fun, cinema, rock, and a lot of screaming between November 29th and December 8th in three cinemas in Rio de Janeiro, the CineStar in the Casa da Cultura Laura Alvim in Ipanema, the Cinemateca do MAM in the Modern Art Museum in Flamengo and in Niterói at the Reserva Cultural.

The selection is divided into 5 categories: Sinister Features, Bizarre Shorts, Haunted Brazil, Macabre Shorts and Pills of Fear. The complete selection with photos, trailers, and information about each film can be seen on the event website. Some highlights this year are the features: “Ambition”, a thriller directed by Bob Shaye, the producer of “Nightmare in Elm Street”, “The Mask”, “Ninjas Turtles”, “The Lord of the Rings” and many others; “Chimera” from the Arab Emirates starring Henry Ian Cusick (“Lost” and “The 100”) and the Oscar nominee for Best Supporting Actress Kathleen Quinlan ("Apolo 13") by Maurice Haeems, the Spanish “Rocambola” starring Juan Diego Botto (“Suicide Squad 2”) and Jan Cornett (“The Skin I Live In”) by Juanra Fernández and the British suspense “Beneath the Trees” starring Sarah Bradnum by Marco de Luca, these last two directors may be at festival presenting their films.

Among the featurettes are, “Murder House” directed by the team of American best-seller authors of the horror novel “Widow’s Point”, Billy and Richard Chizmar; the fantastic cinema of fabulous monsters of “Kiss the Devil in the Dark”, by another team of directors, Jonathan and Rebecca Martin, who had Honorable Mention at the 2018 edition for “Creatures of Whitechapel”; the teen suspense “The Escape Room” by the American director Bessy Adult; and the Dutch “De Blawe Maagd” (“The Blue Virgin”) that mixes period fantasy and war; and the French presence imposes itself with original films with more of a sci-fi flair in “Atomic Ed” and “Le Bruit de la Lumière”.

The extremely varied selection of the Macabre Shots brings since the re-reading of classic horror monsters like werewolves, vampires, mummies and witches with the Spanish “Lobisome” and “Amancio, El Vampiro del Pueblo”, and the Americans “Night Crawl” and “The Devil’s Fire” to thrillers with a more modern approach like “Marta”, “Wicken”, “I am Full”, “Look Twice” and “The Assassin’s Apprentice”.

Among the Brazilians, the animations bring a bit of color and a breath of relief amidst so much adrenaline with the shorts “11010” and “A Thousand Kisses”; “É você, Albano?” and “A Caixa” bring a touch of a more intimate suspense to the Brazilian selection, while, the fantasy and the dystopian predominate in “A Ressurreição de Lázaro” and “O Outro Lado”; in the “Vale da Lua: O Mito de Anhangá”, a mix of fantasy with folklore brings suspense and beautiful images for the Brazilian selection.

The eclectic selection of Pills of Fear brings micro shorts, video clips and experimental films that will give a touch of grace or fear to the sessions that are composed of films from various categories. Among the pills, we have the Spanish period short “Semillas, Un Poema Sobre La Vida”; the Iranian “With Me” by the first time director Azadeh Ghochagh, the sci-fi experimental “Kokosmos” by the Russian photographer Anna Radchenko and the music videos “Thirsty Eyes” from Austria and the slasher “U.S. Butcher” by the Russian VFX expert Aleksey Smirnov.

The Rock Horror in Rio has the institutional support of the CTAV - Centro Técnico Audiovisual that will offer an additional prize of equipment loaning for the shooting of a short the winner of the category Haunted Brasil, and the Embassy of Spain in Brazil will offer a Master class in Spanish during the festival, given by representatives from the Consejería de Educación with the screening of a sci-fi short from their collection.

Aside from the film sessions, the festival will also have additional events such as round tables, cinema meetings, happy hour, thematic tour and rock nights that will soon be announced, as well as the film program that will also be available in the festival app.

That's all for now, folks!

Chrys Rochat: Creator and Director of the Rock Horror in Rio Film Festival

Website: www.rockhorrorinriofilmfestival.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/rockhorrorinriofilmfestival/"

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Haunter New Season Details: "Haunter (previously titled ‘Achievement Haunter’) will exclusively premiere a new season on Rooster Teeth on January 30. Haunter will premiere exclusively for FIRST members.

In Haunter a group of gamers seeks the paranormal at some of the world’s most haunted locales. Determined to see a ghost and have some fun, these friends will try everything to scare up a spirit, or each other. What’s just a joke and what’s an actual spook? You’ll have to watch to find out!

Connect with Rooster Teeth:

Full Episodes: https://roosterteeth.com/series/achievement-haunter
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/RoosterTeeth
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/roosterteeth"

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The Red Mother #1: "BOOM! Studios is proud to reveal a brand new series trailer for THE RED MOTHER #1, the premiere issue of an all-new original comic book series from acclaimed writer Jeremy Haun (The Beauty, The Realm) and artist Danny Luckert (Regression) about a young woman who survives a tragedy, only to be afflicted with sudden, unexplained visions of horror and forced to deal with the terrible consequences, available in December 2019.

There are dark things just beyond this reality. Horrors that we cannot quite see. Things wanting to get in. After losing her eye and the man she loves during a brutal attack in an alley, Daisy McDonough is left trying to put the pieces of her life back together. Just when she thinks she can start the process of healing and move on, she begins to see strange things through her new prosthetic eye.

She can see the Red Mother. And the Red Mother can see her right back!

THE RED MOTHER #1 features a main cover illustrated by series writer Jeremy Haun and variant cover art by series artist Danny Luckert.

THE RED MOTHER is the newest release from BOOM! Studios’ eponymous imprint, home to critically acclaimed original series, including Once & Future by Kieron Gillen and Dan Mora; Faithless by Brian Azzarello and Maria Llovet; Abbott by Saladin Ahmed and Sami Kivelä; Bury the Lede by Gaby Dunn and Claire Roe; Klaus by Grant Morrison and Dan Mora; Something is Killing the Children by James Tynion IV and Werther Dell’Edera; and Folklords by Matt Kindt and Matt Smith. The imprint also publishes popular licensed properties including Joss Whedon’s Firefly from Greg Pak and Dan McDaid; Buffy the Vampire Slayer from Jordie Bellaire and David Lopez; Angel from Bryan Edward Hill and Gleb Melnikov, and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers from Ryan Parrott and Daniele Di Nicuolo.

Print copies of THE RED MOTHER #1 will be available for sale on December 11, 2019, exclusively at local comic book shops (use comicshoplocator.com to find the nearest one) or at the BOOM! Studios webstore. Digital copies can be purchased from content providers, including ComiXology, iBooks, Google Play, and Madefire.

For continuing news on THE RED MOTHER and more from BOOM!, stay tuned to www.boom-studios.com and follow @boomstudios on Twitter.

Web: www.boom-studios.com
Twitter: @boomstudios
Facebook: @BOOMStudiosComics
Instagram: @boom_studios
Tumblr: boomstudios.tumblr.com "

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Megazoic Books: "In the first installment Megazoic, the late Cretaceous civilization, the Laurasian Empire, has been at war with the Tyranneon Kingdom for fifteen years. When Laurasian citizen Kortan the Sinraptor decides to study the mysterious Tyranneon technology that gives them their power, the Tyranneons launch a surprise attack on a Laurasian city and take his best friend, Belar, captive, causing Kortan to feel massive guilt. Enlisting the help of the Psi Squad, one of the worst-ranked squads in the Laurasia Corps but also the only one available, Kortan ventures deep into Tyranneon territory to save his friend, while the rest of the Corps has their own plans.

In Megazoic: The Primeval Power, the Late Cretaceous has become even weirder than before, rife with sword-wielding, ghostly and witch dinosaurs. Eight months have passed since the fall of the Tyranneon Kingdom. While the Laurasia Corps helps other nations fight the last remnants of their longtime enemy, Kortan develops all sorts of nifty new tech for his nation’s soldiers and often accompanies them in battle. Kortan realizes his skills with technology might be useless against this mysterious new foe Therizinosaurus but as she plans to summon a super-powerful army of dinosaurs from an older civilization to ravage the planet and kill everyone he loves, he better learn how to fight her fast.

Meanwhile in Megazoic: The Hunted Ones, for eighty million years, Zulgaran has plagued the dinosaurs of the world. Centuries earlier with unknown motives, he rebirthed a species from his own era and dubbed them Elderkind. Suddenly, Elderkind is being targeted for relocation, mass internment, and eventual termination. As a Sinraptor, Kortan is an Elderkind species and is captured. After escaping and being deemed a fugitive, he realizes he needs to take action against Zulgaran.

In the final installment, Megazoic: An Era’s End, life goes on and the Cretaceous Period is about to end with a bang. The world recovers from Zulgaran’s last attack. Nine years have passed since his horrific culling, and the great dinosaur cities have become mighty fortresses. Life goes on. Hatchlings grow. Relationships build. While losses are not forgotten, society marches forward regardless. A titanic final battle will soon take place, one that will forever shift the future of the planet."

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The Initiation Casting Details: "Richard Tyson and Harley Wallen Join Naomi Grossman, Vernon Wells and Mel Novak for The Initiation.

Noted actors Richard Tyson (Kindergarten Cop, Black Hawk Down) and Harley Wallen (Investigation Discovery’s Homicide Hunter Lt. Joe Kenda, Eternal Code) join primetime Emmy nominee Naomi Grossman (American Horror Story), Maria Olsen (I Spit on Your Grave: Deja Vu) as well as legendary action stars Mel Novak (Bruce Lee’s Game of Death, An Eye for An Eye opposite Chuck Norris) and Vernon Wells (Weird Science, The Road Warrior) for ThunderKnight Entertainment LTD and AEC Studios’ indie horror drama film, The Initiation as profiled in Deadline Hollywood. There is also new artwork for the film.

Professor Daniel Kimmer (Jimmy Drain) of St. Elzears College, has come to terms that his marriage with wife Jaime (Meggie Maddock) is ending. This, combined with the growing epidemic of a scandalous on campus "faculty to student relations" threatens to expose a love affair with one of his own ex-students, the alluring Starr Bramlett (Lauren C. Mayhew).

Daniel uncovers that Starr is a member of a secret society of witches dedicated to promote feminine freedom and remove restrictions that are put upon women via religion and society. Can Daniel save his marriage and career from this pending assault upon the college and his life? Or will a new angel of evil be born...

This film shoots in Denver, Colorado. Monique Candelaria (Breaking Bad), London Grace and the Emmy nominated rapper T.O.N.E.-Z round out the cast.

Drain and Ty M.C. wrote the screenplay. Brian McCulley is the film’s director."

For more information, visit The Initiation's IMDB page.