Horror Highlights: Salem Horror Fest, DOMITIANUS, MIDNIGHTERS, Dances with Films 2017, GOOD TIME

2017/05/17 15:44:25 +00:00 | Derek Anderson

George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead will be featured at the Salem Horror Fest, and we have info on the special screening. Also in today's Horror Highlights is an excerpt from Nicholas Forristal's Domitianus, stills from Midnighters, Dances with Films 2017 details, and the trailer for A24's Good Time.

Salem Horror Fest: Press Release: "SALEM, Ma. - Salem Horror Fest, in partnership with the Peabody Essex Museum and CinemaSalem, today announced four weeks of screenings, parties, concerts, panels and exhibits that explore societal themes of fear and anxiety in horror at the Halloween capital of the world; Salem, Massachusetts

Amidst the notorious backdrop of the 1692 Witch Trials, the festival will feature a city-wide program set to kick off at the Peabody Essex Museum on Thursday, September 21 as part of the PEM/PM evening party series in conjunction with their upcoming exhibit “It’s Alive” Classic Horror and Sci-Fi Art from the Kirk Hammett Collection.

“We live in fear. Fear of failure, commitment, each other and beyond. It’s one of the few things that unites us all. Salem knows this more than most,” said festival director Kay Lynch. “The cinema is a graveyard of cultural reflections trapped in time like a celluloid ouija board. If we are to overcome fear, we must first understand it.”

Following the Opening Night Party on Thursday, September 21, Ken Foree (Dawn of the Dead) will accept the first-ever Salem Horror Award on behalf of Duane Jones for his cultural contribution to the genre as one of the first positive representations of a person of color on the big screen in George A. Romero’s 1968 Night of the Living Dead.

A concert performance by queer, negro-gothic soprano M Lamar will be held at Ames Hall on Friday, September 22 featuring a program The New York Times called an "otherworldly, goth-tinged projection into the distant future of our violent, racially and sexually charged present offering a space of melancholic, alluring, ultimately stirring reflection."

Four films will be screened in the PEM’s Morse Auditorium with panel discussions exploring subtextual themes of cultural fear found in Night of the Living Dead, Matinee, Gods & Monsters, and The Haunting.

Following the Haunted Happenings Parade on Thursday, October 5, CinemaSalem will host Wicked Shorts, a free evening of short films in consideration for the first annual Orlok Award, named in honor of Count Orlok’s Nightmare Gallery’s 10th anniversary.

The second half of the festival will screen seven double features at CinemaSalem that feature social themes such as racism, misogyny, gay panic, media manipulation, and xenophobia in films like Get Out, People Under the Stairs, Tragedy Girls, Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood, American Psycho, Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The Mist, They Live, Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge, Cruising, Halloween 3: Season of the Witch, Videodrome, Let the Right One In, and Fright Night.

The October 7th screening of Tyler MacIntyre’s Tragedy Girls will be the New England premiere at Women With Guts, a celebration in partnership with Rue Morgue Magazine. The event will also screen Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood followed by a Q&A session with its stars Lar Park Lincoln and Kane Hodder (Jason Voorhees) moderated by The Faculty of Horror podcast.

For more information, visit salemhorror.com."

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Read an Excerpt from Zombie Novel Domitianus: "Once the Emperor of Rome, he was murdered by his subordinates – only to find himself alive and lost in a world he once knew so well. This is the story of one man’s journey from man to monster, from sanity to sadism. His immortality will take him from ancient Rome to forgotten Atlantis, while the entrails of his enemies pave the way."

To read an excerpt from Nicholas Forristal's Domitianus, which is now available, click the cover art below, and to learn more, visit Kickstarter.

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New Stills from Midnighters: "While driving home on New Year’s Eve, a married couple hits a stranger walking on a dark forest road. In a panic, they take the body home so as to sober up before turning themselves in. But they soon discover that the man wasn’t dead after all – that he was in fact armed and already on his way to their house. As the family is thrust into a deepening mystery, they discover that no one is who they seem – including each other."

A Graystone Pictures Production
A Ramsay Brothers Film

2017 Los Angeles Film Festival Screening
Monday, June 19th at 9:30pm

Official Website: www.midnightersfilm.com"

20th Annual Dances with Films: LOS ANGELES, CA (May 10, 2017) – The fiercely independent film festival Dances With Films (DWF) announced today its 2017 lineup of narrative and documentary features and short films for its 20 annual edition. Opening the festival on June 1 are two alumni projects: filmmaker David Heinz’s modern musical, AMERICAN FOLK in its Los Angeles debut and the world premiere of Tamar Halpern’s intellectual thriller, MISSING IN EUROPE. Another DWF alumni project, AUSTIN FOUND, by director Will Raée, closes the festival with its world premiere on June 11. Tickets and passes will be available for sale on Friday, May 12 at http://www.tclchinesetheatres.com/ or thru the festival's own site: https://danceswithfilms.com.

The festival, proving itself to be unstoppable after 20 consecutive years, is widely recognized as the premiere showcase of innovative independent cinema in the U.S., presenting amazing, undiscovered talent to an industry audience in Hollywood. DWF will run June 1-11, 2017 in Los Angeles, CA at the TCL Chinese Theaters, located at: Hollywood & Highland, 6801 Hollywood Blvd, Hollywood, CA 90028.

“We consider ourselves a true festival of discovery,” said festival co-founders Michael Trent and Leslee Scallon. “Our aim is to showcase films that have unique voices from the indie scene, stories that bring a touch of magic to the screen. We have discovered a great many of them over these last two decades, so we are excited to present this year's slate of knock-out talent.”

The final lineup features more than 160 titles, chosen from a record 2,100 submissions from all over the globe. The juried narrative competition section includes 16 features, 13 of which are world premieres, and nearly three-dozen shorts. DWF also has a category for groundbreaking short and feature documentaries, provocative genre fare in the Midnight section, and the most exciting music videos and dance-themed films from the indie scene in the Downbeats section. The Fusion section brings together a multitude of additional features and shorts.

Notable Dances With Films alumni who first gained notice at the festival include:Gina Rodriguez, Bryan Cranston, Will Scheffer, Mark V. Olsen, Jesse Eisenberg, Mike Flanagan,andJohn Hawkes, among others.

About Dances With Films
In 1998 DWF began as a film festival dedicated to finding tomorrow’s talent today and continues to carry on this mission today. With many World and West Coast Premieres, DWF provides a coveted first stop on the festival circuit. With a vast number of submissions, the selection process is based solely on merit and discoverability. DWF continues its dedication to and is a devoted champion of fresh and creative voices, mandating that all competitive films have no known actors, writers, directors, or producers. For the past 20 years, DWF has proudly provided access and opportunity to thousands of films and filmmakers from across the globe that diligently work year after year to see their dreams realized. With more than 12,000+ festival attendees and 2.5 million impressions per month on www.danceswithfilms.com, DWF is loyal and dedicated to the indie filmmaker and is considered their champion in Hollywood.

DWF’s Advisory Board includes: Steve Tisch, Cindy Cowan, Jonathan Dana, Steve Elzer, Kevin Kasha, Eriq La Salle, Michael Lehmann, Mike Macari, Valerie McCaffrey, Mark V. Olsen, Joel Ordesky, Mark Ordesky, Melissa Orlen, Will Scheffer, Hilton Smith, David Spiegelman, and Steve Wegner.

MIDNIGHT FEATURES

AWAKEN THE SHADOWMAN
WORLD Premiere | USA, 2016, HD, 83 min.
WRITERS: Woodrow Wilson Hancock III, Skyler Caleb, James Zimbardi
DIRECTOR: J.S. Wilson
PRODS: Woodrow Wilson Hancock III, Skyler Caleb, James Zimbardi, Anthony C. Ferrante
CAST: James Zimbardi, Skyler Caleb, Jean Smart, Emily Somers, Andrea Hunt, Robert R. Shafer, Grace Van Dien, Raam Weinfeld, Carlos Pratts, Sophie Labelle, Casey Kramer

After the mysterious disappearance of their mother, estranged brothers reunite and discover an unknown supernatural force.

CENTRAL PARK
WORLD Premiere | USA, 2016, HD, 87 min.
WRITER: Justin Reinsilber
DIRECTOR: Justin Reinsilber
PRODS: Melissa Chamberlain, Justin Reinsilber, Rachel Brenna
CAST: Justiin A. Davis, Ruby Modine, Malika Samuel, Grace Van Patten, Guillermo Arribas, Deema Aitken, Marina Squerciati, Michael Lombardi, Charles Borland, David Valcin, Nicole Balsam, Justin Reinsilber

Central Park is a feature-length horror/thriller from writer/director Justin Reinsilber. Set in present day New York City the film centers around six high school juniors. Collectively they have done everything there is to do, know it all better than everyone else, and mean the world to each other. When one of their fathers is implicated in a Bernie Madoff-esque Ponzi scheme, the gang rallies around their friend. To blow off some steam, they set out for an epic night in Central Park. Little do they know the consequences of his crimes will go far beyond his client's bank accounts."

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Good Time Trailer: "The first trailer for GOOD TIME is a haywire symphony of violence and mayhem, featuring Robert Pattinson and original music from OneOhTrix Point Never and Iggy Pop.

Josh and Benny Safdie's latest film will have its world premiere In-Competition at the Cannes Film Festival next week.
Following the mind-bending HEAVEN KNOWS WHAT, celebrated filmmakers Josh and Benny Safdie return to the mean streets of New York City with GOOD TIME, a hypnotic crime thriller that explores with bracing immediacy the tragic sway of family and fate.

After a botched bank robbery lands his younger brother in prison, Constantine Nikas (Robert Pattinson) embarks on a twisted odyssey through the city's underworld in an increasingly desperate—and dangerous—attempt to get his brother out of jail. Over the course of one adrenalized night, Constantine finds himself on a mad descent into violence and mayhem as he races against the clock to save his brother and himself, knowing their lives hang in the balance.

Anchored by a career-defining performance from Robert Pattinson, GOOD TIME is a psychotic symphony of propulsive intensity crafted by two of the most exciting young directors working today. Josh and Benny Safdie’s transcendent vision is an intoxicating portrait of desperation and destruction that will not be soon forgotten."

Directed by Josh and Benny Safdie, Good Time stars Robert Pattinson, Benny Safdie, Barkhad Abdi, and Jennifer Jason Leigh. A24 will release Good Time in theaters on August 11th.

About the Author - Derek Anderson

Raised on a steady diet of R.L. Stine’s Goosebumps books and Are You Afraid of the Dark?, Derek has been fascinated with fear since he first saw ForeverWare being used on an episode of Eerie, Indiana.

When he’s not writing about horror as the Senior News Reporter for Daily Dead, Derek can be found daydreaming about the Santa Carla Boardwalk from The Lost Boys or reading Stephen King and Brian Keene novels.

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