Horror Highlights: THE GRACEFIELD INCIDENT Q&A, VOLUMES OF BLOOD: HORROR STORIES, FAMOUS MONSTERS OF FILMLAND at Comic-Con

In today's Horror Highlights, we have a Q&A with The Gracefield Incident at Mathieu Ratthe, new stills from Volumes of Blood: Horror Stories, and details on Famous Monsters of Filmland's presence at this year's San Diego Comic-Con.

Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions for us, Mathieu. How and when did you first come up with the idea for The Gracefield Incident?

Mathieu Ratthe: First of all, thank you, Derek, for your interest in our film. I wanted to create a suspenseful story that scared the crap out of the audience, but also made them emotionally involved, which is really tough to do in this kind of movie, but I think we achieved it pretty well in our film.

The conceptual idea (or I liked to call it the “technique”) came after I realized how many days I was given to shoot our film with the budget that I had. I didn’t want to be a typical “found footage technique” movie, so this is how I came up with the cellphone camera integrated into a prosthetic eye. I thought it would be really interesting for the audience to follow a subjective POV and be able to live this suspenseful story in the eye of the main character.

Had you always planned to also star in the film as Matthew Donovan?

Mathieu Ratthe: I shot this film in 13 days and the only possible way to be able to do so, with all the setup required for our story, was to operate my own camera as I was acting at the same time in it. It was the only way to make this film in such a short period of time.

Do you have any favorite alien abduction or found footage films that influenced or inspired you while making The Gracefield Incident?

Mathieu Ratthe: I would say Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

What was the most challenging or rewarding scene to shoot?

Mathieu Ratthe: I would say shooting a movie in 13 days is extremely challenging and REALLY rewarding once you get it done, so I think the entire shoot was challenging.

When you look back at your time on set, is there a favorite or funny moment in particular that stands out?

Mathieu Ratthe: Because the shoot was so short and in the middle of the woods, I had my entire crew stay in different cabins around the set, so it was like having a big family reunion for three weeks and we had a lot of fun.

With The Gracefield Incident coming out on VOD platforms and Digital HD beginning July 21st, what projects do you have on deck that you can tease, and where can readers find you online?

Mathieu Ratthe: I won’t reveal anything on my next project at the moment, as I like to keep the suspense, but I would suggest to LIKE my Facebook page www.facebook.com/MathieuRatthe and more news will come soon.

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"Matthew Donovan, a video game editor, embeds an iPhone camera into his prosthetic eye to secretly record and document a weekend with friends in a luxurious mountain top cabin. The weekend takes a terrifying turn when a meteorite crashes the party forcing everyone to face the darkest, screaming nightmare while somehow connecting life, love, and loss in a twist of fear.

Written and directed by Mathieu Ratthe, The Gracefield Incident stars Ratthe, Kimberly Laferriere, Victor Andres Turgeon-Trelles, Juliette Gosselin, Alexandre Nachi, and Laurence Dauphinais. Momentum Pictures will release the film in theaters and on VOD and Digital HD beginning July 21st."

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Volumes of Blood: Horror Stories Stills: Press Release: "From hot genre label Dark Cuts comes a stirring volume of bloodcurdling horror from Blood Moon Pictures. In the tradition of cult classics Creepshow and V/H/S, comes Volumes of Blood : Horror Stories – a collection of bleedingly original horror from some of today’s most gifted genre filmmakers, including Justin Seaman (The Barn), Sean Blevins (A Brush with Death), and John Mayard (Nearly Dead)!

Featuring the work of Sean Blevins, John William Holt, Jon Maynard, Nathan Thomas Milliner, Justin Seaman, and James Treakle with an ensemble cast including Cindy Maples, Moses Moseley, Theo Kostaridis, and Thomas Dunbar, Volumes of Blood : Horror Stories features 7 original stories craftily assembled by producing team P.J. Starks, Eric Huskisson (The Confession of Fred Krueger), and Christopher Bower (The Dooms Chapel Horror).

A couple plans to purchase an old home, but would like one last tour before the closing. They’re guided around the estate by a creepy realtor that may have more in store than they bargained for. Searching floor by floor, they begin to discover the remnants of its sordid and terrifying past… A popular 80’s franchise gets a modern upgrade, but at what price? On Halloween night a teen left home alone meets a trick or treater that wants more than just candy. A door to door insurance salesman makes a Thanksgiving house call with monstrous consequences. Andrew and Sara are happily married and plan on spending some quality time together, but something sinister has other plans for their evening. Carol’s Christmas Eve turns into a fight for survival when a vengeful stranger isn’t feeling the holiday spirit. Lastly, a birthday party turns bloody when some unexpected guests drop by at the wrong time. Seven interwoven tales of terror, how many stories does your house have?
Volumes of Blood : Horror Stories out August 1 from Dark Cuts.

DVD SPECIAL FEATURES:
– Cast & Crew Commentary Track
– The Art of Killing – special effects featurette
– House by the Video Store – behind-the-scenes featurette

BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES:
– Cast & Crew Commentary Track
– Premiere Night Audio Track (watch the film with its first full audience)
– VOBHS: Premiere Night featurette
– The Art of Killing – special effects featurette
– Brian Storm Memorial Video
– From The Set: Escape Pod interview with Moses Moseley
– House by the Video Store – behind-the-scenes featurette"