Universal Monsters by Greg Staples: "On Tuesday the 26th of January Vice Press and Bottleneck Gallery will be launching a new series of limited edition Universal Monsters movie posters and art prints by British artist Greg Staples.
Greg Staples is best known for his work on British comic 2000AD and artwork for Magic the Gathering and here is what he had to say on the release –
'For me the classic Universal Monster films have been engrained into me since I was a child, not only with their legendary visual design and makeup but because they are almost not of this world. To me they are the purest form of escapism and something that simply couldn’t be made in this day and age. I decided to approach these illustrations a little differently by choosing to try to add a bit of realism, hopefully to capture a small part of their character so wonderfully portrayed by Boris Karloff and Bela Lugosi. This really was an honour.'
Working closely alongside Universal and the estate of Bela Lugosi, this officially licensed series kicks off with pieces for Dracula and Frankenstein and feature Greg’s amazing paintings that beautifully capture Bela Lugosi and Boris Karloff in their iconic roles. Both versions of the art are available in a regular edition movie poster in an edition of 195 priced £45, and a variant edition art print in an edition of 175 and priced £50. Both prints are 24x36 inches. There will also be smaller art prints available featuring Greg’s original paintings.
These releases will be available from both Vice-Press.com and BottleneckGallery.com at 5pm GMT (UK Time) and 12pm EST and ship worldwide
You can follow Vice Press on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook at @VicePressNews"
----------
DARK STAR & BLOODY DISGUSTING Acquire Festival Midnighter DEMENTIA PART II: "Los Angeles-based Dark Star Pictures has acquired the North American distribution rights to the festival midnighter DEMENTIA PART II as part of their exciting collaboration with horror leader Bloody Disgusting, the companies announced Monday morning.
Taken from the pages of Sam Raimi, and delivering absurd gross-out humor and nonstop mayhem, the making of DEMENTIA PART II came out of a dare from Chicago’s Cinepocalype Film Festival and the movie’s producers JD Lifshitz and Raphael Margules. The two must produce a feature-length midnight movie from concept to finished product in one month so that it could make its World Premiere on the last night of the film festival. The film turned out to be DEMENTIA PART II, a tongue-in-cheek sequel to Mike Testin’s 2015 original film.
In DEMENTIA PART II, Suzanne wasn't always this confused. She wasn't always dead either - When an ex-con takes a job as a handyman for an unstable elderly woman to avoid a parole violation, it becomes a choice he may regret.
The film stars genre favorites Matt Mercer (Contracted, Bliss, Beyond the Gates), Graham Skipper (Almost Human, Sequence Break, VFW), Najarra Townsend (Contracted, The Stylist), and Suzanne Voss (The Lords of Salem, Dementia).
It was produced from conception to its world premiere screening by the writer/director team Matt Mercer and Mike Testin (The Salesman, Dementia) in just 30 days.
Dark Star and Bloody Disgusting plan a theatrical release for DEMENTIA PART II in late spring with the VOD/Digital and DVD release to follow in early summer.
“From the first conversation we had with Mike Repsch and the Dark Star team, we were excited to work with them,” said co-directors Matt Mercer and Mike Testin. “It felt like they were the right company to shepherd the gleefully slimy midnight antics of DEMENTIA PART II to audiences. We had fun making the movie, and in such an unconventional way, and are excited to work with such a cool and progressive distributor to unleash it on eyeballs.”
The acquisition of DEMENTIA PART II was first unveiled to horror enthusiasts at the WELCOME TO DARK STAR PICTURES film fest held this past weekend. The distribution company held a free virtual screening of six of its latest films plus DEMENTIA PART II as an exclusive secret screening.
"DEMENTIA PART II is an immensely unique gross-out journey of a horror film and perfect addition to our Dark Star//Bloody Disgusting collaboration,” said Dark Star Pictures’ Michael Repsch. “From the inception of the project and how it was made to the putrid practical effects used, this is one that audiences should embrace for and enjoy the ride."
Dark Star Pictures President Michael Repsch negotiated the deal with Raphael Margules from BoulderLight Pictures on behalf of the filmmakers.
Recently, Dark Star Pictures and Bloody Disgusting partnered on its first acquisition on the acclaimed backwoods horror film Honeydew starring Sawyer Spielberg in his feature acting debut. It was written and directed by Devereux Milburn, with the film also marking his directorial debut. Dark Star and Bloody Disgusting plan to release the film in theaters March 2021, with a VOD/Digital release and DVD to follow in April."
---------
Shout! Studios and VMI Worldwide announce film deal for "The Dead of Night," starring Matthew Lawrence and Lance Henriksen: "Los Angeles (January 25, 2021) – Shout! Studios, the multi-platform filmed entertainment and production arm of Shout! Factory, and VMI Worldwide announced a distribution collaboration to bring new suspense horror thriller THE DEAD OF NIGHT to a wide variety of entertainment platforms in the United States. Directed and written by filmmaker Robert Dean (The Drifter, The Commando), Matthew Lawrence (Money Plane, Evol), and Lance Henriksen (Aliens, The Blacklist) lead an impressive young cast of Jake Etheridge (Dakota, Nashville), Colby Crain (The Big Lady), Leah Bezozo (The Sopranos), and Kyle Overstreet (Give or Take). A PRC Productions in association with Buffalo 8 Productions, THE DEAD OF NIGHT is produced by Matthew Helderman, Troy Scoughton, Sr., and Robert Dean. The announcement was made today by Jordan Fields, Shout’s Vice President of Acquisitions, and J.D. Beaufils, President of Sales at VMI Worldwide.
The multi-year alliance provides Shout! Studios with extensive U.S. distribution rights to THE DEAD OF NIGHT, including digital, video-on-demand, broadcast, theatrical, and home entertainment packaged media. Shout! Studios plans a strategic launch of this movie across all major entertainment platforms in 2021.
The movie deal was negotiated by Jordan Fields, and Steven Katz, Shout’s Vice President of Business Affairs, and J.D. Beaufils at VMI Worldwide.
DEAD OF NIGHT
Movie synopsis
Soon after violent masked drifters dressed as wolves arrive in a small rural town, a local young couple goes missing and their bodies are discovered near a ranch run by brother and sister, Tommy and June. Her ex-boyfriend and local deputy sheriff Luke start suspecting Tommy of murder, leaving the siblings ostracized and disenchanted with the community. The next day Tommy catches the killers committing another murder nearby and moves in closer to investigate but he is spotted by one of the drifters and chased across the ranch running for his life. Isolated, the siblings as well as June’s best friend and her husband find themselves being hunted and terrorized by the nomadic killers setting the scene for a startling twist and a gruesome outcome that will change the town forever."
---------
13 SLAYS TILL X-MAS: "On December 24th, five seemingly random men are invited to a dive bar by a mysterious e-mail. They decide to pass the time by resurrecting the old tradition of telling scary stories on Christmas Eve. As each take turns spinning yarns of yuletide terror, it becomes evident, they may be harboring a dark and deadly secret."
----------
Free Dramatized Livestream Reading of the Official Stage Adaptation of The Butcher Brothers' THE HAMILTONS:
The Hamiltons—Your new neighbors might just be your last.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS! The Rage of the Stage Players, Pittsburgh's only dark alternative theatre company, are beginning our 20th anniversary with a FREE dramatized livestream reading of our official stage adaptation of the Lionsgate horror film, The Hamiltons, by The Butcher Brothers!
In 2006, the award-winning independent horror piece, The Hamiltons, was released as part of the very first “After Dark Horrorfest”, also known as “8 Films to Die For”. Four years later, in 2010, Rage was in the fortunate position of adapting and producing this story of four quirky orphaned siblings, concealing a terrible shared secret, for the stage, which premiered on October 21, 2011.
Now, in 2021, to open The Rage of the Stage Players 20th year, we bring to you a FREE dramatized livestream reading of the script, presented by a cast of amazing actors. Just follow the link on Sunday, January 31, to enjoy our presentation of this very unique thriller!
The Rage of the Stage Players
Present
A FREE Dramatized Livestream Reading of The Hamiltons
The Official Stage Play by James Michael Shoberg
Based on the Lionsgate Film
Written and Directed by The Butcher Brothers
Sunday, January 31, 2021
7:30 PM Eastern Time
(Link will not be active until the day and time of the performance.)
MATURE CONTENT.
Special Introduction by The Butcher Brothers, Mitchell Altieri and Phil Flores
Starring: Joseph Bricker, Alyssa Kostick, Ryan Ott, Andrew Long, Carrie L. Shoberg, Paige Moody, Kassie McConnell, Dave Joseph, Mark McConnell Jr., Peter Anthony Vetrini, Bill Herring, Amanda Anne Leight, and Jim Steinhoff
Narrated by Diane Withum Masters
Technical Direction by Joseph Stammerjohn
----------
THE VAMPIRE VERSES: "Los Angeles, CA (Jan. 21th 2021) - Asylum Press announced today that it has launched a crowd funding campaign on Kickstarter for a forthcoming book The Vampire Verses: Blood Rites Sketchbook / Artbook crowd funding campaign on Kickstarter.
The Vampire Verses is a vampire/horror comic that Frank Forte created in 1994 and was published in 1995 by CFD productions (Formerly Cry For Dawn) and then Asylum Press in 1999. The series was inspired by many anime series at the time including Wicked City, Demon City Shinjuku and Urotsukidōji: Legend of the Overfiend. The Vampire Verses was also inspired by comic creators Berni Wrightson, Tim Vigil, Kelley Jones, Mike Mignola and others. Frank attempted to draw from these influences and create something unique. What erupted from his hand and mind was The Vampire Verses.
THE VAMPIRE VERSES SYNOPSIS: "The debut issue introduces Angelika, an exotic dancer in the NYC club scene who is unwittingly turned into a creature of the night. As she tries to make sense of what she has become she learns of a bloody Vampire War that is being fought in the streets and subway tunnels of New York City. Slowly the truth unfolds as Angelika begins to realize she is a key part of an ancient scrolled prophecy known as The Vampire Verses.
“I’m excited to get back and finish the series,” explains creator Frank Forte, “The Vampire Verses was planned as a 12 -issue maxi-series and I only made it to 4 issues. The Blood Rites Sketchbook / Artbook is way to re-introduce fans to the series and introduce comic fans to the series who have never seen it before.”
Title: The Vampire Verses: Blood Rites Sketchbook / Artbook
Description: is a 32 page saddle stitched comic that includes art and sketches from The Vampire Verses series by Frank Forte. The art ranges from 1995 to present day with character studies, cover studies, renders, creature design, environment design, pin-ups and more. The book hopes to reintroduce fans to the series and be a prelude to the continuation of The Vampire Verses #5-#12.
Creators: Frank Forte (Heavy Metal Magazine, Warlash, Undead Evil)
Intended Audience: Mature Readers
Retail Price: $10.00
Page count: 32
The Vampire Verses: Blood Rites Sketchbook / Artbook Kickstarter campaign can be found here:
Daily Dead's Official Podcast! Daily Dead's Official Podcast!
