We return with another edition of the Indie Spotlight, highlighting recent independent horror news sent our way. Today's feature includes the short film "Hold Your Fire," release details for The Black Dahlia Haunting, trailers for Truth or Dare and The Shadows, and much more:
Full Short Film "Hold Your Fire": "Twitch Film proudly presents the online premiere of artist-turned-filmmaker Wes Benscoter's debut short film, HOLD YOUR FIRE, exclusively at Twitch Film.
A ghostly soldier comes face to face with this grim reality of his war-torn existence on the battlefield... and beyond! Assaulting international audiences at festivals from Montreal's Fantasia to Sitges, Fantasporto, A Night of Horror, and Dead by Dawn, to sending domestic shivers up spines at Screamfest, Boston Underground, and the New York City Horror Film Festival, Twitch Film now takes the mantle in offering Wes Benscoter's mini-masterpiece to its largest audience ever.
A twenty-year veteran of horrific illustration, Benscoter established his reputation with artwork for Slayer and Black Sabbath, and more extreme acts like Cattle Decapitation. On the film's creation, Benscoter explains: "Shot in HD over many long, fog-shrouded weekends, I became an expert in predicting the dew-points needed for a foggy morning. I now think of HOLD YOUR FIRE as my ERASERHEAD."
Thanks to Twitch for the short film. We have provided the film in its entirety below.
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12 Projects Announced for Frontières International Co-Production Market: "After announcing the 12 projects of its Frontières selection of film projects in May, the Frontières International Co-Production Market’s team is now happy to announce the event’s Off-Frontières line-up of projects. The projects, in this second group, feature additional up-and-coming talents and experienced filmmakers from the independent genre film world. The Off-Frontières 2013 selection of the 2nd edition of the Frontières International Co-Production Market will consist of the following 12 projects:
The Fantasia Industry Rendez-Vous will take place in Montreal from July 25 to the 28 at the mid-point of the 3-weeks run of the Fantasia Festival, running from July 18 to August 6, 2013. International producers and sales agents, distributors, broadcasters, talent agents and festival programmers will converge over four days that will be packed with a pitch session, meetings, conferences and cocktails, along with the festival’s regular schedule of premieres. Accreditations are free of charge and are currently under way. They must be applied for by June 21 for the participant to be listing in the Market Guide."
For more information, visit www.FantasiaFestival.com/Market
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Release Details and BTS Clip from The Black Dahlia Haunting: "Origin Releasing is proud to release a behind-the-scenes clip from the upcoming DVD and Blu-Ray release of "The Black Dahlia Haunting", which hits Video on Demand and Pay-Per-View on July 1st, a full month before the DVD street date.
The acclaimed paranormal thriller, follows a young woman from New York City who travels to Los Angeles to check on the well-being of her estranged brother, who is being held in a psychiatric ward for the murder of his parents. While in LA she finds herself consumed by a mysterious spirit who turns out to be none other than Elizabeth Short, known in legend as THE BLACK DAHLIA.
The film stars Devanny Pinn (Hold Your Breath, Nude Nuns With Big Guns), Britt Griffith (SyFy's Ghost Hunters, Ghost Hunters International), Cleve A. Hall (SyFy's Monster Man, Dead.tv), Noah Dahl (Bad Teacher, Mr. and Mrs. Smith), Alexis Iacono (Blue Caprice, Prescott Place), Jessica Cameron (Silent Night, Camel Spiders), and Sarah Nicklin (The Disco Exorcist, 27 Dresses). The film was written and directed by Brandon Slagle."
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Casting News for Fairfield: "Chris Riggi (Gossip Girl) and Chris Bellant (Black Sky) have joined the cast of Mattheau O’Brien’s “Fairfield”, which starts production next month in Philadelphia. Riggi, will play Fenton, the football player who turns evil. Bellant, next in the Warner Bros. tornado thriller "Black Sky", will play Gabriel Cooper, the film's protagonist.
When a mysterious illness suddenly spreads through the town, Gabriel Cooper finds himself fighting for his life. After seeking refuge in the local high school, he's united with a group of teenagers who are hiding in the school. Together, they must face the gravest of teenage dilemmas: sex, parents, friends, and zombies."
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Truth or Dare Red Band Trailer: "The Truth or Dare team have unleashed their 1st red band trailer for the film!
6 college kids who find internet stardom when they make “Truth or Dare” videos with a violent twist. It is all fun and games until their number one fan decides he wants to play. Nothing is what it seems, and everyone has something to hide...
The film, brought to you by Small Town Girl Productions, was produced by Buz Wallick, Jessica Cameron, and Jonathan Higgins. Jessica directed the feature and cowrote it with Jonathan Higgins. The film stars the scream queen herself, along with Devanny Pinn, Heather Dorff, Ryan Kiser, Brandon Van Vliet, Shelby Stehlin, and Jesse Wilson. The movie is completely done filming and is in postproduction."
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DVD and VOD Details for Muirhouse: "BrinkVision will be releasing the Paranormal Ghost Hunter Horror film Muirhouse on Limited Edition DVD and VOD on September 17th in the U.S. & Canada. Muirhouse has been scaring audiences worldwide with festival screenings at Shreikfest, Monsterfest, Fright Night Film Fest (winning best foreign horror film), and many more.
In 2007 Phillip Muirhouse began a promotional book tour on supernatural phenomena. As a publicity stunt he was to be filmed inside a local tourist trap, The Monte Cristo Homestead, known as ‘the most haunted house in Australia’. He spent one night in the house. The events, which took place, were recorded in real time on audio devices and night vision cameras. By morning three people were discovered dead. This is the footage…"
For more information on Muirhouse, visit: www.brinkvision.com
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Sledge Free Screening Details: "Opening with Assly’s True American Horror television program, the action kicks off instantly with skull crushing deaths from the killer, Adam Lynch. Adam is unique and believes he is in a movie and video game that he has created inside of his head! With each kill, he adds to his collection, which happens to be the faces of his victims. As a new group of people show up to the secluded rental campground, Adam meticulously watches them all to see if any is worth sparing their life. With Alex (Dustin Bowman) as the funny guy, Sarah (Stephanie Tupper) the girl Alex wants to be with, Nash (Russ Matoes) the pansy boyfriend who takes the insults Alex dishes at him, Shawn (Travis Hanson) the dimwitted friend and Michelle (Desiree Holmes) the girlfriend of Shawn, they begin their camping trip with fun, booze and sex. With all the pieces needed for a good horror movie, the fun begins when the sun rises on the next day. Sledge is a Horror Comedy that has not been seen before. It is a film that will leave you screaming and laughing at Adam Lynch (Kristian Hanson), one killer you don’t want to mess with.
The screening of the film will take place on June 22nd from 6:30-8:30 p.m. There is a chance to obtain free tickets to the screening which will include a Q&A with the writer/director afterwards."
To learn more about Sledge, visit: http://sledgemovie.com. To inquire about free tickets to the screening, contact: sledgemovie13@gmail.com.
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First Trailer for Zombie Comedy, The Battery: "Two former baseball players, Ben (Jeremy Gardner) and Mickey (Adam Cronheim), cut an aimless path across a desolate New England. They stick to the back roads and forests to steer clear of the shambling corpses that patrol the once bustling cities and towns. In order to survive, they must overcome the stark differences in each other’s personalities—Ben embraces an increasingly feral, lawless, and nomadic lifestyle—while Mickey is unable to accept the harsh realities of the new world. Mickey refuses to engage in Ben’s violent games and longs for the creature comforts he once took for granted. A bed, a girl, and a safe place to live. When the men intercept a radio transmission from a seemingly thriving, protected community, Mickey will stop at nothing to find it, even though it is made perfectly clear that he is not welcome.
The Battery was shot on a budget of only $6,000 in the span of two weeks. For most of those two weeks, the crew consisted of only 6 people: Jeremy Gardner (director/writer/actor), Adam Cronheim (actor/producer), Christian Stella (director of photography), Nick Bohun (sound recordist), Elise Stella (production manager), and Kelly McQuade (makeup/art director).
The Battery is now available in the US to rent or purchase on iTunes, Amazon Instant Video, YouTube, GooglePlay, VuDu and various other platforms."
To learn more about this film, go to: http://www.thebatterymovie.com
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First Trailer for Found Released: "A horror-obsessed boy discovers his older brother is a serial killer."
Directed by Scott Schirmer and written by Todd Rigney and Scott Schirmer, Found stars Gavin Brown, Ethan Philbeck, and Phyllis Munro.
To learn more about this film, visit Found's official website at: http://www.foundmovie.net/
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Zombie with a Shotgun Web Series Details: "Just released today, is the 4th episode of the web series Zombie with a Shotgun.
Zombie with a Shotgun is a film about Aaron and Rachel (and of course his Shotgun) who both are on the run due to the fact Aaron is infected by the zombie virus. This story unfolds in front of us as we watch the two take this journey to find answers. As time passes by we all want to know why Aaron has not developed the full zombie virus, where others who get infected will never see another day.
Zombie with a Shotgun is ultimately a love story between the main character who is infected and struggles to hold on to his human reality while wondering if his love for his girlfriend is fading because he is turning into a zombie.
Written and directed by Hilton Ariel Ruiz, Zombie with a Shotgun stars Braeden Baade (Aaron), Lynnea Molone (Rachel), Sammy Mena (Zombie), Henry William Oelkers (Vigilante #1), Erzen Krivca (Vigilante #2), and Ian Griffith (Police Officer)."
To watch all four episodes of Zombie with a Shotgun, go to: http://vimeo.com/zombiewithashotgun
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The Underneath Teaser Trailer: "Origin Releasing is proud to announce the release of the first teaser trailer for their subterranean thriller, "The Underneath".
The film stars Holt Boggs (The Prodigy, Sinners and Saints), Natalie Wilemon (Biohazard: Patient Zero), and Larry Jack Dotson (Humans Versus Zombies, Bernie) and is directed by Brian T. Jaynes (Biohazard: Patient Zero, Boggy Creek, Humans Versus Zombies).
A young newlywed couple find themselves trapped in a network of underground caves. With her husband (Holt Boggs) injured, the new bride (Natalie Wilemon) is forced to find her way back to the surface in order to save his life. In the process, they discover a terrifying truth about the "underneath", that they are not alone. Something evil is hunting them...
The film was shot on location and in studio in Mineola, Texas, where the crew constructed a full subterranean cave set in which most of principal photography took place.
The Underneath is slated to be released on DVD/Blu-Ray, VoD, and Pay-Per-View this September."
For more information on this film, visit: https://www.facebook.com/Theunderneath
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Little Rock Horror Picture Show Festival Details: "The 3rd annual Little Rock Horror Picture Show is slated for March 21-23rd, 2014 and will be hosted at the Little Rock Film Festival’s new flagship theater, the Arcade Theater. The Little Rock Horror Picture Show has had two successful years featuring films such as Eric England’s Madison County and Roadside, Chad Crawford Kinkle’s Jug Face, and Don Thacker’s Motivational Growth. The festival showcases the best in genre films from around the world every spring as a part of the Little Rock Film Festival’s year round programming.
Submissions for the 3rd annual festival will be open starting July 1st with the early bird deadline ending August 15th. As with all of the Little Rock Film Festival’s events Arkansas made submissions will be free to submit. Full length features as well as short films in the horror, science fiction, fantasy genres as well as animated films are all eligible to submit.
“Not only will we show the best genre films from around the world, we will also show the best horror and sci-fi films from Arkansans that the world needs to see,” said festival director Justin Nickels. “The Little Rock Horror Picture Show continues the excellence the Little Rock Film Festival brings to Arkansas every year.” Submissions will be open from July 1, 2013 until January 15, 2014. The Little Rock Horror Picture Show will continue making announcements leading up to next year’s festival."
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Trailer for The Shadows Released: "The Shadows is the first in a series of fantasy films written by writer/director Colin Downey who is also developing an adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's ‘The Brave Tin Soldier’ with the Irish Film Board, and is produced by Oscar Nominated Emer O' Kane (Pentecost) of EMU Productions.
It stars a young newcomer Lorcan Melia (Tudors) opposite the rising actress Emma Eliza Regan (Darkness on The Edge Of Town, Love Eternal) as Alice, a beautiful Shadow guardian who watches over him.
’The Shadows’ is inspired by a fairytale of the same name by George MacDonald. It tells the story of Matthew, a lonely young boy who finds a doorway into a magical world beneath his grandmother's garden. In a subterranean chamber, Matthew meets a Shadow man called Yorrick (Michael Parle) and a Shadow Princess (Emma Eliza Regan). Yorrick is the guardian of an ancient crown and he brings Matthew on an adventure where he falls foul of a treasure hunter (Eddie Webber) and an evil witch called Eldren (Natalia Kostrzewa), the greatest enemy of the Shadows.
Other cast in the feature include Sam Homan (Ros na Run), Irene Wright (Sugar Stick) and Gráinne McHale."
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Watch the Short Film "Girl at the Door": "After an intense night of rough sex with a beautiful woman, Jake finds himself trapped in a strange and terrifying situation. Girl at The Door is a short, sexy, supernatural thriller, written and directed by Colin Campbell. Produced by Matt Ima. Starring Jeffrey Vincent Parise and Kristen Renton."
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Release Details for Slink: "In the rural town of Wickenhaven, a psychotic tanning salon owner is responsible for the disappearances of many young, innocent girls, while his wife, an exotic purse designer, is willing to overlook his evil nature.
Slink will be available via On Demand, Amazon as well as iTunes on the 14th [of June]."
To learn more about Slink, head over to Amazon.
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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