Indie Spotlight

We're back with another edition of the Indie Spotlight, highlighting recent independent horror news sent our way. Today's feature includes details on The ABCs of Death 2 contest, a new clip from Muirhouse, a Q&A with Lauren Lakis from Horror House, and much more:

The ABCs of Death 2 Contest Details: "We're in the midst of our contest to find the 26th Director for ABCs OF DEATH 2. The contest runs until Halloween, and we're hoping to secure many, many more submissions by then. We're looking for new, inventive content!"

For more information, or to learn how to participate in the ABCs of Death 2 contest to be the 26th director, visit: http://26th.abcsofdeathpart2.com/

---------

New Clip from Muirhouse: "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.

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."

---------

Details on Fright Dome's Hotel Argento: "For the first time in its 11 year history, Fright Dome at Circus Circus Las Vegas teamed up with horror industry legends to create one of the most chilling trailer videos of all time. Starring “Scream Queen” Danielle Harris and famed actor Sid Haig, the video will launch on Fright Dome Owner Jason Egan’s birthday, Friday, Sept. 6 via Fright Dome’s social media channels and [website].

Filmed at one of the most haunted venues in the nation, Linda Vista Community Hospital, the video will feature Harris as she is stalked by the nightmare-evoking horror villain from Fortress Features movies The Collector and The Collection. Located in west Los Angeles, Linda Vista has become a Hollywood hotspot location for filming.

Fright Dome is increasing the number of haunted houses within the sweeping 250,000 square foot haunted theme park attraction from five stand-alone mazes to six to celebrate its 11th anniversary. The sixth house, an isolation-style haunted house and the premise for the video, appropriately named “Hotel Argento” will take only upgraded fast pass guests into the depths of the Collector’s lair. Separated from friends and forced to enter alone, guests will forge their way through traps and snares, the Collector’s demented assortment of barely coherent victims and museum-esque displays of lifeless prey all while being hunted themselves, as portrayed by Harris in the video. Will they make it out… or will they become the next victim added to his meticulous collection?

Beginning Thursday, Oct. 3 Fright Dome takes over The Adventuredome at Circus Circus with six haunted houses, three extreme scare zones, thrill rides attractions, live shows and much more. Fright Dome is open from 7 p.m. to midnight Oct. 3-31 on select nights."

For more information, and to watch the trailer video Hotel Argento, visit: www.frightdome.com

---------

Details on Horror House: "Five different moments in time within one house, home to secrets, death and lies. A horror anthology of five short stories introduced by the Real Estate Agent Joe intent on selling this bargain house and all the horrors within its walls. Each tale is interlinked, telling chronicles of monsters from a story book, a living doll, the power of the tarot, a set of creepy twins and a man whose opinion of his hotness is turned against him. The question is… would you live here?

Horror House is a brand new horror anthology from the newlyweds of horror Kerry and Evan Marlowe. The film stars B-movie icon Lloyd Kaufman as Joe the Real Estate Agent who guides us through five different stories taking place in one house of fear.

Horror House is an official selection of the 2013 Indie Horror Film Festival, Studio City Film Festival, Trail Dance Film Festival and a Diamond Award Winner at the California Film Awards.

Horror fans can find the film available on various internet and satellite Video On Demand outlets beginning October 1st! Specific carriers to be announced at launch."

Horror House stars Lloyd Kaufman, Kerry Marlowe, Evan Marlowe, and Lauren Lakis.

---------

Abducted DVD Release Details: "Dave (Trevor Morgan) and Jessica (Tessa Ferrer), along with three other couples, are kidnapped by masked abductors in Griffith Park. Locked in a dark cell and sedated by gas, they are subjected to bizarre medical experiments and horrific physiological torture. After weeks of captivity, they make one final attempt to break free...only to discover the world they know will never be the same.

Forget Area 51, Project Blue Book, little grey men and The Fourth Kind as you're about to experience a Close Encounter of the terrifying kind in this eagerly anticipated, horror/sci-fi thriller -- "Dark Skies" meets The Blair Witch Project -- currently playing festivals worldwide.

The film stars Trevor Morgan (The Rookie, Chasing 3000), Tessa Ferrer (Go For Sisters, "Grey's Anatomy"), Ross Thomas (Soul Surfer, American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile), Jelly Howie ("Rockville, CA", Blood of Redemption).

Abducted [will be released on] DVD October 15, 2013."

To learn more about this film, go to: https://www.facebook.com/AbductedDVD

---------

A House is Not a Home World Premiere Details: "A House is Not a Home is about family and a mystery, that resides in their new home. The Williams family are optimistic about their new abode, but an evil force does not want them there. Actor and producer Gerald Webbstars as Ben Williams, a man trying to protect his wife, Linda (Diahnna Nicole Baxter) and their two children: Ashley and Alex. A strange entity threatens their lives. The Williams turn to Lucas St. Michelle (Eddie Steeples), an expert on the occult, to cast the demon out, but it refuses to leave. Richard Grieco and Bill Cobbs also star in this thrilling feature.

DeInstitutionalized LLC is pleased to announce that A House is Not a Home will have its World Premiere at the Burbank International Film Festival. The film will debut as part of the “Night of Science Fiction Fantasy & Horror” special event (September 7th, 2013, 6:30p.m.). Horror fans and media personnel are encouraged to attend this one-of-a-kind event, which runs from Sept. 4th to Sept. 8th.

DeInstitutionalized has been recognized for their hard work, in horror, with three nominations, at the Festival. A House is Not a Home has been nominated for “Best Horror or Thriller Film,” “Best Actress (Diahnna Nicole Baxter),” and “Best Actor (Gerald Webb)."

For more information on the premiere, visit the Burbank International Film Festival website at: http://www.burbankfilmfest.org/events/night-of-science-fiction-fantasy-horror/

---------

First Hostage Trailer: "A man deals with the tragedy of his family’s death by living at the vacation cabin that they last stayed, only to discover he’s completely snowbound. During his desperate attempts to dig himself out, he discovers he’s not alone.

Paranormal thriller "Hostage", from Screengage Entertainment and distributed by Origin Releasing, hits Wal-Mart shelves this week!

The film stars Holt Boggs (The Prodigy, Bigfoot Wars), Nick Mancuso (Under Siege, Rapid Fire), Brandon Slagle (Argo, The Black Dahlia Haunting), Frederic Doss (Transformers, GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra), Natalie Wilemon (Biohazard: Patient Zero) and Emma Waldron. It was directed by Michael J. Yurinko and was produced by Brian T. Jaynes and Jena Waldron."

---------

The Invoking Distribution Details: "When Samantha visits the ancestral home she has inherited, forgotten memories begin to seep back to the surface. As her sanity slowly unravels, she soon finds herself unable to tell the difference between reality and a series of terrifying visions. While her world crumbles, Samantha discovers that the visions may be tied to a horrifying past deeply buried in her memory.

Ruthless Pictures has picked up worldwide rights to award winning horror thriller The Invoking. With The Invoking (formerly Sader Ridge), the filmmakers (writer/director Jeremy Berg, writers/producers Matt Medisch and John Portanova, collectively The October People) set out to tell a horror story with strong characters and tons of atmosphere. Inspired by films like The Shining and Rosemary's Baby, where the unknown is more frightening than anything real, they hoped to deliver a potent psychological horror experience.

Ruthless Pictures’ Jesse Baget is excited at the chance to represent the film, “These guys are very talented and I’m thrilled to get behind their first feature, which I believe audiences are gonna be haunted and intrigued by."

The Invoking stars Brandon Anthony, D’Angelo Midili, Trin Miller, Andi Norris, and Josh Truax.

---------

Phobia Trailer and VOD and DVD Release Details: "Set in 1885, Dr. Lesley Parker (Leerhsen) has gained entry to a revolutionary Parisian medical school teaching hypnosis. With Paris plagued by a blood thirsty serial killer, and Lesley preparing to return to San Francisco to open her own psychiatric practice, she is introduced to Val Drakul (Jeffery), a young Romanian man haunted by his family’s tragic past. At the urging of her colleague Sigmund Freud, and accompanied by Val's cousin Guy (Brooks), Lesley brings him back to San Francisco making him part of a select group of patients all suffering from phobias. But when the patients start dying one by one, and a stranger named I.M. Casey (Tompkins) arrives believing the Parisian serial killer is among them, everyone points their finger at Val – who may or may not be a vampire.

Loud Pictures and Highland Myst Entertainment are proud to announce the release of Phobia to a wide video-on-demand market throughout North America. Part gothic murder mystery and part vampire horror, this period piece stars Erica Leerhsen (Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Wrong Turn 2), Chase Jeffery (Exposed, American Virgin), Matthew Tompkins (Killing Down, Missionary Man), and Jonathan Brooks (The Next Door Neighbor, Seasons of Gray).

Phobia was released on September 1st by Gravitas Ventures to cable, satellite and internet Video-On-Demand markets, iTunes, Xbox, Amazon and more. Osiris Entertainment will release Phobia on DVD on October 15th. Phobia was directed by Jon Keeyes, produced by Blake Calhoun, and written by Anne Gibson."

To learn more about this film, go to: http://www.facebook.com/PhobiaTheMovie

---------

Bestseller Novel to Become Feature Film: "The Executive Teams behind the film titled ‘Bestseller’ consisting of Misery Bay Films LLC, Collective Development Inc. and Lake Street Media are announcing their initial media marketing with the launch of the Best Seller Movie [web]site, constructed by Associate Producer, David J. Gries, will carry and continue to be updated with important information regarding all aspects of the production.

The film, an adult targeted thriller, which is based on Christopher Knight’s novel “Bestseller,” Screenplay by Travis Goddard, is a story about ‘Anne Harper’, a successful literary agent who vacations to a remote cabin in the upper peninsula of MI. and is stalked and hunted by a disgruntled writer.

In addition to the announcement of the site, the producers have hand selected Michigan’s top-level artists in Crew with the attachments of Nathan K. Robertson, 1st Assistant Director, Samantha Finch, Production Designer, and Elizabeth Merriman, Unit Production Manager. All three seasoned professionals will be intricate in achieving the film’s overall success. Robertson and Finch both cut their teeth with Collective Development on the powerful film ‘Ashes of Eden’.

Casting continues without compromise and ‘Bestseller’ is thrilled with its first choice in two actors’ recent confirmation. L.A. actor Ralph Lister, known for ‘Oz the Great and Powerful’ and ‘Free Pie’, has committed to the role of,’ Gerald Morgan’. Morgan is an aspiring author in pursuit of being published with the “Harper Agency”. Also cast is the rising young star, Remi Ellen Dunkel, in the role of ‘Allie Harper’, Anne’s daughter. Dunkel recently played the role of ‘Madison’ in the film ‘The Real Mikado’."

For information about this film, and the rest of the cast, visit: www.bestsellerthemovie.com

---------

Tomboys Trailer Released: "This suspenseful horror tells the tragic story of Kat, a victim of repeated sexual assault. Having been failed by a corrupt system, she takes the law into her own hands. Kat and her gang of Tomboys kidnap the serial rapist to seek their revenge. As events unfold, the situation quickly spirals out of control. The question is... how far will they go?

[Tomboys] stars Candice Day, Naomi Davis, and Jenny Lovell."

To learn more about Tomboys, go to: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1538534/

---------

Details on McFall: "When wealthy developer Larkin McFall moves to the small Appalachian Mountain community of Barkersville, generations-old tales of supernatural phenomena, sudden deaths, and odd disappearances resurface. Larkin laughs off the stories as superstition, while promising to bring a bright new future to the dying town.

Sheriff Frank Littlefield senses a diabolical motive in McFall’s good intentions. High school friends Bobby Eldreth and Ronnie Day also suspect that an evil menace has invaded Barkersville, but both soon fall under McFall’s spell. Has the sinister presence that once infiltrated the abandoned—perhaps haunted—red church spread to the community as McFall turns the family property into a luxurious subdivision?

When those who oppose Larkin McFall’s ambitions begin to die horrifically—or even worse, become the man’s biggest supporters—Sheriff Littlefield’s investigation uncovers a man with no past and no fingerprints.

A man who destroys people by giving them exactly what they want.

Amazon's 47North imprint has launched McFall as a Kindle serial with new episodes every six weeks. It's based on the two supernatural bestsellers The Red Church and Drummer Boy."

For more information on Scott Nicholson's McFall, head over to Amazon

---------

First Details on The Suffering: "On August 22, Rob Hamilton, director behind the four-time WMIFF nominated film, Key, began releasing content that embodies The Suffering, his upcoming horror/ thriller. Elizabeth Deo and Phil Amico have already been attached to the film. The premise has a man fighting for his sanity when he finds himself trapped on a rural farm owned by a mysterious caretaker and inhabited by sinister beings.

The Suffering promises to be a supernatural horror thriller that will keep you and your fans tied to the screen like barbwire to flesh. Help be a part of our pre-production launch by sharing our content. As we release more videos and pictures, we will send them your way.

We are raising our last round of funds on Kickstarter."

To learn more, go to the film's Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/thesufferingfilm

---------

DVD Release Date Announced for Demon: "After being cleared in an internal investigation, FBI Special Agent Nicole Diaz is reinstated and sent back home to the town of Oro Negro to help solve the bizarre murders of two agents. She's met with disdain by the local Sheriff, a good ol' boy who doesn't believe they are being taken seriously and is insulted they sent a woman.

At first, it's thought the killings are random acts committed by smugglers or drug dealers, that is until the resident Tribal Ranger realizes the bodies have been drained of blood and suspects it is something more, but his beliefs are dismissed.

Demon, which will be available on DVD December 3rd, is now available for On Demand viewing. Cable subscribers can check their listings Cox, AT&T, Verizon, Charger, Suddenlink and more. Internet On Demand is currently rolling out on outlets such as Amazon Instant Video, Vudu, Google Play, Xbox and many others."

---------

First Details on Melanie Denholme's New Horror Film: "Chemical Burn Entertainment are in pre-production on a brand new sci-fi horror film in the UK.

Starring award winning scream queen actress, Melanie Denholme (Lady of the Dark, Anna: Scream Queen Killer), the film will be shot later this year and features a well known British pop star that will be announced later.

Writer and Director, Aquinas, who recently completed three films with Melanie, will be on the case again and bringing his unusual and unique style to the film.

“We have already secured some exclusive magazine content and photographic shoots for the film. Cast and crew are being organized and some of the more bizarre special effects required for the film are being worked on.” Said Producer, Michelle Gent.

The film will be shot in Nottinghamshire, England, but will be worldwide in it’s scope and has a very end of the world theme.

Set in the not too distant future, the film’s official title has not yet been revealed but has the working title, Alien Invasion, giving a subtle clue regarding the content. For the first time, Aquinas will be calling on CGI special effects for alien craft."

To keep up-to-date with the progress of this film, visit: www.facebook.com/strangeisnormal or www.facebook.com/melaniedenholme

---------

Indie Spotlight Q&A with Lauren Lakis from Horror House

by Tamika Jones

Horror House is a compilation of five stories surrounding one house. How did you get involved with this project?

Lauren: I was looking at breakdowns for projects like I normally do everyday, and I saw the listing for Horror House. It jumped out at me and I knew I had to audition for it!

As an artist, what convinced you or inspired you to portray Helen?

Lauren: When I saw the character description for Helen, it immediately caught my attention. They were looking for a caucasian girl who could speak Japanese or speak English with a Japanese accent...it just so happened that I had recently spent about 4 months living and working in Tokyo, Japan...after that experience I was hoping to find a project that would put my knowledge of the language and culture to use, but I never thought I would actually find it! I was very excited for the opportunity to bring that chapter of my life into my acting.

Besides that, Helen is a character with so much going on emotionally beneath the surface. She is an emotionally and physically abused girl, in a very vulnerable time of her life, trying to make sense of what it means to be loved and love in return. It’s a very sad situation. As an actor, it required a great deal of commitment to Helen’s internal world; I needed to be brave enough to isolate myself inside of her head. I knew it would be challenging in that way, so I felt inspired to take the role on.

Is working within the horror genre something you enjoyed doing, and would you ever make any more horror films? Or does the genre not matter as long as the film has a story or a character that speaks to you?

Lauren: I’ve actually done a LOT of horror films! I love working in all genres, it really doesn’t matter so much to me. The story and characters are the most important, as well as the message of the film. I often put myself in the position of the audience before accepting a role; I ask myself how I would feel or what I would take away from the film if I were to watch it, and then I go from there. I feel most at home in the drama/suspense/thriller genre, but I’ve been exploring more comedic work this year. Comedy is slightly terrifying, I’m having fun with it.

Are there any fun or interesting stories from the set that you would like to share?

Lauren: Well, it was a pretty professionally run set, everyone was very focused on the process. However, I will say that we spent a lot of time with the prop body from one of the other stories in the anthology, Hot Stuff. He even joined us for dinner...

What was it like to work with a horror icon like Lloyd Kaufman?

Lauren: I haven’t actually met Mr. Kaufman! We didn’t share any scenes together, so we were never on set on the same days. Hopefully I’ll meet him at an upcoming screening of the film!

In the film, Lloyd plays a real estate agent. If someone sold you a house that you believed was haunted, would you continue to stay in the house?

Lauren: That depends on the personality of the alleged ghost! I would definitely try to make contact...and decide from there. I have an interest in all things supernatural, it doesn’t scare me!

Do you have any projects coming out in the near future?

Lauren: I do! I am finishing the last of ADR this week on ROWS, a feature film that will most likely be out in early 2014. I shot a small role on Comedy Central’s Kroll Show, which will air as part of season 2. American Girls, a feature film I worked on last summer, will be coming out this fall...Appleton and Gun Woman are two other feature films that I shot this year, to come out in 2014. There are also a few surprises coming that I’m not allowed to mention...all other projects can be found on my IMDb page.