South by Southwest in Austin, Texas has begun and one of the films being screened is Teenage Cocktail. A poster and teaser for the film were revealed and are available after the jump. Also: an I Am Not a Serial Killer clip, a trailer for The Girl in the Photographs, and release details for Victor Warren's Hot.

SXSW: Teenage Cocktail: "Feeling confined by their small town and overbearing parents, Annie and Jules hatch a scheme of running away. The only issue is, they need the money to get there. Jules suggests the couple try webcam modeling. Although she’s nervous at first, Annie can’t argue when the money starts rolling in. But as the girls soon find out, consequences can blindside you. Sometimes violently.

SXSW 2016 Screenings:

Saturday, March 12th, 2:15 PM at Alamo Lamar D
Sunday, March 13th, 6:00 PM at Alamo Slaughter (SXSW Satellite)
Tuesday, March 15th, 2:00 PM at Alamo Ritz 1
Friday, March 18th, 10:00 PM at Alamo Lamar C."

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I Am Not a Serial Killer: "WHAT: World Premiere of I AM NOT A SERIAL KILLER in the Narrative Spotlight section at the 2016 SXSW Film Festival.

WHO: Filmmaker Billy O’Brien (Isolation, The Hybrid), Actors Christopher Lloyd (Back to the Future), Max Records (Where the Wild Things Are), author Dan Wells, who penned the novel on which the film is based, and producers Nick RyanJames Harris and Mark Lane, will all be in attendance at the premiere.

WHEN: Date: Sunday, March 13th, 2016
Press Check-in: 7:45 PM
Photo Opp: 8:00 PM
Screening Start Time: 8:15 PM

WHERE: Alamo Lamar D – Alamo Drafthouse South Lamar - 1120 S Lamar Blvd, Austin

About I AM NOT A SERIAL KILLER

Sixteen-year-old John Cleaver (Max Records) is dangerous, and he knows it. He’s obsessed with serial killers, but really doesn’t want to become one. Terrible impulses constantly tempt him, so for his own sake, and the safety of those around, he lives by rigid rules to keep himself “good” and “normal”. However, when a real monster shows up in his town he has to let his dark side out in order to stop it – but without his rules to keep him in check, he might be more dangerous than the monster he’s trying to kill. The film is based on the first installment in the John Wayne Cleaver trilogy, a popular book series written by Dan Wells.

SXSW Film Festival Screenings: 
Sunday, March 13th  @ 8:15 pm, Alamo Lamar D
Tuesday, March 15th @ 4:30 pm, Alamo Ritz 1
Wednesday, March 16th  @ 11:00 am, Alamo Lamar D."

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The Girl in the Photographs: "In Nick Simon’s THE GIRL IN THE PHOTOGRAPHS, Colleen’s life isn’t going anywhere. The small-town checkout girl with natural beauty is bored with her dead end job and annoyed by her apathetic boyfriend. This isn’t the life she wanted. In the midst of her turmoil, a pair of deranged serial killers begins leaving her photos of their mutilated victims.

Her chance to escape comes in the form of Peter Hemmings, a hipster celebrity photographer who has traveled back to his hometown of Spearfish, South Dakota, with a pack of models, intent on copying the killers’ intense and unapologetic artistry. When he learns Colleen is the killers’ muse, Peter resolves to make her his own and use her as the centerpiece of a photo campaign in Los Angeles.

But before Colleen can leave her old life behind, she must contend with the desires of her murderous stalkers who have chosen her last night in town to execute their most provocative work to date.

Distribution Company: Vertical Entertainment
Theatrical and VOD Release Date: April 1st, 2015
Directed by: Nick Simon
Written by: Osgood Perkins, Robert Morast, and Nick Simon
Executive Produced by: Wes Craven, Nawaf Alghanim
Produced by: Thomas Mahoney, Andrew Chung
Starring: Kal Penn, Claudia Lee, Kenny Wormald, Toby Hemingway, Luke Baines, Miranda Rae Mayo, Katharine Isabelle, and Mitch Pileggi
Running Time: 95 minutes
Rating: Not yet rated."

For more information, visit the film's Facebook page at: www.facebook.com/Thegirlinthephotographs

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Hot: Press Release: "LOS ANGELES, March 11, 2016 – Glydascope Magnet Films is pleased to announce today’s release of the apocalyptic satirical comedy HOT, based on the award-winning play for Daniel Keleher and directed by Victor Warren. HOT is launching exclusively on the streaming video service VHX, a digital distribution platform backed by major angel investors including Chris Sacca and Fred Wilson that empowers independent artists to sell video content directly with their audience. In addition to the release of the film, Glydascope is also releasing two new movie posters and a trailer for HOT.

From producer Dallas Sonnier: “Every filmmaker hopes to premiere their project at Sundance and sell to Netflix in a bidding war, but the statistical likelihood of this happening is microscopic. Once reality takes hold, you still have a movie that you love and believe in. We have experienced first hand the vast limitations of some distributors, and I was long impressed with filmmakers like Jeremy Gardner who embraced distribution through VHX successfully on his film THE BATTERY. Since we made this highly experimental film HOT for less than 100k, it felt organic to embrace a DIY nature for distribution, take control of your film’s destiny and get creative by launching the film on VHX.”

From director Victor Warren: “HOT is truly an independent film in every sense of the word. I am proud of what we were able to create with the audacity and tone that will evoke controversy and hopefully entertain. You create some magic, love what you are doing and laugh along the way. We made this film for close to no money, people cleared the days on their calendars, craft service was bought, cameras were rented and we created a little piece of art. I am so appreciative of the talented cast and tremendous crew who trusted me to lead them on this journey of getting my first film made.”

HOT is a comical yet ultimately devastating look at an apocalyptic future Los Angeles torn apart by a dangerous virus, most of its victims left unconscious to die slowly. Life-long best friends Jones (Steven Strait) and Benny (Zachary Knighton) are holed up in an ostentatious penthouse with Jones spending his days caring for his comatose fiancée (Kate Siegel). Their only connection to what remains of the outside world is a militia member named Horn (Noah Segan) tasked with patrolling the city for newly infected citizens. Benny grows increasingly jealous of Jones and strikes a deal with Horn to procure Benny his own girlfriend...albeit, in a coma.

With brutal language and imagery, alternately funny and horrifying, Keleher's play tears back the curtain of social niceties to reveal the animal instinct of men. Warren's background in theater led him to option the piece from Keleher, who is the past recipient of the George Burns and Gracie Allen Fellowship for Outstanding Comedy Writing and the Skirball/Kennis Playwrights Award.

Sonnier and Warren even embraced the DIY mentality when it came to the marketing. With virtually no budget to make a preview, the filmmakers tracked down Tim Gonzales, who gained popularity on YouTube for cutting a modern-day trailer for THE LAST STARFIGHTER and fan trailers for “Supergirl” and WONDER WOMAN. HOT is Gonzales’ first paid gig as a trailer editor.

The filmmakers created the main poster to pay homage to the comedies of the 1980’s while turning to emerging UK artist Adam Hale who Sonnier followed on Instagram (LINK HERE) to create a gonzo alternative poster.

For the female "love interest" to Knighton, a challenging role with over an hour of screen time, but no dialogue, the producers knew they would need to discover a new talent of striking beauty. International talent scout Marlon suggested a young model named Jessica Dykstra who has been on the cover of GQ Italia and was featured in Sports Illustrated India's swimsuit edition. Warren met with her immediately, and she was cast the next day."

HOT is available today via VHX at: https://hot-movie.vhx.tv/

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Selling Isobel: "Frida Farrell plays Isobel in a cast that includes Amber Benson, Matthew Marsden, Gabriel Olds, Stelio Savante, Alyson Stoner and Lew Temple.

Sex trade thriller, Selling Isobel is based on the true story of a pilates teacher who is kidnapped and used as a slave in the sex trade. She struggles for her life in the hopes of being reunited with her husband and young daughter.

Directed by Rudolf Buitendach, produced by Development Hell Pictures."

  • Tamika Jones
    About the Author - Tamika Jones

    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).