Grimm Up North Film Festival, horror sci-fi movie fest, Manchester, UK

Date: Oct 28-31
Venue: The Dancehouse, Manchester, UK

FILMS:
This year's films include: Aliens vs Ninjas, Reel Zombies, Evil: In the Time of Heroes (aka To Tako 2) and Slice.

GUESTS:
Special guests this year include Ramsey Campbell, David Moody, Christopher Priest, Grenville Charles, Scott MacIntyre, Conrad Williams and Richard Evans.

EVENTS:
This year's events include seminars on adapting a novel into a movie, making monsters, exploring how artificial intelligence has been portrayed in movies, and a comedy stage adaptation "How to Survive A Zombie Apocalypse."

ABOUT:
It�s grim up north, as the saying goes. But now every Halloween in Manchester � it�s GRIMM UP NORTH!

Tales of mystery, terror and the supernatural have always been with us, since the first cavemen crowded around the campfire. Forming the basis of our legends and fairytales, they are how we deal with our fears and make sense of our world. At Grimm Up North, we want you to celebrate those fears and challenge those perceptions, by offering a boundary-pushing, perception-challenging experience of the unknown and the fantastic.

Launched in 2009, Grimm Up North started as it means to go on. The inaugural festival screened 25 features, including 15 premieres, many featuring Q&As and seminars with directors, cast and crew. Last year we screened movies from Japan, Finland, Germany, Romania, Canada and Australia. Many of the award-winning international movies were UK premieres and for some will have been their only UK outing on a big screen � indeed some may never get a UK release at all.

We screened films as diverse as the Tarkovsky-influenced SAUNA from Finland and Romanian art house vampire movie STRIGOI. Supporting our homegrown talent, we covered the new wave of UK horror from the micro-budgeted COLIN, to gritty social-realist psycho drama TONY. But we never lost sight of our hardcore genre audience, with sold-out screenings of genre classics DAWN OF THE DEAD and HALLOWEEN, as well as a gala premi�re of THE DESCENT 2 that also featured a Q&A with the cave chiller sequel�s director and cast. Other guests included HELLRAISER�s very own Cenobites and author of The Prestige Ramsey Campbell. We also had an exhibition of work by SFX legend Bob Keen; props, storyboards and production stills from locally-produced shocker SPLINTERED; and a special game room set up by CAPCOM where punters could try out the new RESIDENT EVIL: DARKSIDE CHRONICLES game before its release.

All in all, even if we do say so ourselves, Grimm Up North 2009 was a Hell of a festival. It created impact at a national and international level, and in its very first year was being reviewed favourably. We intend to build on this � to truly put Manchester on the festival map with film distributors and movie fans alike.

And we�re not limiting ourselves to cinema, either. We want to spread a little GRIMMness across all of the arts and sciences. This year we are partnering with other festivals and organisations such as the Manchester Science Festival and The Manchester Literary Festival to bring more diverse, interactive events. These will include films with live musical accompaniment, a look at book to screen adaptations, and explorations of the scientific truths behind horror, fantasy and SF. There will be seminars, workshops and more. We�ll even be doing a couple of scary movies matinees in association with the Family Friendly Film Festival � we want to hook in your kids while they�re young and impressionable!

Grimm Up North: A festival of horror and fantasy, taking place on the last week of October in Manchester UK.

http://www.grimmfest.com/

FANGORIA Frightfest debuts at Blockbuster

The eight-film FANGORIA FrightFest is finally here! All eight Fango flicks � DARK HOUSE, PIG HUNT, ROAD KILL, THE HAUNTING, FRAGILE, HUNGER, THE TOMB and GRIMM LOVE are available now exclusively through Blockbuster stores and Blockbuster By Mail, as well as digitally via Blockbuster On Demand.



It�s all here: gruesome ghosts, maniacal torturers, malevolent oversized boars, cannibal crazies and sexy scream sirens, directed and written by some of the genre�s best new talent. Learn more at www.fangoriafrightfest.com and www.blockbuster.com. And go here for a chat with the director of the Poe movie THE TOMB.

Review: Kingdom of the Spiders (William Shatner)

Rating: 7/10

Picture "Night of the Living Dead" with spiders instead of zombies. To add to the horror, William (dramatic pause) Shatner is the leading hero. He still gets the girls, even without the captain outfit.

Mr Shatner plays Rack Hansen, an animal vet who teams up with Diane Ashley (Tiffany Bolling), an entomologist, to try to stop an army of spiders who have run out of food due to our overuse of pesticides. The spiders have discovered that we are easy food. Hunting cooperatively, thousands and thousands of spiders ravish a small Arizona town.

This cult classic has been brought back to life as a special edition with (gasp) bonus material. This includes an interview with William Shatner, a featurette, audio commentary by the director, behind the scenes footage and the original theatrical trailer.

As if the campy feeling of the movie wasn't MSTK fodder enough, during the Shatner interview, he proudly boasts that he did not use "stunt spiders", they were real.

Definitely not a "scary" movie, unless you're arachnophobic, but sometimes the cheesey, campy horror movies are more fun to watch and this one is right up there with the best of it's kind.

NYC Horror Film Fest to Join Wizard World Comic Con Tour

NEW YORK and ANAHEIM, Calif., March 15, 2010 - From Frankenstein to Halloween to Saw, horror films have been a staple for moviegoers for generations. Now, fans attending Wizard Comic Con events in 2010, beginning next month in Anaheim, Calif., can take part in The NYC Horror Film Festival's Killer Short Sudden Death Competition, in which short filmmakers will have their work viewed by a live audience and voted into the NYC Horror Film Festival program later this year. Comic Con audiences will have the opportunity to select one winner at each of six 2010 Wizard Conventions - Anaheim (April 16-18), Philadelphia (June 11-13), Chicago (August 19-22), Philadelphia (June 11-13), New England (Oct. 1-3), Big Apple (October 7-10) and New Jersey (Oct. 15-17) - that will become part of the 2010 NYC Horror Film NYC Festival program later this year.

The competition is part of the Horror Pavilion, to be featured at Comic Con shows beginning at Anaheim. Aspiring filmmakers are invited to submit their work for consideration at each show.

"The addition of the Film Competition to the Wizard Comic Con series gives attendees who love horror an early look at some new works from talented filmmakers, and the chance to choose which they like best," said Gareb Shamus, Wizard Entertainment CEO. "We are always trying to bring unique programming to our Comic Con tour,."

NYC Horror Film Festival's Killer Short Sudden Death Competition is the ultimate horror and sci-fi short film series where the audience selects the winners. The brain child of Joe Mauceri and Michael J. Hein, festival director of the NYC Horror Film Festival, The Killer Short Sudden Death Competition was first held at the Monster Mania convention, August 2009. The audience winner was a short from the Dublin-based company First Quarter Films, Wheels of Death, directed by Edward & Rob Kennedy.

In six major cities, the competition offers filmmakers a unique opportunity to have their short films screened and voted on by hundreds of fans, and a chance to win a coveted programming slot at the 2010 NYC Horror Film Festival's Killer Short Sudden Death Competition. Submissions will be accepted on the following schedule:

Anaheim Comic Con. April 16-18, 2010:
Via the mail beginning February 15, 2010 and post marked no later than April 5, 2010
On site beginning April 16, 2010, until 2:00 pm Saturday, April 17, 2010.

Philadelphia Comic Con. June 11-13, 2010:
Via the mail beginning April 9, 2010 and post marked no later than May 28, 2010
On site beginning June 11, 2010, until 2:00 pm Saturday, June 12, 2010.

Chicago Comic Con Aug. 19-22, 2010:
Via the mail beginning June 14, 2010, and post marked no later than Aug. 2, 2010
On site beginning Aug. 19, 2010, until 2:00 pm Saturday, Aug. 21, 2010.

New England Comic Con Oct. 1-3, 2010:
Via the mail beginning Aug. 30, 2010, and post marked no later than Sept. 24, 2010
On site beginning Oct. 1, 2010, until 2:00 pm Saturday, Oct. 2, 2010

Big Apple Comic Con October 7-10, 2010:
Via the mail beginning August 4, 2010, and post marked no later than Sept. 29, 2010
On site beginning Oct. 7, 2010, until 2:00 pm Saturday, Oct. 9, 2010.

New Jersey Comic Con October 15-17, 2010:
Via the mail beginning August 11, 2010, and post marked no later than Oct. 06, 2010
On site beginning Oct. 15, 2010, until 2:00 pm Saturday, Oct. 16, 2010.

For information on submitting to the Killer Short Sudden Death Competition, please contact Michael J. Hein at (201) 666-6729 or NYCHorrorFest@aol.com, or Joseph B. Mauceri at (917) 604-4878 or jmauceri@fearsmag.com.

Anaheim Comic Con brings together fans of comics, toys, collectibles and offers a chance to see actors, writers, artists and the best each industry has to offer.

Buy Tickets Here

Behind The Scenes look at AFTERPARTY MASSACRE Part 1

Sex/Horror and Fucking Death Metal

a Severn/Bates Film Production!!!

Music by: Ibex Moon Records

Check out behind the scenes footage from the filming of Afterparty Massacre:



About the movie:

Giving a new twist to horror, the Afterparty Massacre, brings metal, blood and gore back to the screen! Written by Kristoff (Horrormerch.com/Spookygirls.com) and Kyle Severn (Incantation, Acheron, and other various band projects), Afterparty Massacre is one killer party with mind-blowing amounts of blood, metal and flesh!

Afterparty Massacre centers around live performances by Incantation and Soulless. During the show they encounter a mysterious female fan, that has a run in with an ex-boyfriend who gets a little rough with her. During this altercation she has flashbacks of a dark past and transforming into a bloodthirsty killer on a mission to kill anyone and everyone in her way until no one is left. "She loves waiting for the perfect moment to attack her victims. Her bloodlust can not be contained and within the final scenes she unleashes her wrath on the band as well as the crowd until no one is left standing!" Kristoff mentions.

Plus, the soundtrack itself is a major part of this production including bands such as: 16volt, Acheron, Asphyx, Cardiac Arrest, Crucifier, Cyanotic, Defcon, Denial Fiend, Divine Eve, Estuary, Everything Goes Cold, Fatalist, Funerus, Goreaphobia, Gravehill, Keratoma, Lifeless, Luxury Pushers, Master, Pentacle, Ventana and many more! Incantation will be performing new exclusive songs within the movie. While Denial Fiend, Goreaphobia, Ventana and a few other bands will have unreleased exclusive tracks for this feature as well. "The music is just as important to this movie as the blood and gore." Kyle mentions. "The music itself really makes the scenes, it really completes the soundscape for a total massacre. We plan on releasing a CD of the bands featured in the movie via Ibex Moon around the time of the release of the film as well."

Along with the overdose on blood, metal, and booze comes the sideshow aspect as well. "We've 'hooked up' with a suspension crew and we're bringing in a few friends of ours to do up some piercing and suspension performances as well." adds Kristoff. "We wanted to bring in these dangerous aspects within this subcultre that don't always get the most attention. We'll have guys suspended by meathooks flying through the air, guys with split tounges, all sorts of different body modifications and performance piercings everywhere! Having this dangerous attraction will be a great addition to this movie for sure, and the best part is that IT IS a real event that we are filming!"

The film is to be shot between February-March 2010, with a tentative summer release date in open markets. "With Incantation playing the Maryland Deathfest, we figured this would be the absolute best time for the release. Tons of black/death metal and lots of blood, it's an ideal release date for this movie!" mentions Kyle in regards to the release of the film.

http://www.afterpartymassacre.com

http://www.ibexmoonrecords.com

http://www.myspace.com/ibexmoonrecords

PROWL, one of 8 "After Dark Original" films

Los Angeles, CA (March 30, 2010) � After Dark Films CEO Courtney Solomon announced the first of eight movies in the AFTER DARK ORIGINALS series in partnership with Lionsgate & Syfy, and in association with Dobre Films. A new take on a classic creature, PROWL is written by Tim Tori (Hysteria, Trespassers) and directed by Patrik Syversen (Manhunt). Bruce Payne (Bernard), Courtney Hope (Amber), and Saxon Trainor (Veronica) star.

"Amber dreams of escaping her small town and persuades her friends to accompany her apartment-hunting in the big city. When their transportation breaks down, Amber and friends gratefully accept a ride in the back of a semi. But when the driver refuses to stop and they discover the cargo is cartons of blood, they panic. Soon, panic turns to terror when the truck disgorges into a dark, abandoned warehouse where blood-thirsty creatures learn to hunt human prey, which the friends realize is what they have now become...�

Prowl was Executive Produced by Courtney Solomon and produced by Chris Milburn, Borislav Ranghelov, Lucy Mukerjee, Michael Klein, Christopher D�Elia & Zachary Bryan as a United Kingdom/Bulgarian co-production. Release dates for all eight After Dark Originals are scheduled for Fall, 2010.

"Dobr� Films jumped at the opportunity to produce PROWL with a company that has set the bar for branding and creating unique and great horror films. PROWL and all the new Originals will be a great addition to an already celebrated brand and won't disappoint" states Dobr� Films CEO Christopher D'Elia.

The 8 Originals represent After Dark�s unwavering commitment to emerging writers and directors as the focus of its creative vision. The creation of the Originals slate is yet another example of After Dark�s belief in the economics and artistry of independent film production.

Unlike After Dark�s �8 Films To Die For��, After Dark Originals are wholly financed and produced by After Dark Films. The ADO slate runs the gamut of the genre, from paranormal and supernatural phenomena, to psychological trauma and the undead. After Dark polled its fans and is delivering the kinds of movies they asked for!

http://www.afterdarkoriginals.com