HORROR HELPS VICTIMS OF BOSTON BOMBING WITH ADAM GREEN'S FUNDRAISER

It has been said numerous times before that the horror community is a fandom unlike any other.  Bonded together with a love of all things terrifying and gruesome, those same gorehounds are now joining together to give back to the victims of a real-life horror story.  On April 15th, the historic annual Boston Marathon was met with a bombing attack that took the lives of 3 individuals and injured 264 others.  The event sparked a national outcry and thousands of lives were forever changed.  Known for his films like Hatchet, Frozen, Spiral, Chillerama, and my personal favorite, his horror sit-com Holliston, Adam Green is spearheading "BOSTON STRONG," a fundraiser to help those affected by the Boston Bombing.  Adam Green isn't shy about his love for his hometown in Massachusetts, and his personal connection to Boston has inspired one of the most incredible acts of philanthropy the horror world has ever seen.  Through a silent auction, a film marathon, and a celebrity benefit, Green is putting his connections to good use and giving back to his beloved community.

Details for the events include:

1. “ "Holliston" Comes Home to Holliston”: Season Two advanced screening and Q&A with the cast:
Adam Green returns to his hometown of Holliston, MA to host an advanced screening of three episodes from “Holliston”’s upcoming second season, followed by a live Q&A with members of the cast, including Joe Lynch and Laura Ortiz.

Date: Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Time: 7 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Location: “Holliston” High School, 370 Hollis St., “Holliston”, MA 01746
Admission: $5

2. “Horror / Boston Strong” Party at The Palladium: Hosted by Adam Green
Join Adam Green (Hatchet I – III, Frozen, “Holliston”), Kane Hodder (Hatchet I – III, FRIDAYTHE 13TH VII – X), Zach Galligan (Hatchet III, GREMLINS 1 – 2) and more celebrity guests, for a one-of-a-kind party at the Worcester Palladium that includes a silent auction chock full of horror and music memorabilia, gift certificates, and other rare and amazing prizes.

In advance of the event, fans can bid on an online auction to win a private dinner with Adam Green before the party starts. More information about the auction can be found here.

Date: Wednesday, May 29, 2013
Time: Doors open at 7 p.m.
Location: The Palladium, 261 Main St., Worcester, MA 01608
Admission: $5

3. Hatchet movie marathon: Featuring the first ever screening of the highly-anticipated Hatchet III.
Join Hatchet franchise creator Adam Green for the first-ever Hatchet marathon, including a screening of a rare uncensored UK 35mm print of the original Hatchet, an uncensored 35mm print of Hatchet II, and the first ever screening ofthe highly anticipated, and also uncensored, Hatchet III. Special guests from the films will be in attendance.

Date: Thursday, May 30, 2013
Time: 7 p.m. to 1 a.m.
Location: The Revere Hotel, Theater One, 200 Stuart St., Boston, MA 02116
Admission: $25

Green and special guests will also be doing a free in-store signing for “Holliston” on Tuesday, May 28, 2013, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., at Fiske’s General Store, at 776 Washington St., in Holliston, MA.

Advanced tickets for all three events go on sale on Friday, May 10, 2013, and can be purchased here.

Tickets will also be available at the door the day of each event. For more information regarding ticket sales, please call ThePalladium box office at 508-797-9696. All proceeds will go towards The One Fund Boston.

Events are hosted by Rock and Shock and Wicked Bird Media, and are sponsored by Green Van. 

If you are not in the Boston area and would still like to contribute (and perhaps, cannot afford Oderus Urungus' mask) Adam Green has asked people to purchase tickets to the "Boston Strong Party" as The Pallidium can host thousands, meaning your ticket purchase wouldn't be stealing a seat from someone who could attend the other events.

I know I've been mentioning Adam Green/Joe Lynch/Holliston a lot on Day of the Woman recently, and I initially was unsure of whether or not to post this article for that reason.  However, what Adam Green is doing is a remarkable act of philanthropy.  You don't have to like the guy as a Director/Screenwriter/Actor/Producer/Whatever, but I will be damned if he is not given the respect he deserves for organizing this event.  This is the mark of a truly inspiring person, and I cannot wait to see the numbers pulling in for this event.

For more information, go to:
www.ariescope.com

WHO KNEW I WAS LIVING IN A HORROR MOVIE HOUSE?

It's my last night in my house at my university, and my roommate and I decided to explore the basement and the attic, two rooms we've never explored. Turns out, my attic is the room from V/H/S/ and my basement looks like the room from THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT.

  Not to mention, after opening these doors for the first time, we experienced a door slam on its own followed by a high pitched yelp and a gust of wind throughout the entire 3 story house. 

Excuse me while I go put my head in the oven.

THE RESURRECTIONIST: THE LOST WORK OF DR. SPENCER BLACK

Philadelphia, the late 1870s. A city of gas lamps, cobblestone streets, and horse-drawn carriages—and home to the controversial surgeon Dr. Spencer Black. The son of a grave robber, young Dr. Black studies at Philadelphia’s esteemed Academy of Medicine, where he develops an unconventional hypothesis: What if the world’s most celebrated mythological beasts—mermaids, minotaurs, and satyrs—were in fact the evolutionary ancestors of humankind?

The Resurrectionist offers two extraordinary books in one. The first is a fictional biography of Dr. Spencer Black, from a childhood spent exhuming corpses through his medical training, his travels with carnivals, and the mysterious disappearance at the end of his life. The second book is Black’s magnum opus: The Codex Extinct Animalia, a Gray’s Anatomy for mythological beasts—dragons, centaurs, Pegasus, Cerberus—all rendered in meticulously detailed anatomical illustrations. You need only look at these images to realize they are the work of a madman. The Resurrectionist tells his story.

In E. B. Hudspeth's freshman work,  The Resurrectionist: The Lost Work of Dr. Spencer Black, he has created a creepy book suitable for any lover of horror and mythology.  Not for the weak stomached, Hudspeth's book is somewhat of a biography on the fictional Dr. Black, explaining his love for mythical creatures and his belief that modern day humans are descendents from these creatures.  As the pages turn, readers are given a look into Dr. Black's descent from scientific obsession into stark-raving madness.  Through both illustrations and description, Hudspeth showcases an incredible grasp of imagery, generating images that at moments were difficult to stomach.  Hudspeth divulges into graphic detail of Dr. Spencer Black's experiments, with a particularly unsettling description of vivisection.  Picture Re-Animator meets Edgar Allan Poe by way of Gray's Anatomy.  

Paying careful attention to detail, The Resurrectionist appears to be historically accurate with both medical practices and societal attitudes.  Stir all of this in with a dash of mystical creatures, and a sprinkle of disturbing descriptions and you've got an idea of what Hudspeth has created.  The book seems to have been compiled from someone who has come across the research of Dr. Black, giving an unbiased look into the mind of this manic doctor.  The Resurrectionist feels like two books in one, with the first half being far more disgusting than the second.  If you can manage to survive the first half of the book, it will be smooth sailing for the rest of the read.

You can pick up your own copy at bookstores or on Amazon.com

FEMALE DIRECTORS: DANIELLE HARRIS AND 'AMONG FRIENDS'

Unless you've been living under a proverbial rock for the last thirty years, chances are you're more than familiar with the body of work of Danielle Harris.  Arguably, one of the only genuinely working Scream Queens of the new millennium, Danielle Harris developed her horror fan following playing Michael Myers' niece Jamie Lloyd in Halloween 4 & 5.  Breaking the curse of child stardom, Danielle Harris has managed to maintain a relatively strong career, with the horror community being the kindest. (Note: She introduced me to the phrase "butt-crack of dawn" in Don't Tell Mom The Babysitter's Dead).  After a powerhouse career as a horror actress, Danielle Harris is going to be stepping on the other side of the camera with her directorial debut, Among Friends. According to its official press release, “Among Friends is a horror comedy about a dinner party gone wrong. Set against an 80′s backdrop, good times take a dark turn when one in the group hijacks the evening in the name of integrity. Through an attempt to help the others come clean about secret betrayals against one another, it’s revealed who’s willing to cut through the bone to expose the truth.” The film was recently picked up by Lionsgate Home Entertainment through Grindstone Entertainment.  

On the second episode of Adam Green and Joe Lynch's brand-new podcast, "The Movie Crypt," Danielle was their first guest star and stopped by to discuss the mystery of the silver-tipped boot man in Halloween 5, her weird relationship with fish, and her recent jump into the director's chair.  Unless you're new here, female driven/directed/centered horror is my bag of tricks, so every fiber of my being is shaking with anticipation for this film.  Weirdly enough, even with Danielle Fucking Harris in the director's chair, this film wasn't smooth sailing.  Don't get me wrong, Danielle Harris is one of the most respected women in horror, but even she had some bullsh to deal with in order to get her movie made. 

While she spoke highly of the actors cast in the film that were her friends, she discussed a major struggle with some of the actors having issues with her directorial vision and taking her seriously as the person in power.  Luckily, she was working with Alyssa Lobit who acted as the lead actress as well as the writer, but having a solid support system doesn't equate to people taking you seriously as a female director.  "It's not about men directors and women directors, it's about good directors and bad directors."  This statement may be one of the most genuine things ever uttered, and something that we as women don't ever talk about.  Here's the thing, is it more difficult for female directors to even get to the point where they are able to make a horror film? Yes. I won't deny that.  I may be sacrificing my female horror card by saying this, but having a vagina and making a genre film doesn't give you an automatic pass into festivals or immediately earn you the same respect and credibility of male directors.  On that same note, male directors aren't given a free pass to making "better" films than women solely because they're men.  To put it simply, your work speaks before your gender ever will.

I'm just so sick and tired of being told that as a female horror aficionado, I'm supposed to give a pass to female directors simply because they're female.  That is ridiculous and the exact opposite of what we as women are trying to achieve.  Adam Green discussed the topic by saying, "You have to make your own chances, whatever that is."  You know what? He's right.  The whole point of feminism is to establish equality between the sexes, meaning, we cannot hold women to a different standard than men.  

It's important to note that there is a huge difference between criticism and awareness.  Women are wholeheartedly underrepresented in the genre, which is why things like Women in Horror Recognition Month and the Viscera Film Festival are absolutely vital to the progress for women in horror.  Until women are given the same treatment as far as releasing their works, (which is more about money and less about talent) these programs are important.  However, when it comes to criticism, there are many that want critics to "cut women slack" as far as reviewing their work, and that is not okay.  When women strive to be treated differently, they're destroying the very fundamental desire of feminism and further pushing the divide between the sexes.  I really encourage more female filmmakers to go the route of Danielle Harris and not make any qualms about the reception/creation of her films.  If we want to be taken seriously, we need to start acting serious.  Strive not to make a solid "female directed horror film," make a solid horror film.

SEE THE TRAILER FOR AMONG FRIENDS BELOW

THE MAN BEHIND THE LENS: AN INTERVIEW WITH ADAM BARNICK

Most horror fans know Adam "I told you no fahkin' cats in the house" Barnick through his featurette work on Paul Solet's Grace and Adam Green's Frozen, but the work of Adam Barnick is far more extensive and captivating than some documentary extra features. Don't get me wrong, his documentary extras were fantastic, even helping Grace to nab the "Best Indie Disc" award at the 2010 Reaper Awards, but Adam Barnick deserves far more praise for his work, keen eye for storytelling, and exceptional craftsmanship.

Adam Barnick is a film director/editor and writer living in the New York City area. His most recent short film, Mainstream, has played severeal international festivals and was included in the distribution for the Fangoria Blood Drive II: America's Best Short Horror Films DVD. His company, Wicked Tree Films, has collaborated with Mind's Eye International, Anchor Bay Entertainment, Leomax Picture, Starz Home Entertainment, ArieScope Pictures, Crimson Films, Fortuneteller Films, and A Bigger Boat. Barnick recently directed his first 35mm music video, "Say You'll Stay" for the singer/songwriter John Presnell. The video won the Director's Showreel Award in Lornography's Dramatic Competition for videos shot with their unique cameras. Following the success of Say You'll Stay, Barnick cranked out two back to back music videos for the band Rivulets. The horror-themed period piece "How, Who" was featured on horror websites within days of its release. Outside of filmmaking, Barnick has contributed articles, reviews, and interviews for Entertainment Insiders, Icons of Fright, and Massive Hysteria. He is currently in postproduciton on his first feature-length documentary, What is Scary, and more information will be announced later this year. With the exposition out of the way, I was lucky enough to get in touch with Adam Barnick for an exclusive interview.

BJ-C: Thank you so much for agreeing to interview with me, I really do appreciate it. To start the ball rolling, I have to ask, how in the hell did you end up doing those amazing documentaries for Adam Green and Paul Solet? 

AB: While I did do a very basic featurette about an art studio in film school, I didn’t study documentary making formally; I always had an interest in doing one aside from my narrative work but I hadn’t pursued any. 

On the set of Frozen

The offer to do something in that area was out of left field- my short horror film, MAINSTREAM, was picked up a few years ago by Fangoria/Koch Vision to be part of their "Blood Drive II: America's Best Short Horror Films" DVD. Online shorts weren't that prolific yet, so this was a huge deal to get that kind of "DVD in every store" exposure! Paul Solet (co-director of MEANS TO AN END which is on the same disc), and I hit it off; he shared some scripts with me and we were both monsters in terms of the work we did to promote our own work. Anyway I read early drafts of his feature, GRACE, and when he revealed he was going to do a big-budget short film to gain attention for a feature, he asked if I'd work on it. I think at random he asked for me to do a behind the scenes documentary. I figured I could come up with something interesting and cinematic, and I'd had enough journalism training and time spent on film sets to be able to thoroughly interview cast and crew members. And as a film/DVD geek, I knew the type of Bonus Content I wanted to see, which rarely matched the content on any discs. 

 It was primitive at the time, but the two docs (a short EPK and a larger, 30 minute doc) I did for him helped open almost as many doors as the short did! And indirectly, through my random attendance of HATCHET's world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, they helped get the ball rolling where Adam Green eventually saw the short film, and its making-of, and that was one of several parts that ended up in a "right place right time" situation where Paul eventually got the feature made, under ArieScope's production/supervision. 

On the set of Grace with Paul Solet

It took a lot of arm-twisting(union issues and a limit on Americans who could work on it) to get me up to Canada to work on the feature-length film, but I was determined to do a 'film school in a box' of featurettes for GRACE. They needed to be as layered and thoughtful and emotionally engaging as the movie itself was. Out of six docs on the blu-ray, five are mine(Jake Hamilton did the fantastic Sundance-based documentary). And even though I was working on outdated equipment, anything we had handy, they still hold up. You really see what it took to make the film and it's never just complimentary talking heads. 

Adam Green saw the first cuts of the featurettes and asked if I could get him copies ASAP to bring to the FROZEN producers; and I ended up spending 1/3 of that shoot on a mountaintop, in blizzards, with wild animals, amazing stunts, you name it. So many awesome memories there. Loved every minute despite the snow, thin air above sea level, etc. I was even able to splice in flashbacks to the set of Grace! People get really absorbed into those documentaries; they get people thinking, they laugh, some people get teary-eyed at the end of the production documentary. People still write me about them, and FROZEN became Anchor Bay's best selling original DVD and Blu-Ray. 

BJ-C: Making these documentaries, you were able to work firsthand with Green and Solet, and the internet has been blessed with Boston dialect videos in the process.  Hopefully not a loaded question, but are Adam Green and Paul Solet as cool as they seem? 

AB: Wicked cool. Two of the most standup guys I have been fortunate to meet and work with in the film business. They were, and are, both great to work with and learn from. Very grateful for the opportunities I got through them. I’ll always be excited to see what they’ll do next; and I secretly hope for a shout-out in Holliston Season 2 like I got in the Jack Chop video, when “Nicolo” shows up.

Barnick shooting "Say You'll Stay"

BJ-C: Most recently, you've been putting out some really incredible music videos.  How you choose the bands you shoot. Simply, do bands find you or do you find them? 

AB: So far, in the ones I have directed, it's a mix; though I have known John Presnell for a long time, he had approached me about several music videos and we were brainstorming various treatments for songs at various budgets. "Say You'll Stay" was the most unique and yet affordable idea in its presentation, even though we shot 35mm film! As for Rivulets/Nathan Amundson, those two videos were entirely my idea(to make them, not just the concepts) from the start. I went directly to the musician, who I was a huge fan of, and pitched him. I felt we would have similar sensibilities, and I was right. Nathan's music has been a huge part of my life for many years and I wanted to return the favor, in a way.

BJ-C: You've done a wide variety of shooting styles, how is directing music different than movies?

Shooting on "Rivulets"

AB: I guess it depends on the approach; storytelling is storytelling, but ultimately you are in service of the musicians and how they come across, first and foremost. My video “I Don’t Want to be Found” for Rivulets isn’t story-driven, it only hints at one and comes across more like a moving painting/impressions through images- but is a low-key yet appropriate showcase for Nathan’s style. But “How, Who” is equally showcasing his performing and his role within the video’s story. Editing is where it gets really interesting in music videos, striking the balance between showcasing the performer and serving the story (assuming there is one) is a complicated dance I’m excited to keep working at. 

BJ-C: Do you have a specific genre of music do you like to "direct"? 

AB: I don't know if I have a set favorite- I'm itching to work with some metal bands, do a hip hop video… though I do tend to like the darker, quieter, ambient styled-music. "How, Who" is a blend of my favorite types of images. Winter; isolation; minimalism; barren sinister trees, deliberate, long takes.. I have no one set "style", I’ll adapt for any performer and cater to how they need to be presented, through my sensibilities. But anyone who knows me or my favorite work or my photography etc. can tell how "me" that video is. 

Barnick with Grace cast/crew

BJ-C: If not music genres, what kind of movies do you like to direct? 

AB: While I love horror, it’s probably only 50% of me. Drama, sci-fi, thrillers, comedy; I am after all of them. I do tend to favor ideas and stories that are atmospheric and layered and give you something to chew on mentally with your entertainment but I’ve got straightforward, simpler stories in me as well. 

BJ-C: You've been really busy lately, can you drop any info on current/future projects?

AB: There's a few things in the works I don't want to get into until they're full-on happening, but good things are brewing. But right now, I’m fleshing out two screenplays, one is the feature-length adaptation of my short film MAINSTREAM and the other is a thriller set in the UK. I’m also kicking postproduction on my experimental documentary WHAT IS SCARY? back into gear this Summer. That project had to be pushed off to the side for some time, but now I will be actively steering it towards its completion. 

BJ-C: I'll make this one simple, lifetime goal with directing? 

AB: Other than to be doing it continuously? I guess I would say I want to build worlds, environments and characters that stay with you and affect you in the best and worst of ways. 

BJ-C: Alright, last question. I'll try to make it fun. Gun to your head, if you were forced to remake any film, what would you remake and what would you do with it? 

AB: Oh wow. That might take me a long time to come up with an idea of something I think needs to be revisited. But I do have one I'd pick which could function as a remake but would actually be a sequel, to John Carpenter's THEY LIVE. The core ideas are even more relevant now, I think, then in the 80's. 

WE SLEEP would take place today. 

Still from "How, Who"

I always wondered about one plot element in the original film; the entire alien scheme/force field is generated by an unprotected, small radar dish, just one, on an LA rooftop where it can get damaged/destroyed by lightning or even wind! Really? There would have to be a backup plan the characters didn’t know about. 

In WE SLEEP, we'd see that the "unveiling" in the end of the original film only lasted 9 minutes before their other network of radio signals/other radar dishes around the world kicked in as a failsafe/backup. 

Nobody really remembers, understands or cares about the 'reveal' 25 years ago, and for anyone who did, it'd be dismissed as hallucination or mass hysteria. And we go right back to sleep for a few decades; until today, where everyone is even more greedy and insane, and we're worshipping fame and plastic, the poor are poorer and the corporations control it all, down to the rights to our genetic lines; and we spend all day staring into our phones when we should be talking to each other. And the environmental damage/conversion of our atmosphere is nearly complete. 

And then an angry young man buys some dusty old sunglasses in a pawn shop.

I have the rest mapped out because I sit and think too much. But how do you wake up people who love being asleep? What is the signal that used to be controlled by TV, keeping the human illusion in place, is now in the Wi-Fi? Can we give that up in order to be free? 

BJ-C: Shut up and take my money.

Still from "I Don't Want To Be Found"

For more information, check out Adam Barnick's website.
subscribe to him on YouTube.
and follow him on twitter @AdamBarnick

Farewell to the King of Monsters. RIP Ray Harryhausen

I regret to inform you that legendary creature designer, Ray Harryhausen has passed on.  

At 92 years, Harryhausen has represented the pinnacle of visual effects in monster movies.  Luckily, Harryhausen has lived a very long and fulfilling life and has left a legacy that will inspire for the rest of cinematic history.

GUT: A MIXED-BAG INTROSPECTIVE ON SNUFF FILMS

I particularly enjoy bad films that allot for scathing reviews almost as much as I enjoy great films I can gush about.  However, there is nothing more frustrating than watching a film that falls somewhere in the middle.  For all intents and purposes, I should have loved Gut.  Unfortunately, I didn't.  I didn't hate it, but I surely didn't love it.  Yet, as much as I found the film to be problematic and rather dull, I'd still encourage many of my readers to watch the film.  Despite its flaws, Gut is still rather unique.  Written and directed by a man known only as Elias, Gut is the story of Tom (Jason Vail) and his longtime pal, Dan.  The two seem to live relatively normal, menial lives when they come across a mysterious DVD left in Dan's PO box that appears to show a recording of a man killing a woman; a real life snuff film.  Of course, Dan uses this opportunity to try and re-connect with his ol' pal, Tom.  As disgusted as these two men are with this film, they can't get enough of it and begin looking for more snuff films.  They manage to find some more flicks, but the mystery remains, who is killing all of these people and filming it?  The film is not without its flaws, but it's interesting look at the way we respond to revolting material is quite eye opening.  Gut isn't bringing anything new to the table, but it successfully pulled a few visceral reactions out of me. 

Elias first needs to be credited with making a very well-executed piece of film.  Elias has a very strong grasp on his camera work and manages to give the impression that the camera is observing the world of the film, rather than presenting it to the audience.  Considering the premise of the damn movie is on the way we observe a particular type of film, his technique was incredibly smart.  Unfortunately, his directing style felt a bit constrictive and the pacing needs some serious work.  I'm a big fan of slow-burn style horror films (call me, Ti West!), but there's a huge difference between slow paced and downright dull.  Gut leans a little too far into the latter for my liking.

The film has an incredibly small cast, and the actors are all over the map.  With a film relying on very little dialogue, I was expecting a very solid set of actors.  I suppose I set my expectations a bit too high.  Don't get me wrong, these actors are at least a half step above some college film project, but I wouldn't praise any of the actors in the film for their work. I've seen better, but I've seen much worse.


The snuff films themselves deliver a genuine amount of gross-out moments, which is a decent pay-off for the snail pace of the film.  I'd like to have seen a little more of the gore, if only to invoke a stronger reaction out of me.  Ultimately, if the characters had been more developed and I actually gave a shit about them, I would have been far more invested into this film.  Unfortunately, where the plot and atmosphere soar, the character development and dialogue greatly suffer.  In a world where we're obsessed with things like 2 Girls 1 Cup, Goatse, and The Pain Olympics, a film like Gut clearly has a place in our world.  If you're looking for a change of pace from the jump-scared loaded horror films of Hollywood (and don't mind slow pacing), Gut is worth a one time watch.

RUE MORGUE'S 200 ALTERNATIVE HORROR FILMS YOU NEED TO SEE

Rue-Morgue Magazine has become the go-to magazine for all things horror.  Recently, the fine folks dished out a book with 200 alternative horror films they think we all need to see. I use the word alternative in italics because it must be remembered that taste will always be a matter of perspective.  For some people, they will have seen every film on this list and feel disappointed, and for many, they'll have never heard of a single title and find this book to be a great investment.  Regardless of whether or not you've seen 0 or 200 of the films included in this book, I consider this a must-have book for any horror fan.  The book is loaded with beautiful pictures and color reproduction of over 190 movie posters.  Each film mentioned is packed with a brief synopsis and all of the technical information you'd need if you ever choose to track it down.  Featuring foreign films, classic films, and the forgotten sequels of beloved franchises, Rue-Morgue did a bang up job at covering all of their bases.

Purchase the book on amazon by clicking here!

HEMLOCK GROVE PREMIERES TOMORROW ON NETFLIX

Everyone's favorite instant watch program is presenting its second original series, tomorrow, April 19.  Netflix was awarded with great success with their first series, House of Cards, and rumor has it Hemlock Grove is destined to follow suit.  Based on the debut werewolf novel by screenwriter Brian McGreevy, Netflix has been generating a hell of a buzz through its viral marketing campaign.  Unlike most series, Hemlock Grove will release all of of the episodes in one shot.  Finally, a network that understands the fandom desire to watch an entire series in one sitting (I'm looking at you Firefly.)

Produced by master of gore, Eli Roth, Hemlock Grove is the story of a werewolf suspected of the brutal murder of a teen girl.  While the man to wolf transformation may not be An American Werewolf in London, the computer generation transformation is rather disgusting to look at, but aesthetically pleasing nonetheless.  With the wave of horror television programming (Bates Motel, Hannibal, The Walking Dead, American Horror Story, ect.) I'm sure that Hemlock Grove will be met with a large fan base.

IN DEFENSE OF TREE RAPE: THE NECESSARY GRATUITY OF EVIL DEAD

Despite the mixed bag of emotions Fede Alvarez's Evil Dead remake has brought to the table and its piss-poor misleading marketing campaign, Evil Dead has brought to light an incredible amount of conversations ranging from feminism, gratuitous violence, and rape culture. An incredibly intelligent and poignant article was written in the wake of the film's release over at Bad Ass Digest titled "Evil Dead 2013 and the Politics of Tree Rape" written by the remarkably talented Devin Faraci.  I highly encourage everyone to take the time and read this article at some point, because he makes some ridiculously strong arguments.  While I agree with a large part of what Faraci is saying, I am very, VERY glad that Alvarez included the tree-rape sequence in his remake of Sam Raimi's classic flick.

When Sam Raimi made The Evil Dead, his tree-rape sequence was one of the most terrifying things in the entire film.  Watching Cheryl helplessly be controlled by the forces of nature and unable to escape, there are shots of her sheer terror as the world around her completely shut down and betrayed her in one of the most intimate ways humanly possible. According to Sam Raimi, looking back on his original film, he regrets making the sequence. As Bad Ass Digest pointed out, seen in this video interview, Raimi says, “I think it was unnecessarily gratuitous and a little too brutal. And finally because people were offended in a way that I didn't...my goal is not to offend people. It is to entertain, thrill, scare...make them laugh but not to offend them.” It is easy to see why this particular scenario could be seen as gratuitous, brutal, and offensive.  Rape is an incredibly sensitive subject, and a very real one at that.  Putting such a dark and identifiable situation in a film, something meant to entertain, is often frowned upon; which is why we don't have a vast collection of films of mother's drowning their children due to postpartum depression or the actions of humans that result in the dogs seen in the Sarah McLaughlin commercials.

Statistically speaking, 1 in 3 women will be victims of rape or sexual assault at some point in their lives; meaning there are a good amount of women who have seen The Evil Dead or Evil Dead that have been raped themselves.  There are those that believe Fede Alvarez's decision to keep the "tree-rape" sequence into the remake was one that was unwise, and his attempt to soften the brutality by using the tree solely to "hold Mia down" instead of performing the act of sexual assault made the scene particularly confusing and unnecessary...but I disagree.

In the thirty plus years that have passed since Raimi's original flick, rape culture in America is developing an extremely strong and powerful voice.  After events like the Steubenville rape trials and the constant 'war on women' within the GOP's attempts to police the bodies of women, now more than ever is a time where rape shouldn't be pushed aside and downplayed.  I'm sorry, but what defines what is and isn't acceptable in terms of rape on screen?

Mind you, all of this is coming from a girl who named her blog after the unreleased original title for a film that holds one of the most notoriously gratuitous rape scenes in cinematic history.  The thing is, whether or not someone is being raped by a person, a tree branch, or some weird tongue worm from the mouth of a deadite, rape is still rape. Don't you dare tell me that it wasn't really rape because it came from a deadite mouth, don't you dare tell me it didn't have a purpose because it was girl on girl, don't you dare tell me it doesn't count because it was supernatural forces rather than a real person, and don't you dare tell me that this scene has no place in this film. I'm sorry, but in this less than stellar remake, this particular scene is one that was just as relevant thirty years ago as it is today. Some have argued that the scene felt misplaced and was only included because of the original and you know something, so what? I don't know of a single moment in the history of existence where a rape had a purpose and was anything more than a misplaced terror in the timeline of life. You want to tell me one instance where rape is anything but a misplaced event in life and I'll bite my tongue. Was the tree-rape scene uncomfortable to look at? Absolutely. Was the tree-rape scene unnecessary? Perhaps. Did the tree-rape scene spark conversations about what is and isn't acceptable in terms of rape? You better believe it. In a society that is constantly debating the differences between "legitimate" and "illegitimate" rape, I am appalled that anyone would be questioning whether or not this scene has a purpose.

WHERE WAS MY STRONG FEMALE IN THE EVIL DEAD REMAKE?

ATTENTION: MILD SPOILERS AHEAD 

Considering Evil Dead has been out for nearly a week, there are more than plenty of reviews of the film floating around the internet.  For inquiring minds, I found the film to be really fun but not without its problems. While the film gave me plenty of moments of squirming in my seat and uproarious laughter, there was a major issue that clouded my entire view of the film.  Where the hell was this strong female character I had been promised?  For weeks leading up to the film's premiere, I had been flooded with media outlets claiming their was a strong female lead guaranteeing that I would love this new storyline.  I'll admit, one of the major reasons I was okay with the remake news was that if I couldn't get Ashley J. Williams, I'd at least get a strong heroine.  After Jane Levy was announced as the primary character for the film, I was absolutely ecstatic.  Jane Levy plays a strong-willed character on Suburgatory and I was definitely pumped to see her portray a similar character within the world of Tennessee demon cabins.  As the film progressed, it became obvious very quickly that I had been lied to. This powerful female lead, this "Lady-Ash" everyone kept spouting on about simply didn't exist.  I am not sure if I saw the same film as my colleagues, but there is no empowering female character within the confines of this film at all.

Jane Levy delivered an incredibly strong performance and I will not deny her of that.  This major criticism comes from Fede Alvarez's story and the false advertising attached to the film's marketing campaign. Ridding an Evil Dead film of Ash was risky enough, but to add in a female protagonist was revolutionary.  After hearing the praises of her performance from those who saw Evil Dead during its festival run and ensuring me "she's got a pretty awesome one-liner and some badass kill sequences," I was almost immediately set on Jane Levy's "Mia" becoming my new favorite horror idol.  Sadly, I was very much mislead and mistaken. Are Mia's kill sequences bad-ass? Yes. Is Mia a final girl? Sort of. Is Mia's one-liner awesome? Yes. Is Mia an empowering female character? No. Not even close.  Even from the trailers and publicity photos, it's very clear that Jane Levy is not only the same character we are told is to be the "Lady Ash," but also the character with the "Cheryl-like" deadite transformation from the original film, down to the cellar door isolation and tree rape.  This bad-ass girl protagonist was the first to become a deadite and spent 90% of the film being a troubled girl.  Pre-deadite Mia is a recovering drug addict going through withdrawal and being a major pain in the dick, deadite Mia is a manipulative slimeball, and this leads us to the final ten minutes of the film.  For nearly an hour and a half, this supposed bad-ass shows no sign of being a strong female character in a horror film.

But wait, doesn't she come back as 'cured' and then saves the world from the evil superdeadite?  Yes, hypothetical naysayer, she does come back! Lest we forget, the only reason it's possible for her to come back was because A MAN SAVED HER.  Oh boy! The female bad-ass is only capable of being a bad-ass because her strong, protective big brother buried her deadite ass alive and then brought her back with a hastily made defibrillator!  Had it not been for this man, Mia would still be a deadite and the entire world would have been consumed by evil, demonic forces from the other world. Once, just once, can we please get a female protagonist that doesn't need constant saving or the assistance of a man to be great?  Even characters like Alice from Resident Evil are only powerful because a man installed some weird computer programming DNA enhancements to make her powerful.  The closest thing women have is Ripley in Alien but one truly strong female character in a genre that cranks out hundreds of films of year is an absolute disgrace. Fede Alvarez had the potential to do something completely out of this world and revolutionary with the Mia character, and completely dropped the ball.  The film has gone on to take top box-office placements and has been a huge success, and that's with advertisements still making it seem as if audiences are getting a bad-ass female lead, proving that audiences really don't give a shit what the hero has between their legs. Even if they continue on with these films as a series and show Mia to be the "Lady-Ash" we've been promised, it won't change the fact that the only reason Mia is around to be a "Lady-Ash" in the first place, is because a man took the time to save her from evil...because of course, how could a woman do anything without the aide of a man?

PRESIDENT WOLFMAN: TAKING PUBLIC DOMAIN FILMS TO HILARIOUS NEW HEIGHTS

This past weekend I was lucky enough to walk amongst the other depraved members of schlock-film fandom at the bi-annual convention, Cinema Wasteland.  Notorious for showcasing both forgotten films of a lost generation as well as new films in the independent circuit, Cinema Wasteland successfully provides audiences with a little bit of everything to tickle their fancy.  Running with a handful of members of The Blood Sprayer crew, I was exposed to some "unique" films, so to speak.  The first on the list was the award winning hit, President Wolfman. Composed entirely from stock and public domain footage, President Wolfman tells the story of president John Wolfman; a politician looking for re-election while overcoming his recent werewolf bite.  If morphing into a ravenous beast with every full moon wasn't enough of a problem, having to battle his opponents from selling the US to China, his murderous Vice President from killing his son Bobby Wolfman, a sex-crazed beauty pageant chaperone hell-bent on boning him at the most inopportune moments, or the mad scientist determined to study him is sure to keep him busy. Predominately showing clips from The Werewolf in Washington, President Wolfman is put together with clips from old beauty pageants, 'miracle of life' birthing videos, 1970s public service announcements, after-school specials, and some really unsettling foreign Coca-Cola commercials.

Directed and written by Mike Davis, President Wolfman is the most fun I've had at a film screening in a very long time.  A production of Stag Films, I was completely blown away at how enjoyable this "green movie" truly was.  The thing is, making movies are an incredibly expensive endeavor, but Davis proves that you don't need a huge budget (or even a camera) to create an enjoyable theater experience for audiences.  The entire crowd was in uproarious laughter for good amounts of the film and I saw more than a handful of grown men curl up in fear as a no-nonsense clip of a woman giving birth was thrown into the mix. The sheer nature of seeing dubbed stock footage is hilarious on its own merit, but Davis' dialogue is remarkably funny.  He writes without fear of offending anyone and pulls no punches in terms of his humorous subject matter. Any and every thing is made fun of at some point or another.

President Wolfman, to put it simply, is one of the most brilliant ideas I've ever seen executed onto a screen. This isn't the folks at Stag Films' first time at the rodeo with "green films," but compared to Pervert and Sex Galaxy, they truly nailed what a "green film" is meant to be.  The sheer creativity going into the dialogue dubbed over these clips and the miraculous editing technique used to splice continuity between one hundred and twelve clips that have nothing to do with one another is genuinely jaw-dropping.  I cannot even imagine how imaginative the creators must have been to make this film possible.  The folks at Stag Films have truly created something special and unlike anything I personally have seen before.  If you have the opportunity, see this film if for nothing more than to witness one of the most uniquely crafted films of recent memory.

SHOULD "THE WALKING DEAD" HAVE ITS OWN CONVENTION CIRCUIT?

WE ALL GO A LITTLE MAD SOMETIMES: A REVIEW OF BATES MOTEL

He said it himself, “A boy’s mother is his best friend.” 
The twisted mind of Norman Bates has been studied by film critics and theorists for decades. After Alfred Hitchcock immortalized the character penned by Robert Bloch in his novel of the same name, “Psycho,” Bates became the inspiration for a great deal of horror icons including Jason Voorhees of the “Friday the 13th” franchise and Patrick Bateman of “American Psycho” fame.  
Over the years, many actors have played their hand at portraying Bates, but A&E’s premiere of “Bates Motel” has shown that Freddie Highmore is a young actor who has done his research.

 To many, Alfred Hitchcock is one of (if not the) greatest film directors of all time. “Psycho” is considered a masterpiece, and to attempt and recapture the glory of Norman and his mommy dearest is a nearly suicidal attempt for the entertainment industry. 
Unlike “Psycho,” where audiences are given a glimpse of the life of a middle-aged Norman, “Bates Motel” is a look at the psychological abuse Norman endured at the hands of his mother, Norma.  

“Bates Motel” follows Norman’s life during the teenage years.  Following the sudden death of Norman’s father, Norma purchases a motel on the idyllic coastal town of White Pine Bay in an attempt to start over.  The mother-son duo quickly discovers that the small town is not what it appears to be and the townies have secrets of their own. The Bates struggle to overcome the dastardly community and attempt to protect their secrets by any means.  

Strangely enough, this prequel to the “Psycho” legacy is set in modern times in contrast to the 1950s style it should be set in if it were to properly follow the storyline of the Bates family. While it may be argued that placing the story in modern times was a quick way for the show to save a few bucks in the process of development, “Bates Motel” feels less like “Psycho” and instead the love child of Hitchcock fan fiction and rejected episodes of “Twin Peaks.”  

This show successfully captures the incestual eroticism of Bates and his mother without ever fully giving away the later secret to Norman’s identity.

The script is incredibly weak, but Highmore brings to life many of Normans quirks personified previously by Anthony Perkins in Hitchcock’s “Psycho.” There are moments that feel forced, but in contrast to Highmore’s track record of playing adorable little kids in films like “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,” he has proven that he is far more than just a cute child actor.  

Academy award nominee Vera Farmiga plays the overbearing Norma, with very strange results.  Most audiences are familiar with Mama Bates as a corpse, so to see her as a living entity is something relatively new. Farmiga is an incredibly talented actress, but is given relatively weak dialogue.

Arguably, the weakest aspect of the show is the secondary characters. All of the girls that Norman interacts with at school are devoid of any sort of interesting qualities and instead play completely to the “hot-girl” archetype we’ve seen an overabundance of in all media forms over the years.  It’s almost as if the writers concentrated so much on creating a solid character in Norma that they completely forgot about any other character without a Y chromosome.  

Ultimately, this isn’t to say that “Bates Motel” seems dead in the water. There have only been a few episodes released to the public.  The show will need a few more episodes before a proper opinion can be made, but Highmore’s portrayal of Norman Bates is worth every minute.

HOLLISTON SEASON 2 PREMIERES JUNE 4TH

FEARnet's first scripted show is making a its second season comeback.  Adam Green, Joe Lynch, Corri English, and Laura Ortiz are back with the horror nerds' greatest wet dream, HOLLISTON.  According to "The Hollywood Reporter," The horror-comedy littered with fankid references and 80s rock stars will be released on June 4th on FEARnet.  Created by and starring Adam Green, the series revolves around two aspiring horror filmmakers (working at a low budget cable company) dealing with the trials of life, love, and producing their independent film SHINPADS: The Undead Soccer Team Movie With Bite.  HOLLISTON is an entertaining love letter to the genre that has made Adam Green a household name, and contains some of the most clever dialogue ever heard on a sitcom.  Season two will include ten episodes and feature cameo appearances from horror favorites like Bill Moseley, Danielle Harris, Sid Haig, Kane Hodder, James Gunn, DAVID FREAKING NAUGHTON, and Bailee Madison.  I'm incredibly excited about this because season one was some of the best television I had seen in a very long time.  Outside of maybe The Big Bang Theory, there aren't many shows that embrace the genre geek lifestyle, and HOLLISTON not only embraces the idea, but does it without ever making the fankid the butt of the joke.  Season one is currently available for your viewing pleasure on Hulu, and FEARnet onDEMAND occasionally will show the episodes.