Thousands Apply to be Part of Essex Zombie Film

Death Walks is a new zero budget movie set in a Romford Shopping Centre. The concept, a zombie invasion movie that is so much the rage at the moment. However director Spencer Hawken vows to put a spin on things.

 

The change in concept has clearly captivated the imaginations of not just Essex, but counties all across the UK. In a county that has at least four zombie movies in various stages of development, Death Walks secret concept has horror fans speculating the outcome.

 

"I've had people contact me telling me they know the mystery behind Death Walks, but every single one of them has been wrong, I'm fairly sure horror fans will blow a gasket when they see what I have done".

 

It's not just the movie that is different. Not wanting to go down the fundraising route, the film-maker has gone out to the public creating a community project, via what the director calls resource funding. The idea is that nobody comes up with any cash, people are instead donating resources in the form of time or products in exchange for a little movie action.

 

The Mercury Mall in Romford have donated their shopping centre, security firm AEJ have given labour to manage the films security, Gloucester based Vantage Video, and Essex based LoveOne Productions are going to shoot the film. Aylesbury special effects and make up company Morgotha are going to provide the blood and guts. While established and new actors are giving their acting talent in the 23 principle roles and over 200 people mainly from the community of Romford including a 93 year old man and a pregnant woman, have already signed up to star as zombies in the film. Film student Alexander McNeil has offered his services as the movies editor. And dozens of individuals like Michelle Horne, Mo Mousavi, and Hardy Saleh have opted to jump aboard to help out behind the camera.

 

Death Walk's begins films in July, but it's here that the final unusual aspect comes. The movie will be shot over the course of just 14 hours, thanks to multiple film crews. The makers have a plan to complete the editing with enough time to submit the movie onto the festival circuit in 2014.

 

Visit their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/DeathWalks

Blind Director releases his first horror film!

Movie history is made this week with the release of The Bunker, the groundbreaking debut film from writer Joseph M. Monks, the world's first blind film director. Commodity Films releases the DVD June 14th domestically through their website, with streaming and IPTV releases scheduled for Autumn.

 

When Julia Jennings (newcomer Saskia Gonzalez) runs away from home on the eve her father announces his bid for reelection to congress, she gets more than she bargained for when a sadistic madman (Flesh For The Beast’s Terry M. West) snatches her off the street. Awakening to the nightmare of being trapped in an underground cell where every move is monitored by her maniacal tormentor, Julia begins to formulate a desperate, all-or-nothing plan to escape.

 

While concerned parents Robert and Amelia (Ron Sheppard and Law & Order: SVU’s Teresa Vicario) try to keep the scandal from the media-even hiring an organized crime figure to help find their missing daughter-time has already begun to run out. Knowing that a date has been set for her slaughter, every second that ticks away brings the frightened teen closer to a grisly demise.

 

The film, which boasts CLERKS' Kevin Smith as an executive producer (Smith came on board during Monks' Kickstarter campaign to help him finance Los Angeles reshoots), has garnered critical praise from the likes of FANGORIA features writer Tom Carnell, Rue Morgue, ShockYa.com's Joe Belcastro and The Hacker's Source, and Monks taking home the Achievement in Cinema award at the Gasparilla International Film Festival, expectations are high for the ambitious indie.

 

The film is available to buy on DVD through the films official website (see link below). A making of special, trailers and a production stills feature are included as extras.

 

The movie is set for foreign release in multiple territories, starting with Germany (where it was released as "Pray for Dawn") on June 21.

 

Buy the US DVD at http://www.sightunseenpictures.com/buy-the-bunker/ 

 

 

Film4 Frightfest - Full Line Up Announced!

 

Film4 FrightFest 2013, returning for its 4teenth year, is delighted to unveil its biggest line-up in history. From Thurs 22 August to Monday 26 August, the UK’s leading event for genre fans will be at the Empire Cinema in London’s Leicester Square to present 51 films on three screens. Empire 1 will house the main event while the Discovery strands will play in Empires 2 & 4. The new FrightFest Xtra strand, also in Screen 2, will allow fans to catch up with sold-out performances of the most popular attractions.

 

The world premieres include our opening night attraction THE DEAD 2: INDIA from the Ford Brothers, BANSHEE CHAPTER, produced by Star Trek’s Zachary Quinto, Kit Ryan’s startling DEMENTAMANIA, the epidemic shocker ANTISOCIAL the Argentinean post World War Z drama THE DESERT and the retro Spanish chiller FOR ELISA.  European premieres include Don Mancini’s CURSE OF CHUCKY, Anthony Di Blasi’s MISSIONARYand Steven R. Monroe’s I SPIT ON YOUR GRAVE 2.

 

The UK premieres feature our closing night film, the most want-to-see 2013 title BIG BAD WOLVES, Jim Mickle’s appetising WE ARE WHAT WE ARE, Vincenzo Natali’s HAUNTER, Ryuhei Kitamura’s NO ONE LIVES, Lasse Hallstrom’s THE HYPNOTIST, the Pastor Brothers’ THE LAST DAYS, the VHS documentary REWIND THIS!, Bobcat Goldthwait’s horror-comedy WILLOW CREEK, producer Adam Green’s HATCHET III, acclaimed anthology V/H/S/2, the fantasy thriller ODD THOMAS, rural horror romp 100 BLOODY ACRES, compulsive chiller THE CONSPIRACY, Renny Harlin’s mystery thriller THE DYATLOV PASS INCIDENT & Marina De Van’s high-voltage shocker DARK TOUCH.

 

The Brits are once again proving that the genre is in fine form. Aside from the aforementioned THE DEAD 2: INDIA and DEMENTAMANIA, there is Christian James’ toilet-humoured STALLED, Jeremy Lovering’s white-knuckle ride IN FEAR, Farren Blackburn’s axe-murderous HAMMER OF THE GODS, Kate Shenton’s human suspension doc ON TENDER HOOKS, THE PARANORMAL DIARIES: CLOPHILL, from the Zombie Diaries duo, Michael Bartlett & Kevin Gates, Kieran Parker’s latest in the zombie action franchise OUTPOST: RISE OF THE SPETSNAZ and THE BORDERLANDS., a paranormal chiller from Elliot Goldner.

 

Keynote previews include THE GRIEF TOURIST starring Michael Cudlitz and Melanie Griffith, and Carlos Medina’s award-winning PAINLESS. 

 

Crowd-pleasers have always been at the heart of the FrightFest experience, so audiences can sit back and thrill to the roof-raising YOU’RE NEXT, the incredible CHEAP THRILLS, the mutant-tastic FRANKENSTEIN’S ARMY and a Special Preview of the Hollywood blockbuster R.I.P.D. starring Ryan Reynolds and Jeff Bridges. And we have included two of our February FrightFest Glasgow draws – the fabulously trashy grindhouser BRING ME THE HEAD OF THE MACHINE GUN WOMAN.and Michael Stephenson’s hugely entertaining doc THE AMERICAN SCREAM.

 

Expanding the Discovery Strand means there are double the treats to sample this year, including the nerve-shredding SNAP, the smart horror-fantasy HANSEL & GRETEL & THE 4:20 WITCH, Sonny Laguna’s ferocious WITHER, Israeli war fantasy CANNON FODDER, Scream-styled homage SADIK 2, James Sizemore ‘s demonic THE DEMON’S ROCK, David McCracken’s story of small-town child abuse DAYLIGHT & sex-disease horror CONTRACTED. There is also a first-time screening of three episodes of Adam Green and Joe Lynch’s TV series HOLLISTON.

 

Plus, there’s a chance to discover an eclectic mix of Premiere screening restorations : Ozploitation classic  - WAKE IN FRIGHT, a tribute to Hammer Horror icon Peter Cushing – CORRUPTION, the first Roger Corman Edgar Allan Poe masterpiece – THE FALL OF THE HOUSE OF USHER, and the genre landmark that is F. W. Murnau’s NOSFERATU.

 

With Andy Nyman’s ever-popular ‘Quiz From Hell’ now in its 4th year, the announcement of the ‘666 Short Cuts To Hell’ competition winners, in association with Horror Channel and Movie Mogul,  the ‘Turn Off Your Bloody Phone!’ entries and the usual bloody red carpet gathering of stars, directors and surprise guests, Film4 FrightFest 14 looks set to raise the roof. Let the screaming begin!

 

The guest line-up and 2013 Short Film Selections will announced shortly.

 

Festival & day passes go on sale from 29 June. Tickets for Individual films are on sale from 27 July.

 

Bookings: 08 714 714 714 or http://www.empirecinemas.co.uk

 

Official website http://www.frightfest.co.uk/

"The Car" - Crashing onto UK Blu-Ray July 15th

Starring James Brolin (The Amityville Horror; father of Josh Brolin) alongside Kathleen Lloyd (The Missouri Breaks), John Marley (The Godfather), and Ronny Cox (Deliverance), THE CAR tells the story of a mysterious automobile which goes on a murderous rampage, terrorizing the residents of a small town.

When two teenage cyclists and a hitch-hiking musician are killed in apparently deliberate hit-and-runs, the police department of Santa Ynez investigates, whereupon the seemingly driverless vehicle turns on its hapless officers as well.

 

When the car strikes rather too close to the home of Captain Wade Parent (James Brolin), he vows to stop at nothing to defeat it.

 

Despite a police cordon being applied to all roads in the Santa Ynez region, THE CAR still manages to enter the town, causing murderous havoc wherever it roams.

 

With police officers, bystanders, squad cars, civilian homes, a marching band, and even an innocent gatepost all falling victim to the un-manned killing machine, Captain Parent must stop at nothing if he is to defeat THE CAR and make his beloved town safe once again. 

Director Elliot Silverstein (Cat Ballou, A Man Called Horse) keeps everything as slick and streamlined as the car itself, turning the desert landscape into a powerfully mythic backdrop for a potent clash between the forces of good and those of inexplicable, but clearly implacable, evil.

 

In addition to the HD restoration, Arrow has sourced a host of bonus material and special features, something which has never been done before for this film.

 

A complete list of the special features included on the deluxe blu-ray release of THE CAR is as follows:

- High Definition presentation (1080p), on Blu-ray for the first time in the world!
- Optional English SDH subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing.
- Audio commentary with director Elliot Silverstein, moderated by Calum Waddell.
- “Making a Mechanical Monster” – Special effects artist William Alridge remembers The Car.
- “Hitchhike to Hell” – Actor John Rubinstein recalls becoming a victim of The Car.
- Trailer commentary by director and The Car fan John Landis.
- Original Trailer.
- Reversible sleeve featuring original and newly commissioned artwork by Joe Wilson.
- Collector’s booklet featuring new writing on the film by Cullen Gallagher as well as a brand new interview with co-writer Michael Butler, conducted by Calum Waddell, illustrated with original archive stills and artwork.

- Easter Egg.

Buy the UK BD from Amazon.co.uk

 

 

Zombie Terrors Comic Issue 1 - Free for the iPad.

Asylum Press and Visionborne have joined forces to produce a slate of animated comics based on popular Asylum Press titles for the Apple iPad and other mobile devices. After the successful launch of fan-favorite Fearless Dawn #1, Zombie Terrors is the next in the lineup to be released exclusively through the Visionborne app that uses Airmid technology, a process that converts static 2D art into a vibrant 3D animated format that can be read and "experienced" using a reader app on iOS and Android.

Zombie Terrors #1 will be free on the iPad with subsequent issues available at .99.

All Airmid enhanced productions retain their original artistic essence in a way that's totally unobtrusive to the author's unique form of expression. Unlike other industry approaches, it does not force an artist to learn to use a complex new software suite to create animated content.

Zombie Terrors #1 is available the iTunes store now. It features a gory collection of zombie tales created by an international cast of artistic talent. Frank Forte delivers Beheaded, a tale of a crazed hillbilly who takes trophies off of his zombie victims. In Feast, a gourmet chef is taken hostage by a greedy mob boss. In Hate, a recently turned zombie that still has some semblance of his humanity must confront what he's become. And finally, to add a little more spice to this gruesome brew, we're throwing in some awesome pin-ups by horror master David Hartman.

Zombie Terrors #1 will be free and can be downloaded from the iTunes store here:https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/zombie-terrors-1/id656190348

TV NEWS (UK): HORROR CHANNEL GOES HOWLING MAD

Sink your teeth into the Horror Channel’s Howling Mad! Season this July with UK TV premieres of Simeon Halligan’s beastly chiller SPLINTERED & Juan Martínez Moreno’s Spanish award-winning horror comedy ATTACK OF THE WEREWOLVES.  Plus, there are second bites of channel werewolf favourites GINGER SNAPS and 13 HOURS

 

22:55, Fri July 5 – SPLINTERED (2010)

 

Whilst on a camping trip in Wales with a group of friends, Sophie (played by Holly Weston), a teenager with a troubled past, enters an abandoned building.

 

But she is not alone. For prowling in the darkest corners is a dangerous being...a half-man, half-beast that is drawn towards the frightened teenager.

22:55, Fri July 26 – ATTACK OF THE WEREWOLVES (2011)

 

Tomás Mariño (Gorka Otxoa) is a struggling writer who returns to the town he grew up in to receive a freedom of the village award - or so he is told.

 

However, he soon learns that the townsfolk plan on using him to break a century-old curse plaguing the village and its inhabitants.
 

Other highlights for July include Horror Channel’s big movie network premiere DONNIE DARKO (Fri July 19, 21.00), the UK TV premieres of CRAWLSPACE (Sat July 20, 22:55), an Australian sci-fi thriller (and HYPOTHERMIA (Sat July 13, 22:55) an ice-cold monster of a movie, plus the network premiere of Brian De Palma’s psychological horror, SISTERS (Fri July 12, 21:00)

 

TV: Sky 319 / Virgin 149 / Freesat 138

http://www.horrorchannel.co.uk | http://www.facebook.com/horrorchannel | http://www.twitter.com/horror_channel

Death Walks to begin filming in East London this July.

A Romford based film project has begun to develop some incredible momentum within just days of announcing filming is about to proceed.

 

Death Walks… is a psychological horror movie which takes the zombie invasion approach and turns it on its head. Director Spencer Hawken says “Anyone expecting to see flesh eating creatures screaming Brains! Is in for a rude awakening, we are spinning the idea of the conventional zombie movie on its head, and we think it makes the story all the more terrifying.”

 

Spencer’s first coup was securing the illustrious Mercury Mall in Romford as a filming location. Centre Manager Sarah de Courcy Rolls said “People still talk to me frequently about adverts that have been shot in the centre, to have film shot here will be amazing.” While Sarah is on maternity leave Colin Bell is managing the centre and he is equally as excited “I’ve managed centres that have been the shooting location for movies in the past, and it’s a tremendous boost for the community.”

 

With a cast and crew of 250 already in place Stages – Performers Academy have now joined the project, supplying some additional talent, and organising casting for the feature. Stages Studio Manager Martine Doolan said “We are thrilled to be part of this project, showing the world that Romford has a phenomenal amount of talent in it.”

 

Marcus Uthup, Director Of Photography states “The movie has some revolutionary ideas, it’s story twists and turns are mind-blowing. And to get all this support is phenomenal, we have the makings of a blockbuster on our hands, thanks to everyone giving their time on the project.”

 

Death Walks… Is a movie with a difference, there is no budget, people are literally supporting the project out of the goodness of their heart, and for their passionate support of the community, and the opportunity this project will create for local talent, and the independent film community.

Since revealing the project to the community local filmmaker Frazer Loveman from Love One Productions has also given his support. While a number of shops within the centre and the staff that work in them are volunteering their time, and locations to help in the shoot.

 

Musical talent has now been offered from Reading electro-pop outfit The Polysonic, led by Tom Wolfe a protégée of the late Martin Rushent who produced The Buzzcocks, Human League and The Stranglers.

 

Death Walks… Is shooting during July, to allow the movie plenty of time in post-production before going onto the festival circuit in 2014. The makers are already in talks with Romford’s Premier Cinema to host the World Premier.

 

The movies producers are still looking for people eager to get involved.

For more info, checkout their page on Facebook.