Art of Darkness released in Germany

For some reason, my review of Art of Darkness (which I saw as Art House Massacre) has been getting a lot of traffic lately. This turns out to be because the film has finally had a release, albeit (in the manner of these things) in Germany. Over there the movie (which was shot as Art House) is known as The Painter. Crikey, it's got more titles than a Jess Franco film!

The DVD and blu-ray were released on 7th November by Sunfilm Entertainment with both German and English soundtracks so if you're keen to see the film you can order it from amazon.de. The Amazon page has a quote from my  review, which suggests it's probably on the back of the DVD too. And that's why I've been getting the traffic.

'The Painter' also played the big screen last month at the week-long After Dark festival in Germany.

Primeval star faces Somerset crocodiles in The Hatching

The Hatching is a new British horror feature wrapping production this month: On the death of his father, Tim Webber returns to his childhood village in Somerset to find something sinister is disturbing the idyllic peace of the villagers. As people disappear and gruesome body parts mount, the horrific truth emerges that crocodiles are hunting on the moors.

Directed by Michael Anderson (not the guy who made The Dambusters), it stars Andrew Lee Potts from Primeval and Strange (plus Freakdog and The Bunker) and Laura Aikman (Casualty, Virtual Sexuality) plus Thomas Turgoose (Eden Lake) and... Justin Lee Collins(!).

Here's a set report from the Central Somerset Gazette.

Jake West and Alex Chandon contribute to The Sleeping Room

Production Company Movie Mogul (Panic Button, Shortcuts To Hell) announced today that shooting on supernatural thriller THE SLEEPING ROOM begins on Wed Dec 4, for a three-week shoot on location in Brighton.

Starring Leila Mimmock (Becoming Human), Joseph Beattie (Hex) and Julie Graham (Tower Block), this intense tale of Victorian revenge is written by Ross Jameson, Alex Chandon and John Shackleton and directed by Shackleton with Jake West directing the ’Mutoscope’ action sequences. Director of Photography is Simon Poulter (Panic Button).

Set in present day Brighton, THE SLEEPING ROOM is the story of Blue (Leila Mimmock), a call girl who falls for a new client, Bill (Joseph Beattie) But the real attraction for Blue is Bill’s apartment and a mysterious room that seems to hold the key to the dark secrets of her family’s past – a room that is about to unleash terrible physical and supernatural forces. Nobody will escape unless a score for a heinous crime is settled.

The cast also includes David Sibley, Chris Waller (Inbred, Fright Night 2), Mike Altmann and the legend that is Chris Adamson (Lighthouse, Razor Blade Smile, Evil Aliens, The Last Horror Movie, F). A Movie Mogul production, it is produced by Gareth I Davies and John Shackleton. Production Designer is Lorna Gay Copp, Costume Designer is David Blight, Production Manager is Tansi Inayat. Editor is John Gillanders and Bang Post Production are handling picture and sound.

John Shackleton, said today: “Support for the film has been first rate and we are immensely proud to be surrounded by such a talented cast and crew, particularly given the huge budget restraints, which we are operating under. Brighton is proving to be not only a wonderfully cinematic place in which to shoot, but also a very accommodating town in which to house a production”.

THE SLEEPING ROOM is the first film to be crowd funded for equity over at
https://www.seedrs.com/startups/the-sleeping-room (whatever that means...).

Gyles Brandreth stars in new British horror feature!

Rock Band vs Vampires is a new British horror feature shooting this year for release in 2014, written and directed by, and starring, Malcolm Galloway who is apparently lead singer with an actual rock band. He previously directed a sci-fi short called Mask.

The cast also includes Paul Beaumont (who was in shorts Evil of the Vampires and Vampire Gang Origins), Dani Thompson (Monitor, Three's a Shroud, Forest of the Damned 2, Zombie Women of Satan 2), Angela Holmes (The Crypt, I am Cursed) and - apparently - the chunky-jumpered legend that is Gyles Brandreth. There is a Facebook thing at www.facebook.com/RockBandVsVampires

Here is some concept art by Jake Rundle:

A couple of stills:

The brand new trailer:

And I believe that this, thought it may look like a cross between Ozzy Osbourne and Emperor Palpatine, is actually the Gylester!

Robert Englund stars in The Last Showing

Here are some stills from a new British horror, The Last Showing, which stars Robert Englund, making his second UK frightflick after Strippers vs Werewolves (or third if your count The Killer Tongue). Written and directed by Phil Hawkins (The Butterfly Tattoo), the film also stars Keith 'Lilly's Dad' Allen with special effects from Scott McIntyre (The Holding, Dead Cert, Tower Block etc).

Synopsis: When a young couple, Martin (Finn Jones: Hollyoaks, Game of Thrones, Wrong Turn 5) and Allie (Emily Berrington), have a night out at their local cinema, they become unwitting stars of their own horror story at the hands of Stuart (Robert Englund), a disturbed projectionist. Trapping them in the cinema complex, Stuart uses hidden cameras to play his two victims off against one another, directing them to a finale where there can only be one survivor.

Set for release next year. More at www.facebook.com/thelastshowing

Tons of new British horror at Horror-on-Sea 2014

The second Horror-on-Sea festival has a bunch of brand new British horror features, several of which even I have never heard of. The festival runs 17th to 19th January 2014 in Southend on Sea and the programme includes:

• The Haunting of Harry Payne (Martyn Pick) - UK premiere "Ex-gangster Harry Payne confronts his violent past by taking vengeance from beyond the grave."
• Lock In (Mark Howard) - world premiere "An ambitious young executive, working through the night, realises she’s not alone."
• Evil Bread (Andy Ward) - world premiere "A film crew awakens an ancient evil, dormant for millennia and eager for souls."
• The Casebook of Eddie Brewer (Andrew Spencer) "Eddie Brewer, an old-school paranormal investigator, is trailed as part of a documentary."
• Molly Crows (Ray Wilkes) "Jess and her alcoholic mother are easy targets for bullies. But there's something different about Jess."
• All the Fear of the Fair (Chris Jupp) "After a roller-coaster accident the ghosts of the dead children torment an unscrupulous developer."
• KillerKiller: The Special Edition (Pat Higgins) "In a secure facility for captured serial killers, someone, or something, is picking off the inmates." (This is a brand new cut of Pat's terrific film from 2006.)
• C.A.M. (Steve Du Melo/Larry Downing) "Police are deployed when a rare parasite contaminates a meat processing plant."

Plus the following British shorts:

• Dystopia St. (David Cave) "Lost in a nightmare world, a man must unravel the mystery of his plight before he can escape."
• Rats! (Stewart Sparke) - world premiere "When a young woman tackles a rat infestation she gets more than she bargained for."
• Frostbite (Stewart Sparke) "Faux trailer: An Arctic research vessel discovers a submarine lost during World War II."
• Sleepworking (Gavin Williams) "A ‘sleepworker’, programmed for menial labour while she is asleep, suffers disturbing side effects."
• Somebody to Love (Phil Haine) "Love has found Sebastian. It just wasn’t the love he was expecting."
• Grime Horror Trilogy (Richard Elson) "Three tales of terror – short but deadly."
• Belly of the Wolf (Mark Fisher) "On an abandoned airbase, a young boy stumbles across a blood stained jacket."
• Doll Face (Louis Paxton) "On a dinner date, Lilly expects Henry to declare his love. But he has an unsettling confession to make."
• One Careful Owner (Mike Tack) - UK premiere "At Hammers Motors, has Terry the salesman met his match in Chris the awkward customer?"

All this plus numerous other new features and shorts from around the world and the brand new live show from the legendary Pat Higgins, Fake Blood and Real Guts! Writing and Filming Your Horror Classic. By all accounts last year’s Horror-on-Sea was a terrific event and I’d love to get there one year but not with my current family commitments alas.

The following weekend, the same folks are organising two days of ‘Salty Shorts’, plus another brand new British horror feature: Return of the Ghost (Jason Wilcox) "In a haunted mansion, a couple realise it isn’t only ‘occupied’ by the dead."

British short films on offer over 24th/25th January include:

• The Collector (Sarah Goodall)
• You are going to Die (Cameron Richardson)
• Television (Graham Gunner)
• Voodoo Moustache (Louis Paxton)
• Profile in Darkness (Graeme Noble)
• Sticky Fingers (Grahem Gunner)
• Sweet 6Teen (Pantelis Hapeshis)
• Pinot Rouge (Jordan Cochrane)
• Yule (Steven Lancefield)
• Monomania (Ben Vokes)

and a brace from my old pal Molly Brown: Haunted Hospital and Your Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse

Webkam: teaser trailer for 'lost' 2008 Eleanor James film

Here's a treat which I've just found - a teaser trailer for Webkam. This feature was shot way back in August 2008 in Birmingham by a chap named James D Layton, and until now pretty much all that has existed to prove the film is a real thing have been these three stills which I was sent at the time.

You will probably recognise BHR regular Eleanor James there. The film also stars Kim Sonderholm (Deadly Pursuit) and Joanne Gail (When Evil Calls). The synopsis I was sent in 2008 reads as follows: "Victoria is a bit sad due due to a break-up with her boyfriend, Matt. Her best friend Lilly tries to cheer her up, but fails. One day a strange character wearing a clown mask appears on her computer screen. He calls himself Kam and he wants to play a game - it is the beginning of grueling nightmare for Victoria."

I have long wondered whether this was ever completed and what happened to James D Layton. Well, casual googling tonight revealed this teaser posted by Layton on YouTube in August this year. This raises my hopes that Webkam could one day actually see the light of day.