Fantasm Trailer Is Up and Running

I have been waiting for this documentary for a minute. I always have a blast at conventions, and am curious to see some of the ones that I am not able to attend. From what I can tell, most of these are East Coast, so I rarely make it to that side of the country. My interest is peaked.

From the press release.


"Filmmaker Kyle Kuchta is proud to present the official trailer for his horror convention documentary FANTASM. It can be viewed via YouTube at the following link: http://youtu.be/bvzZRoh1g90

Fantasm analyzes the tight-knit community that attends horror conventions in an exploration of how the genre brings fans together. "Fantasm was filmed over six conventions, and I felt myself growing closer and closer to the genre that we all love so much," says Kuchta. "It means a lot to be able to share that love with people, and that's what Fantasm is all about."

In addition to a variety of devoted fans, Fantasm features insight from popular horror actors and filmmakers, including Heather Langenkamp (A Nightmare on Elm Street), Tom Atkins (Escape from New York), Joe Lynch (Wrong Turn 2), Amanda Wyss (A Nightmare on Elm Street), Lloyd Kaufman (The Toxic Avenger) and more.

With production complete, Kuchta is currently focused on editing Fantasm. The documentary will be submitted to film festivals in the fall, with an official premiere to be announced. An abridged version of the film will screen for free at Syracuse University's Shemin Auditorium as part of the school's Class of 2013 Film Showcase on May 4th."

Learn more about Fantasm on Facebook and Twitter.

The Grog Invades Crypticon Seattle

Crypticon Seattle is happening again. The main difference is that instead of just attending, I along with Critters and Gods and VonKlingele Kustoms will be a vendor at this years festivities. Click on the Crypticon banner to get all the info, including the amazing guest line up.

Shirts

 

Books

 

 I will also have buttons, posters, and some other odds and ends. 

Now we move onto some of the awesome that Jeremy from Critters and Gods will have for you. This is just a sampling of what he is bringing. Jeremy of course did the grog logo, but on top of that he has all kinds of awesome such as buttons, shirts, posters, cards, zines, and so much more.

Last and certainly not least is a portion of the badassary that Jacob from VonKlingele Kustoms is bringing. He has some amazing one of a kind custom action figures that we will have for sale over the weekend. Here are a few with both original ideas, and based off of films.

 In addition to all of this Alisha VonKlingele will be on hand with some of her homemade horror crafts. If you bring a younger one that our stuff may be to graphic for, we have something for everyone.

As if this wasn't enough reason to come by, I feel like adding one more. Sadistik  will be stopping by and will have some free CD's to give out. He is an old friend of the grog, who has even contributed from time to time, but more importantly he is an amazing musician who is also a lifelong horror fan.

We are going in guns a blazing for our first con. Crypticon is a great con, put on by great people, and I am more than happy to be involved. Come see the amazing guests, see the other awesome vendors, hang out. Come by our booth. We will be there all weekend. We want to talk and bullshit with everyone, hell, maybe we can grab some grog and do things right. Below find out who will be behind the booth. Please come by and say hello.

Tromeric- Co-founder of Guts and Grog.

Jacob VonKlingele- Founder of VonKlingele Kustoms, and sometimes contributor to Guts and Grog.

Jeremy Gaulkenstein- Founder of Critters and Gods, and sometimes contributor to Guts and Grog.

Alisha VonKlingele- Founder of Legend of the Crafter.

Steph Infection- Contributor for Guts and Grog.

Gabe Nye the Science Guy- Contributor for Guts and Grog.

Cody DeLarge- Founder of Sadistik, and contributor to Guts and Grog. 

















Crypticon is May 24th-26th. It is going to be amazing. Please if you are in the Northwest, come to this. Click on the Crypticon banner at the top of this post for all the info you need.

Adjust Your Tracking: The Untold Story of the VHS Collector New Trailer, and Poster for Sale

Click HERE to view new trailer

This is a movie I have been waiting for, for what seems a christ age. Well the new official trailer is up and I am excited. Make sure to check it, and head over to buy one of the beautiful posters(click on the picture below to be redirected for purchase). It should proudly be hung on your wall. 

Chuck Norris vs Communism Needs your Help

From the press release:

"In the 1980's, Romania's communist regime reached its most drastic stage. TV was reduced to two hours of broadcast, focused mostly on praising the dictator.

Hidden from the scrutinising eyes of the Secret Police, Irina Nistor dubbed over 5,000 American blockbusters that entered the country illegally and were distributed on the black market. 

Her husky and high-pitched voice became a symbol of freedom and Chuck Norris, Van Damme and Bruce Lee became national heroes.

Chuck Norris vs Communism is a film about a VHS phenomenon that took hold of an entire country. It is a film about a Mafia-like operation. It is also a film about the love of film and ultimately, a film about oppressive regimes, censorship, freedom and creativity."

Please help this film happen. My attention is at full. 

IndieGoGo page: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/chuck-norris-vs-communism-the-documentary-feature-film

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/chucknorrisvscommunism

Twitter: @ChuckvCommunism, @MaraVernonFilms

Website: www.chucknorrisvscommunism.co.uk

H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival and CthulhuCon

Portland, OR – April 17, 2013 - The H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival® & CthulhuCon is pleased to announce it will be hosting the Pacific Northwest premiere of Clive Barker's “Nightbreed: The Cabal Cut” during the 18th annual festival in Portland, OR, May 3-5th.

A new edition of this infamously studio-slaughtered film, The Cabal Cut restores almost an hour of previously thought lost footage and returns the film to Clive Barker's original vision. Not available on DVD, it has shown in a only handful of select US cities. The H.P. Lovecraft Film Festival® is proud to present it with an introduction and Q&A by restoration director Russell Cherrington.

Festival Director Brian Callahan said, “This will be the 18th year of the festival here in Portland, and thanks to our successful Kickstarter campaign it is going to be the biggest yet, with more of everything that has made this event a local institution.”

The Portland Premiere of “Solomon Kane,” starring James Purefoy (The Following) will be shown in 35 mm for this exclusive NW theatrical screening. Also making their Portland debuts are the exciting Spanish epics “La Herencia Valdemar” and “La Sombra Prohibida,” which have never a US release.

Also showing in 35 mm are the classic films “Beyond Re-Animator” with Q&A by director Brian Yuzna, screenwriter Miguel Tejada-Flores, and storyboard artist DH Covey, and “Prince of Darkness” featuring a video introduction with director John Carpenter. Recently added to the lineup is the 1972 BBC television movie “The Stone Tape,” written by Nigel Kneale, creator of the Quatermass movies.

Independent films include Tom Gliserman's atmospheric feature "The Thing on the Doorstep," Norwegian feature “Dunderland,” plus over 25 short films, most of which you won't see anywhere else, including Eric Morgret's new cut of "The Shunned House," Jihyun Park's "The Music of Jo Hyeja” (a Korean adaptation of “The Music of Erich Zann”), Jovanka Vuckovic's “The Captured Bird,” Voltaire's 5th installment of the Chimerascope series short films “Odokuro,” “Seizures” by the award winning director Nicolas Simonin, “Reset” by Swedish director Marcus Kryler, “Beyond the Basement Door” starring Daniel Roebuck (Lost, John Dies at the End), and many more.

Besides these rarities, come see films that are being made especially for the film festival through the “Lovecraft Under The Gun” 72-hour film competition. Portland filmmakers race to complete a short film, from scripting through post-production, in only three days. The festival audience will choose the winning film after a special screening on May 5th. Open to all local filmmakers, teams can register to participate at Guardian Games on April 18th from 6-8 pm. More info at http://hplfilmfestival.com/lutg.

The H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival® & CthulhuCon is pleased to welcome Guest of Honor Sandy Petersen, the creator of the Call of Cthulhu® role playing game, who will be presented with the Howie Award for his contributions to the genre. Other notable guests include, director Richard Stanley (Hardware), scholar Robert M. Price, artist Mike Dubisch, author Joseph S. Pulver, Sr., and Hugo Award nominee Nick Mamatas.

Brian Callahan added, “Festival goers are going to be stunned by the diversity of programming and guests who are attending. There really is something for everyone at this year's event; there's so much to see, it will be impossible to see it all.”

Since 1996, the H. P. Lovecraft Film Festival® has been a Portland institution, celebrating film, literature, and art influenced by the master of Cosmic Horror, H. P. Lovecraft. The festival has grown to three nights and two days of Horror, Fantasy, and Science Fiction showcasing independent short and feature films, author readings, panel discussions, gaming, and live events on all three screens of the historic Hollywood Theatre.

The Festival opens at 6 pm on Friday, May 3rd with an evening program, and continues through the weekend with afternoon and evening shows on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets are available through the Hollywood Theatre website and box office.

 Advance weekend passes are $55. Advance single night passes for Friday are $15, Saturday $25, Sunday $25. Prices will be sightly higher after April 25th.

For more information, please visit www.hplfilmfestival.com

facebook.com/hplfilmfestival

twitter: @HPLFF_PDX

http://bit.ly/hplffpdxweekend (weekend passes)

http://bit.ly/hplffpdxsingle (single day passes)

Science Team Coming Soon

A few years ago I saw a movie called "The Taint" that blew me away, you could even say it blew its load all over my face until I exploded. Well I got an email from Drew Bolduc, and it looks like he is at it again. This is one you will definitely want to keep your eyes on. I give you "Science Team."

Watch the video here, And then head over to their Facebook and Twitter. If you would like to help out you can head over to their Indiegogo.

Spring Breakers- Harmony Korine

I saw Kids on its initial release. I had read all the reviews and while I liked it, I did not think it was all that shocking as it was being portrayed. The people that were shocked were parents who didn't want to admit that their children were involved in any shady life choices. I knew people like this. The reason I mention this is that it was my first run in with Harmony Korine.  Jump ahead a few years later and I saw a movie called "Gummo" on the wall at Crazy Mikes Video. It had a bizarre looking kid on the cover and some quotes that intrigued me. I took it home and was blown away. It was done in a style I was not familiar with and made me feel dirtier than Jeffery Dahmer at church, not to mention the soundtrack had Sleep and Burzum.I watched this repeatedly until "Julian Donkey Boy" came out, which I became more obsessed with. I read his book "A Crack Up at the Race Riots" and continued to re-watch his films. Next he had "Mister Lonely" which was good, but felt more like a Todd Solondz film. Next he introduced the world to "Trash Humpers," which I loved, but was almost a "fuck you" to the audience. Which is one reason I loved it. The reason I mention all of this timeline is, I feel like with "Spring Breakers" he has returned to the same world I fell in love with in "Gummo." Sure the stories are very different. But Korine is back.

Some Disney princesses decide to rob a chicken shack so they can go fuck/drink/drug on the beach. Bitches need money. They get arrested for snorting coke off each others titties and meet up with the coolest James Franco you have ever seen. He has a rivalry with Gucci Mane which will haunt the girls and the badass Franco while they are fucking, snorting, robbing, and basically just living the dream.

In classic Korine fashion your mind will not know what to do while you watch this. At one moment you feel like you are watching MTV's "Spring Break" than at the drop of a hat James Franco is giving a gun the hottest blow job you have ever seen.

While being his most polished film in a lot of ways, it still has the grittiness of his aforementioned films like "Gummo." The film is edited together in a very unique way, with many things being repeated in different contexts throughout the film. There are many montages, the Brittney Spears montage will go down in history. The film is mostly linear, with a few flashbacks and flash forwards.  While for the most part, the music is not typically something I would listen to on my own accord, it is perfectly fit for what is unfolding onscreen. All of the girls do great in making you believe that girls like that can be bad bitches, and as I have said and will scream from the rooftops, Franco is amazing.

If you are not a fan of Korine, don't bother with this. It is not for you. If you like the more bizarre, unsettling film style than get your ass to the the theater. Spring Break, Bitches!

4.5/5

-Tromeric

Stitches- Conor McMahon

Ever since some jackass didn't realize that new wasn't spelled "NU" and decided to add turntables to their poor definition of metal, clowns have been ruined for me. It got even worse when clowns started smoking meth and writing songs about miracles. As a kid I loved clowns, Pennywise was a badass, and Killer Klowns wore out my VCR. I don't like that clowns have been ruined for me, so when I first heard about "Stitches" I was hesitant, but excited. It seemed like it had real potential. Jump ahead a year and I finally got to solve the mystery.

A clown is accidentally killed while performing at a birthday party full of asshole kids. We find out at a clown Illuminati meeting that he can not rest until he finishes his routine. We jump ahead ten years or so and the same kid decides to have a party again, only this time while still mostly being assholes, they have nicer breasts. This is the basic idea, with plenty of other awesome mixed in to flesh out the back story.

The film opens with some clown fucking, which becomes a montage, which ends in a amazingly cheesy fade. Those are three of my favorite techniques in film right there. Way to start off by punching me right in the dick with your awesome Mr. McMahon. From here we just get some amazing kills that would have Wiley Coyote blushing from disbelief.

"Stitches" is as much fun as it is bloody. The kills are seriously insane, and the blood looks like red paint. The puns are unapologetic, and the actors all seem comfortable in their skin, granted if Stitches has his way they wont be in it for long. For a good time, if your mom is busy of course, track down Stitches.

4/5

-Tromeric

Manborg- Steven Kostanski

A man is killed in action and brought back as a cyborg to fight Nazi demons in the future along with Liu Kang from Mortal Kombat. There is your basic plot. Is it a simple one? Yes, but that is part of Manborg's charm.

Astron 6 return with this dystopian future epic that seems to be a lost "Sega CD" game. This is a movie I would of grabbed off the shelf at my neighborhood video store as a child. Manborg could of ended up being a bad spoof, but instead it brings back all of the elements that made these movies great in the eighties/nineties. The acting is the right kind of bad, the writing is the right kind of fun, and the length is the right kind of short.

Manborg is a legitimate sci-fi/action film that can proudly sit on your shelf with films like "Robocop" and "They Live" as well as "Class of 1999" and "1990: The Bronx Warriors."

3.5/5


-Tromeric

Nick Palumbo And James Cullen Bressack Want You To Be Their Muse

Fright Flix Productions and controversial cult filmmaker Nick Palumbo have begun pre-production on "MUSE," a psychological horror film starring Samantha Mion in her film debut. Co-starring Patrick Scott Lewis ("Zodiac"), as an irascible thespian. MUSE is written, and directed by Palumbo and produced by Nick and David Palumbo along with cult filmmaker James Cullen Bressack ("Hate Crime"). Director of Photography is David Newbert ("Marfa Girl"). Principal photography begins on April 15 in Los Angeles, California. The announcement was made today by Fright Fix Productions' President Nick Palumbo.

"I'm very excited to return to set with my follow up to 'MURDER-SET-PIECES,'" said Palumbo. 'MUSE' is something very different from me. The subject is extremely relevant. The film is a character study of a sociopathic young woman, and how loneliness and isolation pushes her further into the abyss. I believe it's a feeling many actors have experienced and will surely relate to. With our incredibly talented production team, we are confident we'll give thriller/horror fans something to talk about as we offer an unflinching look at the dark side of the entertainment industry."

"Nick is one of the very few American filmmakers that isn't afraid to lay it all on the line and make a confrontational film," said Bressack. "His dark and visceral style is unparalleled within the genre."

MUSE is a brutally honest and chilling story of a young actress (Mion), descending into homicidal madness. Both shocking and controversial, the film is told from her point of view, as we follow her dark odyssey through modern day Los Angeles.

MUSE is written and directed by Nick Palumbo, produced by Nick and David Palumbo and James Cullen Bressack through their Fright Flix banner.

For more information please visit: http://www.musethemovie.com/
Please join our Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/musefilm

ABOUT NICK PALUMBO: Well known in the horror industry for his cult horror films, Palumbo is best known for "MURDER-SET-PIECES," the first NC-17/Unrated horror film to hit America cinemas in over 20 years. Palumbo attended film school in Los Angeles. He wrote, produced, and directed one of the most notorious horror cult films of all time: "Murder-Set-Pieces." Shot on location in Las Vegas on 35mm and screened for its theatrical world premiere at the prestigious Sitges International Film Festival in Barcelona, Spain, it was the first unrated American horror film to hit theaters in twenty years. "Murder-Set-Pieces" was released in Europe and Asia by Universal Studios, Paramount Pictures, 20th Century Fox, and The Weinstein Company. An edited version was released in the US by Lionsgate Films. As of 2013, Palumbo's uncut version of the enormously controversial film is still banned in several countries.