El Gigante Puts Both the Lucha and the Gore into LuchaGore

With the right balance of horror and heartbreak, mostly horror or course, LuchaGore Productions latest film El Gigante (based on Muerte con Carne by Shane McKenzie) shows that they are a force to be reckoned with in the world of indie horror.

Dead on Film Festival 2014

So once again The Rio Theatre's Dead on Film Festival, featuring short films where someone has to die, has come to pass. Well one of the people to die was me, in the short film Dangerous Waves! Unfortunately I wasn't able to get there in time to see it since it was the second film to be shown, but I saw it today and I couldn't be happier with how it turned out.

The Quiet Ones: Quite Fun

The latest film to come out of the revamped Hammer production company is a supernatural experiment based horror. The film is based on a Canadian experiment done in the 1970s called The Philip Experiment and stars Sam Claflin (Hunger Games: Catching Fire) and Olivia Cooke (Bates Motel)

The Frightening Friday: Netherworld Collectibles and Fright Nights

So back on the 11th my friend Christopher Graham (he took all the photos) and I decided to go to the opening night of Fright Nights and since we were going to be in the area we went to Netherworld Collectibles beforehand. As soon as we got into the store we were greeted by an adorable little fellow named Ladder.

I really like snakes.

I mean REALLY like snakes.

Ladder was on loan from http://www.snakeinthegrass.org/ a local snake rescue. After a little quality reptilian time we got to looking around the store which had a great assortment of movie props, posters, books, comics, movies, board games, action figures and more. Things that caught my eye were the Forbidden Planet poster and the wearable Right Hand of Doom (from Hellboy if you're not in the know).

I fell in love at Netherworld Collectibles.

Now I figured since I was in the commercial, I might as well go to Fright Nights. Speaking of Fright Nights here is the 60 second version of the commercial:

Dead on Film Festival, Zombies, Guns and Jane Levy

Well August was quite the busy month. First there was the Dead on Film Festival at The Rio Theatre which was a festival of short horror films where the only requirement was that somebody had to die. Now it was all local films, some of which made specifically for the festival and let me tell you there was quite a variety of quality levels. The best by far though, which also won the festival, was Halloween vs. Battle Royale by LuchaGore Productions. As you can probably guess it was about what would happen if Michael Myers were to choose some of the girls from Battle Royale to be his next victims. We were also treated to some horrific burlesque as the audience votes were tallied and I must say burlesque is so much more interesting when fake blood is involved.

The next big thing to happen in August was my first time being paid to be on set! I was an extra on a tv show who had completed a zombie walk (I'll tell you the show once the episode has come out). I had to come in my own costume and makeup for the part:

Selfie!

I also took another step towards becoming "The Most Badass Woman You Know" by going out into the country to shoot a gun for the first time. Turns out I'm not as terrible at it as I had expected. I apparently got a few "kill shots" on my target. While I didn't get to fire them I also got to handle a cross-bow as well as some more powerful guns than the one I was shooting.

To finish off the month I think I had a celebrity encounter of relevance to this blog. I'm pretty sure I ran into Jane Levy (of Evil Dead remake fame) while I was walking home from work. It felt like a scene out of mean girls as we locked eyes and I started to recognize her. It wasn't until I was out of earshot that I realized who I thought it was and my friend asked if I would like to go back and say hi. Nope, wasn't going to embarrass myself like that!

The End of Days is Actually Rather Funny: This is the End

Now there appears to be a new trend in theatres this year, the end of the world. Of course there's all your usual fare like the world coming to the end via aliens and zombies, disasters, all the stuff that gets done all the time. But this year there is a bit of a twist, apocalyptic comedy. Off the top of my head I can think of The World's End, Rapturepalooza and This is the End (which I will be reviewing once you click read on). It was inevitable of course that humanity's destruction would leave the realm of horror-comedies (Shaun of the Dead, Zombieland, Cabin in the Woods) and turn to comedies with just a dash of horror.

I Got to Interview Tristan Risk, Woo!

What good is it to steal someone's heart if you can't take a bite out of it.

So as my latest project for the Geek Supremacy Project I interviewed one of the stars of American Mary, Tristan Risk (AKA Little Miss Risk, Beatress and overall super awesome person) It's been posted right in time for the release of American Mary on Blu-Ray and DVD tomorrow so check out some of this insight into the behind the scenes of the film before you go and buy it like a good person supporting the arts! You can find the interview here.

Soska Night, an Evening Filled with Baseball Bats and Amputated Arms

Later on the fought it out to see what was better, Marvel or DC.

Every once in a while a friend posts a photo on facebook of themselves with a dvd of a movie you want to see. Even rarer is when this coincides with the theatrical release of a film from the same directors. Well this is what happened recently and gave birth to what was dubbed Soska Night. It was a wonderful evening that started out with a Dead Hooker in a Trunk and ended with American Mary at the wonderful Rio Theatre. We laughed, we were confused, we were shocked, but most of all we had fun. Read more about the adventure (mostly about American Mary) after the break.

The Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh

Every once in a while a films comes by and you have absolutely no idea what to expect going into the theatres. The Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh was one of those films for me, the only advertisement I saw for once revealed nothing. It was also one of the most unsettling and creepy movies I've seen in a long time. To find out some of the things that made it so eerie for me read on.

Six Word Skits: Sometimes They Are Actually Creepy

So some buddies I have back in my home town make videos under the name Skit For Brains and their most recent endeavour has been a series called Six Word Skits. Now you may be wondering "What does this have to do with horror or sci-fi?" Well some of their skits are actually kind of creepy, so read on for some shorts to hopefully put a smirk on your face (I never smile at the internet, smirking is the closest I get)

First Horror Role Part 3: The Fake Festival

Now I am sure you are all wondering "How did the Evil Dead in 60 Seconds do?" Well on the 15th of February we found out that we had made it into the top 25, it was a pretty great birthday present. Some of the crew also managed to win enough tickets so that everyone (who didn't have other commitments) was able to come. Now there was a theme to this party, movie characters. Let's see if you can figure out who I chose to go as:

Carrie, I'm Carrie. Being bloodified by Reagan from The Exorcist.

Actually all the girls in our group went as horror characters (Carrie, Reagan, Lady Jigsaw, One of the twins from The Shining and The Black Swan) the men however, not so bloody... well except for our Ash, who went as Ash (although really isn't Ashley a bit of a girl's name?).

Alright, alright fine I'll tell you how we did. We were huddled together as we watched them present the five nominations for best picture. They showed Jaws, Bourne Identity, Wreck It Ralph, then this lovely little cabin showed up on the screen and we got to watch our video as a part of the top 5. The last nominee was Life of Pi. And when they announced the winner it was... Wreck It Ralph. Yes, there were some tears cried (I won't say by who), but personally I'm impressed that a film with tree rape could even make it into the top five of a non-horror film competition. It just goes to show what an awesome job the directors, cast and crew did putting it all together.

Even Minnie Mouse loved it!

First Horror Role Part 2: The Film

Alright, awesome news, The Evil Dead in 60 Seconds was released on Friday! Since I know you all are desperate to see it, here it is:

So now that you have seen the video vote for it by going to the Virgin Fake Film Festival website and click the like button below the video! ...or else.

Feeling demonic today?

When it was released on Friday I was pretty much doing a social media frenzy along with everyone else involved and it was the most successful social media...ing I've done. It may sound dorky but I was super excited to be retweeted by horror directors like Nicholas Humphries and The Twisted Twins (Jen & Sylvia Soska) as well as The Rio Theatre and The Storm Crow Tavern. Even my Grampa loved the video!

The short has also had some pretty damn good reception on horror websites, here is a list of links to articles that have been written so far:

Bloody Disgusting
Dread Central
Horrormovies.ca
Daily Dead (I think they chose an awesome picture to represent the film)
Horror Society
i09?
We Came From The Basement

I can't express in words how excited I am that something I worked on is getting exposure on all these websites (and hopefully more to come). Some of them even mention my name!!

Next up in the last instalment of this series of articles is how we did in the festival (vote for us so we do well!)

First Horror Role Part 1: On Set

If any of you have been wondering why I haven't posted in a while it is because I have been VERY busy and this series of posts is about one of the many things that has kept me busy, MY FIRST EVER HORROR ROLE! It is an entry in this year's Virgin Radio Fake Film Festival. I'll give you some clues to see if you can figure out which film it was we made a 60 second version of. 1.) There is a remake of it coming out this year 2.) Contrary to popular belief the monsters aren't zombies, but Candarian Demons 3.) My character's name is Cheryl 4.) Seriously you haven't figured it out yet? Fine, it was the film that brought Bruce Campbell into popular culture. That's right, the film we remade was:

For a behind the scenes look read on.

Creepy Christmas 2012: Treevenge

I thought the picture was cool, I have absolutely no idea who this drunken clown is.

Well it is the 1st of December and you know what that means... It's completely socially acceptable to start watching Christmas/holiday themed horror movies!!!!! Today I started off my holiday season with a short film I had heard about last year called Treevenge. It was made in 2008 and turns out to be Canadian, which made me happy. The film creates some great comedic moments through the communication of trees and some hilarious gore. It made me quite glad that for the first time in my life I'm having a fake tree this year.

Read on to watch the 16 minute film, it's worth it.

Rio Grind Festival: Shorts Program

Well it has certainly taken me long enough, but I'm finally posting about the shorts I saw at the Rio Grind Film Festival. This is going to be rather rapid fire as the shorts just kept coming and I couldn't even stay for the entire thing.

Really hope this festival becomes an annual event.

DEDfest Part 4: Famine

Ah, we have come to the conclusion of DEDfest Victoria with the final film that appeared that evening, Famine by Vancouver director Ryan Nicholson. It is a slasher that takes place during a 24 hour Famine (my school wasn't allowed to call them famines so we had 30 hour fasts).

For my review read on after the break.

DEDfest Part 3: V/H/S BC Premiere

If you have been wondering why it has been taking me so long to pump out these mini reviews, it's because I've been distracted by a little thing called my Halloween costume (photos to come before Thursday). Anyhow next up is the BC premiere of the first Bloody Disgusting (produced?) film V/H/S. Read more to see my review.

I actually found a poster for the festival!

Before There Can Be Retribution, There Must Be an Afterlife

First off let me say, I didn't even start out planning to review this movie, but as soon as it started the witty commentary came to me so I had to write about it. Now as per usual I don't want to spoil the movie for anyone, but sometimes accidents happen and plot points might be given away (ie if a character were to die in a rather comical way) so for those who don't want any chances of having the movie spoiled avert ye eyes and don't read on after the jump.

So since when is the character only in the first two minutes of the film
poster worthy?