"Mutantis" and the Citizens Capture Film Makers; Kelly Fitzgerald and Mark Leake For a Round of Questioning

5 of 8 Viewers "Liked" "Mutantis" (2014, USA)

Here's what the citizens of the Overlook Theatre had to say:

Math Mage - "This movie is amazing! Any discussion of it's plot elements would make this film sound more serious than it is. Usually when a movie is intended to be hilariously bad it ends up simply bad; but this is a fabulous train wreck of a movie made even better by the deliberate inattention to detail." - 5 Stars

KillDozer - "A little bit of goofiness goes a long way! The Troma spirit is alive and well with this one. Zero budget films at times can be a guilty pleasure . We love the cheesy gore but can barely stand the acting or horrible writing . This movie was made with love and you can feel it through the hilarious mock dubbing (70's italian style) , the insanely bad creature effects (50's style),and the cheesy gore (80's style). This is a popcorn flick made to be watched with friends making funny riffs and having a good time . Long live no budget cheese ball films that only add fun and diversity to our monster kid community! A special shout out goes to the amazingly composed score . Put this one on at your next party and prepare for your friends to love, hate, laugh, cry, and be confused and repulsed all at once." - 2 (really fun) Stars

Lord Battle - "Amateur in tone, brilliant in context. This film is a lot of fun, be it the black comedy or the lesson in low budget film making. " - 3 1/2 Stars

Book Wyrm - "The movie was well made, the soundtrack was solid and the campiness was done very well. I thought the mutant was really weird and over the top but it fit. I enjoyed the obvious dubbing too." - 3 Stars

The Berkely Blazer - "A schlock microbuget masterpiece that works off of it's low-fi novelties without ever really becoming tedious, which is quite a feat. Mutantis manages to be absurd, revolting, laughable and hilarious, often at the same time. The humor is juvenile but never strays from it's self-awareness of this fact, and this makes all the difference in how the viewer navigates the banalities and offenses to humankind that litter the narrative. Mutantis the monster is much like the film: while a laughable zenith of hermaphroditic ridiculousness, is also one of the most vile and disturbing creatures I've seen in recent memory; it's delightful." - 4 Stars

Huntress - "This is definitely a one of a kind movie, it had some of the most creative low budget problem solving I've ever seen, it paired perfectly with the weird plot. Nothing was predictable." - 3 1/2 Stars

Unicorn Slayer - "First I must say, it is obvious the bad filming and voice over is intentional, they clearly knew what they were doing. The style of filming, effects, and music are so effective in submerging you in a 70's setting,you overlook the purposefully awful costuming. Props to the costume designer of the Mutantis monster, the details put into monster genitals and sex scenes were cringe worthy and perfect. Aside from distasteful redface, the film makes for a good party/group gathering, drunken shenanigen film. While I may suggest people must behold it's awful glory, it is something I will most likely not watch again." - 3 Stars

Ice Giant - "Not even the drugs I was on could save this movie, I understand movies are made this way on purpose and some of them have redeeming qualities...... this is not one of those movies, it feels like the guy who made it saw an episode of family guy and thought "What if the chicken was a mutant chicken and was rapey" while also on drugs of his own. If Lord Battle hadn't just shown us Terror on Tour this would be the worst movies he's made us sit through but as it stands it's only the second worst. - 0 Stars (Default 1)

The Overlook Theatre Final Rating*

I typically use this section of the review for any theories I have about the film or to discuss any important themes. This time however, we are doing something a little different... I reached out to Mark Leake (Writer of Mutantis & Isle of the Damned) to see if he and director Kelly Fitzgerald would be up to answering a few questions. They agreed and I asked all the coherent reviewers present at the screening to think of 1 question they could ask the film makers and here are the results:

Lord Battle - "What was the film budget (assuming one was set) and how much did it cost in total to make?" 

Kelly Fitzgerald - "The money just came out of our pockets. There never really was a budget. Leake, Colegrove, and I brought supplies as we needed them. The only time that I am aware of needing a lump sum was to have the DVD's pressed, so we pre-sold them along with other products on indigogo for that money."


The Berkeley Blazer - "It is apparent that in addition to "low-budget charm," a lot of work and love went into making this film consistently entertaining and interesting. From the director's perspective, are the ways these elements play off each other present during filming and, if so, how does that factor into your directorial decisions?" 

Kelly F. - "Yes, given the conditions in which we made this film (springs/summers in east coast heat, any Sunday it didn't rain) love of the genre was the life blood - along with long term friendships and collaboration from everyone involved. Whenever a problem arose, everyone on set had creative solutions and input. Seeing strengths in these individuals and putting them to good use was key in no budget film making. We kept the mood light and had a lot of fun with making this film."

KillDozer - "With this being a low budget film, what did you consciously choose to be "cheesy" for entertainment value and what was simply the result of "cutting corners" to get the film made?" 

Kelly F. - "The line is so blurred between intentionally and beautiful mistakes that I dare not try to separate it. But when dealing with effects like the helicopters, we always thought the cheesier the better. Knowing your limits (budget wise) upfront and being logical about it helps the creative process, as does knowing what you can pull off and what ideas need to be re-constructed to fit realistic expectations." 

Huntress - "How did you hire the staff that wasn't already friends or acquaintances?" 

Kelly F. - "You want to help make a movie, you're hired! Everyone that had involvement was an acquaintance and/or friend of someone who was working with Dire Wit Films. The amazing thing is that the majority of everyone who worked in production had been doing projects with Dire Wit Films for years. This was their 2nd, 3rd - and even for some - 4th film with us. These movies are made off of the backs of those who selflessly give their precious time to come out, usually to the woods and at times with no bathrooms and no craft services, simply for the sheer love of movies!!!" 

Math Mage - "Why was the decision made to have two different actors play Father Joy? Was it a creative solution or was it written that way? Either way it was an amazing choice.

Kelly F. - "It was a creative solution that we decided early on would be entertaining to let some of the scenes start with one actor then in the middle change the actor. 

Unicorn Slayer - "Whose job was it to create the brutal penis/vagina combo, and how did they go about making it?"

Mark Leake - "Well, Unicorn Slayer, I was the one assigned to engineer the shellgina, and I went about making it with cardboard, latex and love. The biggest challenge was making the functional urethra from which the beast could spooge, but after a few test trials with that rubber medical hose that junkies tie their arms off with, I finally had the eureka moment, and Mutantis' manhood/womanhood was ready to procreate all over the silver screen."

Book Wyrm - "If you could go back and redo any one aspect of the film, what would it be and why?"

Kelly Fitzgerald - "I have a dew characters I'd change the dialogue to. During post, I felt some of the ADR jokes kept me limited, and it drove me nuts from time to time. I wanted to perfect the delivery if it, but instead I felt backed into a corner. Needless to say, in the end I am very happy with the movie and any problems I ran into became a good lesson for the next film."

I hadn't read any of the answers until just now and I have to say this was a lot of fun putting together. I was considering not adding this next bit since IMDB tends to report about things that don't get made but it looks like Kelly and Mark are signed on to work on another project together, this one titled "Pig Pen". If said project does come together I know we'll be watching it. Thanks again Mark Leake for reaching out to us!

- Lord Battle

*Based on the star ratings turned in by character reviewers, others at the screening got to "Dislike" or "Like" but that does not effect the rating.

Babadook and The Persistent Tooth Ache

10 of 10 viewers "Liked" "Babadook" (Australia, 2014)

Here's what the citizens of the Overlook Theatre had to say:

KillDozer - "The boogie man is back. I am blown away that after all these years of being a Horror nerd certain films still find a way of creeping into your mind and giving you the chills. From the writing and acting to the cinematography, The Babadook delivers. A classic tale with modern twists. If you were a monster kid in your younger years you will automatically relate to the child lead played so realistically you would swear he must be that cool. The characters draw you into their lives and accomplish something rarely felt in today's films and that is the audience actually giving a damn about what happens to them. Keep a look out for the kick starter in place now to have the creepy pop up Babadook book from the film actually printed ! 5 stars collection worthy . I am really looking forward to whatever writer /director Jennifer Kent gives us next." - 5 Stars

Lord Battle - "Fans of Roman Polanski's apartment trilogy and Tim Burton's art design will love this film. Not to mention it's better than anything either of the previously mentioned directors have done in the past 10 years." - 5 Stars

Math Mage - "Suspenseful & surreal, a thrilling descent into madness, and a study of the stresses of raising a developmentally disabled child. Also the Babadook is a pokemon." - 4 Stars

Huntress -  Spoilers - "This was a dark, imaginative story that I didn't want to end! It was subtle in its creepiness but got loud and in your face at all the right moments. I loved the ambiguity of whether or not the Babadook was just the product of an active imagination for the majority of the movie, but the ending couldn't have been further from any guess I had about where things would lead. Still, I had a hard time with shadows and the dark after this one." - 5 Stars

Book Wyrm - Spoiler - "I have mixed feelings about this film. I really liked the kid and the family, I was really scared by the thought of this entire thing about reading a random book and finding a demon. I am always against animal deaths in movies so that alone took it one star down for me. I got very invested in the film and probably would have cried if I was alone during the exorcism part with the mom & child. I got really into their relationship & the mom's relationship with other adults. The movie definitely messed me up. The actors were amazing and that certainly helped the film." - 4 Stars

Unicorn Slayer - "Babadook is the first film in a long time that kept me scared start to finish, I was kept on the edge of my seat. Actor Essie Davis goes above and beyond, her performance superb; portraying a wide range of believable emotion and expressions. Noah Wiseman has quite the career ahead of him as well. Along side outstanding acting, special effects and overall atmosphere keep the film immersive and terrifying. Touching on themes of depression and anxiety, director Jennifer Kent truly captures despair." - 5 Stars

The Impostor - "Original and tension filled, the Babadook shows a different take on hauntings and ghosts. The focus of its scares is more psychological and related directly to the emotions of the protagonist rather than just shocking the audience with jump scares over and over. The more of the  mystery around the Babadook unfolded, the more I became intrigued. Overall I really enjoyed this creepy old school horror film." - 4 Stars

Ice Giant - "First movie in a while I've felt deserved 5 stars, the atmosphere was generally very creepy, the special FX we're awesome, and the little kid actor was incredible. Australia has really become one of the best countries for horror movies." - 5 Stars

The Overlook Theatre Final Rating*

As reviewers begin to write more and more with each review I find myself at a loss for what to cover in this section. It would be easy to elaborate on previously mentioned ideas but I'd prefer to cover things overlooked (pun intended). This time I think i'll just address the elephant in the room which of course is the Babadook.

Since screening this film for the first time I have told countless people to go home and VOD this amazing horror film. And every time I got the same response, which of course was some mocking of the films title. A few of them were funny, a lot of them were equivalent to an 8-year-olds idea of clever. Which is exactly why the Babadook lives in a children's book. 

This film has everything it needs to be an amazing psychological horror, a single mom at the end of her rope, a misunderstood paranoid child, and plenty of reasons why things may or may-not be real. I myself always enjoy when a movie gives you good arguments for both sides, in this case the argument would be "is the Babadook real?".  I always try to say no first and for this film I would say that the stars aligned in the worst way possible; drugs, birthday/deathday, and a persistent tooth ache all came-together with the appearance of an evil looking children's book. 

My theory is Amelia has had a mental break down due to stress and drug use, so hear me out. Robbie loves his mom but doesn't respect her and he also believes the Babadook is real, so the first clue we get comes in the form of glass. The scene were Amelia and Robbie are eating soup and she bites down on a piece of glass could only be from Robbie putting it there and if you're wondering where he got the glass, he just broke a window earlier. Also there was only glass in her bowl and her son does practice prestidigitation. The reason I brought up all of the glass talk is because I believe at a certain point in the film Robbie starts slipping his mother the pills he stopped taking. I also think that she has been taking them herself (the dream-like dropping into bed after she brings the pills home indicates this). Now everyone forgets the tooth ache she feels the whole film and how it climaxes into her ripping it out of her mouth. I think this is important because it's a problem shes had for a long time and has ignored, but with everything seemingly falling apart right on the anniversary of her husbands death, she has taken the easy way out. Now bare with me on this one because it is purely speculative, but I think she started taking painkillers or some form of medication. Amelia could have got them from the same doctor that prescribed her sons pills or easily could have stolen them from her work, either way I think her mental break down wasn't solely her fault. All of this would then explain why she sees crazy things happening and tries to kill her son. I'm glad I finally got to think my theory through and see how much of a stretch it really is.

The Babadook is neither fake nor real for it's something we cannot see, it is the horror of humanity and the uncertainty of life. It's the problems we choose not to deal with and stuff inside, the problem is "You cannot get rid of the Babadook" you just gotta deal with him. This film succeeds in telling a heart warming story of a single mom and a terrifying tale of a cursed book.

- Lord Battle

At the time of this posting the pre-orders for "Mister Babadook" are still up, so hurry and get a copy!

The amazing poster used for this review was illustrated by the one and only Ghoulish Gary and there was a brief opportunity to buy a print from Mondo. Learn to check both sites often!

*Based on the star ratings turned in by character reviewers, others viewed and got to "Dislike" or "Like" but that does not effect the rating.

Help The Babadook Get His Book Published

If you haven't seen the "Babadook" get on it! If you have, now's your chance to own the legendary book! Head over to TheBabadook.com and you can pre-order a copy of the book from the film. It's a little pricey at $80 but this price does include shipping and you know "Mister Babadook" will end up on eBay for triple the price.

Our review will be up in the next couple of days, so check back!

South Park's Oculus Rift and A Quick Update

South Park killed it last week with Butters at the helm of the ship. They made fun of both Oculus Rift (the VR gaming platform) and Oculus the film. If you haven't seen Oculus yet go see it! Actually read our review, then go see it. The point of this mini review is that South Park really nailed the spoof it ran on Oculus, pointing out many dumb moments and weak decisions. In no way does this weaken the film but it does show us that someone on that writing staff likes their horror...

The Blog has been picking up steam again, with shirts and patches made (Follow me on instagram for these updates), movie releases, and new art. I just wanted to say thank you for sticking with us all this time and I plan on doing more personal posts again soon, as some people have complained about the Review / News loop we've fallen into. So expect the profile page to finally be remade and be sure to check out the new "about" page. Tomorrow I am screening a double feature so I may not get to posting till Friday.

Bluray Tuesday!

November 18th 2014

This week on bluray brings a few horror titles to stores. It is holiday season and black friday sales are right around the corner so many of these may possibly be cheaper then.

Pumkinhead 2: Amazon - $24.99

After a group of teenagers indirectly cause an old witch to be burned, they accidentally revive Pumpkinhead. This time Pumpkinhead is inhabited by the soul of a deformed orphan killed 30 years before. He goes on a bloody rampage after his tormentors and the teenagers. Meanwhile, a local sheriff tries to solve the mystery and stop the murders.

I just recently picked up Shout Factory's release of Pumpkinhead the original for $20 and was well worth it its full of new special features and interviews i don't remember the sequel as much but I will for sure pick this up soon. 

Christmas Evil 1980: Amazon - $22.48

Widely recognized as the best of the Christmas horror efforts, Christmas Evil is the story of a boy who loves Christmas. He is scarred as a boy when he learns that Santa is not real. Throughout the rest of his life, the toy-maker tries to make the Christmas spirit a reality. He becomes obsessed with the behavior of children and the quality of the toys he makes. When he is met with hypocrisy and cynicism, the resulting snap causes him to go on a yuletide killing spree to complete this dark comedic horror.

I usually watch silent night deadly night of the Christmas episodes of Tales From The Crypt during the holiday season and i actually haven't seen this before so this holiday season i look forward to checking this one out

Sin City A Dame To Kill For 3D: Amazon - $19.99

Dwight is hunted down by the only woman he ever loved, Ava Lord, and then watches his life go straight to hell. Chronologically, this story takes place prior to "The Big Fat Kill" (featured in Sin City) and explains how Dwight came to have a dramatically different face.

Best Buy has this as a exclusive 3d steelbook case for you steelbook lovers! i have my preordered and will arrive tomorrow. I thought the original was better but all in all a solid sequel.



Into The Storm: Amazon - $19.99

A group of high school students document the events and aftermath of a devastating tornado.
This is a found footage disaster film i haven't seen yet but a day i have nothing to watch i will probably check it out i love found footage films and hope its at least a good one time watch flick

Hidden Art at 4am

The video above is called, Too many Cooks and it originally aired at 4am, October 28th on Adultswims infomercial block. I was just recently shown this short and had to share it here on the blog. Watch and enjoy!

Walker Stalker Con - San Francisco!

Attention Walker Stalkers!

We have some fantastic news for those on the West coast! We’ve heard your requests and we are now happy to announce that we will be having our first Walker Stalker Con on the West coast in San Francisco on January 31st & February 1st of 2015!

This two day event will take place at the Fort Mason Center located on Marina Boulevard at Buchanan Street, along the northern waterfront between Aquatic Park and the Marina Green, is within the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

The ultimate zombie convention is headed to San Francisco and we are bringing awesome guests and a herd of zombies too!

We will be posting updates constantly, including guest updates, sponsorships, artists and vendor additions too! Make sure you check back frequently and follow us on Twitter and Facebook for the latest updates in Walker Stalker Con news!

We hope that each of you will be a part of Walker Stalker Con San Francisco 2015!

WALKER STALKER CON SAN FRANCISCO 2015
JANUARY 31ST & FEBRUARY 1ST
FORT MASON CENTER
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA

Now the above information was pulled straight off their page for San Francisco. Now I watch the Walking Dead every Sunday and I even stick around for Talking Dead but I'm not anywhere near as excited as most fans for Walker Stalker. I am purely enthused that ANY horror con is coming to San Fran. If anything I'm a little sad this is centering around zombies... Oh-well, beggars can't be choosers, right? Well in this case it really doesn't even matter since on November 8th Robert Englund signed on! I can't express how happy seeing that has made me (Thanks for the heads up Impostor)!

Below I have listed ticket prices from the official site and arranged them in a more realistic fashion. And for those of you who want to be a part of the con or simply don't want to pay, here is a link to the volunteer page. I will definitely be applying, also don't wait to long before getting tickets. At the time I'm writing this there are only 80 days left!

(Also I apologize it looks so annoying with the white backing, it's late.)

- Lord Battle

TICKETS ARE ON SALE NOW!

All ticket sales are handed through TicketLeap.

Your ticket(s) will be emailed to you directly.
(Tickets will NOT be mailed to you.)

Please make sure you bring your printed ticket with you to the event.
Each QR code attached to each ticket is unique and can only be scanned once; so please take special precaution to safe guard your ticket as we cannot accept duplicate tickets and will only process the first ticket scanned.

Tickets do not include any autographs or photo-ops.
(Excluding celebrity specific VIP tickets) 

SATURDAY / SUNDAY GENERAL ADMISSION

General admission for both Saturday & Sunday.
(January 31 & February 1, 2015)

$70.00

SATURDAY GENERAL ADMISSION

General admission for Saturday ONLY.
(January 31, 2015) 
$45.00

SUNDAY GENERAL ADMISSION

General admission for Sunday ONLY.
(February 1, 2015)

$35.00

CHILD ADMISSION (10 & UNDER)

Kids that are 10 and under are free with a paid adult

(limit 2 kids per paid adult ticket).

Kids will be provided with a similar kind ticket as the adult.

WEEKEND VIP PASS

(LIMITED QUANTITIES)

VIP Pass includes:

-VIP lines for all guests throughout the weekend
-Priority seating for all panels
-Convention poster
-Walker Stalker Con T-shirt

$200.00

GOLD

(VERY LIMITED)

GOLD includes:

-Walked to the front of each guest line (one time per guest)
-Front row seats at all panels
-Walker Stalker Con T-shirt
-Two (2) individual autographs of your choice
-Two (2) individual photographs with guest of your choice
-Front of the line for photographs with guests
-Convention poster
-Unique Walker Stalker Con Badge

$600.00

PLATINUM

(EXTREMELY LIMITED)

This is the most amazing convention experience EVER!

A must for any zombie lover!

PLATINUM includes:
-Guided by a Walker Stalker Con Employee – with Camera for you to keep photos.
-Walked to the front of each guest line (one time per guest)
-Side of Stage / Back Stage Seating for All Panels
-One meal in the Green Room with Guests on Sat & Sun
-Walker Stalker Con T-Shirt
-Four (4) individual autographs of your choice
-Four (4) individual photographs with guest of your choice
-Front of the line for photographs with guests
-Convention poster
-Unique Walker Stalker Con Badge

$1200.00

Bluray Tuesday!

November 11th 2014

Bluray Tuesday is back! a few horror titles being released most are older titles being released on bluray finally. Happy Veterans Day as well to all the readers who have served in the U.S Armed forces. 

The Damned: Amazon - $26.98

The story of an average man cursed with a supernatural task, forgiving the sins of those who die around him, but when a homicidal psychopath is killed in his midst, he must decide to "forgive" his evil spirit or allow it to continue its unquenchable thirst for murder. 

I saw this film recently i thought it was a enjoyable film nothing groundbreaking but a interesting horror flick.

 

Demons: - Amazon - $14.99

A group of people are trapped in a large West Berlin movie theater infected by ravenous demons whom proceed to kill and posses the humans one-by-one thereby multiplying their numbers.

This and Demons 2 are two films i look forward to check out soon I have heard good things.

 

Demons 2: Amazon - $14.99

A group of tenants and visitors are trapped in a 10-story high-rise apartment building infested with demons who proceed to hunt the dwindling humans down.

 

Dolls 1987: Amazon - $19.99

A group of people stop by a mansion during a storm and discover two magical toy makers, and their haunted collection of dolls.

Never seen this film either. Shout Factory has been releasing some nice classic horror films with great special features so this will be in my collection for sure.

 

True Blood Season 7: Amazon - $34.99

In a world where vampires have come out of the coffin, Sookie Stackhouse, a telepathic waitress, discovers a new world of different creatures when she meets Bill Compton, a vampire.

This is the final season of True Blood. I used to watch this show i saw about the first 5 seasons but after season 3 show went downhill in my opinion maybe one day I will sit and finish the last two seasons to see how it all ends even though i heard bad things on thus final season.

 

Halloween Night in Spooky SF

Happy belated Halloween! I hope everyone got to take enough advantage of the cool events surrounding this great holiday to tide them over until next year. Personally, I feel like I have some making up to do, but one event Lord Battle and I made sure to attend was held at the historic Balboa Theatre, which is notorious for hosting awesome, underrated events. This time around it was called Spooky SF.

The night was hosted by two film makers, whose short film was incidentally included in the lineup. (They were also representatives of Western Neighborhoods Project.) They started off with a couple of animated musical shorts, the first of which was the Monster Mash. I realized that this was about to be the first October in years that I hadn't heard the timeless tune and was excited to see the accompanying video for the first time. Next up was a musical cartoon that I believe was called The Skeleton Song. It featured gang of very malleable skeletons dancing, removing each others bones and throwing their skulls all over the place. That sounds violent but it was all done with boney smiles :)

The next animation was Minnie the Moocher, starring Betty Boop. It was strange to see this now hyper-sexualized character portrayed as an innocent naive girl who runs away from home because her parents aren't so nice when they try to get her to eat her dinner. 

Some of the scenes in this cartoon would never be able to make it into a children's show today... 

... but it was all in fun.

There was a brief commercial break after this featurette; of course it was decades old and warned the public of the evil intentions of cable TV. 

This was followed by a short comparison of scenes from the 1953 movie, The Sniper, which was shot at various locations around San Francisco, to the locations now. Most locations were still there and could potentially be visited, but there was at least one place that has since been demolished. All of the stairs that the main character stalked and ran through can still be found in San Francisco. I felt a little strange getting bay area pride from this mini feature but I do love this city.

The short played next had a weird story behind it; it was found in the basement of an old house and could not be fully explained. The camera followed two young guys around a cemetery that is no longer there, as they explored all the different mausoleums and structures that the overgrown location had to offer. There was no dialogue to explain if or what they could have been looking for, or if they had any kind of goal. Still, this was a fun adventure to accompany them on so many years later. The fun stopped when a pair of strange hands reached out of one of the seemingly lifeless structures and tried to grip one of the visitors. 

The main feature of the night was next on the playlist. Actually, there were two films with similar subject matter but differing degrees of research. The first of these was the short filmed by the hosts of the evening. I'm not exactly sure of the title but they visited some of the same locations as the main feature, A Second Final Rest: The History of San Francisco's Lost Cemeteries. The filmmaker, Trina Lopez, was also in the audience and answered some questions afterwards. This film was the cherry on top of a heavily San Francisco oriented history night and was packed with bizarre stories from various people involved in the relocation of four sizable cemeteries that used to be in the Richmond District of San Francisco.

During the gold rush, San Francisco collectively decided that it could not waste such prime real estate on the dead and outlawed burials within the city limits. This also meant that those who were already buried there had to be moved so the large space they took up could be re-purposed and made lucrative to further the city's development. Trina was able to hunt down people with first hand accounts of living in the city before the presence of cemeteries was considered a waste. She also found people with first hand accounts of the relocation process; the unclaimed dead who had to be placed in a mass grave, leaving their tombstones behind, and the financial misconduct that resulted in bodies being partially moved, partially left in the ground to become a part of the new structure that was built above.

Photo courtesy of Richmondsfblog.com

One of the other shocking aspects of the whole process was what happened to the ornate tombstones that were left behind. Many of these became the foundation and decorations that can be found in many public parks and piers around the city. You can find all the information you could ask for about this great film at the film maker's website, including where to purchase your very own copy. 

One thing that came up in the Q and A portion of the night was Trina's inspiration for the movie. She told the story of sitting in a friend's house one day and looking through their bookshelf, only to stumble across Dr. Weirde's Weirde Tours: A Guide to Mysterious San Francisco, which I think is exactly what the title makes it sound like; old and spooky stories about San Francisco. One of the hosts added in that it was about 20% true. Be that as it may, this book was the inspiration for Trina to move to the bay area to look further into the subject of cemetery relocation and make this film. This screening marked the 10th anniversary of the first public screening ever and another shining example of why I love the Halloween season!

-Huntress

Bluray Tuesday!

November 04, 2014

Bluray Tuesday is here again a little late on the post but this week not much horror out on bluray. This weeks sees the releases of The Rock's Hercules & Angelina Jolie's Maleficent.

Maleficent: Amazon - $18.96

Driven by revenge and a fierce desire to protect the lands over which she presides, the scorned fairy Maleficent places a cruel curse upon the human king's newborn daughter, Aurora. As she grows and comes of age, Aurora is caught in the center of the dangerous conflict between the forest kingdom she has grown to love and the human kingdom which is to be her legacy. Maleficent realizes Aurora may hold the key to peace in the land and is forced into bold action which may change both of their worlds forever.

I saw this in theaters when it was released in 3D i enjoyed this film i thought the spin on the story was a good one and actually had really good 3D scenes. It's unfortunate the US wont see the 3d version on Bluray.

 

Hercules 3D: Amazon - $27.99

Standard: Amazon - $18.96

Long ago a tormented soul named Hercules walked the earth. Being the son of Zeus was a curse. He received nothing but suffering his entire life because of it. After twelve arduous tasks and the loss of his family, he turned his back on the gods finding his only solace in the heat of battle. Over the years he forged an alliance with six other like minded rogues. Their only bond was their love of battle and the presence of death. This motley crew never questions where, why or for whom they fight, just the amount paid for their bloody labor. Now the King of Thrace has hired these mercenaries to train his men to become the greatest army of all time. The realization of how far they have fallen hits them hard. They must train the army to be as ruthless and blood thirsty as they have become!

I will Pick This one up for sure i wanted to check this one out  i heard good things on this one as well. Target is offering theres with a storybook. Best Buy's version has a bonus disc with over 2 hours of bonus content and walmart has a steelbook case but that wont include the 3d film.

The Doctor & The Devil's: Amazon - $19.99

An 18th-century doctor must rely upon the disreputable duo of Robert Fallon and Timothy Broom to provide fresh cadavers for his teaching hospital. When they cannot dig up corpses fast enough to suit the demanding doctor, Fallon and Broom decide to streamline their methods via murder.

I have never hear dof this film before buy releases today from shout factory. Look interesting and i will check it out sometime soon.