Dismal covered in Fangoria

After a long wait, Dismal finally received its due with an exclusive in Fangoria, the world's leading horror mag. "We were anxious to get a piece in Fangoria and who wouldn't," remarks Dismal producer / publicist Christopher Cook, "but they wanted to wait until we had a DVD release date. It was a long wait." Dismal scribe and producer, Bo Buckley adds, "The movie (Dismal) had a run On Demand, it aired on Showtime and then The Movie Channel and we still couldn't get a mention. Now it's like the monkey is off our back."

As an added bonus there were mentions of Fearmakers' upcoming Bigfoot thriller Savage and their sub-division, Strange Stuff's zombie / comedy Death of the Dead. "It's cool," says producer Justin Soponis, "Having your film mentioned anywhere is cool, but Fangoria takes it to a whole new level."

The team at Fearmakers is proud of the films exposure and grateful for the entire cast and crew who braved the elements to make it happen. "We've built some wonderful, lasting relationships from that film," reflects Buckley. Some of those relationships followed Fearmakers to their next effort, Savage, including the producing team of Freezer Locker Films, VFX QuadraHelix, composer Ken Lampl, design team Steelcoast Creative, actor / stuntman Jack Harrison, DP Shawn Lewallen and others. They also reteamed with executive producer Jack Abele and director Gary King for Strange Stuff's Death of the Dead. "We worked with so many talented, passionate people," observes Soponis, "it would be foolish of us not to work with them again."

READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE HERE.

Dismal is now available for pre-order through many places including Amazon.com, Blockbuster.com, Walmart.com and more. Make sure you get your copy. Official DVD release is Dec. 21, 2010.

Halloween Nights 11 of 13: House (2008)

Visual FX wiz, Jerime Kenne, reviews a movie with heart, soul and some nifty visuals, House (2008).

House (2008)
by Jerime Kenne

House (2008) Is the story of one couple with some marriage issues and another couple with just plain issues. Both couples have car trouble and end up in the same backwoods B&B one dark and stormy night. Soon they are introduced to the residents of this creepy B&B. Adding insult to injury they soon find out they are locked in with this overly odd family while a psychopath waits outside for them to fulfill his request of one dead body by morning. During the course of the movie you find out each person is dealing with their own personal hell due to their past transgressions and how they try to work through them. The movie ends with people dying and a twist that you will probably see coming.

I picked house for a few reasons, it’s considered an independent and because it has a nice marriage of practical and visual effects (VFX). This movie has about 150 VFX shots, and for the most part all of them are pretty good. Like any marriage sometimes there is trouble and this film is no different. I’m not going to bore you with a nerd rant about VFX so you’ll just have to see for yourself. Michael Madsen, Leslie Easterbrook, and Bill Moseley do make great additions to the cast when they are on screen making House a fun watch. I would RedBox it or Stream it from NetFlix if you get a chance.

Jerime gives House (2008)




Jerime continues to do visual FX for film / TV. He has another project coming up with Strange Stuff called Attack of the Alien Jelly Monsters From the Depths of Uranus. You can see his other work in Fearmakers' features Dismal and Savage as well as their sub-division Strange Stuff's Death of the Dead by going to the Facebook fan page and clicking on the "Shop Now" tab.

Halloween Nights 10 of 13: A Nightmare on Elm St. 3

Beauty conquers the beast this night when the lovely actress Christina Rose reviews the third installment of the Nightmare series, Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors.

A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors
by Christina Rose

So Halloween weekend is coming up, and I figured what better time then to watch a ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ Marathon. I ended up watching four out of the series. In the end I ultimately decided to write my review on ‘Nightmare on Elm Street 3-Dream Warriors (1987)’. I didn’t choose this film because I think it’s the best out of the films that I watched (The best one in my opinon is the very first ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ (1984). The reason I’m going to discuss the third film is because I loved certain parts of the film, and was so disappointed with others.

The film stars Heather Langenkamp, as Nancy, who returns to the third film after the second film bombed. I was happy with the fact that the producers brought her back as I enjoyed her performance in the very first ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’. Her character is quite a bit older in this film and instead of in high school she is now a professor at the Mental Institution in which the majority of this film takes place. The film opens with Kristen Parker played by Patricia Arquette being sent to the mental institution after it looks like she was about to commit suicide. That’s what’s so great about this movie!! Freddy attacks the children in their dreams, and makes their deaths look like suicides. The survivors get sent to the mental institution and continue to be haunted by Freddy in their sleep. What a brilliant way to start a horror film by having the film take place in a mental institution!

Some of my favorite Freddy deaths happen in this film. Totally disgusting and amazing at the same time is the death of Philip (Bradley Gregg). I loved the special effects of the ligaments getting pulled from every part of his body as Freddy uses him as a puppet to walk him all the way to an open window where it appears he jumps out the window to commit suicide.

There is great character development, and I thought each of the characters were interesting and unique. Some of my favorite performances were by Patricia Arquette, Heather Langenkamp, and of course Robert Englund as Freddy Kruger.

Once we get to the middle of the movie things start to get rough for me. In my opinion ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ is supposed to be scary, and yet still have a cheese factor to it. However, this film got way too cheesy towards the middle. The characters all enter a ‘Dream’ together to try to fight Freddy as a team. While in the dream they notice they all have “special Powers”. One character can backflip, another has the power of a loud scream, another is strong enough to bend a chair, another becomes a wizard, while the last one becomes beautiful? Wow! This is where the movie loses me. I don’t need to see special powers especially if they are dumb, uninteresting, and won’t do anything to save them from Freddy. And yet, some of the special powers actually do catch Freddy offguard for a brief second. They are no match for him when he actually ends up killing quite a few of them (which I enjoyed). Once again, I believe that the ‘Nightmare on Elm Street’ films should involved lots of deaths and not kids with special powers. I will watch ‘KickAss’ to see a film like that. In the end Freddy finally kills Nancy, and the kids eventually kill ‘Freddy’. However, In true Freddy Kruger fashion Freddy of course…lives on. (for severeal more sequels plus a reboot) :)

Christina gives A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors

Christina Rose is a dedicated actress with her credits listed on IMDb.com. You can visit her site at Christina-Rose.com and follow her social networks on Facebook: and Twitter. To see her in Fearmakers' sub division Strange Stuff's Death of the Dead simply go to the Facebook fan page and click on the "Shop Now" tab.

Halloween Nights 7 of 13: Martyrs

High Tension may have put the modern French horror film on the map, but composer Ken Lampl reviews perhaps a lesser known, but very powerful film in Martyrs.

Martyrs
by Ken Lampl

MARTYRS (2008) Directed by Pascal Laugier is described as “One of the most ferocious horror films ever made”. That my friends is a gross underestimation of one of the greatest horror films of our time. I kid you not. I walked into my local Blockbuster Video and pulled Martyrs off the shelf looking for some simple horror snuff. I had no idea of the visual and psychological onslaught which was about to begin. It takes the graphic violence of Eli Roth’s HOSTEL, combines it with the metaphysical philosophy of Bergmans THE SEVENTH SEAL. The end will knock your socks off!

MARTYRS is more than a horror film, it is a philosophical and religious journey into then nature of existence. The plot twists and turns in a completely unpredictable fashion. What begins as a typical “torture snuff ghost” film turns into an existential crisis that Kierkegaard would have been proud of.

This is not a movie for the faint of heart. If you want horror film making at it’s best, this is it.

Ken gives Martyrs



Ken is a fantastic composer who has worked on a number of Fearmakers projects including Dismal and Savage and also completed the score for Strange Stuff's Death of the Dead. He's worked with director Gary King several times. You can check out his website at www.KenLampl.com. To hear his work on DVD you can purchase Dismal, Savage or Death of the Dead by going to the Fearmakers Facebook fan page and clicking on the "Shop Now" tab.