This time out on Trailer Park Tuesday – we’re featuring one of the local indie horror directors – Michael Sharpe. Many of you will know Michael from his time in front of the camera in such genre favorites as Devil’s Crossing and MVP’s own Scarecrow At Midnight but for Deviling – he stayed behind the camera. Michael Sharpe wrote and directed Deviling which stars Robert Haulbrook, Jodi Essex, and Tommy Allen Taylor in a dark and disturbing character study.
It’s the darkest day of horror the world has ever known – it’s George A. Romero’s Day of the Dead! In 1969, George A. Romero changed the genre of horror as we know it and the way films are made as we know it with his seminal zombie classic Night of the Living Dead. He followed that up almost a decade later with the now equally important Dawn of the Dead which ushered in an era of gore films. In the 80′s Romero found himself unable to secure the financing he wanted for his third entry in the zombie series and was forced to scale the entire project back.
When Day of the Dead was finally released – fans of his previous two films didn’t know what to make of the bleak nihilistic tale of terror that unfolded before them. With time – Romero’s Day of the Dead has come to be heralded as another classic in a series filled with classics. It’s a personal favorite of the Mutantville Players and we’re happy that someone uploaded it to Youtube so that we could share it with you here.
(Witness the darkest day of horror the world has ever known after the leap!)
There’s a slight chill in the morning air, orange decorations and colored candy highlights the aisles of the local stores, and horror movies are hitting the theater with a vengeance! That’s right – the Halloween season is just around the corner. For a genre that so many fans are claiming is on life support – there sure are a lot of horror films being released over the next two months!
MVP has a busy weekend of us working on post on G.H.O.S.T. so there’s little time to wax poetic on the current state of affairs. With some luck we’ll get a v-log up over the weekend as well as a few more new reviews in addition to releasing a few more cool interviews from the Fright Night Film Fest. We’re here to celebrate horror and give you a few tips on what you need to take the kiddies/mom/girlfriend/BFF to see at the theater this weekend!
This weekend, cheesy guy-in-a-rubber-suit monster movies make a return to theaters with the national release of Creature! Creature is written and directed by Fred Andrews and tells the story of a group of friends in the back country of Louisiana who discover a terrible secret that releases a terrifying monster into the swamps. Creature stars genre legend Sid Haig alongside newcomers Amanda Fuller and Lauren Schneider.
It was 1968. George A. Romero and a group of his friends and co-workers pooled their money and resources together to make a horror film. That horror film was Night of the Living Dead and it changed the course of horror forever by ushering in the modern age. George A. Romero celebrates his 71st birthday on February 4th. Mutantiville.com and the Mutantville Players would like to wish Mr. Romero a happy birthday. Mutantville.com would like to award Mr. Romero the Inspirational Filmmaker of the Month award for February 2011 for his influence on and undying dedication to the genre we all love. Thank you for the many amazing movies and here’s to hoping for many more.
Filmriot has posted a full interview with Dustin Lee – the screenwriting instructor at Full Sail – over on Youtube. If you’re an aspiring writer and need some ideas or suggestions or some general direction – it is worth your time to check out this interview with Dustin. He offers some basic screenwriting tips, discusses the three act structure and many more subjects over the course of this interview. Highly recommended to writers and storytellers of all media. Remember to keep checking back to Mutantville.com for ongoing genre news and tips and tricks for filmmakers and storytellers alike.
Posted 1 year, 8 months ago at 8:21 pm. Add a comment
From Fear.NET: Shutter Island opens this Friday, and a lof of folks are probably wondering how director Martin Scorsese — who's tackled all kinds of film genres in his forty-plus year career — will handle a traditional thriller. Having seen the film, I can say that despite what its trailer promises, it's pretty far from traditional, but still terrific; and it wears its genre influences proudly on its sleeve. (In fact, with apologies to The Departed, I think the film is probably Scorses's best since Casino.) Of course, the Oscar-winning filmmaker isn't exactly a stranger to our neck of the woods. His Cape Fear was a pretty straightforward excursion into terror, and, upon close inspection, his entire oeuvre is littered with moments scarier than what's offered by most of today's horror movies. So in honor of Shutter Island, we here at FEARnet present the twelve Scariest Moments in Martin Scorsese Movies. Why only twelve, instead of the more frightening number that follows it? Because you, dear reader, are hereby invited to vote for your own after you watch Shutter Island this weekend. Its bound to give you a few chilling ideas.
From The Dig by J. Riddle: Roger Corman has been called a lot of things. Shrewd. Miserly. Maverick. He’s been given titles like King of the Cult Film, King of the B-Movies, and the Pope of Pop Cinema. The last is probably the most appropriate, and not just because it sounds cool and Corman says he likes it. For over 50 years, Corman’s particular breed of low-budget, action-oriented, socially conscious exploitation fare has graced the cinema, to the persistent delight of audiences and, in turn, to his significant profit. He’s brought his talents to bear on every genre under the sun, and has even invented a few of his own. He has a finely-tuned eye for talent–it’s only a little exaggeration to say it would be easier to list the big name Hollywood directors, writers, actors of recent decades who didn’t get their start with Corman than those who did.
The final two weeks of production on G.H.O.S.T. are upon us. We are more than pleased with our progress so far. Everything has been outstanding. All of the cast and crew have risen to the occasion time and again and we can never thank you enough. When we developed the idea of what became G.H.O.S.T. way back in January over a basket of nachos and salsa – we never expected it would become as good as it has. With the rise of interest in the paranormal sub-genre with the blockbuster success of independent films such as Paranormal Activity – this can only augur great things for the future of G.H.O.S.T.. Thank you all for your hard work. We have some tough shoots ahead of us – but we know that we have the right cast, crew and courage to see it through. See you on the set, MVP.
~~Streebo
Posted 2 years, 3 months ago at 8:22 pm. 1 comment
From Horror Hacker: When I mention the trite phrase that horror movies are horribly sexist, I bet some female readers of this column shout an instant, fist-pumping “Preach on!” When I clarify that horror movies are horribly sexist against men, that’s when those same ladies decide that this preacher actually spews misogynistic lies. The prevailing belief is that horror flicks are sexist and that the targets are women. But if you do the basic math, the sexism is against men.Let’s look at this from a scientific perspective, and by “scientific” I mean in light of the theories of that early legend of science, Charles Darwin. Maybe you’ve heard of him? He’s the guy who coined that pesky phrase “survival of the fittest.” If only the fittest survive, and most horror movies feature a “final girl,” then what does that say about the genre’s stance on men? Or let’s go at this issue another way: Do you actually think horror movies portray females as weak? Tell that to Halloween’s Laurie Strode. Tell that to Scream’s Sidney Prescott.The winner of any fight is the one left standing — no one cares how you survive, as long as you do. If that survival comes wrapped in screaming, crying, pleading, more crying, running, a little more screaming, tripping, not being able to put the car keys in the lock and then finally sticking a knife in a bad guy? Yeah, you still won. So I don’t care how “weak” a final girl may look, if she’s the one who walks away, she’s the survivor and therefore the fittest.
Read the rest at the link below:
Welcome to Mutantville Productions MVP Blog. Join Streebo, Brento, Geo & the rest of the Mutantville Players as they set sail on the high seas of guerrilla filmmaking in their ongoing quest to bring you the finest in genre entertainment.
From The Dig by J. Riddle: Roger Corman has been called a lot of things. Shrewd. Miserly. Maverick. He’s been given titles like King of the Cult Film, King of the B-Movies, and the Pope of Pop Cinema. The last is probably the most appropriate, and not just because it sounds cool and Corman says he likes it. For over 50 years, Corman’s particular breed of low-budget, action-oriented, socially conscious exploitation fare has graced the cinema, to the persistent delight of audiences and, in turn, to his significant profit. He’s brought his talents to bear on every genre under the sun, and has even invented a few of his own. He has a finely-tuned eye for talent–it’s only a little exaggeration to say it would be easier to list the big name Hollywood directors, writers, actors of recent decades who didn’t get their start with Corman than those who did.
The final two weeks of production on G.H.O.S.T. are upon us. We are more than pleased with our progress so far. Everything has been outstanding. All of the cast and crew have risen to the occasion time and again and we can never thank you enough. When we developed the idea of what became G.H.O.S.T. way back in January over a basket of nachos and salsa – we never expected it would become as good as it has. With the rise of interest in the paranormal sub-genre with the blockbuster success of independent films such as Paranormal Activity – this can only augur great things for the future of G.H.O.S.T.. Thank you all for your hard work. We have some tough shoots ahead of us – but we know that we have the right cast, crew and courage to see it through. See you on the set, MVP.
