This week Kyle and Tim return from another fantastic trip to the greatest convention in the solar system, CINEMA WASTELAND! We recap all the goings on, answer your questions, recap what we have been watching, and cover RAZOR DAYS from Mike Watt and happy cloud pictures and a groovy 60’s flick starring Donald Pleasance A.K.A. the fantastical tiny P. in FANTASTIC VOYAGE. Check out all the shit and shenanigans right here.
http://www.bloodbathspodcast.blogspot.com/
Gross Movie Reviews #347
By Tim Gross
Future Kick (DVD) – It’s the year 2025 and Roger Corman has no budget as usual but have people put together a fun futuristic sci-fi flick starring Don “The Dragon” Wilson, Meg Foster, and Chris Penn. Wilson is the last of the cyborgs who are being hunted down by authorities who helped put the world back in order after the apocalypse and all the rich people moved to the moon. When Meg Foster’s famous computer programmer husband goes back to earth and dies a horrible death, Foster goes to investigate. Oh wait… Fuck you it’s all part of a virtual reality program! Wait “Total Recall”, “Brainscan”, “Wisdom”… you get the picture as I give the flick 1 ½ stars.
Big Bad Wolf (DVD) – A mad mess of a werewolf movie that stars “Full Moon” sensation Robin Sydney, Clint Howard for a cameo, David Naughton for a little more than cameo, the girl from Disney’s “Halloweentown” all pierced up, and “Three O’clock High’s” Richard Tyson as the werewolf version of Freddy Kruger. I didn’t know if I should be excited and have a horror movie orgasm or go find a copy of 1996’s “Bad Moon”… I give the ‘should have been better werewolf flick’ 2 stars.
Deliver Us From Evil (DVD) – Another ‘based on true accounts’ horror flick. The movie stars Eric Bana has a hard working detective who seems to be slipping away from his family that tries so hard to protect from the world he sees daily. But the detective comes across an odd case when he and his partner take a domestic disturbance call that turns out to be a lot more when he is called to the scene of several other weird events. Best way to describe the film is Exorcist-lite with cops. Worth a look my devil horror film fans as I give it 2 ½ stars.
Fantastic Voyage (DVD/YouTube) – A crazy mid-60s sci-fi flick about a surgical team that gets miniaturized inside a scientist’s damaged brain to fix a blood clot. Reason because he has the knowledge to stay miniature longer than 60 minutes. Donald Pleasance is crazy and awesome in the flick and look for James Brolin playing a technician in the film. I give it 2 ½ stars.
The Last Dinner (Vimeo) – A short film directed by Steve Lanthripp about a man (Jonathon) who is having dinner with a lovely lady who just happens to be dead and argues of smelling bad. I enjoyed the concept as I give it 3 out of 4 stars.
American Scary (DVD) – A documentary that does an amazing job of chronicling horror/movie hosts throughout the years on TV. It explains its beginnings and its history with a lot of dedicated to hosts from Ohio. A really cool movie for film geeks who are under 25 that totally don’t understand this phenomenon back in the day and why some of us older folks love it. I would have enjoyed a little more Joe Bob Briggs or Elvira but also was surprised of no mention to Rhonda Shear and USA Up All Night. But I did get Chilly Billy so I was happy for that and give the documentary 3 ½ stars.
Gingersquatch (DVD) – Not does this movie exists but it also comes with a little comic book called “Two Fisted Cthulhu Tales”! The film goes the way of the late Ray Dennis Steckler as the director’s cut is 15 minutes shorter than the original finished product. Thankfully Douglas A. Waltz had me in mind (maybe not?) when he wrote, edited, and directed this delightful off-shoot of Sasquatch. The story goes: a family of Gingers goes camping and one of the young ones get lost and is picked up Sasquatches to take care of. But that changes when the military was able to track down the child and try to research him. But since he really didn’t have anything to offer mankind the government sets him up with a house where he is lazy, eats salty snacks, drinks beer in Michigan… Kalamazoo! You only know of the location because of the old arcade game “Rampage”, oh yeah that’s just me. But anyway after someone mentions beef jerky “Gingersquatch” loses his temper, kills several ninjas, and bangs a woman who has a redheaded kid the next day! Oh the movie is bad, no doubt but I loved every minute of it and for that I give it 3 out of 4 stars.
Mutantis (DVD) – The DVD cover looks like the old school 50s and 60s giant rubber monster flicks I seen as a youngster. The film revolves around a legend about a monster/bigfoot that haunts the woods after a power plant was built on top of an old burial ground according a to a drunken Indian dude at a small fruit stand. Let’s not forget the film opens with a narrator explaining toxic waste and how it could have caused this mutation or monster or Mutantis! But Father Joy hell bent on discovering this creature or whatever it is takes his family on a camping trip to Possum Valley to meet a young man and his wife to help him track this thing and become famous. One thing Father Joy and others were not counting on in this 60s theme inspired B-movie is the monster/Mutantis wanting to have sex with all humans, male or female. Oh by the way according to the film only homosexuals’ masturbate? The movie goes out of its way to give you that old school B-movie experience with the clothes, the dedicated acting, the dubbing, incest, and one awesome looking creature. I have to hand it to Kelly Fitzgerald aka Globus Walt Jr. and crew for making a movie that reminds me of watching classics like “Frogs”, “The Creeping Terror”, “Toxic Zombies” on late night TV. If the movie isn’t enough the DVD has some fun extras that include short films “Heavy Metal Weekend Part One and Two” and “Mime” which worthy of watching soon as you are done watching “Mutantis”. Outside of the excess of monster rape scenes I totally enjoyed the flick as I give it 3 ½ out of 4 stars and yes the monster rape is essential to the plot! You can find out more or pick up the film at www.direwitfilms.com .
Dead Days (You Tube) – Haven’t heard from independent filmmaker Chuck Skibo for a while but he is back and focused as this a first of many projects in the works for this talented dude. This short film stars independent actress talent Katie Stewart fighting for her life in this quick story of what’s worse the zombies or humans? I give it 2 ½ out of 4 stars and you can watch at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzM_1NP82IQ , Mutant Strain Pictures is back and that makes me happy.
Grosshouse (YouTube) – No folks it wasn’t inspired by me or a drunken rant from Ed Quillin it’s a feature length film from Alex Powers and Doug Waugh. The movie plays out like a mish-mash of John Waters was 21 again, had no money, and decided he wanted to make a no budget film on digital video in 2002. What does that mean? The film is a little weird… possibly a little too weird for my taste. That isn’t a bad thing it just means I may not be intended audience. But when 23 year old Marty who is inspiring himself to become a big time Hollywood writer his mom/dad/you make your choice here, constantly verbally abuses him and makes Marty bury the bodies his mom calls clients. It tends to work against Marty. Marty is a dreamer and snaps when mother has had enough of Petunia after Petunia tells Marty that they are siblings and must have sex in the shower. Once Petunia is dead Marty plots his revenge against his mama. It’s odd, it’s a little disgusting to some most likely but again like I said I am not its intended audience but thank the filmmakers for allowing me to view it as I give it 1 ½ out of 4 stars. You can find out more about “Grosshouse” here: https://www.facebook.com/grosshousemovie .
Lake Placid vs. Anaconda (SyFy Channel/DVD) – The movie most likely shouldn’t have been made, but it was and I watched it so go fuck yourselves the high and mighty insert your name here horror websites that spent more time than I ever thought they would bashing an easy target of a movie but praise “Paranormal Activity 29”. Yeah its bad but that is the beauty of these endless sequels that help pay for Robert Englund’s union dues for the year, Yancy Butler’s comeback, and still do not know why Corin Nemec loves doing these projects but hey more power to you brother. Corin is approaching double digits of SyFy channel flicks for those that are counting? So guess what the crocs have escaped again from Black Lake and its electric barrier and looking for their next meal until some dumb ass again was experimenting with another anaconda. Like I said it’s horrible but it gives me an excuse to sit in on a Saturday night, drink a six pack and have a pizza! I give it 1 star.
Bad Biology (Blu-ray/DVD combo) – There is David Lynch, David Croenberg, and even John Waters and these filmmakers can be bizarre but the man/filmmaker who in my mind has a stranglehold on this title is Frank Henenlotter. The mere mention of “Basket Case” makes the hardcore horror movie fans smile. If “Frankenhooker” is spoken even by accident you can always hear in the distance from someone “Wanna Date?” So when I finally sat down to watch this oddity from the mastermind of bizarre I already knew what I was getting myself into and all I can say is the only things that could have made this film better is an appearance from ‘Elmer’ or Duane Bradley. The film is about a photographer named Jennifer and she has sexual issues or a bad vagina that she was born with. Bottom line she has trouble falling in love until she meets a man named Batz whose house is used for a photo shoot of Jennifer’s and by mistake learns his sexual secret of having a monstrous penis that has a mind of its own. Sexual organs made for each other in a love story that could only come from the mind of Frank Henenlotter. It’s bizarre but beautiful and fucking hilarious as Mr. Henenlotter proves he still owns the title and thank god for that. Because we also get the talents of Gabe Bartalos and Al Magliochetti that produce the amazing bizarre effects for the flick! I give this truly bizarre beauty 4 stars.
Any comments or questions please send to: GrossMovieReview@verizon.net, GrossMovieReview@aol.com or www.facebook.com/grossmoviereviews . Remember folks always support your local independent movie theater, independent video store, and independent filmmakers! It will keep horror alive………
You can always visit and see some past reviews, independent film news, or me ranting at: www.grossmoviereviews.com !!!
Don’t forget you can also hear Kyle Poling and me talking about horror flicks on a weekly basis on the Bloodbaths and Boomsticks podcast at: www.bloodbathspodcast.blogspot.com/
Plus you can always go to the greatest T-shirt place online or if you are in Texas visit the store of “Fast Custom Shirts” where T-shirt Joe is the only place you should purchase your horror T-shirts: Go to www.fastcustomshirts.com for details.
And do not forget to order your copy of Gross Movie Reviews: The Wrath of Gross at: http://www.lulu.com/shop/tim-gross/gross-movie-reviews-the-wrath-of-gross/paperback/product-21975934.html
Gross Movie Reviews checks out “Movie Outlaw”
By Tim Gross
Yeah it is crazy to think I read two books in a year let alone in a month. Most likely this hasn’t happened since the days of before my writing on a regular basis that I ordered all of Joe Bob Briggs books together off of Amazon before his “Profoundly Disturbing” books. But when you get great stuff like Mario Dommick’s first effort or Mike Watt’s latest “Movie Outlaw” (which I will discuss) it causes me of all people to put down the latest sequel of Charles Band’s “Puppet Master” or SyFy’s latest mash-up “Sharknado” flick and take notice. Hell, I keep the beer in the fridge and bust out some coffee not the instant shit just so I can feel smart, educated, or refine to read such material. If that wasn’t enough I even stop listening to the voices in my head to rewatch the “Swamp Thing TV series” DVDs that sit eye level with me every time I am at the computer and that takes guts folks… You just don’t understand how tough it is?
But anyway enough of that random shit about my weird ass I am here to talk and review Mike Watt’s latest effort “Movie Outlaw”. Mr. Watt has always written for several magazines, websites, movie scripts, etc., etc., etc. The dude has gotten around and rightful so as he is a talented fellow. But the last couple of years Mike’s career is proof with age comes wisdom and greatness apparently as he is hitting a stride like no other I know of. Between his flick “Razor Days” and his last book “Fervid Filmmaking” Watt has had me excited to read or see what’s next and he does not disappoint with his book “Movie Outlaw”. Now you might say or know it took me a couple months to literally find myself sitting down and reading this but hopefully my introduction to this review explains a little about me. Some are addicted to drugs, alcohol, porn; I am addicted to horror flicks so it’s hard to pay attention to anything else. With saying that Mike’s book is an amazing trip through the unknown, weird, and just rare films that you may be interested in but never watched or films you know and seen on certain celebrities IMDB pages and asked yourself if that flick even exists?
Mr. Watt does an amazing job of not only explaining the film and its origins but talks about what went into the film, where it went, and why most of them were never successful or haven’t been released in the latest Hi-Def format. He writes about films like: The Dark Backward, Dust Up (which I recently purchased just for the mere reason after reading about it in the book it perked my weirdness of checking it out), Escape From Tomorrow, I Bought A Vampire Motorcycle (a personal favorite of mine), Killer Tongue, The Odd Job, The Spirit (two different versions) just to name a few. He dissects them, analyzes them, and brings to light what worked, what didn’t, and what it could have been. Or in my case it was like watching Joe Bob’s Briggs Monstervision days where he decided he was going to discuss a young Robert Patrick in “Future Hunters” for five minutes before the next commercial break. I enjoy how Mike breaks down the film good or bad he makes it interesting and how the book flows you do not have to read from beginning to end, you can start in the middle or at end. The structure allows weird film geeks like me to choose where to go next or what to discover next I should say. As like his “Fervid Filmmaking” the book gets your inner film nerd excited to know about some flicks most haven’t even thought of. It is a journey my friend but what makes it even a little different or more interesting is Mike invited some contributing writers to give their take on the same film he just dissected and gives you a whole different view of what Mike may have just written.
In closing, anybody including myself can sit there and write reviews. Tell the reader the flick sucks balls or is the greatest thing since Rutger Hauer played a blind man with a samurai sword. But Mr. Watt separates himself from the crowd, the bloggers, the vloggers, the journalists, the whatevers to make you take notice and discover the beautiful, the odd, and possibly and truly bizarre works of art we call film that you may have never known about and for that I am thankful! I give the book “Movie Outlaw” 4 out of 4 stars.
For details on Mike Watt or to purchase the book here’s a couple links to follow:
Kindle edition: http://www.amazon.com/Movie-Outlaw-Mike-Watt-ebook/dp/B00MHV3EJY/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1430061258&sr=1-2&keywords=Movie+Outlaw
“An Act of Betrayal Unleashed Hell’s Fury.”
New York City, New York – Prey: the Light in the Dark is a Reinventing Films production. Based on the comic book, “Prey: The Beginning,” this live action film will give fans of the comic a look at the potential of this franchise. Prey: The Light in the Dark stars Tyler Mane (X-Men), Oded Fehr (Resident Evil 4) and Masashi Odate (The Last Samurai). Nathan Reid, creator of the character and franchise, is currently meeting with studios for optioning. The film is focused on the character Prey (Mane). Prey can communicate with the dead and he seeks vengeance on those who have been wrongfully murdered, no matter the cost. A feature adaptation of the comic has already been drafted and it is ready for production. Fans of graphic novels and fiction are invited to take an early look at the production, with the first issue comic book (attached). More details on this exciting project will be released shortly, once filming begins. A previously released trailer for Prey: The Light in the Dark is hosted here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMn7JlLtqgo
Issue #1, titled “Prey: The Beginning,” can be downloaded here:
https://app.box.com/s/jlzdui7n28dzos31aptjddaqmkzi2gbs
*a shooting date will be announced soon.
Director: Mike Grier. Cast: Tyler Mane, Oded Fehr and Masashi Odate
More details on the film will be posted here:
http://www.reinventingfilms.com/
Gross Movie Reviews #345
By Tim Gross
Gingerclown (DVD) – A film made in Budapest but takes place in Hollywood, California 1983 where a group of local high school teenagers are hanging out behind the famous Hollywood sign and they call themselves “the Wolfpack”. Of course the lonely nerd named Sam or Tully as the “Wolfpack” calls him rides by on his bike and they make him an offer to be a part of their gang “The Wolfpack”. Sam takes them up on the offer for the mere reason he likes the cute blonde Jenny. They go to an old abandoned amusement park and is told he has two hours to enter the park and come back with something to prove his effort. The strange old place has a history of mysterious deaths and fires and hasn’t been open since the 60s. Once Sam enters, Jenny follows and the two are faced with odd evil things from an evil tea kettle to an evil pile of crap, something that makes you think this flick was lost from the Charles Band’s Full Moon collection over the years. What it comes down to is the park is full of expelled demons from hell that prey upon humans that enter. It has the cast of famous genre favorites in: Lance Henriksen, Tim Curry, Brad Dourif, and Michael freakin Winslow but they are all voice overs for the characters in the park. A fun concept for a horror flick but just never reaches its potential and for that I give it 2 stars.
The Scribbler (DVD) – Our film begins with a woman named Suki being interviewed or interrogated by a doctor and a detective to figure out what just happened at this woman’s mentally unstable halfway house/apartments I guess. The film is based on a comic book I never heard of but sure T-shirt Joe Garcia from www.fastcustomshirts.com would know? The film is a little ridiculous, weird, dark, and very interesting. But you need to stick with this oddity as it takes about twenty minutes to get going as it lays out some plot for you to dig into and understand the subject matter better. But Suki tells a story of how crazy people in this building are being killed and the doctor and detective know that Suki suffers from multiple personalities herself. But without trying too much more of giving the film away Suki is given an electrical device from her that is supposed to help her get rid of her multiple personalities one by one. From there it becomes a lost project from the mind of David Croenberg if possible? It stars the likes of Gina Gershon, Eliza Dushku, Billy Campbell, and Michelle Trachtenberg and no doubt will be on end of the year list for best movies of 2015 as I give it 4 stars.
Apocalypse Pompeii (DVD) – Asylum Entertainment once again proves nothing is off limits and tries to capitalize on the big budget piece of crap called “Pompeii” that littered theaters last year. Adrian Paul’s wife and daughter go visit the ruins and the volcano erupts and only Adrian Paul and the brilliant John Rhys-Davies can save them. Its unwatchable crap but I still watched it as I give it 0 stars.
Razor Days (DVD) – A long awaited project that has been years in the making from Mike Watt and Happy Cloud Pictures is making its way out on the festival circuit. The film stars Debbie Rochon as Jessamay, a disfigured woman who has survived a horrible attack of rape, torture, and cannibalism. She approaches Anita (Amy Lynn Best) who helps women defend themselves and takes interest in Jess when Jess tells her story. But Jessamay believes if she escaped then there has to be other survivors? Survivors that need to be found as they got to feel the same way she does and that is to find these horrible things or men and wipe the earth clean of them. With Anita’s help they find a woman named Reina across the state and together they become fast friends and soon share the wanting of closure and no longer of being haunted by their horrible past. This new project from Happy Cloud Pictures is much different project you are used to seeing as they go dark, very dark and miserable. The flick feels a little like “Ms. 45”, “I Spit on Your Grave”, and “They Call Her One Eye” but walks that fine line of not going too far extreme and have Debbie Rochon possibly give her best performance since “American Nightmare”. The film also has appearances from Michael Varrati, Alan Rowe Kelly, and a few other Happy Cloud Pictures regulars. As much as I really enjoyed the deep darkness and grit of this film for me at least it felt like something else was going to happen but didn’t? But do not let that stop you from checking out Mike Watt’s darkest film to date as I give it 3 out of 4 stars. For more info on the film go check out: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Razor-Days/125372234198963?fref=ts .
Starry Eyes (DVD) – A young woman named Sara who is a struggling actress believes she is meant to be a big star and will eventually do anything to get there. After another rejection for the film “The Silver Scream” she takes out on herself but the people see this and believe she could be right for the part if she is willing… At first Sara turns it down but soon runs back even if it means sucking an old dude’s wiener! Even with that she must complete the transformation. Predictable flick but has some great gore but not enough for me to want to revisit the film anytime soon as I give the film 2 stars.
The Pyramid (DVD) – It is 2013, Cairo, Egypt, and archeologists may have stumbled upon the biggest discovery ever as they find a pyramid under the surface of the desert. Something that may predate any of the ancient pyramids. Excited to investigate it all the plug has been pulled on them as war has broke out inside Cairo. Forced to pack up the archeologists and the camera crew that is following them quickly make their way into the tomb/pyramid to investigate soon understanding they are in a maze that was constructed to keep something in? I am always a sucker for this subject matter as a horror movie but sometimes it fails and this is one of those times. It’s not horrible but with a film like “The Descent” still fresh in many horror movie fan’s minds you cannot help but comparing the two. Interesting horror film that just taken the wrong turn of how it could have developed into something far cooler as I give it 2 stars.
Pain Shack (DVD/YouTube) – Now mind you fine folks the film I watched is a rough cut that has since has a couple new scenes added and deleted in the official DVD that will be available. Anyway the film is made by the duo of Marissa and Alex Murphy. No, that isn’t Robocop Alex Murphy before you ask. But the film takes you on a long spiraling dark ride with the character Alex who believes his dream is to review music. To do this he studies YouTube and its users to come up with his own gimmick the “Noodledroop show”. In the process Alex becomes obsessed with a movie reviewer Ricky Shores and becomes abusive in his relationship with Marissa so he can achieve his ultimate goal of becoming a YouTube sensation as his followers grow or do they in this dark horror/comedy. The film runs a little long for its subject material in my opinion but I really enjoyed all the performances by all in the film and really enjoyed how Alex and Marissa filmed their characters because I believe I know some of these people currently or of at least met them on occasions at several conventions and for that kids I give the flick 2 ½ out of 4 stars. For more info on where you can purchase a copy of this film or see where its playing at next check out www.facebook.com/rickyshoresingstheblues .
Any comments or questions please send to: GrossMovieReview@verizon.net, GrossMovieReview@aol.com or www.facebook.com/grossmoviereviews . Remember folks always support your local independent movie theater, independent video store, and independent filmmakers! It will keep horror alive………
You can always visit and see some past reviews, independent film news, or me ranting at: www.grossmoviereviews.com !!!
Don’t forget you can also hear Kyle Poling and me talking about horror flicks on a weekly basis on the Bloodbaths and Boomsticks podcast at: www.bloodbathspodcast.blogspot.com/
Plus you can always go to the greatest T-shirt place online or if you are in Texas visit the store of “Fast Custom Shirts” where T-shirt Joe is the only place you should purchase your horror T-shirts: Go to www.fastcustomshirts.com for details.
And do not forget to order your copy of Gross Movie Reviews: The Wrath of Gross at: http://www.lulu.com/shop/tim-gross/gross-movie-reviews-the-wrath-of-gross/paperback/product-21975934.html
Horror Realm, in association with In Person Productions, is pleased to launch Pittsburgh’s Horror Realm & Pop Expo on July 24-26, 2015 at the Crowne Plaza Pittsburgh West Green Tree.
The three day convention/expo brings the familiar, comfortable and affordable vibe that Horror Realm has built over the last seven years while expanding to offer guests from the pop culture arena.
Our March show at the new venue brought in double the attendance of previous spring shows and was the second highest attended show since we began in 2009. We expect this upward trend to continue in July with anticipated attendance of 1,500 to 2,000 due to higher profile guests, more accessible location and more media coverage/reach.
The guest list is still being developed but the following have been confirmed:
We are now accepting reservations for dealers. If you wish to exhibit, please return the attached form with payment as soon as possible. Spots will not be held without payment. We sold out in March do expect to sell out again.
Please note that this is our final show of 2015. There will not be a show in August this year.
If you have any questions, please contact us at info@horrorrealmcon.com.
Thank you for your support!
Gross Movie Reviews reads a book… again!
By Tim Gross
This time around it’s a book project I have been waiting a couple years for. The book is “Exploring the Underground: The Mainstream Viewer’s Guide to Low Budget Horror Cinema” from writer/fellow film lover Mario Dominick. The project has been at least four years in the making reason I have been waiting so long and remember having conversations with Mario about doing a book. But Mario wanted to do something different, something that isn’t talked about much or I should say followed as close as maybe mainstream film, but also something weird people unlike Mario and me would easily understand and get the idea. So Mario who may be the biggest fan of independent film I have ever met made it his goal to sit down and interview quite a few of the popular, possibly unknown, and groundbreaking filmmakers who are behind these no budget underground films and their companies. Mario goes into great depth with their projects, scripts, characters, etc. hoping to give even the most mainstream film viewer a peak behind the curtain of what it is like to be an independent filmmaker and their passion for it. Mario takes you deep inside the mind of people like Fred Vogel from Toe Tag Pictures, Mike and Amy Watt (Lynn Best) from Happy Cloud Pictures, Chris Seaver of the now defunct Low Budget Pictures, and Bill Zebub from Bill Zebub Productions and many more. And Mario’s writing style allows even the most jaded film fan to enjoy the structure of the 458 page book. You don’t have to read it in order as the book is structured to allow you the reader to skip around chapters if you like? But Mario not only tries to educate you about these very talented people but hopes you will think twice and maybe show a little support by giving their projects a second look. Mario Domnick’s book is absolutely brilliant! Be proud my friend as I already started reading the book again and believe I have even more respect if possible for independent film and the people behind it… and for that I give this must have book 4 out of 4 stars.
You can purchase the book through Toe Tag Pictures website: www.toetag.biz
Los Angeles, California – Votiv Films and Taggart Productions have released the first official images from their upcoming psychological thriller Circle. The film, written and directed by Aaron Hann and Mario Miscione is an intense real-time thriller, which uniquely examines humanity under the worst possible circumstances. In a massive, mysterious chamber, fifty strangers awaken to find themselves trapped with no memory of how they got there. Organized in an inward-facing circle and unable to move, they quickly learn that every two minutes one of them must die… executed by a strange device in the center of the room. At first the attacks seem random, but soon the strangers realize that they, as a group, have the power to decide who will be the next to be killed. A vote. A chance to control the machine. But how can they choose who deserves to die? And what happens when there is only one person left?
The first official images showcase the stark, bold aesthetic developed by Director of Photography Zoran Popovic and Production Designer Tom Lisowski. Reminiscent of the austere settings in Vincenzo Natali’s The Cube (1997), it was designed to give the strangers no place to hide; forcing them to face each other – and the deadly machine at its core – through each harrowing round. Intrigued by the idea of fifty strangers trapped together, Directors Hann and Miscione drew inspiration from the classic drama 12 Angry Men (1957), which locked its characters in a single room and focused on the differences and relationships of 12 jurors tasked with determining a man’s guilt. This, along with iconic genre influences such as The Twilight Zone (1959), helped inform Circle’s central premise. “From the beginning we wanted to tell a story about people and what they do when they’re thrown into a terrifying, no-win situation. What do we become when we have no way out?”
Circle stars: Carter Jenkins, Julie Benz, Mercy Malick, Allegra Masters, Michael Nardelli, Autumn Federici, Lawrence Kao, Kevin Sheridan and Cesar Garcia.
A trailer for the film will be released soon. Stay tuned!
Stills are available in their original form here:
https://app.box.com/s/0art8xusvuuam9mqop2ou6uxnfk86s5j
Directors/writers: Aaron Hann and Mario Miscione.
Follow Circle on social media for all the latest updates! https://www.facebook.com/circlefilm
https://twitter.com/circle_film https://instagram.com/circle_film/
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