Thursday, August 28, 2014

Cannibal Holocaust at the Clay Theater

Last week, a small portion of the Overlook citizens took a very controversial field trip to see a midnight movie. Three out of the four attendees had not seen the film before, but all were to some degree aware of its reputation. I doubt any of us knew what to expect. 

The movie we saw was Cannibal Holocaust, an almost complete mystery to me aside from its name, a very general outline of the story, and one iconic depiction of a moment from the film. I had also heard two things about the movie in question: that the director went to jail for making it and that all of the animal deaths filmed in the movie were just that; the animals were actually killed on camera. This night turned out to be a very informative one, as one of the actors, Carl Gabriel Yorke, was present before the screening to sign things and answer any questions the audience and host had. All except questions regarding the jail time rumor, that is. To that he gave a reserved "That's the one thing I won't talk about," response. But no matter! Because he really did address anything else the audience asked about. But first he brought out a large pole and called a previously selected volunteer onstage. The pole, he said, was the one actually used in the film and in the quintessential Cannibal Holocaust imagery. Oh and speaking of which, he was going to recreate that exact moment for us for the first time ever! His very excited volunteer was carefully put into position and unveiled to a wave of applause.  



Then came several waves of questions. No, he didn't know what he was signing up for and didn't look too far into it because the words "We want you in our movie" were motivation enough. No, he was not present for the "turtle scene;" he was replacing someone who had backed out of the movie and he wouldn't have wanted to take part in it anyway. He did not see an actual script until he had already flown to South America and gone too far to turn back. He was also unaware of the director's previous works. He said the way he ended up being a recast participant in this film experience was not based on acting or education; since there had already been someone selected for the role, the costume had already been fitted and purchased. Carl Gabriel Yorke was selected over another actor because he had the same shoe size as his predecessor. He talked about the implications of being in the film and what wanting to show it to other people must say about you as a person, but it's late and I don't want to misquote him. I will say that he had a very good sense of humor.

Even though none of the scene references made sense or held any weight to me at the time, I still wanted to ask him something, but just as I built up my nerve he declared an end to the questions and commencement of the film... which was in the clearest form that has ever existed thanks to some new restoration process. So all the gritty bits and gore were in spine tingling definition. 

This was one event we made absolute sure to arrive early to. When was the next time we'd be able to meet someone who was involved in the making of Cannibal Holocaust, or who was in it for that matter? But we failed to locate a copy of the film before every appropriate store in San Francisco and the bay area closed for the night, so we brought a fitting backup in case the film was not being sold at the theater. Luckily, it was but we could not pass up getting the backup signed as well. 

(collage courtesy of Lord Battle)

Check out the other awesome midnight screenings The Clay Theater offers below!


-Huntress 

Thursday, August 21, 2014

5 Short Horror Films You Can Watch In Under An Hour (The Lost Ice Giant Post)

This post was written by the Ice Giant on April 7th.
5 Short horror films you can watch in under an hour

I’ve always been a big fan of the anthology horror genre ever since seeing creep show as a little kid and after spending so much time watching short horror films I think it’s because with such little time compared to a typical length movie the writers and directors know they have to cut out the bullshit and just tell the best story they can.  Sadly with the age of the internet and cheaper high quality cameras and easier to use editing programs the internet has been bombarded with some not so good horror shorts.  Lucky for everyone reading I have done the dirty work and weeded out the bombs with 5 shorts that I think are 5 of the best.   Watch the movie before reading the text under as it will contain spoilers. 

Deus Irae

A fragile border separates our world from the realm of darkness. Only one thing stands in their way—a secret order of priests who devote their lives and souls to protect this border. They are the Deus Irae.



This short is pretty ridiculous and I think if it had been in English I wouldn’t of even of included it despite the age of the internet and the world becoming a much smaller place a foreign language is still a good way to induce fear, as a fan of the evil dead series I enjoy a good ass kicking character from time to time and leather jacket man priest was a good example the nod to Divine Comedy was also a nice touch. A lot of shorts are made in the hopes it can become a feature and this is one that I feel could make an awesome campy feature film.

Do you believe in the Devil

On the floor of a bar restroom, a man on his deathbed is met by Danny Pickler: a former classmate of his ... who died twenty-six years ago. On the brink of damnation, he is offered a deal that could save his life - but in the process may destroy his humanity.
This asks a question I know I have asked myself and I’m sure a bunch more of you have also asked “what would I do for one more chance”.  It doesn’t even have to be another chance at living a second chance is a very rare thing in any situation and I know of a few situations that would be rather tempting.  This one is also good because it shows how seamlessly horror and comedy can flow together, it doesn’t have to be as over the top as scary movie but the best horrors seem to always find a way to weave a little comedy into it.

Light’s Out

A woman gets a surprise before bed


This is the shortest entry on the list and it reminds me of the kind of story you would tell around a campfire.  This one I also think might be the one most people have seen it is being shown around the internet a lot right now which also means it’s the one I’ve heard the most opinions about, personally I thought the creature was comical looking but it is apparently doing a good job at creeping out the majority of people who watch it then again as a citizen of the overlook I have a higher fortitude then the average internet dweller  and for the budget it was made on it was not a bad looking creature.

Cargo

Stranded in the midst of a zombie apocalypse, a man sets in motion an unlikely plan to protect the precious cargo he carries



By the time I saw this I was sick to death of zombies, especially in the short horror genre they are way overdone and for every decent zombie film there are 1000 piles of crap people call a film.  In a genre so over done its hard to put an original spin on it but the filmmakers do an excellent job here.  I showed this to a person earlier and she said it was sad they were just delaying the inevitable which made me think she missed the point entirely, more than anything this film shows no matter the situation we’ll find a way we are an incredibly resilient species capable of amazing feats.

Run

Sam is on the road and he writes a letter to his mother back home.


run from Mat Johns on Vimeo.

This is by far the most chilling of the 5 to me,   “Do you believe in the Devil” called it out at the end we don’t need the help of any monsters man alone is terrifying enough.   The way its presented the word I think best is beautiful which is why it makes such a chilling movie it drags you in, the serene background music,  Sam’s gravely almost soothing voice you can feel the intelligence in him and see how easily acting in social situations come to him it feels just like a kid on the road checking in, No ghosts, monster, or demon could ever come close to being as chilling as Sam.  
- Ice Giant

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Box of Dread 8/20/2014

8/20/2014





























First we have a sticker and subscription guide to Stan Winston's school. This totally caught me off guard as the late Stan Winston has been dead from some time. After looking into it (or just reading the back of the card) you're just paying for instructional video's. Might be pretty cool if you gave it a good effort.
Beneath the brochure is a promotional surgical mask marketing the film Aftermath (2014).





























Here we have a couple of Cthulhu relics, one being an air freshener and the other a bottle opener. Even though these things aren't as cool as promotional items they still are pretty cool and much better than the Pacific Rim themed things of a couple months ago. My only complaint is that the bottle opener also functions as a magnet, yet the magnet that's glued on the bottom had fallen off during shipping. That sucks since Cthulhu would have gotten much more use as a magnet.





























I love this human shaped hand sanitizer promoting the next installment of Cabin Fever and the wound tattoo is a perfect companion. I'm still debating on whether or not to use any...





























Above is half of the awesome Wolf Creek 2 postcards that came in this months box. 





























Campy, just like the film!



Last but not least is a promotional backpack/bag from "All Cheerleaders Die". I have to say I am incredibly happy with this months Box of Dread. The past few months have had popular vinyl toys and stickers with other little goodies but no promotional swag and that's what I really want! I want all this promotional crap because I can rarely find this stuff on my own. I mean I signed up after I saw people had received "You're Next" animal masks in the first box, thus assuming the later boxes would be filled with other awesome promo items. I can't complain too much seeing as they killed it this month, I will still add that I have decided to also sign up for the Horror Block. The Horror Block being another $20 (roughly) a month subscription offering up much of the same things found in older boxes of dread, with the added bonus of a shirt that can only be obtained in that months block. 

(Below is a picture of July's Horror Block exclusive shirt)



To subscribe to Box of Dread.
To subscribe to the Horror Block.

Tuesday, August 19, 2014

Bluray Tuesday!

August/19/2014


Bluray Tuesday is going to become a regular segment here on the Overlook Theater. The Impostor is an avid bluray collector and this is going to be his area to inform us about the newest releases, the best prices, and exclusive content. Below is a rough draft of what is to come, links and pictures will most likely stay the same and coverage will extend to non horror in the future also. Really this list will just contain whatever The Impostor thinks is worthy. 
- Lord Battle


The Sacrament: Best Price - Best Buy/Amazon - $17.99




The Quiet Ones: Best Price - Target - $14.99




Rosemary's Baby Miniseries: Best Price - Amazon - $16.99




Disney's Toy Story of Terror: Best Price - Amazon - $12.96


Monday, August 18, 2014

The L.A. Slasher Returns

I woke up this morning feeling just as terrible as I did when I went to bed last night. I groggily reached for my phone getting ready to jump back into Kim Kardashians free app game when I noticed I had received an email from Sean Decker (Dread Central's West Coast Field Correspondent). Anytime I get an email from Sean I become incredibly excited and today's email was something I had been waiting for... And here it is, the first trailer (teaser) from the L.A. Slasher!!





I'm 110% sold. I loved the way this film looks, from the lighting to how the shots are setup. I know teaser trailers aren't the best way to judge a film but from the awesome media campaign, wonderful concept with appropriate cast, and now promising execution... I have very high hopes to say the least.

Now since I've been absent from the blog a major thing has changed between me and the L.A. Slasher and that's our communication has ceased. I've grown to despise FaceBook which is the place my love and worship for the Slasher began. My disdain started when they made it so 10 out of a 1,000,000 people would see each post you made (exaggerated number (not by much)) unless you paid money, of course. And honestly I'm not even really against that but when you're paying and a fraction of your followers are still only seeing posts, forget it. If you have been following the Overlook Theatre on FaceBook you may have noticed The Impostor has taken over running the page and is doing an amazing job.

I myself have moved to Instagram (under the name LordBattle of course), connecting with people has been far easier and a lot of fun. Sadly the L.A. Slasher made only a minor attempt at contributing to that platform. When you figure he's already on Facebook, tumblr, and twitter, it's pretty understandable. With that said I'll be giving away movie codes to people who re-post L.A. Slasher pictures I'll be putting up throughout the week. This is my way of saying sorry to the almighty L.A. Slasher. I also feel I need to redeem myself for play that Kardashian game...



Here is my stack of movie codes and just to give you an idea of whats in there I'll name a few...
Curse of Chucky, Total Recall (original), Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters, Sin City, The Hobbit: Unexpected Journey, Lone Ranger, The Lego Movie, Joy Ride 3, Predators, Black Swan, The Cabin in the Woods, Friday the 13th: The Complete Collection, and Hannibal season 1. That's just to name a few...

Follow the L.A. Slasher on Instagram here.
Follow the L.A. Slasher on Facebook here.
Follow the L.A. Slasher on Twitter here.