Brian Yuzna in Brighton!

Over at Starburst Magazine my buddy Martin Unsworth reports on the exciting news of Brian Yuzna's attendence at this year's Cine Excess in Brighton.

"Readers in the Brighton area who are fans of satirical '80s body horror classic SOCIETY may wish to get down to the Komedia where on 23rd of May CINE EXCESS will be hosting a special screening of the film, with director/producer BRIAN YUZNA providing a Q&A afterwards! Don't miss this rare chance to meet the man who produced the RE-ANIMATOR series and FROM BEYOND!

Here's the full press release for the event:

CINE EXCESS IN ASSOCIATION WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF BRIGHTON PRESENTS
A SPECIALLY REMASTERED SCREENING OF CULT HORROR CLASSIC
SOCIETY FOLLOWED BY Q&A WITH DIRECTOR/PRODUCER BRIAN YUZNA

DATE: THURSDAY 23rd MAY  TIME: 9.15pm

VENUE: DUKE’S at KOMEDIA, BRIGHTON
The Cine Excess International Film Festival and the University of Brighton’s Faculty of Arts are delighted to welcome myth-making director/producer Brian Yuzna to the region, where he will present a special screening of his cult film classic Society, as well as to give a career talk to film students studying at the University’s Hastings Campus the following day. He will be interviewed on stage by Cine Excess Director, Dr. Xavier Mendik, Lecturer in film studies at University of Brighton and author of BFI’s 100 Cult Films.

Society (1989) is a deliciously dark satire on the darker underbelly of modern life.Billy (Billy Warlock) is feels he’s different to the rest of his family. They seem to relish an upper class life of social parties whilst he prefers to be more down-to-earth.His suspicions extend to his own girlfriend but when David (Tim Bartell) his sister’s boyfriend, dies mysteriously after showing him a tape, he returns home to find a bizarre party in full swing which reveals the true horrors of his upbringing, a heritage he’s now expected to embrace.

Brian Yuzna has been producing cult exploitation films for quarter of a century in the spirit of Roger Corman. His directorial debut Society (1989) mixed horror and satire, and his passion for HP Lovecraft led to him also making Re-Animator (1985), From Beyond (1986), Re-Animator 2 (1989) and Necromicon (1993). He also co-produced and co-wrote the Disney hit comedy Honey I Shrunk The Kids (1990), as well as working with Christophe Gans on the manga inspired Crying Freeman (1995). Having later set up The Fantastic Factory production company in Spain, Yuzna went onto produce a series of small budget fantasy titles such as Arachnid (2001), Dagon (2001), Darkness (2002) Beyond Re-Animator (2003) and The Nun (2005), before returning to directing with Amphibious 3-D (2010).

Brian Yuzna’s visit is one of a number of new initiatives linked to the recent relocation of the Cine-Excess festival to the University of Brighton’s Faculty of Arts. These also include the launch of the new industry meets academia Cine-Excess E-Journal, which is released is May 2013, and a new Digital Film BA (Hons) degree which is currently enrolling for September 2013.

Tickets are available from Duke’s at Komedia box office tel: 0871 902 5728 or online."

The tireless Cyberschizoid has been busy organising some great double-bills at the Roxy Bar and Screen in London. Here's the info that Rick sent me:

CLASSIC HORROR, SCI-FI AND CULT MOVIE SCREENINGS

Remember the days when the BBC would screen late-night classic horror double bills and cult science-fiction movie seasons on a regular basis? Well, you can recapture those halcyon days in the comfort of the Roxy Bar and Screen, one of London’s leading boutique cinema venues near London Bridge. Saturday and Sunday afternoons will never be the same again as your hosts Cyberschizoid, Filmbar70 and Dr Karen Oughton guide you through an eclectic selection of classic cult movie screenings over the next few months.

On Saturday June 1^st special guest Francoise Pascal (Mind Your Language, The Iron Rose) joins the gang for a unique screening of The Flesh and the Fiends (1959) and Burke and Hare (1971) both based on the true story of the famous Edinburgh grave robbers!

Sunday 16^th June brings a classic sci-fi double bill – a tribute to legendary stop-motion special-effects maestro Ray Harryhausen – Earth vs The Flying Saucers (1956) and First Men In The Moon (1964).

In July we have a Blood-Sucking Vampire Double Bill of Nosferatu (1922) and House of Dark Shadows (1970) as well as a Sexy Space Opera Double Bill featuring Barbarella (1968) and Starcrash (1978).

Later in the year, look forward to a special Peter Cushing double bill, the Scalarama cult film festival, a werewolf triple-bill, The Blob (1958) and The Incredible Melting Man (1977) all sponsored by Shock Horror Magazine!

Tickets available from - http://www.wegottickets.com/classichorrorcampaign

For our future screenings check the CLASSIC HORROR CAMPAIGN website - http://www.classichorrorcampaign.com/events/

SHOCK HORROR MAGAZINE - http://www.shockhorrormagazine.com/

DOCTOR KAREN OUGHTON - http://www.27061979.co.uk/

CYBERSCHIZOID - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cyberschizoid/386004161495028

ROXY BAR AND SCREEN - http://www.roxybarandscreen.com/

www.classichorrorcampaign.com

 

 

Friday Night Frights - Richard (Cyberschizoid) Gladman on the Classic Horror Campaign

The BBC horror double bills of the 1970s and 1980s have a place close to my heart, as they do for many British horror fans. In fact I trace the origins of this project to a specific date: 22 July 1978. That was the night BBC2 screened a double bill of The Quatermass Experiment and The Crazies. The first film I loved but the second film... it changed my life. And those double bills did the same for many fans, journalists and film-makers.

So I'm delighted to have Richard Gladman (aka Cyberschizoid ) on this week's Friday Night Frights to talk about the Classic Horror Campaign - his initiative to persuade the BBC to bring back the classic horror double bill. Richard's campaign has the support of many industry names and both his websites are nominated for this year's Rondo Awards.

Good Luck to Richard. I hope he wins and I hope you all go to the Rondos to vote for him, as well as signing his On-line petition

Liten to the podcast here

Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton talk The Collection on Friday Night Frights

 

Marcus Dunstan and Patrick Melton have come a long way in the last few years. Since winning Project Greenlight in 2005 for their screenplay Feast, they have gone on to write Saw IV, V and VI, and Piranha 3DD, as well as writing and directing The Collector (2009) and the sequel The Collection (2012). Not bad for a couple of guys from the University of Iowa. I interview them in this week's Friday Night Frights. Go here.

Stephen (Ghostwatch) Volk is my guest on this week's podcast

In 1992 the British TV programme Ghostwatch hit the headlines after an estimated 30,000 viewers called the BBC to complain about the show. They said it was too disturbing, with some believing the events to be true. To mark the twenty year anniversary a new documentary, Ghostwatch: Behind the Curtain was released on DVD this March.

The man behind Ghostwatch is Stephen Volk, screenwriter and author, and one of the most important names in British horror.  His work for the big screen includes screenplays for Ken Russell and William Friedkin, and he is creator of the hit TV drama, Afterlife.

With this year the centenary of the birth of Peter Cushing, Stephen had published the novella, Whitstable, about a fictionalised Peter Cushing drawn into a web of intrigue by a boy who believes his stepfather is a vampire.

Stephen is my guest on this week's Friday Night Frights where we talk about Ghostwatch and Whitstable, and Stephen reveals some fascinating behind the scenes stories.

To listen go here

Friday Night Frights Episode 22 - with special guest Kim Newman

This month indie film and home entertainment Network Distributing launch The British Film DVD Collection, an intriguing mix of of vintage British movies from the past five decades, including some obscure horror gems like Devil Girl From Mars (1954), the Frankie Howerd horror-comedy House in Nightmare Park (1973) and two Herman I Was a Teenage Werewolf Cohen productions, Horrors of the Black Museum (1959) and Konga (1961).

To mark the launch I spoke to author and critic Kim Newman about what it is that makes these titles so unique within British horror and science fiction.

To listen to the podcast go here

For more information on The British Film Collection visit http://networkonair.com

Friday Night Frights - Dark Skies producer Jason Blum

My guest on this week's Friday Night Frights is Dark Skies producer Jason Blum. His company Blumhouse Productions is responsible for the Paranormal Activity franchise, Insidious and Sinister; and his model of low budget-wide release director-led film-making has made him one of the most successful producers in Hollywood.

To listen go here

We Belong Dead Returns!

Easter is the time of resurrection and one of the most impressive this spring is the return of We Belong Dead, Eric McNaughton's fanzine that many thought deceased back in 1996 after just 8 issues. Based on the only-slightly-delayed-by-16-years issue 9, We Belong Dead is very much alive and kicking. Despite its fanzine status, WBD, both in design and quality of its writing, gives more 'professional' horror magazines a run for their money. WBD concentrates on classic horror so don't be suprised by the lack of coverage of modern multiplex fodder: there is more than a whiff of nostalgia in its 80 pages, but to its credit none of it is musty.

The contributors are all horror fans themselves - and they include some well-known names as Tony Earnshaw, John Lewellyn Probert and Stephen Mosley - so the bar is set very high indeed in terms of the writing: Stephen Jones and Hemlock books contribute the movie stills, posters and lobby cards that illustrate WBD's sumptuous pages - including some rare overseas artwork; Dave Brooks and Woody Welch provide the illustrations, including a stunning front cover by Brooks based on Hammer's Twins of Evil. It's all beautifully laid out by designer Steve Kirkham, and editor McNaughton collates a satisfying and eclectic mix of articles, reviews, think-pieces and fan reflections, including a few genuine scoops: a revealing but all-too-brief account of writer John Burke's contribution to The Sorcerers (1967) by Chris O'Loughlin; a final interview with Jean Rollin by Piddle Andersson; and an interview by the aforementioned Earnshaw with scream queen Barbara Shelley.

Elsewhere in the magazine there's an entertaining retrospective of Twins of Evil by Mosley; a warm appreciation of Ossorio's Blind Dead films by Probert; an informative look at Witchfinder General by O'Loughlin (clearly a Michael Reeves fan); and a fun look at the all-but-forgotten- Al Adamson so-bad-it's-good monster flick Dracula vs. Frankenstein (1970) by Ernie Magnotta. Some of the other in-depth pieces include a detailed script-to-screen analysis of Tourneur's Night of the Demon (1957); a survey of Peter Cushing's work for Amicus; and a well-informed discussion of Tobe Hooper's Salem's Lot (1979); as well as a raft of other fan writing on Auroa monster model kits, Facebook groups and the Bring Classic Horror Back to Television Campaign.

Produced as a labour of love by all concerned, but with a professionalism that belies its fanzine status, WBD deserves a wide readership. It's an absorbing read from start to finish. Issue 10 is already in the works; and McNaughton plans to publish a 100 page Fearbook featuring the best of the long out of print and hard to find first 8 issues later in the year. Horror fans are advised to place their orders now as print runs will be limited. Based on the quality of issue 9 let's hope that WBD will be around for a long time: We Belong Dead very much belongs alive.

For more information visit wbd@yahoo.co.uk

The Orphan Killer on Friday Night Frights

Over at my podcast at Starburst Magazine, I talk to Matt Farnsworth, the director of The Orphan Killer about making and marketing his transgressive mini-masterpiece. The Orphan Killer is an agreeably nasty little slasher with an intriguing anti-Catholic theme that put me in mind of some of those 1970s classics like Alfred Sole's Communion and Pete Walker's House of Mortal Sin. But with more blood and guts. Listen to the podcast here.

Friday Night Frights 18 - I Didn't Come Here To Die

I remember as a kid being traumatised by those Central Office of Information safety films that used to show on children's television in the 1970s, warning of the perils of playing in dangerous places. The most memorable was Lonely Water (1973) and featured the voice of Donald Pleasence as the Grim Reaper culling off the foolhardy and the unwary. Another, more elaborate, but no less terrifying, effort was Apaches (1977) directed by John The Long Good Friday Mackenzie. This little nasty depicted a group of children who ignore all safety precautions while playing on a farm, and as a result die horribly under the wheels of tractors and so forth. What was so horrific about these films was that they proved that fate had it in for us kids, no matter what, and their gritty presentation made them all the more real. Final Destination re-imagined by the Children's Film Foundation.

All this is by way of introduction to my guest on this week's podcast - Bradley Scott Sullivan, whose debut I Didn't Come Here To Die comes on like some deranged version of those 1970s public information films.

Don't play with chainsaws, kids!

To listen go here.