Coupla Things!

I'm just dropping in with a few announcements. The 58th edition of Little Terrors will be happening January 31st and has a ton of great shorts, including my latest project, The Good Samaritan!

Art by Darryl Shaw

Also, HexFest unveiled the new poster for this year's event and it is pretty, pretty, pretty... pretty sweet!

Art by Susana Vilchez.

For info on HXFF, click here. See you tomorrow for a new VHS Friday.

Galaxy Blus

Hey. Just dropping in with a wee plug, as the Little Terrors anthology Galaxy of Horrors hits Blu-ray and DVD today. The Blu-ray is limited to 200 copies and has behind-the-scenes stuff, as well as an additional hour of shorts, including my 2014 short film The Monitor.

You can order it here, or if you're interested but no longer care for physical media, you can get it here.

It's Full of Scars.

Hey all. I just wanted to plug something real quick. If you're in the Toronto area and looking for something to do tonight, the second Little Terrors anthology Galaxy of Horrors is playing the Carlton tonight.

For the rest of you, Galaxy hits VOD on March 7th and DVD on May 2nd. If you're a fan of sci-fi horrors, give this a go.

Happenings.

I’ve got a few things that I can finally talk about now. It is kind of coincidental that two projects I am involved with both got officially announced within a week of each other.

The first is ABC’s of Death 2.5. It had been in the works for such a long time that Schwartz & I were honestly wondering if it would ever actually come to fruition. Thankfully, it has indeed now become a reality and our short M is for Manure is one of the twenty-six shorts included on the release. That’s no small feat when you consider that Manure was selected from a pool of over five-hundred contest entries. ABC’s 2.5 is being released through Vimeo on August 2nd. Click here for more info on the release.

I believe I mentioned a while back that I had become part of the Little Terrors (Toronto’s monthly short film showcase) programming team. Well, this series has now birthed a new anthology called Minutes Past Midnight which culls the best of the best. I helped curate the selections and believe me when I say it’s a really strong line-up from around the world. Minutes, the first of several planned anthology releases, will be released on VOD October 18th and on DVD on February 7th. Click here for more details about the release.

Lastly, if that wasn’t enough, I also recently joined the programming team at Fright Night Theatre, the group of maniacs warping minds over in Hamilton, Ontario.

I do what I can.

The Monitor 2015!

Hey all. I just wanted to update everyone on the status of my latest short, The Monitor. Its next screening will be part of Little Terrors Short Film Showcase on the 28th of January. Here's the poster by Darryl Shaw for the event.

I'm stoked to be in such good company, as Dead Hearts, Little Matthew and Foxed! all played at this past year's Toronto After Dark.

Anyhoo, on the heels of this announcement, I'm unveiling both the new poster & trailer for The Monitor. Talk a gander below.

If you don't live in the GTA, hopefully The Monitor will be coming to a festival near you in 2015.

Little Terrors 28!

Last week, the twenty-eighth edition of Toronto's premiere genre short film showcase Little Terrors wrapped up its latest season. As per usual, curator Justin McConnell served up a strong menu of ghastly shorts. Here were some highlights.

I was very happy to see my friend Nate Wilson's short Glow featured here. It played TIFF earlier this year as part of the Next Wave Young Filmmaker Showcase, where it won first place. Nate continues to impress me with his skills that continue to exceed his age of seventeen years. The words “bright future” seem appropriate here. Here it is below.

In the realm of horror comedy, this Little Terrors brought us Michael Penney's Yeah Rite, which features a lawyer-turned-exorcist trying to debunk a family's claim of demonic possession. What impressed me was what could've been a second-rate SNL skit - by that I mean the same joke being used over and over - was skillfully balanced by crisp writing and great comedic timing from all involved. A very witty parody.

My absolute favourite of the evening though, was Joe Ballarini's effort Bedbug. The writer of the zombie flick Dance of the Dead from a few years ago, really knocked it out of the park with this one. The story is relatable, the pace is excellent, but most importantly it features one of the best child performances I've seen in years. Chelsea Carmichael is fantastic as the vulnerable youngster caught between her mother's abusive boyfriend and the thing under her bed. An Imdb search revealed that she is already a seasoned pro with over fourty credits - all before the age of ten! Bedbug is a wonderful short, with a great punchline to boot. Check out the trailer below.

There were also a lot of really great looking shorts, including Jesse Burks' One Please, Robert Boocheck's Horrific and UK collective Bloody Cuts futuristic Machine Stopped Working, although I don't believe for a second that the latter was made in 48 hours like they claimed.

After a summer break - save for its best-of compilation showing at the Fan Expo in August - Little Terrors will return in September, once again bringing forth new nightmares to the Carlton.

Shameless Self Promotion.

I just wanted to update you on the latest edition of Little Terrors.

It went really well. Serving as an encore presentation for some shorts that played Blood In The Snow, as well as some others, it was the biggest turnout I'd seen for the monthly short film showcase in quite some time. The Q&A was fun, as was after party/drinking session afterwards.

Me (left) with Fodder director David Dollard &  Spookslayers director & cast members Mike Pereira, Tim McCarthy & Serena Whitney.

So, the next few weeks I'll be scouring the globe looking for more festivals to submit Lively, and then I guess onto the next project.

Also, I'd like to mention that if you are in the Kansas City area this weekend, Manure - the short I co-wrote with my buddy Schwartz - will be playing the Panic Film Festival tomorrow. 

Manure will be part of the Short Film Showcase and also features the short film Make Believe from talented Nebraskan filmmaker Summer Johnson. For more info on the fest, click here.

Lively Encore.

Good news on the Lively front. It's going to be screening again in Toronto on Wednesday, January 29th at the Carlton Cinema as part of Justin McConnell's monthly short film showcase Little Terrors.

Poster design by Darryl Shaw.

If you are in the GTA and want to see some kick-ass genre shorts, come on by and say hello. For more info on the line-up, click here. Have a great weekend, guys!

Little Terrors 20!

After a small absence, Justin McConnell’s Little Terrors returned to the Carlton on Wednesday. The twentieth edition of his short film series, once again stacked with great content, emphasized a more comedic bent this time around. Here were some highlights.

Director Ryan Spindell takes our inherent fear of dentistry and spins this ether-fuelled yarn called Root of the Problem. This was well acted with some unexpected effects gags at the tail end that really impressed me. It’s always good to see Brea Grant pop up in genre fare, as well. Here’s the trailer below.

The duo behind the flick Resolution are back with a short called Wrecked. Starring KassemG as a marooned fighter pilot, it is just the kind of mind-bending surrealism we’ve come to expect from these guys. Fortunately for you, the entire fourteen-minute short is now online via the new Tribeca Film initiative Picture Show. Here it is below. Enjoy, brother!

I love the show Community, and I love Gillian Jacobs even more, so imagine my elation at seeing her in the Matt Spicer directed It’s Not You, It’s Me. I like the well-timed comedy of this one a lot, which makes the simple storyline a success. For your viewing enjoyment, here it is below.

My favourite of the night was definitely Cody Blue Snider’s classroom gore-fest Fool’s Day. This wonderful short involving a fourth grade class’ April Fool's prank gone horribly wrong is a real winner. It is chock full of great comedic performances with dialogue to match, and despite being almost twenty minutes never runs out of steam – a feat in itself. This was a delight. Check out the trailer below.

Of course, it wasn't all laughs. There was also Alfredo Salvatore Arcilesi’s impressive high concept science fiction opus For Clearer Skies & Little Terrors veteran Patrick Rea's newest Vindicate to keep everything grounded. Here’s a trailer for the former.

It was another strong night for Little Terrors, and next month’s lineup on Devil’s Night – to be aptly Halloween themed – will likely not disappoint either. Until then, kiddies…

Little Terrors 19.

Last week, I checked out the latest edition of Justin McConnell's short film showcase Little Terrors. Once again, he put together a solid line-up of shorts, with most of them being of European pedigree this time around. Here was the cream of the crop.

I was hugely impressed with UK filmmaker Rob Mcllelan's philosophical sci-fi short ABE. It's simple, great looking and the visual effects are spectacular. I have rarely seen a CG character with such presence and weight onscreen, and certainly not from an indie venture. If only Hollywood held such high standards. But don't take my word for it, here it is below.

And if you'd like to see an interview with Mclellan, click here.

This Little Terrors programme featured several shorts from the UK based short film collective Bloody Cuts, the best of which was Don't Move by Anthony Melton. It was a cool idea that cleverly started in the middle and finished on a fantastic gore set piece. Check it out below.

Another solid short was Child Eater, which recently played SXSW. It was a little rough around the edges, but I liked how director Erlingur Thoroddsen was able to infuse some original lore into the tried-and-true babysitter in peril genre. It's not easy, let me tell you. Here's the trailer below.

Next, was a wonderfully skillful short from Spain called Ocho. It was gorgeous and even more impressive was there's not one line of dialogue within the fifteen-minute running time. This is just an excellently crafted horror short. Check out the trailer below.

Bewilderbeast, from Danish director Balder Skånström-Bo is like a work of art. While it is true that twenty-five minutes is a problematic length, there is no denying that he created a universe that demands your attention. There is true vision here. Here is the trailer below.

The perfect capper was Spaniards Adrián Cardona & David Muñoz new splatstick opera Fist of Jesus. Anyone familiar with their 2010 short film Brutal Relax should know exactly what to expect. So, put on your slicker and behold, Fist of Jesus!

Little Terrors 15

Last week, I attended the latest incarnation of Unstable Ground's monthly short film showcase, Little Terrors.

As always, it was a strong programme. Apart from the usual contigent of shorts previously screened at Toronto After Dark last October – including the Christine-inspired Vicki, Game from Nova Scotia, and my buddy Darryl Shaw's weird-ass effort, Garlic Bread Man vs Superbo Lasagna Man – there were several premieres, as well.

I liked the wonderfully simple and analogue nature of Richard Karpala's DeadBox, even if it was clear to me about halfway through where it was going to end up. Hey, better to do that in a short, rather than a ninety-minute feature, right?

The British short Death Scenes from Joel Morgan packed a lot into its seven-minute running time, with its cool little self contained mystery and solid payoff. Check it out below

EagleWalk was one of the few over twenty-minute that actually justifies its running time. When it was finished, I felt like I'd watched a full length creature feature, with all the extraneous stuff taken out. I was also quite refreshing to see someone tackle Bigfoot, as you don't really see that much these days. You can check out the entire short below.

My favourite short of the night was J Feeney's Killer Kart. Ever since I saw Intruder in my teens, I've always found supermarkets such interesting settings for horror flicks. I found the caliber of acting here above par, especially considering this was film was done while Feeney was in film school. He's definitely a talent I'll be keeping my eye on. From the trailer below, you can see where his influences lie.

DKTM 163

Well, we made it. Now, we can concentrate on the festive season at hand.  

Last Wednesday, I attended the latest edition of Little Terrors, the monthly short film showcase organized by filmmaker Justin McConnell and Rue Morgue Magazine. This fourteenth volume consisted of almost a dozen Christmas-themed genre shorts. Fortunately, a lot of them are online, so I will share them with you here.

We'll start off with a classic. Treevenge was Jason Eisener's 2008 follow-up to his now historic Grindhouse competition trailer Hobo With A Shotgun. For those who haven't already seen it - and even if you have, why not another watch! - here it is below.

One of my faves from the programme was a 2011 Bloodshots 48-hour challenge entry entitled Father Christmas. Brilliant!

Premiering at Little Terrors was Astron 6's newest short, Breaking Santa. Freshly posted online this week, here it is below for your enjoyment.

Lastly, here is an American short called The Living Want Me Dead which combines the Christmas spirit with some good ol' fashioned Rage. Here it is below.

Hopefully, that was enough to get your holiday juices flowing. Have a great Sunday!