PICKINGS[/caption]
The MidWest WeirdFest today announced the full program for its second annual film festival – a cinematic celebration of of all things fantastic, frightening, offbeat, and just plain weird – which will take place March 9-11, 2018 at the Micon Cinemas Downtown in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
Opening the festival is the Wisconsin premiere of PICKINGS from director Usher Morgan. In this neo-noir, western, thriller a short-tempered mobster and his gang of thugs try to shake down a neighborhood bar. But they’re soon confronted with the wrath of its owner: a mysterious southern mother with a dangerous past. PICKINGS is a twisting, blood-drenched, super-stylized, thrill ride, sure to delight fans of Quentin Tarantino’s KILL BILL and Robert Rodriguez’s SIN CITY.
And for closing night, MidWest WeirdFest presents director Amara Cash’s DADDY ISSUES. A compelling and at times confronting film that tracks a bizarre love triangle: Maya, a desperate young artist, is unaware that her new girlfriend is involved in an emotionally charged, co-dependent, fetish relationship with a neurotic and drug-addicted sugar daddy: a man who is also Maya’s biological father. All three lovers are oblivious to the dark secret of their entanglement, and revelation will change them, forever…
“This year’s festival program runs a weird and wonderful gamut, ranging from the boldest and bloodiest in sci-fi and horror, through documentaries of the strange and macabre, to twisting thrillers and erotic underground dramas” says festival director Dean Bertram, an Australian expatriate and veteran of the international film festival scene. “Whether you want to be thrilled, terrified, mesmerized or titillated you’re going to find an abundance of entertaining films in this unique cinematic smorgasbord.”
Some other fantastic titles the festival announces today include:
CANNIBALS AND CARPET FITTERS (Dr: James Bushe) A ragtag group of carpet layers are sent on a job to an old English country house in the middle of nowhere. They soon discover it’s a trap set up by a savage cannibalistic family. The carpet fitters must fight for their lives or risk ending up as the evening’s dinner. Horrific delights abound in this gore filled dish of a horror comedy, that tastes like a wickedly decadent blend of SHAUN OF THE DEAD and THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE.
IMPOSSIBLE HORROR (Dr: Justin Decloux) Lily, an insomniac filmmaker, hears a sinister scream outside her window every night. Determined to help the screaming person, she heads into the darkness of her neighbourhood. There she meets Hannah, a veteran “scream hunter”, obsessed with putting a stop to the nightly occurrence. The young women join forces to solve the bloodcurdling mystery, and quickly discover that its source may be an otherworldly threat that drives its victims into madness – and Lily and Hannah are next.
THE MILWAUKEE MAFIA: FRANK BALISTRIERI (Director: Jason Love)
Frank Peter Balistrieri (AKA “Mr. Big”, “Big Frank”, “Mr. Slick”, and “Mad Bomber”) was the most notorious and dangerous Mob Boss in Milwaukee’s history. In this documentary, learn about the secret world of organized crime through the lens of the most dangerous man in Milwaukee. Known for using car bombs to murder his enemies, Frank Balistrieri was willing to do anything to keep his power over the city.
OFFICER PIGSLEY (Director: Kevin Losani, Michael J. Widger) In a a city full of superheroes and monstrous villains, a clumsy police officer stumbles upon an evil conspiracy. He has to decide whether it’s worth taking the law into his own hands – and risking his life – to save a city that despises him. An indie epic, that bats miles above its meager budget, and delivers laughs, gasps, and feels.CANNIBALS AND CARPET FITTERS
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2018 MidWest WeirdFest Announces Full Program, Opens with Wisconsin Premiere of PICKINGS
[caption id="attachment_26992" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] PICKINGS[/caption]
The MidWest WeirdFest today announced the full program for its second annual film festival – a cinematic celebration of of all things fantastic, frightening, offbeat, and just plain weird – which will take place March 9-11, 2018 at the Micon Cinemas Downtown in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.
Opening the festival is the Wisconsin premiere of PICKINGS from director Usher Morgan. In this neo-noir, western, thriller a short-tempered mobster and his gang of thugs try to shake down a neighborhood bar. But they’re soon confronted with the wrath of its owner: a mysterious southern mother with a dangerous past. PICKINGS is a twisting, blood-drenched, super-stylized, thrill ride, sure to delight fans of Quentin Tarantino’s KILL BILL and Robert Rodriguez’s SIN CITY.
And for closing night, MidWest WeirdFest presents director Amara Cash’s DADDY ISSUES. A compelling and at times confronting film that tracks a bizarre love triangle: Maya, a desperate young artist, is unaware that her new girlfriend is involved in an emotionally charged, co-dependent, fetish relationship with a neurotic and drug-addicted sugar daddy: a man who is also Maya’s biological father. All three lovers are oblivious to the dark secret of their entanglement, and revelation will change them, forever…
“This year’s festival program runs a weird and wonderful gamut, ranging from the boldest and bloodiest in sci-fi and horror, through documentaries of the strange and macabre, to twisting thrillers and erotic underground dramas” says festival director Dean Bertram, an Australian expatriate and veteran of the international film festival scene. “Whether you want to be thrilled, terrified, mesmerized or titillated you’re going to find an abundance of entertaining films in this unique cinematic smorgasbord.”
Some other fantastic titles the festival announces today include:
CANNIBALS AND CARPET FITTERS (Dr: James Bushe) A ragtag group of carpet layers are sent on a job to an old English country house in the middle of nowhere. They soon discover it’s a trap set up by a savage cannibalistic family. The carpet fitters must fight for their lives or risk ending up as the evening’s dinner. Horrific delights abound in this gore filled dish of a horror comedy, that tastes like a wickedly decadent blend of SHAUN OF THE DEAD and THE TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE.
IMPOSSIBLE HORROR (Dr: Justin Decloux) Lily, an insomniac filmmaker, hears a sinister scream outside her window every night. Determined to help the screaming person, she heads into the darkness of her neighbourhood. There she meets Hannah, a veteran “scream hunter”, obsessed with putting a stop to the nightly occurrence. The young women join forces to solve the bloodcurdling mystery, and quickly discover that its source may be an otherworldly threat that drives its victims into madness – and Lily and Hannah are next.
THE MILWAUKEE MAFIA: FRANK BALISTRIERI (Director: Jason Love)
Frank Peter Balistrieri (AKA “Mr. Big”, “Big Frank”, “Mr. Slick”, and “Mad Bomber”) was the most notorious and dangerous Mob Boss in Milwaukee’s history. In this documentary, learn about the secret world of organized crime through the lens of the most dangerous man in Milwaukee. Known for using car bombs to murder his enemies, Frank Balistrieri was willing to do anything to keep his power over the city.
OFFICER PIGSLEY (Director: Kevin Losani, Michael J. Widger) In a a city full of superheroes and monstrous villains, a clumsy police officer stumbles upon an evil conspiracy. He has to decide whether it’s worth taking the law into his own hands – and risking his life – to save a city that despises him. An indie epic, that bats miles above its meager budget, and delivers laughs, gasps, and feels.
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First wave of Frightening, Bloody Films Revealed for A Night of Horror International Film Festival
[caption id="attachment_25039" align="aligncenter" width="1000"]
CANNIBALS AND CARPET FITTERS[/caption]
The first wave of programming was announced today for the 11th A Night of Horror International Film Festival and Fantastic Planet, Sydney Sci-Fi and Fantasy Film Festival.
The festivals will run concurrently from November 29 to December 3, 2017 at at Dendy Cinemas Newtown, Australia.
“The festivals’ programmers are delighted to announce a stunning array of frightening, bloody, and awe-inspiring cinema from around the world,” says programming director Dean Bertram. “This first wave is an international cinematic buffet. It includes the freshest and best of this season’s fantastic genre fare: incredible films from Australia, Europe, North and South America, and Africa.”
The first eight feature films announced by the two festivals – all of which are Sydney, Australian, or international premieres – follow.
BAD BLACK (dir: Nabwana I.G.G., Uganda) Get ready Commandos! The most original and surprising hit of the festival season soon invades Sydney! BAD BLACK is a thrill-packed, laugh-filled, self-deprecating action epic: made with no budget in Wakaliwood – Uganda’s answer to Hollywood. And at a time when an endless string of studio produced spectacles leave one feeling numb, this film overflows with a fresh infectious energy that reminds even the most jaded cinephile why they fell in love with movies in the first place. Whether you’ve yet to experience the insane delights of Wakaliwood, or you’re craving your latest fix, here is your chance for Supa Action!
BODIES (dir: Tom Large, UK) After serious money troubles, a married couple agree to take part in a bizarre medical experiment. From festival alumnus Tom Large (BEYOND) comes this twisting sci-fi thriller that will have you as unbalanced and shocked as the film’s protagonists. Fans of smart sci-fi (think PRIMER meets GATTACA) will get their speculative fix from this thought provoking gem.
CANNIBALS AND CARPET FITTERS (dir: James Bushe, UK) A ragtag group of carpet layers are sent on a job to an old English country house in the middle of nowhere. They soon discover it’s a trap set up by a savage cannibalistic family. The carpet fitters must fight for their lives or risk ending up as the evening’s dinner. Horrific delights abound in this gore filled dish, that tastes like a wickedly decadent blend of SHAUN OF THE DEAD and THE TEXAS CHANSAW MASSACRE.
HOSTILE (dir: Mathieu Turi, France) Xavier Gens (FRONTIER(S), THE DIVIDE, HITMAN) presents this post-apocalyptic chiller grounded in character and an emotionally compelling story. Lone survivor Juliette (Brittany Ashworth) fights to survive against hunger, thirst, a broken leg and disturbing creatures that only come out at night: all the while haunted by memories of the most important relationship from her past. Imagine PITCH BLACK meets THE OMEGA MAN mixed with a dash of TV’s LOST, and you have an idea of the tone of this film’s terrifying imagined future, and it’s very real and contemporary heart.
THE MARSHES (dir: Roger Scott, Australia) Deep in a remote marshland, three young biologists (Dafna Kronental, Sam Delich, Mathew Cooper) conduct research. But when they encounter evil, science ends and survival begins. A Night of Horror is delighted to present the Australian premiere of this pulse-charging, clever, and timely addition to the annals of Australian outback horror.
MUSCLECAR (dir: Dwayne Labbé, Australia) The beautiful and obsessive Bambi (Jacinta Stapleton) blows her dough buying the car of her dreams, a lipstick-red, 1968 Dodge Phoenix. When she can’t afford to run it she cooks up a harebrained scheme to bring her car to life. Using ancient Voodoo incantations, the blood of drunkards, and an ox heart, we discover that a girl can love her car too much. This live action film – with dollops of gorgeous and gory animated comic-paneled transitions from director and animator Dwayne Labbé (THE REN AND STIMPY SHOW, ALADDIN, THE JUNGLE BOOK 2) – is a bloody hilarious ride, and the best unabashedly Ozploitation flick the festival’s programmers have seen in years. Don’t miss MUSCLECAR: shot in Sydney’s Inner West, in the very neighborhoods surrounding A Night of Horror Film Festival!
OUR EVIL (dir: Samuel Galli, Brazil) A shocking and utterly original film, which tracks the extreme deeds a man with spiritualist powers will commit to protect his daughter’s soul from the demonic entity destined to consume her. Whether you’re a fan of brutal cinema or of terrifying supernatural tales, this film delights all morbid appetites.
REPLACE (dir: Norbert Keil, Germany/Canada) Young and beautiful Kira (Rebecca Forsythe) is afflicted with a strange disease: her skin starts to age rapidly, dry out and crumble away. When she discovers that she can replace her own skin with somebody else’s, she has to choose: watch her own body wither and die – or give in to temptation – whatever the price. Genre favourite Barbara Crampton (RE-ANIMATOR, WE ARE STILL HERE, YOU’RE NEXT) captivates in her most disturbing role to date in this gorgeously repulsive addition to the body horror subgenre (co-written by Richard Stanley HARDWARE, DUST DEVIL, THE ISLAND OF DOCTOR MOREAU).