Friday 31 July 2015

Review of Vomit Gore 4 AKA Black Mass of the Nazi Sex Wizard .... Was gutted there wasnt any magic ....




Vomit Gore 4 AKA Black Mass of the Nazi Sex Wizard - 2015

Lucifer Valentine

Starring....
Sister S , Chalice, Heather Cage & Hank Skinny




Lucifer Valentines 4th Movie in the Vomit Gore series and it clearly doesn't skim out any of the elements vomit or gore and still keeps to the theme of everything visceral imagery, flashing lights, HEAVY music (which I love) and the theme of Satan always looming over the production like a guardian on a quest to guide Lucifer on his way ....


I personally class Lucifer as a flower when he was born he was a bud awaiting to grow and over the years, the growth has been the Vomit Gore Movies / Black Metal Veins and anything else he has put himself to, because even though people will moan and bitch and complain the guy is a artist ? He is like the male version of Tracey Emin lets face it, I would happily pay for some commissioned work from him or a story book of his exploits/ideas the guy is a genius and has such a powerful mind and it is shown throughout the movies Black Mass of the Nazi Sex wizard is no exception its beautiful...


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The movie itself is pretty flawless, the sound and production and the gore effects stepped up a notch definitely and of course when I say that you know what you are going to expect, you walk into a room and Lucifer is waiting there so you have limits that you can take well you may as well walk out the door because I'm going to smash all them , its made atmospheric with everything to a build up to the finale, a lot of people slate his work but I cannot fault him at all ....


The additional clips of cartoons throughout as well creep the hell out of me but the whole idea of it being pieced together is pretty impressive they gel perfectly to make what you are seeing something short of art, Satanic rituals, self harming, disclaimers and warnings throughout makes it so the more interesting indeed , I found myself within the first 3 minutes of Sister S speech thinking YES I am totally going to be loving this piece of art ...





Given all this, VG4 takes a lot from the other 3 movies but this in places actually looks like a Snuff movie with a lot of ferocious traits, the way its filmed in some places and the fact that most of it is real, well of course the gore isn't .... or is it ha-ha, the vomit the piss the harming and the bondage its all real so some would mistake it for an actual crime as the gore is so expertly done you would mistake it definitely ....


If there was anything I could take away from the movie, is probably that it wasn't long enough I could of watched this piece of art for hours, got a family size bucket of chicken and a crate of beer and just sat this over and over and over, yeah that probably would make a lot sick but I find it compelling, lets face it , the movie isn't for everyone's tastes as it pushes the boundaries to the point of no return and will make you question your tolerance and comfort zone throughout, saying that I loved it ....


Overall Vomit Gore 4 Black Mass of the Nazi Sex Wizard 9/10


Although there wasn't any magic in it so viewers beware this isn't another Harry Potter movie on steroids ....






Review of AGONi (2015) Ryan Vincent Logsdon ...... That ending .......

So after chatting away with Ryan last week and saying that I need to see AGONi I come home to find the Limited Edition DVD on my door step so like a little girl run to put it on at the first moment I get ...





AGONi 2015


Ryan Vincent Logsdon & AGONiiNK productions


Starring :
Sarah M / Joey M / Mel L / Deanna Lynne / Ashley G / Jim E / Ryan K / Mander Jane / Baby JD / Emmy Z / Sweet Livi / Ryan Vincent Logsdon


You wont be seeing me go into lavish detail on the story its simple, you are getting an insight into a impulse murderer and his exploits through the police footage found, basically after speaking to Ryan quite a lot recently and telling me about one of his favourite movies "The Poughkeepsie Tapes" it is a perfect homage but easily on par for a debut to be as creepy.....





The name AGONi fits perfectly for the movie it is such a dark account of the exploits of a murderer and the journey we are taken upon through the 67 minutes of the feature, Ryan is a master of work the use of the camera and limited dialogue and the theme clouding around the characters is extremely impressive....





Its dark its depressing its full of visuals and very haunting the ode to "Poughkeepsie tapes" that he was telling me about I would probably say it easily is the equal maybe better, some of the scenes are quite horrific in places but I wont mention anything about them wouldn't want to spoil the movie ...





It is pretty much your perfect voyeuristic debut from Ryan, it is visually beautiful and brutal in the same gasp the violence is small but so effective there are genuinely scenes in the movie that make you think Jesus if this is something as a first effort I hate to see what we are going to be watching in 6 months....


1 thing I will say is the last 10 minutes of the movie, wow mind provoking and visceral definitely and THAT ENDING ..... I'll leave it at that .....


I wont put this as any comparison to movies of recent years Ryan clearly will stand alone and his future will be full of violence and gore and beautiful scenery to match...


Overall 8.5/10


Find AGONi on Facebook (It will make your day) 

AGONi

Interview with Trashmonger Video (As by Request) Everyones cutiest VHS/DVD & Cassette may I add company ....

Well this is different I was speaking to my friend (Kerr Wykes) about the blog and he was like you have to speak to these guys they are filming and releasing there own SOV movies in house it is sick please interview them for me .....





Matt: Your a small VHS well I can say VHS/DVD and Cassette label putting out wacky Trash horror releases where did it all begin?


TMV: Well, I guess it all began in Viola, DE, where we grew up. Trashmonger is a (mostly) three man operation, consisting of myself, Trevor Bather, my lifelong friend Ben Kepley and our other more or less lifelong friend Tyler Antoine. Ben and I have been watching horror movies together since we were 8 years old. Tyler came along in high school and joined us in watching loads of movies, horror, art-house, sex comedies, action, exploitation, whatever tickled us. We were always interested in film, all three of us, and with age the obsession increased. Not too long after high school, we became aware that there were all these great movies from the 80's and 90's that were made by passionate, film obsessives like us with no budgets (the same as we had) on video equipment that by now had become obsolete thrift store fodder. One of the big reasons we had never given any serious thought to the idea of making movies was a lack of interest in the way DV and HD looks, especially in a genre context, so when we got turned on to the whole SOV thing, we made our first movie not long after. That was about 5 years ago. After we made a few shorts, the project kind of got derailed for a while. Then last year, we regrouped, re-edited our original shorts into one feature film called Scrapbook of Blood and commenced to move forward from there


Matt: So its been a roller-coaster year with a lot of amazing releases can you give us your feelings on how it has gone any highs and lows ?


TMV: It's gone great! We went three years without filming at all and that was a bummer so it's good to be back to it. The time away, I think, also really shed some light on what kind of movies we really wanted to be making, and I think the stuff we're doing now is exactly what we want to do, which is the goal. In terms of one year as a video releasing entity, that's been a lot of fun too. We've had some positive feedback on our releases, and met some really nice people along the way. All highs, no lows.





Matt: Have you came across any imitations filming on vhs, i.e. sound or lighting problems ?


TMV: The only limitations we've found are the limitations limitlessness brings, painting ourselves into a corner of freedom so to speak. Sound is wonderful, colors and lights pop in a way that only video allows them to. We love VHS because it treats us so well. As a filmmaker, when you know you're shooting on a format with the kind of idiosyncrasies that video has, you just work it into your gameplan to counter those things. Stuff like shooting outside, shooting in rooms with windows, capturing live dialogue, none of those things are difficult if you factor them into the way you shoot.


Matt: How quick is a films complication from ie to final edit?


TMV: That's been different on every film. Scrapbook of Blood took us 4 years or so. Fine Housekeep took us probably 4 months, Demonator 4 somewhere between those two. It can be a little lengthy sometimes because we do everything ourselves, but I think we move at a pretty decent pace.





Matt: What are your Favourite SOV Movies and Directors?
TMV: I like directors who are driven by passion, whose films are a reflection of their own idiosyncrasies and personal obsessions. In the SOV arena, that translates to people like David 'Rock' Nelson and Nick Millard and Chester Novell Turner, three filmmakers that I connect with a lot and look up to. I find all three of their catalogs to be an everlasting supply of inspiration. The movies that really connect with me are the weird ones, the personal ones, movies that are less interested in re-enacting Hollywood formulas. Carl J. Sukenick is another filmmaker who exists completely in his own universe, never really coming in contact with our "real" world at all, which is why his movies are so exciting and strange. SOV can be pretty tame and, often, lame when it just tries to be a straight detective tracking a serial killer style slasher. Chances are I'm still gonna watch it, but it won't stick with me like Splatter Farm or Pieces of Darkness will.


Matt: How long as directors have you been making films ?




TMV: Give or take five years or so, with some extended downtimes in the mix.







Matt: Do you have any earlier work and also any idea if you will ever release it ?




TMV: Ben and I made a feature film when we were in high school for my film & video class called 'The Mangled Baby Massacre' that almost got me expelled from school. The title is much better than the film, which features only one mangled baby and an entirely improvised script. It's a dreadful movie and will never be released, though we might chop it up and use some of the better parts of it at some point. I haven't ruled it out just yet.




Matt: What are your media backgrounds as everything seems to be all done in-house ..
TMV: Honestly, the only one of us with any media background is Ben, who does all of our video covers and gore effects. He has a degree in graphic design. Apart from that, our only experience comes from watching a ton of movies.




Matt: What was the first SOV movie you watched ?


TMV: I can't remember exactly what the first one was, but I remember the first three. I know Redneck Zombies and The Last Slumber Party were ones we saw before we even knew what the term SOV meant. They were just movies we picked up at thrift stores, but it was pretty obvious there was something a little different about them. Then there was Criminally Insane 2 (along with the Death Nurse movies) from Nick Millard. Again, I had no idea that these were shot on video, I just knew I wanted to see where the Criminally Insane saga went after the first one and ended up getting more than I bargained for. After those three, the floodgates were open.





Matt: What does the next year hold for you guys ...?


TMV: We're in the middle of production on our next original feature film, Mondo Absurdo, as we speak. That'll be another anthology film like Scrapbook of Blood, but with more of an emphasis on horror than satire, not that the satire is going anywhere anytime soon. We're also planning to release our next Carl J. Sukenick title, Bloody Death/Wizard of Violence 2 in August. We have a lot of Sukenick titles to get around to releasing, but we're really excited about this one. We've also got the OST cassettes for our films Fine Housekeep & Demonator 4 coming out next month. Lots more creative things on the horizen, video essays, film collaborations, a sitcom, a graphic novel, even our own line of breakfast cereal. We're looking into it, anyway.


Thank you again guys for everything you have done and will be getting all of these new releases when they come everyone give them some love on facebook ...


Trashmonger Video



Thursday 30 July 2015

Interview with Brian Paulin ... This guy will ruin your date night if you show up with anything in your hand of his ....

Brian Paulin, wow its a pleasure to have interview the guy over the years its release after release sickness after sickness with some outstanding effects its a pleasure to have him ....





Matt : So I can imagine I could be wrong u didn't always want to be a filmmaker do u have stories you like to share that has got you to where you are now filmmaking?


Brian: I started making movies just for fun. My obsession for horror films got to the point where watching was no longer enough. I had to take part some how. It was just a few of us horror fans with a video camera running around in the woods, and it gave me an excuse to create make-up effects. Over the years we started to gain exposure and distributors noticed and picked up our movies and eventually made it into large retail stores. This pissed off a lot of Hollywood veterans! I started receiving hate mail saying I had no business being in stores while professional filmmakers had 35mm films collecting dust in their closets. I found that amusing.


Matt: What's the inspiration for your work because it is quite, can I say, Nordic in themes ?


Brian: If there is a Nordic feel, that might be from my black metal side. I have been playing for years. Hopefully I will get a cd recorded some day. There is definitely a black metal influence in At Dawn They Sleep. Since then though more traditional horror has been inspiring me. Classic horror films with heavy atmosphere. Even the mood and feeling you get here in New England in October around Halloween. I enjoy trying to recreate that atmosphere.





Matt: You are known for the extreme gore and images in your movies what has the reception been like over the years and festivals that you have been to in the past is it all good or some bad ?


Brian: The reception to our gore has been great! It is what got us noticed. Once Bone Sickness was picked up by Unearthed Films, people wanted to know why this movie was along side notorious gore films like Aftermath and the Guinea Pig series. I do put a lot of effort into the stories of my movies, but I know it’s the gore that is the real star of our films. Bone Sickness head lined the Rhode Island Horror Film Festival in 2007 and the reactions from the audience was awesome. The rest of the films were basically short student films with no effects. So I don’t think the audience was expecting the gore we delivered. Especially once Rich George started shitting and vomiting worms all over the place! The stuff we did in Fetus has made that one our best seller. Some reactions to Fetus have been odd. I’ve had people tell me that it is too grim and not fun to watch. It makes me smile!





Matt: What for you have been your standout movies for 2015 in the community ?


Brian : American Guinea Pig has been by far the best underground horror film I have seen from this year! It was great to see a movie like that again. I haven’t had the chance to see much else yet.


Matt: Are there people whom you look up to as a director ?


Brian: John Carpenter is my favorite director. I love his style and the atmosphere and dread he creates in his films. Tom Savini’s work is the entire reason I do what I do now. His amazing creations is what made me want to learn how to do special make-up effects. H.P. Lovecraft and H.R Giger are also major influences on my work.





Matt: Cryptic Plasm what's the story with it .....


Brian: Cryptic Plasm came together after I had made a few short fake paranormal videos with Joseph Olson to make extra money from a website that bought video material for companies. I decided not to sell the videos and created the story that became Cryptic Plasm, which included two of the videos I shot. The plot involves a guy who explores unexplained mysteries and the core story is about a small town who’s entire population mysteriously vanished. The movie has many Lovecraftian elements and I think it might be the best movie I have made so far. Unfortunately it is also the first time we have been unable to release a movie once it was finished due to finances. We are working on it and are very close to finally releasing it. The waiting for the DVD release has been killing me. I want people to be able to see it!


Matt: I noticed that you were approached for the Gore shorts compilation recently with Yan Kaos what was that like ?


Brian: Yan asked me if I would like to take part and I thought it would be a cool thing to do. Unfortunately I did not have time to film something new for it so I gave him a sequence from Cryptic Plasm. Since the scene is about an exorcism I called the sequence The Possession. Hopefully that won’t confuse people, thinking it’s a spin off or short sequel to Cryptic.





Matt: What's for the future ?


Brian: Trying to stay in business!! Man the last year and a half has been rough. Even though I finished Cryptic Plasm and filmed a new movie called Morbid Tales, which is an anthology of our very first short films from the early 90’s, this has been a very difficult time for Morbid Vision Films. But we are still pushing forward and refuse to let this die! I plan on re-releasing some of our older movies after Cryptic comes out and I might film some smaller stuff before I begin my next big movie. If all goes well there should be a few new dvd releases from us over the next 12 months.



Everyone if you haven't got any of Brian's movies or just watched them show the guy some love believe me after speaking to the guy he will appreciate it like you wouldn't believe ....


Check out Morbid Vision Films on Facebook ..


Facebook


Also buy something from his store ...


Buy Buy Buy ....


Believe me you wont forget it ...



Interview with a old skool SOV director and all round great guy Tim Ritter (Killing Spree, Wicked Games, Day of the Reaper)

This time around we have someone that everyone should really know about and if you don't then your clearly not into Indie Horror he has been putting out movies since the 80s Tim Ritter .....





Matt: So was going into movies/directing always what you wanted to do in life or were there other things you dabbled in before directing ?


Tim: Aside from wanting to be SUPERMAN or THE SIX MILLION DOLLAR MAN, yes indeed, my aspirations have always been to make movies- to produce, direct, edit, create, and write them in some capacity. While I’ve had many odd jobs and deviations in between projects, it’s always been the goal to do what I love: write and direct movies! I’ve also written a couple of novels, which was great fun as well.


Matt: Killing Spree, Wicked Games, Day of the Reaper, Creep: you have put out some beautiful indie horror movies in your time and it was so nice to see you having a segment on HI8 as well. What was the inspiration for all your slasher movies in your early days?


Tim: Well, thanks! Appreciate that you like them. The inspiration for those has always been the movies that inspired me the most- LAST HOUSE ON THE LEFT ’72, NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD ’68, DAWN OF THE DEAD ’78, HALLOWEEN ’78, the DIRTY HARRY films, especially the first three. HILLS HAVE EYES ’77, I mean, all the classic movies of the 70’s and 80’s by Carpenter, Cronenberg, Craven, and Romero- those guys were the big inspiration once I got into slasher movies. FRIDAY THE 13TH PART 2, that was another biggie for me. MANIAC! Wow, just spectacular. And of course, when I was just a kid, JAWS, STAR WARS, THE INCREDIBLE MELTING MAN…those kind of whispered to me and I always wanted to emulate what I was seeing in some way with the family super-8 camera! Then there was a love for Italian cinema like SUPIRIA and ZOMBIE, and the oddball slasher madness like the incredible PIECES…H.G. Lewis and John Waters! Discovering their stuff was a revelation…





Matt :  Recently you have been concentrating on SRS Cinema, releasing all the great limited releases. I can imagine its hard work. How do you chose what you want to release or is it personal favourites? I know a lot of your movies have gotten some lovely limited editions?


Tim: Well, SRS Cinema is run by filmmaker/distributor Ron Bonk, and he actually comes to me and says, “I think there’s a market for this or that…do we have the materials? Can we get them?” And off we go! Which has led to some great releases in limited edition VHS and Blu Ray. Ron thought there was great potential for DAY OF THE REAPER, my 1984 super-8 gore film that was made while I was in high school, and I still had the original celluloid elements, so we were able to do a very nice HD transfer of that material for a Blu Ray which was very successful! It was great to be able to SEE the footage so clearly again after over 30 years, you know? It had great artwork and all kinds of extras, plus a new commentary. Same with KILLING SPREE, Ron actually went back to the best original elements we had, the 16mm negative transfer to Betacam tapes and did an entire new cut of the movies based on my original timecoded VHS cut. Plus tons of new extras, an interview show where I was on the radio with H.G. Lewis, and all kinds of goodies—not to mention the original cut and all the extras from ALL the previous DVD releases ported over onto Blu…So this was just a HUGE endeavour with a ton of extras! Everything is chosen by SRS as far as what to put on the discs- how much space we have and how much the fans like a particular project, that sort of thing. KILLING SPREE is selling well and will probably sell out before the end of the year. 


Matt: What has been some of your worst and best films you made to date?


Tim: That’s a difficult question. I usually don’t watch my own stuff too much once it’s completed and I’m probably too close to it all to actually judge it fairly, but WICKED GAMES still holds up well for me and the SNUFF edition [from Germany] is just an awesome occasional watch. RECONCILED, I watched that at Easter and thought it held up well, very cinematic and entertaining for such a small budget! As for the worst, well, not sure on that one, these are all my children in a way, and when they were made, there was always something inspiring and special that made each one happen, so…can’t really honestly say which one is the worst! I’m sure some people might have an opinion on that, though! [laughs]


Matt: It was nice to see Killing spree had a beautiful new re-release. What's coming on the horizon that you are releasing with SRS that you can tell us ? ....


Tim: Next up is DEADLY DARES-TRUTH OR DARE PART 4, which will feature CELLULOID CARNAGE- The Making of TRUTH OR DARE- A CRITICAL MADNESS on it as an extra, plus the 2 hr. HD cut of Deadly Dares, Truth Or Dare 4….Again, SRS comes to me with requests based on what they think will sell, which is based on fan requests and such! It’s pretty exciting, especially in a world changing over to streaming. There should be trailers and a new commentary and maybe some other surprises as well.







Matt:  What have been your standout movies you have seen this year?


Tim: THE TOWN THAT DREADED SUNDOWN reboot/remake/sequel, whatever you want to call it---STELLAR! Loved that one. Also, in the theatre, I saw JURASSIC WORLD and TERMINATOR: GENYSIS and enjoyed them both! Gotta love the long franchises! Of course, I’m a huge FRIDAY THE 13TH and HALLOWEEN fan, so looking forward to the next entries in both those series…


Matt: Are you taking a step back from directing to concentrate on SRS .. As it would be such a shame?


Tim: I work with SRS all the time and used to oversee some of their branches, like Sub Rosa Midwest, but right now, I have no big plans to step back into the distribution game other than working with Ron Bonk and SRS Cinema to get some of my older movies out onto the new formats---which means finding the best source material available and helping to create the extras...I try to keep in the directing game when I can, at least collaborating on something every few years, but it has gotten to be a long process, with coming up with a cool script and raising funds, etc. etc. It takes about two years to fully complete a “no-budget” cheapie movie from start to finish, so… There you go! So I wouldn’t say I’m stepping back, but if a project hits a snag…it can take 3, 4 years to get something out…So it takes so much time!





Matt: Who do you like working with the best, as you frequently work with Joel D. Wynkoop?


Tim : Joel is awesome! You definitely try to work with a core group of like-minded people over and over to keep cranking stuff out, but I’ve enjoyed working with so many cool people over the years, including Ron Bonk, Scott Tepperman, Kathy Willets, Patricia Paul, Kevin Lindenmuth, and all the great actors in Kentucky that have been in my latest projects, like Heather “Scream” Price and Claude D. Miles, so many very cool people to collaborate with all around. It was great collaborating with scream queen Jessica Cameron on Truth Or Dare 4- Deadly Dares…I mean, that’s why you do these things, to work with all these great talents! And definitely don’t want to forget Hi-8, all the great directors involved with that one like Todd Sheets and Brad Sykes, it was an honour working with those guys and gals...


Matt: Can you tell us anything new on the horizon for you ?


Tim: Future plans? Hopefully some novel writing! Just finished the screenplay for TRUTH OR DARE 5: I DARED YOU, which looks like I’ll be co-directing with Scott Tepperman,[ from HOSPITAL 2 and GHOST HUNTERS INTERNATIONAL]. Scott initiated the project with his star power and is just a huge fan of the series and wanted to see it continue, so I was obliged! Should be out in 2016 sometime. Beyond that, you never know what might creep up!





Thanks again for the interview Tim it was an absolute please indeed always nice to hear an insight of directors from 80s...


Check out some of Tim's hard work at ...


SRS Cinema







Wednesday 29 July 2015

Interview with Jimmy Squarejaw ... You know that artist that makes cute James Bell covers ...

Jimmy Squarejaw, this time I have the pleasure to chat to a epic artist of all sorts featuring so much skill and knowledge of the subject welcome ....



Matt : Your clearly a man of some artists skill and knowledge, I would love to know what got you to where you are today and have you always wanted to be an artist ?

Jimmy : I’ve always been interested in art, especially comic strips. The Farside, Charles Addams, and Gahan Wilson comics were extremely impressionable to me at an early age and I still read and re-read all of their stuff. As for where I’m at today, I wouldn’t consider myself a professional artist or anything, if I was I’d be living in a shack in Antigua working on comics and drinking cocktails. I just enjoy connecting with people with similar interests and I have been able to do that, limitedly, with art. Your artwork seems to be taking the indie horror scene by storm in recent months what has your overall reaction and thoughts on this ?

Matt : Your artwork seems to be taking the indie horror scene by storm in recent months what has your overall reaction and thoughts on this ?

Jimmy: Of course it’s great to hear from people who dig what you’re doing as an artist but I can’t buy into the hype. I always assume someone else who is better will roll along and vie for the same thing as me so I just keep trying to move forward.



Matt: You clearly have a lot of influential friends in the industry, do u have many people you look up to ?

Jimmy: I have connected with a lot of people in the few underground horror sites I’m on but I wouldn’t say I have connections in the ‘industry.’ Truthfully, with few exceptions, everyone in the underground horror scene is very open to communication and I have got every gig by basically shooting people messages or emails. As far as looking up to people, I don’t think that way anymore. I still have my heroes like the artists I mentioned before or people like John Waters but if you look up to people too much you might get swept away with what they have already accomplished as opposed to what your own potential may be. Does that sound right? And a few times I’ve met people I’m very inspired by and they turned out to be fuckin’ pricks.



Matt : SinS your masterpiece for Tantrum took a lot of amazing feedback so I hear (I live in the UK go figure) everyone wanted a piece what was it like to commission something of that scale for probably 1 of the best movies of the year ? ....

Jimmy: I would do art for James forever and I was just stoked that he had me on board. I know his name is starting to get around a lot and he said his presales for Tantrum were exponentially better than Manuer, but I didn’t think of it on a huge scale when I was doing the art, I just wanted to do the cover because I liked his other two movies so much. Dog Dick is in my top 10 of all-time favourite movies for sure and I have a copy I designate to let people borrow all the time.

Matt: What have been your standout movies of 2015 ?

Jimmy: Tantrum for sure, I just think that movie was totally nuts and engaging. I really want to check out the new Vomit Gore flick too but I haven’t. I love What We Do In Shadows, but that’s more a major release. Other than that I haven’t seen a lot because I have been trying to focus on writing /drawing to get published. Finally got my first pro-gig coming up in the next issue of Girls and Corpses magazine so that’s great 



Matt: You have worked a lot on most of James Bells releases giving alternative covers imagery forward to him what's the relationship like between you does he give you ideas or is it literally just all in your mind?

Jimmy: He told me to do whatever I wanted for Tantrum and the first cover I did that was more like a collage thing. I loved it but he had something else in his mind so he forwarded me some images and let me check out the first 10 minutes of Tantrum months before it came out. Rolled around some ideas and tried to get outside my art bubble a little and came up with the three covers, two for the regular DVD and one for the Vultra cover. Then people started responding well to them so I decided to do the extra cover for the pre-sale contest-which I felt turned out like shit on my end but 3 out of 4 aint bad!



Matt: What would you say have been your best and worse pieces of work?

Jimmy: Worst is definitely the 1/1 contest cover for Tantrum, it doesn’t sit well with me for some reason. Also a comic I did for The Horror Nation with squid people I thought was horrible, just total shit. And a cover of the Ryan Nicholson movie Famine I did for Uneasy Archive with a naked chick with maple leaves covering her nipples I thought turned out like total shit. A flyer for a GG Allin cover band with a pit-bull I thought was terrible. Hmmm, I wish I would have done more with the art for the Adjust Your Tracking movie, but they seemed to like it. I’m sure there are plenty of others because for the most part I don’t like a lot of stuff I do. Best I like the Tantrum covers, another comic I did for the Horror Nation with a frat house being covered by a poltergeist I thought turned out pretty good. Another comic titled Black Mass Gas was good and we’re going to try to make it into a poster for a Head Shop/Heavy Metal/Apothecary store in Astoria, Oregon. Hmmmm, I recently did a couple covers for some limited Uneasy Archive tapes that turned out cool.

 

Matt: What's in the future for yourself anything you can share ??

Jimmy: Hmmm, I’m hoping this gig from Girls and Corpses magazine will last and open up some doors. I have a graphic novel I’m working on now that I hope will get somewhere, and a lot of ideas for other graphic novel/comic things. I’d really like someone to give me a shit load of money so I could disappear for a while and write like a 600 page graphic novel about the craziness I’ve lived in the funeral industry. I’ve talked to James Bell about doing the cover for his next flick. That’s about it for now I guess.  

As always follow Jimmy's work he will be showcasing a lot of artwork in the future and hopefully a sick cover for James Bells new movie ... as always it was a pleasure.

Interview with Guy (Rope Maiden) He's gonna blow the instructional video genre by storm....

This was a interview I personally was looking forward to and definitely wasn't disappointed if you don't know him you will after this ....



Matt: Guy what can I really say about Rope maiden where did the inspiration come from ?

Guy : The Rope Maiden is about a man who made a how-to snuff film, that got found by a foreign company, who then inserted their own product placement adverts, to cash in on his murder.
Besides the obvious inspirations, which are the films it makes fun of, it was a way to get my goofy sense of humour out whilst still appealing to the gore-hound audience. It was also one of the only ways I could have a dialogue heavy film without any other actors.


Matt: A lot of people have crazy stories of there background that had lead them to today and there work would you care to share ?

Guy: I got given a copy of Der Struwwelpeter when I was 6 and it all went uphill from there. I’m now working my dream job and have that book to thank for all that I am today.



Matt : Your famous for Rope maiden and your love of Japanese cinema and black metal is there anything else that makes guy tick that I haven't included ?

Guy: No ..

Matt: So everyone in there life as a filmmaker has shorts/embarrassing college videos they made when they were younger as a practice do have any you will share with us ?...

Guy: I shot a zombie film when I was 14 in between lessons at school. Everyone got sent home because being covered in blood wasn’t Christian enough for our school - I didn’t film anymore after that.



Matt : Since your from the lovely sunny isles of United Kingdom like myself what do u do in your spare time any pastimes whilst your not making movies?

Guy: I’m creative but have no real skill. So I’ll make music or paint or write something. Then realise what I’ve created is awful, so I go drinking or skate with friends instead.

Matt: Do you have any inspiration or idols in the industry and why?

Guy: Shozin Fukui & Andrzej Zulawski. Neurotic women is my favourite sub-genre and these gentlemen are the masters of capturing the finest mental breakdown, then manifesting that into an external entity which brings overall peace - It’s a lovely thing. Then Jan Svankmajer as I grew up watching a making stop motion movies and he’s basically the adult version to what I loved as a kid. These guys don’t inspire me to make movies, as much as they make me want to run as far away from a camera as possible.



Matt : What have been your current favourite movies of 2015 ?

Guy: I haven’t watched many films released this year. I recently received Black Mass - VG4 & American Guinea Pig. Both were fine but I’m at the point where I’m not longer impressed by gore alone. Before I made The Rope Maiden I said Flowers of Flesh and Blood was fine for the 80’s, but no one would stand for that now, which is why I made a snuff-comedy. After watching AGP, I stand by what I said. Zulawski’s first film in 15 years ‘Cosmos’, comes out soon, I’m looking forward to that!

Matt: Finally its on everyone's tongue what is in the future, maybe a sequel or follow up to Rope maiden ?

Guy: I’ve finished the first draft for a sequel. It’s nothing to do with Rope but is the next how-to video in Guy’s home movies



Was such a pleasure to speak to Guy and if you haven't yet to see his work then contact him and get a copy asap ....

The Rope Maiden on Facebook ...

Facebook


Tuesday 28 July 2015

Interview with the Martin Trafford of Martin Trafford Traffart ..... English Born Australian killing it in the Indie Horror Drawing World

Well I'm proud to Introduce well there's no need but I will Martin Trafford of Traffart English Born Australian killing it in the doodle stakes like Tony Hart on crack .....





Matt : Well you clearly are a artist genius , you wasn't born with it guide me through your journey that got you where you are today (in Australia I may add) ...


Martin: Firstly thanks so much for calling me an artist genius?! I think my only genius is in understanding that I'm merely adequate as an artist.. I know I'm not genius by any stretch.. I spent years knocking on the doors of companies only to discover they had forty other people on their books who can do what I can do but better!.. As in any creative field though it really is a case of not what you know but who.. It's sad but true!.. I was a freelance illustrator straight out of art college, that soon beat it out of me!. But I've been in love with art.. And horror since I was a child, I was a grim kid and luckily I managed to cling to that and carry it through to adulthood. I studied art n Doncaster and then in Middlesbrough under Dudley Edwards of Psychedelic art collective Edwards, Binder and Vaughan( they painted John Lennon's Rolls Royce and Paul McCartney's piano amongst other things!) When I found I wasn't making stacks of cash as an illustrator( you can't choose your jobs either! Unless you actually ARE some kind of genius.. Even the best of them have had to draw hoovers and washing machines to make a buck!) I fell into optometry as a way to pay the bills.. That job after a lot of hard graft got me to Australia!


Matt : Seems like the artistic ways have rubbed off onto your son, I can only imagine you were in tears upon discovering his talents ?


Martin: Yes I couldn't be prouder of my son .. Of all three really! But my eldest Stephen has always had a creative streak.. Must be hereditary to some degree?? We used to draw together slot growing up.. I had him when I was still at art college so he was born into a creative atmosphere and he's always been a natural with a pen.. He's now qualified as a games designer and is looking into getting work in that field! I'm old school.. He's new for sure





Matt: What can be said, most people have a piece of your artwork on various covers/comics etc. and even prints, and your new artwork page is coming along nicely, how has the snowball effect been like over the past few years ?


Martin: I'd say it's been less a snowball effect and more a snow shovel effect to be honest! I started my art career off like twenty years ago now.. I've constantly been creating and getting knocked back.. You have to be tenacious and most of all create for the love of it! If I wanted to make s living from it then I'd have given up as a failure many moons ago. Anyone with creative blood be it artist or filmmaker have a deep rooted NEED to do it, that's what keeps you going.. Keeps some of us SANE?!! My first job in the underground horror scene was with Jorg Buttgereit while I was still in Art college. I was ( and still am) a huge fan of his work and through bothering him with my artwork landed a job producing a few pin ups of his Nekromantik movies, then during this time he was working on Schramm and he asked me to produce the official t shirt design and a " making of " VHS sleeve for it. Over the years we have kept in contact I've recently been helping with setting up his Captain Berlin comic books( issue 1 is now on its third reprint which is huge for a German comic book??). There may be another collaboration with Jorg in the pipeline right now but I couldn't say at this early stage!.. Since I moved to Australia I've gotten back into the underground scene and have been lucky enough to create pieces for Scott Schirmer and Arthur Culliper based on Found and Headless.. I've done some art for Ron Decaro, Guy Pearce ( via Lostwitch! Or Adrian as you know him!) I'm helping out here and there with Bloody Banter and Caps Collective.. Have a few pots on the boil with upcoming Arrow Video projects( I recently helped with work on the excellent " society" release!) and am happy.. VERY happy to be involved with a new project which should please ALOT of underground horror lovers with Parker Richardson, Joey Caps, the amazing Phil Stevens and awesome Justin Vonhellmouth!... Watch this space!!


Matt: What have been your most challenging work to the point that you wanted to give up?


Martin: The most challenging work is work I have no interest in to be honest.. If your hearts not in it it's an uphill struggle all the way. Whereas if I have s passion for the subject matter I'm all over it like a fine moss! There's usually more apprehension than anything else when producing art based on a beloved movie.. I'm constantly aware that I can't let down the filmmaker or the fans.. And I'd be letting myself down!





Matt : Would you like to share some of you work that you extremely proud of ?




Martin:  have to say that loving what I'm doing recently and believe me.. There's no money in it!.. I do this mainly for the love of the underground, for the love of horror! I'm pretty proud of most of the stuff I've been doing lately.. I'm proud because of the amazing love and support I've had from the filmmakers and fans!.. There's no one like us! We are all so passionate about what we create and consume in the underground horror movement.. There's a real sense of ownership and pride and support from everyone involved. I'm really proud of the found and headless pin ups I did.. If I had to choose?!, I did a Flowers piece for Phil Stevens I never get bored of looking at.. I did s storyline in Captain Berlin based on my own story " Captain Berlin meets the Elephant Man" which I think turned out beautifully!. It's all in German but there is talk of releasing an English version soon. Mainly as I said I'm just proud to be a part of churning pool of creativity that is the underground horror scene right now. It's bloody electric!!








Matt : Inspiration ? is there anything or anyone that inspires you daily to do what you do ?


Martin: I'm starting to sound like a repetitive sap here now but I'm inspired by many of the guys in the underground right now.. I've Always been inspired by Jorg as an artist.. The man is a genius! Growing up I was inspired by Graham Humphreys- he designed the original Evil Dead poster art in the UK, nightmare on elm street etc.. Right up to today the guy is still knocking it out of the park with his Arrow video artwork.. The zombie flesh eaters artwork was amazing!.. He's got such an amazing body of work behind him. Again.. Genius! And I must add a genuinely nice guy! For real!. Phil Stevens has been a bit of an inspiration lately too.. Flowers blew me away.. The guy is a great painter and having seen flowers and gotten to know him a little he seems to carry that painters ethic through to his movie making.. With the editing and soundscapes etc. I admire creative " entities" like him.. When that passion is carried over various media.


Matt: Where can someone get a piece of your artwork (hint hint ;))


Martin: If anyone is interested in grabbing some art from me you can get I touch via my Facebook art page Martin Trafford Traffart. I'm always happy to try help get filmmakers work off the ground with supporting poster or DVD art.


https://www.facebook.com/pages/Martin-Trafford-Traffart/244680502302189?sk=timeline





Matt: What have been your standout movies of 2015 in the indie horror scene?


Martin: Standout movies?! Found blew me away! Headless of course.. I'm a big James Bell fan so after Dog Dick Maneur was great.. I've just got Tantrum to watch right now but I'm sure it'll be amazing! Pain Shack was ALOT of fun! Alex has natural comedic timing.. AGP was a bit of a landmark event, can't wait to see what comes next with blood shock?!! Crazy Murder was interesting.. Visceral: between the ropes of madness.. There are so many to be honest it's a great time


Matt: What does the future hold ?


Martin : Well, as I mentioned there is my project with Parker, Joey, Justin and Phil.. Which I'm psyched about.. Such a great group of guys I'm happy to call friends!.. There's a graphic novel in the works with Jorg?! Hopefully.. There's a coue of comic book anthologies coming out with my involvement.. A short film " don't fear the light" which will feature a comic book I created with the director Jason Rostovsky.. Some more DVD artwork for Lostwitch and Caps collective and some exciting Arrow video projects!! I feel very lucky right now!


This was such a pleasure in speaking to the guy himself behind all this amazing visual pieces of artwork, you all need to go and give him a like on the page above but here it is again and if you are interested in a one of a kind piece of work give him a message .....


https://www.facebook.com/pages/Martin-Trafford-Traffart/244680502302189?sk=timeline








Review of Thanatomorphose (Éric Falardeau 2012) Well you gone and died now havent you , thats just rotten ...




Thanatomorphose . 2012 (Éric Falardeau)

Starring Kayden Rose, Émile Beaudry, Roch-Denis Gagnon


So I recently sat down to watch this Body Horror shocker from French/Canadian upstart director Éric Falardeau this is his debut movie but it isn't his first foray behind the camera.... he holds a masters degree in Film studies and has had his shorts shown all around the world.......


A cover or artwork can say a thousand things and this artwork I can say drawn me in straight away the vivid image of a rotting body and of course the meaning behind Thanatomorphose ... "is an hellenic word meaning the visible signs of an organism's decomposition caused by death. One day, a young and beautiful girl a wakes up and finds her flesh rotting."


People put this up to a comparison to Contracted that came out around the same time, but I think that's a little highly praised what I am saying is that it isn't horrific but it isn't the masterpiece that this tagline gave it "A CLAUSTROPHOBIC SICKENING AND ODDLY UPLIFTING EXPERIENCE" at the 100 minute mark this was my face .... (Taken from the movie)



Its really hard to pin-point what actually went wrong with the movie really it had the substance to be really good but there's so many elements that made it not work out in my eyes...

The story, lady (Kayden Rose I will talk about her later) wakes up after living a substandard and quite boring and monotonous life and pretty much at the end of caring and on the verge of giving up finds bruises on her body and thinks nothing of it, hair falling out .... well this is just the start .

There isn't a story Kayden literally wakes up and starts to rot from no apparent reason this is my first gripe with the movie, the direction of it just didn't do it for me visually this is a masterpiece and should of been an exhibition of Eric's work and clearly looked like it was as the effects were pretty much one of the saving graces of the movie for me ...


If this is the direction Éric intended for the audience for it to be a showcase of his effects work then well fair play to him because that aspect of the movie paid off but, the rest I felt myself scratching also to the fact where is this going the story literally crept up on me like a tapeworm...

For me the saving grace of the movie was casting Kayden Rose she pretty much took the part and carried it like it was the last thing she was acting upon, she played the character perfectly the mannerisms of a rotting corpse who pretty much didn't give a damn slapped a big of makeup on and carried on with her life, woops my skin is rotten and all black never mind ill get dressed and have a wash maybe I'm just overly dirty today ....


Overall as a showcase of Éric Falardeau's work as a debut director it would of been pretty much amazing as the effects aspects and the casting was near on perfect it was the whole idea of the story and how it was directed let it down completely ....

4/10 ... Although saying that I will follow Éric  and his work on the hope this was just a taster of things to come ....