CategoryIndie
Independent horror: micro-budget features, short films and first-time filmmakers doing more with less — and often doing it better.
2,258 stories
IndieMoviesNewsThrillerTrailers
An injured stunt woman is infected by an ancient biological compound when a side job as a PI goes wrong in Toxica, whose new trailer has just arrived. Rona Walter directs and co-wrote the script for the action-packed horror along with Carlos Bollinger and Lorenzo Fantini. Toxica stars Charlie Blackwood, Grace Hendy, and Paul McLaughlin. Check out the new trailer for Toxica, premiering in 2023.
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ForeignIndieMoviesNewsThrillerTrailers
The highly anticipated action-packed creature feature, The Devil Beneath, starring Dan Ewing (Home & Away) and Tim Pocock (Dance Academy), is the first Australian film to feature a CGI character in a leading role. First released in Australia 6 years ago it is coming to the US for the first time. Originally titled Bunyip, the film has been re-edited, re-mixed, re-scored, and obtained by Vertical Entertainment! Set “in the Australian Outback, two brothers discover old secrets and family lies. As their friends start to go missing, they fear they are being stalked by someone or something from their worst nightmares – But is it just a story? A legend? A hoax? Or is it real? The Devil Beneath stars Home & Away heartthrob Dan Ewing and Dance Academy favorite Tim Peacock. Sophie Don, Jessica Green (Lightning Point), Ben Chisholm, John Reynolds, Emily Joy, James Straiton, Felix Williamson, and Gregory Fryer. “I can’t recall a fully realized computer-generated character as a
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignIndieMoviesReviewsThriller
Outstanding horror and horror-adjacent movies were in strong supply at film festivals this year, and whittling down my “best of 2022” list was no easy feat. Here are the selections on which I decided. Some are now available through digital, on-demand, subscription services, and physical media, while others are still making the rounds on the fest circuit. (1) Evil Eye (A Night of Horror) Awash in the atmosphere, visually beautiful, and boasting terrific performances and superb set design, Mexican chiller Evil Eye — from one of my favorite directors, Isaac Ezban — is a dark fairy tale/folk horror outing that is woven together masterfully in its telling of a teen girl’s suspicions that her grandmother may be a witch. (2) Skinamarink (Fantasia) This goosebumps-inducing, lo-fi slice of fear-fare cinema became an instant year-end best candidate when I saw it for its Fantasia run in the summer. It induces the feeling of fright we had as children, which is no small
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesNewsThrillerTrailers
The Horror Collective is kicking off 2023 with the release of the award-winning horror-thriller Bring Out the Fear this January. Bring Out the Fear “follows a couple struggling to fix their doomed relationship and is lost in a dangerous forest that refuses to let them escape. This award-winning dark thriller will leave you questioning what is real and what is malicious trickery until the very last frame.” Written and directed by Richard Waters, the film won the Golden Stake Award at Shockfest and played at many festivals worldwide, including Screamfest, Frightfest, Grimmfest, and IFI Horrorthon. Starring Ciara Bailey, James Devlin, Tad Morari, and Brian Matthews Murphy, it was produced by Alison Scarff at Weird Pretty Pictures. Black Mandala is handling international sales. Bring Out the Fear will arrive on January 3, 2023, On Demand and on DVD.
Continue reading →
IndieInterviewsMovies
Tyro filmmaker Anubys Lopez has crafted the terrifically unnerving Those Who Call, releasing from Uncork’d Entertainment on January 10, 2023. The film, starring Angie Sandoval, Yetlanezi Rodriguez, Reese Fast, Kevin Kinkade, and Addison Cousins, tells of two sisters that go on a road trip to Colorado. On their way there, their car breaks down in an abandoned old town. Soon they realize things aren’t what they seem, and they aren’t alone in the forest. They find themselves being hunted by a sadistic pagan cult and must do everything in their power to survive. Ella: “Thanks for the unnerving scares – – unnerving. Is there any other way to describe the film?” Anubys: “I appreciate you taking the time to watch it. Unnerving is definitely a good way to describe it. I’d say other ways would be distressing and claustrophobic. We wanted people to feel trapped and stalked throughout the entire film. In a constant state of fear. Like anything could
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesNewsTrailers
Writer-director Shawn Wright’s 80s-style B-horror film Night of the Axe, based on the short film of the same name, is out now. In the film, “A group of young adults, trying to enjoy a high school reunion party, are terrorized by an escaped mental patient obsessed with satisfying his blood lust. One by one they are made victims of the sadistic killer. Who will survive on the Night of the Axe, a gore-soaked, old-school shocker from Facemelt Features?” This indie horror stars Angel Bradford, Lera Savannah, Kaci Frick, Justin Sisk, Shawn Mongold, Rick Jermain, and Nate Nelson among many others. Watch Night of the Axe now streaming. Pre-order your copy on DVD today.
Continue reading →
ForeignIndieMoviesReviews
Lonny (Justin Gocke, whom you may remember as Raymond Burr’s grandson in the American inserts of Godzilla ’85) heads down New Zealand-way to visit his Aunt Leah (a delightful performance from Dame Pat Evison)… but who he is really there to visit is his Grandpa, Vernon Cooger (The Munsters‘ Al Lewis); a delightfully daffy ol’ coot whom Lonny’s monster-obsessed kiwi pal Kanziora (Milan Borich) is convinced is a vampire. Then Cooger dies, so that theory was right shit, wasn’t it? The End. Oh, except Cooger does come back to life, as he actually is a vampire… huh, there’s truth in advertising after all! Now as stated, Cooger is a vampire, but one that has chosen a (mostly) mortal life that allows him to age and eventually die, but that doesn’t stop him to getting up to a few rounds of Grade-A shenanigans once back among the living along with the help of Lonny and Kanziora… who in turn have to
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesReviews
Newspaperman Paul Henson (Dino Tripodis) moves from the Windy City to the middle of nowhere (which is proven to be every bit as windy, and pretty damn rainy as well) and immediately gets up to his usual newspaper biz. As fate and the script would have it, Paul is up to his asshairs in stories to publish as the town is filled with all manner of dead bodies in various states of “completely fucked up”… and those cut-up corpses seem to be pointing to the involvement of the occult! Seeing as most of the town and people in positions of authority are under the sinister sway of Reverend Donovan (Nick Baldasare)… who looks like a man of the cloth by day and the goddamned Night Stalker once the sun has set, it comes as little surprise. Soon our hero, as well as his star journalist Shannon (Shanna Thomas) and the eccentric Reverend Kane (John Dunleavy), are at war with Satan’s
Continue reading →
Holiday HorrorIndieMoviesNewsTrailers
On the last day of Christmas, Max Causey makes a mistake he will spend the rest of his life trying to fix in the holiday horror-comedy Santastein from Imaginex Movies. “Max Causey was only six years old when he accidentally burned Santa to a crisp on Christmas Eve. 12 years later, Max attempts to raise Santa from the dead in order to fix his past mistakes and restore the Christmas spirit. But he soon realizes that the creature he has created is a bloodthirsty killer – and it’s headed straight for his friend’s Christmas party!” Inspired by a short film and funded by a Kickstarter campaign, the film was written and directed by Benjamin Edelman and Manuel Camilion. Santastein stars Anwar Nass as Santastein, Jared Korotkin, Corrine Batsides, Lindsey Simon, Santi Massa, Heather Fisch, and Karim Ismail. The release date has yet to be announced for the action-packed holiday horror film, but we do know it will make its festival
Continue reading →
From the CryptIndieInterviewsMovies
John R. Leonetti is known for directing movies like Annabelle, Wish Upon, and episodes of series such as “Sleepy Hollow.” He’s also recognized for his excellent skills as a cinematographer for films The Conjuring, Insidious: Chapter 2, and Piranha 3D, as well as many more. I had the absolute pleasure of talking with John about his past hits and his soon-to-be-released horror film, Lullaby. Lullaby follows a new mother who discovers a lullaby in an ancient book and soon regards the song as a blessing. But her world transforms into a nightmare when the Lullaby brings forth the ancient demon Lilith.” https://soundcloud.com/kelli-r-marchman-mcneely/interview-with-director-john-leonetti?si=15267b17524045eba226df7dceab5210&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing Kelli: “So let’s talk about Lullaby?” John: “Sure.” Kelli: “I thought the story was a great idea. We rarely ever hear much about Lilith.” John: “I agree with you. By the way.” Kelli: “How did she become part of the story?” John: “Well, you know, honestly, when I read the script, I didn’t know anything about Lilith. When
Continue reading →
More from Indie
IndieMoviesNewsThrillerTrailers
An injured stunt woman is infected by an ancient biological compound when a side job as a PI goes wrong in Toxica, whose new trailer has just arrived. Rona Walter directs and co-wrote the script for the action-packed horror along with Carlos Bollinger and Lorenzo Fantini. Toxica stars Charlie Blackwood, Grace Hendy, and Paul McLaughlin. Check out the new trailer for Toxica, premiering in 2023.
Continue reading →
ForeignIndieMoviesNewsThrillerTrailers
The highly anticipated action-packed creature feature, The Devil Beneath, starring Dan Ewing (Home & Away) and Tim Pocock (Dance Academy), is the first Australian film to feature a CGI character in a leading role. First released in Australia 6 years ago it is coming to the US for the first time. Originally titled Bunyip, the film has been re-edited, re-mixed, re-scored, and obtained by Vertical Entertainment! Set “in the Australian Outback, two brothers discover old secrets and family lies. As their friends start to go missing, they fear they are being stalked by someone or something from their worst nightmares – But is it just a story? A legend? A hoax? Or is it real? The Devil Beneath stars Home & Away heartthrob Dan Ewing and Dance Academy favorite Tim Peacock. Sophie Don, Jessica Green (Lightning Point), Ben Chisholm, John Reynolds, Emily Joy, James Straiton, Felix Williamson, and Gregory Fryer. “I can’t recall a fully realized computer-generated character as a
Continue reading →
Film FestivalsForeignIndieMoviesReviewsThriller
Outstanding horror and horror-adjacent movies were in strong supply at film festivals this year, and whittling down my “best of 2022” list was no easy feat. Here are the selections on which I decided. Some are now available through digital, on-demand, subscription services, and physical media, while others are still making the rounds on the fest circuit. (1) Evil Eye (A Night of Horror) Awash in the atmosphere, visually beautiful, and boasting terrific performances and superb set design, Mexican chiller Evil Eye — from one of my favorite directors, Isaac Ezban — is a dark fairy tale/folk horror outing that is woven together masterfully in its telling of a teen girl’s suspicions that her grandmother may be a witch. (2) Skinamarink (Fantasia) This goosebumps-inducing, lo-fi slice of fear-fare cinema became an instant year-end best candidate when I saw it for its Fantasia run in the summer. It induces the feeling of fright we had as children, which is no small
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesNewsThrillerTrailers
The Horror Collective is kicking off 2023 with the release of the award-winning horror-thriller Bring Out the Fear this January. Bring Out the Fear “follows a couple struggling to fix their doomed relationship and is lost in a dangerous forest that refuses to let them escape. This award-winning dark thriller will leave you questioning what is real and what is malicious trickery until the very last frame.” Written and directed by Richard Waters, the film won the Golden Stake Award at Shockfest and played at many festivals worldwide, including Screamfest, Frightfest, Grimmfest, and IFI Horrorthon. Starring Ciara Bailey, James Devlin, Tad Morari, and Brian Matthews Murphy, it was produced by Alison Scarff at Weird Pretty Pictures. Black Mandala is handling international sales. Bring Out the Fear will arrive on January 3, 2023, On Demand and on DVD.
Continue reading →
IndieInterviewsMovies
Tyro filmmaker Anubys Lopez has crafted the terrifically unnerving Those Who Call, releasing from Uncork’d Entertainment on January 10, 2023. The film, starring Angie Sandoval, Yetlanezi Rodriguez, Reese Fast, Kevin Kinkade, and Addison Cousins, tells of two sisters that go on a road trip to Colorado. On their way there, their car breaks down in an abandoned old town. Soon they realize things aren’t what they seem, and they aren’t alone in the forest. They find themselves being hunted by a sadistic pagan cult and must do everything in their power to survive. Ella: “Thanks for the unnerving scares – – unnerving. Is there any other way to describe the film?” Anubys: “I appreciate you taking the time to watch it. Unnerving is definitely a good way to describe it. I’d say other ways would be distressing and claustrophobic. We wanted people to feel trapped and stalked throughout the entire film. In a constant state of fear. Like anything could
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesNewsTrailers
Writer-director Shawn Wright’s 80s-style B-horror film Night of the Axe, based on the short film of the same name, is out now. In the film, “A group of young adults, trying to enjoy a high school reunion party, are terrorized by an escaped mental patient obsessed with satisfying his blood lust. One by one they are made victims of the sadistic killer. Who will survive on the Night of the Axe, a gore-soaked, old-school shocker from Facemelt Features?” This indie horror stars Angel Bradford, Lera Savannah, Kaci Frick, Justin Sisk, Shawn Mongold, Rick Jermain, and Nate Nelson among many others. Watch Night of the Axe now streaming. Pre-order your copy on DVD today.
Continue reading →
ForeignIndieMoviesReviews
Lonny (Justin Gocke, whom you may remember as Raymond Burr’s grandson in the American inserts of Godzilla ’85) heads down New Zealand-way to visit his Aunt Leah (a delightful performance from Dame Pat Evison)… but who he is really there to visit is his Grandpa, Vernon Cooger (The Munsters‘ Al Lewis); a delightfully daffy ol’ coot whom Lonny’s monster-obsessed kiwi pal Kanziora (Milan Borich) is convinced is a vampire. Then Cooger dies, so that theory was right shit, wasn’t it? The End. Oh, except Cooger does come back to life, as he actually is a vampire… huh, there’s truth in advertising after all! Now as stated, Cooger is a vampire, but one that has chosen a (mostly) mortal life that allows him to age and eventually die, but that doesn’t stop him to getting up to a few rounds of Grade-A shenanigans once back among the living along with the help of Lonny and Kanziora… who in turn have to
Continue reading →
IndieMoviesReviews
Newspaperman Paul Henson (Dino Tripodis) moves from the Windy City to the middle of nowhere (which is proven to be every bit as windy, and pretty damn rainy as well) and immediately gets up to his usual newspaper biz. As fate and the script would have it, Paul is up to his asshairs in stories to publish as the town is filled with all manner of dead bodies in various states of “completely fucked up”… and those cut-up corpses seem to be pointing to the involvement of the occult! Seeing as most of the town and people in positions of authority are under the sinister sway of Reverend Donovan (Nick Baldasare)… who looks like a man of the cloth by day and the goddamned Night Stalker once the sun has set, it comes as little surprise. Soon our hero, as well as his star journalist Shannon (Shanna Thomas) and the eccentric Reverend Kane (John Dunleavy), are at war with Satan’s
Continue reading →
Holiday HorrorIndieMoviesNewsTrailers
On the last day of Christmas, Max Causey makes a mistake he will spend the rest of his life trying to fix in the holiday horror-comedy Santastein from Imaginex Movies. “Max Causey was only six years old when he accidentally burned Santa to a crisp on Christmas Eve. 12 years later, Max attempts to raise Santa from the dead in order to fix his past mistakes and restore the Christmas spirit. But he soon realizes that the creature he has created is a bloodthirsty killer – and it’s headed straight for his friend’s Christmas party!” Inspired by a short film and funded by a Kickstarter campaign, the film was written and directed by Benjamin Edelman and Manuel Camilion. Santastein stars Anwar Nass as Santastein, Jared Korotkin, Corrine Batsides, Lindsey Simon, Santi Massa, Heather Fisch, and Karim Ismail. The release date has yet to be announced for the action-packed holiday horror film, but we do know it will make its festival
Continue reading →
From the CryptIndieInterviewsMovies
John R. Leonetti is known for directing movies like Annabelle, Wish Upon, and episodes of series such as “Sleepy Hollow.” He’s also recognized for his excellent skills as a cinematographer for films The Conjuring, Insidious: Chapter 2, and Piranha 3D, as well as many more. I had the absolute pleasure of talking with John about his past hits and his soon-to-be-released horror film, Lullaby. Lullaby follows a new mother who discovers a lullaby in an ancient book and soon regards the song as a blessing. But her world transforms into a nightmare when the Lullaby brings forth the ancient demon Lilith.” https://soundcloud.com/kelli-r-marchman-mcneely/interview-with-director-john-leonetti?si=15267b17524045eba226df7dceab5210&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing Kelli: “So let’s talk about Lullaby?” John: “Sure.” Kelli: “I thought the story was a great idea. We rarely ever hear much about Lilith.” John: “I agree with you. By the way.” Kelli: “How did she become part of the story?” John: “Well, you know, honestly, when I read the script, I didn’t know anything about Lilith. When
Continue reading →
