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Independent horror: micro-budget features, short films and first-time filmmakers doing more with less — and often doing it better.

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Dark Star Announces Release Date For 'Alone With You' Starring Barbara Crampton

Dark Star Announces Release Date For ‘Alone With You’ Starring Barbara Crampton

Dark Star Pictures has just announced the February release date for Alone With You, written and directed by Bennett and Justin Brooks in their feature film debuts. In the film,  ”as a young woman painstakingly prepares a romantic homecoming for her girlfriend, their apartment begins to feel more like a tomb when voices, shadows, and hallucinations reveal a truth she has been unwilling to face.” Emily Bennett (King of Knives), Emma Myles (“Orange Is the New Black”), Dora Madison (“Friday Night Lights”), and genre icon Barbara Crampton (You’re Next) star, with Andrew Corkin (Martha Marcy May Marlene) and Theo James (Divergent) producing under their Untapped banner. We’ve always been drawn to the horror films of the late 70’s/ early 80’s. Films that played with the sanity of their characters such as don’t look now or the changeling. These films could almost be thrillers until they walked us deeper into the dark like the sentinel or possession. Those films bring the

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Dec 24, 2021
Chill Out And Watch The Sci-Fi Survival Thriller 'Arctic Void' Today

Trailer Debuts For Emmy Nominated Director Darren Mann’s New Survival Thriller ‘Arctic Void’

From Emmy-Award nominated director Darren Mann (This Cold Life) comes the sci-fi survival thriller Arctic Void, written by Michael Weaver (Diary of a Future President, Ouija: Origin of Evil), and we’ve got the brand new chilling trailer. In the film, “When almost everyone vanishes from a tourist ship in the Arctic, fear becomes the master for the three who remain. Forced ashore and alone in the elements, the men deteriorate in body and mind with the clock now ticking on their survival. In the end, a dark truth emerges that forces them to ally or perish. Arctic Void is the story of childhood friends, Ray Marsh and Alan Meursault, in the far north to make an episode of their modestly popular travel and nature show, Vagabond. Since their regular cameraman fails to get a visa, they’re joined by local hire an ex-pat, Sean Tibbets. What starts as a once-in-a-lifetime day cruise quickly descends into madness as all but the three

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Dec 23, 2021
Gravitas Ventures Serves Up 'An Exquisite Meal' On Demand And Digital

Gravitas Ventures Serves Up ‘An Exquisite Meal’ On Demand And Digital

A sharply satirical genre-bending journey through one terrifying dinner party in modern America, An Exquisite Meal is a darkly playful Buñuelian nightmare that’s ready to be served up On Demand and Digital this December. In the film, part thriller, part horror, part comedy, an affluent couple hosts a dinner party for friends, promising them an amazing meal. As the night goes on, uninvited guests arrive, wine flows, and dinner is strangely delayed. When the party is interrupted by a shocking diversion, one of the guests goes off on his own and discovers something unexpected about what’s being served for dinner. As identities unravel, the host tries to maintain control of his carefully orchestrated evening as the party descends into violence, bizarre sexual escapades, and the absurd. Directed by Robert Bruce Carter, the film stars Mike Jimerson, Amrita Dhaliwal, Victoria Nugent, Ross Magyar, Mark Pracht, Emily Marso, Bassam Abdelfattah, Siddhartha Rajan, and Luke Johnson. An Exquisite Meal will be available On

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Dec 23, 2021
Horror Fuel.com’s Top 10 Film Festival Horror Movies of 2021

Horror Fuel.com’s Top 10 Film Festival Horror Movies of 2021

This year was an outstanding one for horror films making the film festival rounds, which is where I see most of my movies each year. Thankfully, many films are making it to wider release quicker than in the past — for example, my #1 film of 2021 is already available on VOD, and several of my honorable mentions are on streaming services or on DVD or Blu-ray. Keep the following films in mind because some of them just may be future favorites for you in 2022! 1. The Feast (Wales) Director Lee Haven Jones’ Welsh outing The Feast — a blend of folk, psychological, environmental, and supernatural horror — instantly became my favorite film of the year, regardless of genre, when I saw it as part of SXSW Online 2021 in March. In my Horror Fuel review, I said that The Feast is an “eerie slice of horror cinema that jangles the nerves and does a beautiful job of slowly

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Dec 22, 2021
Restored Spanish Horror 'Arrebato' Coming To Blu-ray & DVD For The First Time

Restored Spanish Horror ‘Arrebato’ Coming To Blu-ray & DVD For The First Time

Altered Innocence presents the rand-new 4K restoration of Iván Zulueta’s 1979 Spanish feature Arrebato, a dimension-shattering blend of heroin, sex, and Super-8 is the final word on cinemania. This towering feat of counterculture was the final film from the Spanish cult filmmaker and movie poster designer Zulueta (One, Two, Three, English, Hide and Seek). In this horror movie director, José is adrift in a sea of doubt and drugs. As his belated second feature nears completion, his reclusive bubble is popped by two events: a sudden reappearance from an ex-girlfriend and a package from past acquaintance Pedro: a reel of Super-8 film, an audiotape, and a door key. From there, the boundaries of time, space, and sexuality are erased as José is once more sucked into Pedro’s vampiric orbit. Together, they attempt the ultimate hallucinogenic catharsis through a Moebius strip of filming and being filmed. DISC DETAILS • Region Free Blu-ray • Commentary Track w/ Mike White of The Projection

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Dec 18, 2021
Game Review: 'The Gunk'

Game Review: ‘The Gunk’

Things suck on this planet, could it be worse anywhere else? Well, Thunderful has shown that the grass is not always greener on other worlds in their sci-fi exploration game The Gunk. The Gunk takes players to an unknown world where they play as Rani, voiced by Fiona Nova (Rooster Teeth), who along with Becks, voiced by Abigail Turner (Remothered: Broken Porcelain) landed on a strange planet where they hope to find resources that could make them rich but instead discover a planet full of Gunk, a festering growth that’s slowly killing the planet and hides secrets to an ancient civilization. Onto the game itself, the controls for The Gunk are pretty straightforward and thankfully minimal and respond well especially during combat. When it comes to interacting with the Gunk itself it’s very satisfying using your power glove to suck it up, seriously it’s unusually satisfying! The sound design is pretty good, the soundtrack is OK but some of the

Continue reading →
Daniel S. Liuzzi
Dec 16, 2021
Indie Horror 'Scarecrows: Hell On Earth' Coming To Amazon

Indie Horror ‘Scarecrows: Hell On Earth’ Coming To Amazon

The indie horror hit The Scarecrows: Hell on Earth, being compared to Friday the 13th and Madman, continues to trend on Tubi. And now, it’s heading to Amazon Prime. Produced by McGahee (Rise of the Scarecrows), Gregory Hatanaka (Samurai Cop 2), Pete Baez (Remember the Times), Matt Hebert (Zombie Busters” Outlive the Dead), and Jesse Delta Ariel Waegelein-Hall (Revenge), the film promises to bring the monster in the woods slasher back complete with good gore and twists and turns along the way. The film is released by Cinema Epoch and Cineridge Entertainment. The film features music from Joe Becker, Frank Palangi, Sonora & Gary Steinour. In the film, “a young writer returns to his hometown and soon discovers the dark secret that has been hidden for years. The Scarecrows have risen and they are raising hell.”

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Dec 14, 2021
How To Watch 'Freak's' Virtual Premiere This December (Trailer)

How To Watch ‘Freak’s’ Virtual Premiere This December (Trailer)

Calling all horror fans! Attend the virtual global premiere of FREAK hosted by director, Bianca Crespo herself on December 16, 2021, at 8 pm EST. In the film, following a harrowing incident in LA, writer Ava retreats to a remote cabin in the woods of Bucks County to escape, but the longer she stays, the more she realizes that her nightmare has only just begun. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Bianca Crespo is a producer, director, and writer, who started her entertainment career in Los Angeles in 2012, where she worked for The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences and Millennium Films. She established her independent company Santa Mira Studio in 2017, producing various multimedia projects like Brain Burrow, a horror/psychology podcast hosted by Mark D. Valenti. Watch on Eorbi on December 16, 2021, at 8 pm EST. Tickets are $5.

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Dec 14, 2021
Sink Your Teeth Into The New Exclusive Clip From 'Red Snow'

Sink Your Teeth Into The New Exclusive Clip From ‘Red Snow’

Sink your teeth into the new exclusive clip from the indie vampire horror Red Snow, written and directed by Sean Nicholas Lynch. Starring Dennice Cisneros, Nico Bellamy, and Laura Kennon, and produced by Alrik Bursell, Red Snow centers on a struggling vampire romance novelist who must defend herself against real-life vampires during Christmas in Lake Tahoe. When an injured bat transforms into a handsome vampire, struggling horror novelist Olivia Romo hides him in her garage to protect him from a vampire hunter. Besotted by the creature, she feeds him animal blood, but any chance of romance is soon thwarted when a gang of fellow bloodsuckers invades her home in search of their missing friend. Red Snow bares its fangs on DVD, VOD, and Digital on December 28, 2021, from 4Digital Media.

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Dec 14, 2021
RLJE Announces Release Of The Horror Film 'An Unquiet Grave'

RLJE Announces Release Of The Horror Film ‘An Unquiet Grave’

RLJE Films is set to release Shudder’s horror An Unquiet Game this January on DVD. The new trailer is here, teasing a film filled with desperation and sinister intentions. Terence Krey (“Graves”) makes his directorial debut with An Unquiet Grave which he co-wrote with Christine Nyland (Worthless) who stars alongside Jacob A. Ware of “Boardwalk Empire.” Set a year after losing his wife in a car crash, Jamie (Jacob A. Ware) convinces her sister, Ava (Christine Nyland), to return with him to the site of the accident and help him perform a strange ritual. But as the night wears on, it becomes clear that he has darker intentions. An Unquiet Grave arrives on DVD, VOD, and Digital HD on January 18, 2022, from RLJE. N UNQUIET GRAVE DVD bonus features include: Filmmaker Commentary Lyric Video of “The Unquiet Grave” by Vanessa Cuccia Interviews with the Cast and Director An Unquiet GraveSpecial Effects Nightstream World Premiere Q&A

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Dec 13, 2021

More from Indie

Dark Star Announces Release Date For 'Alone With You' Starring Barbara Crampton

Dark Star Announces Release Date For ‘Alone With You’ Starring Barbara Crampton

Dark Star Pictures has just announced the February release date for Alone With You, written and directed by Bennett and Justin Brooks in their feature film debuts. In the film,  ”as a young woman painstakingly prepares a romantic homecoming for her girlfriend, their apartment begins to feel more like a tomb when voices, shadows, and hallucinations reveal a truth she has been unwilling to face.” Emily Bennett (King of Knives), Emma Myles (“Orange Is the New Black”), Dora Madison (“Friday Night Lights”), and genre icon Barbara Crampton (You’re Next) star, with Andrew Corkin (Martha Marcy May Marlene) and Theo James (Divergent) producing under their Untapped banner. We’ve always been drawn to the horror films of the late 70’s/ early 80’s. Films that played with the sanity of their characters such as don’t look now or the changeling. These films could almost be thrillers until they walked us deeper into the dark like the sentinel or possession. Those films bring the

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Dec 24, 2021
Chill Out And Watch The Sci-Fi Survival Thriller 'Arctic Void' Today

Trailer Debuts For Emmy Nominated Director Darren Mann’s New Survival Thriller ‘Arctic Void’

From Emmy-Award nominated director Darren Mann (This Cold Life) comes the sci-fi survival thriller Arctic Void, written by Michael Weaver (Diary of a Future President, Ouija: Origin of Evil), and we’ve got the brand new chilling trailer. In the film, “When almost everyone vanishes from a tourist ship in the Arctic, fear becomes the master for the three who remain. Forced ashore and alone in the elements, the men deteriorate in body and mind with the clock now ticking on their survival. In the end, a dark truth emerges that forces them to ally or perish. Arctic Void is the story of childhood friends, Ray Marsh and Alan Meursault, in the far north to make an episode of their modestly popular travel and nature show, Vagabond. Since their regular cameraman fails to get a visa, they’re joined by local hire an ex-pat, Sean Tibbets. What starts as a once-in-a-lifetime day cruise quickly descends into madness as all but the three

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Dec 23, 2021
Gravitas Ventures Serves Up 'An Exquisite Meal' On Demand And Digital

Gravitas Ventures Serves Up ‘An Exquisite Meal’ On Demand And Digital

A sharply satirical genre-bending journey through one terrifying dinner party in modern America, An Exquisite Meal is a darkly playful Buñuelian nightmare that’s ready to be served up On Demand and Digital this December. In the film, part thriller, part horror, part comedy, an affluent couple hosts a dinner party for friends, promising them an amazing meal. As the night goes on, uninvited guests arrive, wine flows, and dinner is strangely delayed. When the party is interrupted by a shocking diversion, one of the guests goes off on his own and discovers something unexpected about what’s being served for dinner. As identities unravel, the host tries to maintain control of his carefully orchestrated evening as the party descends into violence, bizarre sexual escapades, and the absurd. Directed by Robert Bruce Carter, the film stars Mike Jimerson, Amrita Dhaliwal, Victoria Nugent, Ross Magyar, Mark Pracht, Emily Marso, Bassam Abdelfattah, Siddhartha Rajan, and Luke Johnson. An Exquisite Meal will be available On

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Dec 23, 2021
Horror Fuel.com’s Top 10 Film Festival Horror Movies of 2021

Horror Fuel.com’s Top 10 Film Festival Horror Movies of 2021

This year was an outstanding one for horror films making the film festival rounds, which is where I see most of my movies each year. Thankfully, many films are making it to wider release quicker than in the past — for example, my #1 film of 2021 is already available on VOD, and several of my honorable mentions are on streaming services or on DVD or Blu-ray. Keep the following films in mind because some of them just may be future favorites for you in 2022! 1. The Feast (Wales) Director Lee Haven Jones’ Welsh outing The Feast — a blend of folk, psychological, environmental, and supernatural horror — instantly became my favorite film of the year, regardless of genre, when I saw it as part of SXSW Online 2021 in March. In my Horror Fuel review, I said that The Feast is an “eerie slice of horror cinema that jangles the nerves and does a beautiful job of slowly

Continue reading →
Joseph Perry
Dec 22, 2021
Restored Spanish Horror 'Arrebato' Coming To Blu-ray & DVD For The First Time

Restored Spanish Horror ‘Arrebato’ Coming To Blu-ray & DVD For The First Time

Altered Innocence presents the rand-new 4K restoration of Iván Zulueta’s 1979 Spanish feature Arrebato, a dimension-shattering blend of heroin, sex, and Super-8 is the final word on cinemania. This towering feat of counterculture was the final film from the Spanish cult filmmaker and movie poster designer Zulueta (One, Two, Three, English, Hide and Seek). In this horror movie director, José is adrift in a sea of doubt and drugs. As his belated second feature nears completion, his reclusive bubble is popped by two events: a sudden reappearance from an ex-girlfriend and a package from past acquaintance Pedro: a reel of Super-8 film, an audiotape, and a door key. From there, the boundaries of time, space, and sexuality are erased as José is once more sucked into Pedro’s vampiric orbit. Together, they attempt the ultimate hallucinogenic catharsis through a Moebius strip of filming and being filmed. DISC DETAILS • Region Free Blu-ray • Commentary Track w/ Mike White of The Projection

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Dec 18, 2021
Game Review: 'The Gunk'

Game Review: ‘The Gunk’

Things suck on this planet, could it be worse anywhere else? Well, Thunderful has shown that the grass is not always greener on other worlds in their sci-fi exploration game The Gunk. The Gunk takes players to an unknown world where they play as Rani, voiced by Fiona Nova (Rooster Teeth), who along with Becks, voiced by Abigail Turner (Remothered: Broken Porcelain) landed on a strange planet where they hope to find resources that could make them rich but instead discover a planet full of Gunk, a festering growth that’s slowly killing the planet and hides secrets to an ancient civilization. Onto the game itself, the controls for The Gunk are pretty straightforward and thankfully minimal and respond well especially during combat. When it comes to interacting with the Gunk itself it’s very satisfying using your power glove to suck it up, seriously it’s unusually satisfying! The sound design is pretty good, the soundtrack is OK but some of the

Continue reading →
Daniel S. Liuzzi
Dec 16, 2021
Indie Horror 'Scarecrows: Hell On Earth' Coming To Amazon

Indie Horror ‘Scarecrows: Hell On Earth’ Coming To Amazon

The indie horror hit The Scarecrows: Hell on Earth, being compared to Friday the 13th and Madman, continues to trend on Tubi. And now, it’s heading to Amazon Prime. Produced by McGahee (Rise of the Scarecrows), Gregory Hatanaka (Samurai Cop 2), Pete Baez (Remember the Times), Matt Hebert (Zombie Busters” Outlive the Dead), and Jesse Delta Ariel Waegelein-Hall (Revenge), the film promises to bring the monster in the woods slasher back complete with good gore and twists and turns along the way. The film is released by Cinema Epoch and Cineridge Entertainment. The film features music from Joe Becker, Frank Palangi, Sonora & Gary Steinour. In the film, “a young writer returns to his hometown and soon discovers the dark secret that has been hidden for years. The Scarecrows have risen and they are raising hell.”

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Dec 14, 2021
How To Watch 'Freak's' Virtual Premiere This December (Trailer)

How To Watch ‘Freak’s’ Virtual Premiere This December (Trailer)

Calling all horror fans! Attend the virtual global premiere of FREAK hosted by director, Bianca Crespo herself on December 16, 2021, at 8 pm EST. In the film, following a harrowing incident in LA, writer Ava retreats to a remote cabin in the woods of Bucks County to escape, but the longer she stays, the more she realizes that her nightmare has only just begun. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Bianca Crespo is a producer, director, and writer, who started her entertainment career in Los Angeles in 2012, where she worked for The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences and Millennium Films. She established her independent company Santa Mira Studio in 2017, producing various multimedia projects like Brain Burrow, a horror/psychology podcast hosted by Mark D. Valenti. Watch on Eorbi on December 16, 2021, at 8 pm EST. Tickets are $5.

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Dec 14, 2021
Sink Your Teeth Into The New Exclusive Clip From 'Red Snow'

Sink Your Teeth Into The New Exclusive Clip From ‘Red Snow’

Sink your teeth into the new exclusive clip from the indie vampire horror Red Snow, written and directed by Sean Nicholas Lynch. Starring Dennice Cisneros, Nico Bellamy, and Laura Kennon, and produced by Alrik Bursell, Red Snow centers on a struggling vampire romance novelist who must defend herself against real-life vampires during Christmas in Lake Tahoe. When an injured bat transforms into a handsome vampire, struggling horror novelist Olivia Romo hides him in her garage to protect him from a vampire hunter. Besotted by the creature, she feeds him animal blood, but any chance of romance is soon thwarted when a gang of fellow bloodsuckers invades her home in search of their missing friend. Red Snow bares its fangs on DVD, VOD, and Digital on December 28, 2021, from 4Digital Media.

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Dec 14, 2021
RLJE Announces Release Of The Horror Film 'An Unquiet Grave'

RLJE Announces Release Of The Horror Film ‘An Unquiet Grave’

RLJE Films is set to release Shudder’s horror An Unquiet Game this January on DVD. The new trailer is here, teasing a film filled with desperation and sinister intentions. Terence Krey (“Graves”) makes his directorial debut with An Unquiet Grave which he co-wrote with Christine Nyland (Worthless) who stars alongside Jacob A. Ware of “Boardwalk Empire.” Set a year after losing his wife in a car crash, Jamie (Jacob A. Ware) convinces her sister, Ava (Christine Nyland), to return with him to the site of the accident and help him perform a strange ritual. But as the night wears on, it becomes clear that he has darker intentions. An Unquiet Grave arrives on DVD, VOD, and Digital HD on January 18, 2022, from RLJE. N UNQUIET GRAVE DVD bonus features include: Filmmaker Commentary Lyric Video of “The Unquiet Grave” by Vanessa Cuccia Interviews with the Cast and Director An Unquiet GraveSpecial Effects Nightstream World Premiere Q&A

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Dec 13, 2021
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