A complete and total tip of the hat to ShellHawk's Nest for turning me onto this beautiful short film entitled "The Legend of the Scarecrow," about a lonely scarecrow who only wants to befriend the crows that visit his field. It has elements of Frankenstein and Poe and TEARS. Be sure to check it out.
Showing posts with label short films. Show all posts
Showing posts with label short films. Show all posts
Oct 7, 2021
Dec 2, 2020
GOODNIGHT, HALLOWEEN
Longtime friend of The End of Summer, Luther Boghal-Jones, recently got in touch regarding his latest opus, the short film entitled Goodnight, Halloween. Even though we're in the thick of the lamer-holidays part of the year, T.E.O.S. luckily celebrates Halloween all year, and since I'm (still) going through Halloween withdrawal, seems like a good time for a festive, frightful flick.
From the press release:
Daily
death figures…people locked down, hiding, communicating via webcams…a
divided nation…a right wing agenda pulling the strings of government
with populist politics…welcome to alternate Detroit in 1986…welcome to
the world of Goodnight, Halloween.
Goodnight, Halloween is
a short fantasy thriller from Worthing based award winning writer/
director Luther Bhogal-Jones – in this alternate world Halloween
creatures have co-existed with mankind for all time…but now a forced
government policy has removed their rights and allowed human citizens to
exterminate them without consequence. The creatures have been forced
into hiding and forged uneasy alliances between competing different
species, all with their own agendas. A ray of hope emerges – evidence
that could discredit K.R.O.N.A – the Khristian Right Of New Amerika –
and having retrieved the evidence a group of creatures are scattered and
forced to stay in hiding while the evidence is painstakingly uploaded
to the Network…if they can stay alive long enough…which is where the
film begins…
Ironically prescient for these times after being 14 years in the making, Goodnight, Halloween is a thrilling stylish throwback to the creature films of the VHS 80s era – something that could have come from studio stables of New World or Empire Pictures – while combining elements of Robocop’s mediabreak interludes and downbeat, cynical elements of John Carpenter’s work (especially with the Carpenter-esque score to the film – courtesy of Worthing composer Monzen Nakacho).
Goodnight, Halloween
Extra stuff:
Buy the soundtrack.
May 7, 2014
Apr 17, 2014
BLACK SPOT
Filmmaker Luther Bhogal-Jones, whose previously shared with me his short film, "Creak," reached out to me to share another short film made by himself and his merry band of miscreants. Called "Black Spot," it is a six-minute homage to the deranged and mentally unbalanced films made at the height of 1970s madness. Personally, I had The Last House on the Left in mind the entire time I watched it. It's available to watch in three different formats: traditional 3D, stereoscopic 3D, and plain-old 2D. The 2D version is embedded here:
“Black Spot” F.A.Q.
What was the inspiration for the story?
Luther was looking for a scenario that would let him test the device out against landscapes, but also a compact interior. He didn't want to film something entirely set in a house, as it felt somewhat limiting on scope. Luther isn't too sure where the actual inspiration for setting the film around a broken down car came from – possibly as a result of his day job travelling around as an account manager – but also it references back to his previous short film “Stranded” which involved a broken down car in one of the three storylines.
There was definitely a desire to give the film a 1970s horror feel – not necessarily the now cliched grindhouse style but something that felt relentless, grim, trashy...
What was the budget of the film?
Removing the “cost” of the camera from the film's budget, "Black Spot" was made for less than one hundred and fifty pounds, with all cast and crew working for travel and food expenses only. Specific props and clothing were required for the film which was where the majority of the expenditure went.
Where can people see the film?
The film is available online with 3 formats available to view – in 3D with red/cyan glasses as Luther intended the film to be seen, in stereoscopic 3D for those with 3D TVs at home and, lastly, in a 2D version for those who cannot view the 3D versions.
The film will also be submitted to various horror festivals around the world over the year.
What's next for Faster Productions and Sincerely, Psychopath?
“Black Spot” comes under the umbrella name of Sincerely, Psychopath which is used by Faster Productions for the films of a more horror/ fantastical nature. The next film to come under that brand will be “Knock Knock,” which is a short horror showing the mental breakdown of a woman terrorized by a knocking at her door.
The next offering from Faster Productions will be “Pick-Ups,” which is currently in post production, and is a short drama with a comedic sting in the tale about a man gives up everything and travels to Eastern Europe to be with the woman who he thinks is “the one.”
Jan 18, 2014
Sep 5, 2013
Sep 1, 2013
Aug 9, 2013
THE BITTERROOT FOOTAGE
My name is Chad. I'm a student at a university in New York. I just moved to a studio apartment and needed some furniture. I found a guy on Craigslist that wanted to desperately get rid of his things at super cheap prices so I went to check it out. He sold things in bulk to get rid of as many things as possible. I bought a small table and it came with a bunch of other random things. Some of it I gave away and some I kept.
An old wooden box caught my attention. It was locked, and out of curiosity I kept it. I had to force open the lid with a screw-driver and inside I found some old pictures.
The word 'bitterroot' was handwritten on the backs of all of them. There was also a tin can that contained a reel of film that I later learned from my friend Dario (a film student), was 8mm film.
The film was pretty damaged so I just kept it on my bookshelf as decoration, but I couldn't get the images of the pictures out of my head. I had to figure out a way to watch that film.
With help from Dario, we got an old 8mm projector in good working condition on Ebay. The film skipped in several spots so we put it together with a special tape and then watched it again. What we found was disturbing.
Visit the website for more.
Jul 11, 2013
May 4, 2013
Apr 5, 2013
REVIEW: THE PROSPECTOR'S CURSE
As I watched filmmaker Josh Heisie's short film The Prospector's Curse, I was struck by just how much the tone and over-the-top nature of the story's events felt as if they had been plucked from the pages of the old EC comic line, or from the Creepshow film series.
After watching the film and checking out the press kit sent by the filmmaker, I saw this:
The Prospector’s Curse will be pitched as the first “chapter” of an anthology horror feature (IE, “Tales From the Crypt” and Creepshow). Each chapter will pay homage to a different genre of B-Movie, including this spaghetti western inspired ghost story, a film-noir thriller, a 1950s style creature feature, and a psychedelic slasher flick.
Glad to see we're on the same page. And I'll even do the filmmaker one better. The Prospector's Curse feels like a lost film from the efforts of Sam Raimi and Co., perhaps made and forgotten somewhere during their other little seen opus Within the Woods. Your plot is a rather simple one: Two fugitive men on the run during the height of the U.S. gold rush come across a dying prospector who begs them to give his gold to his sister, and to give him a "Christian burial." The two men agree, but do neither, intent on finding his stake and picking up where the old prospector left off. Well, in line with the old morality tales that "Tales from the Crypt" made famous, the two men will end up regretting their decisions.
The Prospector's Curse is wonderfully quirky and outrageous, but would benefit more from being surrounded by other short films of its type. As a one-off, I could see some viewers being standoffish with it if they're not "in" on the joke. Some people like their horror straight-laced and serious; some like it goofy. The Prospector's Curse is definitely goofy. One can come away with no other opinion following a scene in which a character thinks he is passionately kissing his long-lost love before seeing that it's actually the dead and bloody prospector...and spitting beard out of his mouth. I hope this anthology idea works out; from someone who misses the format, it would be something to look forward to.
Check out the film's official Facebook.
Check out the film's official Facebook.
Mar 17, 2013
Feb 23, 2013
Feb 7, 2013
Feb 4, 2013
Jan 12, 2013
Sep 11, 2012
Jun 17, 2012
THE GATE
95% of the human genome is composed of redundant gene sequences. They appear to have no known biological function. Could a chance event reactivate them? Genetic freaks wander the streets courtesy of irresponsible pharmaceutical companies.
Jun 15, 2012
Feb 24, 2012
PROSPECT
Theodore “Tubby” Ellsworth and Jack smith are two criminals on the run, lost in the untamed wilderness. When they stumble across a mutilated Prospector, dying on Indian ground, they promise to give him a Christian burial. The fugitives break their oath and steal the old man’s gold…but that night, the Prospector’s corpse returns to make them pay!
A western-themed horror film entitled “The Prospector’s Curse” has wrapped production near the remote town of Ponty Pool, Ontario. Set during the Klondike Gold Rush of the 1890’s, the darkly comedic short is Written and Directed by Josh Heisie (‘Mail Order Bride’), Produced by Bruno Marino (‘Anything Goes’) and is currently in Post Production in Toronto, Canada.
The talent lineup for “The Prospector’s Curse” includes David Roberts (‘Curious and Unusual Deaths’), Johnny Quinn (‘Mind’s Eye: The Series’), Amanda Ives (‘I Hate Toronto: A Love Story’) and Robert Nolan (‘Worm’).
In this blogger's opinion, the world needs more horror westerns.Rounding out the creative team are Director of Photography Michael Jari Davidson (‘SICK’), and Special Effects Makeup Artist Carlos Henriques (‘Red: Werewolf Hunter’) of The Butcher Shop.
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