I Heart Horror: Where are they now?

Hey Fiends!   This week, I was tossing up a couple of themes to go with and decided to stick with unreleased films or films that have had a troubled past. Independent film making runs rampant within the horror genre.   Horror is one of the cheapest ways to make a film.   Regardless of experience, most of the time if you have some exploitative element to your film like a slasher or anything to deal with sexual situations & blood, some of the horror geeks come running.   Below, you will find mostly independent films that were picked up by big name companies and then stuck in limbo.   Most of these films, except for one, were run through the hype machine through horror websites and some have been dropped with no followup on where the currently reside.     Some of these have a happy story and some of these don’t.

The following are some of the more popular films that have been held back for some reason or another and tonight we will go over them in alphabetical order.

All The Boys Love Mandy Lane

The Film:
The film revolves around young Mandy Lane who blossomed into a hot babe over the summer.   Now that school has started and the popular group of guys want to get a piece, they invite her to a farm where they try to make it a game to see who can sleep with Mandy Lane first.   Before you know it, people are meeting their untimely demise.

The Trouble:
The film premiered back in 2006 at the Toronto International Film Festival to rave reviews.   Shortly after the screening at TIFF, The Weinstein Company went into a bidding war and won.   However, they didn’t know what do with the film after they acquired it.   There were statements that went as far as “they didn’t know how to market the film.”   Rumor has it that it was supposed to be released in 2007 in the US but due to the box office failure of ‘GRINDHOUSE’, The Weinstein Company didn’t know if the film would have a shot to make any of their money back.   They later sold the film to Senator Entertainment and earlier this year, it was looking like the film was going to be released.   However, Senator Distribution shut their doors and stated that they would not be distributing any more films.

I was lucky enough to see the film and I have to say that there is no reason this film should be sitting on the shelf for this long.   Also, I really don’t understand why they couldn’t of marketed it as it is a slasher movie which always seems to be popular.   Maybe it is the fact that it isn’t a remake that scared the companies away from releasing the film.   Who knows.   What is really sad is that this is an American film that has been released everywhere except for North America.

How Do I See It?:
The best way to see this film is to import it from another region.   You will need a region-free player to play an out of region disc.   I would go with the UK release which is available on DVD & Blu-Ray from amazon.co.uk.   You can purchase the DVD here or the Blu-Ray here.

Angst

The Film:
Made in 1983, ‘Angst’ is about a man who is released from prison after serving about four years (!) for a murder of an elderly woman.   As the story follows him, he eventually ends up with in house with a family of a mother, her daughter and invalid son.   To say anymore would spoil the intensity of the film.   However, if you though ‘HENRY: Portrait of a Serial Killer’ was a emotionally draining film, this one will definitely give a run for its money.

The Trouble:
The trouble in this film has been the US Release.   For 3 years I saw in my Rue Morgue Magazine a ad about this finally coming out to DVD.   Sadly, the company that was to release this – Barrel Entertainment – has since shut down.   While their site is still up and there was no official pres release sent out about their closure, their last release was back in 2007.   The film has been championed by Gasper Noé (Irreversible) as for being one of the main reasons for him to pick up a camera and make movies.

No one has stepped forward to pick up the pieces from Barrel Entertainment which either means that Barrel still have plans to release a US DVD of this or they aren’t talking to anyone.

How Do I See It?:

There were a couple of DVD releases outside of the US, yet I’m not sure on their quality.   I was able to Google a place that does sell it but proceed with caution as I have never dealt with them.   Here is their page where you can get a 2-disc edition.

Paranormal Activity

The Film:
The film follows a couple as they document through a video camera experiences with, what they think, their haunted house.

The Trouble:
The film played at a handful of festivals back in 2007.   One of them being Slamdance where it was met with a majority of praise and being touted as “One of the Scariest Films of the Decade”.   There is a great article that was just recently posted in the LA Times that you can read here.   Originally, the rights were picked up by Dreamworks with the attention of fixing some issues that were raised and then remaking the film.   However….

How Do I See It?:
…Dreamworks has come to their senses and are now releasing it in a limited and new release pattern.   Through the site Eventful, you can now request for Paranormal Activity to play in your city.   Some cities will be able to catch a midnight screening of it tomorrow night.     St. Louis, I plead with you to go to Eventful and try to get St. Louis to break the top 40 as we got knocked out.

Poughkeepsie Tapes

The Film:
Shot in a faux documentary style, the film tells the tale of a killer near Poughkeepsie, NY who has documented all of his murders.   Among the usual talking head entries of the film, we are treated to grainy video of some of the murders.

The Trouble:
The film played at a few festivals independently and then was reported on heavily by some horror sites until MGM picked it up.   Trailers were created for the film and even played theatrically with a release date of early 2008.   MGM then went through a restructure and the film was lost in the vaults with no new release date named.   The film makers moved on to remake ‘[REC]’ as ‘Quarantine’ in the States.

How Do I See It?:
As of right now, there is no plan for this film to be released theatrically or DVD, however there have been rumors that it may see a release later this year on DVD.   However, earlier this year a user from Myspace did post the film in 2 parts.   The film has been on Myspace since January.   It is unknown if this will be the official release or not and it is unsure if this was leaked out by MGM or if it is a bootleg.   However, you can check it out for yourself….

Part 1

Part 2

Taxidermia

The Film:
This film follows the stories of 3 men through different generations with some sort of talent that is, distorted.   I will not say more, but I will link you to the IMDB page.   One thing is for sure, you will NOT FORGET this film.

The Trouble:
‘Taxidermia’ was picked up by Tartan films shortly after it showed at Cannes and the Toronto International Film Festival.   While Tartan did release the film in the UK, they were still in the process of working out a US release when they hit a financial rocky road.

How Do I See It?:
The film has been picked up by Regent Releasing and last month it started showing in select cities.   You can find out more information on the showings at the official website. The UK DVD has been out for some time and it can be purchased here.

Trick ‘r Treat

The Film:
Trick ‘r Treat is a collection of creepy stories that mixes fun with fear, candy with poison, and laughter with screams.
In the tradition of Creepshow and Tales From the Crypt comes four interwoven tales set on Halloween night: a high-school principal who moonlights as a vicious serial killer, a young virgin whose quest for that special someone takes a gruesome turn, a group of teens who carries out a cruel prank with disastrous consequences, and a cantankerous old man who battles a mischievous trick-or-treating demon.

The Trouble:
The film was completed in 2007 and was supposed to get a release that October.   However, Warner Bros. didn’t feel it was ready and needed some adjustments.   Then there were rumors that it would be coming out in August of 2008.   When August rolled around, there was no word from WB and it was assumed – with it being a film about Halloween – that it would come out in October.   Before October, WB took it off of the release slate for 2008 with a TBA date.   It was suggested by many that Warner Bros. didn’t want to release the film in October as Lionsgate’s SAW series has been dominating the Halloween Theatrical season since 2004.

How Do I See It?:
October 6, 2009 will see the release of ‘Trick ‘r Treat’ on DVD and Blu-Ray.   While I haven’t seen the film yet, I think Warner Bros. really should have released this theatrically this year.   The SAW series has practically burned out and horror fans are fed up with it and would like an alternative film to see.   We might see that this Halloween with some other genre releases coming out this October.

Well, that is it for me as I’m tired and need to retire to my crypt.   Adiós.