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Horror Fuel

Jaws 3D: The Third Dimension Is Cynema

Third Time’s A Charm Hey, weren’t you in Jaws 3? Why do they make shit like that?” — Fan to Dennis Quaid, star of Jaws 3D I’m going to say that while Jaws 3 is a bad film, it is not totally Cynema. The third shark film was planned as a spoof called Jaws 3, People 0. A script written by National Lampoon’s Vacation Matty Simmons and 16 Candles, Breakfast Club teen king John Hughes exists online. It was to be directed by Jaws ripoff artist Joe Dante of the cult film Piranha (remade as the fun Piranha 3D. How things have come full circle). When the producers of Jaws and Jaws 2, Richard Zanuck and David Brown were approached by Universal to produce a spoof as a third installment, they declined. “It would have been like fouling your own nest,” Brown said. Universal went forward anyway. According to the Jaws 3D.com blog, director Joe Alves revealed how he came

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Capt McNeely
Aug 17, 2015
Horror Fuel

Cynema: Ed Wood–Hollywood’s Whipping Boy

No Respect Apparently Michael Medved, the respected film critic gets the credit with dubbing Edward Wood, Jr. the “worst director of all time” by referring to Wood’s crowning film achievement, Plan Nine From Outer Space as perhaps the worst motion picture ever made. This is not only to come to the late Mr. Wood’s defense, but to also show how off the mark Mr. Medved was in his 1980 book The Golden Turkey Awards. Wood is the antithesis of Cynema–his passion and love for film makes him one of Hollywood’s greatest directors. Say what you want about Plan Nine, Bride of the Monster or Glen or Glenda…bad films, yes. Bad directing, absolutely. However Ed Wood was not a cynic. This column will show why films like Jaws The Revenge, Godzilla 1998 and other big budget films are far worse than anything Ed Wood ever put out, including Plan 9. By many accounts, including his own, Plan 9 From Outer Space

Continue reading →
Capt McNeely
Aug 14, 2015
Horror Fuel

What Is Cynema?

What Is Cynema? For those of you wanting to be filmmakers, screenwriters or even actors, this blog is a way to address a trend that’s been gaining cultural power in the entertainment world. It is not column about how much you “love” or “hate” a movie. This will look at certain films that fit criteria called “Cynema” while other films examined will be those deserving of a second chance and look. Cynema: The cynical practice of contempt for an audience in the making of product that is devoid of creativity, passion, production value or respect while having the financial and creative means to do better. Some films in the following list are Cynema while others deserve a second look: Jaws 3D, Jaws The Revenge (aka Jaws 4), King Kong 1976, King Kong Lives, Halloween III: Season of the Witch, Popeye, 1941, Waterworld, Gojira (1954), Godzilla 1998, The 4th Dimension, Psycho III, Alien 3, They Live, are examples of “Cynema” while

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Capt McNeely
Aug 12, 2015
Horror Fuel

When Filmmakers Strike Back

Keyboard Warriors A bane of social media is the “Inspirational Tweeter.” This is the person whose life is going so well, they feel the need to tell you how you too can find the happiness they have. They’re a digital Hallmark Card, the cyber chicken soup for the soul. It’s amazing how much annoyance can be packed into 140 characters. Another facet is the “Hipster Movie Reviewer.” These are the folks (usually male) with a blog or You Tube Channel who think they know about movies. Some are ballsy enough to take on real reviewers like Scott Weinberg and tell THEM how they’re wrong or “set them straight” especially when it comes to super hero or Adam Sandler films. These “reviewers” usually have little production value. Their videos are shot with no lighting or professional sound and while some have under 50 views they usually start their critiques with “Hey Everyone…” Everyone? You mean the 6 viewers minus the ones

Continue reading →
Capt McNeely
Aug 12, 2015
Horror Fuel

Horrors Await Inside ‘The Barn’

On Halloween 1989, two friends, Sam and Josh are enjoying their last Halloween as high schoolers wit their friends, but the night takes a disturbing turn when on their way to a rock concert, the friends find an abandoned barn and wake the evil inside. It’s up to Sam and Josh to battle the evil and save their friends. Justin M. Seaman both wrote and directed ‘The Barn’, which pays homage to the low-budget horror films of the 1980’s. The cast of ‘The Barn’ includes Ari Lehman (Friday the 13th), Mitchell Musolino (The Men Who Built America), Will Stout (Without an Alibi), Lexi Dripps, Nikki Howell and Cortland Woodard. Seaman needs your help to finish ‘The Barn’. He is currently running an Indiegogo campaign to cover the remaining filming costs and they’re offering some very cool perks like signed photos, posters and video games.

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Aug 4, 2015
Horror Fuel

Beware, The Werewolf is ‘Uncaged’ In This Indie Thriller

Image Entertainment has acquired the rights to ‘Uncaged’, the indie film from first time director Daniel Robbins. The werewolf film, which was shot in New York, stars Gene Jones, who stared in ‘The Sacrament’ and ‘No Country for Old Men’. The film follows a young man (Ben Getz) who, after waking up several times in the woods with no memory of how he got there, straps on a camera to get answers. After watching the tape from the night, he realizes that he’s a killer and a werewolf. ‘Uncaged’ will be out later this year.

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Kelli Marchman McNeely
Jul 4, 2015
Horror Fuel

A Paranormal Team Must Face What’s ‘In the Dark’

Grad student Veronica Carpenter (Lynn Justinger), looking for information for her thesis paper, interviews world renowned paranormal investigator Dr. Lois Kearne (Fiona Horrigan). Veronica joins Dr. Kearne on a field study at the home of a Brooklyn family plagued by paranormal activity. Once at the home the the investigators are faced with a barrage of activity, dark secrets, horrifying events and a young girl who’s affliction may be more than they can handle. ‘In the Dark’ was written and directed by David Spaltro and stars Catherine Cobb Ryan (Slider), Grace Folsom (Things I Don’t Understand), Kayla Leasure (The Admin), Jesse R. Tendler (Leaving Circadia), Aaron Mathis (Paranormal Asylum), William Maloney, Nikki Scheidt and Hayden Wall. The sound and sound design for ‘In the Dark’ was provided by Grammy Award winner Carlos Storm Martinez of CreativeMixing. Practical effects for this paranormal thriller were created by Monsters In My Closet. ‘In the Dark’ is brought to us by Seven Oaks Films along

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Kelli Marchman McNeely
Jun 21, 2015
Horror Fuel

Ashley Benson Stars In The Horror Thriller ‘Ratter’

Sony Pictures has picked up the right to Branden Kramer’s first full length film, titled ‘Ratter’. The film is based on the short film ‘Webcam’. The thriller premiered at this years Slamdance Film Festival and is still making it’s rounds at other festivals. ‘Ratter’ stars ‘Pretty Little Liars’ actress Ashley Benson, along with Matt McGorry (Orange is the New Black) and Rebecca Naomi Jones from the movie ‘The Switch’. The movie follows Emma, a graduate student, living on her own in New York City. Emma is being cyber stalked by a man known as “Ratter”. He has hacked every piece of electronics she owns, so that he can watch her every mood. After a point he is no longer satisfied with just watching. He begins to physically watch and follow the pretty young woman. Things are about to take a disturbing turn for them both. The release date for ‘Ratter’ has not yet been announced be sure to check your

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Jun 14, 2015
Horror Fuel

A First Look At The Indie Zombie Film ‘State Of Desolation’

‘State of Desolation’, written and directed by Jim Towns, follows two survivors, a mercenary and a pampered woman, as they try to survive the apocalypse. Not only do the two have to face other survivors, but also legions of the undead. This apocalyptic zombie thriller stars Jamie Bernadette, Craig Stark, Dominique Swain, Sadie Katz, Jessica Morris, Daniel Buran and Maria Olsen. ‘State of Desolation’ is currently in post production, but is slated to be out in late 2015.

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Kelli Marchman McNeely
Jun 6, 2015
Horror Fuel

Movie Review: The Horror (2015)

‘The Horror’ was written by Sarah Carman and Raymond Creamer, with Jerry J. White III serving as director. The movie stars Schell M. Peterson (The Road To Hell), Lexi Moeller (Underneath), Callie Ott (An American in Venice), Raymond Creamer (Cats Dancing on Jupiter), Chris Oliver and Gary Crites. Ellie Cecala and Cory Coleman make their acting debuts in this Indie film. Brother and sister Malcolm and Isabell (Raymond Creamer and Callie Ott) have recently lost their parents to a car accident. Malcolm was there during the accident and had to watch his parents die, but he seems to be holding up better than Isabell. Malcolm hasn’t been the same since the wreck. As if things couldn’t get worse the two are attacked at the family’s cabin by masked men, but luckily neither are seriously hurt.Malcolm has formed an obsession with finding the mask that one of the attackers lost in the lake. Isabell is growing very concerned with her brother,

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
May 26, 2015

More from Indie

Horror Fuel

Jaws 3D: The Third Dimension Is Cynema

Third Time’s A Charm Hey, weren’t you in Jaws 3? Why do they make shit like that?” — Fan to Dennis Quaid, star of Jaws 3D I’m going to say that while Jaws 3 is a bad film, it is not totally Cynema. The third shark film was planned as a spoof called Jaws 3, People 0. A script written by National Lampoon’s Vacation Matty Simmons and 16 Candles, Breakfast Club teen king John Hughes exists online. It was to be directed by Jaws ripoff artist Joe Dante of the cult film Piranha (remade as the fun Piranha 3D. How things have come full circle). When the producers of Jaws and Jaws 2, Richard Zanuck and David Brown were approached by Universal to produce a spoof as a third installment, they declined. “It would have been like fouling your own nest,” Brown said. Universal went forward anyway. According to the Jaws 3D.com blog, director Joe Alves revealed how he came

Continue reading →
Capt McNeely
Aug 17, 2015
Horror Fuel

Cynema: Ed Wood–Hollywood’s Whipping Boy

No Respect Apparently Michael Medved, the respected film critic gets the credit with dubbing Edward Wood, Jr. the “worst director of all time” by referring to Wood’s crowning film achievement, Plan Nine From Outer Space as perhaps the worst motion picture ever made. This is not only to come to the late Mr. Wood’s defense, but to also show how off the mark Mr. Medved was in his 1980 book The Golden Turkey Awards. Wood is the antithesis of Cynema–his passion and love for film makes him one of Hollywood’s greatest directors. Say what you want about Plan Nine, Bride of the Monster or Glen or Glenda…bad films, yes. Bad directing, absolutely. However Ed Wood was not a cynic. This column will show why films like Jaws The Revenge, Godzilla 1998 and other big budget films are far worse than anything Ed Wood ever put out, including Plan 9. By many accounts, including his own, Plan 9 From Outer Space

Continue reading →
Capt McNeely
Aug 14, 2015
Horror Fuel

What Is Cynema?

What Is Cynema? For those of you wanting to be filmmakers, screenwriters or even actors, this blog is a way to address a trend that’s been gaining cultural power in the entertainment world. It is not column about how much you “love” or “hate” a movie. This will look at certain films that fit criteria called “Cynema” while other films examined will be those deserving of a second chance and look. Cynema: The cynical practice of contempt for an audience in the making of product that is devoid of creativity, passion, production value or respect while having the financial and creative means to do better. Some films in the following list are Cynema while others deserve a second look: Jaws 3D, Jaws The Revenge (aka Jaws 4), King Kong 1976, King Kong Lives, Halloween III: Season of the Witch, Popeye, 1941, Waterworld, Gojira (1954), Godzilla 1998, The 4th Dimension, Psycho III, Alien 3, They Live, are examples of “Cynema” while

Continue reading →
Capt McNeely
Aug 12, 2015
Horror Fuel

When Filmmakers Strike Back

Keyboard Warriors A bane of social media is the “Inspirational Tweeter.” This is the person whose life is going so well, they feel the need to tell you how you too can find the happiness they have. They’re a digital Hallmark Card, the cyber chicken soup for the soul. It’s amazing how much annoyance can be packed into 140 characters. Another facet is the “Hipster Movie Reviewer.” These are the folks (usually male) with a blog or You Tube Channel who think they know about movies. Some are ballsy enough to take on real reviewers like Scott Weinberg and tell THEM how they’re wrong or “set them straight” especially when it comes to super hero or Adam Sandler films. These “reviewers” usually have little production value. Their videos are shot with no lighting or professional sound and while some have under 50 views they usually start their critiques with “Hey Everyone…” Everyone? You mean the 6 viewers minus the ones

Continue reading →
Capt McNeely
Aug 12, 2015
Horror Fuel

Horrors Await Inside ‘The Barn’

On Halloween 1989, two friends, Sam and Josh are enjoying their last Halloween as high schoolers wit their friends, but the night takes a disturbing turn when on their way to a rock concert, the friends find an abandoned barn and wake the evil inside. It’s up to Sam and Josh to battle the evil and save their friends. Justin M. Seaman both wrote and directed ‘The Barn’, which pays homage to the low-budget horror films of the 1980’s. The cast of ‘The Barn’ includes Ari Lehman (Friday the 13th), Mitchell Musolino (The Men Who Built America), Will Stout (Without an Alibi), Lexi Dripps, Nikki Howell and Cortland Woodard. Seaman needs your help to finish ‘The Barn’. He is currently running an Indiegogo campaign to cover the remaining filming costs and they’re offering some very cool perks like signed photos, posters and video games.

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Aug 4, 2015
Horror Fuel

Beware, The Werewolf is ‘Uncaged’ In This Indie Thriller

Image Entertainment has acquired the rights to ‘Uncaged’, the indie film from first time director Daniel Robbins. The werewolf film, which was shot in New York, stars Gene Jones, who stared in ‘The Sacrament’ and ‘No Country for Old Men’. The film follows a young man (Ben Getz) who, after waking up several times in the woods with no memory of how he got there, straps on a camera to get answers. After watching the tape from the night, he realizes that he’s a killer and a werewolf. ‘Uncaged’ will be out later this year.

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Jul 4, 2015
Horror Fuel

A Paranormal Team Must Face What’s ‘In the Dark’

Grad student Veronica Carpenter (Lynn Justinger), looking for information for her thesis paper, interviews world renowned paranormal investigator Dr. Lois Kearne (Fiona Horrigan). Veronica joins Dr. Kearne on a field study at the home of a Brooklyn family plagued by paranormal activity. Once at the home the the investigators are faced with a barrage of activity, dark secrets, horrifying events and a young girl who’s affliction may be more than they can handle. ‘In the Dark’ was written and directed by David Spaltro and stars Catherine Cobb Ryan (Slider), Grace Folsom (Things I Don’t Understand), Kayla Leasure (The Admin), Jesse R. Tendler (Leaving Circadia), Aaron Mathis (Paranormal Asylum), William Maloney, Nikki Scheidt and Hayden Wall. The sound and sound design for ‘In the Dark’ was provided by Grammy Award winner Carlos Storm Martinez of CreativeMixing. Practical effects for this paranormal thriller were created by Monsters In My Closet. ‘In the Dark’ is brought to us by Seven Oaks Films along

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Jun 21, 2015
Horror Fuel

Ashley Benson Stars In The Horror Thriller ‘Ratter’

Sony Pictures has picked up the right to Branden Kramer’s first full length film, titled ‘Ratter’. The film is based on the short film ‘Webcam’. The thriller premiered at this years Slamdance Film Festival and is still making it’s rounds at other festivals. ‘Ratter’ stars ‘Pretty Little Liars’ actress Ashley Benson, along with Matt McGorry (Orange is the New Black) and Rebecca Naomi Jones from the movie ‘The Switch’. The movie follows Emma, a graduate student, living on her own in New York City. Emma is being cyber stalked by a man known as “Ratter”. He has hacked every piece of electronics she owns, so that he can watch her every mood. After a point he is no longer satisfied with just watching. He begins to physically watch and follow the pretty young woman. Things are about to take a disturbing turn for them both. The release date for ‘Ratter’ has not yet been announced be sure to check your

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Jun 14, 2015
Horror Fuel

A First Look At The Indie Zombie Film ‘State Of Desolation’

‘State of Desolation’, written and directed by Jim Towns, follows two survivors, a mercenary and a pampered woman, as they try to survive the apocalypse. Not only do the two have to face other survivors, but also legions of the undead. This apocalyptic zombie thriller stars Jamie Bernadette, Craig Stark, Dominique Swain, Sadie Katz, Jessica Morris, Daniel Buran and Maria Olsen. ‘State of Desolation’ is currently in post production, but is slated to be out in late 2015.

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
Jun 6, 2015
Horror Fuel

Movie Review: The Horror (2015)

‘The Horror’ was written by Sarah Carman and Raymond Creamer, with Jerry J. White III serving as director. The movie stars Schell M. Peterson (The Road To Hell), Lexi Moeller (Underneath), Callie Ott (An American in Venice), Raymond Creamer (Cats Dancing on Jupiter), Chris Oliver and Gary Crites. Ellie Cecala and Cory Coleman make their acting debuts in this Indie film. Brother and sister Malcolm and Isabell (Raymond Creamer and Callie Ott) have recently lost their parents to a car accident. Malcolm was there during the accident and had to watch his parents die, but he seems to be holding up better than Isabell. Malcolm hasn’t been the same since the wreck. As if things couldn’t get worse the two are attacked at the family’s cabin by masked men, but luckily neither are seriously hurt.Malcolm has formed an obsession with finding the mask that one of the attackers lost in the lake. Isabell is growing very concerned with her brother,

Continue reading →
Kelli Marchman McNeely
May 26, 2015
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