"Suffering Fools" wins Unreal Film Fest

Back in July I got notice that "SUFFERING FOOLS" would screen at the inaugural Unreal Film Fest in Memphis. It is a fest that played during the Memphis Comic and Fantasy Convention. Being their first year I knew it would be small and we wanted to come out and support the fest and Jim Weter, the festival director. We are very appreciative for being selected to screen. That is an honor that never gets old no matter how big or small the venue.

As the movies were being introduced, it was stated that there is some language and sexual situations in some of the movies. I think the fest runners did that for the benefit of a family with pre-teens in attendance. Well, they hung around for several short films. And then ours came up. Within the first 3 minutes they were already gathering their belongings to leave. Yes!

Now I'm sure some filmmakers would take offense to that. But not us. We make horror movies after all. It gave us a little validation that we did something right. And I have no problem with parents looking out for what their kids watch. Although I'd be willing to bet it was the parents who were disgusted for their own eyes.

And speaking of audience, we got one more validation. Our little short won the Audience Choice Best Short Award!! Thank you to the festival and Jim and everyone who put their time and effort into making the festival. And a huge thank you to our amazing Cinegore family!!!

"Blood Therapy" on TV!

So, "BLOOD THERAPY" had its television debut. How cool is that?! Well, it's a bittersweet story that I must tell. Back in August, I was approached by the producer of Professor Ghoul's Horror School, a local TV show that airs on WKNO (Memphis' public television station). He was putting together a Halloween episode and wanted to show "BLOOD THERAPY" along with a few other local shorts. Of course my answer was YES! Of course you can play my little short on TV!

Several weeks went by and the producer emailed and asked if I'd be interested in being on camera to do a little skit and introduce my movie. Even though I prefer being behind the camera, I said sure. Why not? These opportunities don't come along very often. So, he wrote a little skit and sent it to me. I'm a big fan of horror hosts (and even made a short called "TERROR TUBE" - our love letter to horror hosts), and the skit had something to do with jokingly comparing Professor Ghoul to the awesome Elvira. It was cute. Well, cue the doom and dread music, because that skit wasn't meant to be.

Four days before we were to record our segment, I got the worst case of laryngitis I've ever had. I literally lost my voice for six straight days. And when it did start coming back it took several more days to get back to normal. See, I had caught a viral infection (ugh). Well, there was no way I was going to miss this opportunity. Feeling awful, be damned! We went to the studio to shoot, and poor Craig, he had to fill in for me. Now, we were planning on both being on screen all along, but now it was up to him to do the talking. And if you think I prefer being behind the camera, I can assure you that Craig does not like being in front of the camera. But he was a champ! Obviously, we changed the skit to be just a simple "which filmmaker has inspired you, blah blah blah," sort of thing. He did great. He talked about how John Carpenter is a great influence to us.

And I'm happy to say the whole Halloween episode turned out great. I told everyone I know to be sure to tune in. "BLOOD THERAPY" has been good for us and I'm forever thankful.

Hauntedweb Commercial 2012

The costumes looked wicked as always! They've got a new character this year and he is badass! Reminds me of a cross between a Big Daddy from Bioshock, Brotherhood of Steel from Fallout 3, and those creepy guys with the birdcage in the Silent Hill movie. We absolutely love working with the Hauntedweb guys and are so appreciative they trust us to bring their vision to life. (Bring to life like Dr. Frankenstein?) It did not air on local TV this year, but it did run on their website. Check out the finished commercial below.

For more information visit Hauntedweb.com.

"Suffering Fools" Premiere

"SUFFERING FOOLS" premiered at On Location: Memphis on April 21, 2012. While I'm always eager to get the crew back together again, I wasn't really impressed with this festival. I felt very disconnected from everything. And maybe that's because the block of shorts we were screening with wasn't the fest's idea of "top tier," but I expected a little more attention given to the filmmakers. 

Full disclosure: I can say that because I did not direct "SUFFERING FOOLS," Craig did, and I was hoping he would have a similar awesome experience like I did when "BLOOD THERAPY" premiered. We went to a friend's premiere the night before and they had a full Q&A session after the movie. Again, perhaps that was because it was a feature and ours was a short. Still, it was nice to see so many friends again. And I'm glad the cast and crew met for dinner before hand.