Iowa & Landlocked Film Fest

Saturday, October 27th, 2012

After hosting Gorefest in Minneapolis, I stopped in Iowa City to see my friend John Pata.  He was screening his film, Dead Weight, at the Landlocked Film Festival.  There, I finally met Nicholas Elert (Dead Weight composer) and Joe Zerull (A Cadaver Christmas writer/director).  I heard about Cadaver from John over the summer and booked it for December's Slaughter Movie House.  How could I not?  The title sells the movie alone.  A Cadaver Christmas is screening in Kansas City on Monday, Dec. 3rd at 7 PM for FREE at Czar Bar, where I am also showing the French short film: Baby-Sitting.

The 4 of us were ready to take on this college town.  We attended the festival's official after party, which was held at a penthouse loft that you wouldn't believe exists in Iowa City.  This place was 2 stories, with floor to ceiling windows.  The party was fabulous but not uncomfortable.  With unlimited booze and food, you'd be right assuming we were the last people there.  You might even say, 'we were kicked out'.  It was only midnight and all the bars were packed to the brim with students in Halloween costumes.  We were a little out of place, but had the greatest time.


Sunday, October 28th, 2012

'666'  How amazing is this sign?

When going on road trips, I like to take longer, more scenic routes.  I often take country highways instead of the interstate.  And yes, it takes a lot longer!  I do this because you never know what you'll discover.  I was proven right again when on my way home from Iowa City I ran into the house from the American Gothic painting!  The house is located in Eldon, a tiny town in south-east Iowa.

It was a lot smaller than I imagined.

Slaughter Classic: 'SCREAM'

 @ Screenland Armour

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Slaughter Movie House and Screenland Armour teamed up to bring KC an older horror on the big screen.  We plan to make this a monthly event.  To continue with the slasher theme, we screened Wes Craven's classic 'SCREAM '. 

'Scream' is one of my all time favorties and brings back a lot of very good memories.  It is the the movie that turned me into a nerd about horror.  Craven teaches the viewer so much about the genre in this film.  I remember researching the internet and learning about all the references from other films, because they flew past me.  I made a list of those films and started renting them one by one.  'Scream' brought back the teen slasher in the mid-nineties, which spawned movies like 'I Know What You Did Last Summer', 'Urban Legend' and tons more.

Check out all the photos from the party HERE.

Flier by Atomic Cotton

Slaughter Movie House: 'The Sleeper' & 'Teddy'

@ Czar Bar, KC, MO
November 5th, 2012

November is a month for slashers, I decided.  'Teddy', the featured short by Kevin Sommerfield and Steve Goltz, is nearly perfect.  The score, the douche you can't wait to see die, the masked killer, and the set up are incredible.  I love 'Teddy'!  I met Kevin and Steve a few months ago in Indianapolis at HorrorHound Weekend.  Together they operate Slasher Studios and are from Wisconsin.

'The Sleeper' is not only set in 1981, but successfully edited and styled to look like it was filmed that same year.  And if that wasn't enough, Justin Russell (writer/director), sent the movie to me on VHS!  'Sleeper' reminds me a lot of the classics 'Black Christmas' and 'When a Stranger Calls'.  I remember searching and searching video stores for 'When a Stranger Calls' in junior high.  Kevin Sommerfield (Teddy) is who told me about 'The Sleeper', it's a big horror family!

Flier by Atomic Cotton

The Walking Dead: Season 3, Ep. 4

Watch Party
@ Screenland Armour, KC, MO

SPOILER ALERT

Gore Rating: 9/10

Drama Rating: 10/10

Kill Count: 29

Oh my, oh my!  What an episode!?  I don't know where to begin.  The mysterious person who broke into the prison in the opening sequence?   Lori is finally dead!  Awesome.   Best zombie kill goes to Glenn for the hatchet head chop.

The Governor, let's talk about him.  He is pretty transparent.  Was it supposed to surprise us at the end of the previous episode when he took out that entire crew of military?  It did not.   I do like the addition of this town and him.  Of course, Andrea has fallen for his shit.   That being said, I like him too.   I have fallen for his bad boy charm.


I'm not sold on Michonne.  She should be an amazing bad-ass character, but instead she is boring and annoying me.

For the last quarter of the show I was an emotional wreck.  I couldn't have imagined how the birth scene was going to play out and it was brutal.  Maggie just sliced her open and starts digging the baby out!  They show us everything, and all with the help of Carl.  The gore has not let up this season.  Carl decides it's his place to make sure his mom doesn't turn into a walker.  He has a flashback to a scene from the previous season where Rick says, “People are gonna die. I'm gonna die... Mom... There's no way you can ever be ready for it.”  'AINT THAT THE TRUTH.

Maggie and Carl reunite with the rest of the group and Rick sees the baby and no Lori.  They did a phenomenal job on that scene.   Every element was spot on: the cinematography, the acting.  I cried like a baby.  I'm afraid to see the next episode.  Where's Carol?

A friend pointed out that I didn't mention the loss of T-Dog.  I guess it's because I'm not ready.

Lindsay, Jill and I at Screenland Armour, where they screen The Walking Dead weekly for free!

Slaughter Movie House: Halloween Party

@ Czar Bar, KC, MO
October 31, 2012

Halloween fell on a Wednesday this year and I knew the majority of people would go out in costume on the Saturday prior.  So, I figured, I should have an extra SPECIAL screening but show a classic instead of a new indie film. What could be better than the original zombie movie, George A. Romero's Night of the Living Dead?! To keep with the theme, I also screened the short, Better Off Undead, a very low budget zombie gorefest by John Pata (Dead Weight).

Photos by Anna-Marie Perry from the party will be up soon on the Slaughter Facebook page!  The amazing flier was designed by Atomic Cotton.