REVIEW: Defarious
– By Stephen Harper
Having no prior knowledge to what Defarious was about or its premise kind of worked in its favour. This eleven minute short from award winning director Chase Michael Pallante plays with the theories of sleep paralysis. We witness one woman’s experiences throughout a night of terror and the emotions and horrific imagery she encounters.
The film is gorgeously shot, with a tinged-blue colour pallet reminiscent of 80’s retro horror with hints of slasher genre thrown in. Pallante is able to build the atmosphere well with an easy on the eye leading lady and wonderfully large environment to broaden its scope. As the woman roams the house her visions manifest into a crazed killer or demon, which raises the questions of what’s reality and what’s only in her head.
What lets Defarious down ultimately is its concept style of its killer/demon. What should’ve been frightening and sinister more resembles Uncle Fester. Also its score just doesn’t knit well at all. It was incredibly annoying and I personally felt with a more creepy score it would’ve lifted Defarious up a level.
Overall Defarious hits a few marks. Not as unsettling as it thinks it is, but is a nice nod to the inspired classics of the 80’s.
Twitter: @StephenFolklore
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We don’t like to blow our own trumpets here at The Slaughtered Bird but, y’know, FUCK IT – we’re damn proud of our debut film production, BURN, created in collaboration with Dragon Egg Media!
Since post-production finished last year, our 15-minute short has received numerous excellent reviews, been busy finding its feet on the festival circuit and gratefully receiving many Official Selection laurels from around the world, and now it’s picked up its first award… or three!
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It’s not every day you get to speak to the lead actor in possibly your favourite horror film of all time. Especially on a Tuesday. Tuesdays are usually rubbish!
David Naughton should need no introduction to horror fans. Back in 1981, An American Werewolf In London had unprepared cinema goers laughing heartily one second and jumping out of their seats in terror the next. Its tale of two young American tourists coming face-to-teeth with a legendary lycanthropic beast perfectly married a genuinely funny script with razor sharp editing, groundbreaking special effects and a flawless cast to create a monster movie that is still many people’s benchmark today
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We currently have advertising space available at very reasonable rates, so if you have a product you want to let people know about then please email us at theslaughteredbird@gmail.com with your needs and we can give you more info.
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REVIEW: At Granny's House
- By Dave Dubrow
Written and directed by Les Mahoney, AT GRANNY’S HOUSE is a low-budget horror movie that manages to hit just about every mediocre-to-awful low-budget horror movie note:
REVIEW: Ghost Stories
- By Stephen Harper
To say I’m a tad disappointed that I missed the play Ghost Stories when it appeared at The Liverpool Playhouse, UK is an understatement as it’s not only the city in which I reside, but it became quite the phenomenon as well.
I always remember seeing the promotional material outside the theatre in which it only showed photographs of the audience reactions and nothing of the play itself, you could clearly see people were genuinely scared.
INTERVIEW: Jason Kapalka
- By Steven Hickey
Last weekend saw the release of Blue Wizard Digital’s fantastically fun Friday the 13th: Killer Puzzle, a game in which players get to play the role of the infamous Jason Voorhees and slaughter hordes of hapless teens - by way of solving a series of cute sliding block puzzles.
INTERVIEW: Jason Kapalka
- By Steven Hickey
Last weekend saw the release of Blue Wizard Digital’s fantastically fun Friday the 13th: Killer Puzzle, a game in which players get to play the role of the infamous Jason Voorhees and slaughter hordes of hapless teens - by way of solving a series of cute sliding block puzzles.
13 QUESTIONS FROM HELL! Stephen Harper interviews comic artist Paul PJ Johnson
- By Stephen Harper
Artist, Illustrator, Writer and Owner of Beat The Demon Comix - Paul PJ Johnson has been ripping up the indie comics scene for the past few years. His unique blend of grindhouse, horror and 80’s throwback humor is a style that has garnered him a huge fan base.
INTERVIEW: Richard Neil
“It’s now much easier to get the word out” about independent horror films, explains actor Richard Neil, particularly with the plethora of online reviewers and horror outlets willing to support smaller horror fare like his latest film, Prodigy.
What makes a good horror movie and what doesn’t?
Bad Hair
Short domestic horror film “Bad Hair” raised a quarter of its goal in the first days on the platform Indiegogo
With the first few days, the film crew has raised almost 2,500 dollars through crowdfunding, which makes up almost 25% of their goal.
According to director Oskar Lehemaa, “Bad Hair” has received support from friends, acquaintances, families and colleagues.
Hex Studios releases epic first trailer for gothic thriller AUTOMATA
Hot off the heels of their black and white Noir The Black Gloves, director Lawrie Brewster and writer Sarah Daly are back with another slice of Gothic horror.
Automata, the fifth feature from the duo, is a lavish affair with a vibrant colour palette that harks back to the giallos of Argento and Bava.
Don't Follow the Light
After the success of his powerful psychological horror The Telephone, Derbyshire writer-director Stuart Connock Wheeldon is again to take the world of independent cinema by storm. His new film Don't Follow the Light today steps into the preproduction phase and will be filmed in and around the Derbyshire countryside in the summer of 2018.
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