And to celebrate we have a great competition for you and 2 copies on DVD to give away.
Synopsis:
Hollywood stalwart Michel Madsen (Reservoir Dogs, The Hateful Eight) stars alongside Taye Diggs (Empire, Chicago) and Jessica Uberuaga (Take Back, Vigilante Diaries) in The Incarnation, a wickedly dark, twisted tale of greed and evil.
This devilish horror based on the legendary demon Mammon from Isaac Walsh in his directorial debut, gets its UK premiere on DVD and digital this March courtesy of 101 Films.
Struggling young couple Brad (Taye Diggs) and Jess (Jessica Uberuaga) move to LA In search of a better life. When they stumble across the perfect property, they seize it with both hands, and their luck begins to change… but is it too good to be true?
With their fortunes taking a miraculous turn, their thirst for success and riches cannot be quenched… but they soon learn that greed comes at a hefty price.
It becomes increasingly apparent that behind the seemingly luxurious walls lurks something deadly… An ancient evil that will stop at nothing to get what it wants…
And the American dream descends into an unimaginable nightmare.
For your chance to win just answer the question below.
Who plays Brad in The Incarnation?
Send your name, address and of course the answer to competition365@outlook.com
Quick Terms and conditions - For full T&C click here
1. Closing date 28-03-22
2. No alternative prize is available
3. When the competition ends as indicated on this page, any and all entries received after this point will not count and emails blacklisted due to not checking this page first.
4. Winners will be chosen randomly and will be informed via email.
5. Entries that come directly from other websites will not be accepted.
Ahead of FrightFest’s UK premiere of A CLOUD SO HIGH at the Glasgow Film Festival, director Christopher Parson talks about his encounter with a peeping tom, casting a serial killer and writing demented female characters…
Congratulations on such an accomplished feature film debut. Is this the film you’ve always wanted to make?
Thanks for the compliment! I always saw ‘A Cloud So High’ as a Drive-In movie, to be honest. It's more the film I never knew I always wanted to make!
The film takes us on a dark journey into the pathology of a young man (Paul) developing into a serial killer. What gave you the inspiration for the character?
There were three main incidents. One, many years ago, much like Paul Sarling, I was attacked and mugged by three assailants while walking home after a college class here in Los Angeles. Two, while purchasing batteries at a hardware store two years later, I overheard two older gentlemen discussing how DNA linked the
Sacramento-based “East Area Rapist” to a series of 10 murders in Southern California hundreds of miles away. Naturally I was shocked by the escalation of violence and the change in perpetrator's M.O. and three, two more years after the hardware store incident, a peeping tom watched my then-girlfriend and I as we slept at a Pismo Beach motel, in the wee hours of the morning of course. She screamed, "Someone’s watching us!"
The film is also a penetrating study into a community where our protagonist, who starts off as a peeping tom / ransacker, can hide in plain sight. How much is this a comment on small-town America and your own upbringing?
It's really more of a comment that, as people, we can be too self-involved to realize what's going on around us.
The performances, especially from Aaron Perilo, who plays Paul, are magnificent. In Aaron’s case, how difficult was it to cast, considering the sympathy for him you want the audience to have?
Aaron came to us from our casting director, Cydney McCurdy, who always brought me terrific actors across the board. When Aaron walked in, he looked just like a police sketch of one of the serial killers I had been researching -- which instantly gave me goosebumps. The Paul Sarling role wasn't particularly difficult to cast, as I recall. There were really only two contenders for the role of Paul. The other actor that we liked was terrific, and had this unique James Dean / Brad Pitt quality. The problem is, would you believe a James Dean / Brad Pitt-type would be a ransacker-turned-killer? In the end -- as much as I loved that performer -- I didn't think so. Aaron won the role.
It was great to see John Savage back on the big screen, as Paul’s complex father, which is an equally challenging role. How did you secure his services?
When Cydney read the script, she said Gene Sarling is John Savage and promptly sent the script to John's then-manager. John had five days available and we made it work. What can I say? We got lucky.
The title is very evocative. Can you tell us what it means to you?
To be honest, I had the title before I had a script, and for the longest time I had no idea what it meant! While we were filming the Hemky Madera (as Gabriel Rivera) interview, I asked Hemky to say that "for the whole town, Paul Sarling was just a black cloud". Also, ‘A Cloud So High’ are the last words of a poem that Paul reads -- but it's buried (on purpose) in the sound mix.
How did you enter the film industry?
Well, I had planned to become a film critic after graduating from USC's film school. The problem was that I realized I was more interested in pursuing voice over acting and not writing film criticism. On the other hand, I was always a die-hard film buff who wanted to make a feature. So I used some of my earnings from voiceover to finance the film. I cut and scored the film to keep the costs down.
Do you think your experience as an actor helped you with the film’s journey?
There's no way ‘A Cloud So High’ would exist if I had never acted. Let's put it that way!
Finally, what’s next?
First, a little rest and relaxation. Later, I'd like to do a movie I wrote in quarantine, called ‘Little Miss Bitch Face’. That one's a ‘What Ever Happened To Baby Jane?’ / ‘Hush Hush Sweet Charlotte’ / ‘Grey Gardens’ meets ‘The Big Chill’ -- but with horror overtones and surreal sequences. And, of course, a bleak ending. ‘A Cloud So High’ is a bit of a sausage fest. I wanted to write some demented female characters for a change. Virtually all of the female characters in "LMBF" are over the age of 55. It will be a fun project.
A CLOUD SO HIGH is screening Friday 11h March, 4pm at the GFT, as part of the Arrow Video FrightFest Glasgow 2021 event.
Katherine Ramsland is an American non-fiction author and professor of forensic psychology. Ramsland has written 60 books and more than 1,000 articles, mostly in the genres of crime, forensic science, and the supernatural. She is also a professor of forensic psychology and criminal justice at DeSales University.
When did you first become interested in writing?
Although I hand-wrote a 1,000-page novel when I was 15, I didn’t realize I wanted to write professionally until after I achieved my Ph.D. And even then, it didn’t become a consuming interest until I was in my 30s. I started with academic books, then wrote Anne Rice’s biography, then just kept going into all kinds of subject areas, including some vampire novels. For a while, I wrote horror fiction, but my primary interest over the past two decades has been forensics and crime.
How did you get involved in writing about famous serial killers?
When I was a kid, a serial killer was murdering young women in my area. I remained curious about it, so during the late 1990s when someone posted a website, The Crime Library, for true crime narratives, I offered to write about him. Then I wrote another story for them about another killer. Then Court TV bought the website. I got all the work I could handle, most of it about serial murder cases. I didn’t aim to become an expert, but that’s what happened. I then launched into writing books about extreme offenders and crime stories.
Tell us about your first publisher.
My first publisher was an academic press, as I turned my dissertation, Engaging the Immediate, into a book. My first commercial publisher was NewAmerican Library, for the Rice biography. That editor later became my literary agent. I’ve had quite a few different publishers over the years, with 69 books published, and more coming. Each publication is an event, though. I love to see the finished book. And I love to always be starting a new one. Some are only in e-book form, which saves me some space.
How would you classify the genre you write?
I write in many genres. Academic nonfiction, narrative nonfiction, true crime, biography, travel, self-help, fiction, etc. Most of it these days is about some kind of crime. My latest fiction series involves a forensic psychologist who manages a PI agency and takes on difficult cases, including those with paranormal overtones. Like I do. I enjoy writing biographies as well, or anything that helps to learn about new places or people. I’ve written a lot of books about forensics and investigation as well.
Why do you think horror and murder mystery books remain so popular?
People love the intrigue of puzzles and the titillation of dark motivations and potential danger from unknown forces. It raises the emotional level while not really putting them in danger. And with crime, readers want to know how offenders became criminals and why they did what they did, especially if it’s extreme or exotic. I teach courses on extreme offenders and there’s no end to fascinating cases. It’s an expansion of who we are as humans, because they’re doing something that seems beyond human limits. Horror is similar, although perhaps not intriguing in the same way. But the frame of safety that allows us to explore and experience danger or the unknown has eternal appeal.
What inspires your stories and topics?
Generally I see intriguing cases. My fiction almost always incorporates actual events or cases. Or I’m intrigued by an offender who’s an outlier, who’s different in some way. It makes me want to explore. My driving motivation as a writer is to learn something new. I’ve never had a block. I’ve been writing for almost 40 years but I’ve always found something interesting to pursue.
What are your favorite horror books?
It’s been so long I can’t really think of one, aside from Peter Straub’s Ghost Story. It might have been the first time I ended a book with the sense that the act of reading it had made me a target of whatever was out there. It was now aware of me. But I was pretty young at the time. Having immersed so much in crime, it’s difficult to find something that would really scare me, or even give me that shiver of horror. I see so much real stuff that’s horrifying.
Do you think Hannibal Lecter is the greatest fictional serial killer in movies and books?
No. He’s absurd, psychologically. The problem with knowing how the psychology of serial murder works is that when fiction writers make stuff up that doesn’t work, it has little impact for me. And he got increasingly more absurd with more novels written. I think Anton Chigurh from No Country for Old Men is far more realistic and disturbing. He’s unrelenting and unconcerned about anyone’s situation.
What do you consider your greatest accomplishment as an author?
The five years I spent in intimate conversations with BTK serial killer Dennis Rader to write his autobiography, Confession of a Serial Killer. I didn’t expect it to take so long, but the work did make a contribution to the field of forensic psychology. I was also pleased with the limited-series documentary made from it.
Do you have any advice for new writers?
The most important thing a writer can do is find a support person or group – someone who isn’t your mother. I don’t mean a critique group. I mean people who will keep assuring you, “It will happen,” “Your stuff is good,” “Don’t let a rejection get to you.” I have a couple of friends who’ve been cheerleaders and readers for years. They’ve seen me through lots of disappointments, helped me celebrate successes, and helped me keep my vision alive.
What is your opinion of the new self-publishing trend?
There are pros and cons. It’s great to have more opportunities to have publications get out there that might not work for mainstream publishers, but too many people aren’t careful about it, or don’t care about a quality product, so the marketplace is glutted with substandard manuscripts. That’s the negative part.
What are your current projects?
As mentioned above, I’m writing a 3-book fiction series about a forensic psychologist who runs a PI agency and takes on difficult cases, especially those involving missing kids. I’m also launching into another book with a serial offender whose name I can’t yet reveal. I don’t think this one will take 5 years, but it will make a similar contribution as the one I wrote with Rader.
Please in your own words, write a paragraph about yourself & your work.
I teach forensic psychology at DeSales University in Pennsylvania, where I’m also an Assistant Provost. I’ve appeared as an expert in criminal psychology on more than 200 crime documentaries and magazine shows, am an executive producer of a show Murder House Flip, and have consulted for CSI, Bones, and The Alienist. I’ve published more than 1,500 articles and 69 books, including The Forensic Science of CSI, The Forensic Psychology of Criminal Minds, How to Catch a Killer, The Psychology of Death Investigations, and Confession of a Serial Killer: The Untold Story of Dennis Rader, The BTK Killer. I was co-executive producer for the Wolf Entertainment/A&E four-part documentary based on the years I spent talking with Rader. I consult on death investigations, pen a regular blog for Psychology Today, and am currently writing a fiction series based on a female forensic psychologist who manages a private investigation agency.
And to celebrate we have a great competition for you and 3 copies on Bluray to give away.
Synopsis:
Damian Mc Carthy makes his dramatic directorial debut with the ‘impressive and often terrifying’ (The Guardian) Caveat, a Shudder Exclusive set for its UK Blu-ray debut from Acorn Media International on 28 February 2022. It will also be available on DVD and digital.
Amnesiac drifter Isaac (Jonathan French – A Soldier’s Voice, The Anniversary) struggles to recall his recent past after a traumatic event, but shifty ‘friend’ Barret (Ben Caplan – Murder on the Orient Express, Ghostbusters) offers to help him back on his feet with a profitable babysitting job. All he has to do is look after his adult niece (Leila Sykes – Missing Something, Lancaster Skies).
But there is a Caveat: The isolated house is plagued by a gruesome past which has left Olga psychologically disturbed, andIsaac must wear a leather harness and chain restricting his movement to certain rooms.
Once in the harness and left alone with Olga, a terrifying game of cat and mouse ensues, and Isaac must fight for survival amid the unsettling resurgence of his own memories. Can Isaac piece the fragments together before it’s too late?
A Caveat for viewers: there’s deeply unsettling forces at work in this eerie and evocative nightmare-fuelled feature.
For your chance to win just answer the question below.
COMPETITION CLOSED
Quick Terms and conditions - For full T&C click here
1. Closing date 07-03-22
2. No alternative prize is available
3. When the competition ends as indicated on this page, any and all entries received after this point will not count and emails blacklisted due to not checking this page first.
4. Winners will be chosen randomly and will be informed via email.
5. Entries that come directly from other websites will not be accepted.
Ahead of Horror Channel’s UK TV Premiere of PERIPHERAL, director Paul Hyett talks about directorial ambitions, twisted technology, and why aliens aren’t interested in us.
How did you become attached to Peripheral?
The producer Craig Touhy and I had been friends for a while and we’d nearly done another movie together. He’d liked the claustrophobia and tension of The Seasoning House so we met up to discuss Peripheral. When he pitched it to me, very much a low budget, contained movie, in one apartment. I must say I was a little hesitant. I wanted to broaden my directing and do bigger scope. Craig persuaded me to at least read it. I did and loved the script. The story, the character of Bobbi, of this writer blocked, being forced to adjust to what is wanted of her, and having to succumb to a technology that ultimately fucks her in so many ways and being forced to write for a corporation that she hates. It all felt so very relevant.
Was the cast already in place and what’s it like directing legends such as Jenny Seagrove and Tom Conti?
No we cast from the ground up, Jenny Seagrove was the first cast, I was so happy we got her. She loved the script and the character of Merlock. She was an absolute joy, so professional, so excellent and willing to discuss everything
The film looks incredible, did you have much budget to play with?
No, it was soo low budget. But we were lucky, we had a great DOP, Peter Taylor who is Ridley Scott’s camera operator of choice. He shot it so beautifully. And in general we had a great crew, all the departments really did great work to make the budget look a lot more then it was.
It’s a very technical movie, was it a tough shoot?
No, not compared to Howl or The Seasoning House. It was nice to be able to concentrate on the drama and performances
There is a conspiracy element to the story, do you have a favourite conspiracy theory?
Yeah but to be honest, I will keep those to myself as they could cause offence. Although I do believe aliens have visited and thought we were too backward to bother with.
Do you think there will be a time when AI does take control?
I think technology will continue and AI is going to be a very valuable tool. Do I think it will ever take control as per Skynet, no. Technology will slow down. There’s only so much space on a computer chip. Even with nanotechnology there needs to be a breakthrough in how technology can be furthered without it being made in the current methodology. It would need to be something organic, like biological mechanics.
It’s very different to other movies you’ve directed, is this a deliberate choice?
Yeah I try to diversify as much as I can. I like to try to do something different each time. I can’t see the point in repeating the same thing over and over.
How does it feel that it’s having its UK TV premiere on Horror and how would you describe it to our audience?
I am so happy for Peripheral to land on the Horror Channel. It will hit a whole new audience. I would describr it as a fusion of reality and fantasy, whereas an isolated writer faces a bizarre and surrealistic predicament against incomprehensible socio-bureaucratic powers with shades of Cronenberg and Demon Seed.
All your movies have a distinct British edge to them, would you agree?
Yes I would agree with that.
You’re a multi-talented creative, you have one job you prefer above all others?
Very kind of you. I love directing more than anything. Its way above anything I’ve done, and more satisfying and soul crushing than anything I’ve ever done.
So, what are you up to at the moment?
I have a few projects in development. The Black Site, a gritty war-horror with Grimmfest Films. I’m also developing a project with Balagan Productions. a revisionist take on the afterlife and our perceptions of it, and Unnatural Selection, a Carpenteresque new England horror. All very different, all in different stages of development
Paul Hyett, thank you very much. PERIPHERAL will be broadcast on Horror Channel on Sunday Feb 20, 11.05pm.
Horror Channel turns up the tension in March with KILLER THRILLER WEEK, featuring the UK premiere of mystery thriller PARADISE COVE, staring Mena Suvari and the channel premiere of cat-and-mouse road thriller COP CAR, starring Kevin Bacon. The ultimate 7-day suspense ride also includes Gus Van Sant’s revival of the Hitchcock classic PSYCHO (1988), the 2014 version of erotic thriller THE LOFT starring Karl Urban, Colin Minihan’s deliciously warped WHAT KEEPS YOU ALIVE, Rod Lurie’s 2011 pulsating remake of STRAW DOGS and BAD SAMARITAN, starring a cunningly murderous David Tennant.
Plus, there are four additional UK TV premieres, highlighted by the late Johnny Kevorkian’s last film, AWAIT FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS, a powder keg of throat-grabbing suspense, Cronenbergian intensity and mind-bending body horror, starring Sam Gittins, David Bradley, Grant Masters and Holly Weston, slasher thriller WIRED SHUT, CASTLE FREAK, Tate Steinsiek’s reboot of the 1995 Stuart Gordon film by the same name and Jesse Thomas Cook’s dark zombie thriller DEADSIGHT.
There are also channel premieres for Abner Pastoll’s superbly crafted urban crime story, A GOOD WOMAN IS HARD TO FIND, which showcases a tour-de-force performance by Sarah Bolger, murderous high-school horror comedy COOTIES, starring Elijah Woods, and German survival horror thriller PREY.
Full film details in transmission order:
Saturday 5 March @ 21:00 – PREY (2021) *Channel Premiere
After his father is tragically killed, Toby is left stricken with guilt. He is begrudgingly enrolled in a program, in which he will spend three days on a remote jungle island. Toby soon finds that this uninhabited island is not so lonely when he meets a mysterious girl. It soon becomes clear that neither of them are safe and time is running out. Someone or something bloodthirsty lurks in the jungle..
Sunday 6 March @ 21:00 – WIRED SHUT (2021) *UK TV Premiere
A disillusioned famous novelist, Reed Rooney, unable to talk while recovering in his remote mountain home from major reconstructive jaw surgery, is exposed to a life-threatening secret when he receives an unexpected visit from Emma, his estranged daughter.
Friday 11 March @ 21:00 – A GOOD WOMAN IS HARD TO FIND (2019) *Channel Premiere
Recently widowed mother of two Sarah (Bolger) is desperate to know who murdered her husband in front of their young son, rendering him mute. Coerced into helping low-life drug-dealer Tito (Andrew Simpson) stash narcotics stolen from the local Mr. Big, she’s forced into taking drastic action to protect her children while learning the awful truth about her spouse.
Saturday 12 March @ 21:00 – AWAIT FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS (2018) *UK TV Premiere
It’s Christmas Day and the dysfunctional Milgram family wake to find a mysterious black substance surrounding their house. Something monumental is clearly happening right outside their door, but what exactly – an industrial accident, a terrorist attack, a nuclear war? All their limited information now comes from the television. But as the ominous gogglebox exerts an ever more sinister grip on their psyches, their terrified paranoia escalates into bloody carnage.
Friday 18 March @ 22:55 – CASTLE FREAK (2020) *UK TV Premiere
After she’s permanently blinded in a tragic car accident, it seems like Rebecca’s young life has ended just as it was beginning. However, a second chance arises when she’s told that her long-lost-mother has recently passed away, leaving her their family’s ancestral castle in her will. Rebecca hopes that it will be an opportunity for her to reconnect with a past she never knew, and a mother who seemingly left her behind. As mysterious happenings begin to occur, she must unravel her family’s secrets before she falls prey to… the Castle Freak.
Saturday 19 March @ 21:00 – COP CAR (2015) *Channel Premiere
When two rebellious young boys stumble across an abandoned cop car hidden in a secluded glade they decide to take it for a joyride. When the small town sheriff (Kevin Bacon) goes looking for his missing car, the boys find themselves in the center of a deadly game of cat and mouse and the only way out is to go as fast as their cop car can take them.
Sunday 20 March @ 21:00 – PARADISE COVE (2011) *UK TV Premiere
A contractor (Todd Grinnell) and his wife (Mena Suvari) move to Malibu to rebuild his mother's beach house but Paradise Cove is far from paradise as they are terrorised by the deranged homeless lady living under the house. Also stars Kristin Bauer van Straten of True Blood fame.
Friday 25 March @ 23:10 – DEADSIGHT (2018) *UK TV Premiere
A man with partial blindness and a young pregnant police officer must work together to escape from a deadly virus that has spread across Grey County. Starring Adam Seybold and Liv Collins, director Jesse Thomas Cook’s take on the zombie genre explores an unthinkable question – how would one survive the apocalypse without eyesight?
Saturday 26 March @ 21:00 – COOTIES (2014) *Channel Premiere
Elijah Wood stars as the substitute teacher Clint Hadson whose first day on the job at his new elementary school turns into a killer...Literally! A virus spawned from a diseased chicken nugget quickly spreads through the school turning all the children into a swarm of savages. This murderous high-school horror comedy is directed by Jonathan Milott & Cary Murnion.
Sweetie, You Won't Believe It - Released from 21st February
And to celebrate we have a great competition for you and 2 copies on Bluray to give away.
Synopsis:
Berserk, bloody hilarious and not for the faint hearted; Sweetie, You Won’t Believe It gets its UK release on digital and Blu-ray release from 101 Films on 21 February 2022, following its barnstorming UK Premiere at FrightFest 2021.
Lauded as the breakout favourite on its premiere, this hysterical killer Kazakhstan thriller from director Yernar Nurgarliyev brings us head-rolling laughter and a bucket load of gore.
Bickering husband and wife Dastan (Daniar Alshinov) and Zhanna (Asel Kaliyeva) are expecting their first child and Dastan is desperate to get away for one last weekend of fun before the baby arrives and he must finally settle down. He rounds up his two best pals for a boys’ weekend of fishing and fun, but little do they know their plan for a chilled trip to the lake is about to turn into mad and deadly mayhem.
After accidentally witnessing a murder by a group of thugs, the three friends are suddenly on the run to escape their violent clutches and then things turn even wilder. With a mysterious one-eyed man out for blood and a desperate wannabe bride and her pushy father in the mix, the body count starts to rise. Never mind fishing, will Dastan make it out alive and get to the hospital in time for the birth of his baby?
Filled with copious amounts of blood, sweat and tears of laughter Sweetie, You Won’t Believe It is madcap mayhem and unapologetically brutal – you really won’t believe it.
For your chance to win just answer the question below.
COMPETITION CLOSED
Quick Terms and conditions - For full T&C click here
1. Closing date 28-02-22
2. No alternative prize is available
3. When the competition ends as indicated on this page, any and all entries received after this point will not count and emails blacklisted due to not checking this page first.
4. Winners will be chosen randomly and will be informed via email.
5. Entries that come directly from other websites will not be accepted.
And to celebrate we have a great competition for you and 3 copies on Bluray and 3 Exclusive T-Shirts to give away.
Synopsis:
British horror film Shepherd from Darkland Distribution will be released on Blu-ray and Digital Download from 21st February. Shepherd stars Tom Hughes (Red Joan, Victoria), Kate Dickie (Game of Thrones, The Witch), Gaia Weiss (Vikings, Medici) & Greta Scacchi (The Player) and is directed by Russell Owen.
Since its Premiere at BFI London Film Festival and its theatrical release in November, critics have heaped praise on the British independent title. Total Film described the film as a "disturbing watch" with "truly nightmarish" visual effects, Starburst called it a "brooding, bleak, atmospheric nightmare that grips with ease" and SciFiNow reviewed it as a "physiological horror that hauntingly portrays the madness of isolation with striking visual clarity" and "not for the faint hearted."
Film critic Mark Kermode was also full of praise for the film, awarding it his 'Film of the Week' on his Radio 5: Live Show, lauding Kate Dickie's 'fantastic' performance and the 'eerie' atmopshere created by filmmaker Russell Owen; "...you can feel the cold, you can feel the lonliness, you can smell the air of the island."
Running from grief after the mysterious death of his wife, Eric Black (Tom Hughes) takes a job as a shepherd. Trapped alone on a majestic weather-beaten island with an ominous secret. One man's spiralling madness meets a vengeful supernatural force. What starts as the perfect wind-swept escape becomes a race to save his sanity and his life.
Shepherd will be available on Blu-ray and Digital Download from 21st February
For your chance to win just answer the question below.
COMPETITION CLOSED
Quick Terms and conditions - For full T&C click here
1. Closing date 28-02-22
2. No alternative prize is available
3. When the competition ends as indicated on this page, any and all entries received after this point will not count and emails blacklisted due to not checking this page first.
4. Winners will be chosen randomly and will be informed via email.
5. Entries that come directly from other websites will not be accepted.
And to celebrate we have a great competition for you and 3 copies on DVD to give away.
Synopsis:
Inspired by Eastern European folklore, an unthinkable betrayal leads to a maleficent curse being placed upon a family’s bloodline. Decades later, a wedding unites the next generation of the estranged family. When one of them unknowingly awakens the dark forces that start picking them off one by one, matriarch Hana (Yancy Butler, Kick Ass, Hard Target) must figure out who is working against them before the bloody curse takes hold of them forever.
The Accursed is a fresh, female-driven supernatural horror written and directed by Kathryn Michelle and Elizabeta Vidovic.
Dazzler Media presents The Accursed on DVD & Digital Download from 14th February
For your chance to win just answer the question below.
COMPETITION CLOSED
Quick Terms and conditions - For full T&C click here
1. Closing date 24-02-22
2. No alternative prize is available
3. When the competition ends as indicated on this page, any and all entries received after this point will not count and emails blacklisted due to not checking this page first.
4. Winners will be chosen randomly and will be informed via email.
5. Entries that come directly from other websites will not be accepted.
I have been interested in writing since I was a teen. I remember being so excited on my first day of creative writing class. So many ideas just popped into my head, from a love story that I hoped would be a reality one day to the darkest thoughts within me. I sat down to write my first project, and the words just poured out of me. Looking back now, I realize I should have taken more time editing it before turning it in. When I got my story back from the teacher, it was covered in red marks. She even added little notes like, “this makes no sense,” and “where are you going with this?” There were also a few not-so-nice things noted. Well, not nice to a teen with fresh hopes of becoming a writer. Some could consider it traumatizing in a way. I remember feeling so defeated that day that I honestly thought I’d never pick up another pen. Fortunately, due to my tenacity, I picked up another. I learned to take criticism, whether constructive or not, and try to understand the reasoning.
How did you get involved in so many genres?
I’ve always had an interest in the darkest thoughts people hide away. What makes a serial killer tick? Why would a sweet person suddenly turn dark? I know how that may seem, but it intrigues me. Most of my bestsellers are psychological thrillers. However, I do like to dabble in fantasy and sci-fi on occasion. The things we all want to believe in, but know deep down are all make-believe, like a Zombie apocalypse, are also appealing to me. No matter how many reiterations, it’s still entertaining and thought provoking. Writing sci-fi gives my mind a much-needed break from some of my deranged characters, like Melvin from Mindless or Elliot Keller in Passing Through.
Why do you think horror and Fantasy/Sci-Fi books remain so popular?
For the simple thrills they give you. While fantasy and horror are two very different genres, they certainly give you the same sensations. Anticipation of what is to come next, the goosebumps, the chills from the scenes you never saw coming, or your heart racing waiting to figure out how it will all end. It’s all so liberating. It allows us to feed our minds with things that scare us and thrill us at the same time.
What inspires your stories?
A variety of things inspire my stories—movies, books, and newspaper headlines. On occasion, even a YouTube video has inspired a story. I recall watching a video about contaminated water, drugs, and meds lurking in your drinking water. It was a terrifying reality that inspired my book Living Legacy.
What are your favorite horror books?
One of my favorites is Misery, although it’s more of a psychological thriller. I can certainly relate to Paul… well, except for the crazed fan and the hobbling. I’m not ritualistic with my writing, but I certainly like my solitude when I sit down to write—what better place to do that than in a small mountain town, where no one knows you.
What are some of your favorite horror and Fantasy/Sci-fi movies?
I have such an extensive favorite collection that I love. It’s impossible for me to choose only one out of the vast number of genre categories. So, if I pick one… let’s say zombies… my favorite zombie movie is World War Z. I recently watched a psycho thriller that I found fascinating, Unhinged with Russel Crowe.
What do you consider your greatest accomplishment as an author?
My greatest accomplishment is the number of stories I’ve published over the years. It’s astounding, even to me, that I have more than 1.2 million words currently published. That doesn’t include the books I have yet to complete. Can you imagine the vast number of words for someone like Stephen King? I'm sure he must be in the hundreds of millions of words.
Do you have any advice for new writers?
When you think you have edited your work to satisfaction, edit it again. Then hire someone to edit for you. Once they’ve finished editing it, edit it yourself again. Trust me. You’ll read an error a hundred times and still miss it. Also, NEVER GIVE UP! Learn to take criticism and use it to your advantage, whether constructive or not, and try to understand the rationale. Is the statement truthful or factual? Or just a negative or subjective comment. You’ll know the difference.
Also, the very nature of writing as an artform has always been controversial at times. But now it’s even worse because people are offended by everything. It’s impossible to please everyone, so my advice is: Do and say what makes you happy. If you believe in yourself and you believe in your story, publish it. Some will love it, and some will hate it. The people who enjoy and appreciate your creativity will support you, and that’s what really matters.
What is your opinion of the new self-publishing trend?
I’m thankful for it. There are bestselling indie authors who have mastered how to leverage all the advantages, like being able to indefinitely promote, retain 100% control of your royalties, even reinvent plots without dealing with red tape. It’s the control that I prefer.
Please, in your own words, write a paragraph about yourself & your work.
I believe that writers and novelists, as in any profession, change and grow over the timespan that they work and produce. Any of my readers and fans who are familiar with my books, and the ‘genres’ they are ‘classified’ under, are able to recognize the point I’m making. Authors’ characters get more detailed and personal. Descriptions get a bit more intense, as do emotional scenes of any kind. I’ve also found, for myself, that with each and every fiction book I put out, I’m getting into the 'guts' about what I am willing to put down on paper. For instance, I'll admit it, in the beginning, writing a detailed love scene was something I dreaded, but getting more comfortable with it now. This, of course, is just one example. I look forward to growing more as an Author and seeing it come through in my stories.
