Arrow Video FrightFest announces line-up for Halloween 2019 event

Arrow Video FrightFest continues on its highly acclaimed and hugely successful Twenty Bloody Year rampage with a fear-packed journey through Halloween traditions, religious deviance, unstoppable maniacs, warped fairy tales, terrifying board games and the very rules of horror themselves.

The popular Halloween all-day event returns to the Cineworld Leicester Square on Saturday 2 November and the 12-hour monstrous marathon embraces four UK premieres, one European and one International premiere.

The day kicks off with the European Premiere of Josh Hasty’s CANDY CORN. With an impressive all-star genre cast (including Tony Todd, who exec-produces), an innovative iconic killer and cool score, say hello to a new twist on a Halloween tradition

This is followed by a 80s throwback horror comedy, WE SUMMON THE DARKNES. From Marc Meyers, director of My Friend Dahmer, this UK premiere delivers gore and guffaws with gleefully twisted abandon.

Next up is the International premiere of UNCANNY ANNIE, directed by Paul Davis, who gave us the fabulous documentary Beware The Moon: Remembering ‘American Werewolf In London’  This dice-throwing game of death and survival kicks off the second season of Hulu’s Blumhouse-produced series Into The Dark and Paul will be introducing the film.

Then there is the UK Premiere of SWALLOW, a warped fairy tale, posing provocative questions about the expectations imposed on women and the psychologically damaging effects of patriarchal culture. Anchored by Haley Bennett's knockout performance, this bold and atmospheric film marks the feature directorial debut of Carlo Mirabella-Davis.

The 8.30pm film is the UK premiere of TRICK, from Patrick Lussier, director of Drive Angry and the My Bloody Valentine remake. This surprising slasher delivers graphic shock after shock.

The finale presentation is SCARE PACKAGE which introduces us to the next generation of horror directors, Each of the eight talented filmmakers has selected a different horror sub-genre, taking aim at the tropes and overused clichés we find all too often in horror films.

Plus, we’ll be showing THE HAUNTED SWORDSMAN, the latest in acclaimed puppeteer Kevin McTurk’s Spirit Cabinet series. Corin Hardy, who backed the hugely successful Kickstarter campaign, will be joining us to introduce the acclaimed short.

Alan Jones, FrightFest co-director, said today: “Get your knives out, your chainsaws revved up and your machetes raised as FrightFest,  the UK’s biggest and best genre event returns to the Cineworld Leicester Square on Saturday November 2 for a morning of mayhem, an afternoon of anguish and an evening of evil in a day of the dead extravaganza. Happy Halloween everyone!”

Day passes (£47) and single tickets (£14.50) go on sale at noon on Saturday 5th October.

To book: http://www.frightfest.co.uk/tickets.html
(Online booking only)


FULL LINE UP:

11.00: CANDY CORN (European Premiere)

Director: Josh Hasty. With: Courtney Gains, PJ Soles, Tony Todd, Sky Elobar. USA 2019. 85 mins.

Synopsis: It’s Halloween in Grove Hill, Ohio. A traveling carnival arrives for the weekend and local outcast, Jacob Atkins, is hired as one of the freaks in the main attraction, ‘Dr. Death’s Side Show Spook House Spectacular’. But the local bullies are planning their annual public hazing of Jacob, only this year things go too far, a monster hungry for blood is created by one of the carnies … and revenge never tasted so sweet.

12:45 WE SUMMON THE DARKNESS (UK Premiere)

Director: Marc Meyers. With: Alexandra Daddario, Logan Miller, Keean Johnson, Johnny Knoxville. USA 2019. 87 mins

Synopsis: Be careful what you pray for! It's 1988 and people are terrorised by a nationwide rash of apparently satanic murders, which appear to be connected to kids who go to heavy metal concerts. Three girls meet three guys at one such gig and go back to Alexis' family's country house for a debauched after-party. There the boys learn to their horror that the girls are not the enthusiastic rock fans they seem to be, but something much more terrifying.


PLUS….THE HAUNTED SWORDSMAN (UK Premiere)

Director: Kevin McTurk. With: Jason Scott Lee, James Hong. USA 2019. 16 mins.

Synopsis: Kevin McTurk’s handcrafted epic puppet film, follows a Ronin samurai (Jason Scott Lee) on a supernatural quest for vengeance with only a severed head (James Hong) as his guide.

15:15 UNCANNY ANNIE (International Premiere)

Director: Paul Davis. With: Georgie Flores, Adelaide Kane, Paige McGhee, Jacques Colimon, Dylan Arnold, and Evan Bittencourt. USA 2019. 80 mins

Synopsis: On Halloween night, a group of college students get trapped in a mysterious board game that brings their darkest secrets and fears to life, where they must play to escape…and win to survive.

18:15 SWALLOW (UK Premiere)

Director: Carlo Mirabella-Davis. With: Haley Bennett, Austin Stowell, Denis O’Hare. USA 2019. 94 mins.

Synopsis: Hunter is a newly pregnant woman whose idyllic existence takes an alarming turn when she develops a compulsion to eat dangerous objects. As her husband and his family tighten their control over her life, she is forced to confront the dark secret behind her uncontrollable obsession.

20:30 TRICK (UK Premiere)

Director: Patrick Lussier. With: Omar Epps, Kristina Reyes, Ellen Adair, Tom Atkins. USA 2019. 97 mins.

Synopsis: Halloween night in Benton, New Jersey, 2015, and the student they call Trick suddenly freaks out and causes a bloody massacre. Injured by his friend Cheryl, Trick is taken to hospital but miraculously escapes…. and every October 31st returns to cause further murderous mayhem. Detective Mike Denver promises to bring the seemingly unstoppable killer to justice – a vow that begins to border on obsession as he becomes convinced they are dealing with a supernatural entity.

22:45 SCARE PACKAGE (UK Premiere)

Directors: Courtney Andujar, Hillary Andujar  , Anthony Cousins, Mali Elfman, Emily Hagins, Aaron B. Koontz, Chris McInroy, Noah Segan, Ryan Spindell, Baron Vaughn. With: Gabrielle Maiden, Baron Vaughn, Noah Segan, Tristan Riggs. USA 2019. 103 mins.

Synopsis: Chad Buckley is a lonely horror aficionado spending his days at his struggling video store, where he argues with his only regular customer, Sam. When Hawn, an unsuspecting applicant, shows up, Chad teaches him about the Rules of Horror, much to Sam’s chagrin, illustrated by different hilarious horror shorts, each one geared at cleverly subverting a unique set of terror tropes. As Hawn learns the ropes, he suspects Chad of something sinister, while he too may have a secret of his own.

For full programme details: http://www.frightfest.co.uk/

Interview with Nicholas Vince ahead of his one-man show I AM MONSTERS!

Behind the masks…ahead of his one-man show, I AM MONSTERS! at The Pleasance Theatre, actor and writer Nicholas Vince describes his monstrous journey…

You’re best known for your portrayal of the Chatterer Cenobite in Clive Barker’s Hellraiser and Kinski in Barker’s Nightbreed. What is it you remember most about playing these iconic monsters?

The many talented people and long processes involved in creating the makeups. I may have brought life to the characters, but it was the makeup artists (Nigel Booth on Chatterer, Cliff Wallace on Chatterer II and Neil Gorton on Kinski) who sculpted and painted them based on Clive Barker's designs. Before we reached filming those guys spent weeks creating the masks.

Most of all I remember the laughter. OK, wearing Chatterer was extremely restrictive in terms of seeing, hearing and speaking, and Kinski was early starts and 5 hours in makeup, but there was a great atmosphere on all the films. In fact on Hellraiser I was threatened with death by the sound engineer as my laughter in the dressing room was ruining takes on the nearby set.


How did you first become attracted to monsters?

Aged eight I borrowed a copy of The Golden Treasury of Myths and Legends by Anne Terry White from the local library. It contained stories from Greek, Norse, Celtic, French and Persian myths and legends. I must have run out of time to read all the stories as I clearly remember the Greek and Norse stories, and less so the ones at the back of the book. Obviously, the stories are written about the heroes, but they interested me far less than the Minotaur, Medusa and Sphinx.


You were born undershot and had to have major surgery aged nineteen. Can you describe the experience for us?

Basically, I was born with a smaller than usual top jaw meaning my upper teeth closed behind my lower, rather than the other way round, which is normal. The surgery lasted nine hours, during which they detached the upper jaw and using pieces of bones from my hips as wedges moved it forward. It was a pretty trying experience as I was in intensive care for two days afterwards, during which I nearly died. Following that I had my jaws wired together for six weeks. Mum served my portion of family meals on a plate to check I was getting enough and then liquidised it. I remember fish and chips required a lot of salad cream so that I could suck it through a straw.

In your one-man show you talk about being gay but remaining closeted during the 70s. How did this impact on your relationships?

Once I'd moved away from home, I was able to come out to close friends, but not my parents. That didn't happen until my mid-thirties. I do regret that as they were very loving and when a relationship fell apart with a boyfriend, it meant I missed out on their support. And not being completely out, by which I mean just keeping quiet about relationships, being an apparent loner, it complicated my friendships with good looking straight men, as I was afraid if they realised I fancied them they'd either cut me off or beat me up.


How did you meet Clive Barker?

At a party in Crouch End. We got chatting and he invited me to model for him as he was preparing paintings for the covers of the UK hardback versions of his six volume collection, The Books of Blood. So my face, and other parts of me, appear on the covers of most of the books in that edition.


Is it true that the design of the Chatterer was partly inspired by your own facial reconstruction?

Yes. I'd told Clive about a documentary I'd seen about facial reconstructive surgery where they'd obviously used a similar technique to my surgeons, as the only cut was between my upper lip and gum and they'd peeled the face back so they could detach the upper jaw. The flesh of the face was held in place by clamps, much like Chatterer.


To play the Chatterer, you had to wear a mask and makeup that were extremely restrictive. How challenging was that?

I could only see a portion of the floor through a small hole below my left eye; had false teeth in so speech was like having my hands shoved in my mouth and muffled hearing due to the foam latex mask. So, I had a minder with me at all times leading me onto set holding hands, like a toddler and then they had to relay instructions from behind camera by shouting through the mask. The costume was very tight fitting as they'd taken a life cast of my torso so it could be made as close fitting as possible. I could only lift my arms to shoulder height.

Someone recently complimented me on my 'meticulous performance' and I realised that's one of the strengths of Chatterer. We could only do short sequences with me as I had to learn my moves quickly and I worked hard to replicate them accurately, but that stillness and precision give him a great deal of power.


And the make-up for Kinski in Nightbreed was reported to take two people five hours to apply. Is that true?

Yes, up at 3am for a car from Streatham to Pinewood for 4am and the makeup chair for five hours. But I just had to sit still for that time. The two guys who applied it, Neil and Mark, were on their feet all that time making sure the pieces were properly applied and you couldn't see the edges. I wasn't allowed to fall asleep, so they had a VHS player and I remember watching Steve Martin and John Candy in 'Planes, Trains and Automobiles. Which was frustrating as I also wasn't allowed to laugh either!


You left acting after Nightbreed to concentrate on writing comics for Marvel and collections of short horror stories. What is it about the writing process you find so alluring?

It's the fun of telling stories and talking to readers.  In many ways it's more challenging than acting as there you have a script and you're putting the flesh on the bones, but with writing you're faced with the sometimes terrifying wastes of a blank page. I remember Peter Atkins, the screenwriter of Hellbound: Hellraiser II, telling me when I first started writing, "Nick, there will be a time, at least once a day, when you'll wonder why you ever thought you can write."

He was right and the only way I've found to get through it is to do research, which as a writer said at literary event the other day can be, "Research, bordering on procrastination." And then it's just a question of writing something, anything, as you can polish it.

And I guess the allure for me, is that I get to get some of the really weird stuff in my head out and into the world.


In recent years you've returned to acting in UK independent horror films, such as Hollower (dir. MJ Dixon), Book of Monsters (dir. Stewart Sparke), Borley Rectory (dir. Ashley Thorpe) and For We Are Many (Lawrie Brewster and Paddy Murphy). Do you have further roles in the pipeline?

There are a couple, but I'm waiting for them to be released before I can talk about them. I did do an interview for the extras on the Arrow Video release of the theatrical and director's cuts of Nightbreed, which they're releasing on 28th October, and which is available for pre-order. I believe this is the first UK release of the film since the VHS version back in the 1990's.


Do have any other plans for I AM MONSTERS! after its premiere at the London Horror Festival?

People have been very interested in the show and I've had enquiries about taking it to Liverpool and Las Vegas. Both of which would be really cool, as Liverpool is Clive's home town and I've never been to Vegas.


Nicholas will be opening the London Horror Festival 2019 with his one-man show I AM MONSTERS!, from 8th to 10th October (7pm) at the Pleasance Theatre.

Tickets: 020 7609 1800
https://www.pleasance.co.uk/event/london-horror-festival-i-am-monsters#overview

WIN A COPY OF THE STAND RELEASED FOR THE FIRST TIME ON BLU-RAY™ on 7TH OCTOBER

Based on the groundbreaking novel written by New York Times best-selling author Stephen King, THE STAND arrives for the first time on Blu-ray™ from CBS Home Entertainment and Paramount Home Entertainment. Brilliantly restored in high definition with enhanced visual effects, this Blu-ray™ features all four parts of the six-hour Emmy® Award-winning 1994 miniseries.

To celebrate the release of THE STAND, we’re giving you the chance to win a Blu-Ray™, packed with special features, including audio commentary from Stephen King and director Mick Garris and a full-length behind-the-scenes featurette showcasing the making of the miniseries.

Led by an all-star cast, including Gary Sinise (Forrest Gump), Molly Ringwald (The Breakfast Club), Jamey Sheridan (Spotlight), Corin Nemec  (“Parker Lewis Can't Lose”), Rob Lowe (“The West Wing”), Miguel Ferrer (“NCIS: Los Angeles”) and Laura San Giacomo (“Just Shoot Me!”), THE STAND follows a group of survivors after a deadly plague wipes out the entire population. Those remaining must align themselves with either the forces of good, led by the frail 108-year-old Mother Abagail (Ruby Dee, A Raisin in the Sun), or evil, a group steered by a man with a lethal smile, Randall Flagg (Sheridan). The two sides face off in a climactic battle that will determine the final fate of mankind.

THE STAND is out on Blu-ray™ from 7th October

For your chance to win a Blu-ray™ copy of THE STAND, simply answer the following question:

Competition Closed

Terms and conditions
1. Closing date 14-10-19
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.

PATIENT ZERO gets UK TV premiere on Horror Channel. Plus YOU’RE NEXT & LET ME IN get channel prems.

Patient Zero

Horror Channel has five UK TV premieres in October, including pandemic action thriller PATIENT ZERO, which stars Matt Smith, Natalie Dormer, Stanley Tucci and Agyness Deyn. Humanity is battling intelligent, adrenaline-fueled creatures born from a viral super-strain.  After being bitten, human survivor Morgan (Matt Smith) realises he is asymptomatic and can communicate with the infected, leading the last survivors on a hunt for Patient Zero and a cure.

There are also UK premieres for LAKE PLACID: THE FINAL CHAPTER and LAKE PLACID: LEGACY - two of the popular series of monster crocodile horror/comedy films created by David E. Kelley. Plus, ghosts rule in the sinister haunted house chiller THE UNSPOKEN and Mario Sorrenti’s supernatural mindbender DISCARNATE, which are also broadcast for the first time.

You’re Next

Adam Wingard’s ground breaking home invasion movie, YOU’RE NEXT gets its Channel premiere. A family reunion goes terribly wrong when the Davison family is violently attacked by a gang of masked killers. Unfortunately for the killers, they picked the wrong family to target, as one of their victims proves to have a lethal talent for fighting back.

Let Me In

There is also a Channel premiere for Matt Reeves’ critically-acclaimed vampire fantasy LET ME IN.  When a strange young girl, Abby, moves in to the apartment next door, 12 year old Owen is pleased to have found a friend. But as a series of grisly murders take place in their small town, he starts to realise she is not what she seems...An adaptation of the Swedish language Let The Right one In from director Tomas Alfredson.

Plus, there are first time Channel outings for the post-apocalyptic thriller VANISHING ON 7TH STREET, starring Hayden Christensen and Thandie Newton, the thrilling slasher sequel, I STILL KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER and the terrifying supernatural thriller PAY THE GHOST, starring Nicholas Cage.

Film times in transmission order:

Fri 4 Oct @ 21:00 – LAKE PLACID: THE FINAL CHAPTER (2012)
Sat 5 Oct @ 21:00 - LET ME IN (2010)
Fri 11 Oct @ 21:00 – LAKE PLACID: LEGACY (2018)
Sat 12 Oct @ 21:00 – PATIENT ZERO (2018)
Sun 13 Oct @ 21:00 – VANISHING ON 7TH STREET (2010)
Fri 18 Oct @ 21:00 – YOU’RE NEXT (2011)
Sat 19 Oct @ 21:00 – THE UNSPOKEN (2015)
Fri 25 Oct @ 21:00 – DISCARNATE (2018)
Sat 26 Oct @ 21:00 – I STILL KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER (1998)
Oct @ 21:00 – PAY THE GHOST (2015)

Horror Channel: Be Afraid
TV: Sky 317 / Virgin 149 / Freeview 70 / Freesat 138
Website: http://www.horrorchannel.co.uk/

Interview with Kevin J. Kennedy by David Kempf

When did you first become interested in writing?

 Roughly, 5 years ago. Outside of English class in high school, I’d never written anything. One day I was on Facebook and seen an advert for a horror anthology that was looking for stories. It mentioned you didn’t have to be previously published. I had never really wanted to be a writer but I had always been an avid reader of horror and had made the comment on a few occasions that it would be cool to have a story in a horror book. I never planned to write one. It was just one of those general ‘it would be cool if’ comments but I had a little time, I wrote a story, sent it in and they accepted it. I’ve just never stopped from that moment forward.


How did you get involved in horror?

When I was a young lad, my uncle used to have a little corner store. It was back in the 80s and he used to have a few shelfs of VHS tapes that he would rent out. Every Sunday when we visited my gran, we would stop into his shop and I’d always borrow a horror movie. There were certain ones I wasn’t allowed but overall my parents were pretty cool and let me take my pick. Nightmare on Elm street movies were a no no but I don’t remember them telling me no to many others I picked. If we go back further, I suppose I started where a lot of people did with Scooby Doo. Loved the monsters, even though they always turned out to be people. I collected Monsters in my Pocket as a young boy too. I’ve just always been drawn to monsters and horror. I’m not sure why. It just appealed to me.


Tell us about your first publisher. 

The first publisher to accept a story by me was Alucard Press, run by C.S. Anderson, who I am still friends with and we often send each other stories for anthologies that we are running. The first publisher to put some of my work out there as it was published before the Alucard Press book, was Indie Authors Press in a title called Spooky Halloween Drabbles. I had never heard of a drabble before but fell in love with them as soon as I discovered them. I’ve now published 3 of my own drabble books called 100 Word Horrors and they have been pretty popular.


How would you classify the genre you write?

Definitely horror but within that, I cover most sub genres. I am a big reader as I said, and I love everything from post-apoc to bizarro to coming of age to comedy horror to extreme. The only horror sub-genre I’m not a fan of is the slow burn stuff. Just not to my taste. I have enjoyed a few slow burn stories but overall I’d prefer to read something with a faster pace.


Why do you think horror books remain so popular?

I wouldn’t say the horror genre is overly popular when you compare it to other genres, but I would say it has a strong following. I think it allows people a release from everyday life to focus on something that isn’t quite as scary as the things that are actually going on in the world. A lot of horror fans read gruesome stuff but on the other hand are some of the most empathetic people you could ever meet. Movie wise, I think the genre is going strong. Chart wise for novels, novellas and Anthos, I don’t feel that horror ranks as strongly as other types of books. It’s my main genre for reading, so probably the only genre I will ever work in, but I hope that it increases in popularity for readers, the way that horror movies have become more mainstream. When you look at horror authors who have been about for a while, that have good sales, their books are often released as thrillers.


What inspires your stories?

Everything. I find the world we live in to be a scary place. The fact that we have psychos in charge of countries, all over the world doesn’t fill me with hope. A lot of my stories are centered around people who are evil, but I do love monster stories and more farfetched stuff but sometimes I will be reading a kids book or watching a comedy movie and an idea springs to mind for a horror story too.
A while back I was re-watching loads of Tarantino movies and then I was looking through my books and the Wizard of Oz came on the TV. I thought to myself ‘what if Tarantino had done the Wizrd of Oz,’ and from that, I came up with an idea for a story that you will find in my solo collection, ‘Dark Thoughts.’ It borders on the extreme but that’s how Tarantino rolls so it had to. Some people love it and it’s one of their fave stories and others hate it because they don’t like the spin on the characters. I knew that would be how it would go before I put it in the book, but I love it. Every book I put out is really for me. That way, if I get a bad review, I can generally assume that the reader and I have wildly different taste.
Goodreads is a godsend. You can compare books with people who review you and I find that any negative reviews I get are from readers who have wildly different tastes from me. It’s all down to the readers personal taste so you can never expect to please everyone.


What do you think the difference between American horror and British horror is?

Not much to me. I was in a British VS American horror antho, and from memory, there was no real difference. I believe that the opinion is that British horror isn’t as extreme. I’m not sure if that is true anymore. What I would say is that America has more conventions, celebrates horror more, has more authors, and overall more readers. I think there is more opportunity in the US and I do a lot better sales wise there. I think the UK is also still stuck in a mainly reading mass market stuff and doesn’t go online as much to take advantage of a wider selection, but, to be fair, when I bought a lot of physical books from small presses in the US, the delivery charges are a killer if you are getting them delivered to the UK so that could play into it to. Amazon is the best bet for getting books from all over these days, especially if you have Prime and get free delivery.


What are your favorite horror books?

There are far too many to mention but here is a list of some that have stuck with me, off the top of my head:
Blood Crazy by Simon Clark
The Beast House, Island, Savage, Funland, Dark Mountain, The Traveling Vampire Show and Midnight’s Lair by Richard Laymon.
City Infernal, The House, The Pig & Header by Edward Lee
The Folks 1 & 2, Serpent Girl & Lot Lizards by Ray Garton
Hero by J.F. Gonzalez and Wrath James White
Yaccub’s Curse by Wrath James White
The Clicker series by J.F. Gonzalez and Brian Keene from book 2 onwards
Swan Song by Robert McCammon
Clusterfuck, Warrior Wolf Women of the Wasteland, Clownfellas & Cannibals of Candyland by Carlton Mellick
ASBO, Housemates & Sea Sick by Iain Rob Wright
Dead Sea, Terminal, Urban Gothic & An Occurrence in Crazy Bear Valley by Bryan Keene
The Killing Kind & Depraved by Bryan Smith
These are just a few of my favourite books that I love by authors that I have read almost their entire catalogue, but as I said, there are too many too mention.

There are very few books in here that I have read in the last few years as I feel that it should have stuck with me for quite some time to call it a favourite.

What are some of your favorite horror movies?

Growing up I loved the Friday the 13th movies, Demons 1 & 2, The Hills Have Eyes 1 & 2 and the Nightmare on Elm Street movies (Once I was able to get my hands on them, without my parents knowing). In more recent times, I loved the reimagining’s of the Hills Have Eyes movies, I like the Annabelle movies, Dog Soldiers was brilliant & I loved Train to Busan. I’ve always liked zombie movies too. I liked the 90s Night of the Living Dead and the remake of Dawn of the Dead too. The Return of the Living Dead movies were a lot of fun as well.


What do you consider your greatest accomplishment as an author?

Just being out there and having people read my work. It still seems weird. A few years ago, I had never written a story. Now I appear in books with a lot of guys that I have been reading for 20 years and my solo collection is doing really well.
             

Do you have any advice for new writers?

Get stuck in and write as much as you can. Sub your story somewhere then start something else. You will get rejections. Everyone does. Don’t take it personally. One publisher might not like it and another may accept it. Maybe the story needs some work. Try and get a few people to read it that will be honest with you rather than just telling you everything you write is brilliant. Keep writing and you will see your writing get better with each story as long as you take feedback. Oh, and read lots. I’ve seen a few authors say they don’t read. I don’t get that. If I wasn’t a reader, I wouldn’t write. I only do it because I love books.


What is your opinion of the new self-publishing trend?

Probably over 50% of the books I read are self-published. The big 4 lost touch a long time ago. Even going back 20 or 30 years, most decent authors complained about how their books were changed by them and now you see books being released as the author intended. Having an editor is one thing. Being told to rewrite large chunks of your book based on a publisher’s idea of what their market wants would never be something I could do. I don’t think mass market publishers really like horror anyway. It’s always thriller. I could never see one of the mass market guys releasing one of Edward Lee’s hardcore books for example. Some of the small press that are around are great but I’m impatient and I don’t want to wait for a year or more on my book being published. With self-pub, you write it, re-write it, get it edited, get some people to read over it to catch any errors that were missed then get it published. It suits me a lot more than the other options that are available, and you keep a larger cut of the profits.


What are your current projects?

I’m just finishing up the 4th Horror Collection book. This will be the White Edition which is Christmas themed. I’m waiting on the proof copy of 100 Word Horrors book 3 arriving but the Kindle version is already online. My second solo collection is in edits and the cover is being designed so that should be available in coming months. I then need to finish up Halloween Land which is a novella that was originally an 8K short that was really popular, and I got a lot of people contacting me and saying they wished it was longer. I’m also working on book 2 of Screechers with Christina Bergling. We are about 6K into it. After that I’m not sure. I plan to spend more time writing and less on Anthos for a while, but we will see what happens.


Please in your own words, write a paragraph about yourself & your work. 

Kevin J Kennedy is a horror author & editor from Scotland. He is the co-author of You Only Get One Shot, Screechers and has a solo collection available called Dark Thoughts. He is also the publisher of several bestselling anthology series; Collected Horror Shorts, 100 Word Horrors & The Horror Collection, as well as the stand-alone anthology Carnival of Horror. His stories have been featured in many other notable books in the horror genre.

He lives in a small town in Scotland, with his wife and his two little cats, Carlito and Ariel.

Keep up to date with new releases or contact Kevin through his website: www.kevinjkennedy.co.uk

COMPETITION: Win Kaleidoscope on DVD

Kaleidoscope is out on DVD from 23rd September.

And to celebrate we have a great competition for you and 3 copies on DVD to give away.

Synopsis
GARNERING CRITICAL acclaim on its theatrical release, one of Britain’s greatest actors of today Toby Jones ‘glows’ (The Guardian) as the lead in Kaleidoscope, a bleak, nightmarish psychological thriller written and directed by brother Rupert Jones in his feature film debut.

A sparse, drab flat, on a housing estate in London, loud frantic knocking and a dog barking.  We meet Carl Woods (Toby Jones – Don’t Forget the Driver, Detectorists, Tinker Tailor, Soldier Spy), an ex-prisoner with dreams of starting a gardening business, as he’s abruptly awoken from his sleep on the sofa.  He goes to the door…no-one is there. Exploring the house, he notices lipstick traces on a glass, an ashtray full of cigarette butts,  he goes upstairs and finds a shocking discovery, a dead body in the bathroom. But is everything as it seems?

As the narrative twists and turns we follow Carl’s footsteps as he chats with his neighbour Monique (Noble), prepares for his first date in 15 years with someone he met online, Abby (Matthews) and gets a message announcing an impending, unwanted visit from his overbearing mother (Reid)…

With time running out, Carl’s relationship with his mother and the ramifications of his night with Abby now collide in dramatic, surprising, unforgettable ways.

Buy from Amazon by clicking here (Opens in a new window)

For your chance to win just answer the question below.

COMPETITION CLOSED

Terms and conditions
1. Closing date 30-09-19
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.

Competition: Win Double Date on DVD

Double Date is out on DVD & Blu-ray from 9th September.

And to celebrate we have a great competition for you and 3 copies on DVD to give away.

Synopsis
After its much-lauded theatrical release and fantastic reception on its Fright Fest premiere, the bloody hilarious comedy-horror Double Date – written by and starring Screen International/FrightFest Genre Rising Star 2017 award winner Danny Morgan – is set to arrive on digital, DVD and Blu-ray from Sparky Pictures.

Self-assured, and irritatingly cocksure, one thing Alex (Michael Socha – This is England, Chernobyl) can boast about is his loyalty to his dearest friend, Jim (Danny Morgan – On The Road). As Jim’s 30th birthday approaches, Alex promises to help get his best friend laid, so he won’t reach this unwelcome milestone a virgin.

They muster up the courage to arrange a double date with sisters Kitty (Kelly Wenham - Dracula: The Dark Prince) and Lulu (Georgia Groome – Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging), but little do the boys know, their partners have other plans for the night ahead…

With appearances from the inimitable Big Narstie (The Big Narstie Show), and renowned actor and director of the moment Dexter Fletcher (Eddie The Eagle, Rocketman), Double Date is fun, ferocious, and full of surprises.

The iconic Prince Charles Cinema will be hosting a special screening of Double Date on Thursday 5 September, followed by a Q&A with the director Benjamin Barfoot, producer Matt Wilkinson, and stars Michael Socha and Danny Morgan. Tickets are on sale now, and the film is out on digital, DVD and Blu-Ray from 9 September.

If you’re looking for the love of your life, be careful…Double Date could be the kiss of death.

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1. Closing date 16-09-19
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