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Post by petrolino on May 4, 2019 22:31:03 GMT
There's a thriving independent horror scene in California that hosts communities known for their work ethic, crossover potential and creative abandon. At any given time, there will probably be somebody shooting a horror movie somewhere in the golden state, usually armed with a hand-held camera. The result is a mass market effect which for viewers means sifting through some debris to uncover the gems. The more prolific filmmakers have an ability to tap into this market and they typically make the more stylised horror product. Jared Masters, Brad Sykes and Darin Wood are adaptable multimedia artists who've managed to remain consistently at the front of the pack.
"Doris Wishman is my favorite; she made 30 films, most of them shot in her apartment in New York. She made me realize you didn’t need studios to back you or a budget to make a good picture. I grew up watching “The Three Stooges,” “Gilligan’s Island,” "Indiana Jones," "Terminator 2," "Night at the Roxbury," "Ace Ventura"… It wasn’t until 2009 that I got bit by the ‘Exploitation Bug’ after watching "Nude on the Moon." I really like Russ Meyer, Barry Mahon, Jack Hill, Joe Sarno, to name a few. I have always liked circus arts and learned how to ride a unicycle in hopes of joining a circus. After learning about sideshow arts, I became fascinated by freak shows and their history. "Freaks" (1932) and "She Freak" (1967) really inspired me. I spent the summer of 2009 filming the freak shows in Coney Island and produced the 19-minute documentary "Meet the Freaks at Dreamland."
- Jared Masters, Dread Central
Julia Kostenevich & Jared Masters
"Well, when I was growing up, my parents took to me to see a lot of films – mostly sci-fi, fantasy, and adventure. One of the first films that left a big impression on me as a kid was 'Clash of the Titans' – I can still remember that movie scene-for-scene. Around age ten or eleven, I started buying magazines like Fangoria and Cinefantastique, learning about filmmakers and discovering all kinds of obscure movies. A few years later, I bought John Russo’s “Making Movies, which was probably the first technical book about filmmaking I ever read and really got me thinking about filmmaking as a possible profession. Of course I wasn’t thinking of movies as an “industry” back then, it wasn’t till years later, when I moved to L.A. and began working that I started to see it that way.
George Romero was a big one; I still consider 'Dawn of the Dead' to be one of the top ten films ever made. His incredibly personal filmmaking style and the way he made his films independently had a huge impact on me. Sam Raimi and his first two 'Evil Dead' movies were also very inspirational. John Carpenter and Wes Craven were also big influences, especially their early work. Dario Argento came a little bit later but opened me up to the “nightmare logic” of Italian horror. And there were a few non-horror idols, too: Paul Verhoeven, Walter Hill, Michael Mann… I’m still a fan of all these guys today."
- Brad Sykes, Horror Channel
Danielle Rosario & Brad Sykes
"One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. The kind of films that I enjoy are those that mainstream audiences have discarded. Trash films are not bad films; they are the best kind of films, but they are not for everyone."
- Darin Wood, Slammed And Damned
Darin Wood
Do you enjoy any movies directed by Jared Masters, Brad Sykes or Darin Wood?
Thanks.
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Post by petrolino on May 5, 2019 1:13:39 GMT
Jared Masters was born in the state of Georgia but he's become an essential cog in the Californian horror wheel. He's the founder and president of private distribution unit Frolic Pictures, chairing a central office located in Hollywood. Masters is a poet, musician and photographer who's etched a place on the dirty boulevard by chronicling the lives of some of tinseltown's lost souls. The one film of his I've seen that I didn't like at all is the religious fantasy 'Absolute Vow' (2017) with Troma President Lloyd Kaufman, a movie that feels heavily indebted to the work of Italian filmmaker Pier Paolo Pasolini. Generally speaking, Masters' own films are unique and identifiable. He stars in his new project 'Agalmatophilia' (2018) which has taught many a new word from life's dictionary; it's a co-adventure with director Brittany Ballantyne.
'Multi-award winning horror director Jared Masters has pulled a peculiar rabbit out of his hat, and just in time for the holiday season. Bunny Downe Press has published "i don't hear america singing" by J. Riddles (Jared Masters) with illustrations by Fizzi Pop. Most people may not know that Jared Masters (Slink, After School Massacre) is first and foremost a poet. He began exploring poetry after being introduced to the work of e.e. cummings in 2003. Over the next decade, Masters quietly wrote a body of work consisting of over 400 poems, about many various topics, some racy, some refined. Some verses are beautiful, others exotic. Substance-fueled experimentalism. Finally, after over ten years in the making, this long-awaited book features the author's desired selections, for the first edition, written under the pen name J. Riddles.'
- Broadway World
'Climb It, Tarzan' (2011)
'Hollywood A GoGo' (2012)
'Slink' (2013)
'After School Massacre' (2014)
'Deadly Punkettes' (2014)
'Club Lingerie' (2014)
'Ballet Of Blood' (2015)
'Big Hair, Long Lashes' (2017)
'Disaster Is What We're After' - Death Valley Girls
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Post by petrolino on May 5, 2019 2:23:01 GMT
Brad Sykes is perhaps best known as the principal author of the 'Camp Blood' slasher series. Over the years he's gained considerable standing and he co-produced Joe Dante's high-profile horror comedy 'Burying The Ex' (2014) five years ago. I've been waiting for many years for a release of his movie 'Scream Queen' (2002) with Linnea Quigley, whom he'd reportedly pursued to work with since queuing for her autograph many years earlier, a horror picture that at one point was presumed lost, yet now is seemingly shelved - Sykes still maintains it absolutely will see the light of day. He recently oversaw the anthology project 'Hi-8 (Horror Independent 8)' (2013) which consisted of short films directed by Ron Bonk, Donald Farmer, Marcus Koch, Tony Masiello, Tim Ritter, Todd Sheets and the man himself. I find Brad Sykes' scattershot output somewhat frustrating but I feel he's capable of interesting work.
"It's great to be here at the Horror Asylum! 'Camp Blood' was actually my third feature. I had written and directed two movies before it, but it was the first to be released. As far as my background is concerned, I had considerable experience in film production prior to getting any professional directing gigs. I made eight video features in my hometown of Virginia Beach during high school and college and attended film school at Boston University for four years (during which time I worked on 'Kiss the Girls' for Paramount and worked as a script reader for Ridley and Tony Scott). Once making the permanent move to L.A., I directed second unit for director Jeff Burr as well as working as Assistant FX coordinator on several Brian Yuzna films, plus various other production jobs. So, given all that, it's not too surprising that I was given the opportunity to write and direct a low-budget horror film."
- Brad Sykes, The Horror Asylum
Madeleine Lindley in 'Demon's Kiss' (2002)
Phoebe Dollar in 'Goth' (2003)
Linnea Quigley at Forbidden Planet in 1988
'Kill My Baby Tonight' - LA Witch
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Post by petrolino on May 5, 2019 3:07:59 GMT
Musician and artist Darin Wood dips his toes into horror filmmaking from time to time. He leads a cinema collective in Sacramento called TFO (Trash Film Orgy) who operate a film festival but are otherwise shrouded in mystery. Wood's own films have been visceral descents into inter-planetary ganglands, coastal terror strips and urban gothic crime zones. They're extremely colourful, visually resplendent and full of ideas. Since he debuted in 2005, he's averaged a feature film just once every 3 - 4 years, so he's due one right about now. Here's hoping ...
"Darin and I started making movies together in 1992. We actually got side-tracked for a while with our TV show, Deth’s Oogly Hed, and the TFO Film Festival and weren’t doing film for a while. But as of 2005, we were back where we’re supposed to be, and there’s no stopping us now! A lot had to do with just the right catalyst of modern technology and enthusiastic helpers — although having our own film festival doesn’t hurt!
I think most of my fondest childhood memories revolve around seeing horror films in the theater or on TV. I think I may even go as far as saying that horror and cult films may be the single biggest influence on me and how I turned out as a productive adult member of society."
- Christy Savage, Slammed And Damned
Prowling after dark in 'Monster From Bikini Beach' (2008)
Preparing for conflict in 'Planet Of The Vampire Women' (2011)
Stephanie Hyden poses alongside Oscar Benjamin in an official promotional still for 'Badass Monster Killer' (2015)
'Seashore' - The Regrettes
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