Indie Film Roundup: 2 VHS docs, Wolf Cop, and Fist of Jesus!

I've recently discovered several new indie films that are in various stages of production (mostly by accident; God Bless the internet!), and I think you'll all be psyched about each one of them. We've got two VHS documentaries, and two horror-comedies that will have you waxing nostalgic and cheering for more gory hijinks! First up is a completed VHS documentary called REWIND THIS!


Featuring interviews with Troma founder Lloyd Kaufman, Full Moon's Charles Band, and various directors and VHS fans/collectors, REWIND THIS! takes a look at the rise and fall of the VHS tape, and its continued popularity despite being a "dead format." It looks quite interesting and just made its world premiere at the SXSW Film Festival, which ends this weekend. No word on a DVD (or VHS?) release date yet, but to keep up on what's new with the film and to learn more about it, be sure to visit its official site at www.rewindthismovie.com!

But REWIND THIS! is not alone folks, for this is another, much smaller budgeted documentary in the works called ADJUST YOUR TRACKING, that takes another look at the world of the VHS tape, and the people that still collect them. Scroll down a bit for the bitchin' poster and the teaser trailer. CLICK HERE to visit the official site and learn more about this upcoming documentary!

This makes me pine for my old VCR! So cool!

Continuing on, its time to look at some new indie films that blend Horror, gore, and comedy together. First up is WOLF COP, the tale of a drunken cop named Lou Garou (HA!) who ends up becoming a drunken lycanthropic police officer! The filmmakers have created a hilariously awesome concept trailer and are currently battling it out with other indie hopefuls on CineCoup to earn a million bucks to make WOLF COP a reality. Check out the concept trailer below, then head over to the main website (www.wolfcop.com) to find out how you can help get this flick made!


Finally, I need to give some love to the most insane indie film project I've come across in a while. Imagine if Jesus Christ himself, while bringing Lazarus back to life, accidentally screwed up and created the first ever zombie plague on Earth. And hey, what if Jesus (and Judas) battled the undead hordes to save humanity?! That is the concept for FIST OF JESUS (a.k.a. ONCE UPON A TIME IN JERUSALEM).

A short film by collaborators/co-directors David Muñoz & Adrián Cardona is currently up on Youtube, and they are attempting to pull together funds to create a feature-length version. Check out the FIST OF JESUS short below (these gents are all from Spain, so keep that in mind when you are assailed by English subtitles), then head on over to the official site (www.fistofjesus.com) for production updates and to help donate to the completion of a movie that can only be described as "The Greatest Story Ever Told" meets "Dead-Alive!" Enjoy!


HAHAHAHA! Extra points for the random inclusion of ZOMBIE COWBOYS! This really looks awesome; I hope they pull together the funds to make the feature-length version.

Oh, and since we're currently on the topic of the epic tag-team of David Muñoz & Adrián Cardona, here is their short film BRUTAL RELAX, which features aquatic man-eating zombie creatures paying the price for ruining the relaxation attempts of a violently insane gentleman named Mr. Olivares. Needless to say... THIS. IS. AWESOME!

New Fright-Rags tees + FANTASM documentary in the works!

It has been far too long since I've given my friends at Fright-Rags any love. They've continued to supply the Horror community with an array of awesome shirts that just can't be topped. Their designs are unparallelled, their staff is insanely knowledgeable and friendly, and their company has continued to grow and cater to us Horror fans with highly collectible tees that are guaranteed to turn heads when seen in public.

And speaking of which, they have three new designs out that will make your mouth water. For fans of classic slasher cinema, there's a great new TERROR TRAIN shirt; fans of Stephen King will surely dig the new MISERY tee; there's even a hilarious new design that riffs on the Christmas classic "Home Alone," and features the SOUTH BEND SHOVEL SLAYER (a.k.a. Murphy). Each shirt comes in sizes Small to 5XL, and costs $21.95 apiece; scope out the designs below:

I never realized Kathy Bates was a Peter Gabriel fan.

I guess the "Wet Bandits" are now the "Dead Bandits?"

Awesome design though there is a distinct lack of David Copperfield on this shirt.

Also, as of my posting this, Fright-Rags still have less than 60 of their EVIL DEAD II: GROOVY EDITION COLLECTOR'S BOXES left in stock. For $37.95 you get a gorgeous t-shirt, prismatic sticker, and a "Home Sweet Home" magnet, all inside a cool Necronomicon box with artwork by Jeff Zornow! Once these are sold out, they are gone for good, so grab one now!

And finally, before I quit blogging for the night, I'd like to bring a new documentary to your attention, namely FANTASM. Directed by a gent named Kyle Kuchta, this doc looks to spread awareness about all the various Horror conventions happening across America, and show how tight-knit the Horror community is. As someone that has attended a handful of cons, I can attest to the family atmosphere they have. Every time you go you see familiar faces (some famous, some not) and you usually walk away with a few new friends and usually some pretty crazy/cool stories (especially if Gary Busey is on the premises).

Here's the teaser trailer to give you a taste of what's to come:


If you looked closely amongst the rapid-fire edits, you probably caught a few familiar faces, amongst shots of fans and cosplayers, including actor Tom Atkins (who is just an awesome human being), actress Heather Langenkamp, and Fright-Rags owner Ben Scrivens (and Kristy Jett, Fright-Rags' very own Director of Service & Sass). This comprehensive documentary (that is also Kyle's senior thesis to get his BFA in film) will feature interviews with celebrities and fans, and will hopefully bring more people out to visit the numerous conventions that have popped up over the years.

Kyle plans on completing FANTASM in May of this year, but still has some principal photography to shoot in March at MONSTER-MANIA CON at Cherry Hill, NJ (which is boasting CARRIE FISHER as well as a FREDDY VS. JASON reunion) and HORROR HOUND WEEKEND in Cincinnati, OH. So if you attend either con in March, YOU just may end up in the film!

Kyle, godspeed and good luck with your film; I hope I can get a chance to check it out!

New Capsule Review: The Wildman of Kentucky - The Mystery of Panther Rock (2008)

The first new review of the New Year is here, and it's for an amateurish documentary about the existence of Bigfoot and other natural phenomena in the Frazier Land of Kentucky. Check out my capsule review for The Wildman of Kentucky: The Mystery of Panther Rock!

Amidst the footage of the "Reality Team" traipsing about the spooky woods of the Frazier Lands at night and interviews with Bigfoot witnesses, we also get totally out-of-place hard rock music by "Freakhouse," and odd CGI "recreations" of Bigfoot appearances. However, the strangest thing in the entire two-hour running time is probably the CGI Indian dancing for Bigfoot amidst a sea of flames! (No I'm not kidding.)

I have about another five documentaries from Reality Entertainment to check out ranging from Sherlock Holmes, to Vikings, to Alice in Wonderland that I have yet to check out, but they are going to be on the backburner for a bit longer because I have a roundtable review (WAR OF THE GARGANTUAS!) to tackle, along with Robot Monster 3D which was chosen well over a month ago by readers in the last "Torture the Vault Master" poll.

Stay tuned for more b-movie goodness; blog ya later!