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It’s easy to get lost in the desert, a fate that befalls Joshua Erkman’s debut feature. While his protagonists eventually get dangerously close to some lurid, lethal goings-on, this self-described “neo-noir horror” leaves a vague and rudderless final impression despite its intriguing-enough buildup. “A Desert” aims for the enigmatic, supernaturally-tinged mystery of something like Lynch’s “Lost Highway,” but in the end lacks the tension and atmosphere to pull that tricky gambit off. Nonetheless, its arty sojourn through backroads-thriller terrain is likely to gain some supporters as a Tribeca Fest midnight section premiere.

An opening sequence expanded upon much later introduces the idea that what we’re watching is some sort of purgatorial film loop that traps the unwary. But like several other conceits here, it’s never developed enough to take finite shape. Still, we first meet Alex Clark (Kai Lennox) as he’s exploring a dark,...

Stars: Cerina Vincent, Tom Savini, Robert Donavan, Monique Parent, Frédéric von Anhalt, Sarah French, Gigi Gustin, Adam Bucci, Ben Kaplan, Steve J. Owens, Brandon Patricio, Sarah Polednak, Dave Sheridan, Jed Rowen | Written by Joe Knetter, Robert L. Lucas | Directed by Marcel Walz

That’s a Wrap begins with a double cameo as Alexis the victim in That’s a Wrap’s pre-title segment takes a call from her manager before making a bloody exit at the hands, and blade, of a killer dressed as The Mistress, the masked killer from the giallo That’s a Wrap.

Confused? Don’t be, That’s a Wrap is an exercise in meta filmmaking set at the wrap party for director Mason Maestro’s latest film, That’s a Wrap. Mason, his wife Lily, and the film’s producer played by Frédéric von Anhalt, best known for being married to Zsa Zsa Gabor will all be there.

(from left) The Howling (Embassy Pictures); director Joe Dante; Gremlins (Warner Bros.) Photo: Todd Gilchrist/ Shout Factory; Shout Factory; Warner Bros. Graduating alongside Martin Scorsese and Ron Howard from Roger Corman’s school for filmmakers with more creativity than cash, Joe Dante was always the director whose 1980s blockbusters felt...

Exclusive: The independent horror publisher and production company DreadXP and its parent company Epic Pictures Group are prepping a live-action feature adaptation of the supernatural first-person horror video game The Mortuary Assistant, which the former company partnered on with independent developer DarkStone Digital.

The Mortuary Assistant brings players into the world of Mortician Rebecca Owens, who thinks her first night on the job will be embalming a surplus of corpses, though she soon learns a sinister presence resides at River Fields Mortuary. As the dead awaken and malevolent spirits bind themselves to her, Rebecca has to learn how to combat demons (including the figurative demons of her past), in order to survive the night. The supernatural horror game, developed by DarkStone’s Brian Clarke, is available for purchase for Windows PC on Steam.

Since its launch in early August, The Mortuary Assistant has taken off as an internet phenomenon — achieving...

You’ve asked questions. Prepare for the answers.

Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode

Sweet Smell Of Success (1957)

The Beguiled (1971)

Tenet (2021? Maybe?)

Smokey Is The Bandit (1983)

Robin Hood (2010)

Hollywood Boulevard (1976)

The Devils (1971)

Song of the South (1946)

Gremlins (1984)

Dillinger (1973)

Marcello I’m So Bored (1966)

Jeremiah Johnson (1972)

Big Wednesday (1978)

Swamp Thing (1982)

Forrest Gump (1994)

Payback (1999)

Bell, Book And Candle (1958)

Blowup (1966)

The Big Lebowski (1998)

Medium Cool (1969)

25th Hour (2002)

Apocalypse Now (1979)

Palm Springs (2020)

Groundhog Day (1993)

Mandy (2018)

The Sadist (1963)

Spider Baby (1968)

Night Tide (1960)

Stark Fear

Carnival of Souls (1962)

The Devil’s Messenger (1961)

Ms. 45 (1981)

Léolo (1992)

The Howling (1981)

Showgirls (1995)

Green Book (2018)

The Last Hurrah (1958)

The Best Man (1964)

Advise and Consent (1962)

The Candidate (1972)

The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

Seven Days In May (1964)

The Seduction of Joe Tynan (1979)

The Man (1972)

Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (1970)

Four Lions (2010)

Pump Up The Volume (1990)

Nightmare In The Sun (1965)

The Wild Angels (1966)

The Omega Man (1971)

The Nanny (1965)

Hush… Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964)

Live Like A Cop, Die Like A Man...

Directed by Jeremiah Kipp (The Sadist) and starring Tom Sizemore, Nana Gouvea, Jonny Beauchamp and Eric Roberts, Black Wake is a chilling sci-fi horror from executive producer Carlos Keyes and Red Entertainment Group Pictures. The film has its World Premiere at The Philip K Dick Science Fiction Festival on Saturday February 24th, in lower Manhattan at the Village Cinema East 9:30pm – and to celebrate here’s a look at the latest poster and trailer!

Specialists gather in a top-secret facility to investigate a series of strange deaths on beaches along the Atlantic Ocean. One of the team’s scientists (Nana Gouvea) examines video evidence to uncover a possible parasitic explanation for the fatalities. But when a determined detective (Tom Sizemore) sends her the crazed writings of a mysterious homeless man (Jonny Beauchamp), the scientist slowly learns that the actual threat may be more dangerous – and far older – than anyone ever imagined.

Jonathan Weichsel

MoreHorror.com

Michael S. Rodriguez is the director of the twenty-seven minute short Lamb Feed and the thirty minute short Night of the Sea Monkey. I sat down and interviewed him about his work.

Jw: I reached out to you to watch your films after you wished me happy birthday on Facebook, because I enjoyed Meghan Chadeayne's performance in Naked Zombie Girl, which I caught at Beyond The Beaten Path, and I saw you had directed a short starring her, Lamb Feed, and I was interested in seeing what else she has done. So I am wondering, what is it like working with Meghan? What is it that attracts you to her work?

Mr: Along with being close personal friends we are also business partners and I find Meg to be a completely focused professional that is an absolute delight to work with. When I call action...

We here at Tfh have always thought of the great Vilmos Zsigmond as one of "our" movie icons, having begun his distinguished cinematographic career in the humble swamps of low budget exploitation before rising on his own merit to a justly celebrated mainstream career. So it is with fond memories of the likes of The Sadist, The Name of the Game is Kill, The Time Travelers and Five Bloody Graves that we congratulate him on this latest award: From The Daily News - The legendary Hungarian-American cinematographer Vilmos Zsigmond, director of photography of the soon-to-be-released film ‘Atatürk,’ will receive a Life Time Achievement Award today from the 67th Cannes International Film Festival 2014.

In an extraordinary, Academy Award-winning career spanning some six decades, Zsigmond’s outstanding credits include “The Deer Hunter” and “Heaven’s Gate” directed by Michael Cimino, “Close Encounters Of The Third Kind” and “Sugarland Express” by Steven Spielberg,...

Austin offers the usual eclectic mix of options for filmgoers this week. If the half-dozen new film openings don't interest you, check out the The Reconstruction of Asa Carter, which screens on Wednesday at the Violet Crown Cinema. This documentary tells the story of the notorious white supremacist Carter, who authored the critically acclaimed The Education of Little Tree, a "true story" (actually, a complete fabrication) about a Native American child. The event includes a reception and Q&A with filmmakers Douglas Newman and Laura Browder.

If you're looking for something lighter, try the Algerian comedy Masquerades. The story of an Algerian gardener who dreams of improving his family's fortune by marrying off his narcoleptic sister to a wealthy "real gentleman," Masquerades screens on Tuesday at the Alamo Drafthouse on Lamar as part of the Austin Film Society's Essential Cinema series "Children of Abraham/Ibrahim 6: Films of the Middle East and Beyond.

The Sadist (1963) Direction and Screenplay: James Landis Cast: Arch Hall, Jr., Richard Alden, Marilyn Manning, Don Russell, Helen Hovey Arch Hall Jr, The Sadist Say what you will about Arch Hall, Jr. (and I know many people have), but he gives an outstanding performance in James Landis' The Sadist — one that is quite unlike his amateurish appearance opposite his father in Eegah, only a year earlier. In fact, Hall Jr.'s chilling portrayal of a psychotic, gun-toting, homicidal maniac is what makes this "bad" movie so "good." Before the credits are displayed, we see a closeup on his eyes, with the following narration (by Arch Hall, Sr.): "I have been hurt by others. And I will hurt them. I will make them suffer like they have made me suffer." Three treacly sweet school teachers are on their way to a ball game when their car stalls in a...

One of the perceptions about Academic Conferences is that they are dry dusty affairs with about as much excitement as ball of coughed up cat hair. However within the last decade, the perception is frankly untrue. More and more professors and academics are looking toward popular culture to study and talk about and horror is no exception. In fact, horror may be one of the biggest areas of study within the academy these days. Films, game, and sequential art studies are “popping” all over campuses. (I know guy here at Texas Tech University who is doing his dissertation on narrative structure within the Friday The 13th movie series. So for all you Fangoria readers, there do seem to be niches within the academy that is growing and growing.

Just a few weeks back, The Southwest Texas Popular Culture and American Culture Association met for its 30th meeting in Albuquerque New Mexico.

• Horror/rockabilly personality Johnny Legend has three new DVDs coming out on his new Raunchy Tonk label. A 50th Anniversary Edition of House On Haunted Hill, a new disc of The Sadist and an update of his Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber Of Fleet Street all arrive next Tuesday, February 24.

House, the William Castle classic starring Vincent Price, has been newly restored in an anamorphic 1.66:1 transfer, accompanied by the following extras:

• Return to the House: featurette with Legend visiting Haunted Hill and exploring the film’s history • Profile of actress Carol Ohmart, with comments by Jack Hill (who directed Ohmart in Spider Baby) • Golden Age Price: The actor’s TV appearances on classic TV shows • Original theatrical trailers and TV spot • 25 minutes of further Castle and Price previews • Surprise William Castle TV spot

In the ahead-of-its-time 1963 shocker The Sadist, written and directed by James Landis, Arch Hall Jr. plays...