"Long Pigs" at the Mayfair - and we've got goodies!

Long Pig (n): Culinary term for the Human corpse. 


Friday Aug. 6th, The Mayfair Theatre presents the Ottawa Premiere of Long Pigs and Ottawa Horror and Director Chris Power are offering YOU our readers a chance to see it and walk away with some cool swag!

Long Pigs is a "mocumentary" following two filmakers who find the ultimate subject for their documentary - a cannibal serial Killer! The film has won numerous awards at film festivals, and been the subject of some heated debate amongst critics. (Check out Lance and Feedback going at it at Rue Morgue Radio on May 21st).

The Ottawa Premiere sees the cast and crew coming down to join in the fun, and director Chris Power has  given Ottawa Horror a very cool prize pack of a signed DVD, signed poster and a package of Anthony's "Organic" jerky to give away. In addition, Ottawa Horror will pay for you and a guest to see the film.

How do you enter? A good question!

Here's how it works. From now till Midnight Aug. 1st, email sonsey@ottawahorror.com with the subject line "Long Pigs Contest" and the answer to the following question:

"Name one of the directors of the movie The Long Pigs"

On Monday Aug. 2nd, we'll do a random draw from the correct answers and the winner will be announced. The prize will be awarded at the Premiere.

I've got to say, this looks like a very cool film! Let's all come out and help support Canadian Horror and Canadian Filmmakers. The show starts at 11:55PM.

The Shrine Premieres at Fantasia.

The folks at Brookstreet Pictures, who brought us "Jack Brooks Monster Slayer", now bring us "The Shrine". The synopsis is as follows:

After a young American backpacker goes missing in Europe, a group of journalists link his disappearance to a remote village in Poland. They travel there hoping to get the story, but as they unravel the secrets behind this mysterious village, they are suddenly pursued by hostile locals. Unable to escape, they soon become the next victims of ritualistic human sacrifice. Forced into the gruesome reality of true survival horror, the journalists soon discover that this village hides a much darker secret than they could ever imagine.


The cast includes Aaron Ashmore, Cindy Samson, Meghan Heffern, and of course, Trevor Matthews. It's premiering July 25th at Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal, so if you get a chance, do go support local film and go see it.


Thanks to writer Brendan Moore for the tip...

Rom-Zom-Coms

Ever since "Shawn of the Dead", the term "Rom-Zom-Com" has been bandied about... Romantic Zombie Comedy... usually it means one of the two main love interests is a zombie - although "Shawn" changed that formula somewhat (and was easily one of the best). Anyhoo... all this is a lead up to this post from the lovely Chantal and Angie at CinemaObssesed.com - one of my favourite movie sites and from Ottawa too! While they cover everything, the ladies obviously are horror fans as well, and turn this bit of news of yet ANOTHER lame Hollywood Rom-Com into something a little more interesting.... scroll down to the end if you're the impatient type...

Going the Distance: " Yet another rom-com coming our way! Going the Distance (2010) stars Drew Barrymore (yeah!), Justin Long (huzzah!), Christina Applegate (great!) and Ron Livinston (ok... you rocked in Office Space!) in a tale of love and long distance relationships. The movie takes place between New York City and San Francisco and is sure to be a cutsey-wutsey-lovey-dovey-mush-fest... But hey - we're in! Of course we are. Duh.

But seriously... Are we entering a new state of love and laughs in Hollywood? Why are we seeing soooo many romantic comedies following the oh-so-predictible formula? Guy meets girl, fall in love, oh no - a conflict of some sort, but wait - we really DO love each other. Happy happy joy joy. BORING!

We feel it's time for a zombie romantic comedy. It's time to spice it up a bit. Here are some classics that we think could be remade with a zombie twist:

When Harry ate Sally's brains

Undead in Seattle

Bridget Jones's Diary of the Dead

Never Been Kissed by a Dead Man

The Zombie Wears Prada

He's Just Not That Into Your Brain

Romancing the Corpse

My Big Fat Greek Flesh Eater

Thoughts? Anyone?

Get ready for hugs and kissies and zombie-free love on October 8, 2010. (Yaaaawwwwn)...

"

Build-a-Zombie

WOW! This is too cool to pass up. Matt "Creepy Puppet" Ficner is hosting a "Build Your Own Zombie" workshop on Feb. 13th. Space is limited, but if you like his shorts, puppets, or zombies here's a chance to learn from Matt himself. Matt, in case you didn't know, studied under  Canada's Noreen Young (remember Read Along, and Under the Umbrella Tree?) as well as working at Henson workshops, so he knows what he's doing. Check out his facebook page or http://www.mfproductions.ca.

Killer 63 Rides again!

Once again Batturtle... AKA Josh Stafford brings the FOURTH ANNUAL(!) Killer 63 to Ottawa. This year it will be held on Friday, December 18th at the Mayfair Theatre. Once again Ottawa's best Horror filmmakers will be gracing the screen, along with potentially some new talent. Congrats to Josh on having on of the longest running film festivals in Ottawa. See you there!

Update: My good buddy the Zombie King has an excellent interview with Josh about the Festival at the Zombie info site here.

Ottawa Zombie Walk

I don't mean to trump the Carleton Place Zombie walk, but there is also one in Ottawa happening on .... the same day! Sunday, October 25 at 3:00pm. Do you know what that means? That means you can go be a zombie downtown and then drive out to Carleton Place and do it again to double your fun!

The route: Start at Beechwood Cemetary (note: DO NOT go in the cemetary, we do not have permission to be on the premises), heading west down Beechwood, continuing on St. Patrick. Turn left on Cobourg, turn right at St. Patrick, continue on Murray St. Turn left at Clarence into the market, walk through the market, up through the Rideau Centre, then to Parliament Hill.

They are on Facebook. If the link doesn't work look for: Official Ottawa Zombie Walk 2009
If you have any questions contact: akaneonfire@hotmail.com

Ottawa International Animation Festival

Well, the Ottawa International Animation Festival was a hit again this year attracting large crowds. As an introverted crazy person who comments continually on movies these aren’t the optimal viewing conditions, but I attended several of the events none the less.

This year there was a special retrospective called: The Horror! It was described on the site as follows: This program is NOT for the faint-of-heart, the squeamish, the easily frightened, the type who hides under the covers, and it is definitely not for kids. This presentation contains some of the most frightening animated films ever made. If you think that the only true scare is live-action gore, then you have another thing coming. Join us and see what happens when there are no limits to the imagination. NB/ The Ottawa International Animation Festival cannot be held responsible for any personal injury or illness that may result from attending this screening

I can only assume this was in jest. The session began with a classic Porky pig and Sylvester cartoon and ended with a definitely horrifying (but not the right kind of horror) song from the Wiggles (if you are unfamiliar with them, they are children’s entertainers) featuring puppets with haunting smiles and psychedelic colour patterns in the background. These were the best two of the shorts in my opinion. There were quite a few films in between with creepy dolls and eerie scenery, but nothing that was truly terrifying. This could also be partly due to my lack of understanding of the films. Several of them, unless they were included to display technical aspects of horror (mood, setting, soundtrack), were beyond my comprehension. If you’ve ever been to see the short competitions you would understand. All in all, it was a fun set of films that provided for an interesting evening.

Though it has nothing to do with horror, here is one of the shorts by the National Film Board of Canada that was a crowd favourite: Git Gob

Finally, even though horror is not always a topic at the festival, there are usually a few shorts each year (and this year a feature: Coraline) that would be of interest to any horror fan. I strongly suggest that you check out at least one of the screenings next year if you have never attended.

Intervention!

Here's a cool little video from the good folks at Saunder's Farm done in the style of the TV Show Intervention. If you haven't already been (and even if you have), do check out the Farm this year. The Mazes themselves are worth the trip - instant Shining!

Disclaimer: My studio provides the sound for the stage show at the farm, and in another life I installed the sound systems, and did the sound fx and music for the Haunted Barn.

The Sunny side of the Creeps?

Here's a neat article from the Ottawa Sun about Ottawa Band The Creeps, who we've covered here before. Way to go guys... Press is always good!

Lullaby...

I found this little film on YouTube... It's from Ottawa University Student, Samantha McCarthy. Reminds me a bit of "The Ring" - specifically the film INSIDE the film.

New Music Thursday...

First up is Ottawa band "The Creeps". The Creeps are Skottie on Vocals and Guitar, Ian on Bass and Vocals, and Jordy on Drums and Vocals. Self-described as "Pop Melodies, too much booze, and Stephen King books", their sound is very post-punk pop, but with much better technique than a lot of their contemporaries. With titles like "Shadows" and "Bury the Bodies", they wear their obvious love of the genre on their sleeves. They recently released their fourth indie title "These Walls", will be releasing a split 7" single, and will be playing across the country this summer - literally! Check them out today- you can purchase their music on iTunes

Here's "Bury the Bodies" for your listening pleasure

Attack of the Giant Leeches!

Brett Kelly's remake of the Corman classic is available on DVD at Amazon. Or if you prefer to watch on your computer or Portable Device you can buy it for download here.

Kelly is also a guest at this years FOF/FanExpo!

Quoth the Raven!

For those of you who know that horror started before the turn of the century, check out House of Usher. This site run by Peter Forrest, of Kanata, has been the "premiere Edgar Alan Poe fan site for over a decade". And he's got the awards to prove it. From bibliographies, to online works, to music inspired by the poet himself, this site is a treasure trove of all things Poe. Whether you're a long time fan, or whether you're new to Poe, you owe it to yourself to check this site out.

And while on the subject of Poe, Feedbooks has a vast variety of Poe's books available for free download in a variety of e-book forms. They also have a great selection of Lovecraft, for fans of that author as well.

Friday the 13th in Ottawa

“Doomed! You're all doomed!” was a good warning from Crazy Ralph, but we watched the movie anyway. Here is my review of the first movie night for Ottawa Horror.

How does one review a classic? Well I’ll try. The film is pretty solid. A lady goes crazy after loosing her son and starts killing camp counselors. There was a good variety in her slayings and the premise is believable. Unlike most horror movies, however improbable, this type of massacre is possible. This film was one of the first and has guided the horror industry for years. The thrill of Hitchcock and a body count rarely seen before Jason. Come the end of the film it even throws a twist at the audience. Is the sequence over? Is Jason alive? Well, with another 11 movies in the series we know the answer is yes, but I enjoyed jumping a foot out of my seat in the dark theatre from his attack. This film set a standard and provides an example of how mass murderers should attack. Suspense and brutal slayings are now an every-movie experience, but we should all pay homage to the beginnings of slasher movie mania. Thank you Mr. Miller and Mr. Cunningham!

As for the location, it’s like a mini movie theatre with a snack bar and the huge screen. However, it has much more comfortable couches to sit on and friendly people to sit with. Hopefully attendance will rise in the future so more can enjoy the night.

See you at the next Ottawa Horror movie night!

- Mary-Anne