Independent
Fagbug Update: Car Owner Receives Death Threats
Last summer I reviewed the very thought-provoking documentary, Fagbug. Erin Davies had come out to her Volkswagen Beetle one day to find someone had painted “u r gay” and “fag” on it because of a small rainbow sticker she had on the car. While waiting for several days for the insurance company to view the [...]
Let Me In
Writer/Director Matt Reeves doesn’t want you to think of Let Me In as a replacement of the brilliant 2008 Swedish import Let the Right One In. Instead, he wants you to think of it as the American companion piece, that would sit along side the original. In other words, the original movie gave you a [...]
Scumbabies
As the market for independent films becomes more and more crowded, it can be tough for filmmakers to get their work noticed. In the case of Joseph R. Lewis’s Scumbabies, the writer/director Lewis decided to debut his finished film with a variety show. There were musical performances by artists whose songs appeared in the film, [...]
Anderson’s Cross
Anderson’s Cross is like American Pie with morals. It’s a mature look at a coming of age story through the eyes of a hot to trot bisexual teen, Nick Anderson. Writer, director, and lead actor, Jerome Scott (Lethal Weapon 4, Freaks and Geeks, Charlie’s Angels, She’s All That, American Pie, Whatever it Takes) boldly risks [...]
Indie Spotlight: Drew Bolduc & Dan Nelson, Co-Directors of “The Taint”
Pictured: Drew Bolduc and Dan Nelson. Photo by Jessica Emilia Martin. Drew Bolduc and Dan Nelson’s super low-budget gross-out spectacular The Taint has been taking film festivals by storm. In the film, a mysterious substance taints the water supply and causes any men who drink the water to instantly become rampaging killer misogynists with raging [...]
Lady Parts
If the Lady Parts crew weren’t so serious about their Chicago-produced web comedy, there’s no way it would be this funny. I keep wanting to put a “z” in place of the “s” to match the show’s hard edge. It’s too difficult to pick a favorite episode because every one is a short and sweet [...]
The Pink Hotel
The feature debuts of many filmmakers often bear the stamp of their primary influences, from both their personal lives and their favorite filmmakers. The former is most obvious when the filmmaker takes the old advice to “write (or, perhaps, direct) what you know,” leading many first-time writer/directors to tackle a story based on their own [...]
The Taint
As I watched The Taint, I couldn’t help but imagine Lloyd Kaufman crying tears of pride as the influence of Troma films officially made itself known in yet another generation of young filmmakers. Completely ridiculous and as gleefully offensive as anything Troma has ever done, The Taint brings new meaning to the word “splatstick.” The [...]
Sella Turcica
Toetag Pictures has become a major name in underground horror, perhaps best known for its notorious August Underground trilogy of “found footage” serial killer “home movies.” Their more traditionally narrative films have been very different beasts: The Redsin Tower is basically a “teens go to a haunted place to party and get murdered” movie that [...]
Slices Of Life
I recently attended a horror film festival at the Portage Theater in Chicago and one of the main highlights was the world premiere showing of the much anticipated indie release, ‘Slices Of Life’. Written and directed by Anthony G. Sumner, this throwback to cult classic horror flicks includes almost everything you could want out of [...]
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