Featured Film
Killer Raccoons 2: Dark Christmas in the Dark
Ohio University grad and Columbus, Ohio, native Travis Irvine combines the plot of Under Siege 2 with elements of Die Hard 2: Die Harder to create a film about killer raccoons as unique, Christmasy, and affordable as possible. Stream for free with ads on Tubi.
The Pitch
5 Horrific Questions with 'It's a Wonderful Knife's' Michael Kennedy
I'm so grateful to Michael Kennedy for making time to take part in our fun annual event. Kennedy's new horror movie, It's a Wonderful Knife, premieres Nov. 10. Kennedy serves as producer and screenwriter.
You might remember Kennedy's other wildly fun horror flick, Freaky, a twist on Freaky Friday's switcheroo plot. If not, read on. We spotlight that interview below!
And though there are only a few hours left - the best hours, by the way - have a Happy Halloween!
Dailies
5 Horrific Questions with ...
For more than a decade, we've spent spooky season asking horror movie makers to answer the same five questions: What makes a movie scary? What movie frightens you the most? Who is your horror inspiration? Why do we like to be scared? What movie or book - non-horror - would you like to turn into a scary movie?
The answers might surprise you - and we've made it easy to find out. All our interviews are collected on one page for quick and easy reading. Trust us. Some of these interviews will slay you.
'MEAT' filmmaker Roger Conners
Cleveland filmmaker Roger Conners’ story is familiar to most Midwest scary movie fans. Inspired at a young age by iconic Midwest horror masters like George Romero and Sam Raimi, Conners couldn’t wait to make movies of his own.
“Romero made a name for himself from the bottom up,” Conners says, underscoring Romero’s iconic contribution to the modern-day zombie genre. “I would love to have that kind of impact and influence at some point, but right now, I’ll settle for just getting my films completed and out there to the public.”
Conners’ latest project is MEAT: The Movie, a horror slasher with a bit of a twist.
“MEAT follows the classic, tried and true, old-school slasher formula while incorporating a cast of unique and diverse individuals who identify as part of the LGBTQ+ community,” Conners explains. “If you like horror movies, chances are you’re going to find a lot to love here. And if you love and support the queer community as a whole, you’ll probably be in the same boat!”
We sat down to chat with Conners about his filmmaking journey and to find out just how hardcore horror MEAT truly is.
Is Ohio and Western Pa. zombie apocalypse ground zero?
Casual horror movie fans will likely refer to The Walking Dead whenever the topic of zombie apocalypse comes up. (It comes up more often than you think ... brainssssssss.) But how many Gen Zombies know how deeply rooted zombie movies are in the Midwest?
From the godfather of zombies George Romero's Night of the Living Dead to J.R. Bookwalter's ultra low budget classic The Dead Next Door, zombies have chomped their way through the Midwest for decades.
What's so 'Freaky' about screenwriter Michael Kennedy?
When Michael Kennedy was 16 years old, growing up in North Olmsted, Ohio, a group of his high school friends convinced him to get in a car, cruise to Westgate Mall, and buy tickets to see this new Drew Barrymore romantic comedy titled Scream.
You know, the “romantic comedy” in which the masked killer dispatches Barrymore within the film’s first 10 minutes? The “romantic comedy” that completely turned the horror genre on its head, created by Cleveland’s own Wes Craven? The uber meta motion picture that would change 16-year-old Michael Kennedy’s life forever?
Yep, that Scream.
“The thing is, I didn’t grow up on a diet of horror movies, and I think my friends knew this,” Kennedy says. They probably imagined they’d get a bit of bonus entertainment watching Kennedy squirm in his seat. “But here’s the thing. Within the first five minutes, I was completely enamored.”
Akron filmmaker driving home horror in 'Copley Road'
A quick online search reveals dozens of haunted highways throughout the U.S. Spooky roads on which ghosts regularly appear, trying to hitch a ride or seemingly stuck in the place where they read their final chapter.
Add another to that long list: Copley Road. Though this time the haunted throughway, which connects Medina County with downtown Akron, Ohio, is merely fictional, born from the imagination of filmmaker Jason Woods.
“Copley Road is a horror anthology about five strangers whose lives intersect when they all witness a paranormal confrontation between two supernatural entities,” Woods explains. “Each of the five strangers leave this experience with a dark presence now haunting them.”
Cleveland filmmakers take on Torso murders in 'The Kingsbury Run'
The Cleveland Torso murders is a true crime tale at its most gruesome. Only the Sam Sheppard mystery (which was reimagined as The Fugitive) and the escape of Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight from kidnapper Ariel Castro possibly top it.
The Torso murders occurred primarily in the 1930s, though recent evidence suggests the serial killer - who was never captured or identified - took victims through the 1950s. Victims were drifters, often Depression-era working class folks who lived in shanty towns in Cleveland’s Flats. As the name implies, only the torsos of many victims were discovered.
Now a group of Cleveland filmmakers are retelling the story, set in modern day Cleveland. With a copycat killer on the loose, a private investigator teams up with a retired detective to stop the madness.
Back in 2015, we caught up with filmmakers Kurt Broz and James Neyman to talk a little bit about The Kingsbury Run.