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Author: Daniel Goodwin

From its bleak but stunning opening shot of an ominous evening sky, Australian director Steven Kastrissios builds an immediate, prevalent sense of foreboding for his second feature, Bloodlands. Kastrissios’ first film in nearly ten years (since 2008’s The Horseman) charts the tale of a penurious Albanian blood feud between a lowly local family and a coterie of cannibals, witches and ghosts.

For a film which so accurately depicts such raw, rundown communities, the paranormal elements meld surprisingly well with the realism, even when accentuated to be predominantly weird and gothic. Slabs of floating meat, cloaked, mystical figures and delirious nightmare scenes make Bloodlands resound like a lunatic’s fever dream instead of a slice of social commentary about Albanian culture and society. The subject of Balkan blood feuds have previously been tackled in fictional cinema in Joshua Marston’s The Forgiveness of Blood, among other more conventional Albanian features,...

Ahead of the World Premiere of his latest film Bloodlands at Horror Channel FrightFest Glasgow, Steven Kastrissios discusses the challenges of making the world’s first Albanian/Australian horror film.

So what have you been doing in the eight years since making your amazing debut with The Horseman, a FrightFest favourite?

Writing. I was just 24 when I shot The Horseman and it was only my second feature script, so I wanted to expand my horizons and I wrote many scripts in completely different genres and styles. I developed other little projects and came close to doing other features with other people’s scripts but for various reasons they fell through, usually over the script. I also stumbled into music and that bled into my film work too.

How did Bloodlands come about as the first Australian/Albanian collaboration?

Coffee with my Albanian-Australian friend, Dritan Arbana. He told me about the...

His reimagining of the song "Go Tell Aunt Rhody" is currently haunting gamers playing Resident Evil 7, and in our latest Q&A, we caught up with composer Michael A. Levine to discuss his key contribution to the game. In today's Horror Highlights, we also have a Comet network contest, an excerpt from Stuart R. West's Demon with a Comb-Over, and a Q&A with Bloodlands writer/director Steven Kastrissios.

Q&A with Composer Michael A. Levine: Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions for us, Michael. How did you get involved with creating the theme song “Go Tell Aunt Rhody” for Resident Evil 7?

Michael A. Levine: The makers of the game, Capcom, were familiar with a track I produced (with Lucas Cantor) for Lorde: a dark and mysterious reimagining of the ’80s classic "Everybody Wants to Rule The World," which was used in Hunger Games: Catching Fire...

Horror Channel FrightFest celebrates 12th year at Glasgow Film Festival with record-breaking fourteen titles – including Ten premieres and a screening of the 4K restoration of Phantasm!

FrightFest Passes are £70 and available from noon on Mon January 16th 2016. Passes cover all films on Fri 24 and Sat 25 Feb Only. Tickets for A Cure for Wellness and Phantasm: Remastered. Individual tickets for the Fri/Sat films are on sale Mon January 23rd from 10am.

To book tickets: +44 (0)141 332 6535 / boxoffice@glasgowfilm.org / www.glasgowfilm.org/festival

From the press release:

Monstrous stories, unspeakable urban legends, brutal acts and fearsome folktales dominate as the UK’s favourite horror fantasy event returns to the Glasgow Film Festival with a record fourteen films, including ten UK premieres, screening from Thurs 23 Feb to Sat 25 Feb 2017 at the iconic Glasgow Film Theatre.

Kicking off with a special screening of A Cure For Wellness, an intense psychological ride from Gore Verbinski,...

Screen Australia has awarded completion funding to writer/director Steven Kastrissios. new film, Bloodlands..

The supernatural-thriller was shot in the outskirts of Albania.s capital, Tirana, and marks the first horror film made in the country.

Kastrissios said the team went there chasing the idea of an Albanian Brothers Grimm.

"The story taps into the real phenomenon of blood-feuds that are still occurring in parts of the region and explores it through the lens of a horror fable," he said.

.it was a completely unexpected place to set my next film, but I embraced the opportunity once I was confident we.d stumbled onto something unique beyond just an alluring setting..

Albanian-Australian producer Dritan Arbana said film captured the strange beauty of the country.

"Now with Screen Australia.s support, we can complete the film with the polish we.ve been hoping for," he said.

Bloodlands is the follow-up to Kastrissios. 2009 debut film,...

Producer Bec Dakin realises that aiming to raise up to $150,000 via crowdfunding for a $3 million comedy adapted from a John Birmingham novel is a very tall order, but that.s not the point.

The primary aim of the Pozible campaign, she says, is to build a fan base for The Tasmanian Babes Fiasco, which will pay off when the film is released in cinemas and on digital platforms.

It will be the second feature from Dakin (whose debut was 2008 crime thriller The Horseman) and the first from director Zenon Kohler, who has directed TV commercials and shorts.

.We are starting to build a fan base and we will take them on the journey,. said Dakin, whose day job is a producer at Brisbane-based Cutting Edge, where Kohler is creative director. The screenplay is by Karl Maher, who writes TVCs for an advertising agency.

"It's about starting to share the film...

Producer Bec Dakin realises that aiming to raise up to $150,000 via crowdfunding for a $3 million comedy adapted from a John Birmingham novel is a very tall order, but that.s not the point.

The primary aim of the Pozible campaign, she says, is to build a fan base for The Tasmanian Babes Fiasco, which will pay off when the film is released in cinemas and on digital platforms.

It will be the second feature from Dakin (whose debut was 2008 crime thriller The Horseman) and the first from director Zenon Kohler, who has directed TV commercials and shorts.

.We are starting to build a fan base and we will take them on the journey,. said Dakin, whose day job is a producer at Brisbane-based Cutting Edge, where Kohler is creative director. The screenplay is by Karl Maher, who writes TVCs for an advertising agency

The comedy is set in a share...

For the best part of 20 years Chris Blackburn tried his hand at writing film scripts, a sideline to his day jobs as a newspaper and TV reporter, reality show producer and, currently, as a co-executive producer on Big Brother.

Eighteen months ago he had an idea for a crime drama about a young man whose sister has been brutally murdered, set primarily in a row of vacant houses near his home on the north coast of Nsw.

Blackburn wrote the script and asked his son Tim, a TV editor who has directed several short films to direct. Entitled Burns Point, the film is now in day seven of a 21-day shoot in and around the town of Ballina.

Asked how he.s financed the film, Chris tells If, .It.s mostly me. I.ve saved up for this and put money aside." Cast and crew are working on deferred. fees in some cases.

The living dead are running amok in the Wild West in the new flick from Joshua C. Birch and Michael Du-Shane entitled Bullets for the Dead, and we have the sales art and more for you budding buckaroos.

The film stars Christopher Sommers ("Terra Nova," Jucy, The Horseman) and Kathryn Beck (Not Suitable for Children, Burning Man, The Little Things).

Synopsis

Escorting the fiery young Annie Blake and her gang to the sheriff in Blood Gulch, bounty hunter Dalton discovers the remains of an horrific massacre and rescues its sole survivor, a preacher. Before long the group are fighting for their lives against a zombie horde that walks the desert plains eating all the flesh in their path. And as the preacher’s secret unravels, Dalton realizes what he’ll have to do to prevent his wife being resurrected as one of the living dead.

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The Horseman director Steven Kastrissios just sent me a heads up for this little indie bad boy, which is the first feature from director Joseph Sims -- who judging by this bloody treat is obviously a very different bloke to that other Aussie director/thespian Jeremy Sims.

Here's the kick:

The weekend is about to kick off. With the ocean calm, the weather warm and the sun setting over the hills, two psychopathic siblings - Emma and Peterson, pit stop on their road trip of bloodshed at the sleepy beach-side town of Cecil Bay.

Bad Behaviour will have you on the precipice of intrigue as you are thrown into: Emma and Peterson's encounter with their fierce predator and debt collector Voyte Parker, a cop confronting the people who murdered his son, and the day a man finds his wife is cheating on him. Bad Behaviour joins the intersecting storylines of murderers,...

You can tell “The Horseman” is going to be grim from the very first frame, when you see a teenage girl crying in an alley. Images like that don’t generally indicate that happy fun times lie ahead. What is coming is a rugged, badass tale of revenge. Christian (Peter Marshall) just lived every father’s nightmare, being called to the morgue to identify his daughter’s corpse. He then does what any good father would do in his shoes, he goes on a methodical rampage of vengeance against the men who drugged her, made her star in a porno, and then left her to choke to death on her own vomit. After that the movie starts to get depressing. Seriously, this shit is not for the faint of heart or those of you with a weak stomach. Christian is so numb, so broken and empty, that he cuts himself...

There are questions that we ask ourselves, hypothetical ones that can result in lurid, violent fantasies and nightmares. What would you do to protect the ones you love? What if they were taken from you? Killed?

What if it was something worse than that?

Hollywood films are filled with stories that show people's answer to these questions, though they're frequently either glamorized and action-movie'd to death without any real emotion or heart. Australian writer/director/producer Steven Kastrissios has his own answer to the question, and it's an unapologetic, brutal response. His first film, The Horseman, tells the story of Christian (Peter Marshall), a divorced father with an average life, and average job and a generally average existence. He's balding, a little paunchy and mostly unremarkable. Until the day his daughter Jesse (Hannah Levien) is found dead -- with alcohol, cocaine, and heroin in her blood, and semen from four different men inside of her.

The HorsemanYear: 2010Director: Steven KastrissiosStars: Peter Marshall, Caroline MarohasyMPAA Rating: RStudio: Screen Media FilmsRunning Time: 96 MinsIt’s time yet for another torture porn film to review, but it‘s different from Bloodmyth and She‘s Crushed. This time, it’s an action/horror film, in the vain of “Taken” and “Hostel“ .“The Horseman” is an Australian revenge film about Christian, a...

The Horseman is a film so devoid of any lingering thoughts of anything, except bloody, total vengeance. It is this fluidity of violence, this methodical, almost automated outlook that really highlights this film as a different breed of revenge movie on a purist level.

The film is directed with absolute certainty by first feature-length newcomer Steven Kastrissios, and follows, in a twisted irony, pest exterminator Christian, played to bone chilling numbness by Peter Marshall, as he seeks the death of the men that raped his daughter into a drugged stupor and left her to die. So numb is Christian, that between his murders, he frequently cuts himself, just to confirm that he can still feel anything. Anything else is an afterthought, and his mission to avenge his daughter is made clearer by the slight nagging at the back of his mind by the hitch hiker that he picks up. At this point,...

After a screener of Steve Kastrissios' blistering debut feature The Horseman first blew apart my DVD player over two years ago, I'm falling out of my chair with excitement at the news the bloody revenge movie is hitting cinema screens this weekend in the country it was actually made -- in a handful of locations in Melbourne, Brisbane and Sydney.

I rate the film as one of the best Australian films of the decade, right up there with Samson & Delilah, Balibo, The Magician, The Proposition, Chopper and Lantana. And the lead performance by Peter Marshall is just as magnetic and pulverizing as John Jarratt in Wolf Creek.

To celebrate The Horseman hitting its home shores here are four behind-the-scenes featurettes looking at the locations, art department, fight choreography and stunts, and performance.

The Horseman is currently screening at the Tribal Theatre in Brisbane, Chauvel Cinema in Sydney and late sessions...

Courtesy of Umbrella Entertainment, we have passes for writer/producer/director Steven Kastrissios’ debut, The Horseman.

In this thriller, Christian (Peter Marshall) grieves over the suspicious death of his teenage daughter. As he travels through rural Queensland to investigate, he picks up an awkward young runaway and an unlikely bond develops. As the crime is pieced together, an ugly truth is revealed and Christian spirals down a dangerous path.

The Horseman will screen in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, from July 8.

To win, email miguel@focalattractions.com.au and tell us, have you ever had to chase up a film because its release was limited?...

Newcomer to the film scene Steven Kastrissios proves with his debut feature The Horseman that you don’t need much to make a good action film. Micah Chua writes.

What do you need to pull off an action genre film in Australia? Guns? Car chases? Special effects? A buff, well-profiled action hero? A multi-million dollar budget? Not necessarily: ‘With smart, efficient storytelling, we can do pretty impressive action too,” Kastrissios told Encore.

The Horseman travels in the vein of classic Aussie thrillers such as Wolf Creek and Wake in Fright. It tells the story of a father (played by Peter Marshall- Sea Patrol) and his violent pursuit of his daughter’s murderers.

The film’s high calibre action is due in no small part to proven stunt coordinator Chris Anderson, whose credits include Peter Jackson’s King Kong and George Miller’s Mad Max.

“I showed him my previous...

So many successful filmmakers get their start in short films, but after they make their debut feature they rarely return to the medium that got them started. 

For Australian director Steven Kastrissios this experience has been different; in a way his career has evolved in reverse with only one short film of note -- a short based on the opening scene of his feature script for The Horseman -- made before his directorial debut. 

With that revenge movie snaking its way around the world, first pulverizing audiences around the globe in a string of genre festivals, and now on DVD and Blu-ray (and soon, finally, cinemas in Australia. Phew!), Steve has been working on a handful of other feature scripts and recently tried his hand at experimental short filmmaking for the Kino Sydney monthly film event. 

He sent us the result, called 428 (via Newtown) -- as a hipster love story...

While Steven Kastrissios' blistering revenge movie The Horseman has recently made it to DVD and Blu-ray in the U.S. and U.K., many fans of the genre back in its home country of Australia have yet to see the film in all its gory glory on the big screen. 

That is slowly changing, with the film playing at Supanova Pop Culture Expo last weekend ahead of exclusive seasons at Sydney's Chauvel Cinema and the Tribal Theatre in Brisbane starting July 8. 

To celebrate these much anticipated screenings, Kastrissios has sent Twitch a featurette interview with the film's stunt coordinator, legendary one-legged stuntman Chris Anderson, talking about his experiences working in films and how he brought this experience to The Horseman.

One does not drop the word "legendary" lightly, and Anderson deserves everything that word implies. Over a long career in the movies he has worked as a stuntman and...

It's a good week for Blu-ray player owners as a batch of old favorites is being re-released on the format including Darkman, The Stepfather (the original), Park Chan-wook's Vengeance Trilogy, and our pick of the week, Supernatural: The Complete First Season.

Also bowing on regular DVD on June 15th are Arnold Cassius' critically panned Animals; an uncut, uncensored, and fully restored version of 1973's Horror Hospital that includes a revealing new commentary with producer Richard Gordon; two Japanese horror tales, Roommate and Slaughter Island; and a bloody psychological thriller starring husband and wife duo Corey and Susie Feldman entitled Terror Inside.

Our *almost* pick of the week is the unflinchingly brutal The Horseman, but honestly, it's much more a dark, violent drama than a true horror movie although fans of the genre will certainly find much to love, including an amazing performance by Peter Marshall as an ordinary man...

Arriving on DVD and Blu-ray June 15th from Screen Media Ventures is the uber violent Aussie revenge thriller The Horseman. We caught up with Director Steven Kastrissios who revealed to us plans for a creature feature and a post-apocalyptic thriller. "I just got a writer who is starting to write a period-piece creature feature for me, which I'm really excited about it'll be set in Australia," he revealed to Bd exclusively. "And then I'm tossing up about what I'm going to writing while he's working on that. I'm leaning towards a post-apocalyptic thriller. Personally, I'm more interested in science fiction, action and fantasy more than horror and bleak urban tales, which The Horseman certainly fits into. But ultimately, what I'd like to make is something like Star Wars. Just a big, giant sci-fi epic." Click here for the full interview.

[Updated with image of the U.S. Blu-Ray Cover] Specifications for the U.S. home video release of the Australian bruiser The Horseman have been floating around the Internet for a little while. However, those specs have been either incomplete or wrong. Director Steven Kastrissios provided us with complete details about what people can except from the June 15th from Screen Media.

The DVD will feature a director's commentary and a group commentary with the director Steven Kastrissios, producer Rebecca Dakin and star Peter Marshall. The Blu-Ray will feature the commentaries as well as a "making of" featurette, a short film by Kastrissios with commentary, deleted scenes with commentary, and Caroline Marohasy and stunt coordinator Chris Anderson.

It's unfortunate that more American audiences aren't familiar with Australian cinema. The problem isn't one of apathy or indifference; it's more a case of access. Many Aussie films never make it to America, meaning only the most devoted cinephiles -- who go to extraordinary lengths and cost to import DVDs -- get a chance to see them. Luckily, that seems to be changing now and American audiences are about to get a firsthand opportunity to check out some of the best titles coming from the land down under. Here are three that you should keep an eye on. Trailers for the films are after the jump.

The Square

Our own Will Goss described Nash Edgerton's The Square as " ... the blackest comedy rather than the bleakest noir, full of the best punchlines that you'll never actually hear, as our poor, unfortunate Raymond only endures further and further punishment in the...

Prepare to have your head pummeled with a nice big slab of retribution, Aussie style, as Steven Kastrissios’ grim and brutal The Horseman (review here) will be beating its way to a limited theatrical release here in the States.

Screen Media Ventures announced today that The Horseman will be in theatres on June 15th. Check out the film's insane opening below, and look for more soon!

Synopsis:

Action-packed, multi-award winning Australian thriller The Horseman features a range of powerhouse performances in an unflinching study of grief and retribution. Explore the dark fantasies we all dream up when Christian (Peter Marshall) is sent a horrifying pornographic video featuring his recently deceased daughter. Setting out to find answers, he soon spirals into a world of violence and recklessness as he follows the links through the industry with his unique methods of brutal questioning.

Driving through north Queensland to locate the final suspect,...

Prepare to have your head pummeled with a nice big slab of retribution, Aussie style, as Steven Kastrissios’ grim and brutal The Horseman (review here) will be beating its way to DVD and Blu-ray in the UK on March 1st.

Synopsis:

Action-packed, multi-award winning Australian thriller The Horseman features a range of powerhouse performances in an unflinching study of grief and retribution. Explore the dark fantasies we all dream up when Christian (Peter Marshall) is sent a horrifying pornographic video featuring his recently deceased daughter. Setting out to find answers, he soon spirals into a world of violence and recklessness as he follows the links through the industry with his unique methods of brutal questioning.

Driving through north Queensland to locate the final suspect, he reluctantly picks up Alice (Caroline Marohasy), an awkward young runaway, and an unlikely bond develops. But as the crime is pieced together, an ugly truth...

Written Directed by: Steven Kastrissios Starring: Peter Marshall, Caroline Marohsay, Brad McMurray 2008 Melbourne Underground Film Festival Winner, Best Australian Film Winner, Best Australian Director An action-packed, multi-award winning Australian thriller, The Horseman features a range of powerhouse performances in an unflinching study of grief retribution. Explore the dark fantasies we all dream up when Christian (Peter Marshall) is sent a horrifying pornographic video featuring his recently deceased daughter. Setting out to find answers, he soon spirals into a world of violence and recklessness as he follows the links through the industry with his unique methods of brutal questioning. Driving through north Queensland to locate the final suspect, he...

Today is Australia Day here in, you guessed it, Australia. If you're American or British you're probably reading this and it's not technically Australia Day yet (26 of January), but that's my reward for Living In The Future! Time zones be damned! America celebrates the day that British people came to their land with Turkey and family get togethers and being thankful for good health. Australia celebrates by having a bbq and sitting in lawn chairs and wading pools. We're classy like that!

Over at my blog Stale Popcorn I have celebrating by doing another end-of-decade list, this time one that I'm sure not many others have done: Best Australian Films of the Decade. There are some titles on there that you non-Aussies will recognise like Samson & Delilah, Wolf Creek, Mary and Max and Australia, but there's also plenty you have probably never heard a single word about. No matter whether...

Steve Kastrissios's Aussie revenge thriller has had a fair bit of love on these pages, and not without good reason. The Horseman is a startlingly single-minded tale of retribution shot with an intense, kinetic flair using a grainy bleached-out palette populated by assorted antipodean scumbags. When the grieving Christian (a marvellous Peter Marshall) is sent a grim porn video featuring his recently deceased daughter, he sets off to get some answers, crowbar in hand. Whilst its uncompromising approach is admirable, the relentless nature of Christian's rampage does become somewhat self-defeating, as the succession of beatings meted out quickly becomes repetitive. That said, it's streets ahead of your typical revenge flick, anchored by Marshall's compelling and remarkably sympathetic performance.

The Horseman is out UK DVD and Blu-Ray through Kaleidoscope Home Entertainment from 1st March 2010.

Year: 2009

Directors: Steven Kastrissios

Writers: Steven Kastrissios

IMDb: link

Trailer: link (We're quoted!)

Review by: projectcyclops

Rating: 7 out of 10

Steven Kastrissios’ brutal revenge film The Horseman kicks off with a two men beating the living daylights out of each other, until one man is crippled, doused with petrol and roasted alive. The survivor calmly cleans himself up, changes clothes and drives off in his pest control van. This is Christian (played to the hilt by Peter Marshall), and through flash-backs we learn that his daughter was found dead after a porno shoot for a sleazy adult film company, run from the aptly named “BloodSports Gym”. He’s pretty pissed.

This Aussie film has a vibe very similar to the Liam Neeson action/revenge flick, ‘Taken’. Both are fast-cut, very violent, slickly directed and are almost unbelievable in the punishment the protagonists give and receive. Think Death Wish for the 2000’s.

The Sitges International Fantastic Film Festival of Catalonia announces its complete program. There are still a few surprises to be confirmed, like the closing gala, but they have already put together the final list of films that will be screened at Sitges 09. Below you’ll find the titles of each film and their sections as well as links for the films that we have already reviewed here on Sound On Sight. Opening Film [Rec]2. Paco Plaza and Jaume Balagueró. 2009. Official FANTÀSTIC In Competition Section Accident. Soi Cheang. 2009. Accidents Happen. Andrew Lancaster. 2009. The Children. Tom Shankland. 2008. [1] Cold Souls. Sophie Bartes. 2009. The Countess. Julie Delpy. 2009. Les Derniers Jours Du Monde. Jean-Marie and Arnaud Larrieu. 2009. Dogtooth (Kynodontas). Yorgos Lanthimos. 2009. Dorian Gray. Oliver Parker. 2009. Enter The Void. Gaspar Noé. 2009. Grace. Paul Solet. 2009. [2] Heartless. Philip Ridley. 2009. Hierro. Gabe Ibáñez. 2009. La Horde. Yannick Dahan and Benjamin Rocher. 2009. Ingrid. Eduard Cortés. 2009. Kinatay. Brillante Mendoza. 2009. Metropia. Tarik Saleh. 2009. Moon.

The full lineup has been announced, and among the load of genre fare that's been running the fest circuit are the world premiers of:

Vincenzo Natali's latest, Splice, which we're all excited about.

Simon Fellows twisted adaptation Malice in Wonderland (trailer)

Along some of our personal favorites:

Black Dynamite (friggin awesome)

Swiss scifi flick Cargo (trailer)

Pater Sparrow's incredible Stanislaw Lem adaptation 1 (review)

The Mo Brothers Indonesian slasher Macabre (review)

Atm (get it?) horror-comedy The Human Centipede (review)

Full list after the break.

Opening Film

[Rec]2. Paco Plaza and Jaume Balagueró. 2009.

Official FANTÀSTIC In Competition Section

Accident. Soi Cheang. 2009.

Accidents Happen. Andrew Lancaster. 2009.

The Children. Tom Shankland. 2008.

Cold Souls. Sophie Bartes. 2009.

The Countess. Julie Delpy. 2009.

Les Derniers Jours Du Monde. Jean-Marie and Arnaud Larrieu. 2009.

Dogtooth (Kynodontas). Yorgos Lanthimos. 2009.

Dorian Gray. Oliver Parker. 2009.

Enter The Void. Gaspar Noé. 2009.

Grace. Paul Solet. 2009.

Heartless. Philip Ridley. 2009.

Hierro. Gabe Ibáñez. 2009.

La Horde. Yannick Dahan and Benjamin Rocher.

Josh Payne, one of the three teenaged stars of the violent Australian thriller Acolytes (now on DVD from Anchor Bay), likens the movie to Wolf Creek—a film he isn’t legally able to see in Australia at this point. But Acolytes (see the first part of this set report here) does indeed spin off from an equally disturbing premise: a trio of teens discover a dead body in the woods and, instead of reporting it, choose to find the responsible party and blackmail him into offing one of their enemies.

“Parents will be freaked by Acolytes because we’re only kids,” says Payne, whose onscreen mates are portrayed by Sebastian Gregory and Hanna Mangan-Lawrence, “but that’s the reason a lot of teens will be able to relate to it.” And he wants it known that he put a lot of effort into his final scene: “Against all advice,...

It’s not strictly a horror film, but it’s unlikely that any movie will come along this year to match the gut-wrenching intensity of the Australian indie The Horseman (showcased at the current Fantasia film festival in Montreal, and not to be confused for a second with the recent, similarly titled Dennis Quaid-starrer). It’s by now a cliché to describe a movie as reminiscent of ’70s cinema, but this stripped-down parental-revenge thriller truly warrants the description, and it also shows up the slick, absurd contrivances of an expensive modern schlocker like Taken.

While there’s more to the movie than its violence (more on that in a moment), the hand-to-hand brutality is certainly the most arresting element of this feature debut by writer/director/co-producer/editor Steven Kastrissios. Neither hyperstylized not gratuitously clinical, the dustups involving fists, kicks and assorted found objects are staged and shot by Kastrissios for maximum impact.

• Parents, especially fathers with daughters, will feel a certain kinship with Christian Forteski (Peter Marshall), the vengeful hero of Australian writer/director/editor/producer Steven Kastrissios' feature debut The Horseman. Not your typical revenge flick, this depressing but powerfully intense film explores how one man deals with loss and his own inner demons.  After his daughter's death from an overdose, Christian receives a videotape in the mail of her performing in an amateur porn film shortly before her death. Enraged and unable to come to terms with her death, he sets out on a rampage of revenge against the underground porn community, brutally and methodically taking out those he feels are responsible for her death. Along the way, he picks up a young hitchhiker named Alice with whom he develops a kind of father-daughter relationship. Marshall delivers a compelling performance as a man consumed by grief and despair

...

Must Love Death Directed by Andreas Schaap *** The first feature by director Andreas Schaap has had made some big impressions amongst Fantasia movie-goers. Clearly one of the more surprising and original films of the festival, it blends two seemingly opposite genres, the romantic comedy and extreme horror. These are the horror films one expects to see at the festival. Simultaneously good-natured and mean spirited, the film boasts some excellent and professional production values considering  its film school origins. A brave, unapologetic and truly independent achievement. The Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle Directed by David Russo **** A strange and oddly charming film which openly refers to itself as toilet humor but also toilet tragedy, toilet inspiration, etc. You can call it an acid-vision experimental art house feature or a zany pseudo-subversive gender farce or you can simply sum it up as brilliant. It's a moving exploration of gender while touching on topics like commitment,...

Not only will our very own London correspondent Ben Austwick be there to cover the fest but it's one of the best lineups ever!

How about the world premier for Pa giant insect comedy Infestation? Check.

Sneak preview of La Horde? Check.

UK premier of Cannes premier Hierro? Check.

The surprisingly good Giallo, the latest from Dario Argento? Check.

The world premier of The Descent part 2? Check!

Full schedule after the break. (Yes we copied Dread Central's post. Thanks UncleCreepy!)

Main Programme - Empire 1

# Thursday 27 August

18.30 Triangle (World Premiere)

The Boat That Shocked! Film4 FrightFest is delighted to open this year’s festival with the first ever showing of British director Christopher Smith’s latest spellbinding horror fantasy. When Jess (Melissa George) hits a seagull driving to her local harbour little does she know it signals a harrowing omen for her yachting trip with friends. From epic ocean vistas to poignantly shocking finale,...

The UK's most amazing horror film festival Film 4 FrightFest has released what could very well be one of the best horror line-ups we've seen ever for its latest show taking place August 27th - August 31st, brimming with films we've been salivating over Stateside!

If you need any more reasons to fly across the pond check out the schedule below!

Main Programme - Empire 1

Thursday 27 August 18.30 Triangle (World Premiere)

The Boat That Shocked! Film4 FrightFest is delighted to open this year’s festival with the first ever showing of British director Christopher Smith’s latest spellbinding horror fantasy. When Jess (Melissa George) hits a seagull driving to her local harbour little does she know it signals a harrowing omen for her yachting trip with friends. From epic ocean vistas to poignantly shocking finale, Triangle is Smith’s best, polished and most mature work.

95 minutes Director: Christopher Smith UK/Australia 2009

Melissa George...

Fantasia Festival is North America’s premiere (and largest) genre film festival. It is also my favorite film festival and so I could not wait to share the highlights of this years line up. Below is just some of the films we will be reviewing on our upcoming podcasts. The Children - North American Premiere UK Dir: Tom Shankland A holiday weekend turns into a nightmarish battle for survival when children inexplicably begin to slaughter their parents. Far more frightening than Children Of The Corn or the bulk part of other killer kids pics that have preceded it, this British powerhouse shocker ranks among the best horror film offerings of recent years. The Children inverts unconditional love with an impact that will freeze your blood. Would you be able to protect yourself if the people you loved wanted to cut you to pieces without any sense or reason? The film's terrors are character-driven,...

Ok, so I'm lazy.. I copy and pasted the press release, which is after the break, and we have reviews of quite a few of the films playing, including White Lightnin', Left Bank, Blood River, Cryptic, Deadgirl, The Horsemen, I Sell the Dead.. with Kaifeck Murder coming soon (once I can figure out what to write).

Movies I'm really interested in seeing: French Pa flick Mutants, Smash Cut, Possibility of an Island, Immaculate Conception of Little Dizzle, and Thirst.

But alas, I won't be there. Instead, a friend of ours will be providing some reviews for the week he is there, so everyone give a big thanks to DirtyRobot! Woop!

Check out the film greatness after the break! Oh, and there's more to come...

The past 12 months have been a treasure trove for sharp, individualistic visions of the unusual. Keep your hands on the bars as we give you a...

While we wait for the schedule for Fantasia 2009 to be finalized, we did receive a couple of press release announcing the fest's line-up, and per usual, those of you who are planning to attend are in for one helluva genre extravaganza.

First up is a bit of news about the fest's extended schedule: Due to a veritable deluge of feature presentations, Fantasia is extending its 13th edition for two extra days and will therefore be taking place from July 9th to the 29th at Concordia University’s Hall Theatre. As North America’s largest genre film festival, Fantasia will once again make good on its promise to deliver diversity, innovation, entertainment, food for thought and a good dose of eccentric and biting humour.

Next is a message from Fantasia's Co-Director of International Programming, Mitch Davis, highlighting some of this year’s spotlights:

2009 marks the 100-year anniversary of Hong Kong’s film industry,...

The Horseman follows the story of Christian Forteski (Peter Marshall), and his path of revenge. Christian is completely devastated by learning that his one and only daughter has been found dead of an overdose. He then falls to pieces when he suspiciously receives an anonymous videotape in the mail showing his dazed, strung out daughter having staged sex with several men. Feeling responsible for what has happened and consumed by grief, Christian quickly converts his sadness to rage in an accomplished agenda to track down, torture, and exterminate anyone connected to the tape and his daughter's death. Christian's violent path takes him through rural Queensland, Australia as he uncovers each layer of a drug and sex crime circle. Along the way Christian picks up a troubled runaway teen named Alice (Caroline Marohasy). An unlikely bond forms as Christian's paternal instincts give him new hope in preventing the same thing from becoming of Alice.

Attendance was down by 30 percent at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Not surprising, considering the recession still biting and Euro exchange rates keeping prices along the Croisette at ridiculously expensive levels. Yet the number of high-profile genre films in the Official Competition was a bonus for those more used to finding the most controversial entries up for distributor grabs in the Market section. While Park Chan-wook’s Thirst and Gaspar Noe’s Enter The Void certainly had their followers, with Terry Gilliam’s out-of-competition The Imaginarium Of Doctor Parnassus a similar hot ticket, the two biggest stories were Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds and Lars Von Trier’s Antichrist.

Cinema saves the world in Tarantino’s disjointed, history-bending homage to war movies, which takes its misspelled name—but very little else—from Enzo Castellari’s 1978 Italian cult exploiter. Divided into chapters, each highlighting a movie style like Sergio Leone spaghetti Westerns,...

It has been announced that Kaleidescope has purchased U.K. rights for The Horseman. Also, the new full-size sales art has been added to the image gallery, and links have been updated accordingly.

Steven Kastrissios’ film The Horseman had its North American premiere as part of the Fantastic Fest screenings at South by Southwest in March 2009. Now, according to Inside Film, Media 8 Entertainment has acquired worldwide rights to the film for a tidy sum.

Media 8 is bringing the film to Cannes market for buyer’s screenings. As such, brand new sales art is out and a new sales trailer is forthcoming. Inside Film has the full scoop, as well as the larger-sized sales art, at the link below. The most recent Nsfw trailer is beneath the fold. Thanks goes to Simon de Bruyn for the tip.

In the intense Australian drama The Horseman, Peter Marshall stars as a man devastated by the news of his daughter's death. His grief turns to unbridled anger when he learns that she was raped by several men before overdosing on drugs, and he sets out to kill those responsible. Media 8 Entertainment has acquired worldwide sales rights, according to Inside Film, and will be showing the film to buyers at the Cannes Market this week.

As I wrote when the film played at SXSW: "It doesn't feel accurate to describe The Horseman as a 'thriller' because there's nothing in it that provides typical action movie thrills ... It's a movie to be endured rather than enjoyed, which doesn't mean the film lacks artistry or restraint. Writer/director Steven Kastrissios creates a pulverizing experience, yet for all the blood, broken bones, and brutality, The Horseman holds back at key moments." Kastrissios told Inside...

Revenge may be a dish best served cold, but there's nothing quite like meting out instant vengeance with a blowtorch and a pair of pliers. In the world according to Steven Kastrissios' The Horseman, it's a testicle for a vagina instead of an eye for an eye.

Christian Forteski (Peter Marshall) is devastated when he learns that his daughter has died, but he completely falls apart when he's informed that she overdosed on drugs. His grief turns to unbridled anger when he receives a videotape in the mail, showing several men having sex with the glassy-eyed, sad-looking young woman, and he sets off to kill the bastards.

It doesn't feel accurate to describe The Horseman as a "thriller" because there's nothing in it that provides typical action movie thrills: no car chases, no wisecracks to relieve the tension, no triumphant moments of celebration. It's a movie to be endured rather than enjoyed,...

Straight out of Australia comes a white-hot blast in the face called The Horseman, a film that's really tough to "love," but very easy to admire. Cast from the same acidic mold as brazen Aussie indies like Romper Stomper and Chopper, this is a take-no-prisoners genre flick that I choose to describe as an "emotional thriller," and it's one of the most intense, powerful, and aggressively compelling films I've seen in quite some time. (And fair warning to fathers of daughters: This film will kick Your ass, specifically. Be forewarned). Anchored by a stunning lead performance by Peter Marshall, The Horseman is about a man who just found out that his runaway teenage daughter has died from an overdose....

The 15th London Australian Film Festival kicks off on the 12th March at The Barbican, showcasing the usual selection of features, documentaries and shorts from the land that brought us Mad Max, Vegemite and use of the word ‘thongs’ to denote flip-flops… (though apparently this is from the old English ‘thwong’ and is a legitimate, if somewhat confusing for Brits, term). Anyway, of particular note this year is The Dark Side Of Down Under strand where you can catch cannibal flick Dying Breed, Steven Kastrissios’ The Horseman and creepy mockumentary Lake Mungo.

Full details of what’s showing and tickets can be found here.

What's the time? It's time to get ill! That's right, the 6 films playing at the SXSW midnight lineup courtesy of Fantastic Fest have been announced, and we've reported on quite a few of these, especially The Horseman which we loved. Check em out:

Ong Bak 2 (Thailand)

Director: Tony Jaa. Writer: Panna Rittikrai

Martial-arts superstar Tony Jaa is back in an epic prequel to the 2003 action smash Ong Bak. Cast: Tony Jaa, Sorapong Chatree, Sarunyu Wongkrachang, Nirut Sirichanya, Santisuk Promsiri, Primorata Dejudom (International Film Festival Premiere)

Black (France)

Director: Pierre Laffargue. Writer: Pierre Laffargue, Lucio Mad and Gábor Rassov

A nouveau-blacksploitation adventure awash in black magic, African Mysticism, mutant arms dealers, gargantuan machete-wielding mercenary armies and a truckload of knuckle-sandwiches. Cast: Mc Jean Gab'1, Carole Karemera, François Levantal, Anton Yakovlev (World Premiere)

The Haunting in Connecticut (U.S.)

Director: Peter Cornwell. Writer: Adam Simon and Tim Metcalfe

In the tradition...

Austin, Texas – February 17, 2008 – The South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference and Festival announced the official titles for their new program “SXSW Presents Fantastic Fest at Midnight,” kicking off with the International Film Festival Premiere of Ong Bak 2, the most anticipated new action film of the year. Six films from six countries comprise the lineup, featuring four international premieres, one North American premiere and one U.S. Premiere. From horror to action, to comedy and suspense, these six films collectively represent the spectrum of genre films featured in Austin’s annual Fantastic Fest. All films will play at midnight at the SXSW Film Festival at the Alamo South Lamar, in addition to the traditional SXSW Midnighters section, which will take place at the Alamo Ritz. The program will feature:

Ong Bak 2 (Thailand)

Director: Tony Jaa. Writer: Panna Rittikrai

Martial-arts superstar Tony Jaa is back in an epic prequel to the 2003 action smash Ong Bak.

Year: 2009

Release date: Unknown

Directors: Steven Kastrissios

Writers: Steven Kastrissios

IMDb: link

Trailer: link

Review by: agentorange

Rating: 8 out of 10

Not to be confused with Jonas Åkerlundshades' film of a similar title, The Horseman is a new Australian revenge flick that's about to start getting A Lot of worldwide attention. How do I know this when the film has yet to have any commercial screenings and is only now starting to make it's presence known in the Europrean Film Market? Because we've actually had a copy floating around the Qe headquarters for a while just waiting for a screening. Consider how much I'm a sucker for the inherent drama of a good revenge film I'm surprised it's taken me this long to give The Horseman a spin, but man am I glad I finally did because Steven Kastrissios might just be the first director in a long time that truly gets the revenge genre.