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14 articles from 2009

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BMA Winners Announced at 2009 Midwest Independent Film Festival

21 hours ago | HollywoodChicago.com | See recent HollywoodChicago.com news »

Chicago – The 2009 Best of the Midwest Awards were given out on Tuesday night, part of a huge celebratory event at the Rockit Bar and Grill in downtown Chicago, capping another successful year at the Midwest Independent Film Festival.

Festival Director Mike McNamara was the Master of Ceremonies, giving out nine awards for the best of the 2009 season. The Midwest Independent Film Festival convenes Every first Tuesday of the month throughout the year, and showcases films directly associated with the Midwest area.

Best Feature Winner ‘The Merry Gentleman.’ Left to Right – Producers Steven A. Jones and Paul Duggan, Exec Producer Tom Bastounes, Midwest Indie Festival Director Mike McNamara at the BMAs in Chicago, December 1st, 2009.

Photo credit: Patrick McDonald for HollywoodChicago.com

Local Chicago legends Richard Roeper and Erich “Mancow” Muller hilariously roasted each other as part of the presentations, special guests included Armand Assante, John McNaughton (director of “Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer »

- adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)

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Blu-Ray Review: ‘Henry’ Remains an Indelible ‘Portrait’ of a Sociopath

6 October 2009 10:39 AM, PDT | HollywoodChicago.com | See recent HollywoodChicago.com news »

Chicago – Twenty-three years after it was made, and nineteen years after its limited theatrical release, “Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer” is as potent and relevant as ever. Filmmaker John McNaughton, along with writing partner Richard Fire, proved that true horror is found not in manufactured scares that jolt the audience like a theme park ride, but in the corrupted mind and soul of an evil being. The film truly is a human “portrait,” since it is more interested in behavior than plot. McNaughton used the true story of a Texas killer named Henry as his inspiration for this masterwork, which still stands as one of the finest and most unsettling independent films ever made.

Blu-Ray Rating: 4.5/5.0

There are definite echoes of “Psycho” in the film’s unforgettable opening sequence, where the camera focuses on Henry’s recent victims with a quiet horror that evokes memories of Marion Crane’s »

- adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)

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[DVD Review] Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer

30 September 2009 5:00 AM, PDT | JustPressPlay.net | See recent JustPressPlay news »

The scariest thing about real-life killer Henry Lee Lucas, perhaps, is that we will in fact never know just how many people he killed. The number’s anywhere from 50-400. Investigations for practically every unsolved murder case for years found their way to Lucas upon his capture, and he took credit for many which he could not have committed. Rarely has a more perverse fiend ever appeared in American history.

The scariest thing about John McNaughton’s (largely fictionalized) film adaptation of Henry’s exploits is that absolutely everything about it is terrifying. Because we as the audience have seen Henry’s handiwork long before we actually witness him commit any sort of crime, we watch him with absolute focus and horror even when he’s simply sitting down and having a meal with his friends, playing cards, drinking beer. The world of Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer is »

- Saul Berenbaum

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'Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer' Slashes Its Way to Blu-Ray

8 September 2009 1:49 AM, PDT | ESplatter.com | See recent ESplatter news »

"Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer" will hit high definition when Dark Sky Films releases the film on Blu-ray for the first time. The disc, which includes by director commentary, deleted scenes, documentaries and other extras, arrives on September 29, 2009, Dark Sky has announced. Director John McNaughton’s fact-based drama became instantly notorious upon its premiere at the 1986 Chicago Film Festival. Its story of a conscienceless murderer was so grimly and matter-of-factly presented that it received an Nc-17 rating (later surrendered) upon its commercial release in 1990. Michael Rooker ("The Bone Collector," "The Replacement Killers") gives a chilling performance as Henry, a drifter who leads an ex-jail mate on a killing spree in Chicago, choosing victims at random and varying the execution method to avoid detection. Director McNaughton ("Wild Things") provides running commentary on the Blu-ray disc, which also includes deleted scenes and outtakes, documentaries about the making of the film and »

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Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer Comes To Blu-Ray September 29th!

4 September 2009 4:54 PM, PDT | iconsoffright.com | See recent Icons of Fright news »

"He's not Freddy. He's not Jason. He's real." I'll never forget seeing that tagline for the first time on the VHS box of Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer, which is still one of those disturbing genre films that gets to me. How far we've come that now we're getting a Blu-Ray special edition of the movie courtesy of Dark Sky Films on September 29th.

Features include: commentary, deleted scenes & outtakes, a making-of documentary, a documentary on real life killer Henry Lee Lucas, trailers, storyboards and a stills gallery. Check out the cover artwork below as well as the synopsis:

"Based on actual events, this controversial and critically-acclaimed horror classic chronicles a few short weeks in the life serial killer, Henry Lee Lucas.

Michael Rooker gives a bone-chilling performance as Henry, a solitary drifter who leads his dim ex-jail mate Otis (Tim Towles), on a senseless killing spree through the streets of Chicago. »

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'Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer' Goes Blu

4 September 2009 4:00 PM, PDT | FEARnet | See recent FEARnet news »

Word in from Dark Sky Films that Director John McNaughton's excellent flick Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer will hit Blu-ray on September 29, 2009. Extras will include director commentary, deleted scenes, documentaries and more. As of now it sounds like most of the extras will be carried over from the previous 20th Anniversary Edition DVD, no news on Blu exclusive extras just yet. »

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More Hi-Def Horror - Henry Goes Blu

4 September 2009 2:33 PM, PDT | DreadCentral.com | See recent Dread Central news »

If you've never seen Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, then you're missing out on one of the single greatest and most disturbing true crime movies to date. In just a few weeks acquainted fans with the tech will be able to dig on his special breed of mayhem in 1080p!

On September 29th Dark Sky Films presents a modern American horror classic on Blu-ray for the first time - Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer.

Michael Rooker (The Bone Collector, The Replacement Killers) gives a chilling performance as Henry, a drifter who leads an ex-jail mate on a killing spree in Chicago, choosing victims at random and varying the execution method to avoid detection.

Director John McNaughton provides running commentary on the Blu-ray disc, which also includes deleted scenes and outtakes, documentaries about the making of the film and about the real Henry Lee Lucas, storyboards, trailers, and a stills gallery. »

- Uncle Creepy

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Henry's Portrait Presented in Blu-Ray

4 September 2009 | shocktillyoudrop.com | See recent shocktillyoudrop news »

Dark Sky Films has announced the Blu-Ray edition of John McNaughton's haunting Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer , starring Michael Rooker. McNaughton provides a running commentary on the disc, which also includes deleted scenes and outtakes, documentaries about the making of the film and about the real Henry Lee Lucas, storyboards, trailers and a stills gallery. Henry streets on September 29. »

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Drifter: Henry Lee Lucas (2009)

1 September 2009 11:32 AM, PDT | Pretty/Scary | See recent pretty-scary news »

Review by Amanda Reyes

Starring Antonio Sabato Jr., Kostas Sommer, Kelly Curran

Directed by Michael Feifer

Written by Michael Feifer, Wood Dickinson, Christopher Ryan

Since Henry was all about confessions, I thought I’d start my review with one: I am a pretty voracious true crime nut and I’ve always been drawn to films about the “superstar” serial killers, such as Dahmer, Bundy and, you guessed it, Henry Lee Lucas. Like good ol’ Ed Gein, Lucas has inspired a tale or two about his supposed rampage across the country. I say supposed because Lucas confessed to a few hundred some odd murders and then rescinded most of them...

He became most famous to casual crime followers when the excellent horror film Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer enjoyed a small theatrical release in 1989. John McNaughton’s shocking film was only loosely based on Lucas, but was such a searing »

- Superheidi

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Weekly DVD & Blu-Ray Chopping List 7.28.2009

26 July 2009 11:01 PM, PDT | Fangoria | See recent Fangoria news »

While there are no mainstream horror releases this week, it's a Huge week for fans of under-the-radar titles, vintage frights, indie and international horror.

There's quite a few re-issues, some titles hitting Blu-ray for the first time, and several collections hitting stores. Below the jump you can view the full list of genre DVD & Blu-Ray titles arriving tomorrow, Tuesday, July 28th, 2009 in this weekly version of the famous Fangoria Chopping List - updated with all the last minute additions and deletions.

The 10th Victim

It is the 21st Century, and society's lust for violence is satisfied by "The Big Hunt," an international game of legalized murder. But when the sport's two top assassins (Marcello Mastroianni and Ursula Andress) are pitted against each other, they find that love is the most dangerous game of all. As the world watches, the hunt is on. Who will become The 10th Victim?

The 10th »

- no-reply@fangoria.com (James Zahn)

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Five Movies You Shouldn’t Watch With Mom On Mother’s Day

10 May 2009 6:07 AM, PDT | MTV Movies Blog | See recent MTV Movies Blog news »

Mother’s Day. Of our many Hallmark holidays, this is the one that’s easiest to get on board with. Mothers are the unsung superheroes of this world. They raise us and they feed us. Their love is unconditional. Even the troublemaker who leaked that workprint of “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” online has a mother who loves him. Probably.

So we all agree: moms rock. That doesn’t mean they’re always welcome though. You probably don’t want to bring her to the bar or to some friend’s house party. You definitely don’t want to bring her along on a date. And unless you get a thrill from squirming around in embarrassment, there are at least a few movies that are best left for occasions other than Mother’s Day. Movies like these…

“Savage Grace”

Director Tom Kalin’s “Savage Grace” is all about the naughty mommy love. »

- Adam Rosenberg

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Lists of Doom X: Ed and Stephan of Hail Of Bullets

18 April 2009 10:00 PM, PDT | Fangoria | See recent Fangoria news »

Welcome to the tenth installment of Fangoria Musick's Lists Of Doom, our new column where we'll be catching up with some of our favorite bands and giving them a place to talk horror. Since this is Fangoria, we're gonna pick these musician's brains to find out what scares them.

For number ten, we caught up Stephan Gebedi (guitars) and Ed Warby (drums) from Hail of Bullets, European purveyors of "Death Metal Supreme" - both huge horror fans with some great taste in genre films, and their love for some Goblin scores.

Ed - I'm a huge horror nut, so here goes...

1. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Tobe Hooper's terrifying original, that is)

Easily the scariest and most intense movie ever made, and it earns this title without shedding more than a few drops of blood. Must've seen it 100 times at least and it still packs a huge sledgehammer blow to the nuts. »

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Troma To Release Never Before Seen Director's Cut Of Combat Shock!

13 April 2009 4:19 PM, PDT | iconsoffright.com | See recent Icons of Fright news »

Wow! Troma Entertainment will release a brand new 2-disc DVD set for Combat Shock featuring the never-before-seen director's cut on July 28th! Below are all the details from the press release & a brand new trailer specifically for this new version of Combat Shock!

Combat Shock 2-disc Never-before-seen Director’S Cut

Street Date: 7.28.2009 - List Price: $19.95

Available For A Limited Time Only

“Raw, nightmarish and absolutely devastating. Ranks among the most uncompromising and

powerful indie films of the '80s.” - Mitch Davis (Director, Fantasia Film Festival)

“Combines the New York City angst of Taxi Driver, the gritty nihilism of Fassbinder and the

unfiltered dementia of Eraserhead... one of the great cult films of the 1980's.” - Steve Puchalski, Shock Cinema

“Makes you want to slit your wrists.” - John McNaughton (Director, Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer)

Troma Team Video is proud to present the 2-Disc Never-Before-Seen Director’s Cut of Buddy Giovinazzo’s dark, »

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DVD news: Twilight girl in two new thrillers & much more

23 March 2009 12:09 PM, PDT | Fangoria | See recent Fangoria news »

• Anna Kendrick (pictured), the young actress who plays Jessica in the new-to-dvd Twilight (see our review here) also toplines a pair of genre features hitting disc in the coming months. She’s in the survival shocker Fear The Forest, which will be released by Next Wave Distribution April 14, and the psychological thriller Elsewhere, out from E1 Entertainment June 2.

Fear The Forest, written, produced and directed by Matthew Bora, stars Kendrick, Bora, Jared Michalski, Elana Safar and Steven Sherman as a group of college students who head into the woods on a camping trip. Unfortunately for them, the area is the haunt of a legendary Native American creature that begins tracking and killing them. The disc’s special features include:

• Audio commentary by Bora

• Behind-the-scenes material

• Deleted scenes

• Interview with Bora

• Creature making-of featurette

• Two music videos

• Theatrical trailer

• Bora biography

Retail price is $19.95; you can see Fear The Forest’s »

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14 articles from 2009

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