Canadian Content: Kweeny Reviews Antiviral

I am proud to say Canadians have been making some awesome and fucked up horror movies lately. My recent find was one I stumbled upon on Netflix (because I get the majority of my horror from them) and I was impressed. Antiviral doesn't just have a fucked up premise, but it's beautifully shot, excellently acted, directed by Brandon Cronenberg and was filmed in my home province of Ontario!

This movie is a weird one, and it's a very quiet horror. It doesn't have much of a movie soundtrack, but the music is does have makes an impact. A lot of the shots in this film are slow moving but very focused, so we really pay attention to what is being shown. The use of color is interesting too, as their are lots of scenes with bright, clean white backdrops, so when something like blood is splashed against it, there is a juxtaposition of the sterile vs the primal. While there are some graphic body-horror scenes like skin samples being removed, coughing up blood and other such nastiness, for the most part it's not really gory. the imagery used is carefully picked to make a point. What makes it creepy is the story itself. Imagine a world were celebrities could sell viruses like Herpes to the general public. How about selling your DNA to people who make steaks out of them so people can eat you? Not only that, but the public WANTS to buy them to be that much closer to the stars.

The main character is a man named Syd March (played by Caleb Landry Jones) who works at a clinic that harvests and sells celebrities viruses to sell to the public. His journey takes us through this twisted world of celebrity-obsessed madness. One celebrity becomes a focal point for the film, Hannah Geist (played by Sarah Gadon) and through her we realize just how little power even the celebrities have over their lives, and that in the end, they are just products to be consumed and harvested by the big corporations. Their lives are as meaningless as the lives of the people who purchase the viruses.

And the thing I love best about Antiviral is the questions it brings up. Do we let celebrities get away with too much? Why should we worship them in such a way as to damage ourselves just so we can have a "taste" of them? How happens to the celebrity when we demand them to be more than mere human beings? There is a disturbing message in the film, when Dr. Abendroth (played by Malcolm McDowell) tells Syd the main character that he understands why Syd injected himself with Hannah's blood. He shows Syd a row of patches on his arm and explains to him, "I'm not a spiritual man. The belief in God has always struck me as a sign of dangerous infantilism. But you will forgive me if I tell you-that with each of these patches-my world has become more charged."

I won't give too much more away, because the ending is pretty awesome. I will say if you like quiet horror with some interesting things to say, give this film a shot. It will get under your skin.

Red Handed Scary Tale Contest

"Hey there little Red Riding Hood, you sure are looking good. You're everything a Big Bad Wolf could want..." 

So for those of you who don't know, I am working on my first ever short film called RED HANDED. It's my take on an old fairy tale favorite of mine Red Riding Hood. Feel free to check out more info at our Facebook Page.

 As a special treat, my awesome blog friend Holly of Holly's Horrorworld and I teamed up to do a little contest to help get the word out about the film! Check out the Contest details below:

Created by Jeremy of Being Retro

(Thank you! You're the best!)

The deadline is Sept. 8th, 

so don't delay and share the scares!

Kweeny Interviews Jason Von Ghoulscout of The Velvet Coffin!

Kweeny Interviews Jason Von Ghoulscout

I stumbled upon Jason recently while surfing the grand expanse that is the internet. I saw he was creating a web-series called The Velvet Coffin, and after reading the premise I was hooked. We started chatting, and next thing you know, we became friends. Plus, he’s a fellow Oregonian! Horror lives among the hippies! So here’s my chance to let you readers get to know Jason a little better. Let's pick his brain pan and learn more about his Ghoulish exploits...

So Jason, what inspired the idea for The Velvet Coffin?

Well Kweeny, we must go back in time... it's the summer of 1984, when I was a young Ghoulscout...*snicker* Okay, let's not do that.

I'd have to say the two biggest inspirations would be the ones I mention on our Facebook page, the shows we pay tribute to, Elvira's Movie Macabre and Mystery Science Theater 3000. I started watching Elvira's show years ago and became hooked! (We can go back even further and mention Creature Features, but that might show my age.) I  love classic Horror and Sci-Fi movies, and mixing that with hosts who make fun of the films, yet have a shared passion for the films, makes it even better. I think there's a huge audience out there for shows like that, people who love the campiness, so I said, “Why not start my own?” But I wanted to film it like an old black & white TV show, and do it in a way that pays homage to my favorites, and not try to copy them in every way. Plus being a huge George Romero fan, I wanted the show to take place during the zombie apocalypse.

So it's a black & white webTV show that mixes Leave It To Beaver with all of the above lol

You've told me you’re in Pre-Production on the show. Wanna talk about some of the things you guys are working on?

No, I don't. Let me refer you to the one in charge of 2^nd unit. *laughs* Sorry, a little inside joke between me and our writer & producer Alan Bennett.

Well, recently we've been putting some finishing touches on our script and getting ready for the “movie commentary” the actors will do in our pilot episode. We've also been spending some time filming scenes for the opening title sequence (which will be revealed soon), and the first act of the show where our lead characters first meet the “stranger” who's been wandering around trying to avoid the zombies.

We've also been working on getting the props together, and working closely with our costumers Lisa Bloodgood and my wife Randi Raven to make sure we get the look I'm going for. Vintage, mixed with modern accessories.

When is the first episode going to air? Will it be available on YouTube or elsewhere?

The release date is still being worked out. Originally, I was shooting for a Halloween premier, but there have been a couple of set backs along the way. Fortunately we've been able to keep things moving forward, so I don't see why we couldn't make it shortly after that. Christmas can be spooky right? *laughs*As far as where it'll be shown, the episodes will be available to watch on our official site www.thevelvetcoffin.co, which is basically synced up to our YouTube channel www.youtube.com/thevelvetcoffin.
There's also plans in the works to show it here locally in the Portland area when it premiers, so I'm pretty stoked about that!

Who are some of the talents you’re working with on the show?

None. They're all amateurs and I have to train them all. *smirk* Okay, all joking aside, each and everyone of them are awesome. Everyone brings their own gifts to the project, and I couldn't do this without them!

Our two lead characters, Vivienne and George, are played by Kat Jones and Dan Numbers. They're both musicians, and have this awesome timing when it comes to playing off of each other and delivering some campy lines. They both are very cool to work with and know how to build off their characters.

Our supporting cast includes my wife Randi, who plays that “stranger” I mentioned earlier. The lucky one who stumbles upon Vivienne and George's basement. Randi has done some theater work, and I know this is going to sound a little biased, but she's a good character actor. 

Then there is Alan, who's role I can't really go into details about yet. One of those reveals I'm saving for when the pilot premiers. I can say he makes a great undead guy :)  What can I say about this guy... he and I have been friends for YEARS and we share the same twisted, sick sense of humor, so it was only inevitable he'd play a comical role in this.

Paula, our editor, also makes a guest appearance. She's really the brains of this outfit, and I always wonder how she manages to put up with the rest of us!

I also have to mention Lisa, our costumer. She's stubborn and would rather not be behind the camera, but she has got to be one of the most talented designers I've met! I'm blessed to have her on the crew and give me such a hard time.

So you can see it's a small cast & crew and they're all pretty much jack-of-all-trades.

I hear you’re also in a band called Masked Pain. Wanna tell the readers a little about it?

Sure! It actually started before I created the webTV project. I had been making some music under a different name, and wanted to focus more on a Darkwave/Gothic feel. So I started Masked Pain with intentions to work on an album. Then when the film project took off after moving to Portland, I kinda got sidetracked. Rather than give it up, I decided to make it a part of the show... the music the inmates listen to. So I brought on my brother Rob Stangle (Autumn Grave) and he helped remix a track of mine that I wanted to use as a theme song. Basically he's there to make me sound good.

We do have plans for MP and will definitely be working on that album, but probably after we at least finish with the pilot episode of the show.

Is Elvira your favorite Horror Hostess, or do you have others?

Well, I have to say my favorite is definitely Vivienne ;)  But yeah, Elvira is on top of that list. I think I own three copies of her first movie Mistress of the Dark and at least two of her second film, Haunted Hills. I'm a bit of a geek when it comes to collecting movies. I'm also in the process of collecting all of her Movie Macabre DVD's that were released not too long ago. Such a shame her show isn't on anymore!
As far as other favorites, I really like Vampira. I can really only base that on her image and style, seeing how her show isn't available to watch. I'd heard that a huge fire pretty much wiped out all of the film and only one episode of her show remains.

Do you have any merch for the show?

I'm going to let my wife Randi answer this one since she's been handling that part of the production.

R. Raven: I am working on silk screen t-shirts for the cast and crew, and if we can, I will do some for the fans as well.  I also have talked to Jason about some kind of bracelet.  And I'm going to talk to Lisa, our costumer, about perhaps some kind of costuming for Halloween.  It would be a fun project to help promote the show. Once we are done filming, I'd like to work on some posters to advertise and sell to the fans.  I think that would be a good challenge.

What is your favorite horror media? (books, movies, comics, etc)

Oh definitely movies and TV. I do love reading though, both books and comics. Started reading The Walking Dead graphic novels but I'm so far behind in those.

How long would you say you've been a horror fan for?

Let's see, how old am I now? I know when I was a kid, horror scared the crap out of me! I think the two that really stand out to this day are The Shining and The Exorcist. I remember mostly that damned music in The Shining sticking in my head! And I still have issues with the other, maybe because I've never been a huge fan of possession movies. Or maybe I'm just a wuss?

I think I was a teenager when I really dove into horror. I'd sneak into the movies and watch things like Friday the 13^th, which I think the third one was out, in 3D, when I finally got into that series. And of course Nightmare On Elm Street. Growing up, a lot of my focus was on Science Fiction though, like the movie Alien. Which is my all time favorite. I'm a huge fan of Ridley Scott. Sci-Fi is still my main genre, but I'm definitely a bigger Horror fan now, especially when it comes to zombie flicks.

Are there any other projects you’re working on?

Not at the moment, this is pretty much it until we at least get the first episode wrapped up and out there for people to watch. We've been throwing around the idea of doing a podcast for the show, something that would come out in between webisodes where the cast and crew talk about their experiences on the show, influences, anything horror related.

I'm also thinking about working on a short Indie film. I have a couple of ideas for that, but nothing set in stone. We shall see.

Feel free to pimp The Velvet Coffin and any other projects here. Just link us to all the things you’re doing so we can cyber stalk you.

Sweet! I love stalkers! Well, here are our main sites www.thevelvetcoffin.co , and our www.facebook.com/TheVelvetCoffin which is also used to promote other Independent artists and horror related work.

For behind-the-scenes photos and content we're using our Tumblr account, which I refer to as “Scenes from the Basement” thevelvetcoffin.tumblr.com

And of course our YouTube channel youtube.com/thevelvetcoffin

I'd also like to promote a couple of crew members here...

Our writer Alan Bennett is a fantastic artist and has his own Independent comic book company called "Black Box Comix". www.facebook.com/black.comix and http://blackboxcomix.blogspot.com

And Queenie Thayer, one of our Content Creators on Facebook who is also an Independent Filmmaker and writer. www.facebook.com/RedHandedMovie and www.facebook.com/KweenyTodd

Thanks for your time Jason, and good luck on the show!

Thank YOU Kweeny for wanting to interview me and reading my ramblings! :)