‘If any live through the nightmare, they’ll wish they hadn’t!’
Hi, guys! I have no idea why, but I have been on my LinkedIn profile a lot more recently. Well, it has paid off, because I ran across this gem! THE SAWYER MASSACRE! I adore the Sawyers, I love every movie – especially the much hated Matthew McConaughey / Renée Zellweger classic Texas Chainsaw Massacre: The Next Generation! So when this came up on my feed I giggled in delight 🤪
Bring the CHAINSAW back to TEXAS
The Sawyer Massacre is a feature length fan film and unofficial prequel to the iconic horror film, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is the film that inspired director, Steve Merlo to become a filmmaker! It’s also the first film to truly give him nightmares. It’s just simply the most realistic horror film ever made and there are moments where you actually forget that it’s just a film. It’s incredibly inspiring how subtle the filmmakers were able to display such strong messages and themes on the state of the social climate of that time period. In no way could that be duplicated but our script has small reflections of many similar themes happening today, paralleled with the social issues of the mid 60’s, which is when our film takes place.
It is our intent not to copy what the original did, but use it as influence in a stylistic way. Our film will have more blood and kills but will still be very subtle in it’s delivery.
Steven Merlo/IndieGoGo
You can read all the details on LinkedIn & IndieGoGo, so go peep the deets – and maybe help get it fully funded! If you’re like me, and not able to help with donations, share the details and help spread the word!
Until next time – stay safe, stay healthy, and #SupportIndieHorror!!
100% of the money raised during this one-day event will go to our 2020 recipients. They are:
*Ashley Adams and her daughter Natalya, who has Marfan Syndrome. *Laura, a breast cancer warrior known for her work in Arkansas’s LGBTQ+ community. *Patricia, who suffered second and third degree burns to the entire right side of her body.
Below is the tentative schedule. All times are Eastern. Please note that celebrity appearances (including actors, authors, directors, and other panelists) are subject to availability and may change without notice.
9:00am – 9:15am: Opening Ceremonies with Joe Ripple and Brian Keene
9:15am to 9:50am: LIVE READING – Jeff Strand and Stephen Kozeniewski
9:50am to 10:00am: Fundraising update with Brian Keene, Alfred Guy and O’Malley Brandt
10:00am to 10:50am: JAWS AT 45 – Jonathan Janz, Victor LaValle, Hillary Monahan, Matt Serafini, Adam Cesare, and Glenn Rolfe (moderator) discuss why, after 45 years, we’re still afraid to go in the water.
10:50am – 11:00am: Fundraising update with Brian Keene and Paul Tremblay
11:00am – 11:50am: MY FAVORITE HORROR COMICS – Tim Seeley, Rachel Autumn Deering, Jamal Igle, Cullen Bunn, Maurice Broaddus, and Matt Wildasin (moderator) discuss their favorite horror comic books of all time.
11:50am – Noon: Fundraising update with Brian Keene and John Wayne Comunale
Noon – 12:50pm: HORROR FOR KIDS – Lamar Giles, Stephanie Cooke, Jonathan Maberry, Gretchen McNeil, Bitter Karella, Will Bozarth, and Becky Spratford (moderator) discuss horror for a younger audience.
12:50pm to 1:00pm: Fundraising update with Brian Keene and John Dugan
1:00pm to 1:25pm: RETURN TO ELM STREET – Jack Shoulder, Mark Patton, Nick Benson, and Mick Strawn reminisce with moderator David Heck about their work on the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise.
1:25pm – 1:30pm: Fundraising update with Brian Keene, Brian Smith and Bryan Smith
1:30pm – 2:00pm: LIVE READING – Gabino Iglesias and Cina Pelayo
2:00pm to 2:50pm: MY FAVORITE MONSTER – Stephen Graham Jones, Hunter Shea, Scott Baker, the Sisters of Slaughter, Dee Southerland and Chuck Buda (moderator) discuss their favorite monsters of all time.
2:50pm to 3:00pm: Fundraising update with Brian Keene and Roy Wooley
3:00pm to 3:50pm: THE WALKING DEAD – David Heck moderates this Q&A with The Walking Dead’s Josh Mikel, Steve Coulter, Cooper Andrews, Lew Temple and Jayson Warner Smith.
3:50pm to 4:00pm: Fundraising update with Brian Keene and Felissa Rose
4:00pm to 4:50pm: THE AMBIDEXTROUS PATH – Mary SanGiovanni, Stephanie Wytovich, Bracken MacLeod, Somer Canon, and Jay Wilburn (moderator) discuss faith and magic in horror and creativity.
4:50pm to 5:00pm: Fundraising update with Brian Keene and Joshua Leonard
5:00pm to 5:50pm: Q&A – Emmy-award winner Pruitt Taylor Vince discusses his career with moderator David Heck.
5:50pm to 6:00pm: Fundraising update with Brian Keene and Eugene Clark
6:00pm to 6:50pm: CAN HORROR GO TOO FAR? – CV Hunt, Wrath James White, Kristopher Triana, Autumn Christian, Wesley Southard, Aaron Dries, and Armand Rosamilia (moderator) discuss how far is too far.
6:50pm to 7:00pm: Fundraising update with Brian Keene and Lar Park Lincoln
7:00pm to 7:55pm: COWBOYS AND ZOMBIES – Gemma Files, Wile E. Young, Keith Lansdale, Christine Morgan, Kenzie Jennings, and Thomas Clark (moderator) discuss the resurgence of Weird Westerns in film and literature.
7:55pm to 8:00pm: Fundraising update with Brian Keene and Josh Malerman
8:00pm to 8:30pm: BIZARRO HORROR – John Edward Lawson, Andersen Prunty, Rose O’Keefe, Michael Alan Rose, and Scott Cole (moderator) discuss surrealism and the supernatural in horror fiction and film.
8:30pm to 8:55pm: Q&A – Night of the Demons’ Amelia Kinkade discusses her career with moderator David Heck.
8:55pm to 9:00pm: Fundraising update with Brian Keene and Joe Ripple
9:00pm to 9:15pm: A SPECIAL PRESENTATION with Joe Ripple and Brian Keene
9:15pm to 9:30pm: COSTUME CONTEST – Celebrity judges Amanda Bearse, John Anderson, Amelia Kinkade, Lynne Hansen, and Matt Blazi discuss this year’s costume contest entries.
9:30pm to 9:40pm: COUNT GORE – Scares That Care Weekend’s beloved Count Gore deVol announces the winners of this year’s costume contest.
9:40pm to 9:50pm: SCARYOKE – Rio Youers and Ronald Malfi present an at home version of this Scares That Care Weekend staple.
Q: What is Scares That Care? A: Founded in 2007 by Joe Ripple, we are a 501C3 charity. Our Board of Directors and our volunteers are composed of horror fans and professionals. Each year we raise money for three recipient families (a sick child, a breast cancer fighter, and a burn victim).
Q: How can I donate during the virtual event? A: We will be sharing information on how to donate via text or phone hourly during the event. Yu can also donate anytime by visiting this link.
Q: Can I donate before or after the event, as well? A: Yes. You can donate year round.
Q: Money is tight. I can’t afford to donate but I’d still love to help. How can I do that? A: We appreciate you and we understand. You can still by tuning in to the livestream, and encouraging your friends and family to do the same.
Q: I’m involved in programming. What do I need to do next? A: Brian Keene will email you a link before the event. You’ll simply need to click that link about ten minutes before your appearance, and allow access to your computer’s webcam and mic. It’s that easy. (Costume contest judges will be contacted earlier with additional instructions).
Q: I’m a celebrity who works in the horror genre. Why wasn’t I included in programming? A: We tried to accommodate as many horror professionals as we could, but unlike our physical Scares That Care Weekend charity events, we are limited by the technological restrictions and time constraints of this virtual event. However, you can still help the cause by sharing the event with your fans and encouraging them to donate.
Beyond Lovecraft is a portmanteau horror story that draws directly on the works of H. P Lovecraft. Drawn by award winning artist Rob Moran and written by award winning writer Jasper Bark, it’s a 96 page graphic novel featuring four stand alone tales and one on going story that links them all together. This is a grim and cosmic love letter to the mythos that means so much to the creators.
THE STORY ARC
The linking story is set in the apocalyptic aftermath of the return of the great god Cthulhu. The scattered band of humans that survive this catastrophe scratch a bare living, hiding in the shadows of what’s left of their civilisation.
A tiny group of scientist from Miskatonic university find a way to access the fabled Library of the Yith. This is an alien archive that contains the entire history of the universe and was first mentioned in Lovecraft’s novella: ‘The Shadow Out of Time’.
The scientists hope to find a way to stop humanity’s extinction and win back their planet from the Elder Gods. Instead they uncover four tales of cosmic terror, and personal loss, that will forever change the way you view the Cthulhu mythos.
THE STORIES
OCCUPY THE MOUNTAINS OF MADNESS
In ‘Occupy the Mountains of Madness’ a band of eco warriors, protesting arctic oil drilling, uncovers an evil far greater than the 1% who own all our wealth.
THE COVER OUT OF SPACE
A Fortean journalist travels to Arkham’s blasted heath to investigate the mysterious disappearance of legendary, underground cartoonist Victor Rodriguez and the rumours of an alien visitation. He discovers the unimaginable truth lies between the covers of a living comic book, a sentient being, made of ink and paper, that gets high when you read it.
OUT IN INNSMOUTH
Growing up gay in the poverty ridden town of Innsmouth leaves 16 year old Zeke desperate to escape. When he meets Jay on-line he doesn’t realise that the older man is grooming him, but the sinister currents of Innsmouth’s murky past are about to catch them both in it’s inescapable undertow.
THE THRALL OF CTHULHU
In an alternate world, the Cthulhu Mythos has infected all literature like a virus. Few people can remember a time when every story ever told wasn’t about the dark Old Ones. A handful of readers must work with a tiny group of fictional characters to repel this invasion and keep their reality safe from the Elder Gods.
WHY WE NEED YOUR HELP
Beyond Lovecraft has already been picked up by top UK publishers Markosia, so the publishing and distribution are covered. Unfortunately, due to the current economic realities of comics publishing, Markosia can’t afford to pay us a page rate. Sadly this is an increasingly common state of affairs in the comics industry and that’s why campaigns like this are SO IMPORTANT.
Traditionally comic creators are paid a page rate for their work, like an advance against royalties. This page rate can be anything from $50 to $5000 depending on whether the creator is providing pencils, inks, colours, script or letters, and how big a name they are in the industry.
If we meet our campaign goal, you will have helped us raise just enough money to pay ourselves a third of the page rate that we usually make. That’s right, only a THIRD OF OUR USUAL PAGE RATE. We don’t mind about this though. This is a Dream Project for both of us and we are obsessed with making it a reality.
Even though we will be working for a third of our usual fee, we will still be able to pay most of our bills and that will mean we can devote all our time to this project without having to take on other work to feed our families.
You will be helping us pour our twisted hearts and dark souls into this project. And if you knew how dark our souls were, you’d realise what a service you’re doing the world by giving us a place to pour them.
WHERE THE CONTRIBUTIONS WILL GO:
This is a breakdown of where all the funds raised will go:
We would love you to get involved with our campaign and share the passion and excitement we have for this project. If you are able to contribute we have some really unique perks on offer.
Every perk is designed to put you at the heart of this campaign and to share ownership of the whole project. We’re offering bespoke gifts and some completely unique experiences, because we believe this is a special project and we want you to be an integral part of it.
If you don’t feel you can contribute straight away we do hope you’ll come back and check us out over the course of the campaign. If you could share the campaign with your friends, maybe tweet about it or post on other social media, we will be just as grateful.
If you don’t get around to sharing our campaign, please do leave a message and let us know what you think. Every bit of feedback is important to us and we really welcome your thoughts.
Thank you for checking out our campaign and we hope you can join us for the ride, as we travel Beyond Lovecraft.
Where to find the campaign:
On Indegogo – https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/beyond-lovecraft#/
Smothering Pillows™ (Pat. Pending) are quaint and novel devices which serve as subtle warnings to family members who have a tendency to act up and out. Embroidered on the front with the words ‘Smothering Pillows‘ framed by flowers, and on the rear with messages of the toughest love, like ‘Stop Struggling‘, ‘It’s for the best‘, ‘It Will all be over soon‘, ‘Only Dreams Now‘, ‘No more Tears‘, ‘Shush now‘ and for southerners; ‘Bless your heart‘. We will also take suggestions for other pillows, and as rewards for special sweeties, allow them the choice of available embroidered messages.
Although you have seen the prototypes in the video, we would like to increase the quaintness and mawkishness of the pillows through careful redesign of the embroidery. We will also select a fabric which will not only be soft to the touch and which can shape to the contours of the human face, but one which will be firm enough so the wielder’s hands will not be dislodged by flailing limbs. A substantial portion of the funds will go to producing the first run, marketing and legal representation.
There are also negligible items we need to pay for, such as packaging and of course the attachment of disclaimer tags which state ‘For entertainment purposes only, unless you are entertained by smothering, then no.’
Watch two bestselling authors write a book LIVE in 30 days (from nothing to print) and change how the world thinks about storytelling.
We’ve all heard that there are no longer gatekeepers in traditional publishing. But that’s only partly true, and not the most interesting part of the story.
There are more gatekeepers than ever, and publishing is changing, not dying. Artists who evolve with these shifts will be the most rewarded for learning to color outside the lines early.
Maybe this should make things easy for a modern creator, but it doesn’t. Too many would-be artists cling to the false belief that storytelling is something that’s only understood by a relative few — a kind of Illuminati who are keeping those precious secrets to themselves.
We want to show writers, readers, and the world that “story” is something that is already breathing inside you. Too many writers are afraid to tap their primal voice, falsely believing that there’s magic in story that they can’t access.
But it’s just not true.
The truth is, you’re walking around with that magic in you right now.
We Want to Take the Process of Writing Fiction Out of the Box and Show You Everything
Fiction Unboxed is an experiment in publishing. We’re two full-time authors who want to prove that writing can be fun, and that well-told stories can come from a place of excitement and inspiration, rather than from the tortured soul of a “true artist.”
We believe in telling the stories we want to tell, regardless of genre. Tomorrow’s most successful books (and movies) will be those that most effectively tap into what readers want most: ENTERTAINMENT.
Readers want to think, feel, or escape, have fun, catch the scent of adventure and the thrill of the unknown. They don’t care where that story came from, how long it took to write, or where you went to school. Readers care about the characters you create and the situations you put them in — the two things most in your control.
It’s Time To Redefine How Stories Are Told
We’re going to take an idea from concept to finished book (digital, print, and — hopefully — audiobook) in just 30 days. Last year, when we wrote and published over 1.5 million words (that’s about one and a half times the length of the full Harry Potter series), we proved that storytelling could be fun for us and for our readers… and that good stories could, with practice, be told quickly.
We’re not looking to win a Pulitzer with our stories. We’re looking to win readers, and are doing exactly that one awesome story at a time. We want to show the world how we do what we do, in the hopes that we can fundamentally shift how writers approach the art of telling stories
During the busy week of Coffin Hop, I think it’s a perfect time to reshare this promotional video for the short horror film MENU.
CONTACT MATT DIRECTLY FOR FURTHER DONATION DETAILS
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