Dear Gore Hounds, where will you be January 31, 2018, at 1pm? Watching Fear Haus with your favorite devilish hostess Blair Bathory, of course! Miss Bathory and producer Drew Sawyer have spent the last year working on the return of their Fear Haus series, which updates the grand old tradition of the anthology series and the horror host/hostess. The show presents short films, both domestic and international, which Bathory curates and hosts.
Directors Molly Coffee and Gigi Saul Guerrero, with Luchagore Productions(!), have created six episodes each as part of the 'fearmaker' program, where guest directors conceptualize wrap-arounds for the series. (In addition to her own short films, Coffee has been the production designer on Stan Against Evil and the V/H/S Viral segment "Dante the Great," among many others and Guerrero has, among other things, directed El Gigante and "Dia De Los Muertos," the closing segment of Mexico Barbaro.)
So on the January 31st premier, Scottish director Andy Stewart will lead the charge of the first episode of the new year with his short film "Ink." Make sure you eat a BIG lunch before watching this cool film about a man and his...collection. Don't want to spoil anything, but I really dug "Ink." A little body horror, a little splatter punk, a little character drama-shot with the right balance of grit and professionalism, with some truly beautiful moments.
To tide you over, let me take you back to episode 6 with the short film "Picket," directed by the power house Izzy Lee and starring the great Diana Porter...
I've been aware of the entity Luchagore Productions for a while now, but I hadn't seen any of their
actual work until I watched the sick anthology film Mexico Barbaro. In it, Luchagore produced the final segment of the film, Dia De La Muerte, directed by Gigi Saul Guerrero. It's a visually stunning, dread filled slice of violence that sort of mashes up From Dusk Till Dawn and I Spit On Your Grave, while being more satisfying than either. (You can read my review of the film on Popshifter HERE).
So impressed, I looked up Guerrero and Luchagore and found their website, which tells the story of a team of true horror fans with a portfolio page full of shorts, videos, and trailers. Including a fucked up Christmas short, that will scare you into staying off the naughty list!
Mostly known for their amazing short films, Luchagore has also unleashed the full length El Gigante. (from IMDB; "A desperate and determined Mexican American woman heads out to the United States/Mexico border to make a documentary film about Border Patrol abusing illegal immigrants to honor her missing parents, but she quickly discovers that the border is a hunting ground for a homicidal, cannibalistic family, the largest, deadliest member a psychotic luchador who brutalizes his victims in his blood-stained ring before slaughtering them for meat.") I'm really excited for this one! Wrestling mixed with a little Texas Chainsaw-oh my God! (In the portfolio section you'll also find a beautiful and haunting video called Paloma, that's not to be missed.) Keep an eye out for the name Luchagore Productions. I think this team will be shocking and thrilling us for a long time to come. We horror fans (especially those of us north of 30) have seen a lot of highs and lows. Sometimes we get amazing gore, but amateur filmmaking and sometimes we get slick thrillers, that don't deliver on the red stuff. But Luchagore is technically proficient, delivers buckets of blood, and doesn't skimp on story even in a five minute short. That deserves our respect and support! Stranger With Friction gives Luchagore Productions the thumbs up and I can't wait to see more!
