Saturday, October 20, 2012

Maleficarum - Dean Andersson's View

As requested, here's horror writer *Dean Andersson's take on Maleficarum! (Contains Spoilers!)
 "Amy—I downloaded Maleficarum and just finished watching it. That fan I talked to at the convention—he did not praise the film enough. It was so much more than even I had expected. I’m not a filmmaker, so I’m not sure just how Jac pulled it off, but one thing I do know is that you and Mila totally sold it. Incredible. Look, I’m sitting here with tears drying on my face. That is impossible. I’ve watched so many films. They almost never strike that deeply. You two and Jac’s direction made the women’s plight so horribly believable, so real, and yet heroic. 

Several scenes are going to keep replaying in my head. The moment when Mila’s character was looking up at you, and she almost said okay to the confession, then turned and spit at the Inquisitor instead, I felt like cheering, even though I, and she, knew it was going to mean even more horror. And the scene where your character was over the fire while Mila’s character kept begging, “Enough!” with her face twisted by anguish for you, but the men, like statues, ignoring her, painted a perfect picture of impersonal authority that unfortunately doesn’t stop in our world with the historical Inquisition. And the scene where they allow her to sit and you crawl to her and she strokes your hair, there was such love in that scene, how could it help but tear at a viewer?
 And then your agonizing crawl to her after your rape, you made each movement seem so hard, so painful, but your wounded character was so heroically determined, I felt like shouting “Somebody HELP her, damnit!” I guess you could say that by then I felt very “involved.” And your character’s prolonged burning—have you seen Oliver Reed’s death by burning scene in Ken Russell’s THE DEVILS? I always loved Reed’s work, but I swear you could have taught him some new tricks. Really. I kept hoping someone would rescue you in time. But it went on and on as the flames slowly grew—then the surprise ending, very satisfying, and even though your character was scarred and crippled, the two women survived! And triumphed. Excellent.  
You mentioned that the director’s cut had uninterrupted torture scenes, but I think having the torture scenes interrupted by the “reality show” testimonies and flashbacks kept the viewer from becoming numb to the brutality of what was happening. Still, yes, I’d like to see Jac’s director’s cut sometime to compare them.  
But if he feels as I do about the insanity of the Inquisition, and I’d guess from the film he just might, you can tell him that in my opinion he drove that message clear through the wall and out the other side. Obviously, everything about the film (even that incredible choice for music during the tortures…sweet piano chords? Brilliant contrast! And their repetition became a little like Chinese water torture to the ears) left me very impressed! Thanks so much!"

When you get this kind of feedback for a movie it's fabulous. I am so very pleased that this movie affected Dean in this way. Films should be like mirrors to our souls, so each person will see and feel something which is deep inside of them. They will react and respond, and I love every minute of that. Each time someone sees something unique in a movie in which I have participated, I feel that the great cultural dialogue becomes more and bigger than all of us.

*Dean Andersson, also known as C. Dean Andersson, is a prolific horror writer of such novels as I Am Dracula, and Torture Tomb. You can find out more about him and his books RIGHT HERE! And here on Amazon.com.

Maleficarum and the Magic of the Internet

It's amazing, the chain of events that lead more people to discover a film even a year after its release. I was very pleased when Dean Andersson, horror writer, contacted me on Facebook. Here are his own words about why:
"I do occasional writer-guest appearances at Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror conventions... On a panel discussion about horror films, an audience member asked if any of the panelists had seen MALEFICARUM. Sadly, forgive us, none of us so-called “experts” had. So, he gave an enthusiastic description. I knew, from other conventions, that this particular horror film fan had a low B.S. quotient, so I paid attention and took his MALEFICARUM enthusiasm seriously. I mean, he likes my horror, Dracula, and Norse woman warrior Heroic Fantasy novels, so he obviously has good taste, right? Right.
I ran into him again later at a convention party, and we discussed MALEFICARUM. It was soon evident the film had gotten through his horror-jaded, been there, seen that, thick outer crust, dragged him inside, and turned him inside-out, in a good way. He said he had not been expecting much. He figured it would be just another boring SAW or HOSTEL clone. But he claimed the quality of the acting, writing, cinematography, direction, the works, in MALEFICARUM had combined to make him care about the 'victims' and 'feel the horror from their viewpoint.' That aspect, plus the unflinching theme of religion-sponsored violence and explicit depictions of torture and its effects, especially against strong women, had reminded him of my 1987 novel, TORTURE TOMB, although TT is not historical—well, it wasn’t when it was written, anyway—and of the way it had affected at least one reader (and the way I suspect MALEFICARUM is affecting some viewers). 
Anyway, after the convention I looked up MALEFICARUM on the Internet. The first thing that struck me was the riveting poster, no news to you, the lighting, the potent textural contrast of unyielding stone versus human flesh, that whole aura of “Inquisition Mystique,” but it is the way the strong image all leads to the focus of the two manacled hands touching—defiant love in the midst of hopeless horror—that signals the film is very special, or at least so it seems to me.
I watched the MALEFICARUM trailers (no, I have not yet seen the whole film) and saw immediately the fan at the con had not been exaggerating. Then I watched most of your video interviews and became even more impressed with the dedication to authenticity and theme. I also found the interview Mike Haberfelner conducted with you in 2010. After which I discovered you on facebook, you quickly confirmed the friend request, and I decided to share my MALEFICARUN experience from that convention with you.  
It’s been 25 years since TT was published. It was popular with a number of readers but generally condemned for various reasons, some obvious, some not, by members of the “respectable” horror community. But with my editor’s support, bless him (he died a few years ago), those two books did what I had intended, said what I wanted said, and I moved on with other books. Then, in 1999 I attended a World Horror con in Atlanta and discovered to my surprise that TT and RPM had become sought after “cult classics.” But from the enthusiasm of that hard to please horror film fan with whom I talked at the convention, I think, perhaps, where the term cult classic is concerned, and I doubt this comes as a surprise to you, MALEFICARUM already, deservedly, is."

It's always the goal of an artist to put one's work out there and connect with like-minded individuals as a result. Sometimes it happens through osmosis, and other times by mere chance. But it's so great when it happens, so Jac and I have to thank this Horror Fan, wherever you are, for the introduction!

I must mention that I read Dean's book I Am Dracula when I was a kid and it was a prize in my collection* of vampire novels. I can't wait to read more of his books and rediscover those I already read.

*now lost to the sands of time... another story for another day...


Friday, October 19, 2012

The release of Le Marquis de la Croix

So the day is fast approaching for the release of Le Marguis de la Croix. But... you ask... when will that be?  October 31st. Yes, Halloween, one calender year to the date of the release of Maleficarum!

And since everyone has been so patient, I have a trailer for you. It's on youtube, so we had to conform to their strict policies. No worries,  there will be an uncensored trailer up on VermeerWorks very soon!

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

More Press for Barbazul

We just got back from another interview on Bolivian television, this time at channel ATB. So, here it is below! I'm going to go take a nap now, getting up before 7:30AM is not in my nature...

Monday, October 8, 2012

Press for Barbazul (Bluebeard)

We've had quite a bit of written, radio and TV press about Barbazul (Bluebeard) here in Bolivia. It looks like a lot of people are pretty excited to see my second film! Horror films are always more of a "scream"... stop me before I do more of a Cryptkeeper impression. Seriously.

Here are a few links to written press (all in Spanish, I wish I had time to translate, but Google can do an ok job for me in a pinch):








And here is one interview Jac and I did at Laser 98 radio and one on FidesTV here in Bolivia! There were more, but we couldn't record all of them due to time restrictions, alas. Again, I wish I had time to transcribe these. No rest for the wicked.