The Rotting Zombie's Round-up of Horror News for May 2021

You may have noticed my blog steadily getting clogged full of video game reviews lately. This isn't some new direction I am heading in, more that I've organised my games I'm currently playing a bit better which means a load of games I was near to finishing I have now finished. Aside from the Gears of War series things will soon get back to film-centric normalness! My news inbox now sits at 157 emails. I've said previously that I need to do more than one news post a month but it looks like I might actually have some time to get that done in the coming weeks. This news post shall be written over the course of one day, so time will literally tell how much I get through here.

WidowMaker Films have partnered with the UK based VIPCO (a film production and distribution company focussed on releasing horror) to provide VOD content in the US and worldwide. Films will include Zombie Lover (Jason Impey), Slutty the Clown, Jezebel (Joe Cash), and Cannibal Hookers (Donald Farmer). These will be distributed by Bayview Entertainment.

The Severin Films May line-up is as follows, all of these were released on both Blu-ray and DVD. On 27th April Deep Blood came out, this is an Italian sharksploitation that has been described as the 'Z movie version of Jaws'. Santa Sangre, Day of the Animals and Grizzly all arrived on 18th May. I own Santa Sangre on VHS and remember it as being a very weird film, it is described in the press release as an 'avant-garde classic' which may explain its weirdness. The other two both come from director William Girdler. Grizzly sounds like it's basically Jaws but set in a forest with a giant bear. Day of the Animals takes place in a world where animals have become very aggressive towards humans. Both of these star Christopher George, with Leslie Nielsen appearing in the later.

Some notable Arrow Video Blu-ray releases for May include A Ghost Waits, 12 Monkeys and Weird Wisconsin: The Bill Rebane Collection. A Ghost Waits is an endearing indie about a handyman who forms a relationship with a ghost in the house he is preparing for new owners, this released on 5th May. 12 Monkeys came from Terry Gilliam, it's a sci-fi time travel thriller that stars Bruce Willis as a convict sent back in time to try and find the cause of a virus which in the future has ravaged the world. This got a steelbook release on 25th May. Weird Wisconsin: The Bill Rebane Collection brings together six films from the low budget horror director. These include Monster A-Go-Go, Invasion from Inner Earth, The Alpha Incident, The Demons of Ludlow, The Game, and Twister's Revenge. The collection also released on 25th May.
The May lineup for the subscription-based ARROW platform included the fantastic Threshold, which I gave a 9/10. It is about a brother and sister who go on a road trip in order to fix an apparent curse the sister is convinced she has. Also on the platform now is the seasonal arrival of Ghouls & Gangsters, films here include Versus, Zombie for Sale, Wolf Guy and more. Unclean Spirits includes Demons, Demons 2, Mirror/Mirror, Dream Demon and Scared Stiff. Blood Lust includes The Reflecting Skin, The Sheltering Sky, the Bloodthirsty trilogy, The Addiction, Vampyres and Tenderness of the Wolves.

I've mentioned it previously and while not horror it does sound pretty out there. Starfunk and the Astral Pioneers is a space fantasy film that 'deals with the mythological tale of Funk Music Power. The story happens in a galaxy far from earth with characters who are masters of the power of funk'. This was created by Glenn Towery who currently has a Kickstarter running in order to secure the funds needed to bring his dream to life. For more details check out the Kickstarter page.

A short sneak peak at upcoming found footage horror The Alien Report (described as 'this generations The Blair Witch') has gone up on the Earths Dreamland website. This was the winner of the Mad Monster Film Festival and is about an 18 year old boy who has worked out how to secretly record his own alien encounters via a micro camera hidden in his hearing aid.

Scream Bloody Murder is to be the first feature film from director Shaw C. Phillips and is to star Scout Taylor-Compton, Robert Lasardo, James Duval, Vernon Wells, Kelly Reiter and Lauren Francesca. Phillips says of this "Its going to be a love letter to 90s slasher films in the style of Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer. The movie will also have elements of films like Mean Girls as well as Revenge of the Nerds. So it will have some humour mixed in as well to the film". This was due to start filming in May.

Stealing Chaplin is a dark comedy that came to TVOD/Digital platforms and DVD in North America. This comes from British director Paul Tanter (The Nights Before Christmas). This is about a true story of two brothers who dig up and steal the corpse of Charlie Chaplin. The film stars Simon Phillips (Age of the Living Dead), Doug Phillips (Butchers), Al Sapienza (House of Cards), Peter Woodward (The Patriot), Ken Bressers, Anne-Carolyn Binette, Liliana Vargas, Bianca Katz and Wayne Newton.

Denver based, Dark Rock artist Sharone has released the fourth and final official music video, Diamond from her latest LP, Morbid Illusion that released on 28th May via Devil Inside Records. She says of the song "I was trying to remain hopeful in a hopeless situation. I learned that the effort you put forth in those types of instances can cause serious damage to your soul and your mind. Sometimes when we feel lost we try to convince ourselves that there's a light at the end of the tunnel. 'Diamond' is about realising that light doesn't exist".

Swiss metal band Chaoseum have released a new music video for their track Smile Again, taken from their new album Second Life. The band are due to be back on a European tour in October, along with Fleshgod Apocalypse and Ex Deo.

Dark ambient act Long The Night have released a new full-length album titled Illusion. Long the Night is a side project of Derrick Stembridge best known for his Drifting in Silence work. Illusion is 'a sonic journey capturing the deep melancholy sound of things that are likely to be wrongly perceived or interpreted by the senses'. 

Unknowndivide's new album is Existence, which is their second release. This combines elements of ambient, IDM, and techno with compelling rhythms and organic voicings. This is also a side project of Derrick Stembridge.

Finally, dark ambient act In The Absence of Words have announced the release of compilation album A Collection I. This brings together six long-form works that have been chosen to complement each other. The tracks were originally released between 2017 and 2019 on Bandcamp. A Collection II is due out towards the end of the year and will be made up of more melodic, song-orientated works from their catalogue.