The Rotting Zombie's Round-up of Horror News for April 2023

I'm writing this in an hour time slot along with a news post I did earlier this week. Realising I only have thirty five minutes left on my timer, I'm heading straight into things.

An Indiegogo campaign has been released for Cursed Waters, which is to be the seventh film from Mahal Empire which features Greg Tally (Bermuda Island, Night of the Tommyknockers). In this pirate thriller, Tally stars as Lt. Commander Jacob Bridger, an unscrupulous naval officer. After their ship is sunk in a naval battle, a group of pirates make it to a nearby island. It is here that they discover its inhabitants are all part of a sinister cult. Check out the campaign page here.

The Arrow streaming subscription service has announced the releases heading there in May. A few notable collections include a 1st May release that sees Molto Argento is a collection of films from Dario Argento, including his best films, such as Tenebrae, Deep Red, and Phenomena. 5th May brings Psychotronic, a collection of 'far-out films' that have all been mentioned in The Psychotronic Encyclopedia of Film. Titles include Something Weird, The Crazies, and The Baby.

Bears on a Ship is another film with an Indiegogo campaign currently running. As the title implies, this is an animal attack horror about a group of travelers who decide to take a boat after their flight is cancelled. This turns out to be a bad idea as the boat is somehow full of hungry murderous bears! Included among the cast are Derek Crowe (The Longest Run), Jo'nez Cain (Fruitvale Station), Sherill Quinn (Strings Attached), and Derrick Hogan (Kendrick). Check out the campaign page here.

Isaac Rodriquez's new sci-fi/horror film The Astral Woods is now out on Amazon Prime Video. Starring Alexandria Payne, Marvin Ritchie, and Keelee Suki, this is about a woman who ends up stranded at a remote woodland cabin after falling prey to a life insurance scam. She soon discovers the woods contain an ancient extraterrestrial secret.

Music news now with a new single from Prague-based gothic rock band, Cathedral In Flames. 'Release The Pain' is described as a 'hypnotic ballad about coping with pain and death'. Vocalist, Phil Lee says of the track "When the song was written, I was having a pretty bad time. I was taking long walks through old Prague and I realised that all the people I meet are going to die sooner or later".

Death Metal is an award winning horror from director Michael Kuciak, it comes to Blu-ray on 3th May from Bayview Entertainment/VIPCO. After a disastrous European tour, a death metal band retreat to a remote farmhouse to record their latest album. They plan to record a piece of music named 'The Devil's Concerto', which urban legend says has the power to drive audiences insane. Unluckily for them, it turns out the legend is real, and the band must now try and survive the curse they have unleashed upon themselves.

Finally for this month's round-up is the official trailer for MGI Films' upcoming horror, Malice. Sounding like The Evil Dead, this is about six people in a cabin who get caught up in an ancient evil that has the power to possess those who are close to death. Malice is currently in post-production and will be released later this year.