Win MIFFF 2010 Tickets at SIFF 2010 Midnight Adrenaline Screenings

MIFFF is pleased to announce that it's an official sponsor of SIFF's Midnight Adrenaline film track. Midnight Adrenaline returns to SIFF with an overdose of highly addictive, unpredictable, and suspense-inducing features for the cult film junkie. MIFFF will be holding a trivia contest before some of the screenings with the prizes being a full weekend pass to the 2010 Maelstrom International Fantastic Film Festival.

SIFF showcases an onslaught of classic genre film including a zombie apocalypse, slasher backwoods hillbillies (sort of), medieval fantasy games, and unusually enhanced geishas.

Cult-classic grindhouse film reaches a whole new level with Israel Lunaʼs controversial transploitation film, Ticked-Off Trannies with Knives.

Zombie mayhem ensues with a live ZomBcon event at Boom Noodle before the screening of George A. Romeroʼs Survival of the Dead, the sixth zombie film by the godfather of undead cinema.

From Hong Kong, director Pang Ho-Cheung unleashes a gory tale of lifestyle fetishization and a desperate, bloody path towards obtaining oneʼs own Dream Home.

In the kitschy RoboGeisha, Japan presents a twisted take on sibling rivalry as two cybernetic-enhanced geishas combat to win the local steel baronʼs heart.

Amer is a dreamy pastiche tour-de-force of 1970s Italian giallo horror movies that plays out a delirious, enigmatic death-dance of fear and desire.

When their legion is ambushed in Northern Britain, a small platoon of surviving Roman soldiers must evade a revenge-hungry band of barbarian warriors through harsh terrain in an attempt to rescue their general and return to the safety of the Roman frontier in Centurion.

Splice is a 21st century creature feature, two young scientists willfully ignore society's ethical boundaries, and achieve fame by splicing the DNA of different animals into the human genome to create a new species. However, their creation rapidly develops into a beautiful, yet deadly, winged chimera.

The Wild Hunt explores when a medieval live action role playing game can go seriously off track.

Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil tells the story of how two hillbilly's have found their perfect “fixer-upper” cabin, but remodeling is never easy, particularly when a group of college co-eds on spring break start killing themselves all over your property.

Trailers for all the films can be found here.

SIFF 2010 Midnight Adrenaline Film Lineup

Midnight Adrenaline
In case of damage or leakage, immediately notify cinematic health authorities.

Seattle, WA – Midnight Adrenaline returns to SIFF this year with an overdose of highly addictive, unpredictable, and suspense-inducing features for the cult film junkie. Better than ever, SIFF showcases an onslaught of classic genre film and other underground fixations including a zombie apocalypse, slasher backwoods hillbillies, medieval fantasy games, and unusually enhanced geishas.

This year SIFF brings cult-classic grindhouse film to a whole new level with Israel Lunaʼs controversial transploitation film, Ticked-Off Trannies with Knives. Zombie mayhem ensues with a live ZomBcon event at Boom Noodle before the screening of George A. Romeroʼs Survival of the Dead, the sixth zombie film by the godfather of undead cinema. From Hong Kong, director Pang Ho-Cheung unleashes a gory tale of lifestyle fetishization and a desperate, bloody path towards obtaining oneʼs own Dream Home. In the kitschy RoboGeisha, Japan presents a twisted take on sibling rivalry as two cybernetic-enhanced geishas combat to win the local steel baronʼs heart.

2010 Midnight Adrenaline
Amer, directed by Hélène Cattet and Bruno Forzani (Belgium, 2009) A dreamy pastiche tour-de-force of 1970s Italian giallo horror movies that plays out a delirious, enigmatic death-dance of fear and desire. The filmʼs three parts, each in a different style, correspond to the childhood, adolescence, and adulthood of its female protagonist—and thatʼs all you need to know.


Centurion, directed by Neil Marshall (United Kingdom, 2010) When their legion is ambushed in Northern Britain, a small platoon of surviving Roman soldiers must evade a revenge-hungry band of barbarian warriors through harsh terrain in an attempt to rescue their general and return to the safety of the Roman frontier.


Dream Home, directed by Pang Ho-Cheung (Hong Kong, 2010) You have no idea how terrifying the housing crisis can get—upwardly-mobile Cheng Lai-Sheung will do anything to move into a new apartment with a magnificent sea view, even if it means going around her mortgage broker and taking matters into her own gory hands. Warning: features disturbingly imaginative violence and lifestyle fetishization.


George A. Romeroʼs Survival of the Dead, directed by George A. Romero (Canada, 2009) The godfather of undead cinema returns with his sixth zombie film as two rival families feud on a remote island—one wants to destroy any and all walking dead, while the other holds back in hopes of finding a cure to return their undead relatives to life.


RoboGeisha, directed by Noboru Iguchi (Japan, 2009) Poor Yoshie lives in the shadow of older sister Kikue, a fast rising star at the local geisha house. But when the local steel baron abducts the pair, transforming them into cybernetic-enhanced geisha assassins, the sisters gleefully elevate their sibling rivalry into a technological arms race to win his heart.


Splice, directed by Natali Vincenzo (Canada, 2009) In this 21st century creature feature, two young scientists willfully ignore society's ethical boundaries, and achieve fame by splicing the DNA of different animals into the human genome to create a new species. However, their creation rapidly develops into a beautiful, yet deadly, winged chimera.


Ticked-Off Trannies with Knives, directed by Israel Luna (USA, 2010) After being violently beaten and left for dead, a group of violated vixens turn into deadly divas and, with newfound confidence and courage, slash their way to vengeance in this controversial slice of grindhouse transploitation.


Tucker & Dale Vs. Evil, directed by Eli Craig (USA, 2010) Hillbillies Tucker and Dale have found their perfect “fixer-upper” cabin, but remodeling is never easy, particularly when a group of college co-eds on spring break start killing themselves all over your property.


The Wild Hunt, directed by Alexandre Franchi (Canada, 2009) When Erikʼs girlfriend leaves him to attend a weekend medieval re-enactment game, he follows in hopes of winning her back. But as Erik, with the help of his Viking chieftain brother Bjorn, treads deeper into the game in search of his love, he inadvertently disrupts the fantasylandʼs delicate balance of make-believe.


The 36th Seattle International Film Festival is made possible in part by support from Comcast, The Paul G. Allen Family Foundation, Brotherton Cadillac Buick GMC, Alaska Airlines, Don Q Rums, The Wallace Foundation, Wong Doody, American Airlines, Modern Digital, POP, and City Arts Magazine. Additional support for Midnight Adrenaline comes from Scarecrow Video and The Maelstrom International Fantastic Film Festival.

Call for Entries - MIFFF 2010

Call for Entries - MIFFF 2010
2010 Maelstrom International Fantastic Film Festival
MIFFF is seeking features, documentaries, short films and animation for the 2nd annual festival.

MIFFF has officially opened the submission season for the 2010 Festival. The premier genre film festival in the Pacific Northwest, MIFFF showcases action, animation, fantasy, horror, science fiction, and other mind-blowing films from across the globe. For additional information, or to submit your short or feature-length production for consideration, you may visit the MIFFF website at http://www.mifff.org

2010 Festival Dates are September 17th - 19th, 2010

IMPORTANT FESTIVAL DATES:
Earlybird Submission Deadline is May 15th, 2010
Regular Submission Deadline is July 12th, 2010
Late Submission Deadline is July 26th, 2010
Final Submission Deadline is August 9th, 2010

Click here to download the Entry Form
http://mifff.org/pdf/submission_2010.pdf

or apply online:
Click to submit on Withoutabox.com
http://www.withoutabox.com/login/7533

If you have questions, please email us at info@mifff.org

MIFFF produces the Maelstrom International Fantastic Film Festival, the premier Pacific Northwest weekend long event devoted towards independent and international genre film making. The event was created to offer exposure to films that traditionally are overlooked by the festival circuit from genres including action, animation, fantasy, horror, and science fiction.

MIFFF Debuts Inaugural 2009 Complete Schedule

Seattle Genre Film Festival Films Announced

Seattle, September 17th, 2009 - The Maelstrom International Fantastic Film Festival (MIFFF), a three day international showcase of animation, fantasy, horror, and science fiction cinema, is pleased to announce its inaugural launch September 18-20th, 2009 at the SIFF Cinema at McCaw Hall in Seattle, Washington USA.

MIFFF's first year will debut 6 feature films and 33 short films to film lovers in the Pacific Northwest. Descriptions and synopsis's of all the films can be accessed of the films page on the MIFFF website. MIFFF's big feature films this year include the zompie opus "The Revenant", the animal's gone crazy "Pig Hunt", and the West Coast premier of the Romanian Vampire film "Strigoi".
http://mifff.org/films.html

Tickets are available in advance online. Tickets will also be available at the theater each day of the festival. The venue is the SIFF Cinema, 321 Mercer St., at McCaw Hall on the campus of Seattle Center in Seattle. Complete box office info at this page:
http://mifff.org/tickets.html

FRIDAY, 18 SEPTEMBER 2009

08:30PM Opening Night Films
Death In Charge
The Revenant

SATURDAY, 19 SEPTEMBER 2009

12:00PM Animation / Fantasy Shorts
Egg Robot Momo
Enter the Sandbox
Gul (Flower)
Skylight
The Urge
X-Mess
Detritus
Sunday
Firemount
The Tree Man
Hart
Tropezones
Milbe (Mite)

02:30PM Science Fiction Shorts
The Kirkie
Enigma
Greenspoke
Die Schneider Krankheit (The Schneider Disease)
Mr. Gun

06:00PM Horror Shorts
aQua ad lavandum - in brevi
Cheerbleeders
Dead Bones
Foet (Director's Cut)
Lazarus Taxon
The Auburn Hills Breakdown
The Ugly File
Thirsty

08:30PM Horror Films
The Horribly Slow Murderer with the Extremely Inefficient Weapon
Pig Hunt

SUNDAY, 20 SEPTEMBER 2009

11:30AM Seattle Science Fiction
TimeTravel 0
The Ends Of The Earth

02:30PM Fantasy Shorts
La Glacière Rouge (The Red Icebox)
Der Weltenbauer(The Builder Of Worlds)
Badewanne zum Glück (Bathtub to Happiness)
Fantastic Magnifico
The Delivery

06:00PM Documentary
Until The Light Takes Us

08:30PM Closing Night Films
Virtual Dating
Strigoi

ABOUT MIFFF
The First Annual Maelstrom International Fantastic Film Festival runs September 18 through 20th, 2009. The complete Festival schedule will be announced in August. Tickets will be made available online as well as in designated ticket venues. For more information on the Festival, including descriptions of films and events, please visit www.mifff.org. Members of the press can find and download more information, including press kits, photos, press releases, and full film descriptions in the press section of the website.

MIFFF produces the Maelstrom International Fantastic Film Festival, the premier Pacific Northwest weekend long event devoted towards independent and international genre film making. The event was created to offer exposure to films that traditionally are overlooked by the festival circuit from genres including animation, fantasy, horror, and science fiction. The festival will feature an amazing selection of fantastic cinema from around the globe – with the possibility of artists presenting the works themselves. U.S. and world premieres will play alongside global festival favorites and select retrospective titles.
MIFFF is registered as a Washington State non-profit. MIFFF's mission is to create experiences that bring people together to discover extraordinary genre movies from across the globe.
The statements made in this press release that are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements." These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and assumptions that are subject to risks and uncertainties. The Organization cautions readers of this press release that a number of important factors could cause MIFFF’s actual future results to differ materially from those expressed in any such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, without limitation, product delays, industry competition, rapid changes in technology and industry standards, protection of proprietary rights, maintenance of relationships with key personnel, vendors and third-party developers, international economic and political conditions. The Organization may change its intention, belief or expectation, at any time and without notice, based upon any changes in such factors, in the Organization’s assumptions or otherwise. The Organizations undertakes no obligation to release publicly any revisions to any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.
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Interview of MIFFF Staff

Director of Programming for MIFFF 2009 Eric Morgret, was interviewed this past weekend at the Seattle Area science fiction convention Norwescon. The interview was conducted by the Seattle Geekly podcast and can be directly downloaded here. The interview starts at 31 minutes-15 seconds in and runs til 39 minutes-5 seconds.

Lars and Zack Present CINEMAPOCALYPSE West Coast Tour!

Lars and Zack Present CINEMAPOCALYPSE West Coast Tour!

This April 22-25, Fantastic Fest presents FOUR HUGE NIGHTS of white-hot exploitation thunder at some of the finest screening venues in the west!!! Austin’s Original Alamo Drafthouse Weird Wednesday programmer Lars Nilsen and Terror Tuesday curator Zack Carlson will bring the rampaging Cinemapocalypse road trip to the Pacific Coast, and will be presenting rare and absolutely unseen treasures from the American Genre Film Archive’s top secret subterranean 35mm archive, each film destined to peel the hair from your eyeballs, scorch the skin on your cortex and make you sterile for ninety weeks. From manic hicksploitation epics to bloodthirsty shoestring goreblasts, each movie is a railroad spike through the heart of limp modern cinema. Join us in shattering the wall between you and THE BEST TIME OF YOUR LIFE!!!

Special thanks to American Genre Film Archive for making these screenings possible!

Wednesday April 22
Grindhouse Film Festival at the Hollywood Theater in Portland, OR

Cinemapocalypse VS. Grindhouse Film Festival in TRAILER WAR!!!

We’re setting our most violent, reprehensible and ungodly 35mm explosives for the absolute supreme Battle of Celluloid Insanity. Portland’s beloved Grindhouse Film Festival kingpin Dan Halsted will be going head-to-head with the visiting exploitationeer duo of the Cinemapocalypse Tour to present a dehumanizingly fierce barrage of classic film trailers featuring the very excruciatingest horror, kung fu, scifi, prison, nudie, cannibal, manimal, exploitation, hicksploitation, blacksploitation and sploitationsploitation! These miniature bursts of mankind’s most twisted and unhealthy brainwaves are destined to transform you into the next stage of human life after dyn-o-miting you through the back of the theater. Make no mistake…this show will pummel your fragile reality right in the nuts!

The Hollywood Theater
4122 N.E. Sandy Blvd
Portland, OR
www.grindhousefilmfest.com

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Thursday April 23
HICKSPLOITATION Double Feature
at the The Grindhouse Film Festival at the Clinton Street Theater, Portland

GATOR BAIT - NOT ON DVD!
Dir. Ferd & Beverly Sebastian, 1974, 35mm, 88 min, RPicture yourself on a state highway in the rural south in 1974. In the distance an apparition flickers on a drive-in screen. It’s a beautiful woman with long red hair and skin the color of mother’s milk. She lifts a 12-gauge to eye level and squeezes the trigger. It’s not a hallucination. It’s Claudia Jennings, a common sight on drive-in screens throughout the country in the 70’s and that rarest of things, a genuine female action star. The movie is GATOR BAIT, a huge hit that kept drive-in audiences coming back again and again. Like most movies that made it big on the chitlin’ circuit, GATOR BAIT really delivers. The story of a sexy swamp rat named Desiree who’s half woman and half savage, it features the scariest inbred hillbillies outside of the TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE and a revenge plot that builds to a thundering, foot-stomping climax. As an actress Claudia Jennings doesn’t have a great deal of range, but then neither does a sawed off shotgun. Under the right circumstances both can be devastating. Jennings, who was a Playboy Playmate of the year, had an outstanding career in low-budget exploitation films before dying in a car crash at age 29. There’s never been another one like her. GATOR BAIT is a true drive-in classic. Don’t miss it. (Lars)

PSYCHO FROM TEXAS
Dir. Jim Feazell, 1981, 35mm, 94 min, R - NOT ON DVD!
Already a cult favorite among the most discriminating hicksploitation connoisseurs, this cheap, sleazy slice of lone-star low-life is finally poised to infect the rest of the country. All Texans are familiar with this film but the very mention of its title is oddly taboo. It’s a little like the mentally deficient cousin with the weird ears who lives in the basement and eats bugs. We just don’t talk about it. Well, maybe now’s the time to start because there’s a lot to love about this movie. The titular psycho, Wheeler, is one of the most memorable characters in regional filmdom. John King III deserved an Oscar for his performance as the mommy obsessed killer with the weird laugh and the unorthodox fried chicken eating technique. But it may be Tommy Lamey as Wheeler’s toothpick-worrying sidekick Slick who provides the most memorable moments in the film, notably a long foot chase that takes up probably a third of the run-time and provides laughs galore - as you’ll see. PSYCHO FROM TEXAS features more scummy dialogue, K-mart fashions, mean rednecks, continuity lapses, incongruous BOING sound effects and country cuties than any film you can name. (Lars)

The Clinton Street Theater
2522 SE Clinton St
Portland, OR
www.clintonsttheater.com
www.grindhousefilmfest.com




Friday April 24
PSYCHOPATHS UNLEASHED! Triple Feature
at the The Grand Illusion Cinema in Seattle, WA

VICE SQUAD
Dir. Gary Sherman, 1982, 35mm, 97 min, RA highly recommended descent into the sulfurous pit of hell known as Hollywood. Direct-to-video action god Wings Hauser burst onto the scene with his intense, over-the-top performance as the psychotic killer pimp Ramrod. Seething and ranting, a homicidal twisted nerve, Hauser is incredible. This is his show all the way, he even sings the theme song, “Neon Slime!” Along the way, Hauser jumps the fence from villain into full-on monster territory, making VICE SQUAD not only one of the most exciting films you’ll ever see, but one of the scariest as well. In this truly grim urban fairy tale, a hooker named Princess (Season Hubley) must make it through a long night in a very dark forest (the streets of L.A.) without being gobbled up by the big bad wolf (Hauser), who himself is being chased by the mighty hunter (the LAPD detective who earlier allowed him to escape.) Pure entertainment from the gifted director of RAW MEAT and DEAD AND BURIED. (Lars)

NIGHT WARNING a.k.a. BUTCHER, BAKER, NIGHTMARE MAKER
Dir. William Asher, 1983, 35mm, 96 min, R - NOT ON DVD!
Listen up…this movie has the best opening scene in film history. Absolutely, without a doubt, no first 5 minutes of any other feature are more rip-rocious than what you’ll see tonight on this screen. By the time the opening credits roll, you’ll be peeling your fingernails out of the armrests. And here’s the kicker: the best is yet to come! Susan Tyrrell stars in her greatest performance as a tragic, spastic auntie with a more-than-healthy appreciation for her orphaned teen nephew. When folks get too close to this happy family, heads start to roll. Enter Joe Carlson (Bo Svenson), a tough-as-rusty-nails police detective who utters the word “faggot” with practically every breath. Easily among the most perfect and underappreciated slashers of the golden ‘80s. If you don’t go nuts for this one, get the hell out of my house. (Zack)

TOURIST TRAP
Dir. David Schmoeller, 1979, 35mm, 90 min, PG
Terror nerds are well aware that the American road holds myriad dangers. Many a frenzied sasquatch, invisible space vampire and/or cannibalistic madman has transformed our turnpikes into his personal open-air slaughterhouse, but in the great Halls of Highway Homicide, no film dares examine the darkest precipices of rural insanity like the crushingly inventive TOURIST TRAP. Rectangle-jawed screen ham Chuck “The Rifleman” Connors plays mysterious Mr. Slausen, a dubious yokel who leads a life of quiet isolation in the woods. When a couple carloads of recreation-hungry youths happen across his private property, Slausen introduces them to a bold new cavalcade of nightmares including — but not limited to — autonomous singing mannequins, gender-bent nutsoids and a telekinetic knife-throwing fiend. Goddamn! You may have watched a thousand car-broke-down-in-a-maniac’s-front-yard movies, but until you’ve seen TOURIST TRAP, you’re still wearing your horror Huggies. (Zack)

The Grand Illusion Cinema
1403 NE 50th St
Seattle, WA
www.grandillusioncinema.org

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Saturday April 25
at the The Grand Illusion Cinema in Seattle, WA

THE SIX THOUSAND DOLLAR NIGGER a.k.a. SUPER SOUL BROTHER
Dir. Rene Martinez, 1979, 35mm, 80 min, R - NOT ON DVD!We can’t believe the title either. But that’s why they called him Wild Man Steve. We all love Rudy Ray Moore but he wasn’t the only comedian working the chitlin’ circuit back in the day. Get ready to laugh your ass off at Wild Man Steve. Wild Man Steve can say anything and make it funny. He has a slow, stoned delivery that makes even the stupidest dirty jokes gut-bustingly hilarious. In a way, Wild Man Steve is the ultimate cult comedian and this is an actual WILD MAN STEVE STAR VEHICLE! It’s about a midget mad scientist (with a full-sized D-cup girlfriend) named Dr. Dippy who helps the mob develop a formula that makes users super-strong, bulletproof, and, after about two days, super-dead. Obviously it’s hard to get sensible people to sign up for this treatment, so the mobsters grab the nearest wino, played to perfection by Wild Man Steve. Steve is hilarious, ad-libbing like crazy, stepping all over his costars’ lines. He even gives a little speech in favor of legalizing pot that’s a small masterpiece of reason and logic. If you are easily offended please stay away from this theater! (Lars)

THE DEADLY SPAWN
Dir. Douglas McKeown, 1983, 35mm, 81 min, R
McKeown’s low-budget backyard scifi terror epic is the defining accomplishment in the mighty ‘80s Homemade Horror genre. An alien meteorite unleashes a hideous, carnivorous beast that gorges insatiably on the unwitting denizens of a New Jersey town. The massive meatmonster grows exponentially while it casts off knife-faced leechlets to further the annihilation. No one is off limits; old ladies and adolescents and everyone in between are all fair game for this unstoppable eating machine. From unbelievable creature creations to some of the best dialogue ever captured, no shoestring production before or since has contained a fraction of the fearless filmmaking on display here. Shot for the cost of a new washer/dryer combo, THE DEADLY SPAWN is a bona fide, undeniable fuck-you to major studio exploitation crammed with an impossible amount of ambition, masterful latex effects and unbridled, flesh-ripping satisfaction. (Zack)

The Grand Illusion Cinema
1403 NE 50th St
Seattle, WA
www.grandillusioncinema.org

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…That’s it for now! But do stay tuned for more developments as we ANNIHILATE THE UNIVERSE.

Love,
Lars and Zack

Seattle Gets Deep Red

Festival programmers Shade Rupe and Chris Bavota announce their first collaboration: the Deep Red International Festival of Fantastic Film, or DRIFFF, debuting in Portland, Oregon at the Clinton Street Theater, April 24-25, and in Seattle at the historic Grand Illusion Cinema, May 8-9. Intent on rescuing genre films from premiering on video store shelves, Shade and Chris set out to unearth classic and contemporary 'cult movies' that deserved to be showcased on the big screen, and thus, DRIFFF was born. Presented by Rude Shape Productions and Oddity Cinema, DRIFFF 2009 features northwest premieres, special guest Q & As, award-winning shorts, door prizes and more gore than you can stab a stake through.

We are proud to present the northwest premieres of several feature films including David Gregory’s nightmarish PLAGUE TOWN (USA), Martin Weisz's GRIMM LOVE (Germany) based on the homosexual cannibal killer Armin Miewes, Jonathan Lewis’ BLACK DEVIL DOLL (USA), a microbudget film with a big kick, Gadi Harel and Marcel Sarmiento's DEADGIRL, Justin Johnson and Aaron Marshall's ZOMBIE GIRL: THE MOVIE, the Bryan "RE-ANIMATOR" Yuzna--produced anthology film, TAKUT: FACES OF FEAR (Indonesia) and Frank “BASKET CASE” Henenlotter’s late-night 'comely' shocker, BAD BIOLOGY (USA). We will also be serving up the 1970s grindhouse classic INGLORIOUS BASTARDS (Italy), the inspiration for Quentin Tarantino’s latest epic.

Featured short films include DEAD BONES (Switzerland) starring Ken Foree, Richard Gale’s festival favorite THE HORRIBLY SLOW MURDERER WITH THE EXTREMELY INEFFICIENT WEAPON (USA), Carl Morano and John Carchietta's THE PICK UP, and Jason Eisener's tale of Christmas carnage TREEVENGE (Canada), and as a special treat, we're opening the festival with & TELLER and & TELLER2, two short films co-directed by Teller, the quieter, smaller half of famed magic duo Penn & Teller, and a special performance by the composers of the soundtracks for the shorts, the remarkable 3 Leg Torso, with Larold Will as a special guest performer on theremin!

Stay tuned for final films and other updates on Deep Red site, and be sure to drop by to meet directors Jonathan Lewis and David Gregory in Portland, and GRIMM LOVE screenwriter T.S. Faull in Seattle.