Connect with us

Indie

WORLD OF DEATH Ep. 42 – Mescaline / Psychedelia

Published

on

Let’s get wasted! Hallucinogenic horror highlights Episode 42 which features two tales that are both under the influence and over the fucking rainbow.

First up is German Director Marc Schießer’s visionary brand of panic-inducing, psychedelic psychosis, Mescaline. This is a painstakingly crafted, surrealistic nightmare; hypnotic, beautifully photographed, and deliberately paced to maximize tension. Its impressive visual effects are distributed with precision; edgy enough to keep your nerves at a fever-pitch, but cut with the restraint of a serious cinema-chemist, teetering on the edge of overdose. One of the joys of the so-called “drug-film” is recognizing the caliber of pharmaceutical experience the filmmakers bring to the table. I always say, “If you;re gonna make a drug film, be damn certain you make it with drug people.” I’m not certain if Mescaline’s braintrust has been intimate with the titular beast, but their carefully choreographed delusions, equal parts fantasy and phantasm, reek of professional seasoning. Mescaline also delivers some truly narcotic, Argento-on-Ludes lighting choices; a cadre of clever transitional gambits, and a fucking firestorm of a denouement. Smart, stylized, and totally spell-binding, Mescaline will get you tripping balls, minus the bummer comedown.

Next, the Midwestern Master of the Macabre, Bryan Wolford, brings us madness, mushrooms, and murder in the drugged-out, disturbingly paranoid short, Psychedelia. Mushrooms, responsibly consumed, can be a pleasurable, albeit exhaustive roller-coaster of emotion, instinct, and appetite. I’m not referring to the same impulses that befit the stoner set, I’m talking about impulse, hunger, and desire – the morbid, saturnine kind, the ones that make recreational drug use a cautionary tale. In this playfully intense, utterly bizarre, but inexplicably charming effort, a pair of star-crossed misfits devour cow dung with aplomb and are left to explore their untapped plastic surgery and head-bashing skills. I’ve seen more than a lion’s share of stoner-horror films, but Wolford’s wacko assemblage of gore, tranquilizer dissolves, and guerrilla-film gusto is oddly distinctive. Psychedelia ‘s most batty, unsettling facet is not the competitively priced visuals or the vulgar makeup work, but the ominously repetitive sound mix. It’s a clever conceit, base and lucid, but disconcerting and effective nonetheless.
Until next time party people, say yes to drugs!
– B.A. Lewandowski

World of Death is the web series that fans of independent horror have been waiting for.  Featuring short horror films from all over the globe created by the largest variety of talent that a collection has ever been able to boast, WOD provides plenty of blood, guts, screams and laughs for all fans of the macabre.  And with episodes averaging around eight minutes in length, WOD is the perfect entertainment for a fan base constantly on the go.  Watch it anywhere, at any time, for FREE! New episodes premiere every Monday and Thursday at 10am CST.

SUBSCRIBE HERE

SUBMIT HERE

WATCH HERE

Indie

“Bite Size Short: Her House of Horrors” Announce Short Grant Program!

Published

on

Her House of Horrors, the horror division of Independent Production House WOMXNOGRAPHY, has launched its Bite Size Short Grant Program, ahead of its film festival Dollhouse of Horror, which will take place in March 2025 in Los Angeles, CA.

The Bite Size Short Grant Program awards $2,000 film grants to female-identifying and queer horror filmmakers. Shorts must be able to be made for $2,000, with a minimum runtime of 8 minutes. Submissions are now open on Filmfreeway, and are being judged by a panel of horror lovers and content creators.

The 2024 Bite Size Short Grant Program judge lineup is as follows:

“James H. Carter II- A documentary director, film producer, podcaster, marketing specialist, and writer. James is the founder and co-owner of Creepy Kingdom. Creepy Kingdom was founded in 2011 and is a multimedia website, and production studio specializing in creepy content. Their primary focus lies at the intersection of childlike fantasy and the macabre, covering horror films, theme parks, haunts, and much more. Beyond their extensive media coverage, Creepy Kingdom hosts events, offers original merchandise, and engages in film production under the Creepy Kingdom Studios brand producing original films like “Foolish Mortals”, exploring Disney’s “Haunted Mansion” fan culture, and “Georgie”, featuring Tony Dakota from the original “It” miniseries.

“In addition to founding Creepy Kingdom, James has won awards for his documentary work, including the award-winning “Foolish Mortals,” which has earned him recognition. He has been featured on Freeform’s 31 Nights of Halloween special.

“Ashleeta Beauchamp is the editor-in-chief of Peek-A-Boo! Magazine, a cheeky horror magazine created to uplift marginalized writers, artists, models and other creators within the horror community. She also runs The Halloween Coalition, a community group to provide support and marketing for horror and Halloween events around the Southern California area.

“Titeanya Rodríguez is a multi-hyphenate creative, and the founder and owner of HER HOUSE OF HORRORS, home of DOLLHOUSE OF HORROR and the horror division of WOMXNOGRAPHY. As a fellow storyteller and a self-proclaimed artivist, Titeanya’s mission is to create opportunities for women of color and queer women, across film, tv, sports, music, and beyond. She is also the creator of the BITE SIZE SHORT grant program.”

Winners will have a one-night theatrical screening at Regal Cinemas. Submissions Close April 8 at Midnight. Winners will be announced on May 27, 2024. Shorts must be shot and through post-production by June 30, 2024. The screening will take place on July 8, 2024, in Los Angeles, CA.

WOMXNOGRAPHY, HER HOUSE OF HORRORS, and Rodriguez are represented by Azhar PR, Granderson Des Rochers, and Kinsella Holley Iser Kump Steinsapir.

To submit your short to the Bite Size Short Grant Program, go to the FilmFreeway link here.

Continue Reading