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Halo-8 Acquires ‘Pop Skull’ For Theatrical/DVD Release
Halo-8 Entertainment has secured North American distribution rights to the manic, twisted, drug-infused Pop Skull (review), an award-winning psychological horror film directed & co-written by Adam Wingard (Home Sick), starring & co-written by newcomer Lane Hughes, co-written and co-produced by E.L. Katz (Autopsy), and produced by Peter Katz (Mortuary). The film premiered domestically at the AFI Film Festival and internationally at the Rome Film Festival, where Wild Bunch acquired the foreign rights. Halo-8 has slated the film for a limited theatrical run followed by a DVD release on July 28, 2009! More details inside.
“Adam Wingard’s brash and gutsy film isn’t a breath of fresh air–it’s a breath of toxic, dextromethorphan-laced air that leaves audiences shocked to the core and proves horror can still be bold and inventive and smart,” said Matt Pizzolo, President of Halo-8. “What makes POP SKULL so unique is the fact that its aggressive voice is mixed with a subtle and evocative story, a compellingly vulnerable lead, and a gorgeously photographed visual style. We’re honored by the opportunity to bring this bleeding-edge film to audiences.”
“From the visionary director Adam Wingard, POP SKULL is an atmospheric horror film inspired by a true ghost story. It has terrified audiences and critics around the world,” said POP SKULL producer Peter Katz. “Co-writer/producer E.L. Katz and I are thrilled Halo-8 will distribute our movie to the real horror fans. Halo-8 has built a reputation of applying innovative marketing/distribution strategies for cutting-edge independent cinema.”
“Two years in the making and dozens of cough medicine induced drunken hazes later, POP SKULL is finally emerging onto DVD with the support of indie distributor Halo-8,” said POP SKULL director Adam Wingard. “It wasn’t an easy road to get here, and perhaps in this time of economic collapse it is appropriate that at last our low budget masterpiece will finally see the light beyond its extended festival circuit tour.
“I started with the simple urge to tell the story of my friend and eventual collaborator Lane Hughes. His tale is one of heartbreak, drugs, rock n roll, and ghostly encounters. You could say the movie wrote itself and, to put the icing on the cake, I even convinced Lane to co-write the film and star in it. I won’t say Lane is playing himself, but he is playing a character going through his real life experiences. Now if that isn’t post modern I don’t know what is! Stylistically inspired by the works of Shinya Tsukamoto, David Firth, and Merzbow, POP SKULL is a film that only a punk rock, balls-out distributor like Halo-8 could handle.”
POP SKULL depicts the lonely and disjointed life of Daniel, a young Alabama pill addict, as his efforts to cope with the trials of his day-to-day life collide with the increasing influence of murderous and displaced spirits that inhabit his home. Plagued by ghosts, Daniel discovers his home holds a secret to a grisly crime… a crime he’s doomed to repeat if he can’t prevail against the forces that haunt him.
Pop Skull premiered domestically at the AFI Film Festival and internationally at the Rome Film Festival before playing the Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival, Leeds International Film Festival, San Diego Film Festival, San Francisco Independent Film Festival, and New Zealand International Film Festival. It was awarded grand jury prizes at the Indianapolis International Film Festival and the Boston Underground Film Festival.
Halo-8 Entertainment (www.halo8.tv) is a Hollywood-2.0 movie studio using bleeding-edge strategies to create and distribute daring new films and lifestyle videos. Recent releases include the arthouse-horror film THE DEVIL’S MUSE (which Rue Morgue called “intoxicating and sensual”), the award-winning hardcore-punk thriller THREAT (which Urb Magazine said “makes KIDS look like an after-school special”), the legendary NY hardcore documentary N.Y.H.C. (which Cinematical called “smashing… a terrific, well-told, engaging story”), and the campy, interactive horror-DVD-game SLUMBER PARTY SLAUGHTERHOUSE: THE GAME (starring Tiffany Shepis, Joanna Angel, Melissa Bacelar, Katie Nisa, Masuimi Max). Current productions include the iconoclastic hero’s journey GODKILLER (starring Lance Henriksen, Bill Moseley, Tiffany Shepis, Lydia Lunch, Justin Pierre, Davey Havok) and the sly, subversive sex comedy HOW I LOST MY VIRGINITY -BY ALEXANDRA JONES.
Scream Factory brought Frank LaLoggia’s 1988 Halloween movie Lady in White to Blu-ray several years back, and now Vinegar Syndrome gives the film a 4K Ultra HD upgrade.
Vinegar Syndrome’s Lady in White 4K release is available now and shipping now!
Watch the trailer below and grab your copy from Vinegar Syndrome today.
This limited edition 4-disc 4K UHD/Blu-ray x 3 set comes with a spot gloss hard slipcase + slipcover combo (designed by Dylan Haley), includes a 40-page perfect bound book and is limited to 8,000 units. It is only available on their website and at select indie retailers.
The full Special Features package includes…
- 4-disc Set: 1x 4K Ultra HD (High Bitrate BD100) / 3x Region A Blu-ray
- 4K UHD presented in Dolby Vision High-Dynamic-Range
- Newly scanned & restored in 4K from its 35mm original camera negative
- Presented in three versions: 126-min Pre-Release Director’s Cut (UHD+BD), the 118-min Extended Home Video Cut (BD), and the 113-min Theatrical Cut (BD)
- New group commentary track with writer/director Frank LaLoggia, alongside actors Lukas Haas, Joelle Jacobi, and Len Cariou for the Pre-Release Director’s Cut
- New commentary track with Frank LaLoggia, moderated by Scott Neumyer for the Extended Home Video Cut
- New commentary track with authors Emma Westwood and Stephen A. Russell for the Extended Home Video Cut
- Archival commentary track with Frank LaLoggia for the Extended Home Video Cut
- “Learning How to Fly” (10 min) – an interview with actress Karen Powell
- “A Snapshot in Time” (9 min) – an interview with actress Lisa Taylor
- “Human Touches” (6 min) – an interview with actress Lucy Lee Flippin
- “Still Relevant” (16 min) – an interview with actress Rose Weaver
- “75% Listening, 25% Editing” (9 min) – an interview with editor Steve Mann
- “Welcome to Willowpoint Falls” (6 min) – a location featurette hosted by Benjamin Scrivens, founder of Fright-Rags
- “Dream Talking: Looking Back” – a visual group commentary for the Pre-Release Director’s Cut with Frank LaLoggia, and actors Lukas Haas, Joelle Jacobi, and Len Cariou (103 min)
- Deleted Scenes with introduction and optional commentary by writer/director Frank LaLoggia (36 min)
- Behind-the-scenes footage with introduction and optional commentary by writer/director Frank LaLoggia (16 min)
- Extended behind-the-scenes footage (73 min)
- Introduction from the 20th anniversary dvd release
- Promotional ‘industry sales’ trailer (7 min)
- 40-page perfect bound book with essays by film historians Molly Henery, Mark H. Harris, and Heidi Honeycutt (limited edition only)
- Multiple radio spots
- Theatrical trailer
- Multiple TV spots
- Workprint trailers (7 min)
- Still gallery
- Reversible sleeve artwork
- English SDH subtitles
1962. Nine-year-old Frankie Scarlatti enjoys a homespun childhood in a rustic Western New York town. The entire community gets into the spirit of Halloween, but then two bullies prank Frankie by locking him in his school cloakroom, leaving him trapped for the night. Alone and afraid, his slumber is interrupted when the ghost of a little girl appears, and Frankie witnesses the specter of her murder by an unseen assailant. Later, while recovering at home, the girl’s ghost appears to him again. With help from his older brother, Frankie begins investigating the circumstances of her death. He soon discovers that her murder was one of several unsolved crimes connected to a local child-killer. As the town’s bucolic veneer fades and long-buried secrets and tensions bubble to the surface, all of the clues to the mystery seem to point towards a huge mansion inhabited by a reclusive woman known as “The Lady in White.”
A nostalgia-driven ghost story wrapped within an intricate murder mystery and coming-of-age drama, writer-director-composer Frank LaLoggia’s passion project Lady in White remains one of the most beautiful and original American horror films of the 1980s. Featuring acclaimed actors Alex Rocco (The Godfather), Len Cariou (Executive Decision), and Sydney Lassick (Carrie, The Unseen), it boasts the first starring role by Lukas Haas (Mars Attacks, Inception) as well as breathtaking photography by Academy Award® winner Russell Carpenter (True Lies, The Lawnmower Man). Vinegar Syndrome is honored to bring this genre masterpiece to 4K UHD, newly restored from its original 35mm camera negative and presented in three versions: its pre-release director’s cut, its extended home-video version, and its original theatrical version, along with an abundance of both new and archival extras.
Paul Lê wrote here on Bloody Disgusting back in 2023, “Over the years, fans have described this film as gateway horror, but they liken it more to The Watcher in the Woods than, say, Hocus Pocus or Casper. There are chilling moments that warrant its PG-13 rating.”
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