Exclusives
New Teaser Poster for Holiday-Themed Slasher ‘Hanukkah’
Over the past few decades we’ve been more than spoiled with our Christmas/holiday-themed horror. We’ve had Christmas Evil, the classic franchise Silent Night, Deadly Night, and have even had such classics as Gremlins, Child’s Play and Black Christmas bring the holiday cheer. Now it’s time for a killer Hanukkah as Sick Girl director Eben McGarr announced back in June his own holiday horror film that will bring eight days of terror. Today we got our hands on the third teaser poster. Shooting is schedule to begin next month.
“Hanukkah will be the first slasher film immersed in the backdrop of Jewish culture,” McGarr told Bloody Disgusting back in June. “A mysterious killer is the harbinger of death and deliverer of righteous punishment to those who (he believes) offend God.
Obediah Lazarus is the son of Judah Lazarus, the original Hannukiller. In 1983, Judah terrorized NY for seven nights and was preparing to sacrifice his eight year old son, Obediah, on the eighth night. Judah was convinced it was God’s will, like Abraham and Isaac, to sacrifice his only son to God. Luckily for Obediah, police tracked Judah down and stopped the sacrifice, but Judah was gunned down in the process. Warped by hatred with no guidance, Obediah Lazarus becomes a religious extremist, intolerant of non-Jews, “bad Jews”, and those he perceives to be enemies of the Jewish faith. He is about to unleash eight nights of horror.
A group of Jewish teens are getting ready to party for the holidays, but are in for a Festival of Frights. With the help of a wise Rabbi, they deduce that the murder victims have violated Judaic law and that their only chance at survival is to embrace their faith.”
Spin the dreidel and hope for the best…
Exclusives
‘The Haunting of Pennhurst’ Exclusive Clip Trains Scare Actors For Historic Haunt in Tribeca Doc
The past and present collide in haunting, poignant ways in the genre documentary The Haunting of Pennhurst, which sees a Halloween haunt serve as a reclamation of true historic horrors.
Ahead of its world premiere at the 25th Tribeca Film Festival, we have an exclusive clip that sees scare actors in training for the Halloween season. The catch? This haunt is opening at the historic Pennhurst State School & Hospital site, a facility that caused immense harm to its disabled patients over decades of its operation.
In the documentary, “For over seventy years, Pennhurst State School & Hospital was called a place of care. What happened inside killed over half its population. It closed in 1987, leaving behind unmarked graves and an unresolved history. Today, on those same grounds, disabled performers – many living with the same conditions that once sent people to Pennhurst – put on their makeup, pull on their costumes, and prepare to scare people for a living.
“Through grit, compassion, and buckets of blood, the eclectic performers of the Pennhurst Asylum haunted attraction are wrestling with a space that is at once a lucrative business and a gravesite.”
The upcoming documentary hails from directing trio Nathan Stenberg, Mike Attie, and Katarina Poljak, who explore their socially-relevant subject through archival footage, first-hand accounts, and an immersive verité.
“Pennhurst has haunted us since we first passed through its dragon-tooth gates; the horrors of the institution echo through the site today. We are so grateful to bring this film to the Tribeca Festival, particularly the Escape from Tribeca section, which feels right for a story where past and present bleed together. We hope audiences leave unnerved and asking the same uncomfortable questions we did,” Attie, Stenberg, and Poljak said in a statement.
Watch the clip below that sees disabled and neurodivergent scare actors learning the ropes of a Halloween haunt, reclaiming the site’s grim history in the process.
Tribeca Screenings:
- Public 1 (Premiere) Screening – Friday, June 5 at 9:15PM at Village East by Angelika
- Public 2 Screening – Sunday, June 7 at 3:15PM at Village East by Angelika
- Public 3 Screening – Tuesday, June 9 at 6:15PM at Village East by Angelika