Unleashing 100 Years of Nightmares

I’m the projectionist, curator of 100 years of nightmares trapped in a silver screen that never forgets.

— Mickey Rourke as the Projectionist.

This month, the new anthology film Nightmare Cinema concludes its successful run on the international festival circuit to open in select theatres around the country.

The film releases on June 21, just a few weeks shy of the anniversary of the film’s packed-house premiere at the Fantasia International Film Festival, and since Cranked-Up Films has arranged for a run on AMC’s Shudder platform a month later, everyone will soon get the chance to see what has been called one of the year’s most anticipated horror films.

The release schedule begins with an advance cast-and-crew event at the Hayworth Theatre on Wilshire Boulevard. The evening will feature a 10:00 PM screening of the film followed by Q&As with directors Mick Garris, Joe Dante, Alejandro Brugues and Ryûhei Kitamura. Two days later, the same directors are scheduled to appear at the Frida Cinema in Santa Anna for screening sponsored by Horror Buzz. Advance tickets for this event are on sale now.

To promote the film’s release, Cranked Up has been offering some exclusive clips from the film. One is from the segment titled “Mashit,” written by Mexican best-selling author Sandra Becerril and directed by Ryûhei Kitamura (Godzilla Wars, Midnight Meat Train, Downrange). It stars Emmy-Award winner Maurice Benard and features the demon pictured in the poster on the right.

Available exclusively at Deadline.com, the “Mashit” clip featured action that takes place right before the segment’s climax as a gang of possessed children corner Father Benedict (Maurice Bernard) and Sister Patricia (Mariela Garriga) on the altar of a church. The scene features one of the film’s many existing locations that were dressed and transformed into nightmarish sets by production designer Lauren Fitzsimmons. You can view the clip by visiting the Deadline website, accessible by clicking the image at the bottom of this page.

Another exclusive preview features a section from “This Way to Egress,” from a script that I co-wrote with director David Slade,  based on my original story “Traumatic Descent.” “Egress” stars Elizabeth Reaser (The Haunting of Hill House) and features Mitch, the creepy janitor in the poster on the left.

Like the “Mashit” clip, the “Egress” preview shows off some the film’s amazing sets. Kudos again to Lauren Fitzsimmons and her crew for transforming the interiors of ordinary office buildings into a world of nightmares. The Dread Central website and preview is accessible by clicking the player image below.

So here you go. “That’s “Mashit” on the left; “Egress” on the right. Enjoy!