Interview with Paranoia Fest Director Shane Russeck

Paranoia Fest is an exciting horror convention that will be taking place on the Queen Mary, the legendary and reportedly haunted ship, on the weekend of March 13^th, 2009.

That date might be a long way off, but we are already so excited about the event that we had to get the goods directly from the festival organizer, Shane Russeck. A horror fan all his life, Shane is excited to bring a new horror event to Southern California.

From showcasing independent filmmakers to paying homage to George A. Romero, Paranoia Fest promises to be an exciting new destination for horror fans! Read all about Shane’s background and what spooky surprises he has in store for fans below!

Fatally Yours: What is your background in the horror genre and/or in planning festivals?

Shane Russeck: I have been a horror fan for as long as I can remember. It all started when I was five years old and I asked my mother to put the movie Buck Rogers in the VCR. Not paying attention to what she was doing, she put Halloween (which my older brother had rented), and I have been hooked ever since.

As far as planning events, we have the Gridlock Group, which puts on the biggest and coolest events in Hollywood, including Gridlock LA, LA’s biggest New Years event, which takes place on Paramount Studios lot.

Fatally Yours: Where did you get inspiration from to start a brand new horror festival? 

Shane Russeck: I was at Fangoria, and saw all the new filmmakers trying to get distribution for their films. I realized that there needed to be a horror “event,” more then just a film festival, where these people can get their films seen, by industry insiders.

Fatally Yours: What are your hopes and goals with Paranoia Fest?

Shane Russeck: We hope to be the horror industries answer to Comic Con.

Fatally Yours: The Queen Mary is a pretty spooky place and an absolutely perfect location for a horror fest. How did you get arrange to have a horror fest on the supposedly haunted ship?

Shane Russeck: My partner Mathew Gavin, is CEO of Hardball Productions, and was recently hired by the Queen Mary to bring his events to the ship. Once the Queen Mary was onboard, this just became the perfect storm.

Fatally Yours: Do you think festival-goers will spook up any ghosts while they’re there?

Shane Russeck: Absolutely! We will be planning the event around the Queen Mary Ghost Tours, and will be doing midnight movie screening in some of the most haunted rooms on the Queen Mary.

Fatally Yours: That definitely sounds spooky! Speaking of midnight “screamings,” what kind of film submissions are you considering for the festival?

Shane Russeck: Anything and Everything horror related. From full length features to music videos.

Fatally Yours: Have you decided any films that will be screened yet?

Shane Russeck: Not yet. We will be accepting submissions, starting Oct 1^st.

Fatally Yours: Besides films being screened, what other kinds of events will attendees be treated to at Paranoia?

Shane Russeck: We will have midnight screening, of the classic horrors, that inspired us all. I am very big on paying homage to where we all came from, and why we are here.

If not for guys like Alfred Hitchcock, John Carpenter, Wes Craven, and many more, we would not be having this conversation right now.

Our goal is to create an all out horror “event”, not just a film festival. There will be a vendors area, with everything from DVD’s, horror makeup, posters , etc. Every night, there will be post screening parties, hosted by Hardball Production. If you have never been to a Hardball event, you’ll be in for a party like you’ve never seen!

Fatally Yours: Do you have any guests that have confirmed for the event? Can you tell us who you are hoping to get? 

Shane Russeck: We do have exciting surprise guests, but you will have to check out the site closer to the event to find out.

Sat the 15^th, will have the first annual “Dinner of the Dead,” in honor of George Romero, in which we do hope he will be attending.

Fatally Yours: Are you currently looking for sponsors for the event? 

Shane Russeck: Yes. We are looking for as many cross promotional opportunities as possible. When creating any “brand,” it is very important to do all you can, to get your name out there.

Fatally Yours: What are some of your favorite horror films? 

Shane Russeck: That is a very hard question to answer. Halloween, The Exorcist, The Omen, The original Nightmare on Elm Street, and all the classic Universal Horrors were my introduction to horror.
As my taste evolved, I became a HUGE Romero fan. I also love a lot of the B, creature-double feature Corman style movies.

I am also a big Dario Argento fan. I have not yet seen  La Terza Madre (Mother of Tears), and am really looking forward to it.

I like everything Rob Zombie does, I think he has a really unique cool style.

The last horror movie I saw that I really enjoyed was El Orfanato (The Orphanage).

Fatally Yours: How do you feel about the current horror climate?

Shane Russeck: I have a very open mind when it comes to horror movies. If it’s horror related, I’ll give it a chance.

Fatally Yours: If you could have anyone (horror celebrity, actor/actress, author, director, band, etc.) attend Paranoia Fest, who would you pick and why? 

Shane Russeck: Alfred Hitchock, that would be insane….huh??? You never know, on the Queen Mary, it could happen!

Visit Paranoia Fest’s Official Website for updates!

Viscera 2007 Short Film Festival DVD (2008)

The Viscera Film Festival is entering its second year as the place for female horror filmmakers to showcase their work. It allows women a place to be celebrated and recognized for their contributions to a genre that is so male dominated. While this year’s festival is already accepting entries from female filmmakers, horror fans are finally being treated to last year’s entries on DVD. The Viscera 2007 DVD includes the Go Ask Alice short that started the Viscera experience, as well as eight other short films, filmmaker bios and other goodies.

The Viscera 2007 selections on the DVD include The Cleaner, Wretched, The Snake Pit, Out of Print, Brains, I’m A Little Teapot, When Sally Met Frank and It’s My Birthday.

The strength of the DVD lies in the variety of horror offered and the fact that so much female-driven talent is conveniently found in one place. Three of the productions were made strictly using an all-female cast AND crew (I’m A Little Teapot, Out of Print and It’s My Birthday), while the rest were directed/produced by females but utilized males in the cast/crew. If these films are any indication, then these female filmmakers are ones to watch in the horror community!

There are some amazing shorts contained on the disc. I’ve already had the pleasure of viewing and reviewing Wretched, by Heidi Martinuzzi and Leslie Delano, and The Cleaner by Michelle Fatale, but I was impressed with the rest of the entries as well! At under 30 seconds, I’m A Little Teapot by Sallie Smith is the most jarring and shocking of the bunch, while It’s My Birthday by Shannon Lark (who is also the organizer of the festival) is a gory and vividly colorful film with a hauntingly discordant soundtrack. Out of Print by Reyna Young (which won the Viscera Award in 2007) is a surreal and visually unsettling short film. The Snake Pit by Brandy Rainey is a pretty straightforward, backwoods horror short with a nice twist at the end. Brains, from Amber Steele and Shannon Lark, is a fun zombie spoof on Liam Sullivan’s infamous “Kelly Likes Shoes” music video. One of my favorites of the bunch is When Sally Met Frank by Victoria Waghorn, which is a satirical look at plastic surgery. The film is shot beautifully and has a dark, dank atmosphere that adds to its ominous feel. Also, the special effects are amazingly realistic! When the doctor is scraping under the patient’s skin and then stitching her back up, I couldn’t help but cringe!! It was almost too realistic! The disc also includes Go Ask Alice, the women-only production that sparked the idea for the Viscera Film Festival.

The acting, directing, cinematography and special FX were above and beyond what you see in most low-budget short films. Whether it was the nightmarishly vivid Go Ask Alice or the grainy, grindhouse-looking Snake Pit, each film expertly captured the ominous feel of horror. It’s about time someone showed that women can do horror just as well as the good ol’ boys, and this group of women filmmakers definitely represent the “new wave” of horror. Being a woman in horror, it is always refreshing to see a new perspective on the genre, especially one that comes from a fellow horror-loving female! And while some of the films address feminist issues, they are never heavy-handed and never try and force the issues down your throat.

Each and every Viscera film had something unique to offer and I was impressed with each and every film. All of these films show that women can make films that are just as scary (if not more) as the horror films men make. Hopefully Viscera will encourage women of all ages that love the genre to make their own horror films.

Check out Viscera’s Official Site!

Get your own copy of the Viscera 2007 selections at The Slaughter Shop!