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Darlene C. Deever Editor-in-Chief & Publisher Roy Bheer Executive Editor Emilie Flory Creative Director Tony Newton Editor-at-large Christopher Zisi Editor-at-large Lorenza Florida Editor / Translator Omar “HorrO� Usman Correspondent / Partner Eleanor Fawcett Visual Artist / Translator Jane Rafin Community Manager Jessy Chen Correspondent / Translator Biscuit C Correspondent / Translator Marion FM Legal Director Dub Meter Graphic Designer AStyanaX Graphic Designer
Jim Towns Writer, Director Chantal Handley Painter Azzurra Nox Writer Jason Figgis Writer, Director Tian Liu Photographer Matthew Therrien Painter, Illustrator
Special Thanks to
Denise Gossett, & Shane Douberly, Siena Eyrich, Kane Hodder & Tony H. Cadwell, Jason Leivian, Dallas Sonnier, Scott Everett White
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Creators Unite 09 Cannibalistic
Culture - Art - Horror
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EDITOR’S LETTER
Dear reader(s), With this ninth issue of Creators Unite, we bring you to extreme horizons: in search of cannibalism, one of the subjects developed by the very talented indie director Sean Haitz, in his new film Cannibal Comedian. Through interviews, reviews, illustrations, poems, essays, music, and videos, (made and collected for you by our team), we will take you on a journey from which you will not return unscathed, but which we hope will teach you more about yourself.
This scope format publication is unique. With it, we hope to bring you a moment to celebrate pure horror and fun! Enjoy, it starts here!
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TABLE OF CONTENTS P. 002 MASTHEAD P. 003 EDITOR’S LETTER P. 006 SHRIEKFEST: CELEBRATING 20 YEARS! P. 012 HORRO SCIENCE: Anthropology of Horror by Omar « HorrO » Usman P. 028 GUILTY PLEASURE: Die Gest Flesh Eater by Tony Newton P. 030 KEY STORIES: A Beginner’s Guide to Cannibalism by Jim Towns | Painting by Chantal Handley P. 042 MASTERS AT WORK: WEBTALK:
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TECH SECRETS:
P062 SHOWROOM:
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THE CLUB 106: P096 P. 104 TRIBUTE:
P110 P. 128 DISCLOSURE: Balsam: A Paranormal Investigation - A documentary by Tony H. Cadwell starring Kane Hodder P. 130 HEART STOPPER: American Cryptic - A book by Jim Towns P. 138 SUPERTREAT: DIVERSION: Music Videos Daniel Avery - Dream Distortion [Love + Light], Corine - Cocktail, Thylacine - Stormur [Roads Vol.2], Both - Both P. 150 SHOCKER: MYTHMAKER: GEORGE A. ROMERO A Film-West Production for Creators Unite Magazine 2020 by Jason Figgis END COVER: photo courtesy of Tian Liu Creators Unite 09 Cannibalistic
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Cannibal Comedian
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HORRO SCIENCE
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HORRO SCIENCE
by Omar “HorrO” Usman Posters: Dub Meter | Images: Alexander Krivitskiy UNSPLASH & Alexandr Ivanov PIXABAY | Photos Courtesy: Scott Everett White, RLJ Entertainment release, Film Andes S.A., Paramount Pictures, The Kennedy/Marshall Company, Touchstone Pictures, United International Pictures (UIP), Roas Produzioni, Medusa Distribuzione, F.D. Cinematografica, United Artists Europa, Worldview Entertainment, Dragonfly Entertainment, Sobras International Pictures, Open Road Films (II), Strong Heart/Demme Production, Orion Pictures, Vortex, New Line Cinema, BAC, Blood Relations Co., Vanguard, Summit Entertainment, Constantin Film, Media Cooperation One, Stan Winston Studio, Newmarket Capital Group, Regency Enterprises, DCP Wrong Turn Productions, Twentieth Century Fox, Belladonna Productions, Memento Films International, Paradise City, The Zoo, Uncorked Productions, Venture Forth, Great American Films Limited Partnership, Vestron Pictures, Camp Hill, United Artists, Avenging Conscience, Cannibal Films Ltd., Troma Entertainment, Constellation, Union Générale Cinématographique, Victoires Productions, Petit Film, Rouge International, Frakas Productions, Wild Bunch, Caliber Media Company, Platinum Platypus, Realmbuilders Productions, The Jokers Films, Twilight Riders, Thefyzz, No Mercy Pictures, Other Paw Films and Gravitas Ventures. When thinking about cannibalism, it makes so much sense for it to be a genre in horror. The act of eating another human's flesh or organs presents a truly disgusting moment, and the preparing of that meal can be bloody, brutal, and just what horror fans want to see. Before taking a bite out cannibalism in horror, let’s take a look at the real life cannibalism that inspired it. After all, it's been around for centuries, and found all over the world including parts of Africa, New Guinea, Australia, and even tribes in North and South America.
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HORRO SCIENCE
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HORRO SCIENCE Over the course of history, flesh has been used simply as food, and as expected sold for money. It's fascinating to find out that in some places, after battles were won, enemies were feasted upon. Headhunters ate some of their enemies as well. To no surprise, flesh has been used in rituals, sacrifice, and witchcraft. And if you thought it couldn't get any more disgusting and wild, some people have eaten flesh of their relatives. Have you ever wondered how your uncle Ken tastes? Lots of those things happened a long time ago, but what about more recently? There's still been recent cannibalism in places like Papua New Guinea, India, and parts of Africa. It's not widespread and usual, tribes that feast on flesh for food and rituals. Then, we move much closer to the cannibal serial killers who might have been roaming your neighborhood. One of the most famous ones might be Jeffrey Dahmer, and there are cannibals like Albert Fish, Joachim Kroll, and Ed Gein. All men, but there were women too such as, Tamara Samsonova, Katherine Knight, and Anna Zimmerman. Something for you guys to consider next time you hit the sack with your wife! Those killers were obviously crazy, but what if you were put in a situation where you had no other choice but to eat human meat? Could you do it? Rumors have it that early settlers might have eaten flesh… Imagine if you were a pioneer who got caught running out of food crossing the country. Maybe you’re on a ship and get lost at sea, or crash on a deserted island. And what if you miraculously survived a plane crash in the middle of nowhere? At first you would search for food, but what if there was none, and no signs of rescue? You don't have to imagine that scenario because all you have to do is watch the 1993 movie Alive based on real life events: a rugby team's plane crashed in the Andes and survivors got stuck in the mountains so long that they had no choice but to eat some of their fallen friends. All of that history, stories, and situations has left filmmakers with plenty of material to terrify horror fans with. Let’s finally sink our teeth into cannibalism in horror movies starting with what many consider to be the first cannibalism movie Sacrifice! aka Man From Deep River. It's about a photographer who is captured by a tribe, allowed to live, and has to survive in a jungle with cannibals. This might be the first, but not the last time the tribal setting is used in a cannibal movie. Cannibal Holocaust might be one of the most graphic and talked about cannibal films out there. The director was accused of killing actors, and the film was banned in many countries due to sexual assault and cruelty to animals. More recently, Eli Roth tried his hand at tribal cannibalism with The Green Inferno. Some thought it was going to be a remake of Cannibal Holocaust but was actually a film inspired by it instead. While none of those movies are Oscar worthy, there's one cannibal movie that ate up the competition in 1992.
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HORRO SCIENCE
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HORRO SCIENCE
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Silence of the Lambs won 5 Oscars including best picture, and best leading actor and actress. It went on to win many more awards and
continues to be highly ranked on greatest and most influential film lists. Without a doubt, Anthony Hopkins puts on one of the best performances as Dr. Hannibal Lector. Because of its success, three more movies were made based on Hannibal, and even later a tv series. While the series was cancelled after three seasons, it still has a fan base that is craving its return. From one of the most popular cannibal serial killers to one of the most popular cannibal families... the Sawyer family. While not head of the family, Leatherface put this family on the map in the 1974 film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. His family was definitely interested in meat, but he wanted human skin for a different reason. He would carefully cut people's faces off and use them as a mask. Besides his mask, he's also known for chasing down his victims with a chainsaw, which seems like a great tool for cutting up people. It's important to remember that this franchise, which has put out many films with more rumored to be on the way, was all inspired by the aforementioned Ed Gein. There have been many other cannibal families, or groups of cannibals over the years. There's the family of cannibals living in the desert in The Hills Have Eyes, and the crazy cannibals in a West Virginia forest in Wrong Turn. Rose and Iris are born into a family of cannibals in We Are What We Are, just like Michael in Parents. There are places you can always visit cannibals like in Motel Hell, or the butcher shop in Delicatessen. Musicals aren't even exempt from cannibals in Cannibals! The Musical. Finally, it's time to serve up a few cannibal recommendations that you might have missed over that past few years. The Farm starts with a Texas Chainsaw/Hill Have Eyes vibe and then, moves on to show what happens when humans replace farm animals. If you like holiday themed horror, there's Mercy Christmas. Here the family loves Christmas, and people are on the menu for Christmas dinner. Cannibals make an appearance in the old west in Bone Tomahawk. The town's doctor is kidnapped by cannibal cave dwellers so, the sheriff and his posse head off to rescue her. You might be split on this movie until the shocking final act. Then, a personal favorite, Raw, the French film about a young girl who goes to veterinary school. She has a lot of learning to do, especially something about their family history.
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HORRO SCIENCE
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HORRO SCIENCE
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HORRO SCIENCE
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HORRO SCIENCE Like it or not, cannibals have been a part of human history for centuries. Flesh has been sold for profit, eaten as displays of power, and used in rituals all over the world. It's rare these days, but still found in a few tribes and at the hands of serial killers. All making way for filmmakers to recreate in movies to shock, disgust, horrify, and scare audiences. Sacrifice! and Cannibal Holocaust brought out the horrors of the jungle while Hannibal Lector cooked up brains and awards. Cannibals from Texas, Nevada, and West Virginia served up many glorious death scenes. Raw proved that flesh doesn't always need to be cooked well done! And Soon it will be time to sit at the table again and see what filmmaker Sean Haitz has brewed up for us in Cannibal Comedian.
Omar “HorrO” Usman
Omar “HorrO” Usman: “Born a horror fan from Elm Street, slashers have always been my favorite movies. My urge to write about horror became too much to ignore after watching The Strangers. In 2009, I began reviewing movies at my blog HorrO’s Gory Reviews, where I discovered there was a lot more to horror than just the movies. Creators of horror were looking for a place to share their work, so I filled that void with PromoteHorror.com in 2011. Since then, I’ve done hundreds of promotions supporting horror movies, books, websites, podcasts, festivals and a whole lot more. No matter what I do, I’m always looking for new and bigger ways to Spread the Horror!”
Creators Unite 09 Cannibalistic Poster: Dub Meter | Image: Alexandr Ivanov
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GUILTY PLEASURE
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GUILTY PLEASURE
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KEY STORIES
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A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO CANNIBALISM
KEY STORIES
A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO by Jim Towns Painting: Chantal Handley | Posters: Dub Meter / Images : Mark Frost PIXABAY & KLIPARTZ | Photos Courtesy: Opening Distribution, Image Ten, Dania Film, Medusa Distribuzione, National Cinematografica, Commodore Films Grindhouse Releasing, Astro Distribution, Walter Reade Organization, Monarch Film Corporation, New Line Cinema, F.D. Cinematografica, United Artists Europaand Thriller Video.
The term cannibal first originated with Spanish explorers to the West Indies who, on meeting local tribes who may (or may not) have practiced cannibalism, gave them the name Caribales, from the root word “caribal” or “savage”. The proper scientific term for cannibalism is anthropophagy. It’s generally accepted amongst anthropologists that our Neanderthal ancestors practiced cannibalism, and that their successors- Homo sapiens- in turn killed and ate their hominid predecessors. Butchered human bones from the dawn of humankind have been found in burial sites from East Asia to Africa and Europe. Up until relatively recently, cannibalism was still practiced in tribal cultures in the Lesser Antilles, New Guinea, Solomon Islands, Melanesia, Fiji, New Zealand, the Congo, and in North and South America. Cannibalism has also lurked in the shadow of misfortune and privation throughout civilization.
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KEY STORIES
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KEY STORIES Most of us know of the infamous 1846 Donner Party incident. Fewer know of the 1884 case in which the crew of the capsized yacht Mignonette chose to eat their own cabin boy. The 1972 Argentinian airline crash (wherein members of the Old Christians rugby team were forced to consume their dead in order to survive for 72 days in the Andes Mountains) was made famous by the 1993 film Alive. So, the awful reality is that at some point, we all were cannibals. Whether it was practiced as a means of survival, ritual, or a method of predator control (the smell of decomposing dead would lure carnivores right to the habitats of early humans), cannibalism is an inescapable part of our shared history as humans. It’s a shameful secret that we all, to some unconscious degree or another, likely suspect to be true. And whatever dwells in the secret places of peoples’ minds eventually emerges as fantasy. We create myths and legends as a way of coping with the truths we can’t openly admit to. Cannibal stories abounded in early folk tales such as Hansel & Gretel, and cannibals were a dread fixture in 19th century seafaring novels like Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe and Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island. Stories of this era reinforced the idea of the cannibal as a savage figure, and almost always as a non-white character. It would take until the advent of film for this racial stereotype to begin to be altered. 1964’s I Eat your Skin (aka Zombies) and 1968’s Night of the Living Dead ushered in a new take on the zombie as a flesh-eating ghoul, spawning an untold number of films featuring cannibalistic corpses. But it was a decade later that the cannibal film came into its own as an exploitation genre, beginning with Umberto Lenzi’s Eaten Alive and Ruggero Deodado’s Cannibal Holocaust. Copycats of varying degrees of quality followed, including Lenzi’s own follow-up film Cannibal Ferox.
As civilized people, we view cannibalism as the ultimate symbol of a primitive culture, and we usually impart savage or brutal connotations to the word itself (“we had to cannibalize the motor for parts”). But anything this forbidden in our culture runs a high risk of becoming fetishized, and in its inherent taboo there is a kind of tribalistic allure to anthropophagy that some find alluring. Sexual cannibalism (the killing and devouring of copulating partners) is omnipresent among insects and invertebrates: most notably the praying mantis, but also several species of spiders and scorpions.
Karen Cooper/Painting by Chantal Handley Creators Unite 09 Cannibalistic
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KEY STORIES
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KEY STORIES
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KEY STORIES
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KEY STORIES
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KEY STORIES
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KEY STORIES In the majority of these cases it is usually the female doing the devouring. Next to feeding, sex is our most primal urge, so it’s little wonder that these two base instincts can become conflated for some individuals. In just the first few months of 2020, many of us have seen just how easily everything we take for granted can be upended. It’s never been clearer to us that our civilization, its comforts and its norms, all balance on a very tenuous rope. So it’s worth noting that there is also a special place for cannibals in dystopian horror and science fiction films like Book of Eli, The Road, and Snowpiercer (I included cannibals in my own post-apocalyptic zombie film State of Desolation)… there seems to be a shared idea that some if not many amongst us only abstain from something as gruesome as eating our own (even children) because of society’s norms. Remove these moral goalposts -and any threat of legal penalty- and we could easily surrender our humanity and indulge our most degenerate appetites. Cannibal films walk a similar tightrope: simultaneously being both cautionary tales, and exploitative stories intended to titillate their audience. They remind us that the most dangerous monster is one who wears a human mask, and they confront us with one of our most primal fears: that we, Earth’s apex predator, can very easily become prey ourselves. Their warning to us is we came from this, and if we’re not careful, we’re going back to it.
Jim Towns
ABOUT JIM TOWNS Jim Towns is a writer, filmmaker and artist. His films include the silent expressionist feature Prometheus Triumphant: a Fugue in the Key of Flesh, the necromantic dark comedy STIFF, the haunted heist film House of Bad and the post-apocalyptic drama State of Desolation. His published short fiction includes Warlock’s Eye (FUNDEAD PUBLICATIONS), Fools at the Feet of a Hanged Man (DODGING THE RAIN LITERARY MAGAZINE), Castrato (THINGS IN THE WALL), The Grave (HELLBOUND BOOKS) and Bad Coffee and the Bomb (SWITCHBLADE MAGAZINE). Two of his non-fiction stories (The Attic Apartment and The Old Asylum) have been included in ANUBIS PRESS’ anthologies Paranormal Encounters and Handbook for the Dead. His paintings and mixed media artwork have been exhibited in galleries in Pittsburgh, New York and Los Angeles. Jim Towns currently lives in San Pedro, CA with his wife and two mysterious cats.
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MASTERS AT WORK WEBTALK
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MASTERS AT WORK WEBTALK
THE WEB TALK EXCLUSIVE TALK WITH SEAN HAITZ
Interview by Christopher Zisi | Cannibal Comedian Poster by Rafael Araújo | Visual Conception: Emilie Flory, ASTyanaX & Roy Bheer | Photos Courtesy: Tian Liu, Sean Haitz, Happy Fright Films, Gravitas Ventures, Faced Productions, Amazon Prime Video and © Big Top Evil LLC. | Special Thanks to: Siena Eyrich.
Christopher Zisi: Big Top Evil was made for $30K. Anyone watching that film would swear the budget was between $200K and $300K. The acting was good, plot was fast paced, Bill Mosely was in it… but most of all the supporting cast was sensation… including the circus performers. Your personal connection to the cast, whether be empathy or extreme respect, delivered big time. Are all those factors present in Cannibal Comedian? Sean Haitz: Thank you for the compliments! It is cool to see someone understand the connection between it all. I had set up training sessions with Austin Judd who played Candy with world re-known circus performers, so she could be believable. I was right there watching and a full part of every aspect of that film. Yes, CC (Cannibal Comedian, Ed), I am once again all in! It has to be that way, I believe… Do or Die mentality. I don’t have any back-ups or a plan B. CZ: An idea… tons of creative preparation… then tons of technical preparation all lead to a first day of shooting for CC. Give us an idea of that first day… excitement? Trepidation? Relief? I assume there was so much excitement and perhaps a few speedbumps… SH: I actually wasn’t too excited; it is more like a job and hoping it’s going to pull together. I went to the location two days prior shooting and started set dressing the cabin. “Charlies house”, we basically wanted it to resemble the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre house. So, it was I, Andrea “official set dresser” and her husband. We also had to move out heavy furniture and take apart the heaviest wood frame bed ever in multiple pieces, with drawers filled with 1000’s of magazines and clothes. This is the glamour of filmmaking! By the time we were ready to shoot, I was like let’s go! It was cool, when crew and actors started arriving and we were on our way. Creators Unite 09 Cannibalistic
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MASTERS AT WORK WEBTALK Christopher Zisi: You would think cannibalism would be a taboo topic. However, since the 1970s, horror fans have flocked to cannibal movies. Drive-In Italian epics are cult favorites today. You have moved the fascination of cannibalism a step forward. Fun exploitation of the 1970s looks to be present here. Do the exploitation cannibal flicks of that bygone era influence this new film of yours? Sean Haitz: Not at all, I just like over the top ideas! We had cannibal clowns in BTE (Big Top Evil, Ed)… that was because I wanted to create something different than the zombies. I though crazy cannibal clowns would be fun. I love stand-up comedy and the idea probably sprouted from BTE and, then, was the birth of Cannibal Comedian. CZ: Cheese, gore, and horrific exploitation. I’m sold! I’m weird though… do you anticipate significant festival traffic after this film is completed? Can you see many staying away because of the subject matter? Is there a big enough cult audience out there to give this film a ton of viewers? SH: I know there is because of the unique story and unforgettable characters. We have a handsome charismatic killer “Charlie” and he is funny as hell! It will be hard to keep your eyes off him.
CZ: I assume you will carefully craft a damsel in much distress. Are we going to see a screaming babe in desperation… or a beset babe with a brain who will be able to stand up to the taboo evil that torments her? Talk about the formulation of this character from a writer’s and director’s point of view. SH: Yes, a few girls!... He lets his victims run because he likes his meat lean! CZ: ☺… The nature of low-budget, Indie film making seems to be a double-edged sword. I understand limitations may make the shooting difficult at times, however, it may also have advantages. I sense you are comfortable with the financial constraints and have learned to work them in your favor. Where did you learn that, and have other filmmakers sought your guidance regarding this type of shooting? SH: I am comfortable without a budget. I had a few people interested in possibly financing but they started changing the movie, so I am grateful I got to do it my way and learn from my mistakes… Not too many have asked for help from me, I would be open to it. I go back to passion, if you are passionate about making a movie, you’ll make that damn movie! You got to find your passion! I am also a singer, guitarist & songwriter and I never had a real lesson. You got to really want it and put in the work.
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MASTERS AT WORK WEBTALK
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MASTERS AT WORK WEBTALK
Christopher Zisi: Take us behind the scenes of that first day of shooting for CC. Tell us about the preparation steps and technical issues if you had some. What was your vision and how technically you achieved that? Tell us about your camera, light, optic, format choices… also crew, actors and locations. Sean Haitz: I had first thought of this idea the Cannibal Comedian about two and half years ago. I instantly started writing the idea out. I was working as a writers PA (Writers' Production Assistant, Ed) on a show called Siren for DISNEY. I pitched this idea to the producers/writers just to see what they thought, not for them to make the film. They both were showrunners on MTV Scream series and new they liked horror. They instantly loved the idea and that amped me up to really start moving on this idea. It went through so many changes, from tone to the lead character. I had a few other leads in mind prior, one was sort of a Beetle Juice-Leatherface comical guy, then was a large bald scary butcher type. It ended up being more the charming sadistic handsome guy who also is a big guy, so he is menacing! I had at least four writers help me with the script, it went through a lot. I started pitching it to producers and no one was biting at all. I did have one interested but she started changing it and said I should have this person play this role and such. I just wanted to make the movie, so I grinded my teeth and agreed. I though well at least I can get a movie made and after that make it my own way. Turned out she didn't move on it and I am grateful for that. I understand other people may be able to make you a better movie but then I don't get to learn from my mistakes or get to go through the process. My wife turned me on to MANDY.COM and that is where I started finding likeminded people who just wanted to make a movie and learn like myself. We started putting a small crew together and that's when things started really rolling. I had a friend already who had a killer location out in the desert. He said we could shoot out there. It was going to be the cannibals house; this place was creepy. It was already nicknamed “Murder Cabin”. He was very generous letting us all stay at his main house for the duration of the shoot. His place became base-camp.
I think the most difficult part was the unpredictable weather out in the high desert. It was freezing and felt like a wind storm was happening. We all pushed through it.
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MASTERS AT WORK WEBTALK Sean Haitz: The other amazing thing about this film was we all wanted to get it done and actually shot the entire feature in six days. 16-18hr days. There was no ego on set, we were all willing to do what it takes, I mean the star of the film went and picked up catering for us. The camera we used was the Black Magic Cinema Pocket camera. We shot in 4k RAW. The DP really knew what he was doing… our sound guy while looking through the LCD screen said: "Wow that looks better than the RED!" It was an exciting experience and we wrapped in early Feb right before the Covid hit. We have been in Post (Post Production, Ed) and the picture is looking good! This will be a fun entertaining film for Horror fans and I hope for stand-up comedians/fans too! CZ: With comedy and with horror, both are at their best when an element of the story rings true. Our natural desire for humor and witticism, especially in today’s times, may create a natural attraction to your cannibal in this film. Will his victims be attracted to him? More importantly, will people who watch this film feel an uncomfortable empathy or sensitivity toward him? SH: Both yes! CZ: Knowing you, and having seen Big Top Evil, I assume the gore will be piled pretty high in Cannibal Comedian. People will be staring at the screen, I think, longer if they have just been laughing. Hence, the squeamish won’t be turning away…/…
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MASTERS AT WORK WEBTALK CZ: Are there psych-ops going on here? You seem very adept at manipulating the horror audience and taking them through the story for all its worth. Sean Haitz: Definitely, you really get to follow and get to know this character Charlie. It will be an entertaining film! ABOUT SEAN HAITZ Sean Haitz was born and raised in Sarasota, FL. He has been passionate about making movies since the age of ten when he picked up his first video camera. His first film with a production team was a twenty-minute short called Swamp Zombie. He rallied up friends and family to help be the actors and crew members. He was thirteen at the time. His first film to gain notoriety was Mangrove Slasher 2, a forty-seven-minute horror/shlock comedy. The budget was $600 and a bucket of blood. It sold out all three showings in the Sarasota Film Festival and received a cult following from tons of horror news coverage. His first feature film Big Top Evil had a thirty-thousand-dollar budget and was picked up by GRAVITAS VENTURES STUDIOS with a worldwide release late summer 2019. (Now available on demand and Blu-Ray.) In the film we have a cameo from horror icon Bill Moseley. Sean is also an established singer, musician songwriter with a SCI-FI surf punk band Cosmic Jetties playing venues, themed conventions all around L.A. Look out for Sean's new film Cannibal Comedian late 2020.
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MASTERS AT WORK TECH SECRETS
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MASTERS AT WORK TECH SECRETS
TECH SECRETS The Exploitation and Irony of Cannibalism in Horror Special focus on 1970s drive-in cinema by Christopher Zisi Editors: Emilie Flory & Roy Bheer | Visual Conception: Emilie Flory, Dub Meter & AStyanaX| Photo: Alexander krivitskiy on Unsplash | Images Courtesy: Dania Film, Medusa Distribuzione, New Line Cinema, Warner Home Video, De Laurentiis Entertainment Group (DEG), Red Dragon Productions S.A., Eurociné, Eurofilms and Blue Underground.
Cannibalism as a comedic plot device? I know, this sounds absurd. However ridiculous this is, cannibalism has entrenched itself as a comedic plot device over the past several decades. Non horror/exploitation fans might find this offensive. They should keep perspective, however. Four or five decades ago, cannibalism was a plot device for allure and fetish in several drive-in classics. Let us look at the evolution of cannibalism in film, from the 1970s horror/exploitation movie to today’s films that weave it into comedies. A good place to begin is with sexy babes in peril. Hey! Why not?! The cannibals ate them all. Every one of the hunks, and not-so hunky schmucks who either had or desired wild sex with the smoking hot blonde. They were not just eaten… they were castrated first. Their genitals were severed and gobbled while they were still alive to watch. The blonde? Sweaty and stripped of all her garments, her skin shined in the moonlight. Her fear produced a quivering that enhanced her sexiness to the savages… the man-eating savages. Will the blonde be eaten? Maybe, but not yet.
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A young lady of the tribe sneaks over to the beset and endangered blonde. The dark-haired woman has a job to do. She surveys the blonde close-up. She admires her… sexually. Even among these natives, that kind of love is forbidden. The naked blonde reacts to the suddenly cool air and her new admirer. She is still frightened… but now, an erotic air has moved in. The tribal woman shoves her hands into some tan mud. With hands overflowing with the muddy goop, she spreads the stuff on her naked goddess-to-be. First the face, then neck, then arms, then boobs. The blonde moans slightly when the dark hands smear the stuff on her breasts. The blonde knows what’s next and we all know a louder moan will escape her lips. The dark hands drop down to the blonde’s crotch. The hands are thorough… the blonde is in ecstasy. Ecstasy? Ursula Andress plays this scene well in 1978’s Slave of the Cannibal God. Her quasi rape by a cannibal woman beats any seduction scene in the Emanuelle or Lady Chatterley films of the same decade. The glaring differences: cannibals! The possibility of a European sex vixen so completely dominated and defeated provided a fetish opportunity for the drive-in public. There is an allure to it. We don’t admit it, but there is. The conquest and ruination of the perfect beauty by the hands of something so vile, sinister… and disgusting. Ursula Andress will survive this predicament, but many a teen-age boy watching this film in the late 1970s was drooling at the peril. Cannibalism has never really been taboo in films, although one would think it would. Old Abbott and Costello comedies mentioned headhunters to everyone’s amusement. 1970’s exploitation embraced cannibalism and used it endlessly. The year before Ursula Andress gave us the erotic cannibal scene, Laura Gemser was put in similar peril in Emanuelle and the Last Cannibals. Both these films were set in the Amazon and both put one of the sexiest Europeans of all time in sexual and culinary peril. Sultry damsels in peril is one thing… sultry damsels in danger of being disemboweled is something more.
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Capturing beautiful women beset by man-eating tribesmen pleased the horror/exploitation film fan. A cinematic orgasm seemed to provide the appeal. The word ‘orgasm’ means little death. Both Ms. Andress and Ms. Gemser were facing a mega-little death… or as an ancient might refer to it, a ‘mega-orgasm’. To be eaten, every part of the menu item must be touched, violated, and dealt with by violence. Without the cannibals, we may call this rape. Any inkling that cannibalism was taboo in cinema was blown away by 1970s exploitation. This 1970s cannibalism horror/exploitation found a smooth segue into the next decade. As the 1980s arrived, the cannibal films continued. Largely the same themes carried over, but when the slasher film introduced us to the concept of scream queens and ‘final girls.’ killing beauties (if the most virtuous survived) was fair game. The early 1980s brough us Cannibal Ferox. Again, nubile blond Europeans were skewered by dark skinned Amazonians. Drive In audiences loved this film. The same theme has crept into the 1980s cannibal cinema. The beautiful blonde versus the primal ancestors. In Ferox, the results are a mixed bag. Some will die horribly, others will prevail. As the second half of the decade arrived, Hannibal Lecter was born. This Thomas Harris character was introduced to movie audiences in the 1986 film Manhunter. Initially he was one of the creepiest characters ever put on film. Hannibal Lecter was remade in 1991’s Silence of the Lambs. This time, Anthony Hopkins played the fiend. He was lovable and admired. Compared to the rest of the characters in this thriller, the cannibal doctor was charming, witty, and a victim, himself. He was put up against very wooden and stiff protagonists. How far is cannibalism going to come in cinema? All the way. Cannibalism as a comedic device? Sean Haitz’ new film Cannibal Comedian just hit the screens. Should we be alarmed that cannibalism is something we laugh at? I say no, but many wise cinephiles would disagree.
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MASTERS AT WORK TECH SECRETS Today we can find humor in cannibals while 40 years ago we found it sexually alluring. Exploitation filmmakers of the 1970s kept it in the Amazon. That is fine, who is ever going to go there anyway? The studios brought it to major American cities. Sean Haitz brings it to your local club hangout. This could be alarming as the man-eating bloke could easily ask you out on a date and get himself invited over for dinner. Perhaps Ursula Andress’ and Laura Gemser’s peril was less frightening. After all, they went out of their way to invade a world that is almost impossible to reach. In Sean Haitz’ world, it is not a far-off forbidden jungle holding the dangers… it is the market around the corner, or the comedy club, or the bus stop. Sean Haitz’ plot is the next step in a natural progression. However more mainstream, and familiar the settings and characters are, they are where we live and people we know. Ursula Andress, Laura Gemser and exotic locales are fantasy devices. We’re never going on exotic jungle adventures with the world’s most beautiful women… but we might go pay a $15 cover, grab an OLD MILWAUKEE, and spend the evening with friends at a comedy club. You may return home after midnight uneaten… maybe. Creators Unite 09 Cannibalistic
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Slave of the Cannibal God, Ursula Andress Again! For the fourth time, I will focus on an Ursula Andress film (see my blog for Loaded Guns on Nov. 24th, Stateline Motel on Dec. 9th and The 10th Victim on Jan. 2nd). The Swiss actress turned down the lead in Sophie's Choice to keep her B Movie Hall of Fame status. Today, we will look at an Italian film from 1978, directed by Sergio Martino (The Big Alligator River featured on my blog on March 13th) shot in Sri Lanka: Slave of the Cannibal God (aka Mountain of the Cannibal God). Oh yes, as a‌ TARANTULA‌ service to you, instead of describing all the jungle carnage in gory detail, I will convey it to you in a subliminal manner. The plot: Susan (Andress) arrives in New Guinea, with her brother, in hopes of finding her husband, Professor Stevenson. The professor... LIZARD... led an expedition into the jungle that disappeared without a trace. Susan meets up with his colleague, Professor Foster (Stacy Keach) who agrees to help Susan and her brother find Stevenson. Foster believes that Stevenson wandered into an unexplored part of the jungle where a cannibalistic... BIG SNAKE... tribe called the Puka used to rule. The expedition begins and it becomes apparent that everyone in it is hiding something. When they enter the jungle, Keach hires a number of native bodies to assist in carrying supplies. Unfortunately for them, they take the role of the USS Enterprise crew members who beam down to a planet with Kirk, McCoy, and Spock. They get picked off one by one. As Susan is repeatedly attacked by jungle critters, they meet up with Manolo (Claudio Cassinelli) who joins... ALLIGATOR... the expedition. The expedition then comes under attack from a mysterious tribe. Manolo brings them to a mission led by an old friend who is a priest. Unfortunately, this priest is a bit of a prude... BATS... So, when Manolo, Susan, her brother and a native girl decide to fornicate, the priest ex-communicates them from the village, but not after the Puka attacks and kills the amorous native girl.
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MASTERS AT WORK TECH SECRETS They trek closer and closer to the cannibal mountain... ALLIGATOR... and double-crosses and hidden agendas abound. Manolo discovers that Susan and her brother are carrying a Geiger counter, but since Susan is a major league babe, he doesn't make an issue of this. Our team battles the river rapids, the jungle, and intermittent Puka raids. When they arrive at the mountain... KOMODO DRAGON... they make some horrifying discoveries. To make matters worse, the Puka capture all of them intending to eat the men. Unfortunately for Susan, their plans for her are far more horrifying than merely eating her. As Susan faces an unspeakable fate, the mystery of her missing husband is revealed. Can Manolo escape the frying pan... COBRA... and rescue the woman he lusts for? Will the cannibal god decide to take Susan as his bride? All these questions are answered in a terrifying conclusion. The musical score is cool, and the acting is fine. Sergio Martino's direction utilizes his big star, Andress, to the viewer's satisfaction. See the 103-minute version of this film (sometimes available on YouTube), and not the 83 minute one. 35 years after refusing the title role in Sophie's Choice, Ursula Andress is making her fourth appearance on my blog... and we have ignored every Meryl Streep film made.
White Cannibal Queen, Nubile Blonde Babes Eaten. EuroTrash exploitation! This Jesus Franco film features some of the most excruciating rape scenes... no wait... cannibal scenes in which nubile European babes are pulled apart and digested. The scenes are choreographed like a gang rape scene and the sounds and groans resemble rape scenes. The beautiful actress is stripped, pinned down by a savage horde, and slowly disemboweled. The guys in this film? They just get an arrow in the back or a poison dart in the neck. Oh yes, not all of the babes are eaten.
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MASTERS AT WORK TECH SECRETS The sultry Sabrina Siani graces us with a tour-de-force performance in which she displays only faint tan lines. Hence, 1980's White Cannibal Queen (aka Cannibals). An expedition into some Amazon region doesn't go well. Jeremy (Al Cliver) unwisely brings his family along. Cannibals attack their river boat, and his wife (Pamela Stanford) is pinned down, stripped, and eaten by a native horde. Jeremy is captured and his arm is eaten. Just before getting to his shoulder, the cannibals are interrupted as the tribe has captured his young daughter, Lana. The distraction allows the one-armed man to escape. The tribe considers Lana (Siani) a goddess and worships her. She grows up into a blonde beauty who shuns clothes. Jeremy recovers and puts together an expedition many years later to rescue his daughter. Blonde beauty, Barbara (Shirley Knight) finances it and goes along. This will be an unfortunate move for Barbara as she will also be captured, pinned down by a native horde, stripped, and eaten. Lana emerges all grown up, and married to the chief's son (Antonio Mayans). He grunts a lot and his first foray into sexual intercourse is awkward and savage. Never mind that. Now Jeremy's rescue party is beset. His lover, Ana (Lina Romay) is... well, you can guess. Other beauties in this expedition don't fare any better. Finally, Jeremy must rely on Lana's memory. Will she remember him? At the mercy of his brainwashed daughter, Jeremy is bent on rescuing her. The nude goddess controls most of the cards... her jealous husband controls some of them. Will Jeremy be able to stroke Lana's memories and remind her she was kidnapped and isn't really a goddess? Will her new husband's weird sex moves help Jeremy's cause? Is being a goddess of a savage tribe a better lifestyle than a waitress at HOOTERS? Lana's choices will be momentous... How will she choose? For some gratuitous nudity, gore, and cannibal action, see White Cannibal Queen, and enjoy the timeless beauty of Ms. Siani. Director Jesus Franco said Ms. Siani's only redeeming quality as an actress was her butt. Worry not, Ms. Siani is an infinite better actress than Meryl Streep.
Christopher Zisi
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Reviews by Christopher Zisi | Visual Conception: Emilie Flory, AStyanaX & Roy Bheer | Photos Courtesy: Sean Haitz, Happy Fright Films, Gravitas Ventures, Faced Productions and © Big Top Evil LLC. | Special Thanks to: Siena Eyrich.
Mangrove Slasher 2, Drive-In Grindhouse at its Best! Written & Directed by Sean Haitz Starring Anthony Mikesell, Rick Svec, Grace Haitz, Mis Sadistic, David Vega, Brandon Lee Haenel, Sean Haitz, Chris Potter … Music by Sean Haitz Cinematography by Chris Potter Produced by Sharon Carole, Krista Haitz and Sean Haitz Lurking in the mangroves, just beyond the swamps, at the edge of the coast, lives a shadowy figure hell bent on ruining everyone’s good time. His method dual machete's. His reasons? We may never know. MS2 is the story of a wild, partying group of friends and a man that is determined to finish them one by one. MS2 is a tour de force of absurdism, a comedy that exploits horror and B-movie clichés to maximum effect.
Low budget horror... is there anything more inspiring? How about really low budget exploitation with severed limbs, disembowelment, bikini babe cat-fights, and gratuitous nudity knit together to form orgasmic slasher fare. There will be cannibalism, pre-marital sex, severed boobs, and complicated metaphor referring to obtuse relationships in sophisticated urban settings. Okay, so I lied about the 'metaphor referring to obtuse relationships in a sophisticated urban setting.' Anytime the end credits denote Victim #51 (Holly Gesell), you know you have a winner. Florida filmmaker Sean Haitz is the South's premier B movie slasher/horror creator. Before Big Top Evil, and the Cannibal Comedian, there was the micro budget Mangrove Slasher 2. Plot? Come on, after the preceding paragraph, you want a plot description?
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MASTERS AT WORK SHOWROOM Suffice it to say, jocks and cheerleaders are heading to a beach party. There will be beer, rock 'n roll, gratuitous bikini jiggling, and an unwelcome guest or two. The cool kids will converge, and we won't have much sympathy for them. The jocks and babes get off on humiliating and bullying the uncool, and karma is a bad thing. Then, conjured up by misbehaving youths seeking premarital sex, The Mangrove Slasher (Richard Svec) begins his wrath. He has a machete and an appetite. He'll swing the big blade and boobs, limbs, heads, and internal organs will fly. There will be more bikini babe jiggling... and the aforementioned cat-fight. Gratuitous is the operative word, in gore and nudity... okay, in cannibalism, too. What follows is an orgy of blood and murder as this horrifying creature seems unstoppable. The deaths will be in the several dozens... just ask Holly Gesell. Will anyone be able to stop The Mangrove Slasher? Will the two chicks involved in the bikini cat-fight be able to keep their boobs intact? Did Sean Haitz really cut Cate Blanchett just before filming began because of her inability to adequately fill out a bikini? Sean Haitz has a knack of making movies we actually want to see. Picture a 1972 drive-in exploitation epic and multiply it by ten, and you have 2011's Mangrove Slasher 2.
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Big Top Evil, Release the Clown Horde! Directed by Sean Haitz & Chris Potter Written by Sean Haitz & John Morrisey Starring Bill Moseley, Austin Judd, J. LaRose, Jisaura Cardinale‌ Music by Richard Haitz Produced by Sharon Carole, Sean Haitz and John Morrisey As zombie films no longer excite us... in fact, they are getting annoying... a new evil has replaced them. Clowns! They're scary and we have all been traumatized by them as children. Recent flicks have given us horrific and homicidal clowns, but why not an army of them that rival the zombie hordes in George Romero films? Now we have one... and some great looking hunks and babes will die so horribly because of them. Hence, 2019's Big Top Evil, directed by Sean Haitz and Chris Potter. Oh yes... we all like gore... but beware, this film will pile it high. The aforementioned babes and hunks are on an excursion to see the location which their favorite slasher film was shot. They get off the main highway and get lost. Jay (Haitz) is a guitar strumming hunk who is on the rebound. Fortunately for him, his bud Veronica (Chante Demoustes) will bring her friend Casey (Jisaura Cardinale) along. So cute... the two will begin to fall in love. Creators Unite 09 Cannibalistic
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MASTERS AT WORK SHOWROOM Uh oh, the nerd Donny (Morgan Ferreira) will be seduced by a trapeze babe, Candy (Austin Judd), who will convince the gang to stay at a motel across from a weird circus she is part of. Wanting to get Donny laid, his friends agree... big mistake. Okay, no big spoilers here, suffice it to say Bill Moseley is Mr. Kharver, the circus boss. This circus has dozens of cannibalistic clowns that will be on our babes and hunks like the zombies were on the survivors in Dawn of the Dead. Our menacing clowns have the psyche of that family in The Hills Have Eyes, and this won't be good for our soon to be picked apart babes and hunks. As Jay and Casey bond (so cute!), our trapeze babe will grab a chainsaw and fulfill all of Donny's dreams... you'll see... unless you are covering your eyes. If that isn't enough, three escaped psychos converge on the town and are just as deadly as the clowns. Will Jay and Casey get to fall in love and maybe engage in premarital sex? Is a night of ecstasy with a trapeze babe worth losing one's head over? Is the cannibalistic clown horde a mere metaphor for the increasing number of morons and psychos that we come across in our daily lives? Okay, maybe that last question was a personal editorial statement... forgive me. Gory and at times heartbreaking, this film will do nothing to endear the "clown community" to large segments of the population. For a neat horror film that will have you covering your eyes at times, see Big Top Evil.
Christopher Zisi
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Cannibal Comedian Stand-up comedy that slaughters! Premiere late 2020
Written & Directed by Sean Haitz Starring Aaron Prager as Charlie Cannibal Comedian, Austin Judd as Chrystal, Robert Dunne as Carrey, David Vega as Sheriff Weaver and Keith Kollinicos as Eleanor Cinematography by Jacob Geimer Produced by Yoko Haitz
A psychopathic cannibal, fed up with his lack of ambition, tries his hand at stand-up comedy in an attempt to satisfy his appetite for normalcy. Cannibal Comedian is a horror epic with an undertone of dark comedy. Set in modern day Western USA, the film will allow us to explore
the intertwining of over-the-top humor and rampaging horror at full throttle. It will combine the pure terror of hearing Leatherface’s chainsaw with the gut-busting laughs of a classic Jim Carrey film. Littered with scary, grotesque and wildly energetic characters, Cannibal Comedian is a love letter to horror and “stand-up” comedy. The film opens with narrated bloody text. Throughout history, after the battle, we drink the blood of our enemies... and we consume the ones we love. We begin in the high western desert night, inside a sub-shop kitchen with Charlie. A couple in their twenties arrive at the sub-shop and become the first victims of a brutal slaughter. Charlie runs a human meat sub shop at the edge of town. He hunts drifters and cooks them up for a small community of cannibals. He has a passion for stand-up comedy and performs regularly for his victims in his basement. He finally decides to do stand-up at the town’s comedy club run by a real scum bag named Carrey. Sheriff Weaver and Eleanor, a sadistic tranny, along with the small community of cannibals worry about Charlie exploiting cannibalism in his act. He takes a liking to his hostage, the sultry Chrystal, which later becomes a scathing dilemma. We witness Charlie struggle between two different worlds of brutality, mass murder and Stand-up Comedy! As we move toward the finale, his world and everyone around him change forever. It’s a non-stop blood-curdling ride until the very end, graphic gore and puns galore!
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Presentation Poster: Dub Meter / Image: Alexander Krivitskiy | Title font “Salomé”by atipo foundry | Photos Courtesy: Petit Film, Rouge International, Frakas Productions, Ezekiel Film Production, Canibal Networks, Focus World, O'Brother Distribution, Parco Co. Ltd., United International Pictures (UIP) and Wild Bunch Distribution. There's a certain taboo that surrounds cannibalism. And yet, there's an intrinsic hidden desire for it. No, I'm not suggesting that we each have a Hannibal Lecter lurking within us, but we all do share a certain dark fascination with the need to consume someone. Usually, this consumption is attributed to feelings of love. We often see mothers and fathers playfully biting a baby's foot or arm, and the baby doesn't see those actions as a threat. In fact, the first way we learn about the world as infants is by placing any object into our mouths. In a way, our mouths are our means of exploration. This is why later in life, when we do acquire romantic partners, it's only fitting that our means of learning more about them also involves our mouths. Cannibalistic behaviors often are rooted in emotions of love. What better way to learn about someone than to nip their necks or playfully bite their lower lip? It's no coincidence that any teeth marks we leave on our romantic partners have been coined as “love bites.” But why are we so fascinated with this urge to consume someone else? Is there a deeper meaning behind this urge to literally take a bite of someone else?
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MASTERS AT WORK TRIBUTE In the brilliant French horror, Raw (aka Grave, Ed), the film explores this dark fascination with the consumption of human flesh. The film opens with lifelong Justine beginning her first year of veterinary school. During a particular brutal hazing moment, Justine is forced to consume animal flesh (duck kidney), despite her protests that she's a vegetarian. Somehow, this ignites the desire to consume more meat, regardless of the fact that the following morning she wakes up with a terrible rash on her leg and diagnosed as food poisoning by her university doctor. Suddenly, the need to consume human flesh becomes Justine's main focus. And many times, this means that consumption is intricately linked with lust. It's no coincidence that Justine's dark desire begins right when her sexual awakening does. There's a certain pathos in indulging to our primal instincts, even when those instincts are deemed inappropriate by our modern society. After all, we've always linked cannibalism with primitive societies (think of those tribes in the Amazon). But in a movie like Raw, the suggestion is that maybe beneath all of our societal niceties, lurks a primal darkness that is only waiting to be released. Justine finds empowerment and agency over consuming other people's bodies. It's no surprise that a movie that explores this message is directed by a woman, because how many times has society consumed women's bodies? We see this consumption everywhere, whether it's in porn, advertising, cinema, or sports. To finally have a female protagonist be bold enough to literally consume others the way society has always consume women, is refreshing.
The film pushes our boundaries and poses us with a challenge: are we brave enough to take the first bite? I dare you. Azzurra Nox ABOUT AZZURRA NOX Born in Catania, Sicily, Azzurra has led a nomadic life since birth. She has lived in various European cities and Cuba, and currently resides in the Los Angeles area. Always an avid reader and writer from a young age, she loved entertaining her friends with ghost stories. CUT HERE, her debut paranormal urban fantasy was inspired by a nightmare the writer had a few years ago. Some of her favourite authors include Anne Rice, Oscar Wilde, Chuck Palahniuk, and Isabella Santacroce.
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by Tony Newton Paintings by Chantal Handley and Matthew Therrien | Presentation Poster by Dub Meter / Raw Meat Picture by Sven Brandsma | Photos Courtesy: Grindhouse Releasing, F.D. Cinematografica, United Artists Europa, Worldview Entertainment, Dragonfly Entertainment, Sobras International Pictures, Open Road Films (II), Blood Relations Company, Vanguard Releasing Group, Astral Films, Variety Film, Miracle Films, Variety Film, Pngfuel and Unsplash.
Blood exiles me, Raw meat, Are we just cattle waiting to be eaten? Are we all carnivores? The taste of flesh haunts me, The maw is covered in blood. The bodies are still mouldering, The meat has turned.
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The sight of blood soothes my soul, This is my scarlet dream, That never ends. What lies in our bonded blood? A dark deep secret, that I always knew existed. I knew watching her frozen rictus, I could see it in her eyes, Blood is thicker than water, We won't die. 111
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Nails pierce the pale skin of clenched fists, Tears fall like bullets, I scream, I shout, A loud shriek of terror echoes from the back of my throat, My screams fall on deaf ears, Another body part gets chopped off. The pot boils, while I fill with rage, I pray, I watch as they torture her, No fight left in her eyes, The human meat is ready. Why is life so cruel, We are not here to judge, We are just like you, only civilised.
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We all, fall don't we? Into the pit. We all pay for our actions and bad decisions, Which we have made in this life. But why do only some people suffer? We are prisoners of these wild beasts, These animals, Do they know any better? Is this normality to them? Is this like ordering Chinese takeout? We are meat racks, Just hanging in the butchers shop window, Covered in flies, Just waiting, And waiting, to die.
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THE HILLS HAVE EYES The cannibals came, To feast on our flesh, To use our bones as trophies of a feast. They will not have us, They will not take my family. We are trapped, But we will fight, Fight with every bone in our body, Fight with every ounce of strength, We can muster.
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You wield your chainsaw, With god like power, But underneath you are weak. You are frightened, You are as scared as me. You hide behind a mask made of human flesh, Though in your own skin you are nothing but a ghastly scared child. PURE. EVIL. INCARNATE. How long will it last, Hiding behind the mask? You're a monster, A creature of the night, Out of sight in broad daylight.
You are the butcher of death, The psycho killer, The chainsaw wielding maniac, From my nightmares. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre Painting by Matthew Therrien Creators Unite 09 Cannibalistic
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The un-dead walk, they Have risen from their cold graves, To feast on our brains.
First published in Horror Movie Poetry
Tony Newton
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