Shiny Self catches a DEAD HOOKER Up North

Sarah Jane Vespertine is a writer, occasional poet and freelance thinker. You can follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/essers.
Additionally she was in attendance at the GRIMM UP NORTH 2 FILM FESTIVAL where film and horror fans were treated to an epic feast of films, including our DEAD HOOKER IN A TRUNK. She also writes for SHINY SELF. She opens her article saying she was intrigued by the title which we found quite suiting as we, ourselves, are quite easily seduced by "Shiny" things, selves included...

I ant so badly to quote from the article, but it is so deliciously worded and thoughtfully written, boys and grrls, that I simply must tell you to GO HERE IMMEDIATELY TO READ THE FULL REVIEW. Do not PASS go, do not collect $200, go directly for a good ole fashioned rad storm.

It is a real treat for us when our audience understands our film and Sarah has a beautiful understanding of what we were going for. Our most sincere desires for our DHIAT were and remain to make a film that is pure enjoyment for our audience and to share that film with as many people as possible.

We want to thank Miss Vespertine for taking both the time to watch and review our film. Thank you to Grimm Up North for having us. We look forward to returning. And, as always, thank you to everyone who came out and has supported our work. It means more to us than we can ever say.

And on a more playful note, here is something shiny, strong, and epic. An image that promises the same thing that we do... the best is yet to come and nothing can stop us. Together, we are an army.



Bloody Best!
Jen

GrimmUpNorth 2010: projectcyclops finds a DEAD HOOKER IN A TRUNK and laughs his ass off!

We Twisted Twins lament that we were unable to attend the oh-so-wonderful Grimm Up North film festival in Manchester. It's a long way over that pond. We were absolutely delighted to find a review from an attendee of the festival, Project Cyclops of Quiet Earth. And what mister Cyclops has to say is....

"Completely off-the-wall comedy in uniquely dead-pan, black as pitch style, Dead Hooker in a Trunk almost defies description but I’ll give it a go. Two identical twin sisters who happen to be exact opposites – one a Badass chick, the other a Geek – have crazy adventures with their respective best friends, a heroin addicted feminist punk rock singer Junkie, and a starch shirt wearing fundamentalist Christian Goody Two-Shoes. After a night out clubbing in Vancouver, Badass and Junkie have major hangovers, but agree to drive Geek sister to church to meet her Jesus-freak boyfriend. After some bluster during which someone is set on fire, the gang discover the titular Dead Hooker in their trunk, and panic. What follows is one of the craziest, funniest and most inventive films I have ever seen."

The review is not only honest and thoughtful, but gore~geously written, chalk full of wit, humor, and a touch of cheekiness (God bless cheekiness...).

Feast on the full film review from Project Cyclops HERE.



Thank you from the bottoms of our Twisted little hearts to the Grimm Up North Festival for having us, thank you to Project Cyclops for taking the time to both view and review the film, and thank you to all the fans in attendance! We wish we could've been there in the flesh, but the future is bright and we will make our way over the pond. A much over due visit, indeed. Pints for everyone, Sylvie's treat (ha ha ha)...

XO,
Jen

Fancy a Spot of Dead Hooker in the Boot?

We love the UK. Seriously. We have had such tremendous support since day one with 'Dead Hooker in a Trunk' from our overseas friends. One of the first festivals to show the first cut of the film was Ghouls on Film Festival which was a hit thanks to the horror fans that came out and the incredible Nia Edwards-Behi for having our Hooker in attendance. Now, Hooker has her final sexy cut and is going back overseas for the Manchester Premier Horror Festival: Grimm Up North 2. So what's going on?
"After careful consideration and a lot of hard work, the Grimm Up North team have announced their full festival lineup for 2010. Festival passes are still available for only £75, and individual tickets for all the main screenings will be on sale starting October 1st.

A festival pass provides access to the whole lineup of films, seminars, features, events and more with the exception of the Gala Opening Night events, tickets for which will also be available to purchase separately soon."
The lineup is fucking fantastic. If you can make it out and love horror, you must be there. The always horror-all knowing Dread Central put up the lineup today and they look delicious, here's the awesome you will face at the fest:

"Full Lineup for Grimm Up North 2010THE GALA OPENING NIGHT-Thursday 28th October, The Dancehouse/Odder Bar


We kick off with a special showing of the 1964 horror/sci-fi classic LAST MAN ON EARTH starring Vincent Price - all set to live music from Animat. The electronica collective have been adding their audiological special sauce to movies for some time now, so we've invited them along to kick things off in spectacular style!

The special opening night Gala brings us the Northwest premiere of new Irish horror OUTCAST. Starring James Nesbitt (The Deep/Jekyll), Karen Gillan (Doctor Who), Therese Bradley (Young Adam) and James Cosmo (Highlander), this stylish psychological horror tells the story of a doomed romance between two young lovers as they are forced to deal with a community obsessed with bringing down a terrifying beast which has been killing locals.

THE BIG SCREEN FILM LINE UP
Films will run from the Friday: 2pm - 1.30am. Saturday: midday - 1.30am. Sunday: Midday - 8pm. The festival pass allows access to all these screenings. Exact schedule, TBC.


* AMER (France/Belgium) Northern Premiere
A love letter to the giallo genre and the work of such masters as Argento and Bava, Amer is a film that has been blazing a trail of its very own recently playing to a number of thrilled international festival audiences.

* ALIEN VS. NINJA (Japan) Northern Premiere
If you like aliens and you like ninjas, well, you know the rest. What would happen if a team of elite Japanese swordsmen came face to face with an army of terrifying bloodthirsty beasties in a beautiful forest location?


* BEDEVILLED (South Korea) Northern Premiere
A dark tale of revenge, Bedevilled shows us the life of a young woman who has been beaten down by life and those around her for many years on a small island. A challenging watch during its opening couple of acts, but Bedevilled will give you a climactic release you won't forget anytime soon.

* THE PACK (LA MEUTE) (France) Northern Premiere
In a snowy no man's land, loner Charlotte picks up a hitchhiker, Max, for security after being hassled by a motorbike gang. When Max goes missing, Charlotte's investigations lead her into a world of fear. Little does she know that she is being set up to take part in an unholy ritual! Visually arresting, Franck Richard's debut feature follows in the sick and slick tradition of recent French horror fare.

* CHOP (USA) UK Premiere
A wonderfully trashy grindhouse late-nighter, Chop is a blacker than black comedy which takes on the world of torture porn movies like Saw and Hostel. The directorial debut of Deadgirl screenwriter Trent Haaga, this is a weird little left-field shocker that will nail you to your chair.


* DEEP RED (Italy) New release
What better way to honour the upcoming high definition re-release of Dario Argento's 1975 classic Deep Red than offering our Grimmlins the chance to see it on the big screen? Known to many by its original title Profondo Rosso, this is the film that helped to cement its director as a genre legend.

* DREAM HOME (Hong Kong) Northern Premiere
What if you were prepared to do anything to get the house you've always dreamed of? Well, that's the attitude of Cheng Li-sheung, a young, professional woman who will brutally murder anyone who threatens her investment... and when I say brutally, I do mean brutally. We guarantee you've never seen anything like this.


* EVIL - IN THE TIME OF HEROES (Greece) English Premiere
A cheeky and innovative new take on the zombie genre - the story of a battle between humankind and zombiekind that has raged for thousands of years - with, erm, hilarious results. In addition, it also features Billy Zane as a mysterious undead-slaying prophet... so what more could you ask for?

* FRAGMENT (Australia)
When Lloyd takes photographs of dead people, he can bring them back to life... either that, or he's experiencing hallucinations brought about by cerebral damage. When a dead serial killer and one of his victims are resurrected, Lloyd falls for the victim and is forced to save her - leading to some tense horror and even a little necrophilic romance!

* FINALE (USA) Northern Premiere
After the unexpected death of one of their own, a bereaved family start to fall apart at the seams. What is the truth behind this mysterious world in which nothing is what it seems - and who is the mysterious soul collector who seems to be at the heart of it all? If you like dark, intense, Gothic supernatural thrills, Finale will be right up your alley.


* 13 HRS (UK) Northern premiere
A British horror starring some favourites from the world of TV and film (Hollyoaks' Gemma Atkinson and Harry Potter's Tom Felton), 13 HRS is the story of a group of teenagers who find themselves terrorised by a mysterious beast that is stalking the grounds of a decaying stately home. They are forced to put their differences aside and work together or face being torn limb from limb by the terrifying force that waits in the darkness.

* PRIMAL (Australia) Northern Premiere
We all know evil lives in the woods and nature should be treated with respect, but some kids just never learn. In Primal, six teenagers who clearly haven't seen Cabin Fever head out into the wild for a weekend of thrills that typically turn into horrifying chills. A terrifying and primordial evil takes hold turning them into rabid neanderthals that crave blood and flesh!


* THE REEDS (UK) Premiere
A bunch of 20-somethings head out for a weekend boating trip, but soon find themselves part of a deadly game at the hands of some locals. The group end up way off course and, once deep into the reeds, become easy prey for their pursuers. A great British offering, The Reeds is a wonderfully shot and performed slice of horror that makes the most of a limited budget.

* REEL ZOMBIES (Canada) English Premiere
A mockumentary that invites the viewer to watch as a hapless team of film-makers create the third film in their 'Zombie Night' trilogy. However, as the group are already living in a world where real Zombies roam, they decide to use the recently deceased as their cast. Big laughs, big explosions and big breasts, Reel Zombies is an absolute zom-com gem that is dripping with originality!


* SLICE (Thailand) UK Premiere
Bizarrely combining elements of Seven and Slumdog Millionaire, Slice is a tense and powerful horror-thriller that provides a sucker punch of an ending which will leave you reeling with your jaw on the floor. As intense in its modern day scenes as it is beautiful in its flashbacks, this is a fantastic opportunity to see a movie that truly deserves some serious attention.


* WE ARE WHAT WE ARE (Mexico) Northern premiere
Already created a fantastic buzz on the festival circuit and will now be heading to Manchester to give North West audiences the chance to see what all the fuss is about. We Are What We Are has been cited by some as having done for the cannibal genre what Let The Right One In did for vampires. Along the way, this family drama goes to some very dark places and combines a rich, engaging plot with some fresh ideas and a heart-wrenching climax.

* SURPRISE FILM (TBC)
There's one spot we have on our schedule that we aren't quite ready to announce just yet! Rest assured, this is a movie we are very proud to have on board and can't wait to share with you - watch this space!

THE BREAKOUT ROOM
For 2010 we introduce the 'Breakout Room', where there will be all kinds of great things happening over the course of the festival. If you fancy something extra between movies, or need to take a break from the main screen, you will be well catered for.

We’ll showcase some very special low budget indie movies, documentaries, short films, talks and seminars and will screen some great items that we simply couldn't fit into our main schedule. Among these will be Sweatshop, a US film described by Buried.com as "a brutal horror that makes Saw look like it was produced by Disney"; Chased By Satan, a darkly funny Indonesian cross between The Ring and Final Destination; and Dead Hooker in a Trunk, an underground Canadian grindhouse movie directed, written by and starring identical twins Jen and Sylvia Soska with bags of punk rock attitude. This is the place to find those rare hidden gems by up and coming talent.


* SPLATTERHOUSE COMES TO GRIMM
This year, we will again be giving our Grimmlins a special sneak peek at an upcoming title - Splatterhouse. This latest guts-and-gore-fest from Namco Bandai brings the original 1988 arcade classic kicking and screaming into the world of modern console gaming, and we're delighted to be able to host it at our festival! As the title that first earned a "parental advisory" video game stamp, we are particularly excited to see what people think of its latest incarnation. Splatterhouse appears at Grimm ahead of its actual release on PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 later this year.

HALLOWEEN NIGHT
Finally, when the projectors stop rolling on Sunday 31st, the festivities will be far from over! Halloween night will see the first ever Grimm Up North Awards Party, where, beginning at 8.30 pm, we'll be announcing the winners of our inaugural ceremony while celebrating over a few beers. As our official festival bar, Odder have also arranged some very special food and drink deals for pass holders and revellers."

A huge, bloodsplattered, halloween-candy filled thank you to Laura Smith who invited 'Dead Hooker in a Trunk' to the festival. It is a true honor to be amongst such innovative and creative horror films. Thank you to all our friends that pass hooker around like, shucks, the hooker that she is! Drop us a line, send us your pictures, we want to know every gushing detail about the festival.

~Jen and Sylv