The Forest of the Lost Souls (A Floresta das Almas Perdidas) - 2016

IMPORTANT NOTE;

The bulk of this review article, namely the inane chatter from myself and the illuminating interview, was first published in a nostalgically warm month (Its now a perishing cold December) way back in July 2016. It was something of an unusual promotion article, namely that due to a request from the filmmaker I wasn't actually able to do much in terms of a review when talking about the film. This was due in the main for a need to hold off on reviews until the film was to be entered into the various festivals on 2017. Well it was certainly something of a tricky task - but I had a go.

Well six months had elapsed until I received an email just a couple of days ago from director, Jose Pedro Lopes who advised me that The Forest of The Lost Souls was  debuting at the Fantasporto Film Festival in February. In other words, it was time to put some review type comments down in print!

So in the time-honoured tradition of my wanting to save myself some work (or any if the chance permits) I'm re-publishing much (ok, all) of the original July article with the newly added review section at the end.

I'm in an unusual position this week of having been lucky enough to get an early look at a yet to be released film, thoroughly enjoy the said film, and yet not be able to divulge a word about it. Yet that is indeed the very situation that I find myself in. It's all the fault of JOSÉ PEDRO LOPES, who is the creative force behind a quite remarkable film, The Forest of the Lost Souls. 

José wrote to me earlier in the week via the contact section of the newly revamped 5D website at www.5d-blog.com (go on, check it out! - there's a free hug in it if you do). He told me that he's a filmmaker from Oporto, Portugal and currently starting the festival run for his first feature film, a coming of age slasher movie. In the message he asked me whether I would like to look at the trailer for his yet to be released film. Well indeed I would and indeed I did. After all, he had me at 'coming of age slasher'.

It would be safe to say that I was a little bit on the impressed side when I sat down and watched the trailer with its one minute thirteen seconds of black and white visual splendour and evocative soundtrack. If you don't believe me then you can see for yourself right here at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_OILyu13g-M

In fact, so intrigued was I that I asked José if he would let me see the complete full length version of the film so that I could put a more complete article together (there's a first time for everything, I hear you say!). José told me that he'd be happy to send me a super-secret online screener, however he had one teeny weeny minor condition, namely that I wasn't to divulge to anyone just yet any major review details about the film. The reason being that The Forest of the Lost Souls has yet to begin its festival entry run and so understandably wanted to wait for reviews so as to accompany the films release.

Oh, OK I thought, this could be something of a challenge methinks, having never actually done a review article without actually writing a, er, a review. At first I considered putting in a few clever and cunning hints about the film in this write up. However I soon realised the problem with that plan was my complete lack of skills in the clever and cunning department. My second plan was to record a video review of the film in the form of improvised interpretive dance, that was until I remembered that I have the dancing skills of an Emperor Penguin on Valium.

So after much consideration I agreed to José's request not to divulge any details of his movie, I say 'request' because there was a definite undertone of him 'making me an offer that I couldn't refuse' if I disagreed. Thankfully I managed the conundrum of talking about the film without talking about the film, by skilfully weaning some information by some clever investigative questioning techniques with the man himself.

First of all, let me provide you with a synopsis

"The Forest of the Lost Souls is a dense and remote forest, Portugal's most popular place for suicide. In a summer morning, two strangers meet
within the woods.

Ricardo (Jorge Mota) is a sad old man, who gave up on life when his older daughter, Irene (Lilia Lopes), took her life in a romantic pact gone wrong in the glacier lake that rests hidden deep in the forest.

Carolina (Daniela Love) is an eccentric, unstable young girl who finds all things related to death are fun.

As bumping into each other puts them off killing themselves , they decide to go for a walk to discover 'The Forest of the Lost Souls' and see what they will find. As they walk deeper into the woods, they get to know each other and become friends: but one of them is not being honest, one of them is a dark and horrible person."

As I mentioned earlier, José also kindly agreed to answer a few of my piercing questions. Let me first give you a little information of the man in question.

JOSÉ PEDRO LOPES was born in Oporto (Portugal) in 1982. He studied Management at the Oporto Catholic University (Portugal) and film at Madrid’s Escuela de Cine Septima Ars (Spain).

José founded the production company Anexo 82 in 2011 with Ana Almeida with whom he has produced several shorts films in the fantasy genre such as «A Noiva» (2007, The Bride), «Survivalismo» (2011, Survivalismo) and the direct-to-web effort «M is for Macho» (2013). Their most recent work, the 90s-set coming of age drama «Videoclube» (2014, Video Store) proved to be a festival success and became part of the Mailuki Films catalogue.

In 2016, he directed his first feature film, the coming of age slasher film «A Floresta das Almas Perdidas» (The Forest of the Lost Souls). He was line producer for the Portuguese shot of the Austrian documentar «Brother Jakob Are You Sleeping?» by Stefan Bohun, produced by Mishief Films.

Besides producing films, José is also a journalist (most notably for Portugal's leading indie film website c7nema.net), a festival programmer (for FEST - New Films/New Directors and on occasion Shortcutz Porto) and an enthusiast.

He has created promotional and documentary films for entities such as the Porto Town Hall, the European Comission, the Museum of Transports of Oporto and Braga European Youth Capital.

Q) So, José, what are your cinematic inspirations?

I've been doing films ever since I was 12, and I've started producing short films back in 2007 with «A Noiva» (The Bride) by Ana Almeida. Growing up in Oporto I was very much in love with Asian extreme cinema due to Fantasporto, a very big fantasy festival that takes place here every year. Also I've always been a die-hard fan of John Carpenter. His take on storytelling, both as a visual, narrative and musical form, is a big influence on me and it shows in «The Forest of Lost Souls».

But in this film, I drew more inspiration actually from Japanese cinema, specially Keiichi Kobayashi's «About the Pink Sky» and Sabu's «Miss Zombie». Both are very moody stories shot in black and white that shift genres and the way we see stories. «The Forest of Lost Souls» crosses slasher films with a coming of age drama, and a bit of generational comedy.

Q) What made you make a film about a coming of age slasher?

I'm a big fan of coming of age stories, from John Hughes movies to books/films such as «The Perks o Being a Wallflower» and «Me, Earl and the Dying Girl». But sometimes they can be kind of lame. Often they have too much "be who you want to be", "go be an artist" kind of message - they become positivist to a point they are unnerving. People in this movies talk about books, movies, song and their dreams over and over.

So I wanted to take this kind of inspirational, nice film, and invert it. The two people who meet in this film don't talk about their dreams, but how much they just want to die and get over life. And even if for a while the movie walks the inspirational coming of age storyline, it eventually twists all that into a much darker, sad place.

This story was obviously inspired by Japan's Aokigahara forest. There are places like that here too - and in a way Portuguese and Japanese take on death are very similar. We're the country of fado music, the most beautiful yet melancholic music genre you can find.

Q) Why shoot it in black & white?

There were several reasons why we shot in the B&W. Actually when I, my producer and my cinematographer talked about filming, everybody was assuming it was B&W as we've always though of this story like that. Black&White brings out a lot of the textures and contrasts in images. This makes the forest a more isolated place, and more crowded with trees and rocks. The characters become more isolated from the background.

Also as this story is set in the summer, which is very hot here in Portugal, black&white allowed to make the far away background always overexposed and very white. The characters are a lot of the time in the dark - while the world behind is almost white.

Also as this is a very emotional, sad family drama in its core, black&white very brought out the work of the actors and their expressions. The movie talks a lot about suicide, loss and grief. I felt that B&W would keep the emotions on the characters and their feelings very outlined and exposed. So it was both a technical and a storytelling decision to make it B&W

Yet, at the Berlin Film Festival this year a distributor told me: "You made a black&white crossover Portuguese film? Could you have me it more difficult to sell?".

  

Q) When and where are you releasing it on the circuit?

I've just now started to send it to festivals, hopefully to premiere it before the end of the year. I guess 2017 will be mostly festivals, but I'm looking into commercial circuits where this kind of movie could get release. I'm still figuring it out.

Q) What are your future plans?

I've a production company based in Oporto, Portugal called Anexo 82. We've been making movies since 2012, and this is our first feature. We're already working on several other projects, our and from others, but we do hope we can make more feature length fiction in the future. Maybe a happy film next time

I would like to thank José for kindly giving me some of his time. I know that I'm not allowed to divulge any review details of The Forest of the Lost Souls. All I will say at this point is that I loved it. Hopefully José won't be sending the boys round with a horses head for my bed with that revelation.........

You can find out more about José and his film at the following links:

The Forest of the Lost Souls website - http://forestofthelostsouls.wix.com/enter

His production company, Anexo 82 can be found at http://www.anexo82.com

The film's Facebook page can be found at https://www.facebook.com/theforestofthelostsouls/

THE REVIEW BIT........

The Forest of the lost Souls is a beautifully atmospheric and emotionally charged piece of cinema, enhanced in no small part by the performances of it's main cast, the incredible black & white cinematography and evocative soundtrack. 

 For a start the film looks quite wonderful, shot in the Caramulo mountains in the centre of Portugal and in Spains Sanabria lake region the viewer is rewarded with vistas and landscapes of breathtaking quality. The visual feel is further amplified by the inspired decision to make the movie in black and white. Jose said in his interview that his intention was to exemplify many of the textures and contrasts in the film's images. He wanted to make the forest a seem an even more isolated place, apart from the abundance of tree and rocks, serving to make the characters become more isolated from the background. Shooting the film in black and white he was sure would do this.

It's safe to say that he has succeeded completely, black and white photography when used correctly can add technical and narrative dimensions to the feel of a film that colour simply cannot do. The skillful way in which the film begins with bright well-lit scenes and then mirrors the progressive darker narrative as it advances to a similarly darker visual look is excellent. This is not to say that the film wouldn't have worked as a colour production, because I'm sure it would, however the black and white effect adds a technical and emotional depth of real quality.

Yes, this is a story of an ageing man who meets a young girl in the forest, both of whom have gone there with the intention of committing suicide - so it's pretty safe to say that this is a story of tortured emotional isolation and desolation. In other other words, there isn't much here for the Pop idol or Glee generation of superficial sugary happiness. Though that doesn't mean to say that that are no moments of humour on show in this film, because there are - black and biting perhaps, but humour nonetheless as the bond between the two unearths two pasts full of similar emotional contradictions.

For those who like their horror without intelligence but prefer unadulterated blood-soaked gore upon gore (and yes there is a time and place for that sort of horror experience) then The Forest of the Lost Souls may not be for you. 

There is indeed a degree of murderous violence (this a slasher film after all), however this arrives after some wonderful exchanges of dialogue and story telling between the main protagonists. There is a genuine depth of emotion on show here with sadness, remorse, anger and an overall lack of hope filtering from the actions and conversations between the characters. 

At times it's intense stuff.This serves to explore some fascinating philosophical themes about love, loss and the desire to end the struggle of life. 

Now don't get me wrong, whilst there are the inevitable references to the likes of Nietzsche et al, the film doesn't overly prevaricate on such themes - unlike some movies of this nature which seem more intent on contemplating their own navel instead on concentrating on important matters....such as being a good horror story. 

No, because before one realises what has happened the increasingly dark twists and turns swiftly transport you into a world of violence and pain - very nice!

As I mentioned earlier, the acting on show is of the highest quality, with newcomer Daniela Love as the deliciously unstable Carolina showing a depth of performance that belies her lack of experience.

A special mention too must also go to the fabulous soundtrack in this film. Even if Jose hadn't said in his interview that the likes of John Carpenter, whose enduring genius has been to incorporate music as a visual and narrative enhancement, has been an influence on his work well it would have been obvious here. 

The soundtrack for The Forest of the Lost Souls is quite simply stunning, with the noticeable inclusions of songs by the likes of Cyberbully Mom club who's 'March 1st' features in the final act of the film and also the catchy summer song «Beach Bummer» by No Vacation  which is featured in a particular important moment.

Hann Cassady

Perhaps the standout musical element though comes from Hann Cassady, whose song 'Smoke Break' features in the film's trailer RIGHT HERE. Hann is a singer/songwriter recently relocated to the east coast from her hometown of Chicago, Illinois. She has released three EPs: 'Okay', 'American Spirit' and 'Love Bites'. She is currently working on her first LP.

It's a perfect soundtrack for a coming of age slasher film!

So if you like your slasher films to be thoughtful, intelligent, dark, twisted and violent - then The Forest of the Lost Souls is just the remedy for the standard coming of age films that we normally have to endure!

The Forest of the Lost Souls (A Floresta das Almas Perdidas) is debuting at the Fantasporto - Oporto International Film Festival in February 2017.

This article can also be found via the 5D website www.5d-blog.com. There you can find a veritable feast of blog articles, news items, pictures and and other mouth-watering salutations to the gods of the geeks and the nerds. We have now inherited the earth, you know.

There is also a newly launched forum on the website designed for ANYONE involved or interested in the Independent film industry related to genres of Sci-Fi, fantasy and horror. Feel free to register and contribute - Everyone is welcome!

In addition, should any of you fine people out there wish to advertise on the 5D website then have a look at the offer below.

The Indiegogo campaign for the Sci-fi action short film TELLURIAN - the most ambitious project yet from Ironstar Films! + 5D Competition

"If you love Sci-fi or Action films. Then this is for you! How about Badass characters with some awesomely cool Scifi weaponry? Not convinced? How about the baddest female lead since Ellen Ripley and Sarah Connor. How about a male lead touted as an outsider to be the next Bond? No..what about influenced by both Stranger things and our love of 80's movies. Come on!! That's a clincher!! 

Check it out, Only with YOUR help can we save the world!!"

And so goes the confident claim from Arbroath-based film company, IronStar Films about their next film venture, TELLURIAN, and the accompanying Indiegogo campaign to finance it. A confident claim perhaps, but a bold unsubstantiated claim? Well not if the company's past work is anything to go by it isn't. We here at 5D have been fortunate enough to have seen some of the previous good works from the group. For example BLOOD LOSS a tale of retribution and redemption among a group of friends who find themselves in too deep was a deliciously atmospheric slice of horroresque film making. You can read the article RIGHT HERE.

If that wasn't enough not long after that a very short, but very beautiful fantasy film came the way of 5D headquarters. The Clearing runs for 5.5 minutes and is a visual narrative which explores the very essence of life and death. Without giving to  much away here is a brief synopsis. After waking up in a strange and otherworldly place called "The Clearing," Chris soon realises he is not alone and must unravel the mysteries that have lead him to this point before its too late.

In truth, The Clearing provided a totally unexpected richly visceral experience, both on a visual and auditory level. For a start it looks wonderful with a rich tone of colour, texture and lighting which all serve to very nicely enhance the atmospheric narrative. The quality is such that visually the film completely belies the fact that it cost so little to make, it simply doesn't look cheap at all. In fact, so impressive is the visual element that I've now watched the film a couple of times without the sound and the overall effect is still striking. You can read the full review RIGHT HERE.

In other words, I have every reason to believe that TELLURIAN will be the next in the successful production line of short movies from Ironstar Films.

TELLURIAN is a tale of the enduring human spirit in the wake of an Alien invasion where all the children on earth disappear. While the War for the planet rages on a small group of militia find themselves trying to protect not only themselves and their way of life but also possibly the last child on earth.

The theme of the film is inspired by the team's love of 80's action Sci-fi movies along with the aesthetic of recent shows such as Netflix Stranger things.

The actors include Craig McGinlay, who featured in the wonderful Blood loss, Chris O'Mara (The Clearing), Kerry Browne, Stephen Humpage, Tom Ingram, Wayne Russell, Alan Cuthbert. Holly Woodhouse will come on board as the personification of the invading force with Nikki Curley and Brodie Toriati as the first member of the invading force.

David Byrne and Ellie Reid with both lend their incredible talents to the roles of their young heroes, While Director and Actor David Izzat will join as Breakers father. 

They also welcome into his first film role Brandon Boyd taking on the role of Seth. The last boy on the planet!

This exciting short Sci-fi film is coming from Scottish filmmakers - IronStar films for which the Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign has just started at https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/tellurian-short-film-movie#/ and included is a range of tasty incentives for backers. 


Have a look below for a just a few examples of what you can get for your pounds if you decide to join the already growing list of backers wanting to get in on the act.

£10GBP

Big Thanks Shout Out.

A shout out across social media thanking you for your contribution

£50 GBP

Tellurian Dog Tags -Major

Personalised Tellurian Dog Tags customised with your own name. You too can be a leader of the Telurrian Militia and do your part in helping mastermind the downfall of the Alien invaders.

£200 GBP

Executive Producer

Become a Hollywood bigwig. Be given the title of Executive Producer on both the film credits and on IMDb. Backers will also receive two tickets to cast and crew premiere, a set of dog tags, social media shout out and an invite to join us on a shooting date of your choice. Perhaps even a speaking cameo. Travel and accommodation not included. Dates 18/19 Feb , 11/12 March 2017 (TBC) , 18/19 March 2017 ( TBC)

£3000 GBP

The Pod

You get all of the above perks plus you get to keep the custom built space pod. Woohoo! Shipping/Delivery of pod not included and to be arranged by the purchaser. Pod will not be available to collect until after Comic-Con Edinburgh 2017.

Check out the campaign page at https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/tellurian-short-film-movie#/ for the other fab perks.

COMPETITION TIME - WIN A TELLURIAN GOODY BAG!!

We at 5D are genuinely overjoyed that the good people at Ironstar Films have graciously offered to put together an incredible 'Tellurian Goodie Bag' which will include such delights as; A Tellurian T shirt; A set of personalised dog tags; A Tellurian poster; A digital download of the film ( approx Aug 2017); Your name in the credits under a special mention.

To have a chance of winning answer the following question;

Q) What is the name of the artist/prop builder who is creating our custom built space pod for TELLURIAN. (Hint: take a looksee on the campaign page).

To enter the competition go to the competition (no, really) page at www.5d-blog.com and do that competition thing that you do!

IronStar films, are an independent production company set up in 2014 in order to produce a variety of media content. As a team they are passionate about film making and are working hard to reach their goal of producing their first feature film. You can find their website RIGHT HERE

You can find the Facebook page for IronStar Films RIGHT HERE

Their Twitter handle thing is @IronstarFilms

This article can also be found via the 5D website www.5d-blog.com. There you can find a veritable feast of blog articles, news items, pictures and and other mouth-watering salutations to the gods of the geeks and the nerds. We have now inherited the earth, you know.

There is also a newly launched forum on the website designed for ANYONE involved or interested in the Independent film industry related to genres of Sci-Fi, fantasy and horror. Feel free to register and contribute - Everyone is welcome!

In addition the 5D website now has PayPal Donate button. Any donations kindly made will be fed directly back to help with a podcast materials, competition prizes and other general costs etc. If you wish to contribute to the exciting growth of the website & blog then we here at 5D headquarters would be eternally grateful. If you would like your contribution to be acknowledged publicly then simply send a message via the website’s contact section and we’ll send you some love!

If all that was enough to entice to 5D land, should any of you fine people out there wish to advertise on the 5D website then have a look at the offer below.

A review of Rogue Warrior: Robot Fighter (2016)

A winner of numerous critical accolades and festival awards, not just for the film itself but also for the quite remarkable performance of its leading lady........ mention upon mention of the film in the various 5D social network timelines over the past couple of months....... the news that none other than SONY has picked up the movie and a franchise is planned together with moves for a proposed TV series......... 

Yes, in the time-honoured fashion of hanging onto the coat tails of those far more talented about myself it became abundantly clear to me that something had to be done about this situation - I had get involved. In other words, it was about time that I watched Rogue Warrior: Robot Fighter for myself to see just exactly what all the fuss was about.

The previous blog article here at 5D featured an in depth (OK, in other words I waffled on a lot) interview with the producer and leading lady herself, Tracey Birdsall. If you want to see for yourself a fascinating insight into Tracey's mind-set then you could do worse than read it RIGHT HERE. 

If you feel that actually you could do much better than read anything that I put together (and just who would blame you?) then I will simply say that Tracey is a wonderfully entertaining, gracious and refreshingly honest interviewee. The rumour that we here at 5D are more than a little smitten with the gorgeous, talented geek that she is would be something I couldn't possibly comment upon........ :-)

However, my abject and fawning method of "tell me why you're so fab" line of questioning didn't seem to put her off too much and she was in fact very complimentary on my article. I know what my regular reader (yes I do have one) is thinking, that Tracey was probably just as shocked as anyone that I had managed to get at least some of my spelling, grammar and basic factual information nearly correct. Well, if that suggestion wasn't probably harsh but true I would be contacting my legal team to counter that remark with threats of legal action, though they would probably tell me that I was once again onto a losing case...

Nonetheless, Tracey did indeed like the article, so much so that she suggested that I may wish to see the finished product of Rogue Warrior: Robot Fighter for myself on a super secret online screener....... and so watch it I did.

ROGUE WARRIOR: ROBOT FIGHTER is a complex science-fiction actioner described as Mad Max meets Star Wars. Written by Neil Johnson, the science fiction film is set in the distant future depicting the overthrow of humanity by artificial intelligence on Earth and other worlds. Starring are Tracey Birdsall, William Kircher (The Hobbit), Daz Crawford (“Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.”), Stephen Manley (Star Trek III), and Marilyn Ghiggliotti (Clerks).

I will admit that I was more than a little apprehensive before watching this film - What if I didn't like it? How much of a negative review might I have to write? Would Tracey Birdsall never talk to me again?......

Thankfully I never needed to answer any of those questions because Rogue Warrior: Robot Fighter is quite simply a triumph, it is in fact a genuinely scintillating slice of Sci-fI cinema.

On the face of it there is apparently little new to the narrative themes within the film, it's clear that the makers wear their inspirations firmly on their sleeve as influences abound with the likes of Terminator and Mad Max. 

However this is not a criticism, because while the concept of the rise of machines and technology threatening the very existence of humans may seem familiar, the treatment here means that there is a freshness and sincerity to the production that otherwise may have just been another by-the-numbers tale of technological armageddon.

For a start, the film looks great, making the full use of some stunning locations both in the States and down-under in Australia. Some of the panoramic aerial shots in particular are incredible and fully utilise the use of drones (a genuine boon for any low-budget filmmaker) to provide a richly textured and fluid look to the movie. If you add to that some inspired lighting and taut direction, the result is that unlike other films of a similar nature in terms of limited finance. It all serves to provide the viewer with a genuine sense of planetary and interplanetary scale. The irony that a film that deals with the notion of technology becoming dominant beyond belief in fact benefits from the increasingly complexity of technology, such as drones, is rather amusing methinks. This movie is quite simply a delight for the visual senses,

Of course, the true heartbeat of Rogue Warrior: Robot Fighter is the producer and the woman who plays the lead character of Sienna, Tracey Birdsall. In her interview with me she talked about rejecting the cliched 'screaming gorgeous blond woman' often seen in mainstream scifi and horror in favour of the force of nature that is Sienna;  " I’ve never been a screaming blonde. No thank you very much. I very much lead with my talent in everything that I do. What you look like just gets you in the door. A movie like Rogue Warrior (any movie to me actually) can’t be cast on looks. When you watch a movie, you have to be drawn into the character and that’s not a reality with looks........Whether you’re male or female (we’ve found out), you will relate with Sienna’s character: you will cheer for her, laugh with her (and at her), cry for her, have angst for her and revel in her."

Do you want to know something? She isn't wrong. I really don't want to come over all hyperbolic and fawning (for a change) but it is safe to say that her complex performance with varying undertones of determination, strength and vulnerability would clearly explain the plethora of awards and future plans for expansion of the Rogue Warrior universe. Yes she looks stunning, mouth-wateringly so in fact - however she skilfully manages to avoid falling into blonde bombshell cliche by making her nuanced character the main focus of audience attention.

Perhaps one of the only niggles with Rogue Warrior: Robot Fighter is the use of the fine ensemble supporting cast. Yes this film is quite clearly driven by Birdsall's character, Sienna, though I couldn't help feeling that the fine performances from the other cast members could have been even further utilised. The likes of Stephen Manley, Tim McGrath and William Kircher are equally good, whilst the character of the wonderfully named 'Skullcrusher' played by the excellent Daz Crawford, could also have been further employed in the narrative.

However, this is but a minor negative and in only in a slight way detracts from what is a genuinely exciting and intelligent science fiction story. It could well be that there are plans to further expand on the story arc of the cast in future, an opportunity that arises after the recent announcement that not only has Sony picked up the film for distribution with an option for further franchise plans, but also that there are also plans now afoot for a TV series.

I'll leave it up to Tracey herself to have the (almost) final say............."Rogue Warrior is a journey - a complicated, exciting, excruciating journey… The relationships are deep and multi-layered, every cast member is skilled and on point, most of the film is practical including the effects where possible (and most of the robots), the arcs and the curves of this film are very much a deep drama delved into a science fiction film - like you’ve never seen before in this genre."

I just cannot argue with those sentiments. I think it's safe to say that the future of Sci-fi looks pretty safe in the hands of Rogue Warrior.

This article can also be found via the 5D website www.5d-blog.com. There you can find a veritable feast of blog articles, news items, pictures and and other mouth-watering salutations to the gods of the geeks and the nerds. We have now inherited the earth, you know.

There is also a newly launched forum on the website designed for ANYONE involved or interested in the Independent film industry related to genres of Sci-Fi, fantasy and horror. Feel free to register and contribute - Everyone is welcome!

In addition the 5D website now has PayPal Donate button. Any donations kindly made will be fed directly back to help with a podcast materials, competition prizes and other general costs etc. If you wish to contribute to the exciting growth of the website & blog then we here at 5D headquarters would be eternally grateful. If you would like your contribution to be acknowledged publicly then simply send a message via the website’s contact section and we’ll send you some love!

If all that was enough to entice to 5D land, should any of you fine people out there wish to advertise on the 5D website then have a look at the offer below.

Bridal Fever

A few days ago I was contacted by Hayley McInline who wanted to share news of her directorial feature film debut, Bridal Fever.

Bridal Fever is a gritty, suspenseful feature length horror film written and directed by Hayley McInline. Here we witness the clash where real life meets the supernatural, where the peace and security of everyday life no longer exist and there is nowhere left to hide. It shows just how crazy and savage a wronged woman can become in her path for revenge. The film began shooting in April and has just finished filming its final scenes.

Bridal Fever focuses on the story of Lisa, a good looking, troubled, 23 year old, who is plagued with memories of a traumatic childhood. Lisa, now married, finally thinks she has escaped from the devil inside her, that is until she sees the love of her life cheat with a teenage girl. I don't know about you, but I foresee trouble ahead for the cheating husband, his young lover and anyone else who finds themselves in the the unfortunate position of being their friend. That's right, the Evil Bride is coming for you...... and there is no escape - only excruciating pain!

So what makes me think that this film may have what it takes? Well two things; firstly the director of Photography (Stuart Gilmartin) and the film editor (Ironstar Films) are old friends of 5D - in other words I've seen their previous work and I like what I've seen! Secondly, this evening I was lucky enough to be sent an early version of the film's trailer......... and, well.......

At just a little over 2 minutes the trailer gives enough of an insight into a deliciously horrifying tale of demonic revenge. If you like your scenes of slow painful retribution in which rather inventive methods of dispatch are used, then it looks like this may be the film for you - and me. Believe what I say, it looks chilling and electrifying, all held together with a plentiful dose of dark claustrophobic terror. I genuinely cannot wait to see the finished product.

Hayley McInline is from a special effects background and so has always been extremely passionate about bringing practical effects to our screens, working mainly in the Horror Genre. She creates horrifying characters and brutal wounds that make even the cast and crew wince during filming. Directing her own films has always been her ultimate goal and now Bridal Fever will bring her love of creating unique horrifying characters and her love of storytelling together perfectly. 

It certainly bodes well with a fine cast and crew taken from all over Scotland. Bridal Fever stars Nicolette McKeown as the evil bride. Director of photography is Stuart Gilmartin and the film is getting edited by Ironstar.

Keep on checking here at 5D for further news of this intriguing slice of Scottish horror.

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