Flickchart Features

For the Love of Film: Supporting ‘The White Shadow’

17, May 2012

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Alfred Hitchcock‘s earliest surviving film (as Assistant Director, still working his way up to director) has only been ranked by one person on Flickchart. That person is me, because I happened to live in the right city to see the only screening the film has had probably since its original release in 1923. The film is The White Shadow, and it was considered a completely lost film, as are some 50-80% of all silent films, until three reels of it (roughly half) were identified among the New Zealand Archive’s “American Collection.”

The film had lost its titled sequence and was labeled “Two Sisters” and “Unidentified American Film” and no one knew precisely what it was until an archivist from Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences started doing detective work on the film and realize that this wasn’t an American film at all, but a British one – in fact, one of the two films that Alfred Hitchcock assistant directed under Graham Cutts, both of which starred popular American actress Betty Compson. The first, Woman to Woman, is still lost, as are just about every other film Hitchcock worked on (as AD, title designer, art director, set decorator, etc.) before taking the helm himself with 1925′s The Pleasure Garden.

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Flickchart Features: The Dead Inside

12, Oct 2010

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In addition to being co-host of Flick Fights, Travis Betz is also an indie filmmaker and director. We’d like to showcase the brand new trailer for his upcoming “horror musical” entitled, The Dead Inside.

“Wes (Dustin Fasching) is a burned out photographer paying the bills shooting weddings. Fi (Sarah Lassez) is the author of a series of zombie novellas called, The Dead Survive. They are lovers who, at one time, were at the top of their creative game, but now have misplaced their muse. When Fi begins to show signs of mental illness, Wes does everything in his power to help her get better. But darker forces lurk inside her, and soon they realize the true horror of the situation. Fighting against a disturbed entity, they rediscover inspiration in the grimmest corners of this musical horror movie.”

To learn more about the film, visit the official website: http://www.thedeadinside.com

and on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Dead-Inside/156387377710413

Flickchart Features: New Indie Horror Film, “So Falls The Shadow”

29, Apr 2010

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One of our longtime users, Abe Moran (“waveofmutilation” on Flickchart), asked us to take a look at a new venture he’s undertaking as associate producer on an independent feature film called “So Falls The Shadow”. The creators’ goal of the film is to create a more realistic lycanthropic horror story that sharply contrasts the empty and emotionless trend of vampire films that have recently gained favor. Less Twilight, more Let the Right One In - but for werewolves.

The story’s set in the deep south of Tennessee – where a pastor of a small town tries to justify a rash of killings as the will of God, but slowly comes to a more personal realization as his hurried investigation reveals his worst fears and immeasurable loss. Here’s a first look at their proof-of-concept teaser trailer:

If your interest is piqued, you can follow the film’s progress on Facebook and Twitter. We’re told the creators of the film have some high-level studio execs keeping a close eye on them after hitting some industry meetups, but that they’re looking to the online community to keep the buzz strong as they acquire funding and a distributor for the picture.

With microbudget genre films getting further exposure through direct rentals and purchases online (via Netflix, and other on-demand video services) small films from young filmmakers,  like “So Falls The Shadow”, have a real shot at a larger audience – with your support.