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The News Times

Eugene and his long-time friend Brian Spears,
a movie make-up guy, spent some of the weekend
hanging out with Judah Friedlander, the comic from
VH1’s “Best Week Ever."

SECAUCUS, N.J. — I didn’t mean to piss off John Landis, the guy who directed “Animal House,” “The Blues Brothers,” “Trading Places” and “An American Werewolf in London.”

But it happened.

Landis appeared last week at the annual “Fangoria Weekend of Horrors,” a horror movie convention.

Now I know what you’re thinking.

Horror movie convention? Trekkies? Geeks in Halloween costumes?

Kinda, if Trekkies were drunken, slovenly, criminally perverted movie buffs — because those were the dudes I hung with last week.

Hold on, lemme get back to the Landis story.

Landis was there to promote “Masters of Horror,” a horror-themed cable show that will premiere on Showtime Oct. 28. Landis is directing one of the 13 episodes.

The convention was at a hotel next to the Meadowlands in Jersey. Landis appeared on a small stage and answered whatever questions the 200 or so people in the audience threw at him.

Call me a geek, but that’s the cool thing about these conventions. The talent interacts with the common schmoes — and the common schmoe always asks better questions than me, guy with the press pass.

Except this time.

Landis was talking about “American Werewolf in London,” an early ’80s horror flick that has become a bona fide classic. Landis is funny and tells a really good story — he seemed genuinely happy chatting up the horror fans for a few minutes.

But I wanted to hear about John Belushi, who worked with Landis on both “Animal House” and “Blues Brothers.”

So ...

“JOHN BELUSHI — DEAD OR ALIVE?” I screamed from my chair, without really th
inking.

Landis, who hasn’t aged in 30 years, tilted his head slightly and gave me a quizzical look.

“John Belushi will be here later,” he said, getting a laugh from the folks.

“GIVE US A BELUSHI STORY,” I yelled back, “SOMETHING ABOUT JOHN BELUSHI! SOMETHING FUNNY!”

At this point, everybody in the banquet hall became quiet. It was like somebody sucked the air out of the place.

Funny, light-hearted Landis launched into what sounded like a cross between a eulogy and a public service announcement.

“John Belushi was a great guy and a force of nature and a gifted artist and a drug addict — and it killed him,” Landis said. “Unfortunately, this isn’t the joke part. Don’t use drugs kids, they can kill you. I’ve lost several people to it. They kill you. And I’m still fucking angry about it.”

Time to move on, right?

I walked out of the big banquet room, walked down a hall and entered the “dealer’s room” — another big room. This one was filled with folding tables covered in everything horror.

Horror DVDs, collectibles, T-shirts, toys, everything. See, the horror convention is also a way for guys like Glen Baisley, an independent horror movie director from New York, to get his name out.

Baisley wrote and directed “The Tenement” and a bunch of other low-budget horror flicks. He rented a table at “Fango,” as the convention is called, with Brian Spears, a rising talent (and longtime buddy of mine) in the horror world.

Spears has done gore make-up for HBO’s “Autopsy,” along with T&A flicks “Flesh for the Beast” and “Shadow,” starring none other than “Candyman” Tony Todd — and lots of topless actresses.

Baisley and Spears are an interesting couple.

At horror conventions, Baisley is a schmoozer and a salesman, there to get publicity for his movies and to sell a few DVDs when possible.

Spears, meanwhile, has a slightly different agenda.

Their day began at 6 a.m., when they left their homes in Westchester County, N.Y. to set up their tables at Fango.

At about 8:30 a.m., they were being interviewed by a documentary crew from Showtime, which was interviewing horror fans.

The guy with the microphone asked Baisley about his favorite horror movies. Baisley, a hulking, usually good-tempered dude of well over six feet with a voice that rivals Vader, started talking about “Halloween.”

Spears, a shorter guy who always gets mistaken for the Richard Dreyfuss character in “Jaws,” remained quiet for a moment. Then, as Baisley talked earnestly about the great director John Carpenter, Spears began tweaking Baisley’s nipples over his shirt.

Baisley, apparently used to this sort of thing, smiled slightly and kept talking about horror movies.

Spears was also selling stuff at the convention. He had a huge collection of hand-made skulls and masks, many of which had been used in the movies he’s made.

A half hour after the public had been let in, Spears sold a burnt corpse to a bar owner from New Hampshire. The guy paid about $250 for it and planned to hang “her” in his bar for Halloween.

Later, the guy showed up in the hotel bar wearing what I think was black face.
Speaking of the hotel bar, that’s where the real entertainment for the Fango shows happen.

Later that night, and after talking to a guy for 20 minutes about “The Seven Ups,” a 70s crime flick, I hung with Spears, Baisley, actor Mike Lane, Spears’ make-up partner Pete Gerner and a gaggle of other indie horror filmmakers.

A summary of the after hours activities: Baisely fell out of an elevator, Gerner cuddled me, then urinated in a stairwell, Lane did a dead-on, yet disturbing imitation of Bill Paxton from “Aliens,” and a bizarre “Fango girl” had some really f’d-up foot fungus.

Oh yeah, Spears and I were kicked out of a VIP after party not once, not twice, but three times. Turns out you had to pay 40 bucks in advance to get in.

Spears and I also befriended Judah Friedlander, the comic from VH-1’s “Best Week Ever” who wears a trucker’s hat that reads simply: “World Champion.”

I had seen Judah once at The Comedy Cellar in New York City, where he killed — I mean heads and shoulders above the other comics (which included Dave Attell).

Judah isn’t just a stand-up comic. The dude can act. He played the sorta autistic dude in “American Splendor.”

Judah was at Fango to promote “Feast,” the Project Greenlight movie that is coming out later this year.

“Is ‘Feast’ any good?” I asked Judah, who, by the way, does not drink or smoke.

Judah said it kicks ass. Actually, I can’t remember precisely what he said, so I’m answering his question as if I was his press agent.

He and Spears talked for awhile, with a wildly drunken Spears quizzing the stand-up comic about Balthazar Getty, who stars in the John Gulager-directed “Feast.”

Spears was convinced Getty was a spoiled brat.

“He’s got all that gas money, that prick!” Spears said.

Judah, holding a glass of Seltzer and wearing thick-ass Elvis glasses with messy long black hair, was impassive.

“He was cool, man,” Judah said.

“No, man, he’s got all that money!” Spears insisted.

“I honestly did not know that until right now,” Judah said.

The three of us chatted for a little bit. The conversation ended with Judah promising us he’d get us into a comedy club for free. I’m e-mailing him this article as a reminder — and I’m free next weekend.

The next morning, Judah said somebody had stolen his trademark trucker cap.
“It really sucks, man,” he said.

I think it was Landis.

Racks & Razors

Brooklyn born Mike Lane made a gutsy decision 5 years ago to chuck his Marketing Degree and go for the gold --- make that the blood red -- and hasn’t bothered to look back since. In the years following he’s made some formidable progress in the acting field – mostly in the horror genre. Mr. Lane is most closely associated with the world of Light & Dark Productions, where he also works periodically behind the scenes. His features for Light & Dark include the features ‘The Tenement’ in which he plays Jimmy Wayne Garrick, a man who believes he is turning into a werewolf (with Racks and Razors gore-gore gal Syn DeVil) and ‘Fear of the Dark’ (which features a deliciously visceral disembowelment scene). He has also appeared in such features as ‘Urban Cannibal Holocaust’, ‘Permanent Scars’, ‘Cosmetic Commando’, and ‘Linger’. In addition he has several projects in the immediate offing.
It’s a wonderful advantage of this site to showcase new talent and Mike Lane is someone you will definitely be hearing more from in the none-too-distant future.

Owen: I was reading your bio how five years ago you changed gears and went from a marketing future into acting. It can be a pretty tough career. Have you ever regretted your decision?

Mike: Never. Even though I would be making a steady salary behind a desk, I would be miserable from regret and frustration for not pursuing my dream. Acting is what I should be doing and I’m glad I made that decision. And it’s not like my degree is totally going to waste. I am marketing myself.

Owen: True. In 'Tenement' (which also features Racks and Razors fave Syn DeVil) you play Jimmy Wayne Garrick who after being bitten by a wild animal becomes convinced he is turning into a werewolf. What was the most challenging part about the role?

Mike: My naked butt shot. It was a chilly October night and I was completely naked except for a pair of fake ears and a plastic bag covering my private parts. We also shot the scene not too far from a busy street. Luckily I was performing in front of just the director Glen Baisley and Marion Nash, a nice old woman who was in the scene with me. Oh and in the too much information department, I shaved off all my body hair for the part since being hairless was a set up for a one line gag. So shaving got to be very time consuming. I found the role of Jimmy (which is probably my favorite role to date) more fun than challenging since I rarely had to hold back. He was an over the top character. I could just let everything go and be crazy which I enjoy doing. In acting I find “toning down” to be challenging sometimes. Syn DeVil was great to work with. The night of our scene was a night where everything that could go wrong did go wrong from starting to shoot at around 3am to the extras being drunk, to actors not showing up, etc. Syn handled her brief but memorable role like a true pro. Hopefully I’ll be working with her again soon.

Owen: So do you feel what we fear is scarier than the real thing?

Mike: Sometimes. It depends on the situation. I do believe that our imagination can definitely be worse than what actually happens. An old trick in horror is sometimes to not show everything in every possible gory detail and leave it up to the audience’s imagination since that is usually worse that anything a special effects artist can build.

Owen: Tell me about the disembowelment scene in 'Fear of the Dark'. That's something you don't see everyday.

Mike: Speaking of not leaving anything up to the imagination – that scene was made to be purposefully long and overly drawn out. That was Glen’s tongue and cheek comment on the ridiculousness of gratuitous gore scenes in horror. Fear of the Dark was actually almost banned from a local film festival due that scene’s “shockingly realistic” vibe which is ironic since there is no way a human being can have that many intestines.

Owen: Both those films were done by Light and Dark Productions and I know you're also a creative consultant there. Can you tell me a little something about that production company?

Mike: While I made a suggestion here and there for Fear of the Dark and The Tenement, I really started to step up behind the scenes during the time between The Tenement/Sin of the Father (which were shot simultaneously) and Fairview Falls. Light and Dark has been around since 1999 and has released two full lengths (Fear of the Dark and The Tenement), one short (The Family Tree) that can all be purchased at www.lightanddark.net. We have another short (No Trespassing 2: No Exit) playing some festivals and screenings and two more full lengths in post (Sins of the Father and Fairview Falls). The movies all have a basically dark theme exploring the light, dark as well as the gray areas that dwell within everyone. We do our best to put out a good STORY first and then enhance it with the blood, guts and scream queens that lots of horror fans like. The Tenement is probably the most well known title since it landed a distribution deal with Brain Damage Films. I met Glen in the spring of 2000 when I auditioned and landed the role of Michael Jacobs in Fear of the Dark. We’ve been friends ever since.

Owen: What about Glen Baisley's (Light and Dark Productions) film vision coincides with your own?

Mike: Well first off Glen is the be all and end all of Light and Dark. He gets the last word and approval on everything. He’s the big boss. Light and Dark is his playground and he is nice enough to let me play in it. That being said I am one of Glen’s worst critics and I think he appreciates the constructive criticism because he knows I argue my views for the betterment of the movies. I have the right to argue with him and be brutally honest about why my vision would be the best for Light and Dark. Sometimes my arguments work, sometimes they don’t but I always respect and go with his decision since it’s his money being put into all the projects. Luckily, we do agree more often than not on the creative direction and Glen is always open to suggestion from anyone and everyone including actors, crew, fans etc. As long as the final decision is Glen’s, he is a happy man. If I really feel strongly about a project that Glen doesn’t agree with, I’ll find a way to do it on my own. I’m sure Glen would be around to help if that ever comes to be.

Owen: In conjunction with Light and Dark I've heard you also attended your first horror convention. What was that first-time experience "on the other side of the table" like?

Mike: I actually attended my first horror convention as a fan I believe back in the early 1990’s. It was a Fangoria Weekend of Horrors and I remember Clive Barker and Grandpa Al Lewis being there. Going to that convention opened my mind up to many alternative and underground cultures and styles. I did not attend another convention until Chiller Theatre in October 2000 to promote and hand out flyers for Fear of the Dark. We did not have a table then. I think at the Fangoria and Chiller conventions the following year, Glen bought a table and we’ve had tables at both those conventions for the past five years. The first time being behind the table was great. I was helping to sell a movie that a bunch of other people and I busted our butts to make. And it was a damn good feeling when total strangers bought Fear of the Dark just based on the trailer playing on the monitor at the table and our passion to get our movie to as many people as possible.

Mike: I look forward to every convention because it’s a chance for at least one more person to be exposed to our work.

Owen: Is your work behind the camera something to make connections to get more work in front of the camera or does production involvement on any level bring you the same amount of pleasure?

Mike: Right now I only work behind the camera for Light and Dark and that’s with the understanding that my work behind the camera for them does not conflict with my acting schedule. I would not mind lending a behind the scenes hand in other company’s project but only if we have the same understanding. Acting is my priority and if a company understands the sometimes last minute demands put upon an actor then I would be happy to help creatively in any way I can. I never approached the idea of working behind the camera to try and get work in front of the camera since I always prefer acting to anything else. So if I wanted to act in a project I would approach the project’s powers that be as an actor first and foremost. I do find pleasure in a script I helped write or develop come to life in front of me or an idea that I had (whether being creative or business based) come to fruition but honestly not as much pleasure in a compliment on a performance from a fan or critic.

Owen: You also played Carter in the scare flick 'The Demon Shells'. Can you tell me a little something about that project?

Mike: Unfortunately The Demon Shells will never be released. The director did not like the results of the movie after it was shot so he scrapped it. Luckily he liked my performance and I have worked with him on subsequent movies. Hopefully someday the movie will be revisited.

Owen: Boo, well then I want to hear about your work as a featured zombie in Insane-O-Rama's 'Last Rites'.

Mike: I shoot with them this Friday so as soon as I find out, you’ll find out. I’ve hung out with the Insane-O-Rama crew a few times at the horror conventions and they are good people.

Also, after reading the script for Last Rites I can tell you that it is 100 times better than Strange Things Happen at Sundown. So if you liked Strange Things, you will absolutely LOVE Last Rites.

Owen: So which is the most frightening to you and why - werewolves, witches, zombies, vampires, psychos, aliens, or creatures?

Mike: Psychos because they really exist. Just watch the news.

Owen: As someone dedicated to the enhancement of the horror genre what are your favorite fright movies?

Mike: The George A. Romero zombie movies (including Land of the Dead) are hands down some of my favorites. What are so great about them are not only the awesome looking effects and gore, but the underlying social commentary that Romero weaves into his stories. I also find The Exorcist, Evil Dead, A Nightmare on Elm Street and Kubrick’s The Shining to be some of the scariest movies ever made. They gave me nightmares when I was a kid. For roller coaster like thrills that make you jump out of your seat, Aliens and Scream definitely come to mind.

Owen: What projects do you have lined up in the near future?

Mike: I just finished doing commentary for the Light and Dark short No Trespassing 2: No Exit with Glen and Diana Baisley and I did some overdubs for an upcoming director’s cut of Fear of the Dark

I start acting in a Star Wars fan film (I am a HUGE Star Wars fan) very soon. That should be fun. I get to fly a starship and fire a blaster. How cool is that? And coincidentally the director of the fan film was a fan of Fear of the Dark who I met and talked to at the different horror conventions over the years. Before my audition he e-mailed me and said that he knew me. I immediately recognized him once I saw his picture. Good thing we always got along at the conventions.

I have a few indie films lined up but I don’t want to announce them until all the funding comes into place and all the i’s are dotted and t’s are crossed contractually. Hopefully they will all be made but I have learned to hope for the best but expect the worst. I act regularly in industrials (training videos) for RuMe Interactive and Learn It Solutions based on Long Island . Glen and I are also in the preliminary stages of writing Light and Dark’s next feature length movie as well as working on the postproduction dealings for Sins of the Father and Fairview Falls. And I’m sure to let off some steam, Light and Dark will probably film some shorts, DVD extras and whatever else comes to mind. And finally, when I’m not acting, I spend my time going on auditions, looking for more acting work by sifting through the multitude of casting pages on the Internet, always promoting that I’m an actor to almost everyone I meet and trying to have a good social life as well. Luckily, I have been keeping busy.

Owen: What scares you in real life?

Mike: Falling asleep while driving. There have been many times where I’ve had to pull over and either stretch or take a nap in my truck. For some reason it’s almost impossible to try to stay awake if I’m tired while driving. Luckily I haven’t completely fallen asleep and driven off a mountain or into oncoming traffic. Thanks for the interview (you got yourself a damn good website) and don’t forget to check out my website at www.lightanddark.net/MikeLane.htm.

Owen: Will do, thanks Mike. And all the best with your career.

Blood Moon Rising

Fangoria.com Press

Video Watchdog Review

Elements of many video projects written, produced and directed over the years by Glen Baisley have been combined into an anthology thriller known as The Tenement (as well as two companion pieces, Fear of the Dark and Sins of the Father).

We meet Ethan (Joe Lauria), essentially a Norman Bates in training (complete with bedridden mother) whose big chance to audition for a director he idolizes (Fangoria associate editor Michael Gingold) turns into a humiliating ordeal – with the usual aftermath. Three additional stories revolving around the title building ensue. A mute dancer menaced by a stalker/rapist seeks salvation in her unusual relationship with her radio in what is perhaps the best of the bunch. Next, a counselee may or may not have been bitten by a werewolf in what is essentially a grisly take on the Nicholas Cage vehicle Vampire’s Kiss – Seduction Cinema's Syn DeVil shows up here as a nightclub stripper. And finally, a serial killer who disguises himself as a cab driver might have picked up a fare that even he can’t handle.

Baisley assures us (in the cast/crew commentary and in the massive amount of behind-the-scenes supplements, each of which he hosts personally) that the dangling elements (such as the Black Rose killings) will be all accounted for in the connecting features. The Tenement and its supplements should at least be of interest to students of independent horror filmmaking.

Uncut Magazine Review

The Tenement, not to be confused with Roberta Findlay’s gory gang warfare epic, is an anthology picture harking back to the heyday of Amicus and Tigon. The titular building that forms the center of this independent production acts as a catalyst of carnage with four tales of terror as depicted by writer, editor, producer and director Glen Baisley. It transpires that this particular block is a breeding ground for evil and the creepy stories are retold in flashback by the Goth-type landlord as he proudly spills the beans about the 20 year history of horrors!

The first story involves the unbalanced horror film obsessed Ethan Fernier (and his nagging mother), who gets a chance to audition for his favourite horror film director, Winston Korman. Naturally, he blows it big time. But the nasty and obnoxious Korman gets a lot more than he bargained for when Ethan flips completely.

Story two sees a troubled, perpetually dancing, mute girl, getting away from it all at a country retreat only to get menaced and raped by her stalking neighbour. The tables are soon turned though when this unwelcome guest finds that the girls is not quite what she seems.

The third segment, is a piss-take on American Werewolf in London, with paranoid Jimmy getting bitten by a wolf on his way home from a therapy session. Needless to say, the times they are a changin’, as Jimmy begins to sport some pointy teeth and grow thick hair, etc., when the moon is full.

And finally, The Tenement plays out with the closing story that focuses on an overweight serial killer, who poses as a cabby, picking up prostitutes and bumping them off. His sadistic tendencies are soon halted when he picks up a girl who appears to be nuttier than squirrel shit!

All these stories are brought to a conclusion that will probably come as no surprise to regular horror vets but it’s an above average entry for a film of its budgetary constraints.

Best segment is the first one and although the acting will never win any awards, is livened by the performance of Fangoria’s Michael Gingold as the hideous film director. He is introduced to us as he is getting a blow-job and ladles out verbal abuse by the bucketload – he even kills his cat! So it was gratifying to see his character get his face pulped in with a spade. Joe Lauria as the psychotic Ethan is also worthy of mention. The final story has some real nasty touches with the killer torturing his victim as she is facially wrapped in clingfilm. Weakest link was the werewolf tale – the humour didn’t gel well with the rest of the film and, apart from a throat ripping, suffered from poor make-up. Having said that, a homosexual gag worked a treat and raised a smile with this reviewer. You can clearly see that everyone had a blast whilst making this film and Baisley should be given credit for injecting so much enthusiasm into his baby. From the copious extras that are adorned on the DVD you can see what a lot of hard work it is to get an independent film like this out there to the public.

In summing up, The Tenement at 118 minutes is way too long as it tends to drag in places and the ending is nothing short of ridiculous, but having said that it certainly has some inspired moments that show that Baisley is onto something. Before this film he made the Family Tree (2001) and Fear of the Dark (2001), the latter featuring the Black Rose Killer, which linked with a film-within-a-film sequence in the Tenement! And it’s interesting to note that his newest film, Sins of the Father, again links with the other two with the Ethan Fernier character and Winston Korman once again given screen time!

Ultra Violent Magazine Review

Few recent indie films start out as well as Fear of the Dark (www.lightanddark.net). The film opens with a group of young cussing girls, chasing a little boy and pelting him with snowballs. The boy hides behind a snowman, and they continue assailing him with snowballs. Parts of the snowman fall off, and it’s revealed that a bloodied human body is hidden in it. The film is worth checking out for its attempt at being different. Light & Dark offers a prequel to Fear of the Dark, which is included in their anthology film The Tenement. You get a lot of wacky shit all in one film, from cultists to some good old-fashioned domestic violence. The best segment involves a confused individual’s belief that he is turning into a werewolf. Both The Tenement and Fear of the Dark feature fun cameos from Fangoria’s Michael Gingold.

Rue Morgue Review

Review by Nathan Tyler (Issue #41 September/October 2004)

Glen Baisley's The Tenement is one of the most talked about new releases in the B-horror scene for two reasons; it stars Michael Gingold, Managing Editor of Fangoria and, hell, it's also pretty damn good!

The Tenement focuses its lens on an old apartment building that has a strange effect on its inhabitants - namely, madness and murder. Director Baisley does a tremendous job of squeezing good performances out of a cast of relatively unknowns and keeping the disturbing and, at times, humorous mood consistent throughout. This is a filmmaker to watch and a film to see.

Video Crypt Review

The Tenement is a horror anthology which, centers around a haunted tenement building. This is a very ambitious project for director/writer Glen Baisley... The gore scenes are quite effective and the acting isn’t bad. Nearly stealing the show is Michael Gingold, real life editor of Fangoria. He plays hack genre director Winston Korman in the best story of the batch, Fade to Black. In this one, a young flower shop delivery boy, Ethan Fernier, who is a huge horror fanatic gets to bring flowers to his hero Winston Korman. The obnoxious director allows Ethan to audition. Needless to say, he stinks, Korman is mean, and the boy decides to kill him. Gingold is so over the top, I challenge anyone to watch it without laughing. His enthusiasm is wonderful... It was nice to see Carol DiMarsico (Sarah in The Sound Of Silence) again. She nearly stole the show in The Screaming Dead. Here, she’s a mute girl being watched by a creepy neighbor. Eventually, he takes things a bit further, which isn’t a good idea. If given a few breaks, Carol (aka C.J.) DiMarsico could establish herself as a strong genre actress... The disc is loaded with cool extras. For a low budget movie this is overflowing with neat featurettes, bloopers, alternate opening/ending, and commentary tracks. Whew! Nice going Glen Baisley and Brain Damage... It is consistently entertaining and it certainly bodes well for the future of Glen Baisley.

DVD Maniacs DVD Review

Excerpts from a Review by Ian Jane (June 28, 2004 )

The Film:

        Surprisingly enough, Glen Baisley’s The Tenement takes place in, get this, a tenement building. But this is no ordinary, tenement building, no sir. It’s much more sinister than that. This building has a history of evil, and for the last few years, people who have lived there have been turning up dead. This film takes a look at four stories revolving around those who live or have lived there at one time or another, from four different periods of time.

Fade To Black - In 1980, a young man named Ethan Fernier who is fervently obsessed with the schlocky horror movies of Winston Korman (Michael Gingold of Fangoria), a low budget director. When he lucks out and gets the chance to deliver a bunch of black roses to Korman’s office, his dreams come true and he is given the chance to audition for a role in Korman’s latest film. Things turn bad when he screws up his chance pretty severely and he decides if he can’t play the killer in the movie, he might as well play one in real life.

The Sound Of Silence – This is the story of Sarah, a mute who spends the majority of her time listening to the radio and dancing with an imaginary partner. What she doesn’t realize is that Henry Wallace, her creepy neighbor, has been peering at her for quite some time now. Henry decides that watching is no longer good enough, so he breaks in and brutally rapes her. But Henry gets a weird feeling that there might be someone else in the apartment with them, even if he can’t see who or what it is.

Full Moon Rising – This third chapter follows Jimmy Wayne Garrick, a reclusive type who only goes out when it’s time for his therapy sessions. One night, Jimmy is bitten by a wild animal and soon gets the idea into his head that he’s turning into a werewolf. When he begins to heal quickly and start eating way too much raw meat, he’s no longer just thinking he’s a werewolf but well on his way to actually becoming one.

The Taxi Driver – The final story follows a taxi driving serial killer with a taste for pretty young women. He also has a tendency to hack them up once he gets them into his cab. Late one night, his current victim looks to be ideal, but she might just have more up her sleeve than he figures on.

...A few of the more brutal scenes do benefit from some effective gore set pieces and the acting is a notch or two above the standard shot on video production...

Extras 4/5

        Here’s where the disc wins a whole lotta brownie points. They’ve crammed pretty much everything and anything you could possibly want to know about this feature onto the disc in the form of a whole lot of ‘supplemental love.’

        Glen Baisley is joined by cast members Diana Baisley, Mike Gingold, Mike Lane, Jude Pucillo, and John Sudol for a full length running commentary track. There’s a whole lot of ground covered here, from pre to post production, and the sheer volume of participants ensures that someone always has something to say and there aren’t any quiet spots in this track at all. In fact, I found the commentary to be more interesting than the film itself, and it’s full of interesting anecdotes about the shoot and about the cast and crew.

        Next up are two large still galleries with a combined running time of roughly five minutes. Plenty of FX test shots are found in here as well as cast photos and the usual behind the scenes material. A brief featurette that clocks in at about a minute in length entitled The World of Light And Dark takes a look at the philosophy behind Light And Dark Productions and gives a sneak peak at their upcoming production, Sins Of The Father.

        The Anatomy Of Horror – Making A Mask is an effects segment with an approximate running length of about six minutes. This takes a look at the latex mask that was applied to Gingold’s character after he got whacked up outside the head with a shovel. This was also a reasonably interesting piece, it’s always interesting to see someone go from a normal looking person to whatever it is that the latex transforms them into. This also features footage of the crew at the Chiller Theater Convention as well as at a screening of the film.

        Up next is the Winston Korman Movie Marathon, a sixteen-minute featurette that includes a handful of deleted scenes as well as a few short films, edited into one cohesive package, with an introduction by the films director. Some of the deleted scenes include an alternate opening and two alternate endings that weren’t used in the final version of the film, as well as some outtakes and cut segments of dialogue and some very welcome dancing girls footage.

        Finally, there are thirteen trailers included for other Brain Damage film productions, including such titles as GOTH and Vampire Sisters. There is also a chapter selection option easily accessible off of the static menus.

Overall:

        The DVD is jam packed with extra features and hardcore indy fans might want to pick it up and give it a shot.

Askew Reviews Movie Review

...This movie also contains two of the greatest horror movies scenes ever made. The first includes the previously mentioned crucifixion scene; which is better than all of that lame Passion of the Christ big budget bummer put together...

...The other scene is a spectacular moment in horror movie history; toward the end of the movie, a stripper (Syn DeVil) dancing in a club squeezes a crème-filled style doughnut covered with powdered sugar between her bare breasts and drops it in on the stage in front of a patron...

Cinema Nocturna Movie Review

Excerpts from a Review by Steve Genier (June 24, 2004)

Tenement: 1 : any of various forms of corporeal property (as land) or incorporeal property that is held by one person from another
2 :

3 a : a house used as a dwelling : RESIDENCE b : APARTMENT, FLAT c : TENEMENT HOUSE

They forgot to include Glen Baisley’s interpretation of just what exactly one particular dwelling does to take this definition to the max. THE TENEMENT is a fresh new look at just how evil a building can be. This affects past events that echo in their very halls and that can project into another person’s life. Like James Brolin’s character in The Amityville Horror, a prior presence who has caused so much evil can take effect on another’s soul. You begin to morph - your looks, habits, thoughts and especially your actions. Ethan, a young horror fan, cracks to the point of sheer evil and goes on a murderous rampage. With his invalid overbearing mother and continuous failures, his mind mimics those very same horror films he watches on a daily basis. Enter horror industry magnate and director, Winston Korman, who is holding casting calls for an upcoming project. Though Ethan shows up just to deliver some black roses to him, he is mistaken as a potential killer for the movie.

Stumbling into the room, Winston Korman demands to see what he has. Does Ethan have the right stuff to be the film’s killer? Eventually, he is laughed out of the room failing to convince anyone. As foreshadowing tells us, guess who is going to be the first victim of the Black Rose Killer? This is only the beginning in a series of short stories, capped off with an ending that intertwines everything together. Ethan’s murderous ways have soaked into the very cement and steel beams that make up THE TENEMENT. Evil passed from one soul to the next, beginning with a mute girl who is being stalked by a serial rapist. A man who is afraid to socialize walks home at night and is bitten by a dog. Later he thinks he has become a werewolf. Lastly, a taxi cab driver who stalks and brutally murders young women only to meet his lovely match. Many of the stories show characters that seem to be interwoven between one another.

THE TENEMENT will entertain those who have a taste for that retro 80's slasher feel... Plenty of gore is spilled in THE TENEMENT, nothing too harsh that those weak in the stomachs can't handle... Some scenes are actually quite real, one in particular when an arm is being cut - it seems as if a knife is really penetrating the flesh, leaving behind bloodletting grooves. I would like to mention that the film's score was the highlight for me as a viewer. Provided by Ed Shelinsky and Sal Sirchia, very much like a score of the past. Similar to those classic black and white thrillers of the sci-fi era of the mid to late 50's and early 60's. Though the score does change for the present as with each story's dating, there is still that sense of historic theme throughout THE TENEMENT.

The Brain Damage DVD is packed solid with golden extras. The usual deleted scenes, photo gallery, and trailers are present as well as some bloopers and behind the scenes fun. An interesting look at LIGHT AND DARK at Chiller and a few other goodies will keep the viewers busy for awhile. The film itself is presented in full screen carrying a digital audio track... THE TENEMENT was made by a fan for the fan.

The Hacker's Source DVD Review

Review by Eve Blaack
The Hacker's Source Issue #16 (June 2004)

In the last issue, I wrote a review on the VHS screener of the Tenement. Since that time, Brain Damage has released it on DVD. This is one hell of a DVD. With no footage cut during the transfer, you are also treated to three hours of extras. You can see a lot of work went into this.

Cast Commentary with Glen Baisley (Director), Diana Baisley, Mike Gingold (Fangoria Editor), Mike Lane (actor), John Sudol (actor), and Jude Pucillo (actor) is a great listen, with a bunch of little behind the scenes stories and tons of laughs. Two photo galleries are included with over 100 photos of behind the scenes. I was really surprised at the amount and quality of the photos. A lot of indie productions either forget to shoot pictures or it’s not in the budget or not enough hands with the cast to have someone in charge of photos.

I spent the entire three hours going through the extras without stopping just having a blast. For you pervs, there is a film clip of the strip club dancers uncut you will really enjoy. I am an FX geek and love to see how things are done, and you will get a sample of that on this with the Special FX Featurette.

The Winston Korman Movie Marathon features the short films, which were made to be the movie within a movie. The kill scenes were shown on the TV in the first segment of the film.

I have to admit; I liked seeing just the kill scenes better than the entire short. They lose their mystery and aura when pulled out of context. But after all, it’s just a Korman movie! You will have to watch to catch that joke.

Other extras include: The world of Light and Dark, Deleted Scenes, Alternate Opening and Ending, Bloopers and Behind the Scenes, Light and Dark Publicity Tour, Scene Selections, and Trailers of The Tenement and other Brain Damage releases. Overall, it’s a great DVD and well worth whatever price you find it for.

Visions of Terror Movie Review

Review by Brian O'Shaugnessy (June 11, 2004)

There is something evil about The Tenement. It does something strange to the people who live there. Ethan Fernier is obsessed with the horror movies of B-movie director, Winston Korman. His destiny lies in the shadows of a black rose - the symbol of decayed innocence. Sarah, a simple mute, lives her life listening to the radio but obsessed neighbor, Henry Wallace has other plans for her. Jimmy Wayne Garrick is bitten by a wild animal and becomes obsessed with the idea that he is becoming a werewolf. The Taxi Driver is a serial killer who picks up innocent women. One of his victims gives him more than he bargained for.

The director Glen Baisley was kind enough to send me a copy of this movie The Tenement for review and I have to say I enjoyed it. The movie is in fact broken down into four shorter movies that make up the complete movie all of which take place in the old Tenement house over the course of 20 years. With each story moving us closer and closer the present day and the finale of the movie, with an excellent and somewhat unexpected ending!

I found the movie very well written and directed, it moved along at an excellent pace and features some very good special effects. There are also some good moments of black comedy which fit in well with the tone of the movie and do not pull away from the horror aspects. Also watch out for the performances from Joe Lauria, Michael Gingold and Doreen Valdati, lets hope we see more from these people in future movies as they turned in solid performances here. I was also pleased to see one of my favorite ladies from horror Syn DeVil make an appearance in the movie.

All in all a horror movie I would recommend to anyone interested in the genre and have to say well done to Glen for bringing us such an entertaining horror anthology!

MicroCinema Magazine Movie Review

Excerpts from a Review by MicroCinema Magazine (June 9, 2004)

Rating: 5/5 Stars

This film is given a rating of 5 "little guys" (A perfect score)! What more can I say but go out and buy this movie. It is the perfect mix of horror and comedy all wrapped up into one dandy little film. The film's story line spans over two decades and includes four short stories plus an in between story that helps to tie everything together. In fact it is such a good film it won the "Achievement Award - Feature Horror" at the 2003 Putnam County Film & Video Festival. Here is the breakdown:

Story One (Fade to Black): Ethan Fernier (Joe Lauria) is a troubled young man who's only goals in life are to please his mother Eloise Fernier (Doreen Valdati) and watch horror movies from his favorite director Winston Korman (Michael Gingold). One day he gets a chance to meet his idol and audition for a part in his next movie. He blows the opportunity and instead gets ridiculed by Korman and his crew. This turn of events plus the constant nagging from his mother sets Ethan off on a killing spree which marks the beginning of the rain of terror from the "Black Rose Killer." Story One has kind of a "Psycho" feel to it but ends up morphing into a great little story.

Story Two (The Sound of Silence): Henry Wallace (John Sudol) becomes strangely infatuated with Sarah (C.J. DiMarsico), a young mute girl, who loves to dance to her radio every night in her bedroom. One day Sarah's mother Ginnie Weston (Victoria Miner) convinces her father George Weston (Floyd Gumble) to let down his guard and go out for the night, leaving Sarah alone for the first time. Almost immediately after they leave Henry comes knocking and all hell breaks loose.

Story Three (Full Moon Rising): Story three reminded us of the classic werewolf flicks of yesteryear. Jimmy Wayne Garrick (Mike Lane) is a social outcast who decides to go to an AA type support group to try to become more socially acceptable. That night after the meeting he is bitten by a strange dog. The next day he realizes that his wound is healing rather quickly and that he is also feeling more energetic. He goes to a strip club and after receiving a "stellar" lap dance decides to take matters into his own hands. We don't want to blow the ending to this story but we can tell you that it was masterfully put together.

Story Four (The Taxi Driver): This is a clever story with a great twist at the end. The scene opens with two white-trash prostitutes chatting about the different men they have picked up in the past. One of the prostitutes calls for a taxi cab and the fun begins. How was she to know that her life was in the hands of a mad man behind the wheel. The taxi driver (Ed Shelinksy) does a great job of playing this silent but deadly killer. For his next fare he picks up Chastity (Danielle Russo) who proves to be more then just a regular fare.

This film is a solid piece of work with few disappointments. This is microcinema at its best! Watch for great things from Light & Dark Productions in the future!

Blood Moon Rising Movie Review

Behind the Screams: “The Tenement” (May/June Issue 2004 Issue 23)
By William H. Pratt

        How to start a horror movie? Start with a half nude girl hanging from a wooden cross as two hot chicks make-out with each other below her after biting her and drawing blood from her legs. Then take one cool looking killer who strips of her top before shoving a large blade into her belly as she screams and dies in horror. All this and it’s just the first five minutes of the movie. “The Tenement” from Light & Dark Productions is the brain child of writer/director, Glen Baisley who’s the man behind the movie “Fear of the Dark” a few years ago. “The Tenement” is really in some ways a prequel to “Fear of the Dark” in many ways for in this film we see how and why Fear’s Black Rose Killer came into being. Besides his origins, we meet a new killer named Rellik and he’s enough to make Jason run and hide. Big brute of a thing he is with not a care in the world but to cause carnage. He would mind you a bit of the WWE’s Kane with his leather mask and his great size.

        The film is really broken down into short films within one movie that takes place in an old Tenement house spanning over 20 years. Besides the story unfolding about the Black Rose Killer (who will go onto the “Fear of the Dark” story line), another story tells of a man who believes he was bitten by a werewolf and now starts killing people because he thinks he’s one himself, and a story about a mute young woman with a trick in store for the next door neighbor menacing her. There is also a story about a crazy killing cab driver who meets the woman of his dreams when he finds out the girl that he wants to kill is just like him.

        This movie has it all: Blood, murder, mad men and tits as with one chapter where actress Syn DeVil does a lap dance on the wolfman just before he kills her. You may remember her from BMR Issue #16 when she was with another film company. Also, you will recall C.J. DiMarsico from that same issue. You may also take note that Fangoria editor Michael Gingold plays a part in the film as well. And right from her “Fear of the Dark” days is Rosemary Gore (BMR #19) retaking her role as Alice, the girl tormented by the Black Rose Killer.

        This is the 2nd film from Glen Baisley with another project now in the works, “Sins of the Father”, which is due sometime in 2004. His work on “The Tenement” show how much can be done without millions and the world of independent horror is alive and well. “The Tenement” made its world debut at the “Blood Moon Rising Horror Film Show and Halloween Party – Blood Fest 2003” and has now landed a deal to go into the big video change stores starting this spring. “The Tenement” is two hours of carnage and lots and lots of blood, making it a horror lover’s wet dream. Be sure to rent it soon at a video store near you.

Shade.ca Movie Review

Excerpts from a Review by Steve Hutchison (June 2, 2004)

Plot:

An old man who has once inhabited Fairview Falls returns to the town to visit his old residence. He meets with the new owner outside of the building. They discuss the structure’s history. They remember four events during which madness and misfortune struck the previous inhabitants.

1980

Ethan, a twenty-something horror film buff must constantly endure his suffering mother complain and cry from her bed. He obeys to her every desire yet he is not wholehearted.

As a clerk at a florist, he receives an order for a dozen black roses for a man named Korman. Ethan loves Korman’s horror movies. Nervous of finally meeting one of his idols, he goes out and delivers the flowers and even obtains an audition. However, things don’t go well and Ethan makes a fool of himself. Everyone in the studio laughs at him. This is the straw that broke the camel’s back; it’s Ethan’s turn to judge.

1990

It is to the sound of the music emitted by her old radio that Sarah spends most of her time dancing with an imaginary partner. She is mute and differs from your typical teenager. Her neighbor Henry loves the way she dances. He sees her waltz through her bedroom window.

One day, when Sarah’s parents leave her alone, Henry pays her a visit. He insists upon entering, touching her and kissing her. Her reticence doesn’t slow down the intruder. When he is a bit too close, she bites his lip. Mad with anger, he beats Sarah up and rapes her. It is at this moment that something abnormal happens. Henry is plunged into a dark and empty world: a world that judges him for his egocentric behavior.

1999

Jimmy, suffering from paranoia, takes matters into his own hands and decides to take part in a mutual aid group. He manages to share his secrets in spite of the group’s somewhat upsetting attitude. It is night when the heads back home and is attacked by what he believes to be a wolf.

Subsequently, he feels weak and drools. When his doctor questions him, he openly admits believing he is transforming into a werewolf. The specialist prescribes sleeping pills and psychiatric help.

Jimmy wakes up after a very long night and is famished. The first thing he can get his hands on is a bowl of raw meat, which he devours. Still, his hunger has not ended and animal flesh does not suffice.

2000

A girl catches a taxi ride but, once it’s too late, she realizes that no taximeter is present. She is hit in the face by the driver. When she awakens, she is tied up and her face is covered with a plastic film. After mentally torturing her, the driver finishes her off by strangulation.

The murderer, seeking a new victim, finds another girl. He drives her to her destination, a home outside the city. Once the girl is inside the house, the driver sharpens his knife and heads out to join her. However, some girls are harder to kill than others.

Review:

The Tenement, created by Light and Dark productions and distributed by Brain Damage Films, is a collection of four murder stories similar to Creepshow. Typically, these short stories end in ironic, surprising or macabre ways. What is innovative in this film is that it is a prequel to Fear of the Dark. Furthermore, the scenario for both productions predicted these common links. A second addition is planned, Sins of the Father, which should conclude the trilogy.

I do not hold in the highest regard short films. They often have nothing to tell or condense the elements that require more exploration. Furthermore, they are too short to be considered as an activity on the same level as a full-length feature. The Tenement opts for the perfect solution: a way to offer diversity and uniformity for an appropriate length.

1980

The first half of this story is reminiscent of Psycho. I appreciated the two scenes where Ethan faces madness, dominated by his contradictory feelings. I was happily surprised by the distribution of the story. It takes its time to set in and to familiarize us with the characters and their situation.

1990

I can only shiver at the sight of a mute girl that does nothing but waltz absentmindedly. The most amusing is that she isn’t sicker than her neighbor who simply wants to be friends. We see the bare minimum to comprehend the gravity of the situation and are quickly diverted to the consequences.

This acting team is the best among the four stories. I appreciated the scene where the neighbor ends up in a dark room, gripped by condemning hands.

1999

The concept behind this story is the most interesting. The main actor is amusing to watch. An American Werewolf in London is an obvious source of inspiration. Listening to a song resembling Blue Moon by Bobby Vinton, Jimmy looks in the mirror and truly believes he sees himself metamorphosing. It made me nostalgic.

Thankfully, dark humor does its job here. When Jimmy isn’t busy grimacing in front of the mirror, he stubbornly tries to explain his predicament to doctors. What he doesn’t know is that he is the only one that can see it. I loved Jimmy’s down to earth reaction when he realizes he had just killed for the first time. Reality sometimes wins over fantasy in horror films and this sketch proves it.

2000

The locations in which the development takes place make it fun to watch: a taxi, a high-voltage electric room and a stable. It is the simple story of a serial killer that has the perfect trick to capture victims.

Memorables aspects:

- Korman has his cranium crushed in by repeated shovel blows.

- Jimmy biting his friend in the neck even though he only wanted a bit of affection.

Horror Talk DVD Review

Excerpts from a Review by The Hitman (May 20, 2004)

The Plot:

The Tenement, a prequel to writer/director Glen Baisley’s earlier effort, the entertaining Fear of the Dark, represents Baisley’s attempt to take the next step in his filmmaking. Using an old apartment building as the basis for a Tales from the Crypt-style series of shorts, he emphasizes the psychological aspect of horror.

The second story — by far the best — is the tale of a would-be rapist (John Sudol) stalking a mute girl (well-played by the lineless Carol DiMarsico). It features some very, very effective sequences, especially when he discovers there is more to her than meets the eye — or ear. And in the fourth episode, a duel of serial killers, Danielle Russo (offering some back story for her own Fear of the Dark character) gets to show less skin and more of her acting chops as she tangles with the hulking Ed Shelinsky.

Among the shorter stories interspersed with the main episodes, the most thorough is the opening sequence, starring cute Suzi Leigh (a Seduction Cinema veteran, using the name Kelli Summers) as the victim of a cult in a film-within-the-film.

Glen Baisley took a real chance with The Tenement, pushing the limits of his cast and budget in an effort to take the next step forward in his moviemaking career. And for that, he must be commended. Baisley continues to show a lot of promise as a filmmaker.

Extras:

Light & Dark has pulled out all the stops on The Tenement when it comes to special features.

An audio commentary features Baisley and his wife, Diana (who plays a hooker in the film, as well as a behind-the-scenes role), plus actors Mike Lane, John Sudol, Jude Pucillo and Mike Gingold. All have a terrific time offering anecdotes and inside dirt. The commentary deserves praise for its enthusiastic atmosphere.

A whopping eight behind-the-scenes and deleted footage-type featurettes bolster the extras.

Four are devoted to material excised from the film, including a package of deleted scenes, an alternate opening and ending, a blooper reel and some uncut footage from the strip club scene, featuring dancers Judy Burrett, Chloe and Syn DeVil (though, as in the main film, only DeVil removes her clothes).

The remaining three behind-the-scenes featurettes include Baisley briefly describing Light & Dark Productions’ mission, a terrific look at the creation of an effects mask and makeup for one of the kills, and scenes from the company’s publicity tour (with a surprise at the end).

But the real treat is the “Winston Korman Movie Marathon,” with the other two films-within-a-film featured in the Black Rose Killer sequence. The shorts, “Jack & Jill” and “No Trespassing,” star Burrett and Gene Mazza, plus Baisley himself. Seen in full, they are quite entertaining little stalk-and-slashers, and a real treat for fans.

Most of the featurettes include an introduction by Baisley, explaining the reasoning behind cuts or other information. All are well worth a look for fans of the film.

There are also two photo galleries, one apparently put together by Brain Damage without Baisley’s input, and one done by Light & Dark, set to a musical performance by actor/musician Sal Sirchia (Nikos the Impaler). Both offer a nice mix of on-set and behind-the-scenes photos.

“The Tenement’s” trailer is included as part of a package that includes several other Brain Damage releases. However, it is not particularly memorable.

Grade: A+. An excellent set of features that offers an inside look at the making of the film and — as with the extras on Fear of the Dark — amply demonstrates the Light & Dark crew’s passion for and enjoyment of filmmaking.

Final Thoughts:

“Fear of the Dark” and “The Tenement” prove he can craft entertaining films. The Tenement is an outstanding DVD, benefiting from increased disc-production quality and a superior set of extra features.

(Reviewed in May 2004 on a Mitsubishi 1080 series 42” TV with a Sony DVP-CX875P DVD player and Bose Lifestyle 25 Series II speakers.)

Volcano Boy Movie Review

by Mike Mars Jr. (April 26, 2004)

The Tenement: A Fully Low-Budget Goodness

        A paranoid nerd who thinks he's becoming a werewolf, a beautiful serial killer who preys on serial killers and the nefarious Black Rose Killer are just some of the inhabitants of The Tenement, the new anthology by promising newcomer Glen Baisley. The Tenement has all the dark wit and twisted morality of classic EC comics with all the self awareness and continuity of Stephen King's interwoven short stories.

        The best of the bunch is the story of a young mute girl named Sarah who is terrorized by an obsessive stalker but the tables are quickly turned as the predator realizes his prey may not be as alone as he thinks. As he does throughout the film, Mr. Baisley uses the “cat and mouse” struggle, like the one between Sarah and her attacker, to travel across a lot of film history. What starts in the territory of 70's exploitation fare (see "Last House on the Left" or "I Spit on Your Grave") quickly steers into dark realms first traveled by Fulci and Argento.

        Let me take a second to talk to any one out there who's over 30, has loved this stuff since they could walk and hate the state of horror right now....

        Ok Reagan/Bush era young couch potatoes: are you listening?

        The Tenement is a good old fashioned, late night, make out with your girl, drink beer with your buddies, turn it into a drinking game, found it on the bottom of the shelf in the horror section of an old mom and pop video store, would see it at a drive in if they existed, pre Blockbuster, old-school, anything goes film making, titties bouncing, gory good time.

        Roughly translated: The Tenement is a horror film by a horror fan, for horror fans.

        Only time will tell if Mr. Baisley will make the jump to the big screen or if he will stay a small screen hero in the punk rock like environment of digital video do it your self revolution.

        Either way there’s no doubt that he has a very bright future, making very dark movies.

DVDTalk.com DVD Review

Excerpts from a Review by Adam Tyner (April 26, 2004)

The Tenement is the latest from micro budget auteur Glen Baisley and the first of his films to net a wide release on home video. His shot-on-video movies take place in the same world, the sleepy little hamlet of Fairview Falls. The Tenement revolves around...surprise!...a tenement where, for the past few decades, its residents have been butchered, mauled, eaten, and hacked apart. Each of the four main stories tackles a different flavor of horror, beginning with a slasher set in 1980, appropriately enough. "Fade to Black" opens with a couple necking in the woods, which in this sort of movie means they're certain to lead long, happy, productive lives. The ritualistic slaying that follows isn't actually happening, though -- it's just a scene from another in a long line of horror movies from producer Winston Korman (Fango editor Michael Gingold). Ethan Fernier is Korman's biggest fan, stumbling onto a chance to audition for his latest flick when delivering an order of black roses to the production offices. Um, he doesn't get the part. Really doesn't get the part. Unhinged by his demanding bedridden mother and the derisive laughter of his heroes, Ethan decides if he can't play a perpetually silent masked murderer, becoming one would be the next best thing.

"The Sound of Silence" is about Sarah, a mute who spends almost every waking moment dancing with an unseen partner. Her neighbor Henry, no longer content with just leering at her from afar, seizes an opportunity to get up close and way, way too personal. As Sarah is raped and tormented, Henry starts to suspect they aren't alone, culminating in some supernaturally surreal moments. Think The Outer Limits meets I Spit on Your Grave. The third story, "Full Moon Rising", is my favorite of the bunch. Jimmy is a shut-in who rarely leaves his apartment except to grudgingly go to group therapy. After his first session, he's attacked by some sort of animal. His wounds start healing pretty quickly, he develops a taste for raw ground chuck, and...wow, is that a hair on his chest? Jimmy's convinced he's becoming a werewolf, and he starts to dress the part with a body count to match. The final segment is a straight ahead serial killer tale about a cab driver who butchers his fares, but his most recent customer is a little too kindred a spirit.

I really got a kick out of The Tenement. I don't mean that in a condescending "oh, for a no-budget shot-on-video flick, it's okay, I guess" way, but that it hits all the notes it tries to make. There isn't a lot of on-screen gore, but when The Tenement tried to be brutal, I winced. Its stabs at humor, particularly "Full Moon Rising", frequently made me laugh, and there really isn't any unintentional comedy to be found. It's clever and works well within the boundaries of a non-existent budget. Because it doesn't try to be a special effects showcase drenched in splatter and desktop PC-grade CGI, those sorts of limitations rarely distract, and the moments with make-up are generally pretty effective…

One of the things The Tenement does particularly well is play with the audience's expectations. The first story is about an obsessed horror nut with a demanding mother that spends most of the segment conveniently just out of the frame. I waited and waited for the inevitable homage that was so obviously being telegraphed, but...I was wrong. I was also pretty certain it would end on the same note as Paul Verhoeven's contribution to HBO's anthology series, The Hitchhiker, which was also about the production of an indie slasher flick and the backlash from complaints about shoddy acting. Again, nope. I also thought at first that "Full Moon Rising" was going to be a standard werewolf tale with some kind of twist, but that completely shattered my expectations. Although all of the stories in The Tenement toss out some level of humor, "Full Moon Rising" sustains it the longest. The basic premise -- a whack job who decides he's a werewolf, dresses up in a fright mask bought from Party City with some...adjustments made to the rubber gloves, and kills everyone in sight -- is particularly clever. Any horror flick that pays homage to Warner animation is alright in my book, and my absolute favorite moment in the entire movie is when Jimmy looks longingly at his pal with an overlaid image of a steak. Michael Gingold also has some fun quipping about low-budgets and Fangoria in his memorable turn on-screen. The Tenement as a whole manages to strike a balance where it doesn't take itself too seriously, but it's not constantly winking at the audience either. It's more entertaining than a lot of genre movies with exponentially larger budgets, and Baisley and distributor Brain Damage Films have assembled an impressively comprehensive release on DVD.

Supplements: The Tenement is the kind of DVD that makes most other special editions curl up in the fetal position and weep. There are several hours of extras, beginning with a pair of photo galleries. The first cycles through a bunch of on-set stills, each onscreen for around five seconds a pop, running just under five minutes total. Lotsa gore close-ups and some assorted goofin' around. The second photo gallery has Sal Sirchia, the Mayor of Rock and Roll, playing a live acoustic version of "Can't Love Without You" from the movie, with some stills (a handful duplicated from the other gallery) cycling underneath for a few minutes. One thing that's kinda notable about these shots is how neat some of the gore really looks, which I didn't think translated as well to the movie itself.

The audio commentary piles writer/director/producer Glen Baisley in a room with cast members Diana Baisley, Michael Gingold, Mike Lane, Jude Pucillo, and John Sudol. I'm usually a fan of commentaries with a large group of people, and The Tenement is a clear example why. There's a non-stop flow of discussion that tackles pretty much every conceivable angle -- technical details, random on-set mishaps, obstacles that stood in the way of producing a movie with this slim a budget, inspirations behind some of the segments... There are too many highlights to scribble them all down, but a few of 'em include trying to shoot around stitches from recent breast augmentation surgery, swiping a fire from Malcolm X for a completely unrelated Super 8 project, Michael Gingold explaining about seemingly tearing the single rarest issue of Fangoria in half, painstakingly spray painting roses, trying to force-feed an actor raw meat, Oz carryovers, and the elderly Ethan putting in appearances in a Queensryche video and on-stage with Eminem. They also spend a lot of time pointing out mistakes, homages, and constantly lobbing out plugs for merchandise at lightanddark.net, even using a nekkid actress as a selling point. Really good commentary and definitely worth a listen.

"The World of Light and Dark" is around a minute long, very briefly discussing the mindset behind Light & Dark Productions and their upcoming Sins of the Father, which features a bunch of the same characters yet stands on its own. A special effects featurette, "The Anatomy of Horror: Making of A Mask", spends a little over six minutes delving into the sculpture and application of the latex mask Michael Gingold has on after being whacked in the head with a shovel. Also included is some footage from Light & Dark's publicity tour, including some William Castle-style ballyhoo at the movie's premiere and the cast 'n crew hanging out with a bunch of genre celebs at the Chiller show, bringing an unsuspecting kid to bawl at one point. It closes with the trailer and Jude Pucillo thanking viewers for poring through the extras.

There's also a bunch of additional footage. The "Winston Korman Movie Marathon" runs around sixteen minutes, opening with an introduction by Winston's brother (also played by Michael Gingold), followed by the Chiller animation (!!!). It's the two slasher shorts excerpted in "Fade to Black" -- Jack and Jill and No Trespassing -- presented in their entirety. The deleted scenes, the first chunk running around five minutes, are each introduced by Glen Baisley. They include an explanation of a mysterious character from the first story, licking a severed head, a nod to a character from Fear of the Dark, and a couple of bits of additional dialogue. An alternate opening was cut for pacing, using a montage of newspaper clippings to give a better sense of how much carnage there's been over the years. There's also a pair of alternate endings, one with a quickly-squicked-out prospective tenant and the other with a raspberry-stained raid by the cops. Upping the T&A quotient a bit are four minutes of "Uncut Dancing Girls", which is...pretty aptly-titled. The last stripper has the least convincing fake boobs ever. Finally, there are six and a half minutes of bloopers, mostly just the cast goofing around, singing lesser-known Michael Jackson songs, discussing vomit consistency...that sorta thing.

Rounding out the extras are a bunch of trailers for other Brain Damage Films releases -- The Tenement, Invitation, Vulture's Eye, Hellbound, Vampire Sisters, Strange Things Happen at Sundown, Goregoyles, GOTH, Hollywood Vampyr, Death Factory, Hell's Highway, and Terror Toons. The Tenement comes packaged in a keep case with no insert. The movie runs just under two hours and is divided into twelve chapters, and the disc includes a set of static 4x3 menus with animated scene selections.

Conclusion: Viewers with an appreciation for low-budget horror should absolutely give The Tenement a look. It's a solid genre flick and there are enough quality extras to keep most people occupied for hours on end. Recommended.

Movie: 3/5 Stars
Extras: 4/5 Stars
Replay: 3/5 Stars

Fangoria Magazine DVD Review

Excerpts from a Review by Dave Zeidler (April 23, 2004)

DVD PACKAGE: ***

You’ve got to hand it to Glen Baisley: He’s got plenty of ambition. What could have been another dull low-budget clunker, THE TENEMENT is made much more interesting by Baisley’s approach to the material. The movie is an anthology with a twist—instead of each segment being a stand-alone piece, there is mythology behind them that has and will spawn more features continuing the material. Already released is Baisley’s FEAR OF THE DARK, a sequel to TENEMENT’s first story, and soon to follow is the third entry, SINS OF THE FATHER. It kinda makes you scratch your head and wonder why no one has thought to do this before.

There are some problems to address first. Shot on mini-DV, THE TENEMENT isn’t the greatest-looking movie you’ll see. The camera is shaky in spots and the lighting is at times questionable. Plus, the pacing is a bit rough, especially for a low-budget project. Clocking in at 118 minutes, it contains plenty of scenes that could have had seconds trimmed off to bring it down to around 100 minutes or so. Sometimes the camera lingers for too long on certain shots, and plenty of extraneous dialogue could have been eliminated. Also, as expected of a production like this, the acting is far from topnotch, although you can’t fault the cast for lack of enthusiasm.

The stories are fairly simple and straightforward, and are all set during different time periods in the same tenement building. In 1980, Ethan, a horror-obsessed young man, is being driven crazy by his bedridden, controlling mother (who may or may not be alive, in a nod to PSYCHO). Finally, he snaps and becomes the Black Rose Killer, who is the cornerstone of the entire Baisley mythology. Fango’s own Michael Gingold plays a part in this segment, getting plenty of funny lines as pompous director Winston Korman. (Best bit: Reading the rarest edition of Fango, he scoffs, “Who do you have to blow to get into this rag?” and tears it in half. Listen to the commentary for an explanation of how he got away with ripping up a treasure of an issue.) Joe Lauria also puts plenty of juice into the Ethan character. Watch for a good bit of gore in the graveyard finale.

The second story, set in 1990, features C.J. (billed here as Carol) DiMarsico as a young mute girl sexually assaulted by her scumbag neighbor, played by John Sudol. Little does he know that she is protected by spirits that don’t take kindly to his unwelcome intrusion. This segment features plenty of atmosphere and a great, creepy closing shot. A scene in which Sudol is assaulted in the dark by a host of demonesque arms is surreal and spooky, and DiMarsico is very good as the disaffected young girl.

In 1999, a paranoid, introverted loser named Jimmy is attacked and bitten by a wild animal on his way home. He soon believes he is becoming a werewolf, but it isn’t clear whether it’s really happening or if he is just having delusions that are driving him to act like a wolf. Think George Romero’s MARTIN, with that strange interplay between reality and paranoia. Unfortunately, Mike Lane, who plays Jimmy, overacts through most of the segment, giving a character a goofiness that is a bit detrimental to the story’s overall effect, even though this piece was meant mostly to be comic.

Finally, in the present day, a cab driver picks up women and kills them, until one day he meets a girl who is just as obsessed with pain and murder as he is. This is probably the weakest of the segments, and TENEMENT might have been better served if this one was placed earlier in the rotation. But being that there is chronology to deal with, it has to be the last. There’s a brief wraparound story involving a creepy super talking to an aging man outside the apartment building, which results in a final twist that will lead into Baisley’s SINS OF THE FATHER.

The DVD is packed full of extras, which is a plus. A duo of “Winston Korman” movie clips are standard slasher scenes, with no character development or backstory, though there is a good decapitation at the end of one. There are deleted scenes and bloopers as well, and while the former were mostly cut for a reason, the bloopers are plenty entertaining. A special FX featurette is one of the best supplements, using time-lapse photography to show how to make a cast of someone’s face (in this case, Gingold) and demonstrating how the gore makeup for his death scene was done. It’s great for aspiring filmmakers with budgetary restraints to check out. Then there are two photo galleries; one is fairly dull and short, but the second, assembled by Baisley, is pretty entertaining. A live acoustic performance by Sal Sirchia warbling his TENEMENT song “Can’t Love Without You” accompanies photos from the shoot, and it’s funny to see gore, nudity and other debauchery accompanied by such a tender tune.

An alternate beginning (just a montage of newspaper clippings pertaining to missing persons, with no new footage) and endings are also presented, with the first conclusion being pretty spooky and the second quite funny, though Baisley is right when he says that it would have clashed with the movie’s tone. There is also a short segment of the exotic dancers from the third story doing their full routines. I got a kick out of watching one girl squeeze a jelly doughnut between her breasts and hand it back a starry-eyed fat guy sitting in the front row. During the commentary, one person remarks that that dancer’s chest features the best prosthetics in the entire movie.

That commentary, featuring Baisley and several actors, is great, because everyone is friends to begin with, so it’s like sitting in on a regular round of conversation. They have plenty of personal jokes to tell, from the set and just from their lives as buddies and low-budget filmmakers. The track is very lively, with nary a pause for air. They also take time to get into the process of making THE TENEMENT, which is fairly informative. I appreciate low-budget projects for this because they are closer to my own resources. When I listen to a major studio film’s commentary, and they talk about how they used a multimillion-dollar crane for a shot, or how it took 17 people three hours to rig some extravagant special effect, I think, “How does that help me?” Learning the makeshift, low-budget tricks is what I’m looking for, and you get plenty of that from the TENEMENT commentary, as well as the FX featurette. Rounding out the extras are trailers for Baisley’s various productions and a TENEMENT publicity tour documentary, featuring plenty of moments from recent Fango and Chiller conventions.

THE TENEMENT has its issues, which is to be expected for a movie with such a low budget. Pacing, acting and choreography (for scenes with action and fighting) prove problematical, but I’d love to see what Baisley could do with more resources, because he definitely has a love for the genre and an ambition for filmmaking. The idea to continue the stories introduced in this anthology is a great one, and I’m now interested to see what Baisley will do next. If he keeps putting out such extensive DVDs as well, it’s just a matter of time before Baisley’s name—and his work—begins to catch on with fright fans.

FilmThreat.com Interview with Michael Gingold

MICHAEL GINGOLD AT HOME IN "THE TENEMENT"
by Mike Watt (April 22, 2004)

Most horror fans know Michael Gingold as the Managing Editor of Fangoria Magazine. But the respected full-time journalist and part-time filmmaker has made the occasional foray into the acting realm and “The Tenement”, his most recent excursion into this arena, hit the streets early last week. In this pseudo-anthology, Gingold plays a virtually-irredeemable filmmaker named “Winston Korman”, who, sadly, pisses off the wrong guy in the movie’s opening tale.

“(Winston) saw b-movies as a way to get quick money and to get girls,” says Gingold of his character. “You see him at the beginning as an actor in one of his movies—he’d cast himself in these parts so he could get hot girls to make out with him. And it’s interesting, just judging from the reactions, that people don’t always realize that it’s the same character. He wasn’t drawn from anything specific, just an example of how low-class this guy is. So, yeah, (Winston) is a completely irredeemable character. Even judging from his movies that you see in “The Tenement”, you can see that his movies aren’t any good either. I hope that fact, at least, isn’t autobiographical for me. (laughs)”

“The Tenement” of the title is a nothing-special high-rise on the surface, but inside lurks a malevolent corruption that manages to worm its way into the minds and hearts of many of those living within. One of those tenants is a young man named Ethan Fernier, an already disturbed milquetoast horror fan who lives with his bed-ridden and abusive mother. Floral delivery-boy by day, Ethan finds himself meeting Korman by chance. See, Korman is his idol. And the meeting doesn’t go so well. And “The Black Rose Killer” is born.

“When you have a character like Ethan, who’s psychopathic already, it’s going to take someone really bad to kind of send him over the edge. Winston Korman is sort of the nemesis of Ethan Furnier. He loves Winston Korman’s movies, but Winston turns out to be this boorish, obnoxious, foul person. There was one (director) in particular (who inspired the character), whose name I won’t mention, but who has this reputation of being very nasty and abusive on his sets and to his co-workers. So I kind of channeled him, and then the rest I just pulled from the script and from the stuff that (director Glen Baisley) wrote. And then I watched 'Full Metal Jacket' again the other day and realized I had unconsciously channeled a couple of lines of dialogue from R. Lee Ermey.”

For Gingold, “The Tenement” is the second outing on a Glen Baisley production. His first role was in Baisley’s 2001 self-distributed “Fear of the Dark”, the story of which, incidentally, takes place after the events of “The Tenement”, and peripherally follow the further exploits of killer Ethan. In “Fear of the Dark”, Gingold played the unnamed coroner of Baisley’s fictional town, Fairview Falls. “I don’t know if he was just angling for some Fangoria coverage, or not,” Gingold says with a laugh. “I kind of figured, in every single horror film when you see the coroner, he’s always this happy-go-lucky guy eating a sandwich over the dead body. So I decided to make it a little different. This is a guy who’s kind of annoyed to come out.”

Baisley liked Gingold’s take on the role and wanted him back on the prequel, but was unsure of how to go about doing so, without destroying the continuity of the shared history. Baisley’s solution: Winston is the coroner’s twin brother, now retrofitted with the name “Eli Korman”. For those unfamiliar with “Fear of the Dark”, Winston’s line that his brother, the coroner “looks just like him, but with a friggin’ beard”, may seem like an extraneous bit of information. But fans of the shared-universe films may delight in the tie-in.

“That’s one of the things that distinguishes (Baisley’s) movies: they have this whole intertwined mythology. Sort of the way Stephen King does in his novels. (Eli Korman) also shows up in 'Sins of the Father', which Glen is working on now. And in a movie called 'Fairview Falls', which he’s going to be shooting this summer. What makes his movies work and what makes 'The Tenement' work is it’s not just an anthology where you see one building and things happen in different rooms. It’s the sense that evil has permeated this town and has influenced people in certain ways. And one horrible event in the past will influence more horrible events in the future. That’s especially what 'Fairview Falls' is about, the one he’s shooting this summer.”

For Gingold, who does work on the side as a screenwriter (“Leeches”, “Ring of Darkness”) and has a movie of his own in the works, acting is a diversion, not an aspiration. Roles in such films as “The Tenement” and Kevin Lindenmuth’s “Alien Agenda” series, were done for fun and for favors. “It’s always fun to get on the other side of the camera on these things. I really hope that no one would expect me to carry a movie or give a great performance. Acting isn’t really my vocation. I’ve done these small eccentric roles and it’s fun to see how these guys make their movies. You know? The different approaches people have and how they pull these movies off on very small budgets and just a lot of energy and enthusiasm.”

This attitude has gone a long way towards his gaining respect in the horror community. It can be argued that every horror filmmaker working today has, at some point, at least picked up a copy of Fangoria, and many—if not most—have dreamed about appearing within the pages of the magazine. That isn’t lost on Gingold, either—a fan and reader of the magazine long before college freelancing landed him on the staff. “I’ve never let the budget or the medium of a movie prejudice me towards a film,” he says. “I’ve seen some movies that look like they were shot for a dollar and a quarter, but have a lot of ambition and more impact than something with really slick production values.”

With the rise in popularity (and drop in price) of digital video equipment and technology, it’s become easier than ever for aspiring filmmakers to shoot their own movie. This has, of course, led to a market flooded with backyard gorefests. It’s tough to stay on top of them and harder still to ferret out the good from the bad. “I always say the good thing about video is that anyone can make a movie and the terrible thing about video is that anyone can make a movie. I was just reflecting on this recently. Back in the days when things were shot on Super-8, even making a feature on Super-8 took a lot of effort. You have to put a lot of planning and ambition into it. And while there are certainly people who are doing that now, there are also people who are just sort of knocking stuff out on a camcorder and expecting it to compete in the professional film world. Which is, again, not to say that I haven’t seen some camcorder movies that are great. It’s just that there are so many movies flooding the market now, it’s getting harder to weed out the good stuff. Most of the people who are sending stuff to us—I think we get a bigger percentage of the good stuff. The people who send the movies to us are fans of the magazine and those are the ones who are really fans of the genre, and are less likely to be making just a knock-off film. Or something that will get them a little attention or money so they can move onto the next thing. I have seen quite a few good movies of that type that have come into the office. Every so often, when we have the space, we run “Notes from the Underground”, and we give these people a chance to talk about the films and the productions and how they surmounted the problems of making a low budget film, and the tricks they used to sort of maximize their budget and their resources.”

While the production end has gotten easier, the distribution part of filmmaking has conversely become more difficult in procuring. With the aforementioned flooded market, most reputable distributors are shying away from movies shot on digital video. Film is still the preferred medium—which seems hardly fair, but not exactly difficult to understand. Audiences, too, still seem to prefer film, even when they would be hard-pressed to tell the difference just by glancing at the television screen. Ask the random Blockbuster Video shopper, and chances are good that he will tell you that “professional” equals “film”.

“I think there are still people who are prejudiced towards stuff shot on video in general. They think it’s not as good as film, that it’s an amateurish thing. When I take a look at something, I look at how it was shot as a film. There are some people who can shoot (on video) the way that real movies are shot, with the same professional(-looking) camera angles, and sense of pacing and storytelling. I saw a really good movie called 'Witchunter'. It was a very low-budget film, shot on video. But it’s got a great look to it. It’s very professionally made in terms of the pacing and the scenes and the shot selections and stuff. It’s put together a lot more professionally than a lot of independent movies that were shot on film with bigger budgets.”

Gingold continues, “Right around the time I started (at Fangoria) in 1990, Mark Pirro (“Curse of the Queerwolf”) was kind of the king of this sort of thing. He’d been doing these Super-8 features. He inspired me, and I actually shot a Super-8 feature many years back that has become mired in post-production blues. I haven’t had the money to pull together and get the post sound mix done, which is going to be a big expenditure. But I’ve been here at Fango since the whole shot-on-video thing has come of age, as it were. Some of the earlier ones, like J.R. Bookwalter’s early stuff, like Ozone—he was one of the first ones to really make kind of professional-looking features on video that looked and played like real movies. Even though they were shot on video for very little money. Scooter McCrae’s “Shatter Dead” is another one that was a really good movie. Then there was a lull for a while, but now it seems to have started up again with the camcorder revolution. So there’s both really good stuff and really bad stuff coming out of it. So, again, I don’t subscribe to the prejudice of ‘Oh, it’s shot on video so it must be lousy’. Take a look at the movie and see. Another one that I loved was Lucky. Again, shot with very limited means, a very limited budget, but had a damn good idea and a great execution. Another one called Savage Island that just came out. It has a really rough intentional shot-on-video look, but it’s also very intense and scary. So, yeah, there’s some really good stuff coming out on video. On balance, there’s at least as much, if not more, than what’s coming out of the Hollywood studios, as far as horror’s concerned. God knows I’ve seen enough hundred-and-fifty million dollar budget movies that are horrible. I’m more eager and interested in giving coverage to something like “Savage Island” than I am to something like “Van Helsing”.

“I think there’s a good number of good video horror films that have come out over the last few years that will stand the test of time. It’s just a matter of getting them seen. Back in the old days, these movies would play in drive-ins, and now they come out on video, and you don’t quite have that kind of communal sense of seeing them. You take them home and you watch it with some friends, or whatever. But word gets around and the internet has been very helpful also to help get the word spread on these things. Again, not only can anyone make a movie, but anyone can also set up a website to get publicity for it. And the independent horror community is generally very supportive of each other. You do get the inevitable conflicts between people, but for the most part, people are happy to put links to other people’s movies on their site. And I think that’s healthy. And while there are a lot of movies being made, and thus a lot that aren’t very good, the more the better, because there’s also a better chance, then, that there will be more that will be good.”

What gives Gingold more “cred” than most, perhaps, is that he’s an NYU film school graduate, he has worked both in front of and behind the camera on movies that are available for rent and purchase. He’s not a dilettante with an internet connection, digital cable and too much free time, like so many so-called “reviewers” today. He understands what makes a movie work and what doesn’t.

“One piece of advice I always gave (to indie filmmakers) is to not try to make more of a movie than you can. One of the flaws that I’ve seen in some of them is that they try to make a movie with a lot of special effects, or big-scale movies, and they end up with movies beyond their means. If you want to have a big special-effects show, save it for a time when you’ve built yourself up and you really have the budget and time to approach it. The best of these films are the ones that don’t rely on a lot of special effects, where the filmmakers sat down and said ‘here’s what I have, and here’s what I can do with it.’ As opposed to writing a $5 million dollar script for a movie they only have $10 thousand dollars to make. And the other thing is to not go by what you think the trends are or what you think will sell. That’s pretty much the advice you give to any filmmaker. Do something that you believe in. It doesn’t have to be personal, as such, to you, but a story that you feel is compelling and not something just driven by the market. Frankly, I’ve seen a lot of independent horror films—not just the low-budget stuff, but stuff made between $500,000 and $2 million—that’s just as derivative of the marketplace as stuff made by the studios. It’s interesting that people complain ‘all the studio makes are teen slasher films anymore’. And I don’t think that’s true. I think the studios have made other kinds of horror films over the last few years, but there have been countless teen slasher movies cranked out by the independent market. I think it’s best for the genre if you have different types of stories coming out. I think that’s what was interesting about “The Tenement”. You have four interconnected stories, so you have four sides of the genre being represented.”

And while “The Tenement” has been, for the most part, well received since it’s official release from Brain Damage, it has received its share of criticism, just like any other movie, independent or otherwise. It has also seen some grumblings due to Gingold’s appearance.

“There’s just this one guy who went on and on about my presence in it. ‘This is going to make it critic-proof. No writer who ever wants to write for Fango would dare to put this down!’ And then he made this big show about, ‘well, I’ve got integrity, so I’m going to do it!’ And, you know, get over yourself. If you didn’t like me or the performance, that’s fine. But don’t make a statement about it like you’re being so brave. And, for the record, you don’t have to like my performances to write for Fango. Dr. Cyclops reviewed “Bloodletting” and didn’t have too much to say about my cameo in that, and he’s still writing for us.”

With “The Tenement” on the shelves, and Baisley finishing up “Sins of the Father” (the further adventures of “The Black Rose Killer”) and gearing up for “Fairview Falls”, Gingold has set his sites on beginning production on his own feature film. After writing for Dave DeCoteau, and appearing in movies for other people, it’s been decided that it’s high time for Michael Gingold to do something for Michael Gingold.

“This is an idea that I came up with about ten or twelve years ago, and I never really pursued it too far,” he says. “But a number of elements have come together that have suggested that this is the time to do it, in terms of availability of equipment and actors and that sort of thing. Hopefully by this summer or late fall I’ll be shooting. It’s probably too soon to talk about it; I’m still working on the script. I will say this: it’s a horror film with erotic elements. And my approach to this is to not just do a film that’s an excuse for a lot of T&A. There’s definitely going to be some of that, but it starts with the characters and coming up with characters that are interesting. I’m halfway through the script and saying to myself, ‘god, I’m forty pages into this thing, I’ve really got to find a place to put some nudity or gore in, or people are going to start losing interest.’ Again, it just comes back being true to the characters and the story and not just an excuse to show naked women every five minutes. I think that’s the side of the whole homemade, shot-on-video thing that I’m not into. How many movies about bare-b

The Tenement: Where innocence ends and nightmares begin!

Be sure to check out the HALL OF FAME to see celebrity pictures that were taken as part of the publicity for the movie.

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