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Melissa Bacelar is an actress in Hollywood that got her start as an actress right out of college when she had the chance to work with Lloyd Kaufman on Citizen Toxie: The Toxic Avenger IV. Since then, she’s had guest appearances on TV’s shows like “One Live to Live” and "Without a Trace" and has had serval comic book heroines based after her. Today, she is here to talk about “Skinned Alive” which comes out on DVD this Tuesday and “Pink Eye” due out on DVD September 30th from Halo-8 Entertainment.

1) Tell my readers about yourself.

I live in LA by way of Dirty Jersey. I have 7 dogs that are my life and 3 bunnies. I act, model, produce and run a crazy acting school. Life is hectic but I love it.

2) I noticed that you run your own production company called Los Angeles Films. Tell me about your company?

I started Lost Angeles Films with Jeff Spinner a few years ago. So far we have produced two horror films, a webseries and a reality show. We look for projects that we believe in and try to enjoy everything we do.

3) You have two films that are coming out on DVD in a month's span your film "Skinned Alive" that comes out on DVD on August 26th from Lionsgate and "Pink Eye" which come out on September 30th from Halo-8 Entertainment. Tell my readers about these films.

Well these are both amazing horror films that we made 7 months apart. And they could not be more different. Skinned Alive is a quirky story about a Zombie Hooker..It's a bloody love story and it is fun and gruesome.

Pink Eye is terrifying. Also extremely bloody it has a very real feel to the story and is focused around an insane asylum and a masked killer. Both have lots of nudity and gore.

4) For those who don't know Skinned Alive was originally titled "Eat Your Heart Out". What are your thoughts about the title change?

I wasn't sure at first...I didn't get it. But once I saw the trailer I realized that Skinned Alive gave the movie the creepy edge it needed.

5) What was the process like, getting these two films picked up for major distribution?

Long..It's alot of work. We have been in festivals, promoted, done 100's of interviews, radio shows and it was still difficult. We were lucky enough to have both films represented so they did most of the pitching.

6) I noticed a common thread with "Skinned Alive" and "Pink Eye" that both director James Tucker and actor/writer Joshua Nelson are involved in both film. Tell me how you first met both of these gentlemen?

Well Joshua I met 10 years ago in NY. He wrote a play that I auditioned for and he cast me on the spot. There was literally a waiting room full of potential actors and as soon as I read he handed me the script. We have been friends ever since. I actually have no idea how he met James. But Joshua cast me in Addiction which James directed and that was it.

7) How did you become involved with both of these projects?

Basically, Joshua sent me the scripts to read. I did and we made them.

8) Tell my readers about your characters Pandora in "Skinned Alive" and Delilah in "Pink Eye ."

Pandora is a sexual predator. She is strong and controlling and she eats flesh. She knows how to get what she wants.

Delilah is a regular girl. She has a big heart and she always puts her families needs before her own. She is strong as well but in a much different way

9) What was the shooting for both of these films like?

To fast. Filming is so fun...You are working insanely hard but you are having a blast. When its over it's super depressing.

10) What was your favorite moment on the set of both of these films?

On eat Your Heart Out it was all fun. The cast and crew just got along really well and we had an amazing time everyday. Pink Eye was alot of work....We had no time to mess around but in the end it was worth it.

11) What was working with James Tucker and Joshua Nelson like, on both films?

They are great. They each have such amazing talents and they are really great with the actors. Joshua amazes me on set. He handles everything, organizes everything, schedules everything, makes sure everyone is ok and then acts??? I mean it's ridiculous. He is insanely talented.

12) Before I end this interview, I was looking at your filmography on imdb.com and I noticed that you were recently interviewed for the Lloyd Kaufman documentary Tromatized: Meet Lloyd Kaufman. Tell me how you became involved with it and your thoughts on Mr. Kaufman?

The director contacted me through my site, http://www.melissabacelar.com/ We met and talked about Lloyd. It's so easy to tell a Lloyd story after you have worked with him. He is such a character all the time. Smart, funny and he knows what the fans want...

13) I noticed online that you host a show called "The Blood Stream" at http://www.thestream.tv/. Tell my readers about that show.

This is very cool. It's on Wednesday nights at 10pm. It's fully interactive and you can im in your questions for me or the guests. We talk about horror news, play games and have cool directors, actors ect.

14) Are there any upcoming projects that my readers and I should be on the lookout for?

Well of course the 2 films that are about to come out!! I also am shooting an interactive horror DVD called Slaughterhouse Slumber Party!!! Check out my site for details.

15) What advice do you have for any actress, who's looking to become an actress?

Get used to no sleep, hard work and alot of corn syrup in your mouth.

Ms. Bacelar, I would like to thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to talk about your two films "Skinned Alive, which comes out on DVD, this Tuesday from Lionsgate and "Pink Eye" comes out on September 30th from Halo-8 Entertainment.

To read my review of "Skinned Alive", you can goto: http://www.filmarcade.net/2008/04/reviews-from-horror-chamber-kinky.html

And my review of "Pink Eye" at: http://www.filmarcade.net/2008/06/reviews-from-horror-chamber-otis-pink.html

Also don't visit Melissa Bacelar's official website at: http://www.melissabacelar.com/

Until next time, my name is Anthony Thurber and that's 10 Questions

Erika Smith is an actress that burst onto the underground film scene in 2003. She first caught my attention in 2004’s “Bite Me!” as a clumsy burlesque dancer. Since then, she has co-stared with Misty Mundae (aka. Erin Brown) in “Sinful”, “Shock-O Rama,” and “Splatter Beach,” along with appearances most recently in "Skinned Alive" (aka. "Eat Your Heart Out") and "Bachelor Party 2." Today, she is here today to talk about her new film “Crimson” which will be released this Tuesday from Passion River Entertainment.


1) Tell us about yourself and how you got into acting?


I wanted to be an actress since I was about 12. I saw the film "Gone With The Wind" and was blown away, pardon the pun. I just wanted to be a part of things like that, that were so moving and glamorous. I also had a dreamy obsession with New York City as a teenager and was fascinated with the artists and writers and musicians who had made it a scene in the past. I wanted to be involved in all that so I eventually moved here and went to music school and acting school and just started auditioning for stuff.



2) I’ve noticed that you've been in some very good horror films from
Shock-O-Rama Cinema such as Bite Me, Shock-O-Rama and Sinful. Which of these films are you most proud of?


I've always had a special place in my heart for "Bite Me!" It was the first film I did with Shock-o-rama and I worked really hard on it. I like my dance sequence.



3) Now, onto Crimson, which will be available at retail stores on July 8th. These are also some of the same questions that I recently asked your fellow co-star Stuart Brazell. How did you become involved in this project?


I had worked with the director, Richard Poche, on another project called "The Wanderer." He emailed me about a year after that and asked if I would do "Crimson," sent me the script and asked me to play Rachel.



4) Tell us about the film and your character Rachel.


It's about a dorm of nursing students who become caught up with a couple girls who are running from a vampire cult. Rachel is the leader of the cult and she is out to get those girls and bring them back into the fold. She's got that thing going on that head vampires always seem to have in movies where she's ultra confident and has a lot of witty one-liners. It was a fun role for me to play because she doesn't care about normal every day things like being polite and caring about people, so I got to just let loose and be really driven and out there.



5) One of things that I noticed in the film was the fact that the film was pretty much an all female cast. What was it like on the set with each of your co-stars?


Most of my scenes were with Jade, and she and I became friends on set. She read my palm and taught me how to read palms. The rest of the girls I actually didn't work with that much, but we all kinda got goofy and overtired towards the end. I remember trying to film that scene where I'm threatening to kill Elizabeth's character and trying to get all those big vampirific words and sentences out and Stuart and I just cracking up. I actually had to use the fact that we were working with one camera and plan my giggles and line flubs around times when I knew the camera wasn't on me and we could just edit it out, because we were doing a lot of the dialogue separately anyway, and having it dubbed in later, for sound reasons. Richard was a good sport.



6) What was your best moment that you had on the set of Crimson?


I liked wearing the vampire teeth and dripping fake blood around my mouth, it made me feel fierce.

7) What was it like working with Director Richard Pooche on the set?

Richard is so easy going and has a great, dry sense of humor. He also made sure all the actors were really well taken care of and that he wasn't demanding too much of us.



8) I also noticed that recently, you were in Skinned Alive (aka Eat Your Heart Out), which I had to privilege to review for this site. The film arrives on DVD on August 26th. What are your thoughts about that film and also the fact that it was picked up by Lionsgate?


Joshua Nelson wrote me that great monologue I have in the film and that was so much fun to do. I think there are a lot of great performances and it's got a kind of bittersweet message to it that's put across in a really twisted way. I didn't know that Lionsgate picked it up, that's great! I hope a lot of people see it.



9) Any upcoming projects that you are involved in that you wish to share with the readers of FilmArcade.net?


I believe "The Soulkiller" is coming out soon, and I just shot a small part in "The Wrestler," which is not a horror film, but that will be out early next year. I've been talking to Greg Lamberson about starring in the sequel to "Slime City," which should shoot next spring. I am also developing my own television pilot, which I've written and am helping to produce, we should be shooting that sometime this summer.



10) What advice would you give to any actress that is looking to break into the film industry?


Choose something else!!! No, if it's your dream, you have to go for it. Just realize that it's a business like anything else, you have to pay your dues, and it takes a long time to build a career. Try to enjoy every bit of the process.



I want to thank you for your time and good luck with Crimson, which hits DVD shelves on July 8th from Passion River and with your future projects.


Thanks!

Crimson hits DVD shelves this Tuesday. To read my review of the film, you can go to: http://www.filmarcade.net/2008/06/reviews-from-horror-chamber-crimson.html

Also, you can visit the film’s website at http://www.crimsonthemovie.com

In the next edition of Ten Questions, I will have an interview with another actress from “Crimson”.

Until then, my name is Anthony Thurber and that's Ten Questions.

Welcome to Reviews from the Horror Chamber. I am your chamber keeper, Anthony Thurber. I have some news on a couple of films that I’ve reviewed in the past, so it’s time for another edition of News (N) and Thoughts (T).

(N) Eat Your Heart Out was recently review in the horror chamber back in April, now the film has been picked up by Lionsgate and they re-titled the film “Skinned Alive” The movie will be out on DVD August 26th.

(T) I enjoyed this film, as this was a different type of zombie film. You can check my review of the film including the updated info at: http://www.filmarcade.net/2008/04/reviews-from-horror-chamber-kinky.html

(N) It didn’t take long for one of the best horror films of this year so far to find a distribution deal. 13 Hours in a Warehouse, a film I reviewed back in late March now has release date. The film which was picked up by Maverick Entertainment will be available on DVD on October 28th (3 Days after my birthday, Had to throw that tidbit in there) .

(T) If you closely at the poster, which you can find on the film's myspace page, your truly is quoted in the poster. This is one of those films where, you will hear me talk about it more near its release date. But for now, you can read my review of the film at: http://www.filmarcade.net/2008/03/13-hours-in-warehouse-review-by-anthony.html

And that’s it for news and thoughts. Now on to the reviews.

Otis
Year: 2008
Director: Tony Karntz
Stars: Daniel Stern, Illeana Douglas, Kevin Pollak
MPAA Rating: R
Studio: Warner Brothers / Raw Feed
Running Time: 100 Mins
Review Rating: 4 Stars
Official Website: http://www.otisdvd.com/



Otis is the fourth entry in the Raw Feed series. The film is about a part-time pizza delivery guy who is shy and thinks that he’s wicked cool and oh by the way he’s a complete psycho who calls the women that he abducts Kim. This time around he abducts a woman from a happy suburban family. Unlike the previous abductions where the families of his previous victims did nothing, this family decides to fight back. They do that by using array of weapons that you would thing of using. The film also co-stars Jere Burns, Ashley Johnson and Bostin Christopher, as Otis.

Otis is easily a more accessible film than Karntz’s last film Sublime (which I recommend). Director Tony Kartz does a good job directing this dark comedy. He nails the dark humor and the subject matter very well, as the humor didn’t feel stupid. Karntz also goes a very good job with the film’s tone. It was one of those films, where there a lot of sub-genres are being used. To his credit, Kartntz goes a good job balancing it, so that the tone isn’t off base. His direction of the actors was very good especially Bostin Christopher, who makes his character’s state of mind, very disturbing with his presence. It was very nice to see Daniel Stern (City Slickers, Home Alone), Illena Douglas (To Die For, Ghost World) and Kevin Pollak (The Usual Suspects, The Whole Nine Yards) headline a film, as I’m a fan of each of the actor’s works. Each of their performances was very good, as they played a vital part of the film.

The screenplay was written by Thomas Schnauz and Erik Jendresen was very good. They developed the title character very well. They focused on his state of mind, as it wasn’t too comical or light. They made him out as a sick individual that nobody loves. They save the comic tone for the development of the family. The screenwriters do that so the film doesn’t get too dark or to the point where the film is just another of those abduction / torture porn films. They also use the humor in proper places, as it didn’t feel disturbing. Most of the dark humor, in the film is satirical. The writers would use in scenes, in which the family or the FBI were in the scene. It was done to spoof procedural cop shows and the media’s obsession with these missing person cases.

Otis a dark and twisted comedy – horror film that will make you laugh and make you feel disturbed.


Pink Eye
Year: 2008
Director: James Tucker
Stars: Melissa Bacelar, Joshua Nelson, Joshua James
MPAA Rating: Not Rated
Studio: Los Angles Films
Running Time: 78 Mins
Review Rating: 5 Stars
Official Website: http://www.myspace.com/pinkeyemovie

Pink Eye reunites Director James Tucker with stars Melissa Bacelar and Joshua Nelson who all worked on Skinned Alive (aka. Eat Your Heart Out), a film that I reviewed inside the horror chamber, a couple of months ago. The film is about an upstate New York asylum where doctors are testing a top-secret drug. Soon the subjects are starting to lose their mind and killing themselves in horrible ways. The project gets worse when one of the angry patients escapes the hospital. All deformed and everything, he starts to go on a killing spree until he comes across a family in the woods. He then, begins to stalk them. Can he be stopped before he strikes again?

Pink Eye is a frightening and suspenseful horror film. Director James Tucker creates this gory/suspenseful horror film to perfection. He does that by creating a dark atmosphere in the way he has the scenes shot. It gives off that dark and creepy vibe that haunts you through out the film. His direction with the actors was very good. I thought Melissa Bacelar and Joshua Nelson’s performances were very good. They are both maturing into good solid actors, as the performances were one of the main factors that contributed to the success of this film.

Joshua Nelson’s Screenplay was very good. He goes a very good job developing the characters, as you cared for them. Another thing that was done right was that he balances his focus on the struggles of the family and the chaos that ensures. Nelson’s creation of characters were very good, especially the main villain, as he made the character creepy and frightening. It also helped, the tone of the film become dark. He also adds a lot of suspense and gory moments to the story. Nelson does that so the viewer is terrified and shocked with the events.

Pink Eye is a frightening and suspenseful with an ending that will leave you in shock.

If you’re a filmmaker and interested in having your horror film reviewed in the horror chamber, you can reach the Chamber Keeper himself at horrorchamber@filmarcade.net or if you have any film in any genres that you want Film Arcade to review. Send us an email at screeners@filmarcade.net.

Also, don’t forget to add the official myspace home of Reviews From the Horror Chamber at http://www.myspace.com/reviewsfromthehorchamber.

Until next week, have a frightening day.

Welcome to Reviews from the Horror Chamber. I am your chamber keeper, Anthony Thurber. I’m personally starting to sick of writing at least one Public Service Announcement in every edition. Enough with my wining, here’s some a couple of News and Thoughts.

News (N): According to Fangoria.com, a DVD release date for Geroge Romero’s Diary of the Dead has been set. The DVD will be out on May 12th along with a remastered Hi-Def version of Romero’s classic Night of the Living Dead. Both DVDs are loaded with extras.

Thought (T): I might actually break my sworn ban on the Weinstein’s for this. But don’t worry, it’s only being broken only because Romero is a legend .

N: This will not make Tony D happy. According to horroryearbook.com from a news story on horror-movies.ca, Midnight Meat Train will not be hitting theaters after all even though it featured in the new Fangoria magazine, as one of my favorite studios, (sarcastically) Lionsgate, is going to release Midnight Meat Train on DVD instead of theaters. No dvd release date yet.

T: It’s just another fucking blow to the genre that we all know and love as it seems like that the only horror films that come into theaters these days are the ones that have pretty faces in it that can’t act or some fucking toned down bullshit remake of a classic.

N: According to Yahoo.com Prom Night makes 22.3 million making it number #1 at the box office.
T: NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! For those, who had to buy ticket to this fucking alleged remake, thank you for dealing another blow to us hardcore horror fans and setting the genre even further back. We can expect more of this fucking bullshit now from Hollywood, because of you. I’ll go more into this in the next edition.

That’s it for News and Thoughts, now to the Reviews.


Kinky Killers
Year: 2008
A.K.A: Polycarp
Director: George Lekovic
Stars: Michael Pare, Beverly Lynne, Charles During
MPPA Rating: Not Rated
Studio: Vivendi Home Entertainment
Running Time: 86 Mins
Official Website: http://www.myspace.com/polycarpmovie

Please note: This is an advance review, DVD hits stores this Tuesday.

Kinky Killers is a serial killer film about patients of a beautiful psychiatrist (Beverly Lynne) and an eccentric attorney (Charles During) who are being murdered in bloody satanic rituals. Once the rituals are over, the victims get tattooed, as it’s the signature for the killer. Lead Detective, Barry Harper (Michael Pare) is then send to investigate these murders. He starts find out that the killer may not be who it seems it is, as he discovers that some of these professional women maybe targets for the killer or maybe the killer themselves. Actor Brandon Slagle and Ken Del Vecchio, author of the New Jersey Code of Criminal Justice, wrote the screenplay.

Kinky Killers is dark erotic thriller. Director George Lekovic direction was good for the most part. He does a good job keeping this film’s tense and dark atmosphere. His direction of the actors was good for the most part, as it kept the film interesting. I liked how Lekovic filmed the police investigation side of the story. It really got that feel of a Law and Order episode.

The film starts to run into trouble with the screenplay, if you are a hardcore horror fans because you’re supposed to be seeing a horror film when your not. If your that type of fan then you will be disappointed, as it didn’t really have and horrific suspenseful moments, as it felt was like an episode of Law and Order for the most part. It’s not a bad thing for me but it is for the horror fan. But I think that this was a good film nonetheless as this film felt like an effective erotic thriller more than a horror film.

I liked how Del Vecchio and Slagle made the characters interesting, which help keep my interest throughout. Their screenplay really did a good job with the detectives in the film, as they were gritty and dark. Del Vecchio and Slagle’s screenplay focused more on the investigation than trying to frightening people. Del Vecchio and Slagle also added some eroticism, which works pretty well here. The only problem with their screenplay was last twenty minutes as it tries to please horror fans by adding horror elements to the story. I wished that idea were cut out, as it was working well as a serial killer film.

Kinky Killers may not please the horror fan in you but might please fans of cop procedural shows.

Dvd Extras:
Theatrical Trailer
Behind-the Scenes



Fear House
Year: 2008
Director: Michael R Morris
Stars: Aleece Jones, Matthew Montgomery, Olivia Price
MPPA Rating: Not Rated
Studio: Lifesize Entertainment
Running Time: 86 Mins
Review Rating: 1 Star
Official Website: http://www.fearhousethemovie.com/

Please Note: This is a Public Service Anouncement

Fear House is about a group of friends who discover that a missing best-selling author has been living in the worst of conditions. The friends go to the rundown house where the author has been living. But when they try to get the author out of the house, they realize that if they leave the house, their fears come to life and suffer the house’s curse. Now the friends and the author must try to escape this mysterious curse before they end up becoming victims themselves.

Man, Fear House was a boring and dull film to sit through. Where to start, maybe I’ll start with the only positive thing with this film that Writer/ Director Michael R Morris did. He did a good job with the technical aspects. The film was shot very well as Morris uses a lot of close-up, which helped make the atmosphere of the film creepy and dark. It was good but that was completely wasted with the screenplay and lifeless of the characters the he created.

The screenplay was just plainly horrible, as there were many flaws with it. I knew that was going be painfully to watch when the title card said “Nine Months Later” five minutes into the film which left gaps in the story left me with questions like how one of it’s characters seen in the beginning died and why I don’t see the how the missing author became crazy in the first place. Instead, the film becomes another film where a bunch of young people who go into a haunted house and die one by one in unsuspenseful ways. Some of that is because the director doesn’t develop the characters and relationships between the characters. Also there’s really no suspense through out the whole film as the characters were boring and lifeless and the supposed scares felt uninteresting and not frightening. The death scenes had no bite to it because it wasn’t either shocking or frightening to grab my interested.

The acting was just the same as the film it’s self. The actors seemed like they were just there to cash a paycheck. The actors’ performances come off as lifeless instead of being scared and frightened. I could not care for any of these characters, as the performances were dull and made my mind wonder off wishing for something interesting to happen. It felt like the actors were depressed while making this film as it comes off in the performances.

With all I said about this film, I have to admit that this was a good try from writer/director Michael R. Morris as he got the technically aspects but there are too many thing that are wrong that makes Fear House fall complete flat to the point that it was just a waste of my time.

Dvd Extras:

Commentary from Actress Aleece Jones and Matthew Stiller
Outtakes
Actor Rehearsals
Official Theatrical Trailer

Skinned Alive

Aka: Eat Your Heart Out
Year: 2007
Director: James Tucker
Stars: Melissa Bacelar, Jack Dillon, Joshua Nelson
MPPA Rating: Not Rated
Studio: Los Angeles Films
Running Time: 89 Mins
Review Rating: 4 Stars
Official Website: http://www.myspace.com/eatyourheartoutmovie

Skinned Alive is about a lonely man named Jeffery who hates everything around him. He is looking for someone to love, cherish and bring him happiness. Late one night, he meets Pandora, a prostitute and they fall in love instantly. Everything starts to look up for him until he finds out something about her lover secret is that she feed off of men. Soon Jeffery is caught in the middle between her and an insane man who’s hunting her. Will he ever find true love or end up dead.

Skinned is one of those horror films that takes it’s time and develops its story and characters. This film will satisfy the hardcore horror fan, as it has blood, guts, dismemberment and sexy beautiful women. Director James Tucker goes a good job keeping action going by letting the actors act. This helps with the actor’s performances and making the relationship with the two main characters interesting. Also, Tucker doesn’t let this film turn into a mindless gorefest. He makes sure that the gore was used in the right instances to help move along the story and let the relationship be the main central point.

The screenplay written by Joshua Nelson (who also co-stars in the film) was very story oriented. His screenplay in the beginning allows a look at Jeffery’s life which helps set up his character, so that you feel sorry for him. Also in the beginning he does a good job teasing Bacelar’s character, as he doesn’t want to give too much away until the two meets. Another thing that Nelson does well is that he focuses on the Jeffery character and his relationship with Pandora. He does that, so you are interested in the story instead of the gore and sexy women that are featured.

The acting in this film was very good. I thought both Jack Dillon and Melissa Becelar worked very well together. They both had good chemistry with each other, as it helped sell the relationship. Dillon did a very good job making his character, very loser like which help sell the story. Becelar makes her character very dark and mysterious, as it was needed for this role.

Skinned Alive is sexy gorefest that will make you think twice about wanting to be in a relationship


If you’re a filmmaker and interested in having your horror film reviewed in the horror chamber, you can reach the Chamber Keeper himself at Anthonythurber@filmarcade.net or if you have any film in any genres that you want Film Arcade to review, send us an email at screeners@filmarcade.net.

Also, don’t forget to add the official myspace home of Reviews From the Horror Chamber at http://www.myspace.com/reviewsfromthehorchamber.

Be back with a Spring Cleaning edition next week. Until then, have a frightening day.