Punk icon Glenn Dazig of Misfits is officially taking a stab at Rob Zombie’s throne as the-metal-musician-who-also-makes-horror-movies with his first feature, Verotika, which will premier opening Chicago’s 2019 Cinepocalypse Film Festival. This is an anthology film (where I guess Danzig directed each segment) based on the work from his comic-publishing house Verotik (a very subtle play on violent and erotic). There aren’t any details on the plot, but the soundtrack will be comprised of new Danzig tunes, so that’s pretty cool.
I haven’t listened to much Danzig outside of Misfits, but through his work there he at least demonstrates a mix of genuine passion and over-the-top nods and winks that could play really well in the horror film world, so I don’t see any reason to be pessimistic–
I just looked up his comic company, and he has some weird Hellboy-looking comic called G.O.T.H. which stands for Government Operation Total Hate, and oh my god I hope this is in the movie.
Already this year’s Cinepocalypse is sounding great, but it does in my humble opinion get better. There’s a little-known 1994 romantic comedy called Tammy and the T-Rex, which naturally follows the exploits of a girl and a T-Rex which contains the brain of her murdered boyfriend. Now, that sounds like a perfect movie, so what could have possibly kept it from rocketing to instant worldwide success and acclaim? It was rated PG-13. That rating’s bound to kill the buzz on just about any fun idea, but somehow more than 20 years later a never-before-seen R-rated “gore-cut” has been discovered. It’s going to premier at Cinepocalypse, and I’m jealous of everyone who gets to experience that.
The unearthing of strange retro curios like Dial Code Santa Claus is one of my favorite possible things about film, and Tammy and the T-Rex already looks wild as hell, so I’m sure an R-rated cut will be a blast to see. Finally, director Stewart Raffill’s (of Mac and Me, of course) vision can be released to the masses.
Beyond that, other neat flicks announced for the festival include:
- The Lodge, which comes from the directing duo behind Goodnight Mommy and looks to be a very surreal and unnerving supernatural chiller.
- A GWAR retrospective–and let’s be honest, if there was a theatrical death metal band most deserving of a retrospective, that band would be GWAR.
- Darlin’, which is an apparent sequel to The Woman, a strange and grimy affair I’ve never been totally able to wash from my mind. This is from a new director and only bills itself as “a coming-of-age shocker with a horror-tinged twist.”
- Bliss, which our own Jesse Lab found super bloody and cool.
- Kindred Spirits, which is the latest film from the actual director of The Woman and the weirder (and better) May. All we know about this one is that it’s about “a deeply disturbed woman with a sinister agenda.”
Cinepocalypse will run from June 13 to June 20, 2019. For a complete list of movies and other information, you can check out their website here.
