Horror Happens Indie Horror
Film Showcases
Films, Fans, Fiends, Frights & Filmmakers
at Camp Jefferson Theatre in Jefferson NJ on Saturday Nov 8th!
Meet the Filmmakers Who Will Be Attending the
Horror Happens Film Showcase
Honored Guest & Speaker: John Russo
Filmmaker Jack Thomas Smith
Filmmakers Manny Serrano, Louie Cortes & Lindsey Serrano
About Mass Graves Pictures:
Mass Grave Pictures is a NYC based independent horror production crew. After having worked on many short films over the years, the company was formed in 2001 by Manny Serrano and Lindsay Serrano, just before going into production on their first feature film "Blood Slaughter Massacre."
Since then, Mass Grave Pictures has produced the acclaimed web series "The Attack of the Brain People," as well as the award winning short films "Grub Vom Krampus," and the disturbing body-horror short "M is for Mastectomy."
Mass Grave Pictures is currently in pre-production on their next feature film "In the Shadow of the Imp," expected to begin shooting in November 2014.
About Jack Thomas Smith:
Jack Thomas Smith made his feature film-directing debut with the psychological thriller “Disorder.” He was also the writer and producer of that film. “Disorder” was released on DVD by Universal/Vivendi and New Light Entertainment. It was released on Pay-Per-View and Video-On-Demand by Warner Brothers. Overseas, it screened at the Cannes Film Festival and the Raindance Film Festival in London. Curb Entertainment represented “Disorder” for foreign sales and secured distribution deals around the world.
Born in 1969 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Smith lived there until he was eight when his family relocated to a quiet island community in Michigan, which would later serve as the inspiration for his upcoming film “In the Dark.” He began to write at a very young age after reading the Stephen King novels “Salem’s Lot” and “The Shining.” By the time he was eleven, he had written a 300-page novel and a number of short stories.
Smith’s family moved to Sparta, New Jersey when he was a teenager. It was there in that middle-class town that he discovered the films of George A. Romero, Stanley Kubrick, Brian DePalma, and John Carpenter. Inspired to make movies, he wrote and directed a handful of short films that were shot on Super 8mm and starred his brother and friends in all of the roles.
About John Russo:
With twenty books published internationally and nineteen feature movies in worldwide distribution, John Russo has been called a "living legend." He began by co-authoring the screenplay for “Night Of The Living Dead”, which has become
recognized as a "horror classic." His three books on the art and craft of movie making have become bibles of independent production, and one of them, “Scare Tactics”, won a national award for Superior Nonfiction. Quentin Tarantino and many
other noted filmmakers have stated that Russo's books helped them launch their careers.
John Russo wants people to know he's "just a nice guy who likes to scare people" -- and he's done it with novels and films such as “Return Of The Living Dead”, “Midnight”, “The Majorettes”, “The Awakening” and “Heartstopper.” He has had a long, rewarding career, and he shows no signs of slowing down. Recently his screenplay for “Escape Of The Living Dead” was made into a five-part comic book released by Avatar to great acclaim; it made the Top Ten of Horror Comics nationally and spawned two graphic novels and ten sequels.
Russo's latest horror novel is “The Hungry Dead”, published by Kensington Books. And his new mainstream novel, “Dealy Plaza”, has already garnered 13 Five-Star reviews on Amazon. He is also slated to direct two movies: a remake of his cult hit, “Midnight”, and a brand new take on the "zombie phenomenon" entitled “Spawn Of The Dead.” His popularity among genre fans remains at a high pitch. He appears at many movie conventions each year as a featured guest, and he considers his appearance at the Orion Festival 2013, hosted by Kirk Hammett and Metallica, one of the highlights of his career.