The Other Side of Hell-from Not A Fan of Horror Movies




Last Sunday, I was asked, by a friend, to host the world premiere of his horror movie, The Other Side of Hell. I had a slew of fears walking into this:
1.    Horror is just not my thing
2.    The film was viral, made completely in New Hampshire
3.    Most, if not all, of the actors were not professionals, in fact many of them were along for the ride.
4.    The World Premiere was being held in the Wilton Town Hall Theatre, a rustic venue (but, as I was to later feel completely appropriate).
5.    Both K and Illustrator X had previous commitments, so I was on my own.
6.    Last, but not least, Jim (producer, director, editor) was/is a friend of mine.So, on a crisp autumn afternoon I drove to Wilton, NH. I met up with Jim and his crew at a pizza joint across the street from the venue and, all things considered, everyone was very relaxed and pleasant. I must admit that meeting Evil Dave was a bit trippy. We got to talking about all the haunted areas nearby and he made the requisite spook jokes,,,,and the rest of the cast and crew were…..um…..normal.
So far, so good.
We went in and I had a set of prepared remarks, and the movie began. So let me set the record straight right now, I am NOT A FAN OF THIS GENRE OF MOVIES,,,,,,AND I LIKED IT……A LOT
And here’s why:

When one sees a viral film, you have a set of expectations:
The acting will suck – IT DIDN’T
The camera work will be awkward and childish – IT WAS GOOD, FAR BETTER THAN MOST I HAVE SEEN!
The editing will hammer out every cliché – IT WAS IN FACT VERY GOOD
The total experience will be a laugh for the cast and crew and nobody else – NOT THE CASE AT AlL!!!

This was art in its purest definition, so let me be precise:
ART is the ability for the artist to convey an emotional response from his/her audience. One is free to argue if it is good or bad art but it MUST meet this baseline criteria.
It Did !

I am hosting, along with Kriana and possibly K, a Halloween event showing at the IOKA Theatre in Exeter NH. It is part of a Double Feature with Freaky Farley, another viral effort.

http://www.iokaentertainment.com/event4.asp

Yes, I am encouraging you to come join us. More needs to be done to encourage local films and filmmakers, especially when this is such a good effort!

This Dome saying, I am actually glad I saw this film and very proud of the effort Lunchbox Films has done!

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