Fangoria and Lightening Media launch Fright Fest banner

Fragile (2009)
Calista Flockhart and Yasmin Murphy in FRAGILE

Fangoria magazine and Lightening Media have sent out a press releasing announcing their new “Fangoria Fright Fest” banner, which sounds a bit like their answer to After Dark’s annual Horrorfest of “8 Films to Die For.” On September 28, Fright Fest will  make eight horror-thrillers available on DVD, VOD, and Digital Download. Titles include FRAGILE from director Jaume Balaguero ([REC] and DARKNESS), starring Calista Flockhart; THE TOMB, based on Poe’s “Ligiea,” starring Michael Madsen and Eric Roberts; and DARK HOUSE, directed by writer-producer Darin Scott (TALES FROM THE HOOD)., with Jeffrey Combs (RE-ANIMATOR).
Unlike the After Dark Horrorfest, the Fright Fest titles will not make their debut in theatres. However, home video viewers will have an opportunity starting in June to vote for their favorite film, which will receive a limited theatrical release. in late July.
Read the press release below:

LOS ANGELES –  Fangoria magazine has partnered with feature film producer/distributor and DVD/VOD distributor Lightning Media to launch a unique, multi-tiered distribution program, it was announced today. Highlighting the program are eight feature-length horror/thrillers which will be collectively – and exclusively – marketed under a Fangoria FrightFest banner.
As part of the multi-faceted program, fans will be the voting jury in a mini film festival
“Demand It” competition from June 21 through July 19, hosted by Fangoria, to select one
of the eight films for limited theatrical release in late July (www.FangoriaFrightFest.com).
Fans will be able to view and vote for their favorite trailer and will then be automatically entered into a summer consumer sweepstakes to win a trip to Las Vegas and other prizes.
Also, from June 21 through July 19, a 30-minute special, 8 Fangoria Frights, will be available on Time Warner, Comcast, Cablevision, Verizon FIOS and other cable systems (Check with your provider and look for Fangoria FrightFest in your “Movies on Demand” menu). Hosted by Cerina Vincent (Cabin Fever), the program will feature clips from the films, behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with many of the films’ directors.
The Fangoria FrightFest line-up represents a diversified array of quality genre enter-
tainment, embracing a range of horror film styles, from supernatural chillers to psychological horror and slasher flicks, embracing fans of every demographic. These eight new, terrifying, feature-length horror/thrillers feature such stars as the Twilight saga’s Xavier Samuel, Calista Flockhart, Keri Russell, Michael Madsen, Eric Roberts and more.
Films included in the Fangoria FrightFest promotion are:
Fragile — An atmospheric ghost story from Spanish director Jaume Balagueró (the [REC] trilogy, Darkness), Fragile received widespread critical acclaim overseas and makes its much-anticipated U.S. debut. Amy Nicholls (Calista Flockhart, Brothers & Sisters), the new night nurse at a soon-to-be-abandoned children’s hospital, readies the last group of orphans to leave. But it becomes increasingly clear that these are not normal children. An official selection at multiple U.S. and international film festivals, it was the winner of “Best Actress,” “Best Cinematography” and “Best Editing” at the Barcelona Film Awards; “Best Special Effects” at the Goya Awards; and the “Audience Award,” “Special Jury Prize” and “Youth Jury Grand Prize” at the Gerardmer Film Festival.
Rated PG-13 / Running Time: 95 Minutes / Catalog #: P4F-55600 / UPC: 6-25828-55600-5
The Tomb (aka Ligeia) — Director Michael Staininger’s updated adaptation of the classic Edgar Allan Poe tale The Tomb of Ligeia.*  Successful writer and scholar Jonathan Merrick (Wes Bentley, American Beauty, Ghost Rider) falls under the spell of the bewitching beauty Ligeia, who is fighting a fatal illness. Willing to stop at nothing in a quest for immortality, Ligeia plots to steal souls … beginning with Jonathan’s. Co-starring Michael Madsen (Kill Bill) and Eric Roberts (The Dark Knight) and produced by Jeff Most (The Crow). The film was an official selection of the Saint Louis International Film Festival.
Rated R / Running Time: 90 Minutes / Catalog #: P4F-55690 / UPC: 6-25828-55690-6
Grimm Love (aka Rohtenburg and Butterfly: A Grimm Story) — In this fact-based thriller, German graduate student Katie Armstrong (Keri Russell, Waitress, TV’s Felicity) is researching cannibalistic killer Oliver Hartwin (Thomas Kretschmann, King Kong, The Stendhal Syndrome) for her thesis. Obsessed with her subject, she plunges into “the lifestyle.” Directed by Martin Weisz (The Hills Have Eyes II), Grimm Love was an official selection at numerous U.S. and international film festivals, winning “Best Director,” “Best Actor” and “Best Cinema-tographer” at the Sitges Film Festival; “Grand Prize of European Fantasy Film in Silver” at the Luxembourg International Film Festival; “Best Actor” and “Best Director” at the Puchon Inter-national Fantastic Film Festival; and “Grand Prize of European Fantasy Film in Gold – Special Mention” at the Sweden Fantastic Film Festival.
Rated R / Running Time: 85 Minutes / Catalog #: P4F-55720 / UPC: 6-25828-55720-0
Road Kill (aka Road Train) — An Australian surprise starring emerging heartthrob Xavier Samuel (The Twilight Saga: Eclipse and festival favorite The Loved Ones). In this supernatural thriller, a group of teenagers (including Samuel) embark on a road trip and find themselves menaced by a driver-less truck in the Australian outback. Directed by Dean Francis, the film was an official selection at London’s Barbican Australian Film Festival and the Dungog Film Festival.
Rated R / Running Time: 87 Minutes / Catalog #: P4F-55620 / UPC: 6-25828-55620-3
Dark House — Directed by writer/producer Darin Scott (Tales From the Hood), this thriller is a high-tech take on the traditional “haunted house,” featuring a charismatically maniacal performance by horror legend Jeffrey Combs (Re-Animator, The Frighteners, Star Trek). Winner of “Best Feature” at the Shriekfest Horror Film Festival.
Rated R / Running Time: 85 Minutes / Catalog #: P4F-55670 / UPC: 6-25828-55670-8
Hunger — Steven Hentges’ shocker stars Lori Heuring (Wicked Little Things, The In Crowd) in a physically and psychologically demanding role. Five strangers (including Heuring) find themselves trapped in an underground dungeon. Realizing they are the subjects of a sadistic experiment to test the depths of a human being’s will to survive, their hunger increases as their humanity fades. An official selection of the Austin and Hollywood film festivals.
Rated R / Running Time: 102 Minutes / Catalog #: P4F-55560 / UPC: 6-25828-55560-2
Pig Hunt — Called “Enjoyably offbeat hybrid horror” by Variety, this quirky action/thriller – directed by James Isaac (Skinwalkers, Jason X) – was a success story at 12 national and international film festivals. In Pig Hunt, a young man and his pals embark on a guys’ weekend to hunt wild boars on his late uncle’s remote ranch. But as the group treks deeper into the forest, the awful truth is revealed about his uncle’s demise and the hunters become the hunted. Winner of the “Bronze Audience Award” at the Fantasia Film Festival and the “Gold Remi Award” at the Worldfest International Film Festival.
Rated R / Running Time: 100 Minutes / Catalog #: P4F-55580 / UPC: 6-25828-55580-0
The Haunting (aka No-Do: The Beckoning) — This Spanish chiller from director Elio Quiroga (Fotos, La Hora Fria) was inspired by the Catholic Church’s documentation of actual, unexplained supernatural phenomena in the ’40s and stars Ana Torrent (Tesis) as a new mother driven to the brink of madness. An official selection at the Shriekfest Film Festival, Brussels International Film Festival and San Diego Latino Film Festival.
Rated R / Running Time: 95 Minutes / Catalog #: P4F-55710 / UPC: 6-25828-55710-1

FOOTNOTE:

  • Oops! Poe’s story is actually titled “Ligeia.” “The Tomb of Ligeia” is the title of the 1965 Roger Corman film, based on the story.