GRAVEYARD STORIES |
"Graveyard Stories" is a series of three (currently) Direct-To-DVD hosted horror anthology movies; released through "Moonlight Films".
The first DVD (2017) is hosted by Lloyd Kaufman as "The Host" and Jim O'Rear as "The Storyteller".
From IMDB:
He wanted to be a director right then and there, so he got a couple of friends at Yale and made his second movie, The Girl Who Returned (1969). People loved it, and he went straight to work on other films, helping out on projects like Joe (1970), Rocky (1976) and Saturday Night Fever (1977).
Lloyd put in a lot of long, hard hours in the film business, just to be in the credits and to get money for his next project, a full-length feature. It was a tribute to Charles Chaplin, Harold Lloyd and the classic era of silent-film comedy. Even though Lloyd hated the movie when it was completed, people seemed to love it. He formed a studio called 15th Street Films with friends and producers Frank Vitale and Oliver Stone. Together, they made Sugar Cookies (1973) and Cry Uncle (1971), directed by John G. Avildsen. A friend from Yale, Michael Herz, saw Lloyd in a small scene in "Cry Uncle" and contacted him to try to get into the film business. Kaufman took Herz in, as the company needed some help after Oliver Stone quit to make his own movies. Michael invested in a film they thought would be their biggest hit yet, Schwartz: The Brave Detective (1973) (aka "Big Gus, What's the Fuss?"). It turned out to be a huge flop and 15th Street Films was ruined. Lloyd and Michael owed thousands of dollars to producers and friends and family members who had invested in the picture.
Lloyd, trying to find a quick way to pay off the bills, made The Divine Obsession (1976), and with Michael formed Troma Studios, hoping to make some decent movies, since they only owned the rights to films they thought were poor. They were introduced to Joel M. Reed, who had an unfinished movie called "Master Sardu and the Horror Trio". The film was re-edited and completed at Troma Studios (which consisted of just one room) during 1975, re-titled and released in 1976 as Blood Sucking Freaks (1976) (aka "Bloodsucking Freaks"). It was enough of a success to enable them to pay the rent so they wouldn't lose the company.
Lloyd later got a call from a theater that wanted a "sexy movie" like The Divine Obsession (1976), but about softball. The resulting film, Squeeze Play (1979), used up all the money Troma had earned from "Bloodsucking Freaks" and, as it turned out, no one wanted to see it--not even the theater owner who wanted it made in the first place (he actually wanted a porno movie). Just when things looked their darkest, they got a call from another theater which was scheduled to show a film, but the distributor pulled it at the last minute. Troma rushed "Squeeze Play" right over, and it turned out to be a huge hit. Lloyd, Michael and Troma eventually made millions from it, and had enough money to buy their own building (which remains as Troma Headquarters). Troma then turned out a stream of "sexy" comedies-- Waitress! (1982), The First Turn-On!! (1983), Stuck on You! (1983)--but there was a glut of "T&A" films on the market. Lloyd noticed that a lot of comedies were being made and decided to make one, but much different than the rest. After reading an article that claimed horror movies were dead, Lloyd got the idea to combine both horror and comedy, and Troma came up with "Health Club Horror"--later re-titled and released as The Toxic Avenger (1984), a monster hit that finally put Troma on the map.
Lloyd Kaufman and Troma have become icons in the cult-movie world, and Troma has distributed over 1000 films. Lloyd has continued his career as a director in addition to producing, and Troma has turned out such films as Monster in the Closet (1986), Class of Nuke 'Em High (1986), Combat Shock (1984), Troma's War (1988), and Fortress of Amerikkka (1989), and Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead (2006), which follows an army of undead chickens as they seek revenge on a fast food palace. "Lloyd Kaufman" was also one of the hosts for "100 Years of Monster Movies", hosted the anthology movie "Horror House", and hosted a number of the "Grindsploitation movies".
From IMDB:
From IMDB: George M. Stover, Jr. (born 3 July 1946 in Baltimore, Maryland, USA), is a native of Towson, Baltimore County, Maryland. He got his start in local television commercials and films, especially acting in early John Waters' work. Acting, however, was only George's side job for many years. He worked in Maryland's government almost all his adult life, carving out an odd acting career while remaining loyal to living in Maryland. George had the best of both worlds: the stability and benefits of working for the government, but also a creative outlet for acting. Living a double life for many years, George can be found acting in off-beat films that mostly go straight to Video (or these days, DVD). Now retired from his government job, George has more time to enjoy his off-beat movie roles, which allow him to release his well-honed sardonic sense of humor. George also was the host of "Frames of Fear & Frames of Fear II".
"VHS": A young woman (Katie Harbridge) receives a mysterious tape in the mail and fails to heed the warning that by watching it, she could in fact become another resident of the graveyard.
"Slay Bells": On a cold Christmas Eve, a woman (Patti Danner) ventures out into the night to buy some eggs, despite reports of a bloodthirsty killer that may be on the loose.
"Frank": Deron Morgan stars as a down-and-out meat packing plant worker who decides to wreak havoc on the lives of three people when they snub his party invitation.
"Eye of the Serpent": When a young scientist (Tara Bixler) is wrongly accused of malpractice and then is accidentally infected by radiated snake venom, she uses her newfound abilities to seek revenge!
From IMDB: Mel Heflin is known for "The Figure" (2017), "Natasha Nighty's Boudoir of Blood" (2020) and "Carlos Dunn's Katherine" (2015). She has been married to Jack Carver since 22 February 2011. They have one child.
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The following is a promo for "Graveyard Stories": "Graveyard Stories" - trailer from The Professor's Scary Clips on Vimeo.
The following is a clip from "Graveyard Stories 2": "Graveyard Stories 2" - opening clip from The Professor's Scary Clips on Vimeo.
The following is a clip from "Graveyard Stories 3": "Graveyard Stories 3" - opening clip from The Professor's Scary Clips on Vimeo. |
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