Cineplex & Raven Banner Launches Sinister Cinema with JOHN DIES AT THE END by GAT PR

Raven Banner Entertainment Sinister Cinema Series Launch John Dies at the End – March 27, 2013 Publicity Summary

Interviews Completed: Thursday March 14 Monday March 18 Monday March 25

The Hollywood Reporter (online) Interviewed: Raven Banner Postmedia Network (print/online) Interviewed: Raven Banner, Don Coscarelli Proud FM (radio) Interviewed: Raven Banner The Canadian Press (print/online) Interviewed: Raven Banner, Cineplex and Don Coscarelli

Tuesday March 2 6

The Edge 1102 – Fearless Fred (radio) Interviewed: Don Coscarelli

City TV Interviewed: Don Coscarelli

Global TV – The Morning Show Interviewed: Don Coscarelli

680 News Radio Interviewed: Don Coscarelli Toro Magazine (online) Interviewed: Don Coscarelli

The Suburban (print) Interviewed: Don Coscarelli

Tuesday March 26

Humble & Fred Radio Interviewed: Don Coscarelli

Examiner.com (online) Interviewed: Don Coscarelli

Wednesday March 27

BloodyDisgusting.com (online) Interviewed: Don Coscarelli Newstalk 1010 Radio Interviewed: Don Coscarelli InnerSPACE TV Interviewed: Don Coscarelli

Electric Sheep Interviewed: Don Coscarelli Rue Morgue Radio Interviewed: Don Coscarelli

CBC Radio – Here & Now Interviewed: Don Coscarelli

Fangoria (print/online) Interviewed: Don Coscarelli MSN Entertainment (online) Interviewed: Don Coscarelli

Cineplex, Raven Banner to Showcase Indie Horror Films at Canadian Multiplex http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/cineplex-‐raven-‐banner-‐showcase-‐indie-‐428956 By: Etan Vlessing | March 15, 2013. The Sinister Cinema series will kick off with a nationwide screening of Don Coscarelli’s "John Dies At The End," which stars Paul Giamatti. TORONTO – Genre distributor Raven Banner and Canadian exhibition giant Cineplex Entertainment have partnered for a nationwide showcase of indie horror films that have difficulty getting theatrical distribution. Cineplex already gets alternative opera and live theater productions into its multiplexes through its Front Row Center-branded programming block as it looks to diversify away from studio tentpoles to drive ticket sales. Now Michael Kennedy, executive vp of filmed entertainment at Cineplex, has lined up arthouse horror films from Raven Banner that have proved themselves on the festival and frightfest circuit, only to get crowded out of multiplexes. “We’re trying to bring extra elements, bring in the director, show extra content after the film. We want to provide an experience, almost a theatrical experience,” Kennedy said of getting indie genre films to breakout of the arthouse circuit. The monthly Sinister Cinema series will start March 27 with a screening in 25 theaters of Don Coscarelli’s John Dies At The End, which stars Paul Giamatti and was picked up by Raven Banner in Berlin. The launch event will include a Q&A with Coscarelli and Giamatti. Raven Banner inked the deal with Cineplex for block distribution of its art house horror films after earlier cutting a genre DVD distribution pact with Anchor Bay Canada. Raven Banner managing partner Michael Paszt said the Cineplex releasing deal gives his distribution outfit the scale to make indie horror titles possible overground hits at the multiplex. “We’ve been playing films across Canada, but Cineplex takes our titles into one series, gives them a brand and puts a spotlight on it,” he explained. Other quirky features to play as part of the Sinister Cinema series include a May 9 date for Rodrigo Gudiño’s The Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh, which stars Vanessa Redgrave, a May 30 screening for American Mary, by Jen Soska and Sylvia Soska, and Ryuhei Kitmaura’s No One Lives, to air on June 19.

This article can also be seen in the following outlets:

http://www.sportballa.com/2013/03/michael-kennedy/banner-canadian-indie-showcase-multiplex-ravencineplex-films-horror

http://flair.wittysparks.com/article/0bfYdSk4tFcDk/cineplex-‐raven-‐banner-‐showcase-‐ indie-‐horror-‐films-‐canadian-‐multiplex

http://www.allvoices.com/news/14243771-‐cineplex-‐raven-‐banner-‐to-‐showcase-‐indie-‐ horror-‐films-‐at-‐canadian-‐multiplex

http://www.movieswithbutter.com/Uncategorized/Cineplex-‐Raven-‐Banner-‐to-‐ Showcase-‐Indie-‐Horror-‐Films-‐at-‐Canadian-‐Multiplex

Cineplex, Raven Banner launch Sinister http://www.screendaily.com/news/distribution/cineplex-‐raven-‐banner-‐launch-‐ sinister/5052955.article By: Jeremy Kay March 14, 2013. The Canadian theatre chain Cineplex Entertainment and Toronto-‐based Raven Banner has teamed up to present a series of arthouse genre cinema in 25 sites across Canada. Sinister Cinema will include unique content and in some cases special appearances, including live Q&A sessions with directors, pre-‐recorded interviews and other programming to be announced. Titles in the inaugural series include John Dies At The End, No One Lives and American Mary. “It’s a real honour for us to work with Cineplex,” said Raven Banner managing partner Michael Paszt. “Sinister Cinema will expose Canadians to a different type of horror film – one that falls outside the typical realm of larger distributors.” “Today’s announcement is a big win for Canadian horror fans,” said Pat Marshall vp of communications and investor relations at Cineplex Entertainment. “We know fans of this genre are going to be incredibly excited about this new series.”

This article can also be seen in the following outlets:

http://www.movieswithbutter.com/Uncategorized/Cineplex-‐Raven-‐Banner-‐launch-‐ Sinister

Raven Banner, Cineplex launch monthly horror series http://playbackonline.ca/2013/03/14/raven-‐banner-‐cineplex-‐launch-‐monthly-‐horror-‐series/ By: Danielle Ng See Quan | March 14, 2013.

Sinister Cinema, bringing indie horror films to the big screen for Canadian cinemagoers, will kick off with Don Coscarelli’s John Dies At The End (pictured) on Mar. 27. Sinister Cinema is coming to 25 Cineplex theatres across Canada. The new monthly horror series, a partnership between Toronto-‐based distributor Raven Banner Entertainment and Cineplex Entertainment’s Front Row Centre Events, is a “cutting-‐edge series of art house quality genre cinema,” according to a release. The series, which will bring indie horror films to the big screen for Canadian cinemagoers, will also include unique content and at various times, live Q&A sessions with directors. “Sinister Cinema will expose Canadians to a different type of horror film – one that falls outside the typical realm of larger distributors,” said Michael Paszt, managing partner of genre sales, distribution and production co Raven Banner in a statement. Sinister Cinema will kick off with John Dies At The End on March 27. The film, based David Wong’s horror novel, follows two college dropouts who attempt to save humanity from the oncoming horror incited by the drug-‐like properties of soy sauce, which lets users drift across time and dimensions, rendering them, in some cases, no longer human. John Dies At The End is written and directed by Don Coscarelli and stars Paul Giamatti, Clancy Brown and Glynn Turman. Rue Morgue Cinema’s The Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh will hit screens May 9, while IndustryWorks Pictures’ American Mary, directed by Canadian twin sisters Jen and Sylvia Soska, will screen May 30. No One Lives, from Pathe and WWE Studios and which screened at TIFF last year, will screen June 19. Select Cineplex theatres in B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec will host the Sinister Cinema series.

Â Cineplex targets horror, genre fans with edgy 'Sinister Cinema' By: Cassandra Szklarski, The Canadian Press March 31, 2013.

A Cineplex Odeon theatre is pictured in North Vancouver in this 2012 file photo. (Jonathan Hayward/THE CANADIAN PRESS) TORONTO -- Options are limited for art-house horror fan Connor Marsden. The off-beat fare he prefers is not the kind of material that generally screens at the local multiplex, forcing him to hunt down edgy titles at film festivals, rep cinemas and DVD stores. And yet, this week he found himself in the most unlikely of places to get his horror fix -- at the towering Cineplex theatre in downtown Toronto where small movies are getting a big push by the mammoth film chain. Surrounded by like-minded genre junkies, the 23-year-old settled into one of the theatre's stadium seats to check out the psychedelic trip "John Dies At the End," directed by Don Coscarelli. "Usually this type of stuff doesn't play at Cineplex -- it's like you get the big studio horror movies but that's about it," Marsden said of the chain's bid to corner an alternative audience. "I think this is really cool." Cineplex is betting that other devoted cult-film devotees feel that way, too.

Its new film series Sinister Cinema promises to bring cutting-edge indies to 25 theatres from British Columbia to Quebec, and with them a celebratory film-festival vibe targeting the horror genre's young and passionate following. "The success of these films at film festivals is proof to us that there's definitely a market out there for them," says Mike Langdon, director of communications for Cineplex Entertainment. "They're an opportunity for us to bring a different type of moviegoer into the theatre." In Toronto, the screening of "John Dies At the End" included a greeting from Coscarelli, trailers for similarly bloody features headed to Cineplex, a kitschy short film before the main feature (the demented spoof "Bio-Cop") and then a Q&A with the director to cap things off. The monthly program's first four films come from the Toronto-based distribution company Raven Banner Entertainment, which specializes in genre fare. Managing partner Andrew Hunt praises Cineplex for bringing lesser-known titles to a broader audience, even if it's only for one night a month. Raven Banner typically works with small independent movie houses that specialize in niche programming but there are fewer and fewer of them around, he says. "There are some great rep theatres in Canada but there's a lot less of them than there was five years ago and 10 years ago," says Hunt, adding that audience interest is nevertheless still there. "(Sinister Cinema) is going to be getting out obviously the hardcore fans of genre films, and also the people who would probably love to go to a great film festival like TIFF Midnight Madness or Fantasia in Montreal but maybe they live in a city where they can't get there." Coscarelli says it's a great boost for filmmakers like him who generally have to hustle for even the smallest distribution deals. "It's a really daring move on their part to try to open up the market," says Coscarelli, who earned a dedicated following for helming genre classics "Phantasm," "The Beastmaster" and "Bubba Ho-Tep." "It's a courageous move on the part of Cineplex because a lot of exhibitors are accused of being stodgy and not up-to-the-times and they're stepping up there and taking a risk." He notes the industry is dominated by studio films, filling chain cinemas with a relatively homogenous slate of big-budget tent-poles. "There's not the diversity that there was when I was younger, certainly in terms of movies that are available to us." Langdon says Sinister Cinema is part of a swath of diverse programming known as its Front Row Centre Events series, which puts "non-Hollywood programming" including 3D sporting events, live opera, dance and music concerts on the big screen. Themed programs include Cineplex's Classic Film Series, which offers old faves including "African Queen," "Singin' in the Rain," and "Sunset Boulevard," for $6; and Family Favourites, which offers kid-friendly flicks like "Free Willy," "Curious George" and "Big" for $2.50.

Each Monday there's a crowd favourite, such as "Aliens," "Taxi Driver" or "Full Metal Jacket." For those theatres that specialize in second-run and avant-garde fare, the Cineplex experiment is definitely not welcome. "It's the one thing we do well and the chains are now trying to steal that one thing from us," says Lee Demarbre, programmer at Ottawa's single-screen Mayfair Theatre. Nevertheless, he argues that chains will never be able to match the ability of independents to connect with audiences. He bemoans the quality of digital projections at the big chains, as opposed to the dying 35millimetre format: "Watching a digital copy of a movie is quite literally like going on Google and looking at the Mona Lisa." And he suspects that audiences wouldn't have as much fun at a big-box venue. "We're showing 'John Dies at the End' at the end of the week and I'm sure we'll get a better crowd than they will.... We've got a punk rock crowd," he says. "These cinemas are designed to be box-seaters all crammed together in one building and it totally defeats the idea of the way to watch and listen to a movie. Slope floors in a cinema were built for a reason. Stadium seating in a cinema completely defeats the way you listen to and look at a movie. Most times, you're sitting behind the rear speakers. That's disgusting." The "hardcore genre fans" might pause before heading to Cineplex to catch a gorefest, agrees Dave Alexander, editor and chief of Rue Morgue magazine. "They feel sort of a sense of ownership as if the big guys are coming in and taking this kind of cool thing that only they know about away from them," says Alexander, whose horror-themed publication runs a national horror expo, a film production arm and film series. But overall, he says the average movie fan doesn't really care where they see the movie -- just as long as they get the chance to see it. "Everything is so in flux that we need to try different methods, whether it's a one-night screening at a multiplex or a week-long run at a rep cinema," he says. "In general, I think the divisions between the more mainstream film culture and the cult film culture have really kind of collapsed. If you look at all the classic kind of cult films that are being remade for mainstream audiences such as 'Evil Dead' for example, you could just see that those divisions are kind of becoming more and more irrelevant." Langdon says the Front Row Events series has already brought back film fans who abandoned theatrical releases for various reasons. "You'll get someone coming in to see a classic film series presentation who hasn't been to the movies in years and they'll say, 'Hey, what you guys have going on here is really neat,"' he says. "We have seen some guests ... impressed by how cinema has changed over the years and how theatres have changed over the years with digital projection and improvements in audio, surround sound and all those things."

And if rep theatres are feeling left out, Raven Banner suggests the Cineplex experiment can actually help them promote their classic marquee by building audience nostalgia in general. Documentary filmmaker Morgan White is skeptical of that claim, noting that the big chains have been squeezing rep theatres out business for decades. "They have a marketing ability that no independent theatre has," notes White, whose documentary "The Rep" is all about dying rep theatres and is looking for an independent theatre to give it a home. "It's taking business, or the business model, from the repertory cinemas away from them and putting it into Cineplex, or into the corporate theatres. They're simply stealing the idea of a repertory cinema and they're also stealing some of the programming. Because if you look at the stuff that Cineplex is playing it's the tried-and-true repertory content that all of the other cinemas make money off of -- like '80s movies and things like 'The Godfather."' Coscarelli admits its tough for rep cinemas but says there's no stopping change in the industry. For him, scoring a theatrical release offers a "badge of honour" and the greater likelihood of press attention and further sales. "If there's an appearance of legitimacy that it is an actual movie that shows in theatres then you have the ability to exhibit it on all your other streams like DVD or video-on-demand or iTunes," he says. Depending on where you live, there are a growing number of ways to catch beloved favourites with fellow enthusiasts. IMAX recently screened a special 3D version of the '80s classic "Top Gun" in February. And in Toronto, the company 360 Screenings offers a hybrid of live theatre and cinema that features a performance drawn from a classic film, followed by a screening of that film in a heritage or unique city building. White says such screenings are a welcome alternative to the weekly blockbuster. "The motto of the film industry seems to be: re-make and re-purpose everything," he says. "I could care less about a re-make of a classic film that I love, I'd much rather watch that classic film." Marsden says the Sinister Cinema series allowed him to catch "John Dies At the End" after he missed it at last September's Toronto International Film Festival, when it screened as part of the Midnight Madness program. "I was so upset that night. I was like, 'Man, I'm never going to see it, I will never see it on a big screen.' And now I got to and I'm happy," he says, hoping Sinister Cinema expands to more showings. "It'd be nice if it was a weekly thing even or every couple of weeks. That'd be awesome." Upcoming Sinister Cinema films include "The Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh" on May 9, "American Mary" on May 30 and "No One Lives" on June 19.

This article can also be seen in the following outlets:

http://www.680news.com/2013/03/31/cineplex-theatres-target-horror-and-genre-fanswith-edgy-film-series/

http://www.vancouversun.com/entertainment/movieguide/Cineplex+theatres+target+horror+genre+fans+with/8175464/story.html

http://www.thespec.com/whatson/artsentertainment/article/911044--cineplex-theatrestarget-horror-and-genre-fans-with-edgy-film-series

http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/breakingnews/cineplex-theatres-target-horror-andgenre-fans-with-edgy-film-series-200786461.html

http://www.ctvnews.ca/entertainment/cineplex-targets-horror-genre-fans-with-edgysinister-cinema-1.1218080

Sinister Cinema -‐ the plot to bring smaller movies to bigger audiences http://www.ottawacitizen.com/entertainment/movie-‐ guide/Sinister+Cinema+plot+bring+smaller+movies+bigger+audiences/8117769/story.html By Jay Stone, Postmedia NewsMarch 19, 2013

Writer-‐director Don Coscarelli's film John Dies at the End kicks off the Sinister Cinema series, playing in Ottawa on March 27 at two theatres. Photograph by: Larry Busacca, Getty Images Files , Postmedia News

"So I hear the Raven Banner guys are going to do something different," says Don Coscarelli, and he knows all about different. He's the director of such offbeat horror films as Bubba HoTep, the story of how Elvis Presley and John F. Kennedy are alive and living in an old folks' home that is being menaced by a re-‐animated Egyptian mummy.

It's a classic. Coscarelli's new movie, John Dies At The End, has its own charms: two college-‐age slackers ingest a strange street drug called Soy Sauce that allows them to drift into parallel worlds, filled with giant spiders and gruesome insects out of the David Cronenberg slime factory. There's a man with a flying moustache, a monster made of meat from the freezer and a door that cannot be opened because its handle has been transformed into a large penis. It is totally demented, enough so that Coscarelli can say: "I think I'm going to back off a little bit on the demented. "I think I can safely say that my next movie will be a little more restrained than John Dies At The End. I've had enough for a lifetime of edgy weird bizarre stuff." It is, however, the opening-‐night film in a bold experiment: Sinister Cinema, a program to bring movies such as John Dies At The End out of the late-‐night ghetto of film festivals and put them into communities across Canada. Four films -‐ distributed by Raven Banner, a Toronto company that handles genre titles -‐ will kick it off at 25 Cineplex theatres, including two in Ottawa (SilverCity in Gloucester, Coliseum on Carling). "I've never played that many theatres in a single night," says Coscarelli, who's also known for the Phantasm series of fantasy horror. "It's a grand experiment. Interesting to see how it works out." The idea is to try to replicate the mood of Midnight Madness, a Toronto Film Festival program that shows edgy, horror movies to young audiences who typically pack the theatres and respond happily -‐ and noisily -‐ to the mix of violence, irony and cult appeal. "We're trying to emulate the festival vibe," says Jim Flet, a managing director of Raven Banner. "Everyone in the theatre is jazzed about the film, they're fans of genre and you feed in the extras." The extras will include shorts before the main feature, question-‐and-‐answer sessions with talent from the film at some venues and filmed interviews with the directors. The short to be shown before John Dies At The End is Bio-‐Cop, a mock five-‐minute trailer by Steven Kostanski about a policeman who is mutilated in a lab accident and rendered indestructible ("You have the right to remain dead.") Sinister Cinema is designed to find bigger audiences for smaller movies, and while they are shown for only one night, some will also open later for short runs, or may have encore presentations if they're popular. John Dies At The End, which screens March 27, is based on an online book by Jason Pargin, an editor at the humour website Cracked.com writing under the pseudonym David Wong.

Coscarelli heard about it because he bought books on the Amazon website and Amazon has a robotic artificial intelligence that monitors the preferences of its clients. One day, the robot sent him an email saying that, based on what he enjoyed before, he might like this new book. "It's a freaky concept," he says by phone from Los Angeles. "It probably would make for a great movie in itself ... If Philip K. Dick was still alive, he could write a great short story about it." The film, which stars newcomers Chase Williamson and Rob Mayes as the young heroes, also features Paul Giamatti as a journalist who is hearing the story. Giamatti, who also helped produce the film, is a fan of Bubba HoTep, and once told an interviewer that Coscarelli was one of the directors he's always wanted to work with. The other launch films for Sinister Cinema don't have such an exotic provenance, but they come close. Two are Canadian: The Last Will And Testament of Rosalind Leigh (May 9), which stars Vanessa Redgrave, was directed by Rodrigo Gudino, publisher of the Toronto horror magazine Rue Morgue; and American Mary (May 30) -‐ about a medical student who undergoes messy surgeries to earn money -‐ was made by Jen and Sylvia Soska, sisters from Vancouver known as The Twisted Twins. The fourth film is No One Lives (June 19) by Japanese director Ryuhei Kitamura, about a girl who is the only survivor of a massacre and is then taken hostage by bandits who don't know who they're messing with. Tickets are available at participating theatre box offices and online at cineplex.com/events.

This article can also be seen in the following outlets:

http://o.canada.com/2013/03/18/john-‐dies-‐at-‐the-‐end-‐is-‐sinister-‐cinima/

Canada! Cineplex Entertainment and Raven Banner Launch New Horror Series “Sinister Cinema” http://www.fangoria.com/new/canada-‐cineplex-‐entertainment-‐and-‐raven-‐banner-‐launch-‐new-‐ horror-‐series-‐sinister-‐cinema/

in: Fango Local,Movies/TV,News | March 13, 2013 -‐ 4:46 pm | by: admin | 1 Comment

Cineplex Entertainment’s Front Row Centre Events and Raven Banner have teamed up to bring Canadian genre fans a chance to see some of the biggest titles of last year’s fest circuit on the big screen with their new monthly series Sinister Cinema, kicking things off with Don Coscarelli’s JOHN DIES AT THE END, Rodrigo Gudiño’s THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF ROSALIND LEIGH, The Soska Sisters’ AMERICAN MARY and Ryuhei Kitamura’s NO ONE LIVES. The films will be playing in multiplexes across Canada starting March 27th (full list of venues below). From the official press release: Sinister Cinema will bring a series of independent horror films to 25 Cineplex theatres across Canada. The films will include unique content, and in some cases, special appearances, including live question and answer sessions with directors, pre-‐recorded interviews and more. “It’s a real honour for us to work with Cineplex,” said Raven Banner’s Managing Partner, Michael Paszt.

“Sinister Cinema will expose Canadians to a different type of horror film – one that falls outside the typical realm of larger distributors.” “Today’s announcement is a big win for Canadian horror fans,” said Pat Marshall, Vice President, Communications and Investor Relations, Cineplex Entertainment. “We know fans of this genre are going to be incredibly excited about this new series.” SINISTER CINEMA LAUNCH FILMS: March 27, 2013 – John Dies At The End In John Dies at the End, it’s all about the soy sauce, a drug that promises an out-‐of-‐body experience. Users drift across time and dimensions. But some come back no longer human. Suddenly, a silent, otherworldly invasion is underway, and mankind needs a hero. What it gets instead are John (Rob Mayes) and David (Chase Williamson), a pair of college dropouts who can barely hold down jobs. Can they stop the oncoming horror in time to save humanity? No. No, they can’t. Adapted from David Wong’s audacious horror novel, John Dies at the End is written and directed by Don Coscarelli and also stars Clancy Brown, Glynn Turman and Paul Giamatti. About the director: Born in Tripoli in 1954 and raised in Southern California, Coscarelli made his first feature length film, Jim, the World’s Greatest, when he was 19. However, Coscarelli is best known for Phantasm and its successful sequels, which spawned a rabid cult of fans worldwide. With Phantasm, he created one of the most original myths in modern horror, and in 2002, turned Elvis into the protagonist of the fantastic odyssey Bubba Ho-‐Tep, for which he received the Bram Stoker Award for best screenplay. May 9, 2013 – The Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh (Rue Morgue Cinema) The feature film directorial debut of Rue Morgue magazine founder and publisher, Rodrigo Gudiño, stars Aaron Poole and Academy Award winner Vanessa Redgrave. The Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh tells the story of Leon, an antiques collector who inherits a house from his estranged mother, only to discover that she had been living in a shrine devoted to a mysterious cult. “Magnificent. A whole new direction in which to take the narrative experience in filmmaking.” – Clive Barker About the director: Rodrigo Gudiño is founding editor and president of the Rue Morgue horror-‐themed entertainment empire. He has been at the helm of the company since its inception in 1997 and is the publisher of Toronto-‐based Rue Morgue magazine and senior coordinator of the Rue Morgue Festival of Fear National Horror Expo. Gudiño directed three highly acclaimed short films, including The Facts In the Case of Mister Hollow. His shorts were selected in more than 50 international film festivals, have garnered more than 25 awards, and were nominated at Canada’s Genie Awards. May 30, 2013 – American Mary From IndustryWorks Pictures comes one of the year’s most horrific highlights, American Mary tells the story of broke med student Mary Mason (Katharine Isabelle) who grows increasingly disenchanted with medical school and the doctors she once admired. The allure of easy money sends a desperate Mary through the messy world of underground surgeries that leaves more marks on her than her so-‐called freakish clientele… Smart, sexy, funny and stunning to look at, American Mary features a standout lead performance from horror icon Katharine Isabelle (‘Ginger Snaps’, ‘Insomnia’, ‘Freddy vs. Jason’), and notable performances by Antonio Cupo (‘Bomb Girls’, ‘Dark Angel’, ‘Elegy’), Paula Lindberg (‘Fringe’, ‘Supernatural’, ‘Iron Man the TV series’), David Lovgren (‘Masters of Horror’, ‘Supernatural’, ‘Stargate:

Atlantis’) and newcomers Tristen Risk as the disturbingly loveable Beatress and Twan Holliday as Mary’s confidant, protector and bff Lance. A film not to be missed and what and reviewers are calling ‘A true Modern Day Horror’. About the Directors: Canadian twin sisters, Jen and Sylvia Soska, aka The Twisted Twins, started off studying at a film school where they made a short that would be the embryo of their first feature film ‘Dead Hooker in a Trunk’ which earned the attention of filmmaker Eli Roth. With some insight from IndustryWorks, ‘Dead Hooker in a Trunk’ landed in the worldwide hands of IFC for their IFC Midnight Series. For their follow up film, American Mary, the twins came armed with horror and sci-‐fi industry talent bringing the most unique characters to life, the undeniably skilled Director of Photography Brian Pearson (‘Drive Angry’, ‘I Robot’, ‘Final Destination 5’, ‘My Bloody Valentine’), and a top notch crew, making American Mary the year’s most talked about horror film. June 19, 2013-‐ No One Lives From Pathe and WWE Studios – Fourteen students appear brutally murdered and the crime scene offers no clues as to the whereabouts of the one person who could be the only survivor, a young woman named Emma. Months later, bandits attack a young couple’s car, only to discover the frightened Emma. Rubbing their hands at the prospect of ransom payday, they don’t realize that those who appeared to be prey are far less defenseless than they seem. Director Ryuhei Kitamura continues his American adventure with No One Lives, a violent and ingenious thriller, manipulating all the genre conventions past and future to his taste. About the director: Ryuhei Kitamura – Osaka, 1969. One of the cult names in contemporary Japanese cinema, Kitamura drew the attention of genre fans with the ultragore and hyper-‐kinetic Versus. Other titles in his filmography are Alive, Azumi, Sky High, Godzilla: Final Wars, and The Midnight Meat Train. Tickets are available now at participating theatre box offices and online at cineplex.com/events. The following is a complete list of participating theatres: British Columbia Galaxy Cinemas Waterloo – Waterloo, ON Odeon Victoria Cinemas – Victoria, BC Cineplex Odeon Winston Churchill Cinemas – Galaxy Cinemas Nanaimo – Nanaimo, BC Oakville, ON Colossus Langley Cinemas – Langley, BC SilverCity Hamilton Cinemas – Hamilton, ON Cineplex Odeon Park & Tilford Cinemas – North Cineplex Cinemas Mississauga – Mississauga, Vancouver, BC ON Cineplex Odeon International Village Cinemas – Cineplex Odeon Queensway Cinemas – Toronto, Vancouver, BC ON Alberta Colossus Vaughan Cinemas – Vaughan, ON Scotiabank Theatre Edmonton – Edmonton, AB SilverCity Fairview Mall Cinemas – Toronto, ON Scotiabank Theatre Chinook – Calgary, AB Cineplex Odeon Yonge & Dundas Square Saskatchewan Cinemas – Toronto, ON Galaxy Cinemas Regina – Regina, SK Cineplex Odeon Eglinton Town Centre Cinemas Galaxy Cinemas Saskatoon – Saskatoon, SK – Scarborough, ON Manitoba Coliseum Ottawa Cinemas – Ottawa, ON SilverCity Polo Park Cinemas – Winnipeg, MB SilverCity Gloucester Cinemas – Ottawa, ON Ontario SilverCity Sudbury Cinemas – Sudbury, ON Cineplex Odeon Devonshire Mall Cinemas – Quebec Windsor, ON Cineplex Odeon Forum Cinemas – Montreal, QC SilverCity London Cinemas – London, ON

Raven Banner & Sinister Cinema Unleashes American Mary Across Canada http://www.horror-‐movies.ca/2013/03/raven-‐banner-‐sinister-‐cinema-‐unleashes-‐american-‐mary-‐across-‐ canada/ By: Deth_Banger March 14th, 2013

I’m pretty sure many of my Canadian friends were wondering just when they were going to get some American Mary love. But with a bit of patience it appears as if you Canucks are in for one heck of a treat as Raven Banner is set to unleash Jen & Sylvia Soska’s American Mary throughout Canada as part of the Sinister Cinema’s Horror Series. But get this, as part of Raven Banner’s Sinister Cinema’s Horror Series, you will also get to witness John Dies At The End, The Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh and WWE’s No One Lives. So head on down below for all the details and locations these film will be playing across Canada. So, in short, this is fucking awesome! What are you waiting for? Go get your tickets now. “Cineplex Entertainment’s Front Row Centre Events and Raven Banner announce the launch of Sinister Cinema, a cutting-‐edge series of art house quality genre cinema. Sinister Cinema will bring a series of independent horror films to 25 Cineplex theatres across Canada. The films will include unique content, and in some cases, special appearances, including live question and answer sessions with directors, pre-‐recorded interviews and more. “It’s a real honour for us to work with Cineplex,” said Raven Banner’s Managing Partner, Michael Paszt.

This article can also be seen in the following outlets:

http://newsinmovies.com/2013/03/raven-‐banner-‐sinister-‐cinema-‐unleashes-‐american-‐mary-‐ across-‐canada-‐horrormovies-‐ca

Fests offer a feast of horror, sci-‐fi and music films http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/movies/2013/03/21/fests_offer_a_feast_of_horror_sc ifi_and_music_films.html By: Jason Anderson | March 21, 2013. Freaky horror John Dies at the End kicks off a horror program. Meanwhile, CMW and the Canadian Film Festival continue.

Chase Williamson in John Dies at the End. JOHN DIES AT THE END: Pairing the director of Phantasm and Bubba Ho-‐Tep with one of the last decade’s wildest horror novels is the kind of chocolate-‐ and-‐peanut-‐butter combo that no cult-‐ movie fan can resist. Sure enough, John Dies at the End — director Don Coscarelli’s new adaptation of the book by David Wong (a penname for Jason Pargin) — contains more than enough weirdness to sate the appetites of adventurous viewers. They’ll get a chance to partake when Coscarelli’s film launches Sinister Cinema, a monthly program of fresh genre flicks presented by Cineplex and Raven Banner. A worthy selection from last year’s Midnight Madness at TIFF, John Dies at the End stars Chase Williamson and Rob Mayes as paranormal investigators whose already shaky grasp on reality loosens further after they encounter a bizarre drug nicknamed “soy sauce.” The particular brand of chaos that ensues involves everything from telekinetic dogs to monstrous insect creatures to a skeptical reporter played by Paul Giamatti (a big Coscarelli fan, the actor is also one of the movie’s executive producers). Coscarelli will be ready to hopefully explain what it all means when he does a Q&amp;A after John Dies at the End’s screening at the Cineplex Odeon Yonge-‐Dundas location on March 27 at 9:30 p.m. The movie plays March 27 at six more Cineplex theatres in the GTA, with encore screenings to follow at Yonge-‐Dundas on April 1 and 4. Upcoming selections for Sinister Cinema include American Mary and The Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh.

ALUCINE: Now in its 13th year, aluCine showcases new works by filmmakers and artists working in Latin America, Canada and just about anywhere else Spanish may be spoken. Exhibitions, performances, talks and workshops complement an intriguing slate of screenings at AGO’s Jackman Hall, the theatre at the Artscape Wychwood Barns (601 Christie St.) and the Toronto Free Gallery (1277 Bloor St. W.) The four-‐ day program opens on March 27 with the Canadian premiere of La Playa D.C., an arresting feature about a Bogota street youth’s search for his missing brother that garnered considerable acclaim for Colombian director Juan Andres Arango Garcia at Cannes last year. It screens at 7 p.m. at Jackman Hall with The French Tomb, a long-‐lost 13-‐minute doc on the Afro-‐Cuban dance of the title that was co-‐directed by legendary cinematographer Néstor Almendros. AluCine continues to March 30. CMW AND CANADIAN FILM FESTS: There’s no shortage of worthy options for festival-‐goers this weekend thanks to two big events. The CMW Film Fest continues with a strong slate of new music docs. Scholars, students and survivors of the local punk scene will most definitely be at TIFF Bell Lightbox when The Last Pogo Strikes Again — a 212-‐minute (!) history of Toronto’s role in the snottiest of musical movements — makes its world premiere on Saturday at 12:30 p.m. Equally anticipated is Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me, a new portrait of one of rock’s least fortunate bands. It plays Lightbox on Saturday at 9:15 p.m. Meanwhile at the Royal, the Canadian Film Festival continues with a patriotic program of shorts, features and documentaries. The movie most deserving of your hard-‐earned loonies is The Disappeared, a starkly powerful feature by Halifax’s Shandi Mitchell about six fishermen stranded off the East Coast. It makes its Toronto premiere on Friday at 7 p.m. Closing-‐night honours at the CFF goes to Mr. Viral, a satire of the ad world by Toronto’s Alex Boothby. It plays Saturday at 8:30 p.m. SCI FI FILM LAB: Science fiction cinema gets the love it deserves at a new series presented by the online SF lit magazine AE and the Martians and Monsters film fest. Pairing much-‐loved movies with talks by many of Toronto’s best science fiction authors, the Sci Fi Film Lab launches March 28 at 7:30 p.m. with a screening of the 1995 anime milestone Ghost in the Shell and a lecture by author Madeleine Ashby at Big Picture Cinema (1035 Gerrard St. E.). Canadian SF king Robert J. Sawyer is on deck for the April 25 screening of the Brit cult flick Quatermass and the Pit. THERMAE ROMAE: A bawdy comedy about bathhouses set in modern Tokyo and ancient Rome, Thermae Romae was one of Japan’s biggest box-‐office hits last year. Local viewers who missed it at TIFF can catch it at the Japanese Canadian Cultural Centre (6 Garamond Court) on March 28 at 7 p.m. Attendees will also be the first to hear about the lineup for the annual Toronto Japanese Film Festival, which returns in June. SCIENCE AT THE MOVIES: A 1986 comedy that introduced Ally Sheedy to a sentient robot named Johnny Five, Short Circuit is the latest selection for a new program by the University of Toronto and the Treehouse Group on science-‐themed movies. After the screening, host Dan Falk will be joined by U of T professors Diana Raffman (Philosophy) and Sheila McIlraith (Computer Science). This brainy affair takes place March 26 at 5:45 p.m. at the Bloor Hot Docs Cinema. EPICURE’S REVUE: The Revue’s films-‐for-‐foodies series has a distinctly Gallic flavour for this month’s edition. On March 28 at 6:45 p.m., a screening of Entre Les Bras — a documentary about a French chef’s efforts to pass his Michelin three-‐star restaurant down to his son — is accompanied by a talk by Christophe Measson, a French-‐born and Toronto-‐based restaurateur, pastry chef and George Brown instructor. Barque and Mildred’s Temple Kitchen are just two of the restos providing tasty items to hungry patrons.

Cineplex launches monthly art house horror series

A Cineplex Odeon is pictured in North Vancouver, B.C., on Tuesday, May 15, 2012. (The Canadian Press/Jonathan Hayward) TORONTO -- A new film series promises to bring cutting-edge art house horror movies to a theatre near you. Cineplex Entertainment and the Toronto-based distribution company Raven Banner have teamed up to launch the monthly indie program Sinister Cinema. Organizers say the program will expose Canadians to a different type of horror film not usually shown by the larger distributors. The series will include special appearances, live question-and-answer sessions with directors and pre-recorded interviews. The films include "John Dies At The End" on March 27, "The Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh" on May 9, "American Mary" on May 30 and "No One Lives" on June 19. The series will run in 25 theatres across Canada. Â

This article can also be seen in the following outlets:

http://www.cp24.com/cineplex-‐launches-‐monthly-‐art-‐house-‐horror-‐series-‐1.1196022

http://metronews.ca/scene/595695/cineplex-‐launches-‐monthly-‐horror-‐series/

http://www.timescolonist.com/entertainment/movies/cineplex-‐launches-‐monthly-‐ horror-‐series-‐of-‐indie-‐art-‐house-‐genre-‐movies-‐1.91242

http://www.horrorsociety.com/2013/03/14/new-‐monthly-‐indie-‐art-‐house-‐ programming-‐from-‐cineplex/

Canada to get a big dose of genre films courtesy of Sinister Cinema http://www.joblo.com/horror-‐movies/news/canada-‐to-‐get-‐a-‐big-‐dose-‐of-‐genre-‐films-‐courtesy-‐ of-‐sinister-‐cinema By: Eric Walkuski | March 14, 2013. Sinister Cinema, a cutting-‐edge series of art house quality genre cinema in Canada. You lucky Canucks! Sinister Cinema will bring a series of independent horror films to 25 Cineplex theatres across Canada. The films will include unique content, and in some cases, special appearances, including live question and answer sessions with directors, pre-‐recorded interviews and more. Things kick off on March 27th with Don Coscarelli's JOHN DIES AT THE END. On May 9th comes THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF ROSALIND LEIGH (from Rue Morgue's Rodrigo Gudino). May 30th brings the Soska Sisters' AMERICAN MARY. Then on June 19th, you'll get to experience WWE's NO ONE LIVES, starring Luke Evans (pictured above). “It’s a real honour for us to work with Cineplex,” said Raven Banner’s Managing Partner, Michael Paszt. “Sinister Cinema will expose Canadians to a different type of horror film – one that falls outside the typical realm of larger distributors.” “Today’s announcement is a big win for Canadian horror fans,” said Pat Marshall, Vice President, Communications and Investor Relations, Cineplex Entertainment. “We know fans of this genre are going to be incredibly excited about this new series.”

This article can also be seen in the following outlets:

http://regator.com/p/259647024/canada_to_get_a_big_dose_of_genre/

THE LAST WILL AND TESTAMENT OF ROSALIND LEIGH HITS CINEPLEX NATIONWIDE http://www.rue-‐morgue.com/2013/03/the-‐last-‐will-‐and-‐testament-‐of-‐rosalind-‐leigh-‐hits-‐cineplex-‐ nationwide/ By: Jessa Sobczuk | March 16, 2013. Rue Morgue Cinema’s The Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh hits Cineplex theatres nationwide May 9, part of Cineplex Entertainment’s and Raven Banner’s new ground-breaking Sinister Cinema series. The 25-theatre series is promoting quality genre cinema, shining a spotlight on art house horror in a big way. “It’s a real honour for us to work with Cineplex,” said Raven Banner’s Managing Partner, Michael Paszt in the press release. “Sinister Cinema will expose Canadians to a different type of horror film — one that falls outside the typical realm of larger distributors.” “Today’s announcement is a big win for Canadian horror fans,” adds Pat Marshall, Vice President of Communications and Investor Relations at Cineplex Entertainment. “We know fans of this genre are going to be incredibly excited about this new series.” Other films in the cross-Canada screenings include Don Coscarelli’s John Dies at the End (March 27), the Soska Twin’s American Mary (May 3) and Ryuhei Kitamura-Osaka’s No One Lives. The series will also include special appearances in some cities, as well as recorded interviews and live Q&A sessions with directors whenever possible. Tickets are now available at participating Cineplex box offices, or online at cineplex.com/events.

SINISTER CINEMA FILM SERIES KICKS OFF WITH JOHN DIES AT THE END! http://www.rue-‐morgue.com/2013/03/sinister-‐cinema-‐film-‐series-‐kicks-‐off-‐with-‐john-‐dies-‐at-‐ the-‐end/ By: April Snellings | March 26, 2013.

If you’ve never seen John Dies at the End the way it deserves to be seen – in a theatre, on a big screen, with an audience of rowdy fans – here’s your chance. Raven Banner Entertainment is kicking off its Sinister Cinema series on Wednesday, March 27 with screenings of Don Coscarelli’s trippy monster show in 25 cities across Canada. Check out the event’s official Facebook page for all the info you need. And if you’re headed to Facebook any ol’ way, you might as well toss your rat in the thing for a chance to win dinner with Don Coscarelli himself! You probably won’t die at the end, but if things get out of hand and you do… well, what a way to go, right? Keep an eye on Raven Banner’s Facebook page for info about future Sinister Cinema screenings, which will include the Soska Twins’ American Mary, Ryuhei Kitamura’s No One Lives, and even The Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh, the debut feature from Rue Morgue Cinema’s very own Rodrigo Gudiño.

Cineplex’s alternative programming gets Sinister http://www.thesuburban.com/article.php?id=1206&title=Cineplex%E2%80%99s-‐Alternative-‐ Programming-‐Gets-‐Sinister By: Walter J. Lyng | March 27, 2013. If you’ve ever perused the new releases in the horror section of a video rental store, Netflix or any other video on demand service, you’ll undoubtedly come across many titles that you never noticed at your local multiplex. In most cases, that’s because they either had an extremely limited theatrical release or none at all. But, in today’s rapidly evolving world of film distribution, the fact that a film will go ‘straight to video,’ isn’t necessarily indicative of its quality. Recently, Cineplex Entertainment announced that, in conjunction with Toronto-‐based distribution company Raven Banner, several new independent horror gems will get their time to shine on the big screen as part of a new monthly series entitled Sinister Cinema. “Cineplex has been doing great stuff with their alternative distribution,” says Raven Banner managing partner Michael Paszt. “As a Canadian distributor, we’ve been waving the banner for genre films. Cineplex saw that and they’ve been looking for something a little bit different.” The series will run in 25 theatres across Canada with Cineplex Odeon Forum Cinemas (formerly known as AMC Forum 22) getting the honours of the soul participating theatre in Quebec. “For us, it’s fantastic because it takes these films, which are very unique midnight madness-‐type titles, and puts the spotlight on them,” says Paszt. “That was the whole idea behind them.” The series will kick off on Wednesday, March 27 with John Dies at the End, a genre-‐bending tale based on the novel by David Wong, starring Paul Giamatti and directed by Don Coscarelli. “Don Coscarelli is a real horror icon and there was a series that came out a few years ago called The Masters of Horror,” says Paszt. “Coscarelli directed the inaugural film so when we launched this series, we thought we’d acknowledge him as well.” As Paszt’s partner Andrew Hunt explains, theses screenings won’t be just like any other trip to the cinema. “The idea is to bring this film festival-‐like experience to the screenings so, with John Dies at the End, we’re actually going to be opening with the short film Bio Cop by Steven Kostanski,” he says. “Then we have a taped Q&A with Paul Giamatti and Don Coscarelli which will follow the feature.” Other films in the series will include The Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh on May 9, American Mary on May 30, and No One Lives on June 19. For more information, visit www.cineplex.com

Raven Banner Launches Impressive Canadian Distribution Model: Sinister Cinema MOVIES Posted by MrDisgusting on March 13, 2013 @ 11:54pm | 4 Comments Category: Movies / News http://bloody-‐disgusting.com/news/3223423/raven-‐banner-‐launches-‐impressive-‐canadian-‐distribution-‐model-‐ sinister-‐cinema/ Cineplex Entertainment’s Front Row Centre Events and Raven Banner announce the launch of Sinister Cinema, a cutting-‐edge series of art house quality genre cinema. Sinister Cinema will bring a series of independent horror films to 25 Cineplex theatres across Canada including Don Cosacrelli’s John Dies at the End, The Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh , American Mary, and WWE’s No One Lives. The films will include unique content, and in some cases, special appearances, including live question and answer sessions with directors, pre-‐recorded interviews and more. Tickets are available now at participating theatre box offices and online at cineplex.com/events. The following is a complete list of participating theatres… British Columbia ON Odeon Victoria Cinemas – Victoria, BC SilverCity London Cinemas – London, ON Galaxy Cinemas Nanaimo – Nanaimo, BC Galaxy Cinemas Waterloo – Waterloo, ON Colossus Langley Cinemas – Langley, BC Cineplex Odeon Winston Churchill Cinemas – Cineplex Odeon Park & Tilford Cinemas – North Oakville, ON Vancouver, BC SilverCity Hamilton Cinemas – Hamilton, ON Cineplex Odeon International Village Cinemas – Cineplex Cinemas Mississauga – Mississauga, ON Vancouver, BC Cineplex Odeon Queensway Cinemas – Toronto, ON Colossus Vaughan Cinemas – Vaughan, ON Alberta SilverCity Fairview Mall Cinemas – Toronto, ON Scotiabank Theatre Edmonton – Edmonton, AB Cineplex Odeon Yonge & Dundas Square Cinemas – Scotiabank Theatre Chinook – Calgary, AB Toronto, ON Saskatchewan Cineplex Odeon Eglinton Town Centre Cinemas – Galaxy Cinemas Regina – Regina, SK Scarborough, ON Galaxy Cinemas Saskatoon – Saskatoon, SK Coliseum Ottawa Cinemas – Ottawa, ON SilverCity Gloucester Cinemas – Ottawa, ON Manitoba SilverCity Sudbury Cinemas – Sudbury, ON SilverCity Polo Park Cinemas – Winnipeg, MB Quebec Ontario Cineplex Odeon Forum Cinemas – Montreal, QC Cineplex Odeon Devonshire Mall Cinemas – Windsor, Sinister Cinema – Launch Films

March 27, 2013: John Dies At The End In John Dies at the End, it’s all about the soy sauce, a drug that promises an out-‐of-‐body experience. Users drift across time and dimensions. But some come back no longer human. Suddenly, a silent, otherworldly invasion is underway, and mankind needs a hero. What it gets instead are John (Rob Mayes) and David (Chase Williamson), a pair of college dropouts who can barely hold down jobs. Can they stop the oncoming horror in time to save humanity? No. No, they can’t. Adapted from David Wong’s audacious horror novel, John Dies at the End is written and directed by Don Coscarelli and also stars Clancy Brown, Glynn Turman and Paul Giamatti. About the director: Born in Tripoli in 1954 and raised in Southern California, Coscarelli made his first feature length film, Jim, the World’s Greatest, when he was 19. However, Coscarelli is best known for Phantasm and its successful sequels, which spawned a rabid cult of fans worldwide. With Phantasm, he created one of the most original myths in modern horror, and in 2002, turned Elvis into the protagonist of the fantastic odyssey Bubba Ho-‐Tep, for which he received the Bram Stoker Award for best screenplay.

May 9, 2013: The Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh (Rue Morgue Cinema) The feature film directorial debut of Rue Morgue magazine founder and publisher, Rodrigo Gudiño, stars Aaron Poole and Academy Award winner Vanessa Redgrave. The Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh tells the story of Leon, an antiques collector who inherits a house from his estranged mother, only to discover that she had been living in a shrine devoted to a mysterious cult. “Magnificent. A whole new direction in which to take the narrative experience in filmmaking.” – Clive Barker

About the director: Rodrigo Gudiño is founding editor and president of the Rue Morgue horror-‐themed entertainment empire. He has been at the helm of the company since its inception in 1997 and is the publisher of Toronto-‐based Rue Morgue magazine and senior coordinator of the Rue Morgue Festival of Fear National Horror Expo. Gudiño directed three highly acclaimed short films, including The Facts In the Case of Mister Hollow. His shorts were selected in more than 50 international film festivals, have garnered more than 25 awards, and were nominated at Canada’s Genie Awards.

May 30, 2013: American Mary From IndustryWorks Pictures comes one of the year’s most horrific highlights, American Mary tells the story of broke med student Mary Mason (Katharine Isabelle) who grows increasingly disenchanted with medical school and the doctors she once admired. The allure of easy money sends a desperate Mary through the messy world of underground surgeries that leaves more marks on her than her so-‐called freakish clientele… Smart, sexy, funny and stunning to look at, American Mary features a standout lead performance from horror icon Katharine Isabelle (‘Ginger Snaps’, ‘Insomnia’, ‘Freddy vs. Jason’), and notable performances by Antonio Cupo (‘Bomb Girls’, ‘Dark Angel’, ‘Elegy’), Paula Lindberg (‘Fringe’, ‘Supernatural’, ‘Iron Man the TV series’), David Lovgren (‘Masters of Horror’, ‘Supernatural’, ‘Stargate: Atlantis’) and newcomers Tristen Risk as the disturbingly loveable Beatress and Twan Holliday as Mary’s confidant, protector and bff Lance. A film not to be missed and what and reviewers are calling ‘A true Modern Day Horror’.About the Directors: Canadian twin sisters, Jen and Sylvia Soska, aka The Twisted Twins, started off studying at a film school where they made a short that would be the embryo of their first feature film ‘Dead Hooker in a Trunk’ which earned the attention of filmmaker Eli Roth. With some insight from IndustryWorks, ‘Dead Hooker in a Trunk’ landed in the worldwide hands of IFC for their IFC Midnight Series. For their follow up film, American Mary, the twins came armed with horror and sci-‐fi industry talent bringing the most unique characters to life, the undeniably skilled Director of Photography Brian Pearson (‘Drive Angry’, ‘I Robot’, ‘Final Destination 5’, ‘My Bloody Valentine’), and a top notch crew, making American Mary the year’s most talked about horror film.

June 19, 2013: No One Lives

From Pathe and WWE Studios – Fourteen students appear brutally murdered and the crime scene offers no clues as to the whereabouts of the one person who could be the only survivor, a young woman named Emma. Months later, bandits attack a young couple’s car, only to discover the frightened Emma. Rubbing their hands at the prospect of ransom payday, they don’t realize that those who appeared to be prey are far less defenseless than they seem. Director Ryuhei Kitamura continues his American adventure with No One Lives, a violent and ingenious thriller, manipulating all the genre conventions past and future to his taste. About the director: Ryuhei Kitamura – Osaka, 1969. One of the cult names in contemporary Japanese cinema, Kitamura drew the attention of genre fans with the ultragore and hyper-‐kinetic Versus. Other titles in his filmography are Alive, Azumi, Sky High, Godzilla: Final Wars, and The Midnight Meat Train. This article can also be seen in the following outlets:

http://sinistremag.com/index.php/2013/03/raven-‐banner-‐et-‐cineplex-‐entertainments-‐front-‐ row-‐lancent-‐sinister-‐cinema/

Our crowded screens Film festivals, special screenings... and Paul Giamatti? By Norman Wilner https://www.nowtoronto.com/movies/story.cfm?content=191750 If you make it through the weekend, there’s one more thing you should know about. A new monthly series called Sinister Cinema launches Wednesday night at Cineplex theatres across Canada, dedicated to giving indie horror titles. The inaugural screening is Don Coscarelli’s John Dies At The End, screening Wednesday at 9:30 pm. Now, the movie did not especially impress my colleague Glenn Sumi when he saw it at TIFF last year, but this is likely to be the only chance you’ll have to watch Paul Giamatti stammer out the secrets of the universe in a theatre before it comes to disc next month. So, you know, if that’s a thing.

Cineplex Entertainment and Raven Banner Launch Sinister Cinema Film Series http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/64633/cineplex-‐entertainment-‐and-‐raven-‐banner-‐launch-‐ sinister-‐cinema-‐film-‐series By Doctor Gash March 14th, 2013 O Canada, you guys are in for it now. All across your beautiful nation Cineplex Entertainment and Raven Banner are preparing to launch a monthly horror series. Say hello to Sinister Cinema ya hosers. (Sorry, had to do it). Films currently scheduled to be screened through Sinister Cinema are John Dies at the End, The Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh, American Mary and No One Lives. Read on for the details and participating theaters. From the Press Release Cineplex Entertainment's Front Row Centre Events and Raven Banner announce the launch of Sinister Cinema, a cutting-edge series of art house quality genre cinema. Sinister Cinema will bring a series of independent horror films to twenty-five Cineplex theatres across Canada. The films will include unique content, and in some cases, special appearances, including live question and answer sessions with directors, prerecorded interviews and more. "It’s a real honor for us to work with Cineplex," said Raven Banner's Managing Partner, Michael Paszt. "Sinister Cinema will expose Canadians to a different type of horror film – one that falls outside the typical realm of larger distributors."

"Todayâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s announcement is a big win for Canadian horror fans," said Pat Marshall, Vice President, Communications and Investor Relations, Cineplex Entertainment. "We know fans of this genre are going to be incredibly excited about this new series. " Tickets are available now at participating theatre box offices and online at Cineplex.com. The following is a complete list of participating theatres: British Columbia Odeon Victoria Cinema, Victoria, BC Galaxy Cinemas Nanaimo, Nanaimo, BC Colossus Langley Cinemas, Langley, BC Cineplex Odeon Park & Tilford Cinemas, North Vancouver, BC Cineplex Odeon International Village Cinemas, Vancouver, BC Alberta Scotiabank Theatre Edmonton, Edmonton, AB Scotiabank Theatre Chinook, Calgary, AB Saskatchewan Galaxy Cinemas Regina, Regina, SK Galaxy Cinemas Saskatoon, Saskatoon, SK Manitoba SilverCity Polo Park Cinemas, Winnipeg, MB Ontario Cineplex Odeon Devonshire Mall Cinemas, Windsor, ON SilverCity London Cinemas, London, ON

Galaxy Cinemas Waterloo, Waterloo, ON Cineplex Odeon Winston Churchill Cinemas, Oakville, ON SilverCity Hamilton Cinemas, Hamilton, ON Cineplex Cinemas Mississauga, Mississauga, ON Cineplex Odeon Queensway Cinemas, Toronto, ON Colossus Vaughan Cinemas, Vaughan, ON SilverCity Fairview Mall Cinemas, Toronto, ON Cineplex Odeon Yonge & Dundas Square Cinemas, Toronto, ON Cineplex Odeon Eglinton Town Centre Cinemas, Scarborough, ON Coliseum Ottawa Cinemas, Ottawa, ON SilverCity Gloucester Cinemas, Ottawa, ON SilverCity Sudbury Cinemas, Sudbury, ON Quebec Cineplex Odeon Forum Cinemas, Montreal, QC

Sinister Cinema Launch Films March 27, 2013 - John Dies At The End In John Dies at the End, it's all about the soy sauce, a drug that promises an out-ofbody experience. Users drift across time and dimensions. But some come back no longer human. Suddenly, a silent, otherworldly invasion is underway, and mankind needs a hero. What it gets instead are John (Rob Mayes) and David (Chase Williamson), a pair of college dropouts who can barely hold down jobs. Can they stop the oncoming horror in time to save humanity? No. No, they can't. Adapted from David Wong's audacious horror novel, John Dies at the End is written and directed by Don Coscarelli and also stars Clancy Brown, Glynn Turman and Paul Giamatti.

May 9, 2013 - The Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh The feature film directorial debut of Rue Morgue magazine founder and publisher, Rodrigo Gudiño, stars Aaron Poole and Academy Award winner Vanessa Redgrave. The Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh tells the story of Leon, an antiques collector who inherits a house from his estranged mother, only to discover that she had been living in a shrine devoted to a mysterious cult. May 30, 2013 - American Mary From IndustryWorks Pictures comes one of the year's most horrific highlights. American Mary tells the story of broke med student Mary Mason (Katharine Isabelle) who grows increasingly disenchanted with medical school and the doctors she once admired. The allure of easy money sends a desperate Mary through the messy world of underground surgeries that leaves more marks on her than her so-called freakish clientele...Smart, sexy, funny and stunning to look at, American Mary features a standout lead performance from horror icon Katharine Isabelle (Ginger Snaps, Insomnia, Freddy vs. Jason), and notable performances by Antonio Cupo (Bomb Girls, Dark Angel, Elegy),Paula Lindberg (Fringe, Supernatural, "Iron Man" the TV series), David Lovgren ("Masters of Horror," "Supernatural," "Stargate: Atlantis’) and newcomers Tristan Risk as the disturbingly loveable Beatress and Twan Holliday as Mary's confidant, protector and bff, Lance. A film not to be missed and what and reviewers are calling 'a true modern day horror.’ June 19, 2013 - No One Lives From Pathe and WWE Studios, fourteen students appear brutally murdered and the crime scene offers no clues as to the whereabouts of the one person who could be the only survivor, a young woman named Emma. Months later, bandits attack a young couple's car, only to discover the frightened Emma. Rubbing their hands at the prospect of ransom payday, they don’t realize that those who appeared to be prey are far less defenseless than they seem. Director Ryuhei Kitamura continues his American adventure with No One Lives, a violent and ingenious thriller, manipulating all the genre conventions past and future to his taste.

This article can also be seen in the following outlets:

http://www.imdb.com/news/ni49039400/

http://xnews.jp/_en/rss.php?query=20130315034408.145525

Sinister Canadian Cinema http://www.heroesandhellions.com/daily-‐debriefing/sinister-‐canadian-‐cinema/ By Dr. Know on March 15th, 2013 Good news for horror fans in Canada. If you have been dying to see some of the buzz titles from festival circuits or limited release films that haven’t been playing at a theater near you then fear no more; your day just got a helluva lot better! Cineplex Entertainment and Toronto-‐based sales outfit Raven Banner Entertainment have just done you a solid and created Sinister Cinema, an ongoing monthly-‐esque series of screenings at 25 screens across the country. Films included in the launch of this exciting new series include American Mary, The Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh and No One Lives. Check out the full press release to see which screen nearest you is playing John Dies At The End on March 27th! Cineplex Entertainment and Raven Banner Launch New Monthly Horror Series Sinister Cinema brings the best in genre horror to the Canadian big screen (Toronto, ON – March 14, 2013) – Cineplex Entertainment’s Front Row Centre Events and Raven Banner announce the launch of Sinister Cinema, a cutting-‐edge series of art house quality genre cinema. Sinister Cinema will bring a series of independent horror films to 25 Cineplex theatres across Canada. The films will include unique content, and in some cases, special appearances, including live question and answer sessions with directors, pre-‐recorded interviews and more. “It’s a real honour for us to work with Cineplex,” said Raven Banner’s Managing Partner, Michael Paszt. “Sinister Cinema will expose Canadians to a different type of horror film – one that falls outside the typical realm of larger distributors.” “Today’s announcement is a big win for Canadian horror fans,” said Pat Marshall, Vice President, Communications and Investor Relations, Cineplex Entertainment. “We know fans of this genre are going to be incredibly excited about this new series.” Tickets are available now at participating theatre box offices and online at cineplex.com/events. Here’s the skinny on the Canadian theaters on board for Sinister Cinema: British Columbia Odeon Victoria Cinemas – Victoria, BC Galaxy Cinemas Nanaimo – Nanaimo, BC Colossus Langley Cinemas – Langley, BC Cineplex Odeon Park & Tilford Cinemas – North Vancouver, BC Cineplex Odeon International Village Cinemas – Vancouver, BC

Alberta Scotiabank Theatre Edmonton – Edmonton, AB Scotiabank Theatre Chinook – Calgary, AB Saskatchewan Galaxy Cinemas Regina – Regina, SK Galaxy Cinemas Saskatoon – Saskatoon, SK Manitoba SilverCity Polo Park Cinemas – Winnipeg, MB Ontario Cineplex Odeon Devonshire Mall Cinemas – Windsor, ON SilverCity London Cinemas – London, ON Galaxy Cinemas Waterloo – Waterloo, ON Cineplex Odeon Winston Churchill Cinemas – Oakville, ON SilverCity Hamilton Cinemas – Hamilton, ON Cineplex Cinemas Mississauga – Mississauga, ON Cineplex Odeon Queensway Cinemas – Toronto, ON Colossus Vaughan Cinemas – Vaughan, ON SilverCity Fairview Mall Cinemas – Toronto, ON Cineplex Odeon Yonge & Dundas Square Cinemas – Toronto, ON Cineplex Odeon Eglinton Town Centre Cinemas – Scarborough, ON Coliseum Ottawa Cinemas – Ottawa, ON SilverCity Gloucester Cinemas – Ottawa, ON SilverCity Sudbury Cinemas – Sudbury, ON Quebec Cineplex Odeon Forum Cinemas – Montreal, QC

This article can also be seen in the following outlets:

http://twitchfilm.com/2013/03/cineplex-‐entertainment-‐and-‐raven-‐banner-‐launch-‐new-‐ monthly-‐horror-‐series-‐sinister-‐cinema.html

http://www.imdb.com/news/ni49042005/

John Dies at the End balances horror and humour Director Don Coscarelli intrigued by notions of reality http://entertainment.ca.msn.com/movies/features/john-dies-at-the-end-balances-horror-and-humour

Paul Giamatti with director Don Coscarelli. Photo: Evans Vestal Ward, Magnet Releasing

Given that he was about to make a low-‐budget horror-‐comedy featuring meat monsters, flying moustaches, girls exploding into snakes, and door knobs turning into penises, the biggest challenge writer-‐director Don Coscarelli faced in making John Dies at the End was finding an affordable actor who could hold his own against Paul Giamatti. (The actor not only co-‐stars in Coscarelli’s adaptation of the cult David Wong novel but also executive produced it.) Fortunately, Coscarelli found the veteran actor’s foil in newcomer Chase Williamson. “That would be considered, for me, the white knuckle ride of the movie,” he says. “Because what if he wilted and folded under pressure? And, thank God, he’s just a tough kid; ice water in his veins. And, at the same time, Paul is not a prima donna in any way and actually sought Chase out beforehand and came over to my house, and the two of them were running lines together out in the backyard.”

Coscarelli was back in Toronto last week to promote John Dies at the End’s participation in Sinister Cinema, a new initiative by Cineplex and Toronto-‐based indie film distributor Raven Banner to screen, in theatres across Canada, oddball horror movies that would normally go straight to VOD or DVD/Blu-‐ray. He was also here last September, when John Dies played in the Midnight Madness portion of the Toronto International Film Festival. nd Anchor Bay releases the film April 2 on DVD and Blu-‐ray. John Dies at the End stars Williamson and Robb Mayes (The Client List) as, respectively, best friends Dave and John. Their encounter with a strange drug called Soy Sauce leaves them with the ability to see beyond our normal reality. Giamatti stars as Arnie Blondestone, a reporter Dave has contacted in order to tell his story of inter-‐ dimensional travel, psychic dogs, hot one-‐handed girls, and all manner of weird monsters. Coscarelli first became aware of Wong’s book through an Amazon.com recommendation. Loving what he was reading, he immediately had a “hunch it was going to make for a good movie.” He also saw as a role for Giamatti, with whom Coscarelli was working at the time to mount Bubba Nosferatu: Curse of the She-Vampires, a sequel to his last film, 2002’s Bubba Ho-Tep. (That now cult classic cast Bruce Campbell (The Evil Dead) as a retirement-‐age Elvis battling an ancient mummy in a nursing home. Giamatti would have played Col. Tom Parker, Elvis’s real-‐life Svengali-‐like manager, in the sequel.) The oddity of Wong’s book was exactly what attracted Coscarelli. “The way the funding system works in the traditional Hollywood system is that they are looking for someone to repeat their success,” he says. “So a lot of the time you will go and see movies and the plot unfolds in a very predictable fashion. Because we are all such avid consumers of movies and television, we’ve seen every plot again and again and again in their permutations. So you pick up a book and you read something that’s surprising, like ‘oh, that’d be pretty cool if you could make a movie that had a surprise that would make audiences sit up a little bit.’” Now it is a matter of getting audiences to see the film. While he hopes audiences seek out John Dies in any format, Coscarelli encourages fans of weird movies to see them in theatres whenever possible. “I think there’s a magnification, an amplification of the experience,” he says. “I remember seeing The Exorcist in a huge audience in Los Angeles, and it was really terrifying. The whole audience losing control is a pretty wild thing.” Hopefully audiences will get to see more Dave and John, preferably on the big screen. Wong’s sequel, This Book Is Full of Spiders: Seriously, Dude, Don’t Touch It, came out last fall, and Coscarelli, who has made three follow-‐ups to his best-‐known film, 1979’s Phantasm, is obviously not adverse to sequels, especially if “the stars aligned” and John Dies made some money. “I like sequels. Let’s be straight: they’ve been there from the beginning of genre movies, and you could say that some early ones... Bride of Frankenstein might be better than the original Frankenstein, so there’s no curse there. Aliens may be better than Alien, depending on your point of view.” Both Phantasm and John Dies feature conventional notions of reality breaking down for their respective protagonists. Why that fascination for Coscarelli? “A lot of folks take their attitude to life from religion; others take it from science. I’m very interested in hard science,” he says, pointing to the God particle and membrane theory as examples of mind-‐blowing ideas that inform his curiosity about the universe. “You read the stuff and it’s almost overwhelming. You lose your balance and you want to sit down.” On that note: would Coscarelli take the Soy Sauce if it meant getting a glimpse behind the scenes of reality? “It’s hard to tell because some of the people it chooses, it kills, so I’d have to ponder on that. I think if I knew I wasn’t going to be killed I might, absolutely. To have that ability to see that which is veiled to me would be an awesome experience.”

DON COSCARELLI POSTED BY: Jesse Skinner | March 27, 2013 | Comments | Bio | More from this contributo http://www.toromagazine.com/culture/radar/9ca46599-‐c084-‐ae64-‐a1c4-‐8d95887de153/Don-‐ Coscarelli-‐/

The psychedelic horror-‐comedy from cult movie icon Don Coscarelli (the Phantasm series, Bubba Ho-‐Tep), based on the book by Jason Pargin, is as wild and unpredictable as they come. It’s the story of Dave and John, two slackers whose ingestion of a hallucinogen called “Soy Sauce” sends them shifting through alternate dimensions of time and space.

That’s only one way of describing what actually happens in the movie. To say more would ruin its fun. But enjoy this spoiler-‐free interview with Cascorelli, who told us about translating the twisted text, and how the movie was pitched to him by a robot. I haven’t seen a movie as unpredictable as John Dies at the End in a long time. I truly didn’t know where it was going from scene to scene. I’ll take that as a compliment. It’s actually quite astonishing how predictable many movies are. Most of the time you know what the next plot turn is going to be. I tend to enjoy movies where I can’t predict that, though a lot of people don’t. For some people, it’s too much of a conundrum. Have a lot of the screenings you’ve attended gotten a divided reaction from the audience? There’s no question, we’ve had really passionate supporters and some people don’t get it at all. Looking back atPhantasm and Bubba Ho-‐Tep there was the same reaction, but people seem to have revisited those movies over time and grown to appreciate them. I think John Dies at the End will hold up to scrutiny. What did you initially think of Jason Pargin's book? I was thinking “movie!” from page one. It’s got a great opening and just keeps going from there. I think this is the first movie decided on by a robot. I got recommended the book on Amazon, from one of their “robots” who told me if I liked this zombie book I’d bought, I’d love John Dies at the End. I immediately bought the book. Those very sophisticated algorithms that Amazon has perfected are out there searching the web, recording everything I’ve bought and clicked on. The robot thought that me, horror filmmaker Don Cascorelli, would love it — and the robot was right. I thought many Hollywood movies were decided on by robots. [Laughs] Yeah, they sometimes seem to be written in a very robotic way, anyway. I contacted Jason and was emailing him for months. Finally he got back to me and I asked him, “What took you so long to respond?” He thought it was a prank! Me contacting him about the first book he’d ever written ... thought it was one of his friends. As a screenwriter / adapter what were your most significant changes? The book and the movie are different in terms of scope. We had finite means as to what we could do. The book had sections that were great conceptually, but unfilmable. At one point, Dave goes to bed with this girl he has a crush on, then wakes up and looks in the mirror, and six months have passed. He looks around and realizes he’s now married. I couldn’t figure out how to fit that in the movie. If people had reservations about the movie being incomprehensible, if we’d actually just “filmed the book”, they would not have accepted it at all.

It sounds like you knew instinctively what would work for a movie while you were reading the book. Yeah. I only had to fill in some plot to wrap up everything conclusively. Feel free to plead the fifth on this, but considering an important plot device in the movie, what experience do you have with hallucinogens? I dabbled in my youth but I’ve never been a guy to drop acid every other week. But I am interested in different levels of reality. In high school I was a nut for Philip K. Dick books, which were all about looking beyond the surface of what is happening. My favourite was Time Out of Joint. It’s about this guy, a bit of a loser, who makes his living playing this newspaper contest. Somehow he has the ability to do it perfectly and survives on winning it. Eventually he discovers he has a psychic ability and gets involved in an (interplanetary) war. There are parallels to John Dies at the End — both seem to be about men with special gifts they may not actually want. Yeah! I hadn’t even thought that. But yeah, it’s something thrust on them.

John Dies at the End will be released on DVD April 2 via Anchor Bay. Don Coscarelli will attend a screening / Q&A of the film in Toronto -‐ March 27, AMC Yonge and Dundas @ 9:30 p.m.

http://www.citynews.ca/2013/03/26/entertainment-‐city-‐mar-‐26-‐2013/

https://soundcloud.com/gatpr-‐1/director-‐don-‐coscarelli-‐talks

Tue, Mar26: Don Coscarelli, director and writer of John Dies at the End, talks about his movie which he has described as “hide-‐under-‐the-‐bed scary” and “laugh-‐out-‐loud-‐funny” http://globalnews.ca/video/429291/john-‐dies-‐at-‐the-‐end

Interview: Don Coscarelli, “John Dies at the End” Leslie James March 27, 2013 10:34 am

Sinister Cinema, a new, “kind-‐of” monthly series showcasing cutting-‐edge art house horror flicks, kicks off March 27 at select Cineplex theatres. Film critic Leslie James spoke with Don Coscarelli, the writer-‐director of “John Dies At The End”, which launches the series, and comes out on Blu-‐ray and DVD next week.

This article can also be seen in the following outlets:

http://www.570news.com/2013/03/27/interview-‐don-‐coscarelli-‐john-‐dies-‐at-‐the-‐end-‐ 2/

http://www.660news.com/2013/03/27/interview-‐don-‐coscarelli-‐john-‐dies-‐at-‐the-‐end-‐2/

http://www.889news.com/2013/03/27/interview-‐don-‐coscarelli-‐john-‐dies-‐at-‐the-‐end-‐2/

http://m.1310news.com/2013/03/27/interview-‐don-‐coscarelli-‐john-‐dies-‐at-‐the-‐end-‐2/

http://www.957news.com/2013/03/27/interview-‐don-‐coscarelli-‐john-‐dies-‐at-‐the-‐end-‐2/

John Dies at the End ... Posted 3/27/2013 3:23:00 PM

... is a movie from Don Coscarelli. It's based on a book of the same name by Jason Pargin.

http://www.edge.ca/Blogs/FearlessFred/BlogArchive.aspx?BlogID=1001092&ArchiveDa te=03/27/13

AND Don is doing a Q&A TONIGHT!!!!!! after the 9:30pm screening of John Dies at the End at Cineplex Yonge and Dundas as part of the Sinister Cinema launch. If you are a horror fan you will want to talk to the man.

Cineplex kicks of Sinister Cinema series this week with ‘John Dies at the End’ http://www.criticizethis.ca/2013/03/cineplex-‐kicks-‐of-‐sinister-‐cinema-‐series-‐this-‐week-‐with-‐ john-‐dies-‐at-‐the-‐end.html By: Dave Voigt March 26, 2013.

With independent cinemas forced to close in the face of switching to digital projectors, the venues for genre and alternative theatrical releases were beginning to get pretty darn thin. Thankfully, the fine folks at Cineplex Entertainment’s Front Row Centre Events and Raven Banner Entertainment are kicking off the Sinister Cinema series this week and are bringing the art-‐house/genre experience to the multiplex. As part of Sinister Cinema, 25 Cineplex theaters across Canada will be treated to a series of some of the best independent horror films on the market today. These screenings won’t just be about the movie itself, but the experience. Each screening will feature added content, too, such as special appearances, live Q&A sessions with filmmakers along with pre-‐recorded interviews, and so much more. Simply a great series, particularly for horror fans who don’t necessarily live in a bigger city and get to experience films like this on the big screen or during a festival type experience.

The series kicks off with a bang with Don Coscarelli’s John Dies at the End, which is about a silent, but deadly invasion from another dimension as a mysterious drug only known as “Soy Sauce” grabs a hold of the population promising some out of body experience. The effects are more than anyone imagined as a lot of people change into something not quite human. John Dies at the End kicked off its run in the world as part of last year’s Midnight Madness programme at the Toronto International Film Festival, and while it had a short run south of the border, this is the only theatrical screening that will have been in Toronto (and maybe even Canada) since TIFF. In town to help promote the event and the upcoming DVD/Blu-‐ray release on April 2, I got the chance to talk to Don Coscarelli about the launch of Sinister Cinema, his experiences during TIFF, and the interesting time period we are heading into for theatrical exhibitors and the chance for some indie horror to reach a broader audience. This is your first time back to Toronto for John Dies at the End since TIFF right? Yes, we got to play at Midnight Madness this past year and what a glorious event that truly was. This year was just great and I actually came in a few days early since I thought I had press to do, which actually wasn’t there, but on the plus side I got to see all these great movies at Midnight Madness. I’d be there every night and Colin (Geddes), the programmer, is such a good guy and treated me so well. I got to see another film playing later on in the Sinister Cinema series called No One Lives, the Ryuhei Kitamura film, which is great. I saw Lords of Salem, where Rob Zombie did a great job and I thought Sheri Moon was excellent in it. I also got to see Aftershock, the Eli Roth film, and that was just such great earthquake mayhem and a lot of fun. I don’t want to call you an ‘indie’ filmmaker since that term has just been done to death, but you don’t really work inside the studio system and your films don’t always get a real theatrical run. That is all very true. With so many of the smaller theaters and rep houses having to close because of the switch to digital projectors, is it encouraging for you as a filmmaker to see a large chain like Cineplex launch this series? It seems really fantastic. The fact that they are embracing and taking it across the country in 25 different theatres is great. It’s a really interesting time that we are living in because I remember that even when we were making John Dies at the End we were preparing that we need to be going to 35mm film prints and then about half-‐way through post production the digital conversion for exhibitors had happened so quickly that there really just wasn’t any point. Times are changing, but we are rolling with them and trying something different, which is really kind of cool because it’s going to be out in a lot of theaters, but then within the week it will be available on DVD, Blu-‐ray, and on demand. We had a similar situation in the U.S. with the VOD running concurrent to the theatrical. I think what is most important for me at least, especially having gone through some difficult times myself, is that “back in the day” there was a term that was used — “Direct to DVD”, or worse, “Direct to Video”, and if you had one of those you were just considered a pariah and nobody wanted you. Nowadays the way the different outlets are all being worked concurrently it’s actually a pretty cool thing. John Dies at the End screens Wednesday, March 27 at select Cineplex theatres. For more info on it and other films in the Sinister Cinema series, visit cineplex.com.

RAVEN BANNER PRESENTS: A MAJOR THEATRICAL GENRE SERIES ON - 25 CANADIAN SCREENS - By Greg Klymkiw

Raven Banner Launches Exciting Genre Film Series Across Canada by Greg Klymkiw Raven Banner, the exciting genre-‐friendly company that specializes in strategic project management of innovative independent motion pictures is launching an extremely exciting series for genre fans in Canada. Sinister Cinema is a brand new monthly showcase of what promises to be some very cool horror movies. In addition to the movies, there will be a grand sense of showmanship allowing for added value goodies (consider it DVD/Blu-‐Ray extras -‐ LIVE at Big-‐Screen venues). Personal appearances, Live Q & A's and exclusive pre-‐recorded intros plus interviews are just some of the planned delights to enhance the movie-‐going experience. The movies will screen at 25 Cineplex Entertainment screens across Canada. The venues are: Lotus Land

Odeon Victoria Cinemas – Victoria, BC Galaxy Cinemas Nanaimo – Nanaimo, BC Colossus Langley Cinemas – Langley, BC

Silvercity Riverport Cinemas – Richmond, BC Cineplex Odeon International Village Cinemas – Vancouver, BC (NOTE: Dope Smoking not allowed in cinemas, so toke-‐up before you enter the premises and/or discreetly utilize the handicapped crappers. Do not forget to disarm smoke detectors and sprinklers.) Stevie Harper KKK Headquarters Scotiabank Theatre Edmonton – Edmonton, AB Scotiabank Theatre Chinook – Calgary, AB (NOTE: Cross Burnings not allowed indoors. Moonshine not for sale in cinemas, but can be smuggled in.) Armpit of Canada Galaxy Cinemas Regina – Regina, SK Galaxy Cinemas Saskatoon – Saskatoon, SK (NOTE: You must leave your livestock tethered to the front of the cinemas. Feel free to smuggle in your own smoked hog ears for good eatin' during the show.) Second Biggest Armpit of Canada SilverCity Polo Park Cinemas – Winnipeg, MB (NOTE: The rest of the province is mosquito-‐ ridden swamp land populated by inbreds who do not watch movies or do much of anything besides fight and fornicate in the winter and fish with dynamite charges and big nets in the summer -‐ beer included.) Centre of the Known Universe (and

surrounding environs) Cineplex Odeon Devonshire Mall Cinemas – Windsor, ON SilverCity London Cinemas – London, ON Galaxy Cinemas Waterloo – Waterloo, ON Cineplex Odeon Winston Churchill Cinemas – Oakville, ON SilverCity Hamilton Cinemas – Hamilton, ON Cineplex Cinemas Mississauga – Mississauga, ON Cineplex Odeon Queensway Cinemas – Toronto, ON Colossus Vaughan Cinemas – Vaughan, ON SilverCity Fairview Mall Cinemas – Toronto, ON Cineplex Odeon Yonge & Dundas Square Cinemas – Toronto, ON Cineplex Odeon Eglinton Town Centre Cinemas – Scarborough, ON Coliseum Ottawa Cinemas – Ottawa, ON SilverCity Gloucester Cinemas – Ottawa, ON SilverCity Sudbury Cinemas – Sudbury, ON (NOTE: Torontonians proclaim that Toronto is the Centre of the Known Universe. Most of us know better -‐ especially all the venues OUTSIDE the GTA) La Belle Province Cineplex Odeon Forum Cinemas – Montreal, QC (NOTE: French people do not like horror movies as they are all Catholic. The few who do are politely asked to leave their separatist literature at home and refrain from screaming "Je me souviens!" every ten fucking minutes.)

And now, the MOVIES. I've seen two of them and THEY FUCKING ROCK!!! My critical accolades or lack thereof are not available for the rest at press time.

My Review of "John Dies at the End" is available by clicking HERE

March 27, 2013: Don (Phantasm, Bubba Ho-‐Tep) Coscarelli's blackly humourous fright-‐fest John Dies At The End

May 9, 2013: Rue Morgue founder and publisher Rodrigo Gudiño's feature debut The Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh

May 30, 2013: The Best Fucking Horror Movie of 2012, American Mary

June 19, 2013: Sicko Ryuhei (The Midnight Meat Train) Kitamura's No One Lives

The Twisted Twins Terribly Terrific Title, ‘American Mary’ US/CANADA Release date announced http://abortmag.com/2013/03/the-‐twisted-‐twins-‐terribly-‐terrific-‐title-‐american-‐mary-‐us-‐ release-‐date-‐announced/ AMERICAN MARY now has a solid US release date. The film will be available throughout the US on VOD on May 16th this year and will have a limited theatrical release on May 31st. This release comes from ScreamFest’s XLrator Media label. The Official trailer is now live on Apple Trailers American Mary will be hitting theatres across Canada part of Raven Banner Entertainment and Cineplex’s Sinister Cinema’s Horror Series which will be a line up of some ridiculously cool horror films that you should grab your buddies to totally see in theatres this year! “Fucking amazing. Extraordinary. A really superb picture. Katharine Isabelle is awesome. She gives a wonderfully modulated performance. It’s disgusting and distressing and the makeup is brilliant. It made me think about the effects of horror. Why is has done what it does to us and why it continues to move us.” ~ Clive Barker CANADA Cineplex Entertainment’s Front Row Centre Events and Raven Banner announce the launch of Sinister Cinema, a cutting-‐edge series of art house quality genre cinema. Sinister Cinema will bring a series of independent horror films to 25 Cineplex theatres across Canada. The films will

include unique content, and in some cases, special appearances, including live question and answer sessions with directors, pre-‐recorded interviews and more. “It’s a real honour for us to work with Cineplex,” said Raven Banner’s Managing Partner, Michael Paszt. “Sinister Cinema will expose Canadians to a different type of horror film – one that falls outside the typical realm of larger distributors.” “Today’s announcement is a big win for Canadian horror fans,” said Pat Marshall, Vice President, Communications and Investor Relations, Cineplex Entertainment. “We know fans of this genre are going to be incredibly excited about this new series.” Tickets are available now at participating theatre box offices and online at cineplex.com/events. The following is a complete list of participating theatres: British Columbia SilverCity Hamilton Cinemas – Hamilton Odeon Victoria Cinemas – Victoria Cineplex Cinemas Mississauga – Mississauga Galaxy Cinemas Nanaimo – Nanaimo Cineplex Odeon Queensway Cinemas – Colossus Langley Cinemas – Langley Toronto Cineplex Odeon Park & Tilford Cinemas – Colossus Vaughan Cinemas – Vaughan North Vancouver SilverCity Fairview Mall Cinemas – Toronto Cineplex Odeon International Village Cineplex Odeon Yonge & Dundas Square Cinemas – Vancouver Cinemas – Toronto Alberta Cineplex Odeon Eglinton Town Centre Scotiabank Theatre Edmonton – Edmonton Cinemas – Scarborough Scotiabank Theatre Chinook – Calgary Coliseum Ottawa Cinemas – Ottawa Saskatchewan SilverCity Gloucester Cinemas – Ottawa Galaxy Cinemas Regina – Regina SilverCity Sudbury Cinemas – Sudbury Galaxy Cinemas Saskatoon – Saskatoon Quebec Manitoba Cineplex Odeon Forum Cinemas – SilverCity Polo Park Cinemas – Winnipeg Montreal” Ontario The lineup goes like this – Cineplex Odeon Devonshire Mall Cinemas – March 27, 2013 – John Dies At The End Windsor May 9, 2013 – The Last Will and Testament SilverCity London Cinemas – London of Rosalind Leigh (Rue Morgue Cinema) – I Galaxy Cinemas Waterloo – Waterloo saw this at Whistler and it’s fucking brilliant. Cineplex Odeon Winston Churchill Cinemas May 30, 2013 – American Mary – Oakville June 19, 2013-‐ No One Lives Copyright © 2004-‐2013 ABORT Magazine. All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of this publication, in whole or in part, in any form or medium without express written permission from Abort Media Publishing Corporation (AMP Corp.) is prohibited. All use is subject to our Terms of Use.

Raven Banner and Cineplex Entertainment's Front Row launch Sinister Cinema http://sinistremag.com/index.php/2013/03/raven-‐banner-‐et-‐cineplex-‐entertainments-‐ front-‐row-‐lancent-‐sinister-‐cinema/ By: A lexandre D uguay | M arch 1 4, 2 013.

Sinister C inema, i s n ot i t a p retty g ood n ame h ere? W e w ould h ave l iked i t i n c onnection w ith our b eloved m agazine, b ut r ather i t i s a n i nitiative s et u p b y R aven B anner i n c onjunction w ith Cineplex E ntertainment's F ront R ow C entre E vents. In t his w ay, S inister C inema p ropose a s eries o f g enre f ilms s creened i n m ore t han t wenty Cineplex t heaters a cross C anada, i ncluding C ineplex F orum i n M ontreal. H owever, m oviegoers will b e o n t he l ookout f or f eature f ilms w ill b e r eleased o nly o nce i n t he l ate e vening. H owever, it w as a nnounced t hat s ome o f t hese s creenings c ould i nclude s pecial a ppearance, q uestion a nd answer s essions o r p re-‐recorded i nterviews. The f ilm w ill l aunch t he s eries S inister C inema is J OHN D IES A T T HE E ND f ilmmaker D on Coscarelli ( Phantasm, B ubba H o-‐Tep). T he screening w ill t ake p lace o n M arch 2 7 a t 2 1:30. S ubsequently, t he k ind o f m ovie l overs w ill have t he o pportunity t o s ee: M ay 9 , 2 013: T he L ast W ill a nd T estament o f R osalind L eigh R odrigo G udiño ( founder o f R ue Morgue m agazine) M ay 3 0, 2 013: A merican t wins M ary Jen a nd S ylvia S oska, a lso k nown under t he p seudonym T he T wisted Twins. J une 1 9, 2 013: N o O ne L ives R yuhei Kitamura ( Azumi, T he M idnight M eat Train ) . A merican M ary S ource: B loody-‐Disgusting

Sinister Cinema Series Monthly March 27 -‐ June 19 2013 at a Cineplex Odeon Near You http://www.artandculturemaven.com/2013/03/sinister-‐cinema-‐series-‐monthly-‐march-‐27.html From a media release: Cineplex Entertainment and Raven Banner Launch New Monthly Horror Series Sinister Cinema brings the best in genre horror to the Canadian big screen March 27 -‐ June 19, 2013 • Tickets are available now at participating theatre box offices and online atcineplex.com/events. • Check for participating theatres in BC, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario & Quebec (Toronto, ON) – Cineplex Entertainment’s Front Row Centre Events and Raven Banner announce the launch of Sinister Cinema, a cutting-‐edge series of art house quality genre cinema.

Sinister Cinema will bring a series of independent horror films to 25 Cineplex theatres across Canada. The films will include unique content, and in some cases, special appearances, including live question and answer sessions with directors, pre-‐recorded interviews and more. “It’s a real honour for us to work with Cineplex,” said Raven Banner’s Managing Partner, Michael Paszt.

directed three highly acclaimed short films, including The Facts In the Case of Mister Hollow. His shorts were selected in more than 50 international film festivals, have garnered more than 25 awards, and were nominated at Canada’s Genie Awards. May 30, 2013 -‐ American Mary From IndustryWorks Pictures comes one of the year’s most horrific highlights, American Mary tells the story of broke med student Mary Mason (Katharine Isabelle) who grows increasingly disenchanted with medical school and the doctors she once admired. The allure of easy money sends a desperate Mary through the messy world of underground surgeries that leaves more marks on her than her so-‐called freakish clientele... Smart, sexy, funny and stunning to look at, American Mary features a standout lead performance from horror icon Katharine Isabelle (‘Ginger Snaps’, ‘Insomnia’, ‘Freddy vs. Jason’), and notable performances by Antonio Cupo (‘Bomb Girls’, ‘Dark Angel’, ‘Elegy’), Paula Lindberg (‘Fringe’, ‘Supernatural’, ‘Iron Man the TV series’), David Lovgren (‘Masters of Horror’, ‘Supernatural’, ‘Stargate: Atlantis’) and newcomers Tristen Risk as the disturbingly loveable Beatress and Twan Holliday as Mary’s confidant, protector and bff Lance. A film not to be missed and what and reviewers are calling ‘A true Modern Day Horror’. About the Directors: Canadian twin sisters, Jen and Sylvia Soska, aka The Twisted Twins, started off studying at a film school where they made a short that would be the embryo of their first feature film ‘Dead Hooker in a Trunk’ which earned the attention of filmmaker Eli Roth. With some insight from IndustryWorks, ‘Dead Hooker in a Trunk’ landed in the worldwide hands of IFC for their IFC Midnight Series. For their follow up film, American Mary, the twins came armed with horror and sci-‐fi industry talent bringing the most unique characters to life, the undeniably skilled Director of Photography Brian Pearson (‘Drive Angry’, ‘I Robot’, ‘Final Destination 5’, ‘My Bloody Valentine’), and a top notch crew, making American Mary the year’s most talked about horror film. June 19, 2013-‐ No One Lives From Pathe and WWE Studios -‐ Fourteen students appear brutally murdered and the crime scene offers no clues as to the whereabouts of the one person who could be the only survivor, a young woman named Emma. Months later, bandits attack a young couple’s car, only to discover the frightened Emma. Rubbing their hands at the prospect of ransom payday, they don’t realize that those who appeared to be prey are far less defenseless than they seem. Director Ryuhei Kitamura continues his American adventure with No One Lives, a violent and ingenious thriller, manipulating all the genre conventions past and future to his taste. About the director: Ryuhei Kitamura -‐ Osaka, 1969. One of the cult names in contemporary Japanese cinema, Kitamura drew the attention of genre fans with the ultragore and hyper-‐kinetic Versus. Other titles in his filmography are Alive, Azumi, Sky High, Godzilla: Final Wars, and The Midnight Meat Train. We were lucky enough to have Don Coscarelli in the studio, the man who created Beastmaster and Bubba Ho-Tep!

Thursday, March 28, 2013

A Second Look at John Dies at the End http://www.skonmovies.com/2013/03/a-‐second-‐look-‐at-‐john-‐dies-‐at-‐end.html http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1783732/I don't often watch films multiple times in the cinema. In fact, I can probably still count the number of times I’ve done so on one hand. However, there are some films that I feel obliged to give another go around. One such film is, which I “saw” when it played as the closing film of Midnight Madness at the TIFF 2012. I put “saw” in brackets, because I was quite fatigued during the screening and there were many moments I would start dozing off. I managed to see enough of the film togenerate an opinion of it, but I still felt a bit upset that I wasn’t able to stay awake for the whole film. As such, I took advantage of the fact that it was having it’s only major Canadian screening tonight as part of Cineplex’s new “Sinister Cinema” series. After seeing the film for the second time, I thought that I would reflect on how my thoughts of the film have changed now that I’ve seen it fully awake. This is not really a second review, but more observations after rewatching the film with somewhat lower expectations the second time around. I’ll probably start off by saying that, for the most part, my overall opinion of the film has not changed all that much. I still think that it’s merely an OK film, even though there are a few highly enjoyable sequences. The first and third acts are probably the strongest of the film and it is in the second act, where things lull around the most. In fact, I have to say that the sequence with the “Meat Monster” at the start of the film is probably my favourite sequence and it was quite hard to top (though an ultra-‐gory animated sequence comes at a close second). I commented in my review that I found the plot hard to follow, though I hypothesized that it was because I was falling in and out of sleep. Well, now that I’ve seen the whole film fully awake, I can confidently say that this was indeed the case. The film is still very weird and quite hard to fully grasp, however I had a much better time understanding exactly what was going on. In fact, I noticed things that I haven’t before (such as the brief cameo by Angus Scrimm, who played the villainous Tall Man in director Don Coscarelli’s films). Overall, I would say that I am happy that I decided to go see a second time. While I don’t expect I will make the habit of rewatching films in theatres a regular occurrence, there is another Midnight Madness film that I saw in 2011, which is finally being released this summer. In that case, I want to see the film again just because I enjoyed it so much. However, that’s for another time… The title John Dies at the End tells the viewer far less than they might think. There’s no guarantee John will be dead or alive at the end — or if he’ll even be in our universe at all.

John Dies At The End (2012) – Don Coscarelli Posted by TD Rideout on April 2, 2013

http://themindreels.com/tag/sinister-cinema/ Phantasm, Bubba Ho-‐Tep, yup, even Beastmaster… Don Coscarelli has always been a cult fave director, and he’s had my attention since 1982, when I saw Beastmaster on First Choice (on one of the free weekends). I remember as a kid sitting in my bedroom in CFB Borden, reading comics on my rug, and seeing an ad for something called Phantasm II on the inside back cover of whatever issue I was reading (amazing that I can remember the ad, but not what comic I was reading…). I was younger then, and hadn’t quite begun to foster my love of horror films, that didn’t happen until my late teens… And honestly some of the images were a little spooky, there was this silver ball in the picture with prongs thrusting out of them, a reflection of a young man in woman on it, and the ball was held by this towering, evil-‐looking man. I was nowhere near ready for it. Years later when I started working in a video store, as most film buffs do (who didn’t want to watch tons of movies for free!?) I was finally ready, and entered the world of the Tall Man. It was at that moment that Coscarelli had a fan in me. Bubba Ho-‐Tep merely cemented that in to place, building on the already solid foundations. I remember hearing about it… Bruce Campbell as an elderly Elvis? SOLD! It’s also still my favorite film of Don’s. Then rumors began to circulate about this odd book called John Dies At The End by David Wong, I googled it, searched for it, heard Coscarelli’s name was attached to it, finally found it, and loved every minute of it. I missed it at TIFF, literally by moments, and I had been waiting, hoping to hear something about a release that I would be able to see… And it finally happened. Raven Banner Entertainment, Anchor Bay Canada and Cineplex presented their inaugural screening of Sinister Cinema (a great bunch of titles being screened make sure you check it out!). So I was cordially invited last week, along with a

number of my fellows to have a meet and greet with Don Coscarelli, who was warm, funny and gracious with everyone he got to chat with, and then join him at the Yonge & Dundas Cineplex for a screening of John Dies At The End. By his own admission, Don has made a weird film. I can say this, it will be destined to become a cult favorite like his other films. They always seem to exist on the edges of pop culture, a touchstone, a test of geek knowledge. Personally I think that adds more charm to his films, knowing that not everyone will see them, or even like them, it makes it more precious, more special for the fans that do embrace it. And this one is bound to do that! Dave Wong (Chase Williamson) is chatting with a reporter, Arnie (Paul Giamatti) about his friend John (Rob Mayes), their hobby/business as, well, monster hunters and paranormal experts, a dog, his girlfriend Amy (Fabianne Therese) and a new drug known as Soy Sauce, that will change your perception of reality for the rest of your life, and maybe after. To try and explain it all would ruin the experience, though fans of the book may be a little disappointed that it’s not all there. But what is there is delightfully odd, laugh out loud funny, mind-‐bending, and occasionally a little freaky. The film also has some very welcome appearances by Clancy Brown, and for once, a Doug Jones not completely encased in prosthetics! There is a Lovecraftian monster, bizarre creatures that look like they escaped from a Cronenberg movie, including one made out of slabs of meat, a drug that seems to be alive, a cop (Glynn Turman) who finds himself in the middle of something he doesn’t understand, phantom limb syndrome, alternate realities, and things you can only see out of the corner of your eye. It’s a very dense world, and it may be off-‐putting to those who aren’t used to Coscarelli’s films, but the camaraderie between Dave and John makes for a fun time, they’re just a couple of guys who take everything in stride, and consequently allows for a lot of enjoyment of the world(s) they exist in. If you want something odd, something a little unusual, or even downright weird, check this one out.

John Dies At The End is available from Anchor Bay Canada today, and David Wong’s new book, This Book is Full of Spiders is available now.

Hockey great shows artistic skill

Memories of ice hockey and neon lights make way for spring time

By Ronda Payne, Langley Advance http://www.langleyadvance.com/sports/Hockey+great+shows+artistic+skill/8130711/story.html#i xzz2QyDTfDYR CINEMA SINISTER Indie horror films make their way to Cineplex Colossus Langley Cinemas with unique content and some special appearances, including question and answer sessions with directors, pre-‐recorded interviews, and other tidbits. This monthly horror series is a collaboration between Cineplex Entertainment's Front Row Centre Events and Raven Banner to bring art house quality films to the big screen in 25 communities. "Sinister Cinema will expose Canadians to a different type of horror film -‐ one that falls outside the typical realm of larger distributors," said Raven Banner's managing partner Michael Paszt. Films include John Dies at the End on March 27, The Last Will and Testament of Rosalind Leigh on May 9, American Mary on May 30, and No One Lives on June 19. Tickets are now available at the Colossus box office as well as online.

American Mary’s Canadian Release!

http://www.littlemissrisk.ca/miss-‐risk/american-‐marys-‐canadian-‐release/ By: Little Miss Risk March 15, 2013.

Listen, when you do a major motion picture that’s your first major role, you can talk about it as much as you want. I’m on cloud nine right now… from the desks of the Twisted Twins headquarters, the details of the Canadian screening dates…

“American Mary will be hitting theatres across Canada part of Raven Banner Entertainment and Cineplex’s Sinister Cinema’s Horror Series which will be a line up of some ridiculously cool horror films that you should grab your buddies to totally see in theatres this year! “Fucking amazing. Extraordinary. A really superb picture. Katharine Isabelle is awesome. She gives a wonderfully modulated performance. It’s disgusting and distressing and the makeup is brilliant. It made me think about the effects of horror. Why is has done what it does to us and why it continues to move us.” ~ Clive Barker Cineplex Entertainment’s Front Row Centre Events and Raven Banner announce the launch ofSinister Cinema, a cutting-‐edge series of art house quality genre cinema. Sinister Cinema will bring a series of independent horror films to 25 Cineplex theatres across Canada. The films will include unique content, and in some cases, special appearances, including live question and answer sessions with directors, pre-‐recorded interviews and more. “It’s a real honour for us to work with Cineplex,” said Raven Banner’s Managing Partner, Michael Paszt.

John Dies at the End Directed by Don Coscarelli

http://exclaim.ca/Reviews/Film/john_dies_at_end-‐directed_by_don_coscarelli_2 By Scott A. Gray | March 26 2013

Considering the prodigious lunacy of its source material,John Dies at the End could've been handled with greater finesse by a more resourceful director, or at least one with access to larger funds. The sheer scope of the story's random, demented imagination and the ambivalent attitude of its protagonists towards bizarre, otherworldly creatures, events and pompous prophecies, however, still brand this cinematic translation (and truncation) a

uniquely funny and irreverent horror/comedy crossbreed. Phantasm and Bubba Ho-‐Tep director Don Coscarelli demonstrates his limited vision, choosing to steamroll through the safest, most basic version of the plot possible, at great expense to the clarity of themes and comprehensive character motivations, not to mention vital twists, deeply imbedded satire and a shitload of insane visuals bursting from David Wong's novel. Said book is about two buddies who get caught up in an inter-‐ dimensional conspiracy after coming in contact with a sentient, reality-‐altering drug dubbed "Soy Sauce," which effectively "Billy Pilgrims" its users. Restructuring the temporally promiscuous account to fit the conveniently provided framing device of the author describing his unbelievable story to a sceptical reporter is just one of the many ways this adaptation betrays the renegade spirit of this paranoid delusional substance abuse allegory. Coscarelli's greatest transgression though, is the relegation of Amy — the movie's only significant female character — to little more than a handy (no pun intended — she only has one) prop. Without a grounded feminine counter-‐balance to all the bawdy, boyish humour, the story plays like a rudderless male daydream, especially when the discomfort these listless homophobes would have felt walking a gauntlet of wizened penises is mitigated by the selective decision to only feature topless women in frame. As far as the performances go, Clancy Brown and Doug Jones (Pan's Labyrinth, most creature fetish suits in Guillermo del Toro's films) are perfectly cast, but largely under-‐ used. However, Paul Giamatti fits the role of stereotypical reporter Arnie like a tailored speedo and the decision to cast relative unknowns Chase Williamson and Rob Mayes as juvenile slacker paranormal activity magnets Dave and John was a sound one. Fans of the book will have strongly coloured expectations, but regardless of your familiarity with the secrets of The Sauce, this movie feels extremely rushed and thrifty, and moreover, like something very important is missing: namely, its heart and purpose. Even so, if you haven't read the book, you'll find a lot of random zaniness to enjoy. If you have, you'll likely end up wondering what someone like Sam Raimi or Richard Kelly could have accomplished with the same material.

'John Dies at the End' actually doesn't and is a fair bit of fun •

NEW ON DVD & BLU-RAY | APRIL 3, 2013 | BY: DAVID VOIGT

Things are getting a little trippy on the next trip to the video store as the latest from an indie horror icon hits the shelves to help you get your freak on. After bowing at TIFF with a stop by the 'Sinister Cinema'; new on DVD & Blu-‐Ray is a cult story about the perils of a drug like you've never seen before and sorry about the spoilers but "John Dies at the End". Based on the novel by David Wong; we're talking about a drug that promises an out-‐of-‐body experience with each hit. On the street they call it Soy Sauce, and users drift across time and dimensions. However some who come back are no longer human. Suddenly a silent otherworldly invasion is underway, and mankind needs a hero. What it gets instead is David and John (Chase Williamson and Rob Mayes), a pair of college dropouts who can barely hold down jobs. Can these two stop the oncoming horror in time to save humanity? No. No, they can't.

Throw out any hopes of a linear narrative or traditional storytelling on this one, however "John Dies At The End" still manages to be a mind bending trip that was a lot of fun leaning more on the comedy then it did the horror. Writer/director Don Coscarelli a horror veteran of films like "Phantasm" and "Bubba Ho-‐Tep" knows the perfect blend of gore and humor and he keeps the gags and the body count going at a pretty healthy clip. While the story does get a little too wrapped up into itself making it more than a little hard to follow with enough exposition for people to shake a stick at, it's not the kind of movie that's necessarily about the story and its resolution but instead a film about the journey to get there. Coscarelli knows how to set up his audience perfectly to just go limp and have fun with it all, a well executed film with some solid performances to help bring it home.

John Dies at the End

Relative unknowns Chase Williamson as our hero David and Rob Mayes as John slide into the lead roles reasonably well and have a very likable on screen charisma and chemistry with one another. You can't always cast name actors in roles like these ones, but when the actors have a sense of the material and embrace it whole heartedly, it helps the material immensely. As Arnie Blondstone, Paul Giamatti is obviously having a great deal fun with it all as the guy who hears all about our hero's story and since Giamatti also served as an executive producer on the film you can believe that this is the kind of material that is right up this man's alley. Some familiar faces show up in the supporting cast in the form of Clancy Brown, Daniel Roebuck, Doug Jones and Glynn Turman as hero go along on their journey and honestly the fun that you can tell they are all having is infectious and we as audience quickly buy in to the universe that these actors are building. Special features on the DVD include a feature length commentary track with Don Coscarelli, producer Brad Baruh along with stars Chase Williamson and Rob Mayes, Deleted Scenes, Getting 'Sauced': The Making of "John Dies at the End", along with a look at the casting sessions for the film, a featurette about the different creatures in the film and a Fangoria interview with Paul Giamatti. When all is said and done, "John Dies at the End" is a fun entry into the canon of the films of Don Coscarelli that provides more genuine laughs then it does deaths, so while any hard core creature feature and horror fans might be a little disappointed with this one with its non-‐linear narrative that turns in on itself quite a few times it is still more then work a look as long as you don't take anything that goes on in it, all that seriously. 3 out of 5 stars.

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