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Home | First Ever Housecore Horror Film & Metal Festival in Austin

First Ever Housecore Horror Film & Metal Festival in Austin

AUSTIN, Texas—In what can only be described as a match made in hell, the worlds of heavy metal and horror collide this fall as the first-ever Housecore Horror Film Festival (HHFF) erupts in Austin, Texas. World famous heavy metal pioneer Philip H. Anselmo (Pantera, Down, Superjoint Ritual, et al.) and internationally renowned, best-selling true crime author Corey Mitchell (Hollywood Death Scenes, Dead and Buried, et al.) have teamed up to create the ultimate underground, three-day horror and heavy metal fan event that will combine live concerts from some of the biggest bands in metal and hard rock with more than 70 screenings of horror, true crime, and heavy metal films, music videos, and more—and special guest appearances from three of the world’s most revered underground directors of horror.

The Housecore Horror Film Festival will take over the entire Emo’s complex in the newly revitalized area of East Austin for three days of shock and roll. HHFF will feature seven screens, which will display more than 70 horror, true crime, and heavy metal film screenings, including feature-length films, short films, documentaries, classic horror films, world premieres, music videos, vintage and faux movie trailers, and more. As darkness descends each night, a dozen heavy metal and hard rock acts, handpicked by Anselmo himself, will hit the stage.

The nefarious brainchild of Anselmo and Mitchell, the Housecore Horror Film Festival spawned from a mutual love for all things horror that was discovered while the two were collaborating on Anselmo’s upcoming autobiography (Simon & Schuster, 2014). Wanting to bring their passion for —and knowledge of—extreme music and horror films to legions of fans, HHFF was born, with the goal of showcasing the best in a wide range of horror films—from the obscure to the extreme, from quality mainstream to the most unrepentant gore—and the heavy music that goes hand-in-hand with it.

Two confirmed special guest film directors include the notoriously controversial Jörg Buttgereit (Nekromantik, Nekromantik 2, Schramm) and revered do-it-yourself guerilla filmmaker Jim VanBebber (The Manson Family, Deadbeat at Dawn). Additional guest film directors will be announced as the festival nears.

Several top tier metal and hard rock bands have signed on to perform at the inaugural event, and HHFF today announces the first round of confirmed artists: Anselmo’s own Southern sludge super group, Down, which also features former Corrosion of Conformity guitarist and lead singer, Pepper Keenan, Crowbar guitarist and lead singer, Kirk Windstein, Eyehategod and Superjoint Ritual guitarist Jimmy Bower on drums, and Crowbar bassist, Patrick Bruders; New Orleans masters of metallic doom, Crowbar; and the Texas premiere of Philip H. Anselmo & the Illegals, Anselmo’s  greatly anticipated extreme metal solo project.

Horror & Metal Mecca

With films screening inside Emo’s East, and smaller screening rooms throughout the Emo’s complex, and nightly concerts inside the 2,000 capacity Emo’s East, organizers are planning for an immersive, three-day, horror and heavy metal fan mecca. HHFF will also host several “Side Show” attractions – from “gore-lesque” routines to suspension exhibitions to rare horror memorabilia displays. In addition, there will be dozens of horror- and metal-centric vendors dispersed throughout the complex plying their scare wares for the public to check out.

Filmmakers, screenwriters, producers, and actors in attendance will introduce their works and hold Q&A sessions after their screenings and will be available to the public at an outdoor celebrity signing and chat booth. Several notable authors of horror, mystery, true crime, and heavy metal will be also be signing books throughout the weekend.

The Haunted Corridor

And since no horror fest would be complete without creating some terror of its own, festival-goers can take a walk through the Haunted Corridor and allow festival-goers the opportunity to be scared all weekend long. The Haunted Corridor will be constructed by a Texas haunted house team with creative design help from Anselmo, who is one of the original co-founders of the internationally beloved House of Shock haunted house experience from New Orleans, Louisiana.

FILMMAKER SUBMISSIONS

Whether it’s a classic horror film, a big budget blockbuster, an underground gore-fest, an experimental flick, or a quiet chiller, it will be screening at HHFF. Filmmaker submissions open today, with an early submission deadline of March 20. Feature length or short films, big budget or shot on a cell phone—if it’s well made, compelling, and chilling, Anselmo and Mitchell are ready to select it. HHFF is an IMDb qualifying festival, which means that all films in consideration will receive an invitation to create a title page on the Internet Movie Database website.

Films can be submitted here: https://www.withoutabox.com/03film/03t_fin/03t_fin_fest_01over.php?festview=1&festival_id=12077

HHFF WEBSITE LAUNCHED

The official website www.housecorehorrorfilmfestival.com launches today, where interested filmmakers can find more information on how to submit their work. The website will also contain continuous updates including new band and special guest announcements, film screening schedules, vendor and sponsorship opportunities, contact information for HHFF staff, and occasional musings from Anselmo and Mitchell.

DISCOUNTED HHFF BADGES AVAILABLE

A limited number of three-day all-access badges for only $149 are now available for purchase on the HHFF website and also through Eventbrite: http://www.eventbrite.com/event/5352260756

After March 20, badge prices will go up to $199. The first batch of 99 badges sold out in less than 48 hours with no promotion.

ABOUT BANDS ANNOUNCED TO DATE

Down. Philip Anselmo’s Louisiana heavy metal super group doesn’t pretend to be anything that it’s not. Regardless of trends, popular opinions, and changing tides, they’re uncompromising, unparalleled, and undeniable. With a collective pedigree spanning Pantera, Corrosion of Conformity, Crowbar, and Eyehategod, there’s untainted mystique and magic when Philip Anselmo, Pepper Keenan, Kirk Windstein, Jimmy Bower, and Patrick Bruders come together. On the group’s most recent release, DOWN IV Part I, staggering riffs, thunderous drums, and Anselmo’s inimitable delivery crush and captivate over the course of the collection’s six songs. It’s dark. It’s dangerous. It’s decisive. It’s Down at their best. DOWN IV Part I debuted at #35 on the Billboard charts last September.

Crowbar. Fueled by the down-tuned sludge of the Melvins and the over-the-top aggression of the late, great Peter Steele’s Carnivore, Kirk Windstein (Down) created his own beast of a band in the early ‘90s and Crowbar was born. The band’s sound was labeled “Doomcore” by the European press shortly after their debut release, Obedience Thru Suffering. Crowbar has released eight full length LPs, and sold hundreds of thousands of records worldwide. Crowbar is comprised of Windstein on guitar and vocals, Matt Brunson on guitars, Patrick Bruders (Down) on bass, and Tommy Buckley on drums.

Philip H. Anselmo & the Illegals. One of the biggest treats for fans of Philip Anselmo, and heavy metal in general, will be the Texas premiere of his first extreme metal solo project. Anselmo is responsible for some of the most beloved metal recoreds ever released with his main bands Pantera and Down, but also with his numerous notable side projects ranging from the hardcore metallic intensity of Superjoint Ritual, to the black metal stylings of Viking Crown, to the early ‘80s inspired hardcore of Arson Anthem.

Anselmo gave the world a sample of what to expect from his new endeavor on the January release of the split EP War Of The Gargantuas, along with two tracks from Dallas old-school thrashers, Warbeast, who are signed to Anselmo’s Housecore Records. The music press has been overwhelming in their enthusiastic praise of Anselmo’s contributions, which only portends to even greater songs from his soon-to-be released solo album, Walk Through Exits Only.

Many more bands to be announced as the festival nears.

ABOUT SPECIAL GUESTS ANNOUNCED TODAY

Jörg Buttgereit is best known for his shocking 1987 no-budget underground feature, Nekromantik, an uncompromisingly grim and savagely appalling study of an Autobahn worker whose progressive mental collapse leads to grave robbing, necrophilia, and a final ghastly act of suicidal masturbation, which became the genre’s most talked-about gross-out scene for nearly a decade. Buttgereit successfully followed up his debut with an even bloodier sequel, Nekromantik 2, the black-and-white Der Todesking, and the critically revered Schramm. Buttgereit will travel to Austin from Berlin bringing several of his films in tow, in 35mm, no less.

Jim VanBebber is the underground do-it-yourself master of gore, sex, and martial arts. Instead of using a bank loan to pay for a second year of college, VanBebber used the money to finance his debut feature film, Deadbeat at Dawn. His second feature, Charlie’s Family, later The Manson Family—took nearly 15 years to complete. VanBebber has been a non-compromising vigilante outside of the Hollywood system his entire career and has earned endless accolades from hardcore horror fans. Anselmo admired his work so much he helped complete funding for The Manson Family, lent music to that film’s soundtrack, and hired VanBebber to shoot a Pantera video and a Superjoint Ritual video. VanBebber will also bring his films on 35 mm to share with the next generation of horror fanatics.

ABOUT COREY MITCHELL

HHFF co-founder and lead programmer Corey Mitchell is a Los Angeles Times, Amazon, and Borders International Group bestselling author of several true crime books including Hollywood Death Scenes, Dead and Buried, and Pure Murder. He was also the founder of the #1 true crime blog, In Cold Blog; former editor for the Discovery Channel’s Hollywood on Crime blog; a five-year contributor to the #1 heavy metal blog, MetalSucks, and the horror film festival blogger for the #1 horror film website, Bloody Disgusting. Mitchell recently completed his eighth true crime book, Teach Me To Kill (Kensington, 2014), about the murder of a Texas teacher. He is currently working with Philip Anselmo on the frontman’s upcoming autobiography (Simon & Schuster, 2014).

Mitchell’s love for horror was cemented in the back of his parents’ Thunderbird station wagon at the age of five at the Telephone Road Drive-In in Houston, Texas, when he peered over their shoulders to watch Children Shouldn’t Play With Dead Things. He has never lost his love for all things dark and mysterious.

ABOUT PHILIP H. ANSELMO

Known globally as the over-the-top, drill sergeant-like frontman for heavy metal titans Pantera, Philip H. Anselmo is one of the most charismatic, polarizing, and mesmerizing personalities in the world of music. He is also one of the most passionate and knowledgeable fans of horror films and has a collection of 10,000 films to prove it.

Anselmo’s musical past with Pantera is well-known: brought into the Texas band’s fold at the young age of only 17, his insistence on playing a heavier style of metal led to the success of the band’s 1990 release, Cowboys From Hell, which helped to create a strong buzz with metalheads worldwide. With a combination of constant touring, an inimitable stage presence, and a controversial voice in the metal circles, Anselmo helped Pantera reach the top of the metal mountain with 1992’s classic release, Vulgar Display of Power. That album was followed by 1994’s Far Beyond Driven; the first extreme metal album to ever debut at #1 on the Billboard charts. Not content to have the #1 album in the country, Anselmo began to release albums with a plethora of side projects such as Necrophagia, Viking Crown, Superjoint Ritual, Christ Inversion, Eibon, and his other huge successful band, Down. Anselmo, with his numerous projects, has sold around 25 million albums.

Anselmo currently spends his time with Down, and his punk band Arson Anthem, running his own independent record label, Housecore Records, and rehearsing for a few select solo shows, including his performance at HHFF.

Anselmo’s love of horror began as a young boy when he would watch the terrifying anthology television series, Night Gallery, with his mother. He has been exposed to horror films worldwide and wants to share his passion for them with everyone.

Horror film director and rock star Rob Zombie said of Philip Anselmo and the Housecore Horror Film Festival: “Philip’s done lots of great things for heavy metal. I believe the Housecore Horror Film Festival will be great for horror!

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