This year's Splatterfest is shaping up to be a major event for Houston horror fans. As was reported earlier, the legendary star of the Evil Dead trilogy Bruce Campbell will be on hand to sign autographs, take questions, steal your girlfriend and otherwise entertain the masses. In addition, you'll be treated to a screening of all three Evil Dead films.
Now, another star has been confirmed to attend the much anticipated event: Michael Biehn. Biehn has some of the choicest geek roles under his belt. He was Kyle Reese in the original Terminator, and we can certainly get behind time traveling to get extra friendly with '80s-era Linda Hamilton. He rocked as Corporal Hicks in Aliens, stole much of the show in the Abyss and even managed to make parts of Navy Seals watchable, for which there really should be some kind of award.
However, Biehn won't be on hand just to give us a chance to shake hands with greatness. He comes bearing a film of his own. While he was on set with Robert Rodriguez making Planet Terror, Biehn was inspired to take up the director's chair himself. The result is his debut work, The Victim, starring himself, Danielle Harris (Halloween, Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead) and Jennifer Blanc (Party of Five, Dark Angel).
The film deals with two sheriff's deputies who accidentally kill a young woman. Rather than face the consequences of their actions, they decide to take out the woman's best friend, who witnessed the murder. Fleeing to the woods, she knocks on the door of a recluse, whose violent confrontation with her attackers will force you to ask just who is the real victim?
Check out the trailer below.
Splatterfest will also host its second short film competition. Participants are given a sentence, a weapon, a character and 54 hours to complete a film. The winner will receive a Canon Rebel 32i camera and other prizes. Last year's winner was Joe Grisaffi for his short Don't Go in the Attic.
In addition to The Victim, the Evil Dead trilogy and the films for this year's contest, Odyssey Pictures will roll out its latest work, Jacob, about a hulking, mentally handicapped man who seeks vengeance after the death of his beloved little sister. Comic Book Divas will debut Dennis Willman's book Playzom, as well as a Goldilocks in Zombie Land with a special Splatterfest variant cover.
Portions of Comic Book Divas sales benefit breast cancer research, and Splatterfest will be donating some proceeds from the box office to AIDS Foundation Houston.
Filmmakers interested in participating in this year's challenge should register on the SplatterFest Web site. The competition will run September 9 through 11 and the film festival will be hosted by the Alamo Drafthouse West Oaks September 27 through October 1. VIP tickets are still available, and ticket holders will be given precedence in lines and will receive discount admission to Scream World.
