Crime Pays, Inc. founder and president Hart D. Fisher has announced that longtime collaborator Joseph M. Monks’ debut feature, The Bunker, will air as the pilot episode of Fisher’s Flowers on the Razorwire television series for the Indiepix cable channel. Beginning this fall, Indiepix will broadcast the new fright showcase to 120 million households in 17 countries.
The distribution agreement with Carol Angela Davis, Inc. and Global Broadcasting & Syndication Inc., calls for 22 episodes of Flowers on the Razorwire and other horror-related programming. Production on the series is already underway, based on the 1990s comic book of the same name.
“This television distribution agreement is a major leap forward for independent American horror creators, allowing them to find a vast untapped audience for their work. I’m looking forward to bringing quality horror product to European audiences, and I’m proud to begin that with The Bunker,” says Fisher.
Monks, an independent comics groundbreaker for the past two decades, lost his eyesight in 2002 after a long battle with diabetic retinopathy. Faced with life-changing circumstances, Monks stunned the comic book world by returning to a largely-visual medium, garnering rave reviews for his work on Zacherley’s Midnight Terrors, working with the legendary American horror host. But a return to the genre he enjoyed so much wasn’t nearly the challenge he undertook next–becoming the world’s first blind feature film director.
“Having written the screenplay for the first Flowers on the Razorwire episode, I was very familiar with the way Hart envisioned a full-on TV series,” says Monks. “So when I wrote The Bunker, I saw it taking the series to its natural next-plateau, which was a feature. Like the Tales from the Crypt: Demon Night film, it made all the sense in the world. Helming it myself might not have, but directing it was a challenge too good to pass up.”
While the film initially drew interest as a curiosity, it’s turned heads after several screenings, receiving praise from the likes of FANGORIA’s Tom Carnell, Rue Morgue, The Hacker’s Source and the Miami Herald, among others. A selection of the 2007 Halloween Horror Picture Show film festival, Monks is happy that the film has been able to stand on its own.
“The curiosity angle is nice, but now that the film is making the rounds as we look for a distribution deal and the reception it’s gotten has been so positive, this opportunity to showcase it to such a large audience is more than I could have hoped for. I’m excited about working with Hart on other episodes for the series. We’ve been in the indie trenches together a long time, so what better way to make a splash than on Indiepix?”
Broadcasting executive and founder Carol Davis says, “As we build and brand our thematic channels we are very careful about the companies we allow to program content. Hart D. Fisher presents very unique products that are naturals for compelling content.”
For more information on The Bunker and director Joseph M. Monks, you can
visit: www.sightunseenpictures.com.
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