To kick-off the Umbrella Retrospective of George Romero’s body of work, the Melbourne Film Festival will premiere five new episodes of the critically acclaimed website and mobile series, ‘Trailers from Hell’. Fellow filmmakers Mick Garris, George Hickenlooper, John Landis, Eli Roth and Edgar Wright pay homage to the iconic horror director in pithy and frequently humorous commentaries about trailers for Romero’s ‘Creepshow’, ‘Night of the Living Dead’, ‘Dawn of the Dead’, ‘Day of the Dead’, and ‘Martin’.
Trailers from Hell, this year’s winner of the Classic Horror Film Board’s “Rondo Award” for Best Website. is the brainchild of director Joe Dante (Gremlins, Matinee, The Second Civil War), producer Elizabeth Stanley and Jonas Hudson of Digital Syndication. TFH is a series that showcases classic-era movie Previews of Coming Attractions with particular emphasis on the lurid, the extreme and the outrageous.
Giulia D’Agnolo Vallan, curator of the Romero Retrospective, approached Dante and Stanley about doing some trailers specifically for her series because “I thought it would be fun if some of George’s colleagues and friends could give us their perspective on his movies. I love Trailers from Hell: it offers great insight in filmmakers’ passions and point of view. And it is growing into a fascinating oral history of cinema”.
Dante and Stanley immediately responded to the proposal. “How could we resist the opportunity to honor George while introducing Australian filmgoers to Trailers from Hell?” exclaimed Dante. “I got my start in the movie biz cutting trailers at the tail end of the so-called Golden Age, before the ad agencies and focus groups took over. I love trailers. So join us in revisiting, or discovering for the first time, how much fun these sensational, absurdist slices of shameless cinematic hucksterism can be!”
Viewers can opt to watch the original trailers intact and/or enjoy the commentary-punctuated
versions at www.trailersfromhell.com website or via the FunLittleMovies premium channel on Sprint mobile phones.
For over 20 years the Horror Asylum has continued to bring you the very best genre news, reviews, giveaways and interviews in the horror world.