By MICHAEL GINGOLD
The horse-of-horror film has found a home.
Troma gave us the first word that they’ve picked up the independent fright feature HELLMARE, from writer/director Victor Gabriel. Release details are forthcoming. Laura Reyes, Ali Issa, Brandon Voight, CJ Patterson, Justin Travis, Jordan Causey, Zach Hill, Maddie Reardon, Victor Gabriel, and Lloyd Kaufman; the synopsis: “The year is 1997, and on a gloomy evening in Detroit a group of friends are sucked into a horror movie when they gather at the house of a recently deceased occultist to screen a film entitled…HELLMARE.”
“I really am excited to be working with my good uncle, Lloyd Kaufman, and the Troma team on releasing our first feature,” Gabriel says. “Lloyd has been an artist and creator that I’ve looked up to since l was 15, many moons ago. Our entire cast and crew are all fans of Troma. I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that the meta aspect of TERROR FIRMER was an influence on the creation of HELLMARE to some degree. Overall, I want people to see this movie, and I think it makes a lot of sense for it to be presented by Troma—though at the start of filming, I didn’t quite think this is where it would find its home. After seeing the finished film, I think fans of Troma and the offbeat will understand what we’re doing—creating something out of nothing. Our small team is ecstatic to hopefully get this flick in some fests, get a solid physical release and fucking party. I’ve always found the Troma ethos to be in line with my view that independent film is anti-establishment art.”
