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» Tuesday October 06, 2009 - 12:01 am
After 18 months of production, Horse Archer Productions will release its much anticipated documentary, "Virginia Creepers: The Horror Host Tradition of the Old Dominion," with a debut at Monster Fest 6 in Chesapeake, VA on October 10.
The film, which looks at more than 50 years of hosting horror movies on the Virginia and DC airwaves features extensive interviews with all known living hosts, previously unheard audio and video footage from shows not seen by the public for nearly four decades.
Horror hosting, as it is commonly known, was a very popular form of local entertainment in many markets for decades and survives to this day, largely on cable access television and the internet.
"We have put a lot of research and leg work into this film," said Sean Kotz, co-producer and co-director of the full length feature documentary, "but we have also been fortunate to find passionate people with photos, audio and video that would have otherwise been lost."
Kotz said the idea for the film evolved in 2007 after he moderated a panel of Virginia's hosts including Count Gore De Vol, The Bowman Body, Dr. Madblood, and Dr. Sarcofiguy at MonsterFest that year, an annual event at the Chesapeake Central Library.
"There were a lot of funny stories swapped at that table and it got a tremendous response," said Kotz, "and I started thinking about the fact that we had a great little tradition in this state with some legendary names that are known nationally."
The documentary runs chronologically, starting with "Jonathan," whose show appeared on WSLS in Roanoke on February 6, 1958.
Soon after two female hosts, Ghoulda and Hazel Witch hit the Richmond airwaves while Ronald began his show on Friday the 13th in 1959, running off and on for nearly a decade.
From there, the film takes the subject right up to the present day and talks with hosts who are still producing their shows in various forms.
Additionally, the film is hosted itself by Mr. Lobo, a California host whose show, Cinema Insomnia, has been syndicated in Virginia with a great deal of praise and success.
As a result, the producers have already seen pre-orders come in from across the country, which they say is an indicator of how important these shows were to people in general.
"This documentary is also very much about the transformation of television," said co-director/producer, Chris Valluzzo. "Originally, local talent was very important for a variety of programs but gradually infomercials, syndication and corporate ownership pushed most of that out."
Noting that both Bowman Body and Dr. Gruesome's Movie Morgue were beating Carson in Richmond on Friday nights through two decades, Valluzzo said it is not surprising that so many people care about this topic.
"It is more about comedy and localism than it is about being scared," he said.
Rob Floyd, co-founder of Monster Fest, says the October 10 premiere of Virginia Creepers is an exciting event for everyone involved.
"The fact that a past Monster Fest was the inspiration for Virginia Creepers makes me very proud," said Floyd.
"Horror hosts are just as much fun today as they were when we were kids and remind us that someone else out there 'gets it' like we do."
The documentary, which also features original songs by Virginia musicians, is available at www.virginiacreepersmovie.com and and is likely to appear at future conventions and film festivals.
People can also search for "Virginia Creepers" on YouTube to see a mini-documentary, a music video trailer and a few clips from the film.
MINI-DOCUMENTARY LINK
MUSIC VIDEO/TRAILER
                    
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