If only the stars of slashers would make not getting stabbed a top priority! Rookie Mage Games has launched a Kickstarter for its multiplayer, party card game DON'T GET STABBED! Continue reading for campaign details, gameplay, and rules. Also in today's Horror Highlights: Kickstarter campaign details for the horror movie Black Mass, release info for Shed of the Dead (featuring Kane Hodder and Bill Moseley), and an Alien Party Crashers Q&A with director Peter Stray.
DON'T GET STABBED! Kickstarter Details: "Rookie Mage Games is proud to announce that its first game, DON’T GET STABBED!, launched on Kickstarter today. The game is available for $25 with a goal of $8,000 needed to fund production. Multiple tiers of support are available. The campaign will end on April 25th.
DON’T GET STABBED! is a party card game where you get to kill your family and friends (for pretend). The game is inspired by slasher films from the '70s, ’80s, and '90s, but made lighthearted enough for everyone to enjoy.
One player gets to be the killer. The rest play as victims.
Everyone takes turns drawing cards. If a victim gets three STAB cards, they DIE! But they can use ACTION cards to avoid getting stabbed. And they can use COMBO cards for a chance at escaping.
But the killer has special powers. If the killer draws a STAB card, they can put it back in the deck wherever they want. And the killer can use ACTION and COMBO cards to thwart the victims’ attempts to stay alive.
The game plays for 3-5 players and only takes 15 minutes per round. It’s a quick and easy party game to play with friends and family. DON’T GET STABBED! is recommended for ages 18 and up due to humorous references to sex, alcohol, and violence.
“I’m really proud that DON’T GET STABBED! is finally ready to be presented to the world.” Founder Jordan McLaughlin said. “I’ve put a lot of work into developing a game that I think people will really enjoy, and it’s great that I get to start a business doing something I love.”
Reviews:
“If you like d**king over your friends and family, this is the game for you.” -FriGay the 13th Horror Podcast
“We had a blast playing and whether you are a horror fan or not, we think you will too.” -The Poe and Grimm Podcast
“Never have I encountered something that touched on the horror genre so broadly and specifically at the same time. The game is easy enough for a goon like me to learn, even without a PowerPoint Presentation. From unboxing to trash talking with our friends, this game is a worthwhile experience that won't stab you in the wallet.” - Jake & Bryan, Slashers Podcast
About the Creator: Jordan McLaughlin founded his company, Rookie Mage Games, in 2018 to bring his passion for rambunctious fun to others.
Born and raised in Central Ohio, Jordan was the kid that organized the superhero games at recess and made his cousins perform in plays he wrote (which they loved but refuse to admit it).
Jordan watched his first scary movie, Scream, at a friend’s house when he was 14 (don’t tell his parents). He was instantly hooked and quickly became a fan of slasher flicks from the ’80s, such as Friday the 13th and Nightmare on Elm Street.
As an adult, Jordan graduated from the University of Akron before moving to the Columbus, Ohio area to pursue his career. He kept his love for creativity by making fake movie trailers, video games, and escape rooms to torment his family members.
Now, those years of creative experience and affinity for scary movies have culminated into DON’T GET STABBED!. Jordan worked late evenings at the public library to design the mechanics, create the artwork, and plan production.
Jordan currently resides in New Albany, Ohio with his partner Alex, who is really tired of being forced to playtest this game all the time.
Kickstarter Page: http://bit.ly/2ClVcPD Facebook: www.facebook.com/dontgetstabbedgame Twitter: www.twitter.com/DStabbed Instagram: www.instagram.com/dontgetstabbed/"
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Black Mass Kickstarter Campaign: "Black Mass is the latest project from Producer Chris Nials and Writer/Director/Producer Scott Lyus - the team behind award winning short films Silently Within Your Shadow and Echoes of the Passed. A gothic horror that promises to be their most ambitious and personal tale to date.
With an award winning cast and crew, including actors Johnny Viviash, Charlie Bond and Sophia Eleni, with Director of Photography Neal Parsons, (who worked on the Oscar Winning Short The Silent Child) and Composer Mitch Bain. Black Mass promises to be a terrifying horror that will chill you to your core.
The dark and atmospheric story centres around a bereaved father and his two adopted daughters as they try to come to terms with the loss of their mother, all while haunted by a demonic presence.
Black Mass is a story that is born out of my own personal battle with depression and the depths it has taken me to. For me, it has been the darkest and scariest period of my life, and while it’s a battle I still suffer with, it’s something I’m ready to open up about and help shine a light on. The story is a passionate take on a very tough subject and I don’t want to shy away from or sugarcoat what people with depression go through. I feel horror is the perfect genre to explore that story and I promise Black Mass will be the scariest and darkest film I have ever made. - Scott Lyus
The film will introduce a new and terrifying horror legend known as Darkness.
A demonic presence known by many names but most commonly referred to as Darkness, the entity latches on to those at their weakest, appearing as an old friend or loved one, an ever present voice, slowly taking over their life until nothing remains but a deep, dark void.
Our new horror icon will be created with a mix of Hollywood level SFX and VFX work. And we are beyond excited to announce, that VFX guru Ryan J. Thompson, who has worked on a bunch of cult horror hits, including horror mega hit The Birch which was picked up by Eli Roth’s CryptTV and has hit a record breaking 15 million views on YouTube alone, has joined the Black Mass team to bring our terrifying icon to life."
To learn more about Black Mass, visit the film's official Kickstarter page.
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Shed of the Dead World Premiere Details: "7DM Studios, in association with Oceanstorm Films and Williams Bulldog Management, are excited to announce that their riotous new zombie comedy, Shed of the Dead, will be having its World Premiere at this year's SCI-FI-LONDON Film Festival on 18th May at Stratford Picturehouse, and will be available on Digital Download release from 20th May.
Witness the hilarious and grisly journey of Trevor, a 30-something man-child wargaming enthusiast, and his best friend, Graham, as they attempt to survive the zombie apocalypse.
The film features a host of British talent including Spencer Brown, Lauren Socha (Misfits), Emily Booth (Doghouse), and Ewen MacIntosh (The Bromley Boys, The Office). In addition, British actor Brian Blessed will be lending his unmistakable booming vocals as the film's narrator. The film also features US horror icons Kane Hodder (Friday the 13th franchise, Hatchet), Bill Moseley (The Devil's Rejects, Halloween), and Michael Berryman (The Hills Have Eyes, One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest).
Shed of the Dead producer, Nicholas David Lean, has said, "We're all delighted to finally be able to showcase Shed of the Dead at SFL to fans of independent British comedy horror. We hope you all have as much fun watching it as we did making it!"
An 'urban fear' grips the tenants of an inner city allotment when the long-predicted apocalypse finally arrives. Gardeners, of all levels of green-fingered ability and produce-preference, are afraid to venture onto their plots, especially late at night. And even then, when they can summon enough courage to so do, there is no safety in numbers. For the dead have risen from the depths beneath the cabbage patch, and the rows of sweet pea, hell-bent on mischief, mayhem, and consumption of the living.
Only the nimble-fingered "figurine war-gamer" Trevor, aka 'Casimir the Destroyer', and his best friend Graham, the knightly "Sir Brandt", stand between the devilish hordes of undead and the salvation of mankind - well at least in their alter-ego fantasies they do. Until, of course, one dark night as they look beyond the confines of Trevor's little wooden shed, they discover that the world has truly fallen into the hands of the undead -- particularly Trevor's allotment tenant neighbours. Now Trevor must venture into the unknown to save his wife, Bobbi, and her 'capricious' friend Harriet, from a world gone to chaos. And in so doing, become the hero he has always fantasized he was.
Special guests from the cast, Spencer Brown, Emily Booth, Lauren Socha, and Ewen MacIntosh will be attending the Q&A at SCI-FI-LONDON Film Festival on 18th May. Tickets will be available through sci-fi-london.com
Shed of the Dead will also be available on Digital Download from 20th May."
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Alien Party Crashers Q&A with Director Peter Stray: "So why did Welsh sci-fi/horror/comedy Canaries get a new title for its North American release? We speak to ALIEN PARTY CRASHERS director Peter Stray to find out!
What does Alien Party Crashers, as a title, refer to?
Peter: So we’re called “Canaries” worldwide but the head of HOP (High Octane Pictures) made an excellent point for American streaming - when people search for alien movies, they enter ‘alien’ in the search bar - I certainly do! So then I suggested the title as that’s basically what our foes are doing in the film - they’re crashing a New Year’s Eve party.
Have any films or filmmakers from your youth - heck, even now – influenced this one? How so?
Peter: John Carpenter, Joss Whedon in his Buffy days, Joel Schumacher’s The Lost Boys, more recently Joe Cornish’s Attack The Block.
Growing up, did you have a favorite or go-to scary movie?
Peter: I think The Lost Boys was great fun - I like to laugh as well as jump with fright so that influenced the time here for sure.
There are different types of horror films – where do you think this one fits? Do you personally like one sort of horror movie over the other?
Peter: I’d call this a “sciforroromedy” - if I owned a video store (I still miss those!) I’d definitely put it next to Shaun Of The Dead, Cabin In The Woods, The Lost Boys, etc.
CGI or practical effects. Preference?
Peter: Both are great. I think CGI has a bad rep and I understand why in that it can be lazily used. I used both in this film and I’m really proud of what both teams did. great FX makeup work from Jess Heath and Alice Pinney, great stunt and fight work from Kevin McCurdy and his team. Milk VFX (Oscar winners for Ex Machina) then came in and did post-production effects.
They say horror is the ‘easiest sell’. Was that your experience? And how did H.O.P get involved?
Peter: I was told that at some point but luckily I was always a fan of many aspects of that genre anyway. A documentary, nowadays, is also a big sell, but I wouldn’t be interested unless it was about aliens! So yes I think any filmmaker has to be somewhat aware of what’s “selling” but not have it distract from who they are as filmmakers too much. HOP was introduced to us by our sales agent Devilworks and we’re delighted both of them are behind the film and getting it out there.
If the movie were part of a double feature at a drive-in theatre, what would make the perfect support/second movie?
Peter: I recently saw a great Sci-Fi feature at Boston Sci-Fi (which gave us an award for Best Comedy) called Lake Artifact - the writer/director Bruce Wemple and I agreed that each film is the UK/ US cousin of the other - likable drunk characters, a deeply weird mythology, dark humor, and Sci-Fi/horror shenanigans!
ALIEN PARTY CRASHERS is now on VOD and DVD."