MASSACHUSETTS
(March 24, 2013) – The independent short film horror “Microcinema” was selected
as Best Short Film at the 2013 Jersey Gore Film Festival (http://jerseygorefilmfestival.com)
this weekend at the historic Darress Theatre in Boonton, NJ. Written and
directed by Harvest Tide Productions co-founder Skip Shea, “Microcinema” has
received wide acclaim including the fan-based 2012 Rondo Hatton Classic Horror
Award Honorable Mention for Best Short Film. (http://www.rondoaward.com)
“Harvest
Tide and the cast and crew of “Microcinema” are very honored and grateful to be
recognized by Geraldine Winters and the Jersey Gore Film Festival,” said Shea.
“This might be a spoiler but with this film, I wanted to change the formula of
the revenge film after countless movies where we see a woman become a victim
before she fights back and either gets away or gets her revenge. It’s a good
formula, but I wanted to turn those tables. As a survivor of clergy sexual
abuse I wanted to see the predator pay his karmic debt for even thinking about
and planning to commit such a crime.”
Shea,
whose abuse occurred in the Diocese of Worcester in Massachusetts, is an activist
and his films often serve to raise awareness through horror and satire of the
ongoing issues around clergy sexual abuse.
Starring Alex
Lewis and Aurora Grabill, “Microcinema” (www.watchmicrocinema.com) is
the story of Peter Martell, a highly educated, well-to-do young man with too
much free time on his hands. He spends it watching snuff films. One day he
makes the bold decision to cross the line from observer to participant,
aspiring to bring a philosophical element to his own kind of snuff films. Ready
to go to work, he tracks his first victim into a haunted New England wood,
where the boundary between participant and observer takes a different turn.
“Microcinema”
is Harvest Tide’s first online and internationally self-distributed short
horror film which scored on several best-of lists and gained momentum as a cult
favorite and a hit with horror reviewers. Danielle Holman writing for Truly
Disturbing Horror, www.trulydisturbing.com listed
“Microcinema” as one of the five best horror films saying, “Skip Shea’s
seven-minute short film is deserving in the ranks of the big films as it’s able
to accomplish more in less than ten minutes than an hour and a half feature
length film.” In her Bleeding Dead, http://bleedingdeadfilmreviews.blogspot.com/ she
has called “Microcinema” "…one of the most important horror films of our
time."
Chris
Conduit of The Conduit Speaks, www.theconduitspeaks.com put
“Microcinema” as the best horror short of the year giving it his Conduit Award.
“Microcinema”
wowed critics and audiences last year at several horror film festivals and
screenings within the few short months of its release. Screenings in 2011
included the 1st Annual Danish Horror Film Festival: THE
TURBINE at Spinderihallerne, Vejle, Denmark; All Things Horror
Shudder Fest at the Somerville Theater in Somerville, MA; Short Horror
Films at AS220 in Providence, RI; the Massachusetts Independent
Film Festival; and before Canadian horror film fans at Fright Night
Theater presents: ABSENTIA & Microcinema at the Staircase Cafe Theater
in Hamilton, Ontario.
What
the critics are saying about “Microcinema”
"This
is a 6 minute experience genre fans owe themselves. It’s rare these days to
find full length Hollywood feature films that feel fresh, let alone 6 minute
shorts made on tiny budgets." - Life After Undeath Blog.
"The
film is brave and unrelenting. It is a breath of fresh air to a lot of the
common horror tricks that are being trotted out time and again."
-Alexandra West, Scare Tactics Blog.
"Skip
Shea is an adept director with equal ability to write, his short film gets more
across than most full length films. 4 out of 5 Stars"
- The Bleeding Dead Film Reviews.
"You
will not be expecting to see the events that unfold in this shocking short
film." - The Horror Spot
"The
script itself deserves kudos for completely drawing your attention to the one
aspect we would expect every horror film to contain and then suddenly shocks
you with an element you rarely see in this genre." The Scariest
Movies Online
"I
figured I was in for one of three things: a really solid work, a bite
size film that left me feeling nothing, or one of those that makes me want to
substitute rat poison for the salt on my dinner table. Those are the
three categories all art falls into for me, always. Yet, when it was all said
and done, Shea's vignette carved a whole new icky slot out just for itself. 9
out of 10 Stars" - The Conduit Speaks
"Brilliant.
8.5 out of 10 Stars" - The Gruesome Hurtzogg Horror Movie Review
Podcast.
"4
out of 5 Stars" - Char Hardin
"What
I find particularly interesting about Microcinema is its plot and how
it seems to blend together torture, voyeurism, and a lot of other really weird
horrific topics like snuff films." - Horror Society
"Microcinema
Doesn't Disappoint" - Victor Infante, Worcester Telergram &
Gazette
"The
new indie horror romp Microcinema and it is a doozy." - Truly
Disturbing Horror
"Interesting
short that starts as your usual slasher/serial killer fare before taking a
wicked little turn." -Shaun Sjolin Cenobiteme Blog
"Unicornsblud
Horror Review Stamp of Majestic Approval" - Unicronsblud's
Horror Reviews
“Twisted and sick but with a new vision.” - The Dr. Chris Radio of
Horror
