QUESTIONABLE SUBTEXT MAKES THE UGLY F*CK MY SON! UGLIER

SPOILERS: In Todd Rohal’s F*CK MY SON!, an “old hag” named Vermina (Robert Longstreet) kidnaps a young mother (Tipper Newton) and her daughter (Kynzie Colmery), so that her grotesque adult-son Fabian (Steve Little, under pounds of prosthetics) can rape away his virginity. Since its Toronto premiere, the director has shipped his “X-rated” comedy (a rating that doesn’t exist anymore; it is more truthfully NR, or not rated) to U.S. cities promising an old-school night of no-holds-barred gross-out. It hits Australian screens via Monster Pictures from April 9.

For an old soul like mine, it’s mid level on the shock-o-meter. My dark teenage days watching VHS nasties, discovering such fun pics as THE KILLING OF AMERICA and SALO, OR 120 DAYS OF SODOM, or walking in on some guys watching some very specific ‘Euro-porn’, means I’m largely desensitised to warty dicks, what lives in skin folds and all manner of bodily secretions. If this is your first walk on cinema’s wild side, have at it, but progress to Adam Rifkin’s THE DARK BACKWARD for a truly inspired transgressive U.S. indie.

Distracted, I began searching for some kind of subtext in Rohal’s dirty-diaper of a film. The first question I pondered was, ‘Why is Vermina being played by a man?’ There’s no doubt it’s a dude in make-up and drag, but she has breasts and, we eventually learn, female genitalia. Is Rohal implying Vermina is transgender? Which doesn’t make sense if Fabian is her son. The film’s morality (and logic) gets murkier when we learn Fabian’s father is a local cop, played by black actor George Sample III (Fabian clearly calls him, “Daddy” at one point). Why a black actor? Is the blister- and shit-covered Fabian the by-product of a mixed-race marriage?

The deeper I let myself dig, the uglier this already ugly film seemed to get. Fabian’s appearance leans close to a brutal distortion of Down Syndrome physiology; the very real struggle that the physically-impaired endure to experience physical love seems a particularly insensitive premise, even for a rape fantasy like F*CK MY SON!; and, in a sequence that can only be construed as the most vile symbolism, Vermina bellows a German chant (“Kinder Brötchen!”) as she slams the oven door on the terrified child.

I don’t know Todd Rohal’s politics. I'm sure he just set out to make an underground movie yuck-a-thon. How some of the audience will apply their own set of values and beliefs to the material is not the filmmaker's problem, of course. Unless the filmmaker is speaking directly to that audience, which I'm certain he's not...

HALLOWSCREAMCON FAN EVENT TO DOMINATE SIN CITY IN 2026

A new chapter in global fan conventions has launched, with the groundbreaking entertainment mega-event HallowScreamCon announcing its residency at Las Vegas Convention Center. The debut show, which will include a vast multi-venue rollout across Sin City, will run October 1–4, 2026.

Three years in development and planning, HallowScreamCon promises a fully immersive fanverse that will celebrate pop culture, fandom, nostalgia, and spectacle. More than just another Halloween convention, it will aim to be a multi-genre fan experience that spans film, TV, games, anime, comics, music, fashion, beauty, stunts, live performance, tattoo and tiki culture and live theatre.

HallowScreamCon is produced by Screen Masters International, a female-founded, independently led company redefining the fan convention landscape. “We’re not here to separate, we’re here to elevate,” says CEO Kelly Warnell. “HallowScreamCon was born out of a love for entertainment, fandom, Halloween, and spectacle—and it’s designed to welcome everyone into the experience.”

Fans will enter a curated world divided into immersive zones, including the Main Stage & Black Catwalk, for cosplay contests, live shows, and major celebrity reveals; ScreamLabs, a pitch zone for creators of original horror, sci-fi, and fantasy IP; The SINema (pictured, right), for screenings of horror classics, cult gems, and premieres; Meet & Greet Graveyard, where celebrity photo ops and panels are staged; Game Over, for horror gaming, esports, VR, and interactive challenges; and, The Crossroads, a hub for tattoos, retro fashion, tiki culture and lowbrow art.

Also planned are glam, gore, makeup artistry, and live transformations; an enclave called Otaku Obscura, for anime, manga, K-horror, and Eastern fandoms; a Paranormal Activity Zone, for ghost hunters, séances, and supernatural lore; an art and animation community centre for comic artists, illustrators and voice actors; The PUNKINS Zone for family-friendly games and daytime fun; Something Wicked, an after-dark playground for 18+ scares and adult content; and The ShriekEasy, a hidden tiki haunt with its own cinematic backstory.

At the heart of the narrative is Countess Shrieky Von Tiki, a cursed 1950s starlet who vanished after sipping a forbidden cocktail called The Final Scream. Her legend lives on in the ShriekEasy, but finding her requires fans to play her game. Starting this fall, a nationwide treasure hunt will scatter HallowScream Coins and cryptic riddles across social media, fandom hubs, and major cities. Solving them will unlock secret show content, prizes, and access.

Early bird tickets will be released October 1st, 2025, exactly one year before the show opens. With a strong waiting list already in place, these are expected to sell out quickly. Fans are encouraged to sign up early, follow the clues, and unlock exclusive early access rewards before general admission opens.

2024 DARK NIGHTS FILM FESTIVAL: PREVIEW

Sydney’s new ritualistic celebration of independent horror and dark genre cinema, Dark Nights Film Fest, has offered up a challenging inaugural program that is certain to rattle all but the most hardened of horror fans when it explodes upon the Randwick Ritz screens from October 11th-13th.

“Themes of ‘family’ – the bonds that tie us together and can be torn apart – are present in many of the films in our first program, yet it has tickled our dark fancy that much of Volume One is made up of classic monsters,” explains festival director, Bryn Tilly, “We’ve got zombies, vampires, ghosts, demons, psychos, each representation with its own twist, its own bite, its own terrifying cackle.”

Nine features and eighteen short films, including five World Premieres, three International Premieres, and nine Australian Premieres, from all across Europe, the Americas, and Australia's own vibrant horror filmmaking culture, will be screened at in what is the an impressive first-up roster from the fledgling event.

Opening the festival will be Isaac Ezban's PÁRVULOS, an epic tale of three young Mexican brothers caught up in the wilderness during the zombie apocalypse. Vampirism is portrayed with a hard-edged elegance in Kasper Juhl’s Danish shocker, BLOODSUCKER – think PUSHER meets THE ADDICTION, with lots of blood; Elric Kane’s first narrative feature, THE DEAD THING, from the US, is a darkly sensual, haunting parable on the perils of modern dating with a mesmerising performance from Blu Hunt; and, Turkey delivers the savage tour-de-force that is SAYARA, the latest from BASKIN director Can Evrenol.

 

Ludwig Gür’s debut feature, GUDSTJÄNST, is a gripping and disturbing Swedish crime thriller, where a troubled and desperate priest falls foul of unholy and devastating influences; the nightmarish and Fulci-esque 1978, from Argentinean brothers Luciano & Nicolás Onetti, sees Hell on Earth erupt in a remote detention centre; and the insidious shadows of history rear their heads in SOLVENT, from Austrian Johannes Gerzfurthner, a faux-doco tapping deep into existential paranoia and body-horror.

Closing Night features the festival’s awards presentation followed by WITHIN THE PINES, a taut, nail-biting thriller from South Australian Paul Evans Thomas, that does for forests what JAWS did for the ocean.

 

Capping off the killer program is a special presentation of two landmark New Zealand films; the 35th anniversary of Alison Maclean’s brilliant, monochromatic nightmare short KITCHEN SINK, followed by the 40th anniversary of David Blyth’s insane, splatterpunk feature DEATH WARMED UP in all its uncut, deep trash glory. 

Collectors will dig the Dark Nights Movie Boutique, a collection of retail booths that will be set up on the Ritz mezzanine on Saturday and Sunday, with stallholders spruiking their high art and deep trash cinema merchandise for the cashed-up curious, with Blu-rays, DVDs, books, magazines, posters, and much more for sale.

 

TICKETS and SESSION DETAILS can be found at the RANDWICK RITZ Official Website.

AUSSIE ZOMBIE KANGAROO FILM ‘THE RED’ IN CINEMAS OCTOBER 31

Radioactive Pictures is excited to announce the theatrical release of THE RED, an outrageous comedy horror set in the Australian outback, starring what promises to be Australia’s next iconic personality: Rippy—the giant Zombie Kangaroo. Rippy is your average bloke by day, and a terrifying Zombie Kangaroo by night.

In ‘The Red’, this unforgettable character is hell bent on terrorising the remote town of Axehead, and is set to become a beloved fixture in the international comedy/horror genre. Alongside Rippy, the film features an all-star Aussie cast, including Terminator and Alien legend Michael Biehn, Australian acting royalty Angie Milliken, Mystery Road’s Aaron Pedersen, and rising star Tess Haubrich.

THE RED follows the story of young police officer Maddy (Tess Haubrich; pictured, right), who is determined to live up to her deceased father's legacy. Her courage is put to the test when locals are found brutally ripped to shreds by the zombie kangaroo. As the undead beast leaves a trail of carnage, Maddy, with the help of her eccentric uncle Schmitty (Michael Biehn) and resilient aunt Donna (Angie Milliken), must embark on a high-stakes battle to save the town.

Producer Jessica Butland promises, "A wild ride from start to finish, delivering everything creature feature fans would expect from such an outrageous concept! It also delivers for mainstream audiences with its throw back to classic Aussie slang and pop-culture.”

Director Ryan Coonan says, “THE RED is a horror comedy film influenced by classic creature features such as THE THING, AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON, JAWS and RAZORBACK."

THE RED is distributed in Australia and New Zealand by Radioactive and will be in cinemas across Australia and New Zealand this Halloween.

UMBRELLA AND SHUDDER PARTNER ON SLASHER ‘IN A VIOLENT NATURE’ FOR ANZ RELEASE

Leading Oz indie distributor Umbrella Entertainment has partnered with premium streaming service, Shudder, to release writer/director Chris Nash’s slasher hit In a Violent Nature in cinemas in Australian and New Zealand on August 1, 2024.

It is the latest co-branded release between Umbrella and Shudder following their collaboration on past genre titles You’ll Never Find Me, The Demon Disorder and Late Night With the Devil.

Following its premiere in the Sundance Film Festival ‘Midnight’ strand on January 22, In a Violent Nature released theatrically on 1,426 screens in the US and grossed $3 million USD in its first week. Nash’s chilling, gruesome feature debut has been praised as a one-of-a-kind horror experience best enjoyed on the big screen. The New York Times called the film, “an ambitious blend of art house and slaughterhouse.”; Globe and Mail labelled it, “the most thrilling, terrifying, gross and often quite funny reworking of the slasher genre in ages.”

The film follows a resurrected killer, played by the imposing Ry Barrett, who goes on a rampage in the Canadian wilderness, with the slayings presented via the murderer’s perspective. It currently boasts a very positive 84% fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes with audience members reporting scenes so gory and gruesome, that they started to feel unwell in the audience.

Ari Harrison, General Manager of Umbrella Entertainment said: “After the success of the theatrical release in the US, we jumped on a call with Shudder to see what we can do to get this film in ANZ Cinemas. We are very happy to be working with Shudder and bringing it to cinemas on August 1. Horror fans, you do not want to miss the “Yoga Scene” on the BIG screen!”

Emily Gotto, Senior Vice President of Acquisitions and Production for Shudder said: “We are delighted to have Umbrella on as our theatrical partners in ANZ to bring In A Violent Nature to the big screen in the territory. They are passionate supporters of the genre and great partners to IFC Films and Shudder.”