It's been a busy month. First of all, Claustrophobia aka Serial Slayer is coming to a TV set near you. Yes, it's already out on DVD in the US and Canada, but for those of you too lazy to trot down to your local video store or subscribe to Netflix, you can soon watch it on the pay-per-view service iN DEMAND starting in March. I don't have a date for it yet, but it will be on or after March 14, I believe. Also, good news for my friends Down Under: Claustrophobia will be released in Australia and New Zealand on May 4, 2005. The distributor is Imagine Entertainment - no relation to Ron Howard's production company - and yes, they are also using the new title Serial Slayer. You can't win 'em all. But still, I'm thrilled to share this news.
Speaking of foreign sales, I just signed with a new foreign sales agent: MonteCristo Entertainment. They're a young outfit based in Prague, and they were recommended to me by the same person who hooked me up with Imagine, so hopes are high. I had to do some massive work getting all the stuff ready to send to them, including new poster art which is based on one of the posters I designed for the film a couple of years back.
As for the film's reception in America, well, I reneged on my pledge to avoid reading reviews. The main reason is that I got some notably good ones, particularly from Phantasmagoria, who has just written my all-time favorite review of my work. Also, the esteemed Fangoria finally posted their review, which is smartly-written and very positive (especially considering that they don't give away those stars - or skulls, in this case - too freely). There has also been, alas, a number of horror geeks who have gaily trashed this film, some literally calling it the worst thing they've ever seen. I'd be more sensitive to their harsh comments if any of these people had something useful to say, but it's mostly just childish ranting. Oh well. If nothing else, it just goes to show you how subjective movies are. How else to explain that, for The Horror Channel's web site, editor Debi Moore named Claustrophobia/Serial Slayer "The best direct-to-video film of 2004" while a sneering colleague of hers, who shall remain nameless, dubbed it the worst direct-to-video film of 2004? I guess you either get it or you don't.
Finally, some of you may wonder what is going on with Dial 9 to Get Out. Answer: I got a lot of scriptwriting done earlier this month before I became swamped with other things. I'm now at page 95. I suspect I only need to write 10-15 more pages, and it'll be done.