33 years after its premiere as the rogue, iconoclastic fanzine championing indie film, Film Threat is back. First as this website, FilmThreat.com, which was relaunched last year, and now as a distribution label Film Threat Presents, catering to the same demographic that loved the disruptive magazine so much during its print run between 1985 and 1997.
The first release, scheduled for September 18th, 2018, is the micro-budget indie horror filmThe Theta Girl.
The Theta Girl, a feature film produced by first-time filmmakers David Axe and Christopher Bickel, has been currently ravaging the film festival circuit and building a dedicated fanbase.
“I’m proud to screen for you the trailer forThe Theta Girl, a film that warped my mind,” said Film Threat’s Chris Gore at his FUTURE INDIES YOU MUST SEE panel at San Diego Comic-Con. He went on, “This is the first film that we are releasing under our new ‘Film Threat Presents’ label. I think you can tell from this teaser, it’s the type of film you would expect from us. Our plans are to disrupt the current distribution model by putting power back into the hands of filmmakers using the vast audience we’ve built over 30 years.The Theta Girl, hold onto your seats, there’s a lot more coming.”
Film Threat is makingThe Theta Girl available for pre-order now on VIMEO and will roll out on other digital platforms in 2019.
It was produced on a shoestring budget of $14,000. To put that budget into perspective, the film could have been made 3,571 times over for what it cost Hollywood to make one Emojie Movie. It is the first film for both writer David Axe and director Christopher Bickel, and indeed it was the first film for the majority of cast and crew. The film revels in its own “punk rock” rough edges (a result of its extremely low budget and the experience level of the creators) and, as such, has been enthusiastically praised by critics and audiences for its high entertainment value, thoughtful existential themes, and over-the-top shocking content.
The film has already received accolades from critics, one gushing “not only is it possibly the best independent film of 2017 but possibly one of the best examples of low budget filmmaking EVER!” (full review here).
“…an exercise in sex, drugs, punk rock, brutality, gore, revenge, and self-actualization… but really it’s an art film.”
Billed as an “existenploitation film,”The Theta Girl follows the trials and tribulations of young drug-dealer, Gayce Delko, and the hallucinogen she peddles. “Theta” was a “fun drug” — a drug that blew people’s minds. Theta was supposed to be a door to Heaven, but when her best friends get methodically and brutally murdered, Gayce realizes theta might also be a door to Hell — and it’s up to her to shut it. The film’s tagline is “She brought the pills. He brought the kills.” Bickel describes it as “an exercise in sex, drugs, punk rock, brutality, gore, revenge, and self-actualization… but really it’s an art film.”
The Theta Girl was written by David Axe and directed by Christopher Bickel, who also shot, edited, and provided sound-design for the film. Axe and Bickel also served as the film’s producers under the “Barron Perter Productions” moniker. The film stars Victoria Elizabeth Donofrio as “Gayce,” Shane Silman as “Brother Marcus,” and Darrelle D. Dove as “Derek.”
The film has not been rated by the MPAA, but it contains nudity, drug use, adult themes, and extremely graphic violence.
Bickel describes hooking up with Film Threat as “a dream come true,” adding “reading Film threat as a kid opened my eyes to a whole world of extreme independent cinema, and made me feel like one day I could eventually do this s**t too. And now, however many years later, here we are.”
hell yes! So excited!
This is a match made in heaven. I can’t think of a better film to launch this newest chapter in Film Threat’s storied history than this bang-up, on-the-cheap, roller-coaster mindfuck of a debut flick from Bickel and Axe. Nice one, Chris.