There’s a very slight chance that you might be having deja vu right now, as I did include the longform music video for PRODUCT OF HATE‘s THE UNHOLY MANIPULATOR in last year’s 31 Days of Halloween. Reason it’s back? I directed and edited the video, and it just became an Official Selection of the 2014 Open Wound Horror Film Festival, which means that those attending the Santa Fe Comic-Con next weekend will get a chance to see it on the big screen. When we filmed this, we’d always hoped that it would become something of a “perennial favorite” for each Halloween season, and that looks to be happening. After all, it’s got some fairly horrific elements, and since I do run a family site, I wouldn’t recommend this one for viewing around kids or at work (unless you work somewhere really cool).
Shot over the course of three days in Crestline and Galion, Ohio, THE UNHOLY MANIPULATOR stars Ashley Laurence (HELLRAISER‘s “Kirsty Cotton”) as both herself, and the title character, along with Tim Lovelace (AXE GIANT: THE WRATH OF PAUL BUNYAN, MOSQUITO) as the object of her aggression. Produced by Robert Kurtzman, the legendary “K” of KNB EFX Group (creator of FROM DUSK ‘TILL DAWN, Director of WISHMASTER) and featuring the production team and visual FX work of his CREATURE CORPS (riding high on the success of the Kevin Smith movie, TUSK), the video’s production crew also featured two contestants from SyFy’s FACE OFF, with Beki Ingram and David “House” Greathouse lending their talents. But the entire crew was fantastic, and we couldn’t have done it without their contributions. After a world premiere on the big screen at Chicago’s historic Portage Theater, it made it’s online debut via Bloody-Disgusting for Halloween ’12 and later made it to BlankTV.
The Official Synopsis: In the tradition of Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” comes “The Unholy Manipulator,” an ambitious, long-form video/short film from the American metal band, Product of Hate. When a customer in a small, independent video store decides to taunt the clerk, the line between reality and fantasy are tested as the two find themselves facing off in a horrific world of torture, monsters, and mayhem. Ashley Laurence of “Hellraiser” fame stars as herself and the title character within the movie within the movie, “The Unholy Manipulator.”
Evil monsters… wicked clowns… homages to RESERVOIR DOGS, FARGO, and THE WARRIORS…
Dig that song? We also did a video for “Blood Coated Concrete” while we were filming in Ohio:
