Connect with us

Indie

Indie Horror Spotlight: Syxx Pixx Volume 5

Published

on

I will be the first to admit when I am slacking. The recession, job searching, Fallout 3 and women have been stealing my time and money like back alley bums and/or abortion clinics. Regardless, Syxx Pixx is back for the 5th volume focusing on a brand new show that is quite kick ass.
Doc Mock!I-Mockery`s Roger Barr, the man whom I had the honor of recording Splattrax with over the past couple years, has been spearheading a new live online-only show and I think he has got one hell of a monster on his hands.

Doc Mock’s Movie Mausoleum
is the name of the new venture and Roger sat down with me to answer some of the most important questions that will benefit mankind…

Q: First and foremost, what is Doc Mock’s Movie Mausoleum?

A: It’s a new show that is broadcast LIVE every Friday night at 10pm PST / 1am EST. I play Doc Mock, a guy who owns a mausoleum that just happens to be chock full o’ crazy movies from yesteryear that most people never heard of either because they were never released on video or were never released in the U.S. … or both. On each show, myself and a special guest watch one of these bizarro flicks together while discussing them. We also have a resident nurse, Miss Diagnosis, who fields questions and comments from the live chat room during the show. There’s also a mutant named Licky who runs the control booth.

Q: Where did this idea come from? Were you inspired by the horror hosts of old and MST3K?

A: Can’t say MST3K was really an inspiration, not because I didn’t like it (it really was a great show), but because it’s not what I grew up on. My biggest influences were “Commander USA’s Groovy Movies”, “USA Up All Night”, and “Dr. Gruesome”. They’re even thanked in the credits of the show. Each of those shows had their own simple shtick and they were incredibly entertaining no matter how bad the movie they were showing was. Much to my chagrin, I noticed that these kinds of shows have all but vanished from television in modern times. So, I’ve taken it upon myself to really try bringing that kind of show back, but with some unique spins of my own that I hoped would really click with audiences today. Those unique spins being having different guest commentators joining me each week, live interactivity with the fans during each broadcast, commercial breaks for products that no longer exist (or shouldn’t) and some other fun things of that nature.

Q: How long have you been working on Doc Mock’s?

A: It had been in the works since late December 2008. The major hurdles for me were figuring out the exact format of the show, getting a theme song recorded and then filming an intro video. I knew once I had those three things in place, along with getting a nice logo / design package made up, I’d be ready to move forward with it. From the get-go, I knew this show would either really work well or it would totally bomb because asking people to watch a 2 hour show each week is a lot to ask. Asking them to do that online is unheard of. But I still felt it was worth taking a chance with it because I didn’t want to show little clips of movies or anything like that. I wanted it to feel like one big group of friends just hanging out in the living room, watching an ultra-obscure cheesy movie and making fun of it (and each other). As luck would have it, the show has really worked out amazingly well so far and I can’t tell you how excited I am about it.

Miss Diagnosis attends to the chat room patrons during the Doc Mock`s!Q: Airing a show live, weekly and having a live chat sounds like quite a task. You must have a large crew of people working together, right?

A: It’s not a huge crew, it’s just a small, tightly knit group of some extremely talented and hard working people. Brian, Ethan and Chloe really make sure everything is working well in the studio and have everything all set up when I come in for each week, so I can focus on the show itself rather than worrying about the technical aspects of it. And, of course, Miss Diagnosis does a great job handling all three of the chat rooms that we have going on during each broadcast, so that’s another thing I don’t have to worry about. I know a lot of web shows are done “in somebody’s basement”, but this one is actually filmed in a professional studio and everybody really knows what they’re doing. Well everyone except me. I often worry about knocking over an expensive camera in case my welding goggles accidentally flip down and temporarily blind me. Fortunately, that hasn’t happened………………… yet.

Q: What types of movies can viewers look forward to?

A: Well I never spoil the surprise about what movie I’m going to be showing each week, but you can always count on seeing something weird, obscure and hilarious. I’m a big fan of horror, sci-fi and action movies, so those are the primary genres of film you’ll see. Unintentional humor is my favorite kind of humor, and the movies I’m showing are filled to the brim with it.

Q: Will there be different special guests each week?

A: Yes, that’s one of the truly fun things about doing the show – different guests every week. The guests have no prior knowledge of the films, so they’re seeing it for the first time ever along with most if not all of the guests. I think that’s what makes those 2 hours go by so quickly, because it really does feel like you’re hanging with some friends and making fun of a crazy ass film that somehow, somebody decided it was a good idea to finance. Most of the guests (so far) are talented improvisers and comedians in Los Angeles, primarily from the Upright Citizens Brigade. That’s not to say I won’t have guests from other outlets, or even celebrities here ‘n there perhaps. But honestly, if you ask me, it’s far more interesting to talk to a funny person who’s never seen these batshit insane movies rather than just some actor who appeared in them who wants to talk about what he/she did to tap into the “raw emotion” of a particular scene. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with that sort of thing, I just don’t think it’s nearly as entertaining as having talented improvisers commentate on the movie with me.

Q: Can we get a sneak peek at who may be joining the Doc?

A: I do reveal who the guests are going to be in advance each week, and you can find out who it’s going to be on www.docmock.com

Q: How does Doc Mock’s hair stay so stylish on a weekly basis?

A: It’s a combination of mousse, electricity and sheer willpower. Actually, it’s almost all sheer willpower.

Licky working the control booth!Q: How did you go about picking out the crème of the crop as far as movies go?

A: Well with my other site, www.i-mockery.com , I’ve already been exposed to a TON of crazy movies over the years either by stumbling on them myself, or via the fans who were kind enough to email me suggestions. I’ve been doing that site for roughly 13 years now, so there’s definitely no shortage of weird stuff that I never even had a chance to cover. As much as I love doing all the writing, I gotta say, I’m having even more fun doing this show. Writing is a very solitary thing and while the payoff is really great once you finally publish the work, it’s an extremely arduous process up until that point. With this Doc Mock show, I don’t have to take a thousand screenshots, animate them and then spend days writing a review just to get the article ready to go live on the web. All I need to do is have fun watching the movie with somebody else and I get to interact with the audience live on the air. I’ve only done a few episodes, but I find myself being unable to stop thinking about the next upcoming shows. It’s really nice to be that excited about working on something, ya know?

Q: Are all the movies you’ll be featuring on Dock Mock’s Movie Mausoleum available on DVD so we all can enjoy the pain in full?

A: Nope… the main criteria for the films is that they’ve never even been released on DVD because they’re totally obscure old public domain flicks that never really rose to popularity (other than a few of them developing small cult fanbases over the years). Honestly, I don’t know if anybody would want to watch movies like these completely alone. For me, the best thing about watching bad movies is watching them with friends so you can all laugh at them together. And that, in essence, was my main concept for the show. I love going out to this theater in LA, The New Beverly Cinema, because they show all kinds of great (i.e.: awful) old movies. Would I ever watch the Rainbow Brite movie by myself? Absolutely not. But I did go see it at the New Bev for a midnight screening a while ago and I laughed my ass of at how insane it was along with the rest of the crowd. So that’s what I’m trying to do with this show… bring that experience of watching bad movies with friends to everybody out there. You can be watching the show alone at home, but you’re still watching it with everybody else in the chat room and with Doc Mock and his guest every week. And you’ve got Miss Diagnosis and Licky to keep you company as well. So even if you have nothing else planned during any given week, you can rest assured that you at least have a crazy movie watching party to look forward to every Friday night. And if you can’t catch the show on a particular Friday night, don’t fret… we usually have the full episode archived online by the following Monday.

Overhead shot of the studio as Doc Mock is being filmed!Q: Where is Doc Mock’s filmed each week?

A: It’s filmed in thestream.tv studios and that’s where you can find the archived episodes the following Mondays – www.thestream.tv/docmock

Q: Filming in a studio with a crew sounds expensive, will merchandise be offered or donations taken to cover the costs?

A: It’s definitely an expensive setup they’ve got. It sure as hell isn’t one of those “Oh yeah, I have an internet show. Lemme just turn on my webcam and I’ll show it to you!” kind of operations. Fortunately, they have some sponsors that pay the monthly bills, but they’re always looking for more. As for donations, yeah, if you go to any particular show page, you’ll see a button you can click on to send in a donation if you like it.

Q: Will we be seeing a return of some movies that you’ve already covered on I-Mockery?

A: Sometimes. The first movie we showed for our pilot episode was one I actually reviewed on I-Mockery years ago. But I want to mix it up so we show plenty of flicks that even the I-Mockery fans aren’t familiar with. And like I said, there are so many movies out there that I wanted to review on I-Mockery, but simply never had the time because writing up those in-depth reviews was such a lengthy process.

Q: In the future, will we be treated to episodes like Christmas Specials? Are there even any obscure holiday centric movie oddities out there?

A: I would definitely like to do specials like that, so if I can track down some public domain oddities along those lines, I’ll definitely consider them when the holidays roll around. I’m always open to suggestions for what movies to show too, so if anybody wants to send me some, I’ll be happy to look into them. I’m sure we’ll also do some random special shows where we have full improv teams as my guests rather than just individual people. I don’t want that to be the norm though, I definitely like the one guest format we’ve got going right now.

Doc Mock's Movie Mausoleum!

Doc Mock’s premiered its first episode on May first and each following show will air live every Friday night at 10pm PST (1am EST) on theStream.tv. Check out the trailer blow and tune in every week for more of the madness

And that’s it for this week! In the next edition of Syxx Pixx we will be looking at Hack Movies’ newest creation Cockhammer! Why don’t you drop me a line with your films or maybe an independent film from days of old that needs some attention!

Advertisement
Click to comment

Indie

“Bite Size Short: Her House of Horrors” Announce Short Grant Program!

Published

on

Her House of Horrors, the horror division of Independent Production House WOMXNOGRAPHY, has launched its Bite Size Short Grant Program, ahead of its film festival Dollhouse of Horror, which will take place in March 2025 in Los Angeles, CA.

The Bite Size Short Grant Program awards $2,000 film grants to female-identifying and queer horror filmmakers. Shorts must be able to be made for $2,000, with a minimum runtime of 8 minutes. Submissions are now open on Filmfreeway, and are being judged by a panel of horror lovers and content creators.

The 2024 Bite Size Short Grant Program judge lineup is as follows:

“James H. Carter II- A documentary director, film producer, podcaster, marketing specialist, and writer. James is the founder and co-owner of Creepy Kingdom. Creepy Kingdom was founded in 2011 and is a multimedia website, and production studio specializing in creepy content. Their primary focus lies at the intersection of childlike fantasy and the macabre, covering horror films, theme parks, haunts, and much more. Beyond their extensive media coverage, Creepy Kingdom hosts events, offers original merchandise, and engages in film production under the Creepy Kingdom Studios brand producing original films like “Foolish Mortals”, exploring Disney’s “Haunted Mansion” fan culture, and “Georgie”, featuring Tony Dakota from the original “It” miniseries.

“In addition to founding Creepy Kingdom, James has won awards for his documentary work, including the award-winning “Foolish Mortals,” which has earned him recognition. He has been featured on Freeform’s 31 Nights of Halloween special.

“Ashleeta Beauchamp is the editor-in-chief of Peek-A-Boo! Magazine, a cheeky horror magazine created to uplift marginalized writers, artists, models and other creators within the horror community. She also runs The Halloween Coalition, a community group to provide support and marketing for horror and Halloween events around the Southern California area.

“Titeanya Rodríguez is a multi-hyphenate creative, and the founder and owner of HER HOUSE OF HORRORS, home of DOLLHOUSE OF HORROR and the horror division of WOMXNOGRAPHY. As a fellow storyteller and a self-proclaimed artivist, Titeanya’s mission is to create opportunities for women of color and queer women, across film, tv, sports, music, and beyond. She is also the creator of the BITE SIZE SHORT grant program.”

Winners will have a one-night theatrical screening at Regal Cinemas. Submissions Close April 8 at Midnight. Winners will be announced on May 27, 2024. Shorts must be shot and through post-production by June 30, 2024. The screening will take place on July 8, 2024, in Los Angeles, CA.

WOMXNOGRAPHY, HER HOUSE OF HORRORS, and Rodriguez are represented by Azhar PR, Granderson Des Rochers, and Kinsella Holley Iser Kump Steinsapir.

To submit your short to the Bite Size Short Grant Program, go to the FilmFreeway link here.

Continue Reading