In Laymon's Terms

I asked Jason what advice he might give to aspiring film-makers. He said, “It’s tough, but don’t get discouraged. Do as much work on other projects as you can and make contacts with people that can eventually help you. Plan, plan, plan. It still won’t go as planned, but at least have it all ready. Don’t just use friends and family in your shoots. Go to local drama classes or acting classes and hold auditions for your parts. Your productions will look so much better with a variety of actors in them. Tell everyone upfront that it’s low budget and what you are trying to accomplish. A lot of people will want to help you in front or behind the camera.”

Of course, actually getting a film made is only part of the battle. The other part is distribution.

“Most of our films are made for under 20 thousand,” Jason explained. “Self distribution is a hard thing to do. But Dennis and Steve Jarvis (Cinematrix Releasing founders) were tired of getting ripped off by low budget distribution companies. Going through them, we saw nothing! Even when we’d sell a film to a foreign country, our ‘expenses’ to get the film there outweighed the profits.

“Now that I sell my movies through Cinematrix,” Jason said, “I get actual checks in the mail. Cinematrix markets the films through several Internet sites and also to video stores. Cinematrix also has contacts with cable companies. They are now getting a foreign clientele, but it’s a very slow process. We also sell our films directly through the Cinematrix website at http://unknownproductions.com.”

Jason goes on to say, “For interested film-makers, we can distribute films for you. We don’t make unrealistic guarantees and don’t charge a ton of expenses. You will know exactly how much your boxes cost, your copies cost, and how many tapes were sold and you WILL get your money for the sales.”

For those who might be interested in using the distribution services of Cinematrix, visit the website. Or write for additional information or a catalog at Cinematrix Releasing, 22647 Ventura Boulevard, PMB #352, Woodland Hills, CA 91364.

HOME AGAIN, HOME AGAIN

We pulled off our return from the shoot without a hitch or a crash or a maiming.

I would eventually go on to write this-here article for The Midnight Hour...an article that would hopefully include photos taken of the shoot by GAK and Kelly.

Experiences from our trip to the shoot are sure to turn up in my fiction as time goes by.

GAK will be doing artwork for some of my future special editions.

I’ll be going back to the Cinematrix website and ordering some films—especially Vampire Night when it’s available.

You might want to check it out, yourself. And Decay. And Vampires of Sorority Row...that sounds like a hot one.

Matt Schwartz

Y FIRST LOVE in horror fiction is the short story. While I may read hundreds of short stories a year, there are years where I may only check out a handful of novels. And unfortunately, that can often lead me to coming to an author’s full body of work until late in the game.

Sadly, that’s the case with Richard Laymon. I didn’t read my first Laymon novel until 2004. I had read many of his short stories and loved them—among them two masterpieces—“The Hunt” and “Mess Hall.” But, perhaps daunted by the sheer number of novels to choose from, I had never dived into his full-length work.

In choosing what my first Laymon novel should be, I looked to an author who scares the living hell out of me—Bentley Little. Little had done an introduction for Cemetery Dance’s beautiful hardcover of The Cellar and I figured if Little dug this one, then chances are it would be up my alley.

To say I agreed with Bentley Little is an understatement.

I found The Cellar to be one of the most genuinely shocking, ballsy horror novels I’ve ever read. It’s one of the few books I’ve read—alongside Jack Ketchum’s The Girl Next Door and Little’s own University—where I found myself amazed that the publisher agreed to put it on store shelves given its content. And the horror community is infinitely richer for the publishers having taken that chance.

But that’s not what this essay is about.

After experiencing the mindfuck of The Cellar I found myself craving more Laymon. A lot more. For the next several months, I read Laymon. And that was all I read. The Beast House. The Midnight Tour. One Rainy Night. Midnight’s Lair. The Wilds. Among the Missing. Beware. Night in the Lonesome October. And that was just in the first month.

Laymon was my crack cocaine. And barring A&E sending in a camera crew for “Intervention,” I wasn’t about to stop.