Doctors might use the Diagnostic Statistical Manual (DSM) classification system to diagnose mental health disorders, but how accurate can a diagnosis of an illness be that no one can see or touch?  Then there’s the complication of co-morbidity, the influence of one’s environment, genes and soon, the only clear thing is that accurately and unequivocally knowing what is going on inside someone’s head and why is a mystery.

Paul Tremblay in A Head Full of Ghosts portrays mental illness like nobody else. Aside from great writing and the realistic conjuring of a dysfunctional family with two daughters, he skilfully leaves the reader with more questions than answers at the end of the narrative. Fourteen-year-old Marjorie displays signs of acute schizophrenia. Or is it teenage attention-seeking? Has she been watching and reading too much horror? Is she possessed? Is her younger sister, Merry, the narrator, remembering and telling the events inaccurately? Is the eight-year-old hungry for attention and playing up to the game?

Then there’s the dad. He turns to the priest for an exorcism and invites a bunch of cameras into his home to televise it, ostensibly to pay for Marjorie’s medication and treatment and to keep the bank at bay from taking their home– but really – is that a sane thing to do?

It's a crazy world. That’s for sure.

SOME TRUTHS ARE BETTER KEPT SECRET. SOME SECRETS ARE BETTER OFF DEAD.​

For a chance to win a copy of River of Ashes by Alexandrea Weis and Lucas Astor. Simply retweet our pinned tweet, and for a second chance to win simply answer this simple question and leave your answer in the comments below 
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Which River flows through my home town of Penicuik?

Leave your answers in the comments section below, this competition is only open to residents of the UK, a draw will be made on 24 Aug 2022.  The winners details will be passed onto Black Crow Publicity to fulfil the prize, 

River of Ashes is a smart and gripping mixture of Southern Gothic mystery/thriller with horror elements for fans of Paula Hawkins, and Gillian Flynn, and addresses current social issues such as sexual violence and bullying. Book 1 in the St Benedict series, a TV show is currently in development. 

Along the banks of the Bogue Falaya River, sits the abandoned St. Francis Seminary. Beneath a canopy of oaks, blocked from prying eyes, the teens of St. Benedict High gather here on Fridays. The rest of the week belongs to school and family--but weekends belong to the river. And the river belongs to Beau Devereaux.

The only child of a powerful family, Beau can do no wrong. Handsome. Charming. Intelligent. Star quarterback and the ultimate catch. He is also a psychopath. A dirty family secret buried for years, Beau's evil grows unchecked. In the shadows of the ruined St. Francis Abbey, he commits unspeakable acts on his victims and ensures their silence with threats and intimidation. Senior year, Beau sets his sights on his girlfriend's headstrong twin sister, Leslie, who hates him. Everything he wants but cannot have, she will be his ultimate prize. As the victim toll mounts, it becomes crystal clear that someone has to stop Beau Devereaux. And that someone will pay with their life.

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Family secrets threaten to awaken dangerous ghosts in this Southern Gothic Thriller filled with mystery, a rising body count, and a chilling pact between unlikely friends.
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Riverdale and Pretty Little Liars meets American Psycho 

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Alexandrea Weis, RN-CS, PhD, is a multi-award-winning author, screenwriter, advanced practice registered nurse, and historian who was born and raised in the French Quarter of New Orleans. Weis lives with her husband outside of New Orleans where she is a permitted/certified wildlife rehabber with the Louisiana Wildlife & Fisheries and rescues orphaned and injured animals. @alexandreaweis.

Lucas Astor is from New York, has resided in Central America and the Middle East, and travelled through Europe. He is an author and poet with a penchant for telling stories that delve into the dark side of the human

psyche. Photography, archery, making wine, and helping endangered species are just some of his interests.

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Twitter: @alexandreaweis

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/alexandreaweis/
​ (@alexandreaweis)
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authoralexandreaweis/

The annual Academy Awards® Qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival will celebrate its 18th year in August 2022. HollyShorts (HSFF) brings together top creators, industry leaders, and companies and has launched many filmmakers into the next stages of their careers. HollyShorts, regular on MovieMaker Magazine’s “Top 50 Festivals Worth the Entry Fee list”, also engages its community and spotlights short films year-round through monthly screenings, panels, and networking events. HollyShorts Film Festival will take place in-person between August 11-20th, 2021 at TCL Chinese 6 Theatres, with the annual Awards Gala set to take place on August 20th, 2022.

Stars include; Amanda Seyfried, Sara Canning, Zachary Quinto, Zachary Levi and more.

Horror fans can enjoy multiple fright nights watching 67 films at the 18th Annual HollyShorts Oscar-Qualifying® Film Festival

Screening from August 11-20th, 2022

With 67 films on offer this year, horror and thriller fans can get stuck into the fantastic selection of films screening at this year's HollyShorts Film Festival. This exciting strand includes Sam Max’s CHAPERONE starring Zachary Quinto, Double OSCAR® Winner Paul J. Franklin’s FIREWORKS, Thomas Simon’s BOWLHEAD starring John Hursley (Dad), Brian Sepanzyk’s IN THE SHADOW OF GOD starring Sara Canning (The Vampire Diaries), Alexandra Magistro’s LOVE YOU MAMA starring The Haunting of Hill House’s Samantha Soyan, Eli Powers’ SKIN AND BONE starring Amanda Seyfried, Evan Miller’s THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS starring Adrianne Palicki alongside Zachary Levi and more.

As previously, the winners of HollyShorts’ three top prizes will be eligible for nomination at the 2023 Oscars®. Six HollyShorts films were nominated for the 2022 Academy Awards® with two wins for Aneil Karia and Riz Ahmed’s THE LONG GOODBYE and Ben Proudfoot’s THE QUEEN OF BASKETBALL.

This year’s hybrid celebration of short films will take place in-person with screenings at world-renowned TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood and virtually through the official festival streaming platform BITPIX.

To view the full list of official selections visit: https://hollyshorts.com/official_selections_2022

HollyShorts screenings will take place from August 11-20 at TLC Chinese Theatres, 6801 Hollywood Blvd. 3rd Level, Hollywood, CA, 90028, followed by the annual awards gala on August 20.

For additional information and tickets visit: www.hollyshorts.com

To purchase an All Access Early Bird Badge visit:

Hollyshorts2022.eventive.org/passes/buy

Born out of the Oscar® Qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival, Bitpix is a new Premium AVOD platform, featuring the world's best short films. The platform is already live in alpha mode and available via Bitpixtv.com. Bitpix is streamed through the app for download on Airplay, Amazon Fire TV, Android, Android TV, AppleTV, Chromecast, IOS, Roku

2022 Selected Horror/Thriller Films

Horror and thriller films selected this year include Bettina Bresnan’s A KILLER SECRET, Gauri Adelkar A WOMAN OF NO IMPORTANCE, Joshua Amar ANACONDA starring Homecoming’s Sam Mara, Jack Reynor’s BAINNE starring Chronicles of Narina Star Will Poulter, Alexander Thompson’s BLACK DRAGON (Rồng đen), Queen of the South star and Director Peter Gadiot’s BLACK EWE, Thomas Simon’s BOWLHEAD starring John Hursley (Dad), Collin Schiffli’s BOBYMOM, Jessie Barnett’s BYE BYE BABY, Dylan Bruno & Kasper Vejlø Kristensen’s CALL CASTING, Sam Max’s CHAPERONE starring Zachary Quinto, Quinten Sansosti and Tim Truesdell’s CLEAN UP, Grace Sloan’s DEATH VALLEY, Madeleine Coghlan’s DEFIBRILLATOR, Izabel Pakzad’s DON’T WORRY, IT’S GONNA BE OKAY, Mikai Geronimo and Josh O'Caoimh’s FALL OF THE IBIS KING, Double OSCAR® Winner Paul J Franklin’s FIREWORKS, Beth Park’s FISHWIFE, Juan Avella’s FREEBIRTH starring Narcos actress Andrea Londo, Alison Roberto’s GIRLS NIGHT IN, Rebecca Sonia Berrih’s GLITCH, Bartley Taylor’s HIDDEN VALLEY PLACE, Will Seefried’s HOMESICK, Gabriela Ortega’s HUELLA, Meko Winbush’s IN THE DARKNESS, Brian Sepanzyk’s IN THE SHADOW OF GOD starring Sara Canning (The Vampire Diaries), Casper Rudolf Emil Kjeldsen’s IN THE SOIL, Nicolai G.H. Johansen’s INHERENT, Kelsey Bollig’s KICKSTART MY HEART, Jamie Gyngell’s LISTEN TO MOTHER, Sofie Somoroff LOVE IS FIRE, Alexandra Magistro’s LOVE YOU MAMA starring The Haunting of Hill House’s Samantha Soyan, Madeleine Arthur (Blockbuster) and Matt Biedel (Midnight Mass).

Also screening in this scary strand are Nuhash Humayun’s MOSHARI, James Hunter’s NEST, Joe Williams and Charlie Edwards-Moss O. GLORY, Ursula Ellis’s OCCUPATIONAL HAZZARD, Jan-David Bolt’s PHLEGM,  Jim Vendiola’s PRETTY PICKLE, Russell Goldman‘s RETURN TO SENDER, Bennet Silverman’s REVERSE EXORCISM, Sean Addo’s ROOTED, Dylan Ashton’s SEABOUND starring Dana Melanie (Greenhouse Academy), Izzy Stevens’s SEAFOAM, Eli Powers’ SKIN AND BONE starring Amanda Seyfried, Nathan Alan Bunker’s SLEEPWALKER starring David Sullivan (The Wilds) and Hayley Webb (Teen Wolf), Lark Lee’s STREET NO. 4, Julia Varvara’s SUPPRESSION, Jonathan Levy’s SURVEYOR, Jayden Rathsam Hua’s SUSHI NOA, Ethan Soo’s SWEPT UNDER, Joseph Badon’s THE BLOOD OF DINOSAURS,  Yoon Hei Cho’s THE LAW OF JUNGLE GYM, Filipe Melo’s THE LONE WOLF’S, Tosin Morohunfola’s THE PULPIT – PRELUDE, Thomas Matthew Brush’s THE UNLOCKING, Mike Simses’ THE UNUSUALIST, Luis Gerard’s THE WAKE, Evan Miller’s THOUGHTS AND PRAYERS starring Adrianne Palicki and Zachary Levi. Director Daniel Daly’s TWIN, Lucas Camps’ WALL #4, Nir Paniry’s WATCH OVER ME, Benjamin Feldman’s WHENEVER YOU’RE READY starring Canada’s Samantha Wan, Rebekka Johnson and Kate Nash’s WILD BITCH starring Westworld’s Ptolemy Slocum, Tipper Newton’s WILD CARD, Andy Koeger and Dan Frantz’s YOU ARE TRASH! and Ana Liza Muravina’s YOU'RE THE BEST starring Riverdale’s Chris O'Sheaand Silcon’s Valley’s Krishna Smitha.


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Nyx Horror Collective gears up for its second annual film festival, 13 Minutes of Horror 2022: SciFi Horror, due to stream on horror streaming giant Shudder August 13th through November 12th. 13 Minutes of Horror is a one-minute film challenge for women horror filmmakers, inclusive of BIWOC, LGBTQ+ women, disabled women, and non-binary creators.

In June, the collective partnered with Stowe Story Labs for its inaugural Nyx Horror Fellowship, offering a fellowship to woman-identifying horror writers, age 40 and over. This year’s recipient was vibrant filmmaker, Sandra Campbell.

Shudder, the streaming destination for all things horror and thriller, returns to host 13 Minutes, giving its filmmakers a chance to showcase brilliant indie horror on the platform, which has been invaluable to past and present winning filmmakers. Eunice Levis, last year’s Outstanding Selection, (for her film “Fell Ends”), shared her experience: “I joined a coven of creatives dedicated to elevating women in genre. Seeing my film on Shudder was so affirming and gave me a sense of community.” Levis was recently partnered with Netflix as part of NALIP Latino Lens, a narrative short film incubator for Women of Color.

“We’re so happy that our passionate idea helped someone create more traction in their career, it’s overwhelming in the best ways,” co-producer Mo Moshaty explains. Co-producer Kelly Krause added, “Hearing the reaction to 13 Minutes from our filmmakers and how this festival been a dream come true for them has been beyond rewarding for our team and exceeded our expectations.”

“We are so thankful to our amazing judges this year: horror writer Tananarive Due (My Soul to Keep), writer/producer Liz Phang (Yellowjackets), writer Kim Garland (SyFy's Chucky) and Jonathan Barkan (Head of Acquisition at Mutiny Pictures),” said co-producer Melody Cooper. “All four are extremely supportive of our initiative as well as our core team's upcoming horror projects."

This year’s film festival is produced by Melody Cooper, Kelly Krause, Lisa Kröger, and Mo Moshaty.​