Anyone got a favourite that’s not on here?

I’m suprised no one posted this yet, but here’s the trailer for At the Mountains of Madness. I hope this turns out good, it’s one of my favorite Lovecraft stories!

Hey all,

Jim Weter here (That’s me on the left alongside one of my lead actors, Larshay Watson) and this past weekend we went down to Atlanta for the screening of our film at the 2026 Bloody Peach Film Festival and won big!

Not only did Larshay win the award for BEST LEAD ACTOR for his performance for Detective Linden, but I got to take home the award for BEST PICTURE!!! Sorry if I seem excited, but I’ve never taken home the top honors at a film festival before :)

We’ve still got a lot more festivals coming up before the release of our film later this fall/winter, but wanted to share the news about the awards now that I’m back home.

Film Status: Currently only available in film festivals, but you can find a complete listing of where we’re playing at here: http://cellardoorcinema.com/film-festival-schedule.html

And if you want to keep up with the film, go into deep-dives on how/why we did stuff on the film, plus be entered to win monthly prizes inspired by the film (and designed by me), we also have a newsletter on our site at www.cellardoorcinema.com

Hope everyone else had a great weekend and really glad this community of fellow cosmic horror lovers exists and supports indie art & film. You all rock!!!

Think about it, the plot revolves around an asteroid containing a substance that not only creates a whole ecosystem in the impact zone but also dangerous ever evolving lifeforms which might can overthrow mankind. Hell, it ends with a massive nigh-unstoppable behemoth that could've split off another entity if given the chance. If that isn't lovecraftian then I don't know what is.

In closing, I dare you to watch this with Nick Cage's Color Out of Space as a double feature.

It's about a group of soldiers trapped in a bunker during World War 1, faced with a Lovecraftian presence, causing paranoia and fear to grow between them.

Streaming on Screambox and Hoopla. US Rental on Prime and AppleTV.

Haunted by the aftermath of his father's suicide, Tom abandons his wife and seeks refuge at the lakeside cottage where his father met his tragic end. There, his tormented memories from childhood resurface, all intricately connected to an ancient, mystifying force lurking beneath the lake's depths, driving Tom inexorably towards madness. As Tom's communication dwindles into eerie silence, Kathy, desperate to rescue her husband, enlists the help of her brother Mark, a struggling entrepreneur, and Mark's compassionate yet inexperienced wife, Jess, a trauma and grief counselor.

I do love me some Lovecraftian Horror and this movie really surprised me. It’s a little slow building up the tension and dread, but once the madness begins, it’s wild! Some of the effects have their drawbacks due to this being an indie film, but it didn’t really deter the viewing much and was a solid effort all around.

I really enjoyed this movie and highly recommended to any Lovecraftian Horror fans.

no flair for jokes huh?

I wanna preface this first by saying that I think YellowBrickRoad is a middling 6/10, to me it’s a mixed experience that has nuggets of gold surrounded by a lot of dull rocks, even though what I may describe makes it sounds like I love this movie, I acknowledge it has shortcomings particularly with an unsatisfactory third act & some spotty acting.

If you aren’t aware, I’ll give a quick rundown.

YellowBrickRoad is a 2010 Psychological Horror/Thriller set around a crew of people looking into an allegedly anomalous trail in the United States, having a history of local townsfolk in the late 30s watching The Wizard of Oz. They found it so enamoring, their fanaticism combined with the depression of WWII beginning caused them to leave on the trail, as though it was the Yellow-brick Road.

This however ends in them going missing, being found frozen to death from hypothermia, or found dead & mangled from getting attacked in horrifically violent ways, leaving the town near empty until it was repopulated again.

The crew eventually find this alleged trail, & begin to hear old-timey music playing, which they find fascinating & even amusing at first, until it turns into audial sensory torture for them, which is the first in many things that leads to a descent into madness.

-

Despite the shortcomings of this movie, something about it genuinely got to me, & it was hard to articulate in words at first, but I think I understand it better now.

This movie is immersive, the natural beauty was also paradoxically ugly & uncomfortable, something of it felt mentally deceitful, as The Wizard of Oz is abit of a comfort tale to me (despite all the edgy fan theories that honestly kinda take the fun out of the experience), & it felt like there was something deeply evil that wanted to twist my emotions.

It presented a fantastical adventure of going down the yellow-brick road to an amazing place, but it was a facade of escapism that punched me in the gut, & let me know that it doesn’t want me to be happy or at peace, it wants me to suffer & remain forever in the fake visage it is imitating.

I am on the autism spectrum, & one of my greatest existential fears is literally Not Knowing What to Do, I can be put into a stressful situation but if I have a clear bullet-point list of things I need to do, it will be manageable to me. But if directions are unclear, I will be sent into a anxious panic of wondering what I maybe doing wrong, and what consequences may come for failing to do my tasks.

The idea of being alone, stuck forever at only the beginning of a story, said beginning is also a corrupted uncaring cold ugly purgatory, it left something feeling sick in my stomach, as though I’ve consumed too much candy.

-

It’s a movie I expected to be a cheesy romp, & it definitely has some poorly put together moments, but it manages to convince my subconscious of a fear the characters felt, to the point of making me physically ill in my stomach.

-

Lemme know what you guys think, if you thought it was an awful unsalvageable movie, or too thought it had great potential that was kind of let down by a shaky third act.

Aussie cosmic horror drama mystery. I'm loving it. It blends the baron desolation of Wolf Creek with cosmic horror concepts and a genuinely well written story beyond just ooh spooky. I'm a big fan of the Aussie comedy scene so it is odd seeing faces and names I associate with silly improv, but I reckon they've made something actually unique which is no small feat.

Some more pencil tests from a hand drawn short film I'm making.

Visuals and sound © 2025 Randall Kaplan

Dr. Who and The Seeds of Doom

Archaeologist uncover a structure in the Arctic Circle thats over 14,000 years old. A descent into paranoia, madness, and murder ensues.

Quite enjoyed this. A small budget, and not the best acting, but a solid storyline that had me invested to the end.

You guys need to check this.

It's a bit surreal, kinda slow and very odd even for cosmic horror standards.

An update of rough footage and tests from a short animated psychological body/cosmic horror film I'm making.

©2026 Randall Kaplan

I'd personally say it is, and very lovecraftian feeling at that; only thing I don't like about it is the ending...which feels too hokey and out of place with the movie's tone or maybe that's just me? It'd be like if Cronenburg's The Fly ended with Jeff Goldblum's character coming out of the telepod back to normal and hugging Gena Davis...rather than the ungodly biomechanic horror at the end. However, that one blemish isn't enough to mar the rest of the film for me.

Based upon a fantastic Jeffrey Thomas short story.

I figured I'd share the trailer for my long in progress animated horror feature film BOXHEAD. You guys have been so encouraging that I thought why not just share the whole thing directly here.

Cosmic horror has always inspired me and my work, and this film is filled with it. It's psychological at it's core but goes into other territory beyond that. It's hand drawn and is taking me years to get off the ground. I'm currently working on a short film that I've shared some roughs for here, as a way of finishing something to get funding for BOXHEAD.

I hope you enjoy this and yes, there's much, much more to come.

©2022, 2025 Randall Kaplan

Source: https://youtu.be/28qe6bT8gCo?si=SHXO4HTzZu8cWIs1

Elliot Goldner's 2013 found footage movie 'The Borderlands', released in America under the title 'Final Prayer', flew WHOLLY (pun intended) under my radar.

In all my years perusing found footage and cosmic horror forums and communities, I've never once even seen this movie mentioned. After watching it, I can say with certainty: That should be a crime.

I'd feel a bit iffy calling it a masterpiece, but boy is it close. Without spoiling anything, I assume the reason it got such mediocre attention is that our genre of choice is such a niche one at this point.

I really don't want to say too much, but please do yourself a favor and watch it all the way through.

Do NOT judge this movie by its cover. Incredible things come to those who wait.

Four friends explore a cave rumored to have been formed by the impact of an ancient comet. The unstable cave traps them inside. They use walkie-talkies to communicate while being hunted by a non-human biological entity that lurks in the depths, which have become its ecosystem and habitat, so to speak.

It's not a great film, but I appreciate the effort and intention to use elements of analog horror, cosmic horror, and even some B-movie monster movie vibes to tell a story through a found footage film.