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Swiss director Olivier Beguin made waves back in 2008 with his western themed short film Dead Bones and now, having won praise with other projects in other styles, he returns to the genre as co-producer and editor of Arnaud Baur's short, Sons of Bitches. Wisconsin, 1896. Sally, a prostitue, decides to run away from here daily life. Before her: the cold snowy mountains. On her heels: a bounty hunter sent to retrieve her. Following a successful festival run the first trailer for the film has just arrived and it is truly striking. Baur makes fabulous use of his natural surroundings and if you're wondering how you make Switzerland look like the old west ... well, mountains help. Check it out below!...

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You've heard of the spaghetti western; how about the fondue western? Olivier Beguin (director of Chimeres) has been in the Neuchâtel area, producing what might be the first Swiss western short, Sons of Bitches. Directed by Arnaud Baur, the film is halfway through shooting, with the final days of production scheduled for April. In the meantime, they have released a few stills along with the background of this tale. There is a crowdfunding campaign, should you wish to contribute. Correction: Beguin directed another Swiss western short, Dead Bones, in 2008....

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With first-time feature filmmaker Olivier Beguin’s vampire thriller Chimères set for its Us premiere Wednesday, October 16, at 9:45pm at Screamfest La, read on for our exclusive chat with the filmmaker, and then have a look at the trailer and some stills!

Produced by Beguin, Gwenn Deschenaux and Lluís Fe Pérez from a script by Beguin and Colin Vettier, Chimères stars Jasna Kohoutova, Yannick Rosset and Catriona MacColl and revolves around the character of Alexandre, who, while taking a holiday in Romania with his girlfriend, Livia, is hit by a car. Following his subsequent hospitalization (and blood transfusion), he finds on his return home that he’s begun to suffer from a strange disease.

A self-professed fan of horror and genre films, Swiss filmmaker Beguin directed several successful short films (the horror western Dead Bones, among them), before tackling Chimères, of which he stated, “I had actually planned to...

*a screener of this film was provided by Left Films.

Director/writer: James Ryan Gary.

Cast: Michael Sharpe, Patrick G. Keenan, Jenny Gulley and Kevin L. Johnson.

Devil's Crossing is the first film from the very young director James Ryan Gary. Seriously, this guy looks twenty in his interviews. The film is a blend of the western and horror genres as zombies promise to take over the world. Devil's Crossing is similar to other films like the recent Cowboys and Zombies, Olivier Beguin's short film "Dead Bones" and Spencer Estabrooks' "Dead Walkers." All of these are great films including Gary's latest entry. This title will release in the United Kingdom January 30th and it is already available in North America; this reviewer would recommend the film to indie horror fans across the board.

The film begins with the character Shadrach played by Michael Sharpe. He is digging his...

Director: Olivier Beguin.

Writers: Olivier Beguin and Colin Vettier.

"Employee of the Month" or "Employe du Mois" is director Olivier Beguin's latest short film which deals with out of work horror personnel. There is the zombie, the mummy, the fairy, the ghost the vampire and Satan himself. Currently on the film festival circuit, including a stop at Stiges, "Employee of the Month" is a French film full of laughs. Unemployment is a serious issue, but here Beguin shows the special needs of several supernatural characters.

The zombie has tried construction, being a butcher and other jobs, but his body parts keep falling off! This makes finding steady work difficult. He finds a job as a crisis support worker, with his grunts and groans helping people to get over grief and other difficult life situations. The brain dead and undead still have a function in life.

The mummy, or the previous King of Egypt,...

Swiss born director Olivier Beguin ("Dead Bones") has recently completed production on the monster based horror short "Employee of the Month." The film tells the tale of various creatures searching for work, in a recovering economy. Now, horror fans will have to compete with werewolves, zombies and mummies in job lines. This is truly a cutthroat economy and fans can have a look at Beguin's first trailer for the short, below. Try not to laugh as the clip puts you partially in the role of a recruiter.

The synopsis for "Employee of the Month" is here:

"Once hidden in cupboards, lying in coffins and haunting sarcophagi, these creatures now try to find a job. There is the Office of Professional Retraining of Myths and Legends, an organization that helps these creatures adjust to the workforce. But retraining is not easy and Stephanie, a case worker/adviser, tries to find any...

Apparently the supernatural need employment!Olivier Beguin previously directed the western-horror film Dead Bones and is back with a horror-comedy about trying to find the right place in the workforce for mummies, vampires, zombies and all manners of beasties.Once hidden in cupboards, lying in coffins and haunting sarcophagi, these creatures now try to find a job.There is the Office of Professional Retraining of Myths and Legends, an organization that helps these creatures adjust to the workforce. But retraining is not easy and Stephanie, a case worker/adviser, tries to find any position suited to their unique conditions.Why the dead would choose to return to the monotony of work remains to be seen!Two pictures have been released from the production, please see the teaser posters below....

Employee of the Month StillDirector Olivier Beguin ("Dead Bones," Stresseurs) has recently finished production on another short film, titled "Employee of the Month." This is a Chaotic Clock Production and this twelve minute "comedy, fantasy" (Chaotic), follows a warlock, mummies and vampires and other monsters, as they struggle to find employment. It is not easy slinging burgers, when all you want to do is drink your co-workers blood. Have a look at a preview of "Employee of the Month" here, as Beguin also works to complete the horror feature Stresseurs. More details are below.

The synopsis for the short film is here:

"Stéphanie helps the unemployed to find a new job. But when those unemployed are such characters as vampires, witches or fairies, it is sure not to be an easy task" (Chaotic).

Completion Date: July, 2011.

Director: Olivier Beguin.

Writer: Colin Vettier.

Producer: Adan Martin.

Cast: Catriona MacColl, Caroline Althaus,...

The 7th annual Atlanta Underground Film Festival is like having four different fests crammed into an exhaustive three days on Aug. 27-29. It’s an outrageous underground fest, an animation festival, a documentary fest and a horror movie festival: The culmination of a month of fests run by Atlanta’s Festival League. There’s tons of short films, documentaries, features and more.

There’s lots of great stuff to recommend, too. On the last night of the fest, there will be a screening of Chris Hansen‘s second feature film, Endings, which tells the touching story of three people spending their last day on Earth together. The film was reviewed on Bad Lit a few months ago. On the short film front, there’s Loretta Hintz‘s wild lesbian bestiality (sort of) tale, The Sheep and the Ranch Hand and two films by the perpetually awesome Neil Ira Needleman, Meeskit...

There is something about westerns and horror flicks that when blended have an effective impact. Dead Bones by Olivier Beguin is one of the better western horror shorts and now the Another Hole in the Head Film Festival will show Rene Perez's latest The Dead and the Damned with a world premiere July 17th. In this film, a meteor is unearthed by some 19th Century miners and instead of holding precious minerals the meteor contains a deadly virus (Bloody). Soon, the local town folk are lumbering zombies and a bounty hunter must set things right with cold steel. Watch the trailer for this independent film from Mattia Borrani and iDiC Entertainment production inside; then, envision a rugged frontier made deadlier with the roaming dead.

The synopsis for The Dead and the Damned here:

"It is 1849 in Jamestown California and the Gold rush is in effect. The local miners are...

Stresseurs will be director Olivier Beguin's (Dead Bones) first feature length film and Beguin's latest has been making the rounds at Cannes 2010. Beguin is both the producer and director on this film, which translated to English means to put on edge, or stress (Wordreference). Shooting is expected to be completed by the Fall of 2011 and the film involves several criminology students tracking down "a serial killer who vanished 25 years ago" (Beguin). Have a read of the short synopsis below along with the announced crew details inside.

The synopsis for Stresseurs here:

"Five students in criminology motivated by various objectives embark on a road trip on the footsteps of a serial killer who vanished 25 years ago; They will soon give up to their most primal impulses.

Release Date: 2011.

Director/producer: Olivier Beguin.

Writers: Karim Chériguène and Jean-Philippe Certa.

*More details to come.

Sources:

Olivier Beguin. Press Release. 20 May 2010.

Stumble It!

Dead Bones is a horror short from director Olivier Beguin that puts Ken Foree in the role of a cannibalistic eater and killer. Also, A bounty hunter does his best to track down a wanted man and now several copies of this film are available here through a DVD giveaway. The DVD features a "Making of" featurette (30 mins') and a photo gallery. The film is available in several languages and unfortunately the format is Pal or region 2 (Europe) - only playable in region free DVD players, or on computers with adapters e.g. Vlc Media Player. So, if you are still interested enter the contest by reading the contest liability below and answering two questions from the film. Both of the answers for the quiz can be found by entering Dead Bones into the search button above. More details on the film here.

The short synopsis for Dead Bones:...

Director/writer: Olivier Beguin.

Dead Bones is a short nineteen minute film that was recently shown at the Nevermore Film Festival. Now, the film is available to fans and reviewed here. Starring Ken Foree this picture involves cannibalism, bounty hunters, and lots of gunplay. The film is too short to be gripping, but the film blends horror and westerns naturally.

The plot line follows a bounty hunter (Arie Verveen) into a desolate town known as Dead Bones where the dead are recycled for tasty treats. In Dead Bones travelers are not only shown hospitality but eaten by the locals. Also, in Dead Bones are two wanted men who have already been apprehended by the locals for later butchering. In the course of the film the hunter releases one criminal in order to escape an underground butcher's house through teamwork. They fight their way out of the town to a final showdown between hunter and prey.

A western and a horror film rolled into one? Why has no one thought of this before? Oh wait, there was the Burrowers and Deadwalkers, but there has not been a western involving cannibals and "secret meat (Joblo)." Nevermore is on a roll, or more like an avalanche, as several quality horror films grace the North Carolina screens. Dead Bones is no exception according to one review and already the film has been called "a spaghetti western submerged in horror (Joblo)." This short film is not to be missed, so dust off your six-shooters and head down to the festival. Just stay away from the special meat!

The short synopsis for Dead Bones:

A bounty hunger looking for a couple of no good criminals finds himself in a dusty old western town searching for an easy reward. He finds more than he bargained for when the local butcher lets...

Festival programmers Shade Rupe and Chris Bavota announce their first collaboration: the Deep Red International Festival of Fantastic Film, or Drifff, debuting in Portland, Oregon at the Clinton Street Theater, April 24-25, and in Seattle at the historic Grand Illusion Cinema, May 8-9. Intent on rescuing genre films from premiering on video store shelves, Shade and Chris set out to unearth classic and contemporary 'cult movies' that deserved to be showcased on the big screen, and thus, Drifff was born. Presented by Rude Shape Productions and Oddity Cinema, Drifff 2009 features northwest premieres, special guest Q and As, award-winning shorts, door prizes and more gore than you can stab a stake through. The fest will present the northwest premieres of several feature films including David Gregory’s nightmarish Plague Town (USA), Martin Weisz's Grimm Love (Germany) based on the homosexual cannibal killer Armin Miewes, Jonathan Lewis’ Black Devil Doll (USA...

Festival programmers Shade Rupe and Chris Bavota announce their first collaboration: the Deep Red International Festival of Fantastic Film, or Drifff, debuting in Portland, Oregon at the Clinton Street Theater, April 24-25, and in Seattle at the historic Grand Illusion Cinema, May 8-9. Intent on rescuing genre films from premiering on video store shelves, Shade and Chris set out to unearth classic and contemporary 'cult movies' that deserved to be showcased on the big screen, and thus, Drifff was born. Presented by Rude Shape Productions and Oddity Cinema, Drifff 2009 features northwest premieres, special guest Q & As, award-winning shorts, door prizes and more gore than you can stab a stake through.

We are proud to present the northwest premieres of several feature films including David Gregory’s nightmarish Plague Town (USA), Martin Weisz's Grimm Love (Germany) based on the homosexual cannibal killer Armin Miewes, Jonathan Lewis’ Black Devil Doll (USA...

2008 is the year of the horror-western, apparently, and one that we have been tracking for quite some time here is Swiss director Olivier Beguin’s twenty minute short Dead Bones, which has just premiered at the Sitges Festival. What do we learn from this film? There is a reason why people might be inclined to name a town Dead Bones, dammit, and maybe it’d be best if you just went ahead and rode around it.

The film tells the story of a bounty hunter who rides into a remote town in pursuit of a pair of criminals only to discover the town itself is far more dangerous than his quarry. Shot on location using the still-existing Spanish sets that hosted the large majority of spaghetti westerns through the 1970’s Dead Bones has a remarkably authentic and cinematic quality to it, and full marks go to Beguin for having the...