As the hellstorm that was 2020 continues to abate and we cautiously step forward into the new, hopeful, world that is 2021, the horror community was pleased to get some good news for itself when it was announced that former Dread Central EIC Jonathan Barkan would be directing MENTAL HEALTH AND HORROR, an upcoming documentary taking a deep-dive examination of the intersection of psychological well being and the horror genre, a connection that’s often been mentioned but little discussed.

Backed up by executive producecrs Andrew Hawkins (INSECT, IN SEARCH OF DARKNESS: PART II) and David Lawson Jr. (SPRING, THE ENDLESS), producers Alice Collins (FOUNTAINE AND THE VENGEFUL NUN WHO WOULDN’T DIE), Zena Dixon (co-host of the Bloody Disgusting podcast), and BJ Colangelo (DEATHCEMBER, LABRYS), the documentary has already assembled a powerhouse cast,including Michael Kennedy (FREAKY), Rebekah McKendry (ALL THE CREATURES WERE STIRRING), Kristina Arntz (DARLIN’), Disasterina (Dragula), Gigi Saul Guerrero (INTO THE DARK: CULTURE SHOCK), Jed Shepherd (HOST), Ave Rose (Steampunk’d) and Adam Egypt Mortimer (DANIEL ISN’T REAL). Today, The Daily Grindhouse is pleased to announce that legendary scream queen Linnea Quigley (RETURN OF THE LIVING DEAD, half the horror movies you watched as a teen in the 90s).

Also joining Quigley are actress Charlotte Sartre; Abhora Sucks (Dragula Season 2); horror commentator Amber Anthony; and Johnny Weiss (Spinestealer). Between these new additions and the myriad other names who’ve been announced, the documentary won’t just take a panoramic view of mental health and horror, but is also shaping up to be something of a collection of the seminal figures in the genre across multiple generations!

The project is being funded by a Kickstarter that’s live now and already well on its way to meeting its goal, but the team still needs funds to make this once-in-a-lifetime project happen. So hop over to the official page, make a donation, and get ready for a documentary like none other we’ve ever seen before!

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Preston Fassel

Preston Fassel is an award-winning novelist and journalist whose work has appeared in Fangoria, Rue Morgue, Screem Magazine and on Dread Central and Cinedump.com. He is the author of the first published biography of Vanessa Howard, Remembering Vanessa, which appeared in the spring 2014 issue of Screem. His debut novel, Our Lady of the Inferno, won the Gold Medal for Horror at the 2019 Independent Publisher’s Book Awards and was named one of the ten best horror books of 2018 by Bloody Disgusting.

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