VIRGINIA CREEPERS
120 minutes/US/English / Feature Documentary/Television & Film History/Horror Hosts
Directors: Sean Kotz* and Chris Valluzzo
virginiacreepersmovie.com
ABOUT THE FILM: Back on on one hot Saturday night in 1958, "Ghoulda" began stirring up a brew of live double feature films on Channel 12 in Richmond, Virginia, thus beginning a tradition of late night horror hosting in the Commonwealth. Since then, on the airwaves and internet, Virginia's horror hosts have been breaking ground and making things that go bump in the night a little more manageable. This documentary goes back to the days when local television was king and into the future with the new breed of “Virginia Creepers”. You’ll hear audio going back to 1958, see photos unseen for five decades and watch video clips thought beyond recovery. You’ll get a detailed tour through the Golden Age of TV horror hosting during the 1970s and 80s, as well as a look into the birth of internet hosting and see where the craft is headed. But more than that, this film takes you through the transformation of television and entertainment in America and explored why this format was so popular, why it matter and why it survives. For more than 50 years, Virginia’s horror hosts have been inspiring kids to sneak out of bed to watch a monster movie and adults to feel like kids. See why in VIRGINIA CREEPERS: The Horror Host Tradition of the Old Dominion. Source: filmmaker
ABOUT THE DIRECTORS: Directors Sean Kotz* and Chris Valluzzo of Horse Archer Productions. Horse Archer Productions arose out of a conversation between Chris Valluzzo and Sean Kotz in the summer of 2005 when the two decided that the time was right in the New River Valley for a video production company with the capacity to create both full length feature films as well as commercial and personal video products. That summer, the two began evaluating various projects and by September, the first two films were in pre-production. The Henry Reed Legacy was the first film Horse Archer decided to pursue and it should reach completion in the early summer of 2008. It is a documentary on the impact of a Giles County legend, Henry Reed, whose musical style and historical position between 19th Century Europe and 21st Century America has been a major influence on Old Time music across the world. Their second project, HOKIE NATION: A TEAM, A TOWN AND THE BEST DARNED FANS IN COLLEGE FOOTBALL, dominated the Horse Archer Productions work schedule throughout 2006 and 2007, however. This film, which has gone into its second pressing, has been broadcast on WDBJ-7, shown in theaters throughout Virginia, and sold at more than two dozen locations and websites. This full length feature documentary put Horse Archer Productions on the map and enabled the company to expand. In 2008, Horse Archer Productions began working on several new projects with their new HD cameras beginning with WHY OLD TIME?, a documentary about the life and culture surrounding Old Time music. This film about Appalachian music culture and its appeal across boarders was selected for the Asheville Film Festival and by special invitation to the Seven Sisters Cinema regional documentary series. VIRGINIA CREEPERS: THE HORROR HOST TRADITION OF THE OLD DOMINION arrived in 2009. A documentary on Virginia's late night TV horror movie hosts like Bowman Body, Count Gore De Vol and Dr. Madblood, the film covers 50 years of TV tradition and uncovered much lost footage, audio and even shows. It was selected for to the 2009 Virginia Film Festival and by special invitation to the James River Film Festival. And after just one month of release, it was also nominated for "Best Independent Production 2009" in the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Film Awards, chaired by David Colton of USA Today. Horse Archer Productions also works on private, corporate and commercial video projects for various clients in Virginia. Source: horsearcherproductions.com
* Be sure to catch Sean Kotz of Horse Archer Productions, one of the directors of VIRGINIA CREEPERS, in the Independent Filmmaker Panel as well as the film Q&A!
