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*here be spoilers.

Director: Bob Willems.

Writers: Phil Nichols (story), Molly Vernon (screenplay).

The character of Renfield is quite the complex one to understand. In Bram Stoker's original treatment Dracula, he's characterized as the quintessential madman obsessed with the consumption of life. He serves a secret master, and Stoker never intended to have him survive past the events of the novel.

Just how he lasted to be featured in Renfield, the Undead almost needs to be asked. The presumption is that the staff of the asylum simply just buried him, and there he remained until the time was right for him to claw himself out of the dirt. If one interment was not enough, being buried six feet under was enough to really send him to go off the deep end.

Some people may see Phil Nichols performance of Renfield reminiscent of the Joker from "Batman." This actor certainly...

Fresh off its win of two Remi awards at the 44th annual Worldfest-Houston International Film Festival, indie horror vampire tale Renfield: The Un-Dead, directed by Bob Willems, written and produced by SFX master Phil Nichols, and starring Nichols in the title role, has launched a clever series of promo images featuring Renfield leaving his mark on history.

During WorldFest (official site here), which took place April 8-17, 2011, in Houston, Texas, the film won Gold in the category of Independent Feature Film Horror/Fantasy, which is the collective work of the cast and crew of Renfield. In addition a Grand Gold was awarded to Renfield: The Un-Dead for the best Spfx Make-up. Phil Nichols, president and founder of Poison Apple Films, is also the founder and owner of Facades FX, which has been churning out astounding FX work for over 25 years.

As an official selection of Worldfest, Renfield was one of only 34 films shown.

We've been talking about director Bob Willems' Renfield: The Un-Dead for quite a while now, and in case you've been wondering when you might be able to see it, if you happen to live in or around the Houston, Texas, area, you're in luck!

Renfield: The Un-Dead will be the featured film for the 44th Annual WorldFest’s Midnight Madness program. WorldFest (official site here) takes place April 8-17, 2011 in Houston, Texas. Renfield will screen on April 15; the program starts at 11:00 p.m. with a horror short film to be followed by Renfield The Un-Dead. It is open to the public and will be held at the AMC Studio 30, 2949 Dunvale Road, Houston, TX 77063. Tickets are just $10 and may be purchased online here. In addition, the Houston-based Poison Apple Films’ release is set to be awarded two Remi Awards at the Fest's gala awards banquet on Saturday, April 16.

But that's not all.

It's been almost a year since we first got the early word on Poison Apple Films' Project Pangea: Dinosaurs Unleashed, but we heard from director Phil Nichols today with an update, and things seem to be moving along quite nicely.

From the Press Release:

From the team that brought you Renfield: The Undead and S.I.C.K. Serial Insane Clown Killer comes a sci-fi horror movie with the flavor of the Carnosaur movies, Lake Placid, and Ssssssss. Poison Apple Films presents Project Pangea: Dinosaurs Unleashed!

It was written by Melissa Nichols and will be directed by Phil Nichols, both of whom are also producing along with Bob Willems. Dinosaur and special make-up effects will be handled by Nichols and his Facades FX Make-up Lab. The film's music will be composed by Jeffrey Walton.

"There’s trouble in Paradise…" Paradise, Texas, that is. A small town sheriff and his deputy try to...

One indie project we've been following for a while now is Bob Willems' Renfield: The Un-Dead, and today we learned that the film's distribution will be handled by The Phoenix Group, the same entity that will be distributing the 2010 Boggy Creek remake from Brian T. Jaynes.

Dana Webber of The Phoenix Group's Atlanta office will head up all domestic licensing efforts, and Scott Hanock, Los Angeles, will team with Douglas Schaffer, Boca Raton, to pursue the international markets. Barbara Conte will address the Spanish markets.

Renfield, completed in 2010, is the newest in an aggressive lineup of Poison Apple productions and stars Phil Nichols as Renfield, John W. Stevens as Count Dracula, Keli Wolfe, Tyler Tackett, Roxy Cook, Calvin Lafiton, and Paul Damon as Inspector Cranston.

Synopsis:

R. N. Renfield, the mad slave of the evil vampire Count Dracula, is now himself an insane vampire stalking a modern day metropolis...

Hot on the heels of their successful premiere at the Bram Stoker Film Festival last month (click here for details and photos from that event), the folks behind Renfield: The Un-Dead are taking Afm by storm and in character.

Co-producer/production designer Melissa Nichols (who also appears in the film as Natasha the Vampire Oracle) dropped us a line with an update from Afm: "We're here now and have a screening of Renfield on Friday night. We had a screening on Wednesday, and it went really well. Everyone who saw it said it was fun and they loved it. We've had a lot of interest for domestic distribution, and we've got appointments for several foreign markets scheduled as well. We've got appointments booked for every day of the show.

On Thursday Lloyd Kaufman invited Phil [Nichols (who also produced and wrote the screenplay)] to make an appearance at the "Troma-dance" press conference and even gave him the mike to address the crowd.

Renfield: The Un-Dead is having its world premiere on Friday, October 15th, at the Bram Stoker Film Festival, and to make sure everyone has as much info on the film as possible, Poison Apple Films has unveiled the film's official website - renfieldthemovie.com - along with the winner of their poster contest.

Along with John W. Stevens as Count Dracula, the cast includes Phil Nichols (who also produced and wrote the screenplay) as Renfield, Julin, Cory Hart, Roxy Cook, Shelley Boozer, Mel House, Paul Damon, Joe Grisaffi, Tyler Tackett, and Keli Wolfe. Renfield: The Un-Dead was directed by Bob Willems.

Synopsis:

R. N. Renfield, the mad slave of the evil vampire Count Dracula, is now himself an insane vampire stalking a modern day metropolis (Bayou City). Known as "The Bayou City Butcher", a serial killer, Renfield is relentlessly pursued by Paul Cranston (Paul Damon), a driven British detective who always gets his man.

                                                 

We released some images from Renfield: The Undead last week and today thanks to Dread Central we have the trailer debut for you to check out and whatever you do don't pass this up becasue it looks freaking awesome people and the makeup FX are crazy!

The film is directed by Bob Willems who is also the executive producer and stars Julin, Keli Wolfe, Paul Damon, Tyler Tackett, Roxanne Cook, Calvin Lafiton, Denise Williamson, Shelley Boozer, Vance Johnson and Phil Nichols as Renfield and also wrote the screenplay and serves as producer.

Synopsis:

R. N. Renfield (Nichols), once the slave of Dracula, is now an insane vampire stalking a modern metropolis (Bayou City). Known as "The Bayou City Butcher", he is pursued by Detective Paul Cranston, a driven homicide investigator who always gets his man.

Renfield is also sought by Mina Harker (newcomer Roxy Cook), now also a vampire, and her hybrid-vampire son,...

Director Bob Willems and screenwriter/lead actor Philip Nichols are just a few weeks away from premiering Renfield: The Undead at the Bram Stoker Film Festival, which runs October 14-17 in Whitby, England; and in honor of the occasion, they're released the first trailer for the film.

Along with John W. Stevens as Count Dracula, the cast includes the aforementioned Phil Nichols as Renfield, Julin, Cory Hart, Shelley Boozer, Mel House, Paul Damon, Joe Grisaffi, Tyler Tackett, and Keli Wolfe.

Synopsis:

R. N. Renfield (Nichols), once the slave of Dracula, is now an insane vampire stalking a modern metropolis (Bayou City). Known as "The Bayou City Butcher", he is pursued by Detective Paul Cranston, a driven homicide investigator who always gets his man.

Renfield is also sought by Mina Harker (newcomer Roxy Cook), now also a vampire, and her hybrid-vampire son, Quincy (Tackett). The dark pair are seeking a relic...

It's taken a couple of years with a few title changes along the way, but the world premiere of director Bob Willems' Renfield: The Undead is taking place in a few short weeks at the Bram Stoker Film Festival in Whitby, England, which runs October 14-17. In honor of the event at long last we've been provided with some images of Count Dracula from the film.

The movie's official website and trailer are launching within the week, but in the meantime here's our first good look at Count Dracula as portrayed by veteran stage actor John W. Stevens. Check him out below the synopsis along with a few other goodies like another new concept poster (the others can be found by clicking here).

Along with Stevens, the cast includes the film's screenwriter, Phil Nichols, as Renfield, Julin, Cory Hart, Shelley Boozer, Mel House, Paul Damon, Joe Grisaffi, Tyler Tackett,...

We've been tracking the progress of director Bob Willems' Renfield: The Undead for quite a while, and now it looks like we're approaching the proverbial light at the end of the tunnel. The rough cut is done, and an official website and trailer are both due in the next few weeks. We're not sure how they found the time, but the filmmakers just sent over a couple of new concept posters for us to share with our readers.

Willems and crew are in heavy post and compositing for the film, but there is some other news: Jeff Walton (Curse of the Puppet Master, Shrieker, Invisible Mom, Invisible Dad, The Brotherhood 1&2) is composing the music for Renfield: The Undead. In addition to premiering at the Bram Stoker Film Festival in Whitby, England this October, Renfield will also be screened at The American Film Market in November.

Along with star/screenwriter...

Director Bob Willems' recently retitled Renfield the Undead is in its first full week of post-production, and its star/screenwriter Phil Nichols has dropped a new batch of stills on us showcasing some of the make-up effects work by Facades FX.

Besides Nichols as the titular character, the cast include Julin, John Stevens (as Dracula), Cory Hart, Shelley Boozer, Mel House, Paul Damon, Joe Grisaffi, Tyler Tackett, and Keli Wolfe.

Synopsis:

R. N. Renfield (Nichols), once the slave of Dracula, is now an insane vampire stalking a modern metropolis (Bayou City). Known as "The Bayou City Butcher", he is pursued by Detective Paul Cranston, a driven homicide investigator who always gets his man.

Renfield is also sought by Mina Harker (newcomer Roxy Cook), now also a vampire, and her hybrid-vampire son, Quincy (Tackett). The dark pair are seeking a relic in Renfield's possession: the skull Of Dracula. It is...

Renfield: The Undead is a vampire styled horror film that has just announced that the film will complete in two weeks and that actress Julin has also participated. Although a small role, Julin (The Final) appears with Denise Williamson (Spirit Camp), Cory Hart (Boggy Creek), Roxy Vandiver (Killer School Girls from Outer Space), and Phil Nichols (Walking Distance) in the picture. This Poison Apple Film will be released later this year (October 1) with more info' on this bloody goodness found below.

A synopsis for Renfield: The Undead here:

"R. N. Renfield, once the slave of Dracula, is now an insane vampire stalking a modern day metropolis (Bayou City)" (Renfeild).

Release Date: October 1, 2010.

Director: Bob Willems.

Writer: Bob Willems.

Cast: Mel House, Joe Grisaffi, Paul Damon, Shelley Boozer, Tyler Tackett, Keli Wolfe, Roxy Cook, Bobby Simpson II, John Stevens, Melissa Nichols, Ryan Johnson, and Lillian De Michele.

No trailer available yet.

If there's anybody out in the indie world that sends us updates on their projects more often than the multi-talented Phil Nichols, I don't know who it is. Today he sent over a new batch of stills from Vampire Diaries Renfield, but best of all, they include the first shot of one of the creatures Nichols' Facades FX is doing for the film.

Phil, who, along with portraying Renfield, also wrote the screenplay, tells us, "Week 6 has wrapped. We did a lot of flying FX and aerial fight work on green screen for the climax. These pictures are from the Harkers' lair and all the naughty goings on that will happen in there..."

Besides Nichols, the stars include Julin, John Stevens (as Dracula), Cory Hart, Shelley Boozer, Mel House, Paul Damon, Joe Grisaffi, Tyler Tackett, and Keli Wolfe. The director is Bob Willems.

The new pictures begin on Page 4 of our Renfield gallery.

Even though there are still three weeks to go before Poison Apple Films wraps up production on Vampire Diaries Renfield (for which they've been providing regular updates to Dread Central), that hasn't stopped the company from looking ahead to its next projects, one of which is promisingly entitled Dinosaurs Unleashed.

Phil Nichols, who portrays Renfield in the aforementioned Vampire Diaries Renfield and also wrote the screenplay, will be handling directorial duties for Dinosaurs Unleashed. He sent over the following brief overview of what we can expect:

"It's a horror/sci-fi pic along the lines of Sssssss and the Carnosaur franchise and is about a mad scientist conducting DNA experiments in a small Texas town. We are using some of the recent soft tissue science discovered in dinosaur fossils to build our plot around.

Facades FX will be handling the gore, creatures, and dinosaurs; and casting is just beginning. We've shot some tests,...

Phil Nichols, who portrays Renfield in the currently filming Vampire Diaries Renfield, dropped us a line with an update on the shoot and provided us with a batch of new photos to share with Dread Central readers.

Here's what Phil told us, "We're winding down Week 5 and are 3/4 through shooting the script. We are working to make the deadline to premiere the film at the Bram Stoker Film Festival in Whitby, England this October.

Last night we wrapped the 1895 flashbacks with Renfield. We're keeping Count Dracula's make-up a secret and won't release pics of his face until the movie premieres, but here's a look at the Brides of Dracula (Denise Williamson, Reem Al-Hellou, and Michelle James)."

Along with Nichols (who also wrote the screenplay) and the aforementioned Brides, the stars include Julin, John Stevens (as Dracula), Cory Hart, Shelley Boozer, Mel House, Paul Damon, Joe Grisaffi, Tyler Tackett, and Keli Wolfe.

It's the start of Week 3 of shooting on Vampire Diaries Renfield in Houston, Texas, and Renfield himself, Phil Nichols, sent over a batch of new stills -- and a pretty cool lobby card -- for the film.

Along with Nichols (who also wrote the screenplay), the stars include Julin (Boggy Creek, Cherry Bomb), Denise Williamson (Boggy Creek, Cherry Bomb), Cory Hart (Boggy Creek, Stop Loss), Shelley Boozer (Bloodsucking Babes from Burbank, Toxic), Mel House (writer/director of Walking Distance, Possum Walk), Paul Damon (Walking Distance), Joe Grisaffi (Zombiefied, Walking Distance, Pirates of the Caribbean), Tyler Tackett (Possum Walk), and Keli Wolfe (Possum Walk).

Creature and make-up FX are being handled by Nichols (talk about multi-tasking!) and Facades FX (Boggy Creek, Walking Distance, Ace Ventura II, Powder, Jason's Lyric, S.I.C.K.: Serial Insane Clown Killer), and the director is Bob Willems (S.I.C.K.: Serial Insane Clown Killer).

Synopsis:

R.

It's been over a year since we've heard anything about the indie vampire film Vampire Diaries Renfield (whose title used to be Bram Stoker’s Vampire Diaries), but Poison Apple Films just sent over the full cast list and the news that principal photography is beginning on February 18th in Houston, TX.

The stars include Julin (Boggy Creek, Cherry Bomb), Denise Williamson (Boggy Creek, Cherry Bomb), Cory Hart (Boggy Creek, Stop Loss), Shelley Boozer (Bloodsucking Babes from Burbank, Toxic), Mel House (writer/director of Walking Distance, Possum Walk), Paul Damon (Walking Distance), Joe Grisaffi (Zombiefied, Walking Distance, Pirates of the Caribbean), Tyler Tackett (Possum Walk), Keli Wolfe (Possum Walk), and Renfield's screenwriter Phil Nichols (Powder, Walking Distance, Boggy Creek, S.I.C.K.: Serial Insane Clown Killer).

Creature and make-up FX will be handled by Phil Nichols and Facades FX (Boggy Creek, Walking Distance, Ace Ventura II, Powder, Jason's Lyric,...