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"This war might last longer than me..." Film Movement has debuted a trailer for the indie drama Men Go to Battle, about the story of two brothers during the American Civil War. This is kind of the opposite of Free State of Jones, another Civil War movie due this year, with more of a mumblecore vibe and it even has a darkly comedic side - though that's hard to tell. The cast includes Timothy Morton, Charlotte Arnold, Steve Coulter, Samantha Jacober, Rachel Korine, David Maloney, Emily Cass McDonnell. The film follows two brothers trying to keep their crumbling estate together outside a Kentucky town. Have fun. Here's the first trailer (+ poster) for Zachary Treitz's Men Go to Battle, from YouTube (via Tfs): Official synopsis: Kentucky, 1861. Francis and Henry Mellon depend on each other to keep their unkempt estate afloat as winter encroaches. After Francis takes a casual fight too far,...

Despite the lottery-esque sounding odds, the U.S Dramatic Competition section which produces the finest American indie specimens such as Frozen River, Winter’s Bone, Blue Valentine, Martha Marcy May Marlene, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Fruitvale Station and Whiplash is fairly consistent in terms of quality. Last year’s crop of sixteen have almost all had their theatrical releases with Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter being the last one out of the gates (pegged with an early 2015 release). Last week we individually looked at our top 80 Sundance Film Fest Predictions (you’ll find 30 other titles worth considering in our intro) and below, we’ve split the list into narrative and non-fiction film items and have both identified and color-coded our picks in an AtoZ cheat sheet. You’ll find 2015′s answer to Whiplash located somewhere in the stack below. Click on the individual titles below, for the film’s profile.

Along with her numerous contributions to American indie film plus supporting parts in Drake Doremus’ Equals and television’s House of Cards, 2014 will have been a productive year for “it” girl Kate Lyn Sheil. And while the actress who toplines Children was sizzling, it would appear that, artistically speaking, Jaffe Zinn has coals in more than one fire. While he may have been slow cooker mode for his sophomore film, the filmmaker who gave us Magic Valley in 2011 is a member of indie act Folded Light — they happened to have dropped their Ep in the middle of 2014. Safe to say that it’ll be clear skies ahead for a 2015 release.

Gist: During a hazy summer filled with the smoke of distant wild fires, Abbie (Samantha Jacober) & Heidi (Kate Lyn Sheil) take a camping trip through the rugged mountains of Southern Idaho. Convinced that they are living in the end times...

*full disclosure: an online screener of this film was provided by Vertical Entertainment. **there are spoilers here. Director/writer: Travis Oates. Cast: Mena Suvari, Brian Austin Green, Zack Ward, Joanne Kelly, Fiona Gubelmann, David de Latour, Leif Gantvoort, Curtiss Frisle, Emelie O’Hara, Samantha Jacober Another cabin, another group of friends and another malevolent force. These are some of the plot elements that repeat in indie horror films. Thankfully, first time director Travis Oates offers a little bit of mystery, in Don't Blink. This time, ten friends find themselves dealing with an invisible force. This entity likes to torment the characters, while making some disappear. Oates' story offers a lot of mystery. Who is the force? And, where are the characters disappearing to? Only one of these questions can be answered; the rest is up to the viewer. Though often slow and slightly drawn out, Don't Blink brings a lot...

We’re back with another edition of the Indie Spotlight, highlighting the recent independent horror news sent our way. Today’s feature includes a trailer for Exists, Don’t Blink, and The Wolves of Savin Hill, an announcement of the Fifth Annual PollyGrind Film Festival, Dead Rage first details, and more:

New Clip from Exists: “For five friends, it was a chance for a summer getaway – a weekend of camping in the Texas Big Thicket. But visions of a carefree vacation are shattered with an accident on a dark and desolate country road. In the wake of the accident, a blood curdling force of nature is unleashed – something not exactly human, but not completely animal – an urban legend come to terrifying life and seeking murderous revenge.

Opening in select theaters and On Demand on Friday, October 24th, 2014. Directed by Eduardo Sanchez and written by Jamie Nash, Exists stars Dora Madison Burge,...

Writer: Travis Oates

Director: Travis Oates

Starring: Mena Suvari, Brian Austin Green, Zack Ward, Joanne Kelly, Fiona Gubelmann, David de Latour, Leif Gantvoort, Curtiss Frisle, Emelie O’Hara, Samantha Jacober

Release date: Today (September 19th) on VOD and in select theaters

Production Company: Vertical Entertainment

Don’T Blink is proof that a movie does not have to appear particularly revolutionary or shocking to be effective. It is a clever study in concept—one that does not spoon-feed us answers, but would rather examine what happens when said concept is applied to a group of young people who want answers as badly as we do. Do they get them? Luckily, that’s not really the point.

One of my major issues with a lot of independent horror films is that their attempts at character development often end up as overwrought confessionals that do nothing to endear me to the people involved.

Mena Suvari (American Pie, American Beauty), Brian Austin Green (Chromeskull: Laid to Rest 2), Zack Ward (A Christmas Story, Transformers), Joanne Kelly (Warehouse 13), Fiona Gubelmann (Wilfred), David de Lautour, Leif Gantvoort, Curtiss Frisle, Emelie O’Hara and Samantha Jacober, Don’t Blink is set for release on September 18th on VOD, Sept 19th in select cinemas across the Us and then hits DVD on Tuesday Oct 14th courtesy of Vertical Entertainment & Premiere Entertainment.

In this gripping suspense-thriller, 10 friends head to a remote mountain resort for a quiet weekend getaway. But upon their arrival, the rustic lodge is more than just sleepy … it’s deserted.

Food is served, baths are drawn and signs of guests are everywhere but the forest and cabin are eerily silent, devoid of all life. With no gas, cell service or phones to be found, the anxious group is left wondering what to do next.

Suddenly,...

Children

Director: Jaffe Zinne

Writer: Jaffe Zinne

Producers: Jaffe and Stephanie Zinn, Sterling Hoch

U.S. Distributor: Rights Available

Cast: Kate Lyn Sheil, Samantha Jacober

Jaffe Zinne blasted onto the film fest circuit scene with 2011′s Magic Valley and is following up the mystery set in Idaho with a micro-budgeted horror thriller film set in the same backyard (state). We’re big fans of Kate Lyn Sheil and think that Children oozes with Take Shelter-like potential (where natural surroundings aid in the human havoc).

Gist: During a hazy summer filled with the smoke of distant wild fires, Abbie (Samantha Jacober) & Heidi (Kate Lyn Sheil) take a camping trip through the rugged mountains of Southern Idaho. Convinced that they are living in the end times as prophesied in the book of Revelations, Abbie sets about completing a terrible task she believes bestowed upon her in preparation for the coming Rapture.

He first broke out on the indie film scene with 2011′s Magic Valley – the Tribeca, Rome, Stockholm, Poland’s American Film Festival and Dubai preemed film putting the Idaho born Jaffe Zinne on the map. His sophomore project Children, which was also filmed in his backyard and appears to have been in development around the same time as his debut feature, was shot during at the midway mark in 2012 and all indications point to a close to completed film as it was included as a first look for 2013′s Us in Progress Paris. Zinne swerves into a different genre here, but we’re fully expecting his distinct aesthetic approach to remain intact. The extremely busy indie thesp Kate Lyn Sheil toplines. Check out/click on the exclusive image below!

Gist: During a hazy summer filled with the smoke of distant wild fires, Abbie (Samantha Jacober) & Heidi (Kate Lyn Sheil) take...

For the second time in as many months, London’s Leicester Square is the place to be for UK horror fans as the GoreZone International Film Festival returns to the Prince Charles Cinema on October 2nd and 3rd. Featuring not only bevy of blood-soaked movies and guests but also GoreZone Magazine’s first ever awards ceremony, can you afford to miss it?

Check out the full press release:

Roll up, roll up! The third annual GoreZone International Film Festival is hittin’ London on October 2nd and 3rd at the prestigious Prince Charles Cinema on Leicester Square. 13 film premieres, 2 days, no chance for survival!

Hosted by the ever delectable Emily Booth (Evil Aliens) and Christa Campbell (Hyenas), this year’s festival will be covered for broadcast on Lava TV (U.K.) and The Fusion Network (U.S.A.).

This year will also feature our first live awards ceremony with the results,...

There's Lots of horror coming to the Lone Star state this April, and we've got the early word on what movies you can expect to see playing during the Texas Frightmare Film Festival.

From the Press Release

"Texas Frightmare Weekend announced it has extended the dates for its companion Texas Frightmare Film Festival this year (April 28–May 1). Highlights from the lineup include the Us premiere of Tim Sullivan’s 2001 Maniacs: Field Of Screams, George Romero’s Survival Of The Dead, and Adam Green’s Sundance hit Frozen.

Green’s Frozen stars Shawn Ashmore, Emma Bell, and Kevin Zegers and follows the life or death choices a trio of skiers and snowboarders must make when they find themselves abandoned on a ski resort chairlift. The film, which was a surprise hit at the Sundance Film Festival in January, will screen at the Studio Movie Grill in Lewisville on Wednesday, April 28, at 7:00Pm.