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Focusing on the positive impact that horror can have on people who live with mental illness, Mental Health & Horror: A Documentary is directed by Jonathan Barkan, and Daily Dead Editor-in-Chief Jonathan James has supported this project and will be credited as an associate producer. With the documentary in its final hours of its Indiegogo campaign, we've been provided with an exclusive clip and casting news to share with Daily Dead readers!

We're thrilled to exclusively share that in addition to its already impressive list of interviewees, Mental Health & Horror: A Documentary will also feature interviews with filmmaker and actor Larry Fessenden, filmmaker Ted Geoghegan, and filmmaker and horror host Blair Bathory (Fear Haus)!

Below, you can watch our exclusive clip featuring Fessenden, and to learn more about Mental Health & Horror: A Documentary, visit the documentary's Indiegogo page and official website!

Mental Health & Horror: A Documentary, the upcoming feature-length documentary discussing...

In the upcoming Mental Health and Horror: A Documentary, writer/director Jonathan Barkan and producer Andrew Hawkins look to explore the positive impact horror movies can have on our mental health. The project looks to be a very exciting opportunity to demystify the genre’s appeal for people who don’t consider themselves horror fans while also providing validation for those who may feel weird about finding comfort in these types of films.

I had an opportunity to chat with Hawkins about the documentary, and we took some time to discuss its origins and goals, the crew’s approach to interviewing subjects, and even some of Hawkins’ own relationship with horror and mental health. (Disclosure: Daily Dead’s Editor-in-Chief Jonathan James is credited in this project as an associate producer.)

Where did the idea to do a documentary on mental health come from?

I have to give all the credit for that to Jonathan Barkan.

Mental Health and Horror: A Documentary - Director's Statement: "A director’s statement for Mental Health and Horror: A Documentary has been released via Rue Morgue. The video features original music by legendary horror composer Simon Boswell, who has also been announced as an interviewee.

Mental Health and Horror: A Documentary is created and being directed by Jonathan Barkan. Andrew Hawkins and David Lawson Jr. act as executive producers.

The feature-length documentary aims to demonstrate the positive impacts and cathartic releases that horror can have on those living with mental illnesses.

Mental Health and Horror: A Documentary will feature interviews from horror fans, film critics, film historians, filmmakers, producers, writers, and professionals from the mental health world. An initial Kickstarter will be launched on June 23rd. Several of the pledge tiers will see funds go towards supporting various mental health foundations and charities aimed at helping marginalized communities.

Previously confirmed...

With April lurking right around the corner once again, that means we're close to the halfway point to another All Hallows' Eve, and Shudder is celebrating in style with their largest slate of programming to date, including the return of Samuel Zimmerman's “Halfway to Halloween” Hotline, the season 2 premiere of Creepshow, the 2021 Fangoria Chainsaw Awards, Train to Busan Presents: Peninsula, In Search of Darkness: Part II, and a bunch of other new additions!

Below, you can check out the full list of titles coming to Shudder this April, and be sure to visit Shudder's website to learn more about the streaming service and their scary good lineup!

Press Release: New York – March 4, 2021 – April showers bring a packed lineup of new horror films and series to Shudder, AMC Networks’ premium streaming service for horror, thriller and the supernatural, for its annual ‘Halfway to Halloween Month.’ With April marking the halfway point to Halloween,...

Anyone who was left wanting more after watching the acclaimed horror documentary In Search of Darkness is going to love the official sequel. A follow-up to the acclaimed documentary, In Search of Darkness: Part II features over four hours of interviews with some of the genre's biggest stars to further explore the golden age of horror. A hell of a ride from start to finish, horror fans will still be left wanting more when the credits roll, as was the case with the original movie.

Several new horror stars appear in In Search of Darkness: Part II with the sequel bringing in a slew of top names like Robert Englund, Tom Savini, Nancy Allen, Linnea Quigley, and Clancy Brown. The dozens of horror personalities featured in the first movie are also back for more insight into other cult classics from the 80s, with new interview footage with John Carpenter, Heather Langenkamp,...

The sequel is as essential to the tradition of horror as shocking gore and a monster you love to fear. Where would we be without the certainty that the killer will pop back up for one final scare? As the definitive work on the horror genre, it only makes sense that In Search of Darkness: Part II would return with a vengeance and what a thrill it is.

You’d think that four hours of content in the first In Search of Darkness would sufficiently cover horror, but director David Weiner would beg to differ. In an equally massive expansion and continuation of the first film, Part II chronologically explores ’80s horror through a documentary funhouse of movements and interests that influenced the greats of the genre. Even though the documentary remains tightly focused on the horror films of the ’80s, In Search of Darkness: Part II puts in the...

In Search Of Darkness: Part II: "In Search of Darkness: Part II, the sequel to the worldwide ‘80s horror documentary hit In Search of Darkness from Creatorvc, will be available to the public for a limited-time flash sale from February 5th through midnight Valentine’s Day, February 14th 2021 at 80sHorrorDoc.com.

Building on the hit 2019 superdoc that Forbes called “a scary good magnum opus,” In Search of Darkness: Part II dives deeper into the fabled practical-effects decade of iconic and eclectic ‘80s horror movies that changed the course of film history. Packed with over four hours of brand-new interviews, including such legendary horror icons as Robert Englund (A Nightmare on Elm Street), Nancy Allen (Dressed to Kill), Linnea Quigley (The Return of the Living Dead), and special-effects wizard Tom Savini (Friday the 13th), Part II features 15 new faces alongside 40-plus returning members of the original In Search of Darkness...

Building on the successful 2019 superdoc that Forbes called “a scary good magnum opus” (94% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes), In Search of Darkness: Part II dives deeper into the practical-effects decade of ‘80s horror movies with over four hours of brand-new interviews, featuring such legendary horror icons as Robert Englund (A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise), Nancy Allen , Linnea Quigley, and special-effects wizard Tom Savini. Alongside 15 new faces, the original cast of In Search of Darkness also returns to delve into more fan-favorite titles and eclectic entries of ‘80s horror, year-by-year, expanding the scope to cover more international releases and to spotlight horror-career retrospectives.

In the spirit of Halloween and in anticipation of the films looming pre-order cut-off date, we sat down with In Search of Darkness: Part II‘s writer & director David Weiner…

I know the new film, In Search of Darkness: Part II, is coming soon. What can we expect...

In her five-star review, Caitlin Kennedy called the ’80s horror documentary In Search of Darkness "a temple to the genre gods," so we're especially thrilled that the CreatorVC team is back to dive even deeper into the palpable practical effects, blood-soaked slashers, and bold Italian horror of the ’80s with In Search of Darkness: Part II, which is now available to pre-order with some ghoulish goodies in store for horror fans who order by midnight on Halloween.

Below, you can check out the trailer and additional details for In Search of Darkness: Part II (which once again features Daily Dead Managing Editor Heather Wixson as one of the interviewees), and to learn more, visit:

http://80shorrordoc.com/dailydead

The ultimate ‘80s Horror retrospective just got Bigger. In Search of Darkness: Part II is a four-hour-plus sequel to the most celebrated horror documentary in history, featuring 15 new interviewees and 40+ returning favorites.