Director Ed Douglas, left, with Jason Carter >>> In 1996, three John Carroll University graduates got together and made an ultra-low-budget horror film, The Dead Matter . Shot on Super-VHS (remember VHS?), the horror flick – featuring zombies, vampires and the occult – was in the can for no more than $2,000. It caused a bit of a buzz among the Ohio film - and Ohio horror - community. And then, like a zombie rising from a freshly dug grave - and more than a decade later - those three friends - Ed Douglas, Mark Rakocy and Jeff Kasunic - were back at it, remaking their ultra low-budget film with a much bigger budget. Now they had professional actors – including Lost fan favorite Andrew (Mikhail) Divoff and horror FX maestro Tom Savini – and industry backing by way of Creature Corps , once Precinct 13 Entertainment, headquartered in Crestline, Ohio. They even had their own production arm: Midnight Syndicate Films. But why remake a feature shot years ago on vi...
Championing films made in and filmmakers from the Midwest
