Texas Frightmare Weekend announced AUDITION star Eihi Shiina and TOKYO GORE POLICE director and special effects artist Yoshihiro Nishimura are confirmed to attend this year’s edition of the popular horror and genre convention (April 29 – May 1). This will mark the first time that Shiina has made an appearance of this nature in the United States.
They join other high profile recent additions including influential horror and genre author and filmmaker Clive Barker (HELLRAISER, MIDNIGHT MEAT TRAIN), independent filmmaking legend Roger Corman and Tom Six and Dieter Laser, the director and star of last year’s hit and much-talked about cult film THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE. In addition, hot off his success at the recently concluded Sundance Film Festival will be director Jason Eisener with his film HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN.
Shiina was a model (primarily for Benetton) from Fukuoka, Japan prior to her iconic performance in filmmaking legend Takashi Miike’s AUDITION (1999). Recent films include Nishimura’s TOKYO GORE POLICE (2008), Nishimura’s and Naoyuki Tomomatsu’s VAMPIRE GIRL VS FRANKENSTEIN GIRL (2009) and Nishimura’s HELLDRIVER (2010). She will next be seen in Takeshi Kitano’s latest film, OUTRAGE, which comes out in the US later this year from Magnolia Pictures.
Born in Tokyo in 1967, Yoshihiro Nishimura taught himself to do special effects, and went on to found one of the busiest special effects makeup companies in Japan, Nishi-Eizo, which has practically created a genre unto itself, with work on films ranging from SUICIDE CLUB (2001), L: CHANGE THE WORLD (2008), and GOTHIC AND LOLITA PSYCHO (2010). He began making short films in high school and college, and directed his first short film, ANATOMIA EXTINCTION (1995), providing the template for TOKYO GORE POLICE (2008). Nishimura has also been closely associated with the work of Sion Sono, contributing effects and production design to SUICIDE CLUB (2001), EXTE: HAIR EXTENSIONS (2007) and many others. Nishimura then co-directed VAMPIRE GIRL VS. FRANKENSTEIN GIRL (2009) with Tomomatsu, and made MUTANT GIRLS SQUAD (2010) for Sushi Typhoon with Noboru Iguchi and Tak Sakaguchi. One of the busiest creative forces in the low-budget Japanese film industry, his main project for 2010 was the completion of the Sushi Typhoon-produced zombie action epic HELLDRIVER, which had its World Premiere last October at the Sitges Film Festival in Spain.
Both Shiina and Nishimura will be appearing at Texas Frightmare to preview the DVD/Blu-Ray release of MUTANT GIRLS SQUAD on May 24th as well as the Dallas-area premiere of HELLDRIVER which will screen Friday, April 29 at the Sheraton Grand Hotel in Irving, Texas.
Other notable attendees include; NIGHTMARE ON ELM STREET’S Robert Englund; Barker’s HELLRAISER stars Doug Bradley and Ashley Laurence; the SAW franchise trio of Cary Elwes, Costas Mandylor and Shawnee Smith; THE BOONDOCK SAINTS duo, Sean Patrick Flannery and Norman Reedus; Phantasm’s director and star, Don Coscarelli and Angus Scrimm; 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY’S Kier Dullea; “Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles” and “Beverly Hills 90210” star Brian Austin Green, and many others.
Texas Frightmare Film Festival Director Loyd Cryer said, “Texas Frightmare Weekend has made a name for itself by bringing the biggest fan favorites in the horror and genre world to Dallas. This year, securing rare appearances by Eihi Shiina and Yoshihiro Nishimura side-by-side with legends like Barker and Corman and so many others will potentially make this our most memorable event yet.”
Texas Frightmare Weekend will also feature the 4th Annual Zombie Walk sponsored by Moxley Manor as well as the 4th Annual Hearse and Shock Rod Show.
The Texas Frightmare Film Festival and Texas Frightmare Weekend will run April 29 – May 1, 2010. Passes and tickets are currently on sale online at www.TexasFrightmareWeekend.com.