LOS ANGELES — Glenn Danzig’s directorial debut, “Verotika,” co-starring adult performer/director Kayden Kross, was supposed to premiere yesterday for Halloween, but has now been pushed to 2020.
As producer James Culle Bressack had anticipated on October 21, the original release date for Danzig’s much-expected film came and went. “Verotika” was slated by distributor Cleopatra Entertainment to have a special theatrical run and VOD platform release on Halloween 2019, with Blu-ray and DVD following before the end of the year.
The film co-stars 2019 XBIZ Director of the Year Kayden Kross, Alice Haig, Ashley Wisdom, Natalia Borowsky, Rachel Alig, Scotch Hopkins and Sean Kanan. Kross is a regular Danzig artistic collaborator for music videos, photo shoots and album artwork.
“Verotika” is the iconic horror-punk vocalist’s adaptation of his own comic book series and was anticipated as something in the league of the extremely successful Rob Zombie horror franchises.
Fans who have seen special-event previews of the film, however, have dubbed it an unintentionally funny instant cult movie, and the horror-punk equivalent of Tommy Wiseau’s “The Room.”
Writing about one of the preview screenings, horror news and review site Bloody Disgusting wrote that Danzig, who “was on hand to introduce the film and for a post-screening Q&A,” didn’t seem to understand the audience’s laughter. “Yet his passion for the project was clearly unparalleled. He made his movie, his way, and was proud of it. If anything, Verotika is authentic — and that’s what separates this from wannabe bad movies like 'Sharknado.' It’s a must-see film.”
According to reviewer Patrick Bromley, "Verotika" is "a horror anthology with its origins in the pages of Danzig’s own 'Verotik' comic book. 'Hosted' by a woman named Morella (Kross), there are three stories contained within the film, which Danzig described as his tribute to anthologies he loves like 'Trilogy of Terror' and Mario Bava’s 'Black Sabbath.' The first segment, set in Paris — meaning every actor speaks in a different but equally cartoonish French accent — tells the story of a woman with eyeballs for nipples who conjures a giant, murderous albino man-spider every time she falls asleep. In the second story, a disfigured dancer collects other women’s faces. The third and final segment is a take on the Elizabeth Bathory legend, about a countess who bathes in the blood of virgins to remain youthful."
Glenn Danzig is reportedly in production for his sophomore effort, a “horror-Western.”
