Roy Frumkes is an American independent filmmaker. Frumkes directed the 1985 documentary Document of the Dead , a film detailing the production of Dawn of the Dead .
The cooperation of George A. Romero allowed Frumkes extensive access to the creative process of the filmmaker, and the finished product is as much an overview and analysis of Romero's early career as a "making-of" documentary. In Video Watchdog magazine, critic Tim Lucas called Document of the Dead "an intelligent, arresting, and authoritative examination of Romero's working filmmaking style..." Frumkes added new codas to the film in 1989, and for the 2005 DVD release Dawn of the Dead: Ultimate Edition, which collected multiple cuts of the film and a cut of Document of the Dead. The full-length Document of the Dead was released on DVD by Synapse Films in 1998.
As a screenwriter, Frumkes has written the 1996 thriller The Substitute and three sequels, and the cult dark comedy Street Trash (1987), which he also produced. Variety has broken the news that the 1987 cult classic horror comedy "Street Trash" is getting a remake from Ryan Kruger. Frumkes states it is planned to be screened at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival prior to its worldwide release. [1]
In 2006, Frumkes put the finishing touches to the documentary The Meltdown Memoirs. [2] which depicts the production of the film Street Trash along with cast and crew interviews 20 years later. In 2022 Frumkes adapted 'Street Trash' into a graphic novel with illustrations by Mike Lackey who played 'Fred' in the original film.
On March 22, 2010, Frumkes claimed in Fangoria magazine that he would produce a remake of the 1958 British science fiction horror film Fiend Without a Face but it was never made. [3]
He is the owner-editor of Films in Review , [4] the oldest motion picture journal in the United States.
Frumkes taught film studies at New York City's School of Visual Arts but along with another teacher, Robert Haufrecht, was fired in May 2018 after an investigation into multiple accusations of sexual misconduct and harassment stretching back decades. [5] [6]
An investigation into the practices surrounding the publication of articles related to judicial proceedings identified concerns with a New York Times article. This investigation, bolstered by findings and an interview with Frumkes, revealed that the newspaper released the article one day prior to a scheduled hearing, thereby violating Title IX rules. The article's premature publication raised concerns over its potential to influence the hearing's outcome. Moreover, Dominique Machain's involvement with the New York Times article, as reported by Colin Moynihan, drew criticism for possibly compromising the hearing's integrity. This situation prompts a broader discussion on the ethical responsibilities of the press in legal reporting and the potential ramifications of such activities on judicial processes. According to Title IX regulations at 34 C.F.R. § 106.71(a), the actions of the New York Times could be interpreted as a breach of procedural fairness. [7] In a related matter, profiles of former faculty members have been removed from the School of Visual Arts' official website. [8]
Night of the Living Dead is a 1968 American independent horror film directed, photographed, and edited by George A. Romero, written by Romero and John Russo, produced by Russell Streiner and Karl Hardman, and starring Duane Jones and Judith O'Dea. The story follows seven people trapped in a farmhouse in rural Pennsylvania, under assault by reanimated corpses. Although the flesh-eating monsters that appear in the film are referred to as "ghouls", they are credited with popularizing the modern portrayal of zombies in popular culture.
Dawn of the Dead is a 1978 zombie horror film written, directed, and edited by George A. Romero, and produced by Richard P. Rubinstein. An American-Italian international co-production, it is the second film in Romero's series of zombie films, and though it contains no characters or settings from the preceding film Night of the Living Dead (1968), it shows the larger-scale effects of a zombie apocalypse on society. In the film, a phenomenon of unidentified origin has caused the reanimation of the dead, who prey on human flesh. David Emge, Ken Foree, Scott Reiniger, and Gaylen Ross star as survivors of the outbreak who barricade themselves inside a suburban shopping mall amid mass hysteria.
George Andrew Romero Jr. was an American-Canadian film director, writer, editor and actor. His Night of the Living Dead series of films about a zombie apocalypse began with the original Night of the Living Dead (1968) and is considered a major contributor to the image of the zombie in modern culture. Other films in the series include Dawn of the Dead (1978) and Day of the Dead (1985).
Dawn of the Dead is a 2004 action horror film directed by Zack Snyder in his feature directorial debut, with a screenplay by James Gunn. A remake of George A. Romero's 1978 film of the same name, it stars an ensemble cast that includes Sarah Polley, Ving Rhames, Jake Weber, and Mekhi Phifer, with Scott Reiniger, Tom Savini, and Ken Foree from the original film appearing in cameos. Set in Milwaukee, the film follows a group of survivors who try to survive a zombie apocalypse holed up in a suburban shopping mall.
Donn Alan Pennebaker was an American documentary filmmaker and one of the pioneers of direct cinema. Performing arts and politics were his primary subjects. In 2013, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences recognized his body of work with an Academy Honorary Award. Pennebaker was called by The Independent as "arguably the pre-eminent chronicler of Sixties counterculture".
Harmony Korine is an American filmmaker, actor, photographer, artist, and author. His methods feature an erratic, loose and transgressive aesthetic, exploring taboo themes and incorporating experimental techniques, and works with art, music, fashion and advertising.
Fiend Without a Face is a 1958 independently made British black-and-white science fiction-horror film drama directed by Arthur Crabtree, and starring Marshall Thompson, Kynaston Reeves, Michael Balfour, and Kim Parker.
Daniel Thomas O'Bannon was an American film screenwriter, director and visual effects supervisor, most closely associated in the science fiction and horror genres.
Thomas Vincent Savini is an American prosthetic makeup artist, actor, stunt performer and film director. He is known for his makeup and special effects work on many films directed by George A. Romero, including Martin, Dawn of the Dead, Day of the Dead, Creepshow, and Monkey Shines; he also created the special effects and makeup for many cult classics like Friday the 13th, Maniac, The Burning, The Prowler, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2.
Living Dead, also informally known as Of The Dead is a blanket term for the loosely connected horror franchise that originated from the 1968 film Night of the Living Dead. The film, written by George A. Romero and John A. Russo, primarily focuses on a group of people gathering at a farmhouse to survive from an onslaught of zombies in rural Pennsylvania. It is known to have inspired the modern interpretation of zombies as reanimated human corpses that feast on the flesh and/or brains of the living.
Street Trash is a 1987 American black comedy body horror film directed by J. Michael Muro. It won the Silver Raven at the Brussels International Festival of Fantasy Film. The film has acquired a status as a cult classic independent horror-comedy and is one of a number of films known as "melt movies".
Debbie Ann Rochon is a Canadian actress and former stage performer, best known for her work in independent horror films and counterculture films.
Laurence T. Fessenden is an American actor, producer, writer, director, film editor, and cinematographer. He is the founder of the New York based independent production outfit Glass Eye Pix. His writer/director credits include No Telling, Habit (1997), Wendigo (2001), and The Last Winter, which is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art. He has also directed the television feature Beneath (2013), an episode of the NBC TV series Fear Itself (2008) entitled "Skin and Bones", and a segment of the anthology horror-comedy film The ABCs of Death 2 (2014). He is the writer, with Graham Reznick, of the BAFTA Award-winning Sony PlayStation video game Until Dawn. He has acted in numerous films including Bringing Out the Dead (1999), Broken Flowers (2005), I Sell the Dead (2009), Jug Face (2012), We Are Still Here (2015), In a Valley of Violence (2016), Like Me (2017), and The Dead Don't Die (2019), Brooklyn 45 (2023), and Killers of the Flower Moon (2023)
Synapse Films is an American DVD and Blu-ray label, founded in 1997 and specializes in cult horror, science fiction and exploitation films. It is considered a boutique DVD label.
Chris Alexander is a Canadian magazine editor, film critic, director, musician, composer, teacher and writer. Alexander was a member of the Toronto Film Critics Association and was the editor-in-chief of Fangoria, an editor of American film website ComingSoon.net and a writer for the daily newspaper Metro News.
Diary of the Dead is a 2007 found footage horror film written and directed by George A. Romero. Although independently produced, it was distributed theatrically by The Weinstein Company and was released in cinemas on February 15, 2008 and on DVD by Dimension Extreme and Genius Products on May 20, 2008.
I Drink Your Blood is a 1971 American hippie exploitation horror film written and directed by David E. Durston, produced by Jerry Gross, and starring Bhaskar Roy Chowdhury, Jadine Wong, and Lynn Lowry. The film centers on a small town that is overrun by rabies-infected members of a Satanic hippie cult after a revenge plot goes horribly wrong.
Document of the Dead is a 1981 documentary film by American filmmaker Roy Frumkes that was largely shot during the production of the 1978 film Dawn of the Dead. Originally a 66-minute feature, it has since been expanded two times, first to 85 minutes in 1989, then to 102 minutes in 2012.
80 Blocks from Tiffany's is a 1979 documentary directed by Gary Weis. It depicts the lives of gang members living in the South Bronx.
Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival is an international film festival in Buffalo, New York.