Bullets, Fangs and Dinner at 8

Bullets, Fangs and Dinner at 8 is a 2015 American horror film written and directed by Matthew Rocca. The film has been considered a hybrid of the vampire horror subgenre and the modern crime thriller genre, with undertones of dark comedy. It was inspired by films such as Bram Stoker's Dracula and The Departed.

Plot

A cult of humans thirsty for blood are behind a mass [...] at a church. The church's pastor, Steven Cooper, secretly masterminded the attack and is actually the leader of the "vampire" cult. Seminary student Michael Collins is the only one who knows the truth AbOUT Steven's duplicity, and seeks out proof to expose him with the help of a civilian he saves, Vivian Abbott. A dinner party to help endorse Steven's good name is just the distraction needed to investigate him. But as the night continues, both Michael and Steven are put in extreme situations while trying to stay steps ahead of the other.

Production

Before its release in 2015, Matthew Rocca spent four years writing the film between short student films at San Diego State University. Upon graduating, he went into pre-production in 2011 and started officially shooting the film in 2012. Because of its large cast of extras and small budget, principal photography took an additional two years to finally wrap in February 2014. The film was shot in various locations in San Diego county including its opening scene at the Church of St. Luke's in Rancho San Diego, and various scenes at dk3 Studios in Mira Mesa. Dave King, the dk3 president, was happy to provide his studio for Rocca to film critical shots.

Cast

• Garrett Schweighauser as Michael
• Eva Rocca as Vivian
• Matthew Rocca as Steven Cooper
• Brian Butler as Johnny
• Diana Ferrer as Miss Blank
• Vinnie Pompo as The Destroyer
• Casey Nicholas-Price as James

Release

The official premiere was June 12, 2015 at the Temecula Independent Film Festival in Temecula, California where it won Best Guerrilla Feature and was nominated for Best Horror Feature. Wages of Cine enjoyed the film so much at Black Cat Picture Show in Augusta, Georgia, that they recorded a video review and awarded the film with the Wages of Cine (Critic's Choice) Award. On October 30, 2015, the film had its hometown premiere in San Diego, California at the FANtastic Horror Film Festival and took home "Best of the Fest." The festival honored this award to the film that the audience reacted to the best. The film also picked up 3 additional nominations at the FANtastic Horror Film Festival, including Best Director (Matthew Rocca), Best Actress (Eva Rocca), and Best Horror-Comedy. The film screened again on February 12, 2017 as part of San Diego Film Week. Its most recent screening was March 30, 2017 at San Diego's Screen With Screams Film Festival, where it was awarded First Place.

Reviews

San Diego film critic Mike Thomas called the film "an exquisite Gothic horror film" and praised its "meticulous direction and proper casting" . Emilie Black of Cinema Crazed.com posted a less favorable review, saying that the film was made with good intentions and had a few good performances, but had technical and continuity issues. The Hollywood Verge did a 15 minute podcast segment on the film, calling it ambitious for a first time director, and would like to see Rocca's next project done as a smaller magnitude short film. In his review of the film, critic Mike Haberfelner said the film has a fast, interesting start, and a slower build-up to the climax with a big bang toward the end. Nick Newbauer of Dream Craft Pictures gave it a thumbs up, describing the film as "vampy campy," like a B horror movie from a 1990s video store; something you don't see as often today.

Awards and festivals