The Extreme Entertainment Mission

The following is a Mission Statement of sorts, as well as some unrelated rambling from our creator / founder / President Todd Sheets:

Extreme Entertainment:
The Mission

First let me introduce this little "book" I've written with this.... Horror films are not going to change the world.  Horror films are not really meant to be a "way of life."  But to me, Horror films are the best form of filmed entertainment... as well as a literary source of imagination and fantasy... Horror books are the best books around to me - why?  Look at the works of HP Lovecraft... any book with more imagination, I want to see it.  I love things that go bump in the night.  Sure, I like other movies as well... I still believe that STAR WARS changed the way we view and make movies for all time - and I love anything BATMAN (except the Joel Shitmaker crap movies... talk about lame) and some may be surprised by my favorite films of all time - many are Horror, but many are not.  Yet Horror is my passion and my cinematic true love.  From the first time I caught CREATURE FEATURE and read Famous Monsters when I was barely walking and Lon Chaney Jr. made me howl - Horror and I have been a match made in Hell.  It is the genre I love the most and I find it the most rewarding artistically... Plus I believe that it does indeed stimulate the imagination more than other genres.

We are not just making movies. We are trying to do our part to keep the spirit of true Horror alive. I admit that some of our flicks have been unwatchable pieces of trashola. But those were when I just got some buddies together and made movies for a hobby. I had no idea someone would distribute them. And when offered, I said "Yes" because I didn't want to let down the people who made them with me. I also felt like it was an honor to get movies out there. I regret it now. Why? Because it took me forever to prove to people who had seen that crap that I has gotten serious and gotten better. People have a way of looking at one thing you do and judge you on it for years. For example, a band makes an album that is awful. Bad sound quality, mediocre songs. People buy it and don't like it ... will they buy another one??? Not until that band has a hit. Then all their friends are saying what a cool band that is and they buy it and like it. White Zombie had this happen. It's just the way it is, folks. I got serious on ZOMBIE BLOODBATH. I figured I had a bunch of press and a ton of people in town willing to help me, why not look into getting serious and starting a career doing what I love. I consider it my first real movie. No offense to anyone in the old movies or to anyone who bought them, they were fun and I learned from them, but they were like me going to school. They were learning tools. Zombie Bloodbath was my first real attempt at making an actual Feature.

I still got a ton of flack, nobody wanting to give the film a chance. It wasn't until Moonchild, when I got critical raves that people started to look at my work again. Zombie Bloodbath 2 followed and won me some awards, and Moonchild won second place for best film at the KAN Filmfest. I got some trophies, and some fans. My next move was Violent New Breed. A wise choice to be sure. It was hell, but it is my best film ... and now I add The Shivers to that ... but until The Shivers, it was my best film. I won more praise and awards and people started to forgive me for my early mistakes and like my newer movies. After Violent New Breed, people started ordering the other movies like crazy. Some say Zombie Bloodbath 2 is their fave, or Dead Things, or Moonchild. Everyone has an opinion, including me. And now after all this long-winded intro is my mission statement, full of opinions and attitude. It's full of me ... love it or hate it ... It is honest. 100% true and how I feel. And it is what I am planning. Read on and enjoy.

To start, let me say that Horror is my favorite genre in life. I have lived for it since my childhood. I was raised on Drive-Ins here in Missouri. I loved them. I remember seeing "Night Of The Living Dead" at a Drive-In. When I finally met John Russo in Jersey, I was thrilled. I was talking to a man who helped shape my life. He seemed rather unimpressed. Mainly thinking I was just another overly excited fanboy praising him for the 700th time. It was a little disheartening. I understand why he felt this way, but those "fan-boys" are what pays for everything he has. But I was not a mere fan-boy, not that being one is a bad thing 'cause it isn't, but I was a fan who, because of this man, started a career in filmmaking. So, John, if you're reading this, thank you!!! You helped me more than you know. And he has now inspired me yet again to say that I will never treat anyone who loves my art as a problem. You will never be a pain in my ass. YOU ARE WHAT MAKES DOING THIS GREAT!!! Without people to share and love these movies, I wouldn't be doing it!!! John's heart is in the right place ... he just does a hundred shows a year and hears so much Bullshit that he doesn't know what is honest anymore. I agree. Everyone who can get a camera is suddenly James Cameron or George Lucas. In many cases, ego develops long before talent. Big, ugly egomaniacs ... the biggest monsters in independent Horror right now! I get tapes all the time from kids all over the USA who are trying to make movies. I give 'em credit, but I hate to see it at the same time.

I made a mistake that I would not do over again. After making a movie, even a hunk of crap, it feels great!!! But wait a while and watch it again. Bottom line, if it sucks AND YOU KNOW IT DOES, DON'T PUT IT OUT. It is getting harder to get Horror movies into stores because a buyer somewhere saw a cool box and bought 3000 of 'em and put it into a video chain and everyone raised hell because it was shot in someone's backyard for .35 cents and it sucked!!!
I contributed just like every other videomaker who has done this. After a couple of these stinkers, they won't buy low budget anymore ... why should they? Get a copy of "Titanic" for $14.95 or buy "Renegade Vampire Sluts In Heat" for the same price? Better go for "Titanic" because my customers will be happy and I won't get burned by some lame-ass camcorder thrill show. I vow to do my part to change this. I will not allow a movie I have done to be released unless it is better than the one before it in some way. Every movie I make will keep getting better and I will continue to grow as a filmmaker. No matter how many movies I make, years from now, I still will not "know-it-all" because you never stop learning and to do so would be to stop being an artist and a lover of Horror, to do so would be to become a hack. A joe who does it all for a dollar and cares not to grow and evolve is a loser. I'd rather get eaten by Sally Struthers.

I do this first because I love doing it. Not to make money off some poor kid at a convention, not to rip anyone off, not to be a big shot producer or director. I do it because I love entertaining people with Horror. My dream is to bring back the Drive-In's of yesterday. The magic I felt in the theaters in the Summer when I'd settled down in the air-conditioned darkness and watch the screen come alive with monsters and evil things from some guys worst nightmares. I loved it all. It was a magical environment. Who can forget "Clash Of The Titans" in a theater? It was so great! And the movie that changed the way people make movies even now, "Star Wars!" But beyond that, it was the little pictures I loved. Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Phantasm, Suspiria, The Boy Who Cried Werewolf and Slithis ... all fun movies I thrilled to as a kid. Phantasm was a stimulating joy-ride through nightmares before Freddy was ever thought of. It was weird, original, gross and funny. I loved it. The balls gave me the creeps. The Tall Man was hideous! The sequels never make it for me because they lost the magic when the money came into it.

As I got older, I went to the theaters more and more. I loved "Evil Dead" the most because it was a shock and a surprise. Imagine seeing it in a theater for the first time. I jumped a dozen times, and I NEVER jump at a movie! Only "An American Werewolf in London" made me jump ... and that was only once! I saw 'em all ... The Prowler, Maniac!, Dawn Of The Dead, The Gates Of Hell, Seven Doors Of Death, House By The Cemetery, ZOMBIE, Dr. Butcher MD, Night Of The Zombies, Driller Killer, My Bloody Valentine, The Howling (a favorite!), The Thing (YESSSS!), Slumber Party Massacre, Don't Open The Window, Don't Go In The Basement, Don't Go In The Woods, Basket Case, Waxwork, Switchblade Sisters, Creature, Evilspeak, Twitch Of The Death Nerve, Torso, Black Christmas, Nightmare, Make Them Die Slowly ... the list could go on forever. I saw 'em all!!! I loved them and still do. It never mattered about the budget or what "star" was in it ... There were no teen idols like Neve Campbell in these movies. My idea of a scream queen was Katrina McCall!!! I loved them if they showed me a cool monster and some gross stuff and if it was creepy and scary. Period.

Today, it's all about what hot teen "babe" is in the movie, or how many pop-hit music bands are on the soundtrack, or how many endorsements and product tie-in's like Nike, Pepsi, etc. are in it, or how much it makes and costs to make. Who gives a shit?!? These twits, like the girl stars of SCREAM for instance, hate Horror movies for the most part! The girls in "The Craft" were on TV in interviews acting like they were embarrassed to be in a "Horror" movie ... they all kept claiming that it wasn't fair to classify it as a Horror-picture. Fair???? Like being in a Horror movie is bad??? How many comedies or dramas have you seen where people get tore-up and killed and conjure demons or get attacked by snakes and bugs! If that's not Horror, what is? And what about the jerks in SCREAM? They all act and say the same things ... "Scream is more like a comedy with psychological terror thrown in ... blah, blah ..." I have read it a dozen times and heard it in interviews ... Neve Campbell would still be a nobody if not for her Horror films. Who does she think she is putting Horror down??? She takes the money from Horror fans as quick as she can get it, but she doesn't like Horror??? Then DON'T BE IN A HORROR MOVIE, twit!!! They got it right though ... SCREAM is a poor excuse for a Horror movie.

And that isn't where that kind of crap ends!!! It was bad enough to have "scream queens" at conventions charging fans for a simple autograph. The fans already pay her enough just by buying her films and buying magazines she is in, why charge 'em for that? If they want a pic autographed, I understand that pics are expensive to make, so it's OK to sell those, but for $25.00? No pic costs that much to make. How about $5.00 and the autograph is FREE because they should appreciate your support already!!! And some refuse to sign stuff YOU BRING with you - they want you to buy their crap for them to sign. That is bullshit!!! They should sign any damned thing a fan brings them because they had better remember that these people put them where they are and keep them there- A fan shouldn't have to PROVE their support by allowing themselves to be robbed by a money-hungry "actress" who will stoop to anything for a buck. Nipple prints??? What the hell is that??? What does all this have to do with Horror?? Not a damned thing!!! These people are prostituting the world of Horror for their own needs. Hell, at the Chiller show in New Jersey, half of those chicks had NEVER made a Horror movie, but still called themselves Scream Queens!!! Three I can think of were cum-spanking adult film actresses trying to pass themselves off as Horror stars!! It made me mad. Then, when one of them asked me to call her because she wanted to be in a "real" movie, she acted like my company wasn't BIG enough for her ... I have a staff of 45 people, a cast of three dozen and I have had 720 extras in my movie in ONE day!!! I have sold tapes all over the world, won awards, worked in cable TV and worked hard to get where I am. I am not bragging, and I don't think I am great or any better than anyone else, but I AM proud of all that my company has accomplished and if RUDY RAY MOORE thought we were good enough to work with, I'll be damned that I accept some girl who has never done a movie acting like we are not good enough for her!!! At least I don't make a living ripping off Horror fans!

My mission is simple. I want to make Horror movies that will be true to the roots of Horror and move forward to use the technical advancements and effects abilities of our current times. I want to make movies that will bring the magic back for Horror fans out there. I want people to know that as long as they buy a Todd Sheets' film, I will deliver the goods. I will not sell out and I will not back down. I will not put a movie out that I feel is no good. I will not put out a movie I am not proud of in some way ever again. I will not put out any movie that does not deliver to the Horror fans out there. I love Horror. I love Horror fans. We are all of the same blood. Race, creed, religion and sexual preferences do NOT matter ... We are all a big family ... an underground group of Horror fanatics, Here's the good news ... I am one of you. I am and always will be a fan of Horror. Even the music I listen to is Horror-oriented. From Iron Maiden to newer Black Metal like Emperor and Cradle Of Filth, I love it all!!! I will never rip off anyone. Period. You pay only for what I have to make you pay for to cover out-of-pocket costs! I am a man of my word and you have my word. I will fight the fight to keep true Horror alive until I leave this world.

I WANT TO MAKE ENTERTAINING MOVIES FOR YOU TO ENJOY. THE MORE YOU LIKE MY MOVIES, THE HARDER I WILL WORK TO MAKE EACH ONE BIGGER AND BETTER!!!

Horror fans are the reason I am allowed to do what I love doing. I get fan mail all the time, and I love it!!! Send more!!! It is so great to know that these little movies are touching people in some way. The movies are made very low budget, and we put our hearts into every frame!!! To hear that you all enjoy them makes the hard work and the stress and the sweat all worthwhile. It makes our hearts proud. We pour everything we have into these things and your fanatical support is appreciated and encouraged!!! Anything any of you need, let me know!!! Send me some reviews or some of your letters and I'll publish them here on the NET!!! If you have a web page and want a link here, just e-mail us and let us know ... we'll link you! But we refuse to link to pages of people who only want to make money off of Horror fans. Go somewhere else, losers!!! If you love Horror, I'll link you up ... And feel free to link to us. WE MUST ALL STAND TOGETHER and keep HORROR ALIVE!!! You can take the banner above if you'd like and use it to link to us or just to advertise our site on your pages ... or just take it because you think it's kinda cool! Feel free to download anything here for your own use ... just tell 'em where you get it!!!

STAY TRUE TO HORROR AND YOURSELF! FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT! UNITED WE STAND AND TOGETHER WE WILL CONQUER ALL FALSE ONES! HAIL TRUE HORROR!!!

Have a happy day-

Todd Sheets
Director / President - Extreme Entertainment

Comments??? Suggestions??? Just need to gripe??? Are you a Horror fan or fellow filmmaker??? Just want to be twisted??? Go ahead, take a chance and e-mail us!
horror25@aol.com

To send Todd mail, use the above address!

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