HS Horror Film Festival welcomes 'Leatherface'

R.A. Mihailoff, the man behind the mask in the 1990 film "Leatherface: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre III," will make a special appearance at this year's Hot Springs Horror Film Festival for the premiere of his latest film.

The science fiction film, "Ride Hard Live Free," is set in a desert, much like the ones in Nevada, years after the apocalypse and follows a woman and three outlaw biker gangs and their journey to discovering just what they are willing to live for, die for, and give up, director Tony Mendoza said.

"The underlying theme centers around the underdog," Mendoza said.

"We wanted to create a world where the odds are stacked against a likable character," he said.

In addition to the "Texas Chainsaw" franchise, Mihailoff has a long history with the horror and science fiction genres with films such as "License to Drive," "Krampus: The Devil Returns," and "Drive." Mihailoff said his career in the industry was like his childhood fantasies met his adult ambitions.

For this film, Mihailoff said they tried to portray the bikers as accurately as possible by consulting with three "outlaw biker gangs," which they featured in the film, and by working on set with some bikers, as well. Everything down to the colors they wear accurately represents the culture of biker gangs.

"This movie was the perfect thing for me, you know. I mean, let's go down the list: I got to ride Harleys out in the desert, I got to handle firearms, and I got to hang out with real motorcycle clubs. Those are all checks in the plus column," he said.

In addition to attending the festival, Mihailoff will also make a limited appearance at Spa-Con, where he will have a table set up. He has also spearheaded a procession of motorcycles to arrive at the theater the night the film premieres.

"I pitched the idea to (several people) and they all loved it. Plus there's the fact that we'll get to take a little putt in Arkansas. It's going to be cool, man," Mihailoff said.

This is the sixth year for the horror film festival, and festival director Bill Volland said he is excited about all of the new additions to this year's festival, which will take place from Sept. 20-23.

Volland said he had so many submissions to the festival this year that he was not able to fit every film into the densely packed screening schedule. In addition to the several films that will be shown, Volland said this year's festival will, of course, feature the world premiere of "Ride Hard Live Free" on Saturday at 6:30 p.m., and seminars on movie makeup and creating "atmosfear" with scareologist John L. Burton.

Mihailoff plans to attend each day of the festival so that he can meet as many of his fans as possible. He will attend Spa-Con on Saturday and Sunday to sign autographs from 2-3:30 p.m. Volland said the Horror Film Festival also plans to give away a leather face signed by the man himself.

Tickets are available for pre-sale online at http://http://www.hotspringshorrorfilmfestival.com. Tickets for single screenings will be $11, a day pass costs $20, and a festival pass is available for $50.

Local on 08/27/2018

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