One of the most famous phrases to come out of Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov is, “If there’s no God and no life beyond the grave, doesn’t that mean that men will be allowed to do whatever they want?” (phrasing from Andrew R. MacAndrew’s English translation). In other words, if human beings don’t have some kind of higher power to hold them accountable, won’t all hell break loose? Not surprisingly, those who don’t believe in any sort of god or... Read more
The film is called “The Chicken Manure Incident.” It’s a 44-minute documentary that offers a unique perspective on the ongoing battle between the City of Abbotsford, BC (where I lived up until August) and it’s homeless and street-entrenched population, a conflict that was kicked off last June with city workers showed up early one morning and began dumping a truckload of chicken manure on a homeless camp. The Chicken Manure Incident Official Trailer from Kevin Miller on Vimeo. I “accidentally”... Read more
Over the past decade, the US government has redefined the entire world–including the homeland–as a battlefield, thereby allowing them to dispense with due process and engage in all sorts of extrajudicial behavior, including eavesdropping on and assassinating its own citizens. It’s no longer necessary for the government to prove someone has engaged in a terrorist attack to justify a drone strike, for example. All they need to establish is the probability of such behavior. It is eerily reminiscent of Philip... Read more
We’ve had an interesting discussion on the Hellbound? Facebook page and elsewhere lately about the saying, “Love the sinner, hate the sin.” (I’m more familiar with the reverse phrasing: “Hate the sin, love the sinner.”) The discussion was spurred by this comment from Wendy Thomas, one of our readers: Love the sinner, hate the sin is a crock. It’s a copout that makes you in a different group as those “sinners.” LOVE, love the sinner. That’s where that sentence should... Read more
As someone who spends a lot of time doing research, I’ve become a huge fan of Amazon’s recommendation system (“Customers who bought this item also bought…”). It’s a great way to simulate the experience of browsing through a bookstore or a library and stumbling across an item you didn’t know you needed until you saw it (which happened most recently in our local library when I came across Jeremy Scahill’s excellent book Dirty Wars.) I can’t tell you how many... Read more
This is it, the Black Friday sale you’ve been waiting for! Get 50% off standard def and Blu-ray “Hellbound?” DVDs. Get them here using the discount code “Black” on checkout. Read more
Inspiration can come from the strangest places, often unlooked for. Here’s a brief example of how that happened to me this week. Last night, I returned from a two-day trip to Chicago, which was precipitated by Hellbound? receiving an award from the Raven Foundation. On the train ride to the award screening Tuesday evening, my wife, Heidi, and I arrived at a station called “California.” I was struck by the name, but even more when the train’s electronic voice announced... Read more
Mimetic theory, the War on Terror, immigration, inter-racial tensions, homeland security… All sorts of anxieties rolled up into one. I can’t wait to see it. I just hope it doesn’t devolve into abject moralizing or wind up inadvertently reinforcing the myth of redemptive violence it appears to be seeking to deconstruct. BTW, I find the masks interesting, especially in light of other recent home invasion horror flicks, such as You’re Next (trailer below) and The Strangers. I realize masked villains... Read more
Better ask Designer Jonathan Hull, who created a map of America’s most hellishly named places, and they are EVERYWHERE. Hull told The Huffington Post that he came up with the wicked idea after a trip to southern Utah, where many of the red rocks had similarly satanic names. More details here. Read more
“The 5&2” Teaser Trailer from Kevin Miller on Vimeo. So far I’ve managed to raise $11,000 of the required $50,000 post-production budget. I’m forging ahead no matter what, with plans to have a rough cut completed by Christmas. However, I would dearly like to raise the additional funding so we can do this up right in terms of sound, color correction, score and so on. So if you can spare a brother a dime, I’d sure appreciate it. Donations accepted... Read more
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