Back at the New York City Horror Film Festival in the fall of 2016, I saw a super cool poster for an original horror film The Barn. I missed it when it premiered there and it took my nearly a year to finally see a screening at this year’s New Jersey Horror Con and Film Festival. At that con, I met and spoke with writer/editor/director Justin M. Seaman. Based on a story he wrote in his childhood, Seaman put his heart and soul into this film, and it was worth it. You can read my review of the film and the screening Q&A here.

With a week to go before Christmas, horror fans looking for the perfect gift can stop searching. The Barn is now on Blu-ray and would make any horror fan happy, particularly fans who grew immersed in the video store culture of the 1980s. Right before Halloween, I got to speak with the creator of The Barn about his inspirations, the challenges of independent filmmaking, and more. See what he had to say along with some thoughts on the Blu-ray release below.

Fans attend conventions for a variety of reasons. It could be the celebrity guests, cosplay, panels, and Q&A sessions. One thing that unites all cons, is merchandise. This weekend fans poured into the Renaissance Woodbridge Hotel in Iselin, New Jersey for the New Jersey Horror Con and Film Festival. There were celebrities signing autographs and snapping photos, films running upstairs, and vendors galore downstairs. The horror fans had their pick of everything and anything their hearts could desire. There were plenty of t-shirts, comics, and DVDs but this con had some truly unique and original merch up for sale.

More below.

The Barn
Director: Justin M. Seaman
Screenwriter: Justin M. Seaman
Cast: Mitchell Musolino, Will Stout, Lexi Dripps, Cortland Woodard, Nikki Darling, Nickolaus Joshua, Linnea Quigley, Ari Lehman
Distributor: Nevermore Productions
Not Rated | 90 Minutes

I was super excited to finally get a chance to check out The Barn at the New Jersey Horror Con and Film Festival. Emanating from the Renaissance Woodbridge Hotel in Iselin, NJ, the convention spanned the weekend featuring celebrities, horror movie reunions, cosplays contests, and screenings of new and old horror films. The Barn debuted last year and played the one night I could not attend the New York City Horror Film Festival. I toured the floor at the NJ Horror Con and found their merchandise table, where writer/director Justin M. Seaman and Director of Photography Zane Hershberger were sitting. These guys know how to sell a film! With a poster that feels cut and pasted out of an 80s video store, they have DVDs, VHS tapes (!!!), stuffed dolls of the three lead villains, board games, hats… you name it. The only question that remained was, is the film good? Simply put, The Barn is a killer good time.

More below.