“Infected” to Premier at Worcester’s Rock and Shock Convention

Wednesday, October 03, 2012

Anthony Faccenda, GoLocalWorcester Contributor

Halloween is right around the corner and so is the annual Rock and Shock horror convention here in Worcester. For the second year in a row, a New England-based film is headlining the event. Local horror fans may remember that the Rhode Island-filmed Inkubus, which starred Robert Englund (A Nightmare on Elm Street), premiered at the convention last year. And now, one year later, another local feature is set to scare New England horror fans.

Infected, Woodhaven Films' latest offering, will make its world premiere at Rock and Shock on Saturday, Oct. 13. Like Inkubus before it, Infected features an all-star cast including Michael Madsen (Reservoir Dogs, Kill Bill), William Forsythe (The Rock, Boardwalk Empire), Christy Romano (Kim Possible, Mirrors 2) and Tom DeNucci (Inkubus, Self Storage). As its name implies, Infected involves a blood virus that infects a small group of hunters, turning their routine hunting outing into a battle for survival.
Although the current horror landscape is flooded with zombie movies, Infected star Tom DeNucci believes that his new film stands alone.

“It’s not your typical zombie movie. I think people will see that it leans towards being more of an outbreak movie,” said DeNucci. “It’s got a survival aspect to it that I don’t think a lot of zombie films have. It’s definitely not your father’s zombie movie.”
Like any great horror film, Infected throws a few curveballs at the audience, according to DeNucci.

“I really think the ending of the film will take everyone by surprise,” DeNucci said. “We really flip the whole movie upside down in the last 10 minutes and go in a different direction that I don’t think audiences will see coming.”

Another aspect that audiences may find surprising is the strong performances turned in by the cast. While good acting is not always a cornerstone of the horror genre, DeNucci argues that Infected is an exception to the rule.

“Michael Madsen has a pretty reckless performance in it, which I think people are really going to like. As for Forsythe, he can do some things that are so small and subtle that just hit you like a ton of bricks. It’s incredible what he can accomplish with just one look,” said DeNucci.

Check out the world premiere of Infected on Saturday, October 13 at 9 p.m. at the Rock and Shock convention in Worcester. The convention will take place in both the DCU Center and The Palladium. Click here for more information. There will be a panel discussion with the cast and crew prior to showing.