About
Wicked Pixel Cinema was formed in 1995 to make feature-length independent horror for home video. Eric Stanze — owner, president, and an award-winning writer, director, producer and editor — started the company in his mid-twenties, straight off SAVAGE HARVEST, which he directed at 21.
SAVAGE HARVEST was the first release; ICE FROM THE SUN was the first production. The company built its name on films that seldom played it safe and never followed the trend — released through outfits from the tiniest labels to Image, Elite and Koch Entertainment.
Wicked Pixel flourished in the last years of VHS and helped open the DVD era — ICE FROM THE SUN was among the first independent films released on the format. Thirty years on, it is one of the longest-running companies of its kind in the world.
ANXIETY — ST. LOUIS, 2024
Company history
1995 — TODAY
1995 — SAVAGE HARVEST
Stanze directs his first feature at 21, then forms Wicked Pixel Cinema to release it. The company’s first title, and the film that started everything.
FIRST RELEASE
1999 — ICE FROM THE SUN
The company’s first production, and one of the first independent films ever released on DVD.
BEST HORROR / EXPERIMENTAL FEATURE, NEW YORK INTERNATIONAL · “STARTLINGLY BRILLIANT” — NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
1999 — SCRAPBOOK
A controversial, critically-acclaimed follow-up starring Emily Haack and Tommy Biondo.
BEST INDEPENDENT FILM OF THE YEAR — RUE MORGUE
2007 — SAVAGE HARVEST 2
Jason Christ writes and directs the sequel; Stanze executive produces and, through some inventive casting, ends up playing a lead in his own franchise.
WITH EMILY HAACK
2007 — DEADWOOD PARK
An epic indie spanning half a century, with World War 2 battlefield sequences — shot across five states in 55 days over eight months.
BEST FEATURE & BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY, FREAK SHOW FILM FEST · “ONE OF THE BEST INDEPENDENT AMERICAN HORROR FILMS OF THE LAST DECADE” — FILMMONTHLY
2011 — RATLINE
The first film Wicked Pixel distributed itself, landing on multiple Best Films Of 2011 lists.
RUE MORGUE’S 100 ESSENTIAL ALTERNATIVE HORROR FILMS · “ONE OF THE MOST ORIGINAL HORROR EXPERIENCES OF THE PAST DECADE” — POPMATTERS
2018 — IN MEMORY OF
A fever-dream road trip through madness, shot across seven states, scored by two-time Grammy winner Rocky Gray of Evanescence.
“ABSOLUTELY STUNNING… HALLUCINATORY IMAGERY” — DAILY GRINDHOUSE
2024 — ANXIETY
Experimental horror starring Jackie Kelly and Jason Christ, shot with a scaled-back crew during the pandemic.
“OFFBEAT AND ORIGINAL. JACKIE KELLY IS EXCELLENT.” — FILM THREAT
2026 — HAG
Written and directed by Jackie Kelly, with Stanze as cinematographer, editor and executive producer. Sold-out world premiere at Hysteria Fest.
GRAND JURY AWARD · BEST DIRECTOR · BEST EDITING
In memoriam
TWO OF OUR OWN
1999 — TOMMY BIONDO
Writer, director and production designer who started with us at 15. Lost on a shoot in 1999, aged 26.
2007 — TONY BRIDGES
The effects artist behind Savage Harvest’s gore, and the gentle giant of Crypt 33. Died in 2007, aged 35.