Dread Central Partners with Epic Pictures Group to Bring Experience to the Next Level

Steve Barton |

Mar 13, 2017

It was back in early December when we revealed to the world that we here at Dread Central, like many other websites, were on the brink of extinction. With nowhere else to go short of folding, we turned to you guys… our readers and our life’s blood. For the past several months you’ve kept us going via Patreon, and that is something we will NEVER forget.

Several months later it became apparent that we weren’t going to make our goal of $6k per month. What you contributed, combined with what we had left, got us here to this point. You lifted us up on your shoulders and carried us through. But then the end was near, and we knew we needed a miracle.

The miracle came in the form of Epic Pictures Group, the company behind such incredible indie hits as Turbo Kid, Tales of Halloween, Big Ass Spider!, and many more. Epic had a plan to partner with us, while keeping us autonomous and preserving the voice and integrity of the site that you’ve all come to love and rely on.

Epic Pictures

With them in our corner not only can we keep doing what we do, but now we’re also able to up our ante. Look for all manner of cool things to be coming your way, from a far more user-friendly experience to an incredible mobile site and tons of original content.

You’ll also be seeing, and may have already noticed, some new faces posting on the site like Jonathan Barkan (who’s working tirelessly at SXSW) and, we’re happy to announce, Fangoria alumn Tony Timpone. This is the beginning of an exciting new era for us and them, and we’re all so happy to have you guys along for the ride!

In the coming weeks you can expect more announcements, including what will become of the Patreon page. We still think that initiative has value, and there’s lots of room to explore it. Ultimately, you can expect us to make sure that the right thing is done by all of you.

Thank you again… so very much… for your love, patience, support, and lunacy,

– The Dread Central Family

From the Press Release:
During this year’s South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Festival, Epic Pictures Group, one of the premier distributors of new and exciting horror projects, and long-time genre cornerstone Dread Central Media announced a new partnership that is set to take the horror genre by storm. The announcement was made during a special dinner for SXSW’s Midnight filmmakers, which is hosted annually by Epic.

Epic is partnering with Dread Central to extend the imprint of their horror presences, both online and off, by delivering an all-new user experience tailored to the needs of the reader and fan.

“For several years now Epic Pictures has been tirelessly delivering fans new and incredible genre films such as Turbo Kid, Nina Forever, and of course, Tales of Halloween,” says Steve Barton, Editor-in-Chief and Co-Founder of Dread Central Media, LLC. “They’ve become a true leader in the field, and with them in our corner we can now finally bring Dread Central to the next level and create a space for horror enthusiasts online that they can truly call their own. Fans can expect some truly innovative experiences on both their desktops and mobile devices in the near future along with original content that only we can deliver.”

Epic Pictures Co-Founder Shaked Berenson adds, “Epic and Dread Central share a common goal of connecting independent horror filmmakers to their fans. With access to Epic’s strong distribution channels and capital, Dread Central will be able to provide more content to its fans, while remaining completely independent.”

Patrick Ewald, Epic’s CEO, says, “Dread Central has been my go-to horror site since its inception over a decade ago. The opportunity to work with the amazing Steve Barton and Jon Condit, as well as previous Epic film collaborators Buz Wallick and Andrew Kasch, is a natural progression in Epic’s ongoing commitment to keeping genre film an always evolving and terrifying experience for a worldwide audience.”

Says Jon Condit, Co-Founder of Dread Central, “We are looking forward to a terrifying partnership with Epic Pictures, whose involvement and shared vision will allow us to pursue features and developments on the site that put the fans first. This new endeavor will open up the possibility of making much needed improvements to our user experience and content offerings that were previously just out of reach for a small indie team of horror lovers.”

Tony Timpone, a long-time staple in the horror community who recently moved his fan screenings series to be hosted by Dread Central, states, “The best horror website teaming with the best indie genre company is a match made in horror heaven!”

This is just the start of something truly frightening and fun! Hold on tight!