Raising The Stakes on DVD

Here’s one for the little guy, so to speak.

Writer/Director Justin Channell sent us word that his award-winning film, RAISING THE STAKES, is now available on DVD-R (yes, that’s right) from Ohio-based indie film distributor Freak Productions. The disc retails for $10 at the Freak Productions’ official site.

Some background info for you: After producing around twenty short films during his stay in high school, and with the oncoming graduation of his high school friends (who made up the rest of IWC Films’s regular cast and crew), writer/director Justin Channell decided that it was time to attempt to make a feature. He claims the main reason was to make a film that was somewhat substantial and would cause people to take notice and actually remember them.

What resulted was RAISING THE STAKES, a vampire comedy that provides a satirical indictment on high school discrimination and obsessive role-playing lifestyles. The film stars Josh Lively and Zane Crosby, who founded IWC Films with Channell in 2002, as well as Ryan Stocking, who was a new science teacher at their high school who was interested in their work. As Crosby quipped at the premiere of the film, “The title ‘Raising The Stakes’. it had nothing to do with vampires, it was about Ryan Stocking’s career.”

Channell also managed to get cameo appearances from Lloyd Kaufman, Troma Studios co-founder and creator of the TOXIC AVENGER. Channell had been a fan of Kaufman’s work and frequently cites him as an inspiration. Since the film’s completion, RAISING THE STAKES has gained acclaim from critics and support from people like Tom Root, the head writer of Cartoon Network’s Robot Chicken, the animated program on the channel’s Adult Swim lineup, which was co-created by film star Seth Green. Also giving support is Trent Haaga, writer of Troma’s CITIZEN TOXIE: THE TOXIC AVENGER PT. IV, Full Moon’s HELL ASYLUM, Shock-O-Rama Cinema’s FEEDING THE MASSES, and the MTV show Damage Control. Haaga also recently ran a blurb about the DVD release on his official website. The film also won first place at the West Virginia International Film Festival’s Student Competition and as the writer and director, Channell just recently received an Outstanding Art Achievement award from the Fairmont Arts and Humanities Commission.

Okay, so now with that out of the way, here’s what’s on the disc (authored by Henrique Couto, Freak Productions’ head honcho):

• Audio commentary from writer/director Justin Channell, stars Josh Lively, Zane Crosby, and MANY other special guests!
• Forty minutes of hilarious outtakes
• Deleted scenes, including two rarely-seen alternate endings
• Footage from various screenings
• Featurette: Dubbing The Stakes
• Bonus Short Film: Killing Gregory, with commentary from Channell and outtakes
• Live Music from Cryptorchid Chipmunk and Jon Bolden
• Trailers

Quite a steal for $10, don’t you think? Come on, support the small guys like Channel and buy the DVD! You could end up helping out the next Sam Raimi or Peter Jackson! And in the end, everyone wins (well, except your bank account, but that’s a different story).