Wicked Pixel Cinema is a production company formed in 1995 to produce feature length independent movies for world-wide home video release.  Eric Stanze, owner and president of Wicked Pixel Cinema, is a critically-acclaimed and award-winning producer, director, writer, and editor.

Stanze formed the company in his mid-20’s, after completing his first feature film, SAVAGE HARVEST, directed when he was only 21 years old.  The company’s first release was SAVAGE HARVEST and their first production was ICE FROM THE SUN, also directed by Eric Stanze.

Wicked Pixel Cinema quickly earned a reputation for producing award-winning independent feature films that seldom played it safe and never followed the current trend.

Wicked Pixel Cinema has released its movies through tiny distributors as well as major distribution companies such as Image Entertainment, Elite Entertainment, and Koch Entertainment.  Wicked Pixel Cinema flourished in the final years of VHS, and was a pioneering force in the infancy of the DVD market (ICE FROM THE SUN was one of the first independent films to be released on DVD).  Today, Wicked Pixel Cinema is one of the longest running companies of its kind in the world.

ICE FROM THE SUN would go on to win Best Horror / Experimental Feature at the New York International Independent Film And Video Festival.  The New York Daily News called ICE FROM THE SUN “Startlingly brilliant”.

Immediately after ICE FROM THE SUN, Wicked Pixel Cinema unleashed the controversial and critically-acclaimed SCRAPBOOK, directed by Eric Stanze, and starring Emily Haack and Tommy Biondo.  SCRAPBOOK was named Best Independent Film Of The Year by Rue Morgue Magazine.

Jason Christ then wrote and directed SAVAGE HARVEST 2: OCTOBER BLOOD, the sequel to the movie that started it all.  Stanze functioned as executive producer and, due to some inventive casting, found himself playing a lead role in this sequel to a film he had directed.  SAVAGE HARVEST 2: OCTOBER BLOOD also starred Emily Haack, who had received tremendous critical praise for her performance in SCRAPBOOK.

Stanze directed, wrote, shot, and edited Wicked Pixel Cinema’s next feature film, DEADWOOD PARK.  The plot of this movie spans more than half a century and includes many sequences set on the battlefields of World War 2.

This “epic indie” was shot in five different U.S. states over the course of 55 shooting days, spread out over eight months.  DEADWOOD PARK stands as the most logistically complex production ever achieved at its budget level.

The film received glowing reviews on the web and in print around the world.  Both Rue Morgue Magazine and Fangoria Magazine gave the movie high recommendations.  DEADWOOD PARK won Best Feature and Best Cinematography when it premiered at the Freak Show Film Fest in Orlando, Florida.  FilmMonthly.com called DEADWOOD PARK “Easily one of the best independent American horror films of the last decade”.

In 2010, Wicked Pixel Cinema completed the feature film RATLINE, the first movie to be distributed by Wicked Pixel Cinema itself instead of by an outside distribution company.  The film was released the next year to remarkable critical acclaim, and it landed on several year-end “Best Films Of 2011” lists.  PopMatters.com called RATLINE “One of the most original horror experiences of the past decade”.  The film won Best Feature Film in the ‘Crime Film’ category at the PollyGrind Film Festival. Eric Stanze won Best Director when RATLINE screened at the Scare-A-Con Film Festival.  Rue Morgue Magazine listed RATLINE among its 100 Essential Alternative Horror Films Of The Last 100 Years.

In 2018 Wicked Pixel Cinema completed and released IN MEMORY OF, directed by Stanze.  A fever-dream horror / experimental / road trip / adventure film, IN MEMORY OF was shot in Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah.  It’s a sprawling journey through madness that features original music score by two-time Grammy award-winner Rocky Gray, former drummer for the multi-platinum band Evanescence.

Daily Grindhouse called IN MEMORY OF “Absolutely stunning… packed with unsettling, hallucinatory imagery… another standout feature from one of the most interesting filmmakers in modern independent horror.”  We Are Movie Geeks called the film “An unremittingly creepy municipality of the mind where mystery and madness have come home to stay.  Highly recommended.”  

Wicked Pixel Cinema released ANXIETY, directed by Eric Stanze, in September of 2024.  This experimental horror film stars Jackie Kelly and Jason Christ, and was shot with a scaled-back crew in the midst of the 2020 Covid-19 pandemic.  Upon release, Film Threat called ANXIETY “Offbeat and original. Jackie Kelly is excellent.” and Horror Society called the film “One hell of a ride. I highly recommend this one.”  

Severed Cinema raved that ANXIETY is “A raw and unsettling phantasmagorical vision. A deeply impactful film.” Rock!Shock!Pop!’s review of the film stated that ANXIETY is “Frighteningly relatable. Excellent cinematography. A truly impressive lead performance from (Jackie) Kelly.”  And the Get On My Damn Level review said ANXIETY “Captures the essence of the fever dream perfectly with a mix of jarring visual symbolism and real, raw human angst that escalates with every passing scene.”