Michael J. Epstein (he/him/his) writes, directs, and produces sociopolitical genre film in collaboration with his partner, Sophia Cacciola, under their production company moniker, Launch Over. Before moving to Los Angeles in 2016 to pursue full-time filmmaking, Michael worked as a tenured professor and research scientist studying auditory perception and physiology, and he recorded and toured with numerous indie and punk bands, including The Motion Sick (featured as band of the month in SPIN Magazine in 2006 and in Dance Dance Revolution video games) and Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling (awarded the 6th most creative video of 2010 in Time Magazine).
With the success of his bands’ music videos, Michael shifted his focus to making feature films, including the social-satire-horror Clickbait, 70s-Euro-vampire Blood of the Tribades, psychotronic-sci-fi Magnetic, and the avant-mystery TEN. Michael and his films have received more than 30 festival awards and have been featured in outlets including Fangoria, SciFi Magazine, Starburst, Curve, Scream, Diabolique, The Boston Globe, and Famous Monsters of Filmland.
In addition to films, Michael has written several published fiction short stories and non-fiction books and book chapters on crowdfunding, statistics, and psychoacoustics.
First Horror Film: The first “scary” horror movie I ever saw was Nightmare on Elm Street 2. I reluctantly watched through my fingers at a 4th-grade birthday party, only to discover the thrill of overcoming my fear of watching.
Favorite Genres: Surreal, Thriller, Giallo, Exploitation
Favorite Movies: The City of Lost Children, Rear Window, The Abominable Dr. Phibes, Deep Red, Neon Maniacs
Favorite Franchise: Phantasm, Nightmare on Elm Street
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