All genres of suspense, terror, and horror will be reviewed by Richard Gary. His address to send preview copies supplied upon request to rbf55@msn.com.
There is an old Media Theory
that states that when a technology is added to a culture, it does not just
become part of it, it changes everything. Social media is the recent elephant
in the room. Influencers started, arguably, with the likes of no-talents (my
opinion) like Paris Hilton, and then exploded with the horrendous (again, my
opinion) Kardashian family, who made billions of dollars for essentially doing
nothing but saying they like something, or showing up at a party for a fee.
While Facebook (and before
that Myspace) was the launching pad for many, other platforms such as Instagram
and now TikTok has managed to make stars and produce fortunes for people who, essentially,
really do not matter, but millions of followers hang on their every word or
deed (and, often, dance). That is where this film starts.
Kasia Szarek
In this dramedy, Abbi
Rose (Kasia Szarek) is just such an “influencer.” She is chubby, busty, perky
on the outside, and vain about herself and “her brand”; she has a huge photo of
herself over her couch, for example. And much like Kim, Khloe, and Kourtney, et.
al, after nearly a decade of vlogging, Abbi has 1.3 million subscribers
that tune into her every video and pays attention to whatever products she can
get for free and promote.
The flip side to Abbi
is a conniving, abusive person who is nasty to her unpaid interns who actually
produce all her online product, as she wheedles a tremendous payload from a
major corporation, Nutrocon, through ruthless negotiations. This
is a company that, one of its many octopus operations, experiments on animals
for cosmetics. As Abbi’s favorite clothing is fur, this does not pose a problem
as long as there is enough cash involved. And the poor interns are just going
to see more sandwiches for food rather than pay. This includes new gushing
intern Trendygirl99 (Thea Cantos), who Abbi pretty much snubs at all times, not
even trying to remember her name.
Janiva Zentz
Act two starts with a
bang as the home invasion part of the story begins, with four people (named by
a numeral, seemingly a nod to Tarantino’s 1992 Reservoir Dogs), numbered
two through five; I am going to guess who is One, and though I will not reveal
it, I’ll let you know further on if I was correct. Meanwhile, these masked (at
least at first) renegades are subversives on different levels, such as Two (Janiva
Zentz), who is a hacker screwed out of a patent, Five (Ian Richard Jones), a
chemist who made a meth-substitute to make a living, and Four (Victoria D.
Wells), an aggressive sexual-harassment whistleblower on (literal) steroids. They
each have a bone to pick with corporate America but are also flawed in their
own ways. Luckily, we are given time to get to know their personalities a bit.
This group of kidnappers
seem to mostly not know each other outside of, as one refers to it, this assignment.
This seems like a twisted-PETA kind of action, such as the motif of releasing lab
animals, especially with the philosophy of Three (Shantell Yasmine Abeyderra).
But there is something else on their minds
Victoria D. Wells
Thing is, Abbi is way
more media savvy than the interlopers, making for an interesting back and forth
between them. In their own ways, each group/person has their own power over the
others, and that plays back and forth in effective ways. And, without giving
anything away, things naturally go sideways between the inter-relational dynamic
of the group. Add in some unexpected hitches and visits, and the tension (and humor)
builds into the third act.
Of course, this is
going to be life changing for everyone involved, but will it be for the positive
or negative (or both)? Yeah, again, not going to tell, but it is certainly
satisfying. There is a bit of social justice preaching done, but it is not a slamming
on the head, but rather well worked into the plot. A more subtle message is
definitely women power, as the few males involved in the story are, to put it
nicely, jerks. Even with their flaws, the women are strong and confident in their
roles in the storyline.
Ian Richard Jones
This film looks
beautiful with tons of pastel colors, even with the ever-rising tension level. The photography (by Christiana
Charalambous) and editing are superb, and keeps on beat with the background music
quite well. This is Weinstein’s first feature (after a number of shorts and tv
directorial work), and shows an incredible amount of talent, especially for the
budget. The screen is filled with lots of bright colors and flashes of upbeat instrumental
soundtrack that occasionally hides the sometimes nasty undertones of Abbi and
her kidnappers.
Shantell Yasmine Abeyderra
As for the acting, well,
this is an experienced troupe, and Weinstein leads them to do their best
successfully. Plus, Szarek has years of professional comic acting under her
belt, and she uses that background to her advantage, making Abbi at times both a
repulsive personality, and a sympathetic heroine. This is definitely her film,
though just about everyone else is not far behind.
The pace is pretty
consistent with very little “lull” time, so it is quick paced, (as I said) like
beats to music.
Oh, and despite a
number of red herrings, I was right about the identity of One, the leader of
the house invasion group. So there.
Yeah we're playing those mind games forever Protecting our images in space and in time – John Lennon
Much as director Kevin
Hicks (and his partner, Vickie Hicks, who also wrote the screenplay and was
Executive in Charge) updated the communicating through time via media
(telephone in this case) with his previous feature, Dead Air (2021;
reviewed HERE), they now update and mix the escape room and held captive genres with this, their
new full length release.
Samantha Valletta
In this psychological thriller,
it starts off with Claire (Samantha Valletta), a young woman who is chained by
her ankle in a basement somewhere near Ithaca, NY, that has a cot, a chair, a
table, some odd and rudimentary clown paintings, a mirror, and a bucket for,
well, you know. However, there is naught to read, no music, and nothing but
herself to spend the time. She is way angrier than she is scared of her captor,
an older woman named Helen (Vickie Hicks). The latter accuses Claire of
committing a heinous crime and states, “You have a lot of skeletons in your
closet, dear,” which Claire vehemently denies. That’s just the opening (so nothing
being given away).
As the film
progresses, things are not always what they seem at first, and much of the story
is the basis of the relationship between these two women. Claire is confused
and angry, and Helen is (mostly) calm and calculating, many of their exchanges
being when it is feeding time.
Each conversation
builds on the previous one, with bits of information to the audience to fill
them in, using small increments. Despite the claustrophobia of the small room
in which Claire forcibly occupies, the story is interesting, and the viewer
wants to know more and more of what put these two people in this dire situation.
Claire doesn’t remember anything before being chained up, but parts of her past
are telegraphed by both events that happen to Claire in the room, and the
things she hears.
Meanwhile, people keep
appearing when Claire is alone, such as Ethan (Kevin Hicks, this film’s
director), Rebecca (Nicole Skelly), and a boy named Michael (Luca Iacovetti)
who seems to be playing a game of hide and seek with Claire. Why these people
are there seem obvious to me, but at 20 minutes in, I will hold off on my initial
guesses. Rebecca explains how she is a figment of Claire’s imagination (“Haven’t
you ever had an imaginary friend?”), but something dark brings out these three…and
a couple of sock puppets. No, I’m not kidding. Possibly it is a bit like Gerald’s
Game (2017) in that the imagination runs havoc, perhaps it is dreams, or is
it something more sinister or supernatural than that?
Over time, the
frequency of the pop-ins increases and become more intense. Sometimes it is
incredibly creepy, especially with Ethan and Michael. Rebecca is sort of a
Greek Chorus in that she helps with some self-questioning and pieces of
exposition for the viewer. Or perhaps it is Claire’s own brain eating itself because
she refuses to eat for days on end.
Despite the small,
narrow space, the filming work is well staged, almost like a three-camera television
shoot, keep the elbow room still tight, but not to the point of, say, an MRI-level
or the sewer pipe escape of the main character in Richard Bachman’s (Stephen
King) novel, The Running Man.
Vickie Hicks
As with Dead Air,
Vickie proves herself to be a naturalistic actor who makes it look easy, with
her cigarette smokey deep voice. Valletta manages to keep up with her, making
her both empathetic and unhinged in a fearless performance.
The lighting is phenomenal,
with shades of primary colors, but not to the Creepshow (1982) level,
but more of a realistic tone, and with the editing gives some expansion to the space.
Speaking of the basement, this could actually be a one-set play, using shadows
and dark spots for characters to “pop” in and out quite easily. It almost seems
Vickie wrote it that way.
Kevin Hicks
For a troupe of five
(not counting the two puppets), the story stays engaging for the full run time,
and even though the space is small, as is the cast, it remains compelling. The
final act is full of unexpected moments and answers quite a few questions. A
good watch.
The film is available
On Demand from Chinimble Lore and Freestyle Digital Media.
Note that
these four films are listed chronologically, rather than in the order in which
I watched them. Also, the screener versions that I saw were low rez and grainy,
but I am sure if you rent the film, it will be in a much higher resolution. The
trailers for all four films are after the reviews.
Suffering Bible
Directed by Davide Pesca
Demented Gore Productions
65 minutes, 2018 www.digitmovies.com/
Although this is not a long film, it was the first
full feature Pesca directed, and ironically, the last of the four films I
watched. The Bible is a very apropos topic for a film centered on gore and body
horror, as the book is filled with genocide, incest, child rape, slavery, infanticide,
and multiple killings of animals (along with talking serpents and donkeys).
Pesca has a certain style that he employs on all these
films, which are short stories stitched together to form a theme. The camera is
often handheld (jerky, but not seasick worthy like, say, 2008’s Cloverfield.
There is also minimal talking, usually dubbed but occasionally with subtitles,
and use of multiple monochrome filters (black and white, blue, etc.), though
sometimes he uses an ultra-chromatic filter for colorful effects. But the main
focus of all his films is the gore factor, which is ripe and rife, often
involving body organs. Pesca does all the SFX himself, and generally it looks
really amazing, considering the budget, which is low-Lira…oops, I mean Euros.
As for the stories, they are there for the gore, rather than the other way
around, and may make you say, che cosa?
There are five stories – or Acts – here, with the
bookends (and between each story) being a naked man and a nude woman,
individually, with bandages on their heads crawl through a forest on their
stomachs. By the end, it’s obvious which Biblical story to which this refers.
As for the stories themselves, the it starts with “Act
1: My Only God.” In this tale, two ex-friends are, well, reunited, for lack of
a better term. Truthfully, I am not sure what story this references in the
Bible. “Act II: San Toma,” as in St. Judas Thomas. A self-flagellating man
(monk?) – an event that was common during the Middle Ages (see Monty Pythonand the Holy Grail(1975) – hallucinates Jeebus appearing on a cross, and he does what a Doubting Thomas
would do, but more so. We learn eating the “body of Christ” (not on a cracker) is
not always a positive thing.
“Act III: In the Name of the Father” is next. A woman
who is sensually attracted to an old book (it looks like a dictionary, but it
could possibly be a stand-in for a Bible) and a cross with the image of Jeebus
on it, does some damage to herself in self-erotic ecstasy. My question here is,
I realize Jeebus supposedly wants us unbelievers to burn for eternity, but does
“he” really want his followers to suffer at their own hands this much, as well?
Seems more Darwinian. But, I digress…
Next up is “Act IV: The Pact.” As might be expected, a
depressed woman makes a deal with a mysterious and devilish woman for riches
and beauty, which cannot end well and, considering the context of the film this
is in, one might add bloody. The piper must be paid. This is my favorite segment
in the film. For the final piece, “Act V: Redemption of the Lost Souls,” we
meet three people, an OD’d junkie, a tuberculosis victim, and an old man who
was homeless, as they meet their judgments. Were they good or were they bad,
and what was their fate? Again, context. There was a brief coda to this one with
a gift that I did not quite understand.
There are no real stories here, just vignettes into bloody
religiosity, which is a comment on the state of spirituality throughout the
last 2000 years, where suffering is equated with religion, to supposedly
understand the suffering “the Lord” went through the days before Good Friday
for “your sins.” Pesca plays on that rather than narration, and is effective in
that mode.
Ironically, most of the people in this film (and the
others) about the Bible are tattooed, which the Leviticus poo-poos on as much
as homosexuality. Again, I digress…
Dead Butterfly: The Prophecy of Suffering Bible
(aka Suffering
Bible 2)
Directed by Davide Pesca
Demented Gore Productions
56 minutes, 2019 www.digitmovies.com/
This film is a
collection of individual scenes related only by their connection to extreme and
distorted versions of Catholicism and religiosity. There is very little
dialogue, but what there is, is in Italian with very clear captions (i.e., easy
to discern; not white on white).
The start is a
woman (the beautiful Barbara Sirotti) who receives a gift (a theme which would
be revisited in another form in “Dust to Dust” from Grand Guignol Madness: Show Your Fear; see
review below) of a liquid in a vial and virtual reality glasses presenting a
Christ-like figure that proves to show the opposite of what is happening in the
physical world (“Heaven’s Doors”). Then a religious woman puts a chained (and I
believed drugged) man through the tortures and then some of Jesus’ last days
before befalling her own fate (“The Saint’s Friday”). Another man burying
something in the woods befalls a bloody end by a possible ghost with a
screwdriver (“The Secret”). After a jewel robbery (including a butterfly
necklace) the older woman victim does a bit of voodoo on the younger woman who stole
her possessions (“Do Not Steal”). In the last tale, a woman is tortured and
beaten by cool looking techno-demons in hell (I believe) for her Earthly
crimes, such as adultery and taking the Lord’s name in vain after a desperate
act (“The Judgment”; see, this is why I am an atheist),
The
gore is explicit and plentiful, as is the top body parts of much of the female
cast. While not as sophisticated as Pesca’s later works, as far as the graphics
(both SFX and digital FX), it is easy to see the talent in the way the film is
constructed. He is also setting up his auteur workings through the type of gore
he employs, and the use of vignettes, or original short stories combined with a
wraparound that is inserted as bookends, and between each tale that is in black
and white, as a man puts sharp objects (hooks, pins, etc.) through his skin on
different parts of his body in self-harming religious fervor (“The Angel”); I
could not watch these parts, in all honesty.
Grand Guignol Madness: Show Your Fear
Directed by Davide Pesca
Demented Gore Productions; Digitmovies Alternative Entertainment; Home Movies
67 minutes, 2020 www.digitmovies.com/
Right from the
start, the film lets us know where it is thematically heading with the title
card that reads (in Italian): “The sound of the lament caused by suffering is
almost identical to the groan caused by pleasure.” Shades of Hellraiser
(1987)!
The film is an
anthology; a collection of Pesca’s shorts made especially for this release. The
framework is that a woman is kidnapped, and forced, through electrodes, to experience
the terrible things that happen to the people we see in the shorts, while bound
to a chair in a laboratory (“Broken Mind”).
Each story is mostly
silent with musical backgrounds, though what little Italian dialogue is spoken
does not deter from the stories. They involve the likes of a gift to an online nude
model gone wrong (“Dust to Dust”), a nature-loving photographer deciding to go
all Dexter on some litterers and polluters (“Save the Planet”), a strip-off
contest going horribly wrong (“The Competition”), an obsessive body builder misusing
steroids (“Muscles”), a lonely woman who is out to capture a man’s heart (“The
Heartbreaker”), and a model in underwear who is posing for a photographer has a
negative reaction to the many exposures to the flash of the camera (“Shot my
Soul”).
Each vignette
has its own style and look, usually through a mostly monochrome or hyper- chromatic
filter. The major themes seem to be revenge, stripping, tattoos and fingers in
wounds, with an occasional side order of someone holding someone else’s organs.
The effects
range from a bit cheesy to very effective, and there is a lot of it as it is
the point in the whole exercise, hence the title, which is based on a theater
in Paris that ran from 1897 to 1962 that specialized in realistic shows of
graphic horror. The title is effective, and it is an interesting watch for a
gorehound.
Night of Doom
Directed by Davide Pesca
Demented Gore Productions
61 minutes, 2021 www.digitmovies.com/
For this
story, Doom is the name of a powdered drug that seems to be similar to Bath
Salts in that it causes violent psychosis. According to a newscast, the crime
rate is up 40 percent and the drug is rampant in Italy, where this is filmed
(it is dubbed into English; note that the trailer below is in its original
Italian). While the topic of addiction to Doom is not mentioned, it is (for me)
assumed by the desire for it.
That being
said, this is as much as about the drug as it is focused on sado-masochism, and
snuff entertainment. While not an anthology film, there are a series of
vignettes that overlap, and some return, making this somewhat narrative, but
also being a bit esoteric in how it is presented.
There are lots
of primary colors used for lighting, specifically blue and red, and the camera
work is quite imaginative, sometimes with nearly psychedelic green screen
backgrounds.
The largest
part of the story focuses on a televangelist who, in the name of the Lord, is
into B&D, S&M, erotic asphyxiation, and yes, of course, Doom. A bit of
it is for himself, but most is for his loved one that he leaves bound and
gagged while he is away from home.
The drug is
the spine of the film, but the meat and bones is a commentary about religion
(heavily leaning towards Catholic; though would Mother Mary have had painted
nails?) and S&M, and how sometimes they philosophically satisfy the same
needs; though not blatantly stated, it is presented as such in a more subtle
means. And that is the only subtly in this film’s actions.
One thing I
will mention as far as men and women, they are similarly treated badly, and
equally being the perpetrators of the violence (except there is a much better
chance that the women will be dressed sexually, if at all).
Amid all the
violence, there is a touch of humor here and there, such as the presentation of
Miss Bathory Body Lotion that is presented as nearly an inserted commercial.
That’s a bloody good joke (pun intended).
I especially
like that the person ending up being the main character is not who you might
expect, but certainly this actor is the best of the batch. This is definitely
low budget (you even get to see the boom mic in one shot), and Pesca managed to
do a lot with a little.
This film
could fall into the artistic Transgressive subgenre, and I have seen a lot of
body horror, but I have to say, thematically, I was more interested in the drug
end than the S&M, which is something I have never found appealing. The film
is well-made and creative in camera work, visual effects, and SFX – especially
on this budget – but even though I enjoy gore effects, which are done well
here, the torture stuff was a bit much for me at times. Ahh, I’m getting old.
A Ghost Waits
Directed by Adam Stovall
Rebecca Films; Arrow Video; MVD Visual
80 minutes, 2020 / 2021 www.aghostwaits.com/
https://arrowfilms.com/ www.MVDVisual.com
Most of us have seen hauntings
films, such as Poltergeist (1982) and The Amityville Horror (1979).
The spirits are present in the home and they are going to get physical on some
level, eventually probably scaring the inhabitants away.
Natalie Walker
This is the job of a
particular ghost, Muriel (Natalie Walker), and she is a champ at it. No one
will stay at the Cincinnati house, which is – in the alive world – possessed
by a management company, owned by Neal (director Adam Stovall). He’s a cranky
new dad of twins, and he just wants the problem of constantly rotating lease-breaking
tenants solved.
To get the house ready
for the next renters, Neal sends his handyman employee, Jack (MacLeod Andrews)
to clean up and take care of any issues. It becomes pretty obvious early on
that what is there walks alone, and steals his pizza. Jack is a bit of a ne’er-do-well
though good at his job, whose own rental is under fumigation, has no family or friends
to speak of, can’t get anyone to listen to or help him, and is just floating
through life in a job that doesn’t really mean much to him.
It is pretty
obvious that Muriel and Jack are going to connect on some level. It takes a
while, but these two lost souls are looking for something and someone. While Jack
has to contend with an absent boss (yeah, those new twins keep him distracted),
Muriel has her own issues with her by-the-book spook supervisor, Ms. Henry
(scene stealer Amanda Miller) and a fellow up-and-coming “spectral agent” Rosie
(Sydney Vollmer). What’s a poor ghost to do?
MacLeod Andrews
This film
definitely has a comic vibe to it, though it is more of a “dramedy.” It is well
written, especially the way it uses the soundtrack as another major character,
such as songs by the likes of Wussy and Honeyhoney, which was well played.
It is also
interesting to see the differences between the two main haunting ghosts. Rosie
is newer, and more up-to-date in her language as a teenager, while Muriel talks
with no contractions, as in “I do not,” as opposed to the more modern “I don’t”.
The viewer may not get that, but will notice something is off in her cadence to
modern speech. I thought this was a really smart, deliberate, and subtle choice.
There are also
a few references in one (of a few) Muriel-inspired dream sequence for Jack that
definitely harken back to Stephen King, such as Jack talking to himself as a
bartender, right out of The Shining (1980), and there is also a subtle
nod to IT (1990), where the bartender-nee-Muriel mentions being both a
clown and a spider in the past. Jack even wears a tee that says “King” on it.
However, in one of the commentaries, the director states that was not his
intention, though perhaps it was subconscious. It still works, though, for
genre fans.
Sydney Vollmer
Another one of
the understated points of the film, though written by men, is that the
strongest characters here are the women. Jack is kind of weak and generally unmotivated
in life, drinking way too much of (not his) beer, and I wonder at some
of the choices he makes, but Muriel likes what she does and is, to say the least,
fierce. And yet she has a lot to learn in the experience which makes her more
independent and a leader (such as over Rosie), taking control of her own life –
er – death to make choices. I also like the fact that one of the ghosts, who
obviously has been dead a long, long time, is “Ms.” rather than “Miss” or “Mrs.”
This pro-women aspect is one of the finer themes of the film for me.
Because, in
part, due to the use of sharp shadows, especially on Muriel’s face as she is consistently
lit from below (as are all the spectral agents), the film works so much better
in Black and White and, again, it was a wise choice. It’s just the right amount
of grainy without being hard to see at all, which gives the look a sense of
texture. There are also many very long shots, some static and others following
the characters, rather than a jumble of quick edits. It works for the pace of
the story.
Amanda Miller
I spent nearly
two full days with this project. There are so many extras on this Blu-ray,
including three (yes, three) full commentaries. The first is with the director
and Corrie Loeffler, a friend of his who is mentioned in the “thanks” at the
end of the film. Stovall has a tendency to wander off on subjects, but Corrine
does really well to reel him back in. Their friendship is evident throughout
which makes the commentary more organic. The second is the director with one of
Stovall’s long-time best friends and male lead, Andrews (who co-wrote the screenplay
with him). This is a fun conversation that discusses the film but also veers
off to delve into things like the genre in general and storytelling. It was the
best of the commentaries. The last is with Stovall, Cinematographer Michael Potter,
Vollmer, Andrews, and Actor/Co-producer Nicholas Thurkettle. Much of the stories
told are repeats of previous commentaries and the eight interviews mentioned
below, but they do manage to not overtalk each other.
At the film’s first
festival showing at Frightfest Glasgow 2020, there is an interview (11 min) and
a post-film Q&A (14 min) with director Adam Stovall, both moderated by Alan
Jones. The sound quality for the second is a bit echoey, but listenable. Some
of the same ground is covered in each, but it is still interesting. The “Outtakes”
reel (12 min) is actually quite fun, more than I have seen in others recently,
and part of that is the chemistry between the two leads, Andrews and Walker.
There are eight Zoom individual
interviews with the cast and crew moderated by critic and programmer tt
stern-enzi (an ee cummings fan?), who is the Artistic Director of the Over-the-Rhine
International Film Festival and Member at Critics Choice Association; he did a
fine job.
Of the cast, there is MacLeod
(21 min) who discusses his character and the film’s music, and Vollmer (12 min).
For the crew, there is Executive Producers MF Thomas (12 min) and Deborah Parag
(7 min) – who is also Adam Stovall’s mother, Director of Photography Michael C.
Potter (13 min), Composers Mitch Bain (9 min) and Margaret Darling, who did the
original soundtrack (9 min) and, of course, it ends with Director Adam Stovall (30
min).
“Humanity and the Afterlife
in A Ghost Waits” (15 min) is an Isabel Custodio-directed featurette that
looks at the film’s themes and influences on a deeper, almost academic level,
though it never talks above the viewer. Others include the theatrical trailer,
an image gallery, along with available English subtitles. There is also a
reversible cover and outer case sleeve with artwork by Sister Hyde.
Walker
I have one
random question: while Jack is waiting for something to do, why didn’t he paint
the outside of the garage, which has peeling paint above the door? Things you notice…
While I
thought the ending was predictable, it was really the right way to end this, so
I did not let that get in the way of the story. Overall, it was the right
length to keep the interest up, and had some really fine moments. The acting is
top notch and helps make the film even more enjoyable. This is fun, and may
play well as a date night film without being too Hallmarky with over-schmaltz.
For a director’s first film, this is quite compelling and a positive release.
A Brief Interview with Screenwriter and Director
John Oak Dalton
Introduction by Richard Gary / Indie Horror Films Films reviewed on this blog are linked to their titles Images from the Internet
John Oak Dalton
Ohio-based John Oak Dalton has directed two films, both of which prove his worth in
this field: The Girl in the Crawlspace (2018) and Scarecrow County(2019). But what Dalton is mostly known for is his screenplays, for films such as Alone in the
Ghost House (2015), Jurassic Prey (2015), Amityville
Island (2020), and recently Shark Encounters of the
Third Kind (2020). It was for this latter film that he was
interviewed by “The Schlock Pit,” who did not use all of Dalton’s quotes, which
he recently published on his email blog, “I Was Bigfoot’s Shemp," on August 13,
2021 (Johnoakdalton.hotmail.com). With his permission, as a fan, I am printing what
was left out of the blog interview below, written by John Oak Dalton. I have
made minor editorial changes. – RG, 2021
* * *
I was as surprised
as anyone when my new film, Scarecrow County, hung on for four
straight weeks in the Amazon Hot New Releases in Horror. Thanks to everyone who
picked up a copy or has seen it on some other platform.
And I was extremely
flattered by this interview and review of a film I wrote, Shark Encounters of the Third Kind, by the British Website “TheSchlock Pit.” I am appreciative that the people there give thoughtful attention to the B-movie
world, and are good writers to boot.
They used just a
few snippets of an interview about the writing of Shark Encounters of
the Third Kind, so I thought I'd share the whole of what I wrote back when they asked
a few questions via email, probably more than they wanted to know.
* * *
(Director) Mark
(Polonia) had asked me to write all the scripts for a three-movie deal with Wild
Eye (Releasing) that all already came with titles and basic descriptions; the caveat
being is that he needed all three in six weeks. I'm to the point in my career where
if I write something for somebody, there has to be a reason; and I have always been
interested in director Thomas Carr, who once shot six B-Westerns in 30 days, which
I think not enough has been made of. So, I thought this might be a neat challenge.
I had never written this fast in my life; typically, I can write a full script in three
weeks, if I'm pushing it. I think I worked on these an average of 10 days each.
They were written at a fever pitch and honestly I didn't remember a lot of detail
until I saw the final product, and even then wasn't sure what I thought up and what
Mark added.
Rewind to when I
wrote my first movie for Mark, Among Us (2004), and he had a three-picture
deal afterwards and asked me to write all three in a year, and I wasn't sure I could
write three movies in one year! In that case I rewrote two and then wrote a third
from scratch.
The first was Psycho Clown, which was turned into Peter Rottentail (2004). I took John Polonia's handwritten script
and rewrote it as I was typing it into a screenwriting program. Next I did a rewrite
of Razorteeth (2005), then my original script
was Demons on a Dead End Street, which remains one of my favorite scripts, but didn't
get made.
Peter Rottentail has been rated one of the worst horror films
of all time by “Nerdly,” and Fangoria did a whole podcast dedicated
to it; as well as all the people who watch it on Easter every year. Razorteeth disappeared almost without notice; and frankly,
which is worse? To me, at least, it's the latter.
So, for this new
trilogy of scripts: Amityville Island (2020) was the
easiest of the three for Wild Eye; I had written a movie for Mark a few years before
called Doctor Zombie that had not been made, but
I noticed had a lot of similar beats as the Amityville premise. It was
heavily influenced by Mark's love for Zombi2 (1979) and Tombs of the Blind Dead (1972), with my
own interest in Lust for Freedom (1987) thrown in. So, I knocked
that together quickly and it has been noted by reviewers that it has a little of
everything, and all of it crazy, as I intended. I wrote another one whose title
I will hold back as it hasn't come out yet, but it was full of time travel and dinosaurs
and alternate timelines, and I had a blast with it. My favorite script of the three.
I hope it streets yet this year.
Aliens vs Sharks (the original title of Shark Encounters of the Third Kind) was the hardest to get my
mind around for some reason, so I saved this to write last. But once I got going,
it started cooking, and again, I don't exactly remember writing it. In fact, I went
back and read the outline before responding to this email. It came with a four-page
outline with a lot of the beats, mostly the effects that were going to be made or
on hand, and a little bit of story. I made the Jenni Russo character a therapist
when she was a photographer in the original, because I wanted to include an alien
abduction storyline; I think the other characters were pretty much as presented
in the outline. I thought the treasure hunters were a neat touch in the original.
I thought the movie was very ambitious, but especially the third act, which I thought
was going to be too much to get on screen in a workable way, so I toned it down
quite a bit. My ending, which featured a group of teens on the beach Frankie Avalon-style
inadvertently re-starting the whole mess, was not used, and I think the whole part
with Dave Fife was created so that Mark could work with Dave before he moved. I
think I had somebody quoting a lot of Shakespeare, which was cut out, understandably
enough. Otherwise, by and large, what I wrote is up there, for better or worse.
It's funny now,
but I can see the seeds of my own later movie, The Girl in the Crawlspace, in this script,
including the therapist and the character obsessed with Westerns. I always try to
hang my stories on things I was interested in, and one in this case is a lawman
who is basically on his last day on the job and isn't going to be a lawman any more,
and what that means. Honestly, I had also buried a family cat in my back pasture
and thought it might be a good set piece for a movie, and that's in there, too.
Just all the flotsam and jetsam you pick up through life, interest in culture, interest
in other people. Whether people see it or not, I try to put in elements that might
resonate with someone besides aliens shooting rayguns or whatever. I think Jennie
Russo and Titus Himmelberger are both enjoyable in this. I thought Titus gave his
lines an especially eccentric read and it turned out like I hoped. Jeff Kirkendall
is good as always. I try to write for the people I know Mark is going to use, but
sometimes he changes it up or introduces somebody new, so it's always a nice surprise.
I think when you
have a movie titled Aliens vs Sharks, you are either
in or out when you hear the title, and the rest doesn't matter. You are going in
it to have a good time. So, for this kind of movie, or all three of these movies,
I like to try to make them funny, with a lot of nods to horror fandom, lots of energy
and outlandish situations and characters. I'm not sure every viewer is in on the
joke, but that's what I hope. I think the biggest thing to note is that I have never
been involved with a movie that comes from cynicism; these kinds of movies are made
by people that love the genre for people that love the genre. Horror fans, by and
large, are the most loyal and devoted, and will follow you where you want to go,
whether you have the money to make the trip or not.
