“Sasquatchploitation”! Love it! I don’t know who invented the term, but I first came across it on Dread Central, so I’ll give the credit to them. It describes, of course, the absolute frenzy of Sasquatch (or Bigfoot) movies that has descended upon the world of independent cinema over the years. Sasquatch have been reported as lurking in the shrubbery all over the US and beyond, right up to and including their albino cousins, the Yeti, or Abominable Snowmen, of the Himilayas, who are naturally more inclined to lurk in the snowbanks.

Director Tyler Meyer and writer/producer Dennis Meyer have taken it upon themselves to introduce the world to the particular sasquatch that haunts the grasslands of Ohio — known as Grassman and first sighted by white settlers in 1869, or so the story goes. He’s big (7 to 9 feet tall), ape-like and hairy, and only ever appears when nearby cameras are malfunctioning — so he ticks all the right boxes.

But is he vicious, preying on campers and hikers whenever he gets the chance? Well, it wouldn’t make much of a monster flick if he wasn’t, would it?

Grassman’s “handy” work?

The Legend of Grassman has been in production for some time, first reported by Avery Guerra back in February 2010 on Monster Island News. As the director described it there:

“The film is kind of a mixture of a 1930s jungle adventure, a 1980s slasher movie, and a 1970’s Bigfoot documentary. The films that have influenced us on this project come from all different eras and genres, but early on Dennis and I focused on Jaws as the type of movie we wanted to emulate.”

The story goes like this: “Some legends are best left undisturbed.”

Summary:

After a mysterious attack on a home in rural Ohio, a group of hunters and cryptozoologists head deep into the woods hoping to find proof of what they believe is responsible: the legendary Grassman, Ohio’s elusive bigfoot. (from website)

Teaser Trailer:

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Back then it was expected that the film would be ready for distribution by September of that year. Well, it didn’t quite eventuate and here is where the film now stands, right from the horse’s mouth via Avery:

When you originally contacted us last year, we had shot about 60% of the film.  We had just put together a trailer with the available footage to help convince people to work with us so we could finish up the movie. At that point, there were still a few locations we hadn’t found and several roles that hadn’t been cast yet.

Some of our newer locations include the Lewisburg Haunted Cave, situated in an abandoned limestone mine in Lewisburg, Ohio and the 22^nd Annual Bigfoot Conference held at Salt Fork State Park in 2010, where we shot a scene that mixes our fictional Bigfoot researchers with real-life researchers like Jeff Meldrum and Don Keating.

Lynn Lowry (Cat People, The Crazies) joined our cast as an offbeat character who lives in a big creepy house in the woods. She’s the first professional actress our crew has worked with and I couldn’t have asked for someone better to break us in. Not only was she laid-back and easy to work with – which was hugely important to me as a first time director – but she was incredible to watch. She’s so nice and so pleasant in person and then before our eyes, very subtly, she would morph into this creepy-ass character – her whole body seemed to change – the way she stood, the way she moved. I was absolutely riveted by everything she did.  And she offered me a lot of different choices in the editing room. I’ve never had raw footage that was so entertaining.

Check out this video on the subject of working with Lynn Lowry:

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Tyler Meyer continues:

After looking at a rough cut of the film, we decided part of our plot was missing, so we wrote and shot couple new scenes with Jessica Cameron (Camel Spiders, Girl Scout Cookies) that ties up a few plot points and also includes a lot of gratuitous violence.  She was a lot of fun to work with and she delivered the most emotional performance in the film. In addition, her role with pretty physically demanding, but she hung in there no matter how many times I asked to her run, trip, get smacked in the head, or scream a loud horror scream – and she has a GREAT horror scream.

Most recently, we drove to Portsmouth, Ohio, where we were joined by Wayne Burton and Dallas Gilbert, who were featured in the documentary Not Your Typical Bigfoot Movie.  They are making their feature film acting debut as the financiers of our film’s expedition. Even though they didn’t have much experience with this type of production, they jumped right in and did an awesome job. Their scenes are hilarious and we had a great time shooting them. The shooting of our Portsmouth scenes was documented for their reality show Dallas and Wayne: the Bigfoot Hunters, full episodes of which can be seen on YouTube.

Scenes from the Wayne and Dallas shoot:

We were able to get George Lauris, who starred in and narrated Sasquatch: the Legend of Bigfoot, to record some narration for us for a scene early on that introduces one of our main characters. I watched Sasquatch so many times while prepping for this film that it’s a bit surreal and very cool for me to hear the voice of that film talking about one of our characters.

At this point, most of the film has been shot. All but one of our main actors have finished shooting. We have only one scene left that still has a substantial amount to be shot and then all that’s left are cut-ins and effects shots. We’ve been editing the film as we go. Our current rough cut runs about an hour and forty minutes. There is a lot of digital effects work that still needs to be done, as well as sound editing and mixing.

Overall, I’m very happy with the way the film is turning out. It’s shaping up to be the kind of Bigfoot movie I’ve always wanted to make. It’s funny, scary, and I think it evokes the Bigfoot films I grew up with in the 70s. We’re hoping to have it finished at the end of the year [2011], so that it can begin screening at film festivals in the Spring.

Now check out the latest version of the trailer:

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Looks promising, eh?

Making Grassman – Throwing Fusee on to the Fire:

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More behind-the-scenes footage like this one can been seen on Vimeo. Additional images are included in the gallery below.

Sources: Tyler Meyer via Avery Guerra; official website; Monster Island News

Gallery:

Lizardman (US-2011; dir. Peter Dang) is a new independent B-monster flick that is rapidly heading toward release. Clearly inspired by The Creature From the Black Lagoon (and old monster movies in general), Lizardman tells a story of cryptozoological revenge and monstrous, “dragged-out-of-its-natural-environment” rampage:

Billionaire Bill Hansen seeks revenge by capturing his nemesis, the scaly crypto-creature known as the Lizard Man. Hansen wants to prove to the world that the Lizard Man really exists. A group of scientists, lead by  Professor Reeves examines this creature.  Reeves realizes he has a chance for fame and fortune and so convinces Hansen that the Lizard Man needs to be brought to Los Angeles. During a press meeting, the creature breaks out and wreaks havoc on the people of LA.

Latest Teaser Trailer:

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Written by Steve Goldenberg and Francis Abbey, produced by Steve Goldenberg and directed by Peter Dang on a small budget, Lizardman is looking like a decent homage to the famous Universal Creature.

Here is an earlier “unofficial” teaser trailer:

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Lizardman stars Michael Harding, James Lewis, Mike Gaglio, Tammy Klein, Frankie Cullen, Dylan Vox, Peter Stickles, Steve Blasini, Sherrie Box, Anthony Wade Vang, Mike Donahue, Amber McConnell, Amy Jokinen, Diana Terranova, and Yelena Savranskaya, with Matt Easton as the Lizard Man.

Check out the gallery below for loads of behind-the-scenes images, which pretty well tell you lots about the story.

There are many many more pictures on the film’s Facebook page.

Source: Peter Dang and Steve Goldenberg via Avery Guerra. Written by Robert Hood

How about a monstrous version of Captain America?

Fear in the Gorge is an independent feature-length film written and directed by Raymond R. Loscar and being produced through Spook Night Films. It takes a slightly divergent view of one of the most iconic of cryptozoological mysteries: Bigfoot.

In the early 1970s (according to the film’s back-story), the US Government attempted to create expendable foot soldiers, for use in the Vietnam War, using a Rapid Oviparous Cloning Technique that had been developed a few years earlier. Not so much super-soldiers, as super-cannon-fodder. During the top-secret project, a new humanoid species was created and accidentally released into the forest. The whole thing was promptly hushed up, of course.

In 2005, while on a hiking/fishing trip in the gorge forest, four friends stumble upon what they believe is Bigfoot. One of the friends, Billy, decides to shoot it and drag the carcase back into town as ultimate proof that the legendary creature really does exist (or at least did exist). Billy ends up only wounding it however, and they lose track of the monster in the gorge forest. But, you know, wounded wild animals generally end up even more pissed off than they had been already. During the night, the four friends are startled by the angry beast that now appears to have one aim in life: to bash their skulls in. The friends quickly devise a plan to ambush the critter and finish it off before it finishes them off. But during the night the tables are turned and the four friends become the hunted.

Director Loscar aims to finish the film in time for the 2012 Sundance Film Festival.

Check out the trailer:

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• Production: Raymond Loscar (Director; Producer; Lead writer); Shaun Loscar (Assistant)
• Main Cast: Ashhad Toor, David Donovan, Jordan Loscar, Joseph Loscar, Mary Loscar, Ray Klavon, Robert DeVenny, Ryan Sloan, Shaun Loscar (Voice)
• Crew: Greg Loscar (Cinematographer/DP (1st Feature); Camera Operator); Mary Loscar (Assistant Camera); Raymond Loscar (Additional Photography); Ryan Sloan (Assistant Camera); Mary Loscar (Makeup Artist; Makeup Effects); Jordan Loscar (Stunt Coordinator); Shaun Loscar (Stunt Coordinator); Raymond Loscar (Special Effects; Technical Advisor); Raymond Loscar (Editor; Sound Editor; Digital Effects)

Source: Raymond Loscar via Avery Guerra; written by Robert Hood.

Over the years there have been a few Abominable Snowman or Yeti movies. Some that spring to mind are: the Americanisation of Gojira director Ishirô Honda’s rare-as-hen’s-teeth Jujin yukiotako (“Abominable Snowman”), now renamed Half Human: The Story of the Abominable Snowman (US/Japan-1958; dir. Kenneth G. Crane and Ishirô Honda); The Snow Creature (US-1954; dir. W. Lee Wilder); Man Beast (US-1956; dir. Jerry Warren); Hammer’s excellent The Abominable Snowman (UK-1957; dir. Val Guest), written by the great Nigel Kneale and starring Peter Cushing and Forrest Tucker; Snowbeast (US-1977; dir. Herb Wallerstein), which was written by Psycho screenwriter and Outer Limits producer/writer Joseph Stefano; and the ultra-low budget The Abominable Snowman (US-1996; dir. Michael J. White). You can view two of these films in their entirety on our Cinema of the Backbrain page [look under 22 March 2011].

Coming this year is Snow Beast, a new Yeti-based creature feature from SunWorld Pictures, directed by Brian Brough and starring John Schneider, Jason London and Danielle Chuchran.

Synopsis:

People disappear every year out in the snow — but this year, something is adding to the bodycount.

Jim (John Schneider) and his research team study the Canadian Lynx every winter. This year, Jim has to take his rebellious 16-year-old daughter, Emmy (Danielle Chuchran), with him. But the lynx are missing. As Jim and his team try to find why, something stalks them — a predator no prey can escape.

Though this synopsis neatly avoids mentioning the nature of the “predator”, the newly released trailer isn’t shy about giving us more than a glimpse.

Trailer:

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Snow Beast has clearly taken a retro approach to its nature as a  “creature feature”, eschewing CGI for a more tactile approach.  Digital enhancement, yes, but the creature itself is a man in a suit (see the image at the top of this article), which may come as something of a relief to those who think that full digital creature effects in the mid-to-low range of the budgetary scale tend to lack presence and make one nostalgic for the sort of attention to detail that such FX masters as Stan Winston brought to the creation of monsters so many times in the past.

According to SunWorld spokesperson Marie Wilcox:

Cast members performed their own stunts (including John Schneider), making for a good time on set as we threw people through the air, dragged them through snow, launched them off snow mobiles, and dropped them into snow caves.

Snow Beast was filmed in 2010 and is an upcoming SyFy channel movie. It is slated for release on DVD, digital download, VOD, etc. late 2011.  Details will be forthcoming.

• Sources: Marie Wilcox for SunWorld Pictures; IMDb; Facebook page (where you’ll find lots of production pictures). Via Avery Guerra. Written by Robert Hood
• Related: Claws

This weekend’s Fright Flick harks from Denmark and features a particular cryptozoological favourite — a hybridisation of Man and Fish. In the past, mummified merfolk have been a standard attraction at traveling “freakshows”, though of course the weird displays oft prove to be taxidermological frauds, such as this rather spectacular one:

The main contemporary image we have of mermaids derives from the famous story by Hans Christian Anderson and has appeared in cinema in romantic comedies such as Ron Howard’s 1984 Splash!, and most famously in Disney’s 1989 animated film The Little Mermaid.

But the connection between mermaids and the Sirens of Greek mythology reminds us there is a dark side to the aquatic mythology of the “women of the sea”, which films such as Hideshi Hino’s 1988 tale of delusion and decay, Mermaid in a Manhole [aka Ginî piggu: Manhôru no naka no ningyo] and the under-appreciated She Creature (US-2001; dir. Sebastian Gutierrez) exploit to good (i.e. nasty) effect.

This weekend’s short film presents a cautionary tale that lies somewhere between the beauty and terror of mermaid folklore — veering more to one side than the other.

Check it out here.

The answer’s obvious: the sea is all very well, but taking to the land is an obvious next evolutionary step. True, Sharktopus walked on land using his cephalopodic legs, as did Super Shark, but consider how much creepier it would be to see the shark’s characteristic fin skimming toward you across the ground. Sharks swimming through the earth? Sounds good to me. A new film, Snow Shark, may not do exactly that, but having the selachimorphic monster swimming through snow is a splendid intermediary step!

Snow Shark: Ancient Snow Beast (US-2011; in production; dir. Sam Qualiana)

A team of animal biologists stumbles upon a great discovery that ends in tragedy. Seven years later, locals begin to disappear. In the present, a new team of cryptozoologists seeks the truth behind the legend of the Ancient Snow Beast.

Teaser:

Filming has begun in Buffalo, in a snow-bound environment that would try the patience of any film crew, let alone a shark. But writer, director, cinematographer and actor Sam Qualiana is happy with the progress they’ve made. “Production has gone smoothly so far,” he said. “It’s been rough with the cold weather and trying to keep snow out of the camera lens, but we’ve had a pretty good setup so far to prevent the snow from ruining any shots. I’m hoping to have [Show Beast] filmed before May and ready for the festivals soon after.”

Sam Qualiana on location with Jason Beebe

Taking the lead from low-budget king Roger Corman, Qualiana (who received the Buffalo Screams Horror Film Festival’s “Filmmaker to watch” award last year) began this feature film project with a title, a poster and a teaser (above), even before he’d finished the script, let alone begun the casting. He sees the film as a cross between Jaws and Carpenter’s The Thing.

“I always have had a fear of sharks,” says the 24-year-old filmmaker. “Not a lot of things scare me, but sharks terrify and fascinate me at the same time. I can’t go very far into the ocean without turning around and even swimming in a lake gives me the willies. No other creature has freaked me out so much. Crocodiles never even bothered me and they can go on land and water. But the thought of a shark on the land seemed like something insane but horrifying to me. It was going to just be a short to re-boot something I had made years ago but all the buzz and support I got made me turn it into a feature.”

New Teaser:

With a cast that includes (apart from Qualiana himself) Jackey Hall (of Chainsaw Cheerleaders and Trick or Eat fame) and a includes a number of actors who have appeared in assorted low-budget genre flicks lensed in Buffalo recently, such as Michael O’Hear, Robert Bozek, Chris Wroblewski, and John Renna (who is also contributing special make-up effects).

Jackey Hall as Daphne, getting ready to cheer

CJ Qualiana as Sheriff Donald Chapman

Trying to convince the Snow Shark to come out for a publicity shot

Actually, Qualiana has no intention of letting the shark reveal itself ahead of time. “We’re going to keep what the creature looks like a secret until people see the movie,” he commented to the Backbrain. “Keep the suspense and anticipation up as much as we can. It’ll be worth the wait!”

Snow Shark’s stunt double

Preparing to brave the elements

Re-considering braving the elements

Lots more first-day production stills and cast photos can be found on the film’s Facebook page.

Like many other micro-budget filmmakers, Qualiana is attempting to bolster his budget through the online fundraising organization Indiegogo. “We have started a fundraiser on Indiegogo.com where we are asking for a goal of $3,000 to put towards helping fund the film,” Qualiana commented. “It’s a great way to get in touch with other independent filmmakers and fans that want to help support the film even if they can’t be around to lend a hand.”

• Sources: Sam Qualiana; Press release. Info via Avery Guerra. Text by Robert Hood.

The Yeti has long been associated in cryptozoological thought with the North American forest man-beast known as Bigfoot or Sasquatch, which in itself has spawned many horror films. But this weekend’s Fright Flick postulates a closer cousin still, an cryptid inhabitant of the snowy Yukon known as Yakatutch.

Claws (US-2010; short [11.23 min]; dir. Sean Francis Ellis)

The short film concerns a group of young friends who set out into the Canadian wilderness to find the father of one of their number, who has disappeared while hunting down the legendary Yakatutch. They find more than they bargained for.

It was based on a longer script developed by Sydney-born director Sean Ellis, which was a finalist in the Beverly Hills Film Festival Screenplay Competition in 2010. The short was filmed in Big Bear, California, in February 2010 and stars Spencer Falls, Adrian Chang, Sarah Belger, Paton Ashbrook, Alessandro Giannetti and Tom Skalka as Carter. For more crew details, see its Vimeo page.

Meanwhile, enjoy the short film here (or follow this link to view it in on the Vimeo site).

From Short to Feature-Length:

Ellis’ aim is to make the feature-length version as his first feature film, and to that end the Beverly Hills Film Festival event and the short film were a major step in bringing his vision to life. He commented to Undead Backbrain:

At this stage, the film is about one year away from production. The shoot will take place in the winter, in a mountainous area of the US or in Canada. The creature from the film is being designed currently, but no artwork is available yet. It will likely be a suit with some CG enhancements.

He sees the film as drawing inspiration from creature-feature classics such as The Thing, Predator and Jaws, “while adding a Native American element to the Yeti myth”.

Here is the full synopsis. It suggests that the film will be much more than a simplistic creature hunt:

For 350 years, the Tutchone people of Western Canada have told stories about the Beast known as Yakatutch, which lives in the remote wilderness of the Yukon. Once a fierce warrior, Yakatutch was cursed for an unspeakable crime against his tribe, and banished to the farthest mountains. But the tribal leaders who cursed Yakatutch could not foresee what has come… a large population, living on the edge of its habitat.

When an unknown animal starts killing people near the small Yukon town of Whitehorse, Anthropologist Marcus Fletcher discovers DNA evidence of something part-human and part-animal. He believes it is the legendary creature, but his son Scott (22), a local snowboarding champ, is unconvinced. Marcus meets with a Tutchone Elder, who explains that Yakatutch can only be killed by one of his descendants. The Elder sends Matusa, a powerful-looking but quiet young tribesman, who has been raised for one purpose: to kill The Beast.

Marcus introduces Matusa to local Police Captain, Pierre Babineaux, who is intrigued by their story. He invites them to his home for dinner, but Scott is uncomfortable, because he is dating Babineaux’s daughter, Ayasha, a beautiful young RCMP officer. That evening, Babineaux’s wife Anita, who is also Tutchone, makes a startling revelation about Matusa – he is her son. He was taken away as a child, because she was unmarried.

When police discover more victims with distinctive claw-shaped wounds and The Beast’s DNA, Marcus makes an even more startling discovery: The Beast is evolving – becoming more human. Marcus believes The Beast is the key to potentially ground-breaking DNA research. He secretly goes to the mountains alone, hoping to capture The Beast, alive.

Believing that Marcus is in grave danger, Scott convinces Babineaux that the legendary Beast is real. Anita warns him to stay away from The Beast’s domain, but Babineaux decides to go, with Matusa as their guide. Aware of the danger, Ayasha joins her father and her half-brother, Matusa, to help Scott find his father, and hunt down The Beast.

Sources: Sean Ellis via Avery Guerra; Official website, Facebook page (where there is an abundance of production shots); also here; Sean Ellis’ website. Written by Robert Hood

Addendum:

Alternate poster for the short film:

Director Ellis has also supplied us with some storyboard pages prepared for the crashing helicopter scene from the short film. You can download it in PDF format from here: Storyboard.

Muckman (US-2010; dir. Brett Piper)

Low-budget independent B-film maven, Brett Piper’s new cryptozoological comedy-thriller, Muckman, is a satirical excursion into a backwater wilderness inhabited by more than mosquitoes and alligators. Featuring a plotline churning with deception, false identities and self-serving exploitation, the film chronicles the experiences of a rather hapless reality TV crew who have ostensibly come to seek out the elusive Muckman and to make a TV film documenting the search — but who do, in fact, harbour diverse individual agendas.

I don’t think I’m dropping any spoilers by revealing that though few if any of them really believe that the legendary creature actually exists, they soon discover that it most emphatically does.

Piper’s witty script (written with B-film comrade Mark Polonia) plays the increasingly tangled scenario for all it’s worth, pursuing stereotypical male/female interaction, TV-industry satire, hillbilly humour, false expectations, thrills, comedy and comeuppance directed at the bad guys with admirable aplomb.

Piper has gone on record as saying that Muckman is the cheapest film he’s made. Cheap though it may be, Muckman delivers its B-film aesthetic with style. The cheapness shows mainly in its lack of the sort of full hyperactive cinematic processing we’re used to from big-budget Hollywood films, especially in regards to editing style, on-location lighting and sound. Meanwhile, however, good comedic performances from its cast (especially lead actresses Anju McIntyre and Alison Whitney) and decent old-school SFX by Piper and his crew raise it above the norm for such things. Piper’s old-school FX techniques may not be overly familiar to contemporary multiplex audiences, but the full creature suit itself is excellent and the climactic attack of a gigantic tentacled swamp creature guaranteed to bring a gleeful smile to the face of stop-motion fans everywhere.

Basically, Muckman is a fun monster flick, with effectively created characters, a decent critter and enough spirit and originality to make its B-film homage much more than a simple uninspired re-hash.

Piper has just finalised a deal for distribution of the film on DVD and expects it to be available from his website soon. Look out for it.

• Reviewed from a screener version of the film.

Gallery:

Oddly, the Probert Encyclopedia reckons “Yowie” is a slang term for a cat! Where did that come from?

Now Undead Backbrain has been alerted to an Aussie film called Yowie, written and directed by Cole Bayford. This one has a cryptozoological bent.

Yowie is an ultra-low budget independent short film and a graduate project for the Griffith University Film School: Bachelor of Film and Screen Media Production Program. It’s set in bush near Springbrook, NSW, a common and recent location for Yowie sightings. Bayford commented that “The bush and natural scenery around Murwillumbah provides an excellent backdrop to the story as well as giving an authentic look at the Australian camping experience. The beautiful mountain vista, the thick bush climb, the peaceful mountain clearing, the secluded campsite, the late night campfire and the desperate bush road escape were all achievable at our location and we aim to shed some light on the beauty of Australia beyond the outback.”

On the film’s themes he said:

The themes in Yowie are of young love, jealousy and the ‘what if’. What would you do if you witnessed a death in the bush? Yowie explores the reality of basic human instincts and reactions. The film showcases the strength of relationships and the importance of communication between people in terror. The story delves into the speed of emotional change and rising paranoia’s effect on decisions.

Hence the film’s tagline: “Tragedy can uncover your innermost truths.”

Short Synopsis:

When James mistakes a friendly bushman for a monstrous Yowie he shoots him dead. Will he and Vivian’s relationship be strong enough to get them through and escape the Aussie bush?

Rupert Raineri and Anna Kennedy

Longer Synopsis:

Deep in the Australian bush, a legend lies dormant. In an effort to rekindle their relationship a couple drives into the hills for a romantic retreat. James and Vivian find themselves caught between a breakdown in their relationship and a fight for survival against a mysterious beast. What seemed like a new beginning is now a terrible encounter with the unknown. After James mistakes Angus, a harmless bushman, for the Yowie, he shoots him dead. The only way they can endure is to find a way to trust each other again, which, in this extreme situation, is easier said than done. Will they survive the night? And if they do, where will they stand after all that’s happened? This myth is deadly…

Trailer:

“A younger audience and those of all ages who love tension and drama can sink their teeth into this psychological thriller,” Bayford added.

The film, which runs for about 10 minutes, will be doing the festival circuit during 2011. It was produced by Jarred Bocca and stars Rupert Raineri, Anna Kennedy and Brendan Smoother. Other crew members are:

• Cinematographer – David Jeffery
• 1st AD – Jonathan Martin
• Editor – Kiran Sangherra
• Production Design – Kelly McLeod
• Hair/Make Up – Amanda Rieck
• Creature Design – Kelsey Silk
• Grip/Gaffer – Matthew Crump
• Camera Assistant – Michael Sloane
• Sound Design/Recordist – David Thibault
• Sound Assist/Boom – Miki Clarke
• Continuity – Sally Wortley
• Graphic Design – Sara Quine
• Catering – Whitney Hale
• Catering Assistant/Runner – Roman Albert
• Stunt/Safety Coordinator – Darko Tuskan
• Armourer – Steve Courtney
• Original Score – Christopher Clark

Director Cole Bayford and cinematographer David Jeffery set up a shot

Sources: Cole Bayford; Official Press release; Official website; Facebook page; Yowie blog. Written by Robert Hood  |  Research by Avery Guerra.

Lost Woods (US-2010; dir. Nathan and Philip Ellering)

A monster-thriller written and directed by the Ellering Bros. Director of Photography: Lance Kuhns. Cast: Joey Brown, Garrett Vander Leun, Nina Brissey, Phillip Ellering and Nathan Ellering.

A few days ago we talked about the monsters that dwell in swamps. This one is related, at least in terms of a setting that isolates protagonists (and their emotional baggage) in the midst of a natural environment rife with mystery — and something is out there. Whatever emerges from these particular backwoods, what we’ve definitely got here is another excellent independent production made on a small budget with high levels of creativity and enthusiasm.

Synopsis:

Darrin Noland leads a deliberate and careful life, but when his old friends spring a camping trip on him it’s a good time he can’t run from. The escape turns south when Darrin finds out the unsettling news that Warren, someone he has avoided since junior high, is also along for the ride. Darrin attempts to avoid an awkward reunion but horrible events cause him to face his regretful past and face his beast within. (Source)

Currently busy with post-production (which Nathan Ellering describes as “somewhat of a black hole that sucks you in”), the Ellerings are intent on releasing the film this year — very soon in fact. While you wait, check out the trailer and see if you can glean an answer to these questions: Is the creature a straight-on cryptozoological anomaly? A supernatural entity? A monster from the Id? A backwoods Jekyll and Hyde? Ah, that is the question! Looks to me as though it will be fun finding out.

Don’t see enough of the monster? Well, Undead Backbrain has got hold of some exclusive stills that are rather spectacular in that regard. Click on them to look the Beast right in the eye.

And the Beast’s victims/opponents, too:

The Ellering Brothers commented on the film:

Our vision for this film was to go into the woods and shoot a suspense action thriller in true independent fashion. We wanted to create a monster movie in the old-fashioned style of man versus beast set against a spooky backdrop armed with little more than his wits. Our goal was to create a fresh mythology for a creature that audiences have already come to be familiar with. We shot in both Northern and Southern California’s national forests and had quite an adventure doing so. Between broken bones, angry hunters, frigid weather and the occasional equipment malfunction — the cast and crew felt the struggle just as much as the characters did. Our process in writing and shooting this film began with the question “what can we do with next to nothing?” and we pushed everything that we had to get the most production value out of what was available to us.

Earlier Teaser Trailer:

The trailer and teaser are also on Vimeo, if you want to check them out in even higher resolution: http://vimeo.com/8342183 | http://vimeo.com/13168057.

More images are in the Gallery below.

• Sources and links: Nathan Ellering; Official website; Facebook page; Arrow in the Head
• Written by Robert Hood  |  Research: Avery Guerra

Gallery: