Many have been possessed by one; only one has been possessed by many.

Supposedly more accurate than many other exorcism fantasies, The Devil Inside was produced by (among others) Steven Schneider of Paranormal Activity fame. Though we can take claims of authenticity with a grain or two of over-dramatized salt, this proclamation smears it with a veneer of artistic verisimilitude that’s totally in keeping with the roving, first-person cinematographic techniques used. Rev. Bob Larson, Exorcism Consultant, even gave an interview on the subject of its depiction of demon eviction and I’ve included it below.

Above: Suzan Crowley is not herself

Meanwhile check out both the trailer and a special clip of a nicely creepy scene from the film.

Synopsis:

In 1989, emergency responders received a 9-1-1 call from Maria Rossi confessing that she had brutally killed three people. 20 years later, her daughter Isabella seeks to understand the truth about what happened that night. She travels to the Centrino Hospital for the Criminally Insane in Italy where her mother has been locked away to determine if her mother is mentally ill or demonically possessed. When she recruits two young exorcists to cure her mom using unconventional methods combining both science and religion, they come face-to-face with pure evil in the form of four powerful demons possessing Maria.

Trailer:

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

Extended Clip:

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

Being something of a fan of demonic possession films — made such not by belief but by, I suspect, the dramatic, emotional and thematic potency of that grandfather of exorcism films (and novels), William Peter Blatty’s The Exorcist (US-1973; dir. William Friedkin) — I’m looking forward to this, as it seems to carry a bit more weight than some other Exorcist cash-ins of recent times.

Above: Bonnie Morgan gets twisted up by the whole experience

It’s rather interesting that though it has garnered negative reviews on IMDb, it has so far taken US$52,690,136 at the box-office in the US alone, which, based on an estimated budget of $1,000,000, represents quite a profit. The bad reviews don’t daunt me, of course. This looks like exactly the sort of film that tends to attract naysayers if it deviates from the expected path in any way at all — which I trust it does. We’ll see in March.

Above: The Exorcist, Simon Quarterman

Above: Look into my eyes: Simon Quarterman and Isabella Rossi

Meanwhile, here’s that interview with Exorcism Consultant Bob Larson that I mentioned:

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

Source: Paramount Pictures; IMDb.

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

Comment is pointless. Hit Google to get all the pointless speculation.

Mac (Jim Sweeney) gets up-close and personal with a rotten zombie (Leif Phelps) in Zombie Resurrection

With its British accents and hints of thematic delving into some of the religious implications of zombieism, British splatterfest Zombie Resurrection (written and directed by Andy Phelps and Jake Hawkins) seems to be offering the kind of original take on old tropes that fans of the zombie sub-genre are keen to get their hands on (well, I am anyway!): staying within the tradition and retaining the best of it, while exploring some fascinating tributaries branching off from the clichés — and doing it intelligently. The filmmakers describe the film as “ambitious, gory and sometimes very funny” and as “one of those rarest of beasts – a completely new slant on the zombie story”.

From the look of the trailer, they might be telling the truth!

Synopsis:

Fifteen months after the zombie apocalypse, a small band of survivors are forced to take refuge in an abandoned school, where they discover a mysterious zombie with the power to raise the undead back to life.

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

Undead Backbrain’s low-budget cinema sleuth, Avery Guerra, asked some probing questions in order to ferret out the truth about this film, which is now in post-production and looking for funding to help get it done.

Above: The Messianic zombie (Rupert Phelps) gets ready to deliver his “Sermon on the Mount”

How did Zombie Resurrection come about?

Andy Phelps: Originally, it was a conversation that I had with my son one dinnertime – what would happen if Jesus came back as a zombie? What would he be able to do? A couple of weeks later Jake and I hooked up for a drink, and by the end of the night we’d riffed the concept around to the point where we were too excited by the idea to not write the screenplay.

Jake Hawkins: At first we were planning on putting the screenplay up for sale on InkTip, but the further we got into the writing the more it looked like we could actually do this ourselves. Both of us have a background in short films, and tackling a feature project is a completely different animal, but at the beginning of 2011 we threw caution to the wind, unshackled ourselves from our respective day-jobs, and we’ve been working full-time on the movie ever since.

The crew prepare to film the end of a long battle between Sykes (Eric Colvin) and
Mac (Jim Sweeney) and the first supercharged zombie in the film (Leon King)

Where was Zombie Resurrection filmed and at what stage is the production right now?

AP: We shot the movie over 24 days (and nights) in August 2011, in three locations in Hampshire (in the South of England). We knew we had to work fast to get it all in the can on such a quick shoot. Not helping was the fact that we had a large ensemble cast (nine principal actors) and about seventy zombies to worry about, as well as all the in-camera blood gags and action sequences.

In the end, we used a fairly small crew of 23 people, but it got hairy on our big horde nights, having to process so many people through our costume and make-up teams.

JH: The film is currently going through post-production – final edits, sound, foley, grading and all our digital FX. We have an IndieGoGo funding campaign running at the moment to try and raise the money to get us through to distribution, so if you ever fancied watching two men squirm on the wrong side of the camera, the link is here.

Andy and Jake in an uncomfortably close encounter with their horde

Beyond the plot, what is the film about?

AP: Faith, and specifically the boundaries between science and faith. When is it reasonable for a logical man to take a leap of faith when presented with something that science can’t explain? This is the benefit of having such a large ensemble cast, in that you can give each character a different angle on the same theme. Collectively they have the big picture, but you get to seed in a lot of conflict and drama looking at where their beliefs and values clash.

JH: We felt it was massively important when we were writing Zombie Resurrection not just to turn out a generic movie where a bunch of attractive survivors get picked off one by one, and to try and get some social commentary in there. That’s the difference between the original Dawn of the Dead and Zack Snyder’s remake; the first is a really intelligent study of consumerism, while the remake is a just a pretty good zombie movie.

Asher (Georgia Winters) is bitten

What are the primary inspirations/influences behind the film?

AP: Well, I grew up through the UK’s “video nasty” era, so that’s where my filmic roots lie. Very generously, the government put together a list of all the horror video titles that were most likely to cause a breakdown in public order, so to every fourteen-year-old boy in the country this became a must-see movie template. I am very much in this early-80′s exploitation cinema mind-set, before too much CGI came along and made everybody’s life safer.

JH: But specifically, movies like Romero’s early zombie outings, as well as Evil Dead, Braindead, Re-animator. Films where the humans are often much more dangerous to each other’s wellbeing than the monsters are. Movies with a sense of humour, even when the cast play it completely straight.

Zombie Bride (Mary Stone)

What are your plans for the film?

AP: Through post-production, and then out to the Cannes film market in May. The film was never intended for a theatrical release, but that’s not going to stop us blitzing as many horror film festivals across the planet as we can before the DVD and Blu-ray come out. It’s the thought of being sat at the back of a screening watching a horror-literate audience reacting to your movie that keeps us going through the long days and the vast amount of work it takes to pull a feature together.

So there you go. They sound rather convincing to me and are certainly able to talk intelligently about their inspirations and their intentions in creating this particular film. This augurs well for Zombie Resurrection and it will bring new life to the genre. Maybe the title will be prophetic!

Above: Beaumont (Danny Brown) makes a catastrophic wrong turn

Above: Sykes (Eric Colvin) carries the recently mauled Becca (Rachel Nottingham) to safety

Above: Some zombies get a final liberal coating in blood before shooting

Below is a video of the pair, spruiking the film’s IndieGoGo appeal and it includes some fascinating behind the scenes snippets — all of which makes me want to see this film get completed sooner rather than later.

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

• Sources: Andy Phelps and Jake Hawkins via Avery Guerra; Official website; Facebook page; Andy and Jake’s Shameless Promotional Blog; Snakebite Horror article (includes lengthy plot summary).
• Remember the guys are looking for financial support to complete. If you’re interested in helping, go here.

Lost Island [aka L'île: les naufragés de la terre perdue; The Island: Castaways of the Lost Island] is a new French adventure fantasy film from writer/director Olivier Boillot, released in mid-2011 in France and hopefully heading for an English release in 2012 (though it is currently available in France on DVD/Blu-ray, with English subtitles).

Synopsis:

It’s 1942 and three men have just crashed into the ocean in the middle of nowhere. The stranded men find shelter on a nearby deserted island. As they slowly discover, they are not alone.

Lost Island looks to have been inspired by Jules Verne’s novel, L’Île mystérieuse (aka Mysterious Island), and/or any of the films based on it. As you’ll see from the trailer, it also carries suggestions of the TV series Lost and perhaps even Edgar Rice Burroughs’ The Land That Time Forgot, the latter of which was most recently filmed by the Asylum and directed by C. Thomas Howell. Basically what all these have in common is a group of people stranded on an otherwise unknown island that is inhabited by big creatures (mostly dinosaurs). The monsters are often (at least in the case of Mysterious Island and Lost) the result of scientific experimentation or arcane knowledge of some kind.

What sort of monsters Boillot’s film has, and how they got there, are merely hinted at within the trailer (here presented with English subtitles), but it looks pretty intriguing. Certainly the hints not only of monstrosity but of arcane mystical/pseudo scientific artefacts (not to mention the huge hole in the ground — interdimensional portal?) give what might have been a very ordinary survival tale enough interest for me to want to seek it out.

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

It fascinates me how much more effective these sort of tales always seem, on film at least, when their creators give them a period setting.

Lost Island stars Michel Béatrix, Cyrielle Debreuil, Paul Descombes, Kaddour Dorgham and Jérémy Duplot Jr. The Gallery below includes some location shots of Jérémy Duplot Jr. and Kaddour Dorgham during filming.

Gallery:

Addendum: Behind The Scenes/Making Of Videos

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

Sources: Alexandre Simard and Olivier Chekroun for Highland Film Group and Emylia. Via Avery Guerra. Written by Robert Hood.

• Official Website
• IMDb entry

Life gets difficult enough when you’re a hitman just trying get the job done so you can make it to your kid’s birthday party on time. But things get worse after you stumble across an alien parasite that’s turning the extras into zombies.

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

You can only hope you get Overtime (US-2011; dir. Matt Niehoff)…

Synopsis:

Raph (Al Snow) and Max (John Wells) only kill bad guys, and only after their boss Sam, a high-powered attorney, has cashed a nice paycheck for getting her sleazy clients off the hook.

When Sam sends our heroes on a routine hit, they find themselves caught up in a conspiracy they never imagined. But whatever trouble they’ve gotten themselves into is nothing compared to the wrath of Raph’s wife if he doesn’t make it home in time for his son’s birthday party.

Being a good hitman is tough; being a good dad is killer!

The Interview

To find out more about Overtime, the Backbrain’s News Hound, Avery Guerra, spoke to Brian Cunningham — the film’s Writer, Director of Photography and Producer:

Tell us a bit about yourself, Brian.

I’m a freelance director of Photography and producer working in Louisville Kentucky.  I’ve done work for clients such as GE, McDonalds and Papa John’s, but my real passion is filmmaking.  I ran a movie news and reviews blog for three years and have self-published two books about movies and pop-culture. The next project is a documentary about the Haunted House industry entitled “Monsters Wanted.”  (Check out MonstersWanted.com for more info).

Why this particular movie, Overtime?

The idea to make the movie came from my partner, Matt Niehoff.  We really wanted our first movie to be something fun and even a little bit silly. So many young filmmakers seem obsessed with creating work that is going to lead to awards and prestige, but when Matt and I talked about it we realized that the movies we loved as kids were the crazy comedies of the ’80s and the action films of the late ’90s (like Terminator 2 and Aliens).  We wanted to make those kinds of movies because we love escapist cinema, and we wanted the audience to be taken on a journey.  Plus it’s always more fun to blow things up than to shoot people talking.

Above: The movie stars WWE Superstar Al Snow, who gets bloodier than usual…

Any specific influences?

The movie draws heavily from ideas in movies like Aliens and From Dusk Til Dawn.  There’s a lot of Shaun of the Dead in there, tonally, and of course the Hit Man aspect will remind people of Boondock Saints and Pulp Fiction (mind you, I’m not comparing us to those movies … I’d never dream of going toe-to-toe with Tarantino).  What you might not think of, however, is the influence movies like Lethal Weapon had on Overtime.  When it gets down to it, this is a fun 1980s action comedy about two guys trying to balance work and family.  The zombie-alien side of things is almost incidental.

Above: Sebrina Siegel finds herself at the wrong end of a Shooter’s Party rally

Above: Stuck in a corner with blood and cake: John Wells, Sebrina Siegel, Erica Goldsmith and Al Snow

How did the project develop between you and Matt?

The idea for the movie came from Matt.  He wrote a rough draft of the script and asked me to take a look at it to see if I was interested in shooting it for him.  When I read it, I loved the whole conceit. I asked Matt if I could take a crack at changing some things, and he agreed. After that, it really became a 50-50 partnership. We went through a good twelve drafts together before shooting, and we worked together on casting, finding locations and testing out the makeup and effects. It was a really rewarding collaboration with each of us pushing each other every day.  We would rewrite entire scenes the night before the shoot, trying to make things a little more organic, a little funnier, and to take advantage of the talents of the awesome cast.

Above: Avri Ant’juan considers whether to shoot ‘em or… um… shoot ‘em

Check out this Behind-the-Scenes video:

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

What are you plans for Overtime?

Our plans for Overtime are to get it in front of as many people as we can. We’ve started a pretty aggressive festival strategy (and it’s recently been announced that it will be  screening in Louisville on February 18 at the Derby City Film Festival), and we’re in the process of contacting distributors directly to try and make a deal.  We know from feedback from screenings and our website that there is a good market for this movie, and people who see it seem to have a really good time with it.

And if hitmen, alien parasites, blood and zombies aren’t enough, don’t forget there are tentacles as well!

Check out lots more pictures and a couple of alternative posters in the gallery below:

Sources: Brian Cunningham via Avery Guerra; Official website/blog; Facebook page; IMDb entry.

Addenda:

Earlier (slightly longer) Official Trailer:

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

Outtakes:

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

A while back, the Backbrain interviewed writer, director and all-round auteur Loup’Rah Garomore about his in-production film The Demon’s Rook. Frankly the teaser released then, and all the pictures — not to mention Garomore’s discussion of the film’s genesis — looked unusually exciting for those with a love of ’80s exploitation horror movies. If you don’t believe me, check it out here.

Now the Backbrain has been given permission to release the official trailer, and honestly, it does nothing whatsoever to diminish the excitement and a lot to raise the ante.  You get first look at it below:

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

With the film still in development, this very impressive trailer was made on a mere $15,000 budget. Writer/director Garomore hopes to raise further funding soon in order to push the project forward. “We’re trying to get a total budget of $190,000, preferably by February so we can re-enter a state of pre-production and begin principle photography again by Spring,” he told the Backbrain.

Let’s hope the money will be forthcoming in time to meet the company’s timetable. With work of this quality produced on a budget of just $190,000, I can’t see investors regretting their involvement. Check out the investment-to-profit ratio of a range of cult horror films that appears later in this article.

It’s obvious from the trailer that The Demon’s Rook is being put together with love by its creators, whose devotion to the film’s inspirations is abundantly clear in everything they say. Less commonly, work produced so far shows their strong technical expertise and a definite handle on the aesthetics of the genre. As they have said themselves: “[we] know what [we] love and know what it takes to create something that will be instantly embraced by the ever-growing horror film community”.

Nostalgic yet progressive, The Demon’s Rook embodies the spirit of the cult horror classics that precede it: Suspiria, Zombi, Evil Dead 2, Pan’s Labyrinth; yet still holds its own ground as a truly original vision. With this project, the filmmakers are creating something that horror fans have been yearning for — an ambitious, uniquely identifiable film with classically powerful practical special effects, deep roots in the historical spirit of the genres it encompasses, and a bold, forward-thinking vision. (Press release)

Synopsis:

A young boy named Roscoe finds a portal to another world where he is taught magic by an elder demon known as Dimwos. Dimwos raises the boy into manhood, revealing to him many secrets. Though, there is one dark secret that Dimwos keeps from Roscoe. When Roscoe discovers what his master has been keeping from him all these years, he revolts against him, inadvertently unleashing three malevolent demons. Through desperation, Roscoe is forced to escape the demons’ wrath by way of the portal leading back to our world. Unbeknownst to Roscoe, he leads the demons to discover the portal for themselves. Once the demons pass through, a nightmarish foray of summoned monsters are unleashed. One demon possesses the minds and will of all whom she crosses, another transforms a man into a murderous beast, and the other summons an army of the dead to do his bidding.

Predicting success in the film industry isn’t easy. Predicting how independent horror films will fair once released into the cultural zeitgeist is even less certain. Generally speaking, perfectly good movies disappear under the weight of their own obscurity. But occasionally the opposite happens. Sometimes they become a cult classic. When this happens, it usually means there is something unique and very special about the film concerned.

Consider these rough figures:

• Night of the Living Dead (US-1968; dir. George A. Romero): made for $114,000. Lifetime gross $30,000,000. (Source: Black Rider Production press release)
• The Evil Dead (US-1983; dir. Sam Raimi): made for $375,000. Lifetime gross $29,400,000. (Source: Black Rider Production press release)
• The Blair Witch Project (US-1999; dir. Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez): made for $60,000. Lifetime gross $248,639,099. (Source: Box Office Mojo)
• Paranormal Activity (US-2009; dir. Oren Pelli): made for $15,000/ Lifetime gross $193,355,800. (Source: Box Office Mojo)

And these figures (admittedly open to argument in the case of Night of the Living Dead and The Evil Dead in particular) probably don’t include ongoing video/DVD/BD sales.

From the new trailer for The Demon’s Rook, I think it’s safe to say that the film offers something unique and is looking like a definite candidate for admittance to these exulted ranks. At the very least, it may be worthy to be mentioned in the same chapter of the next generation’s horror film Best Of as The Evil Dead and Fulci’s Zombi. I look forward to finding out.

• Source: Loup’Rah Garomore and Tim Reis via Avery Guerra. Black Rider Productions press release. Official website. Backbrain interview with the author (includes pictures). Written by Robert Hood.

George Jones and the Giant Squid was written and directed by Dan Osborn and Vincenzo Perrella, whose previous work has gained them some attention, especially when their satirical vignette This is Perth “went viral” online in 2009, becoming the “most watched Western Australia short film of all time” and was awarded both Best Film and People’s Choice awards at the 23rd WA Screen Awards.

George Jones and the Giant Squid follows (though is not related to) the pair’s 19-minute satire It’s Just Gary (2010) and runs with the classic Moby Dick-esque theme of obsession over a sea monster.

Synopsis:

In the waters of a distant island lurks Old Bertie, a fearsome, gargantuan squid. The islanders, fearful of its wrath, make frequent offerings in an effort to appease it. When George Jones’ mother disappears, the young boy begins his hunt for the beast. George’s secret quest brings him face to face with dangers unforetold, and threatens to destroy his already fragile relationship with his heartbroken father.

Trailer:

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

Directors Perrella and Osborn commented that the film was “inspired by our love of the fantastical and the absurd, but at its heart it is a story about a boy’s relationship
with his father.”

They commented:

Throughout the film, young George deals with uncertainties and injustices, faces the frustrations of being powerless, and makes attempts to satisfy his urge to know more. In short, he grapples with the issues that affect anyone making the transition to adulthood.

It was our desire to create a distinctive world, one that was isolated and stagnant, and seemingly open, yet oppressive. The costume, production design, locations and colour palette were all chosen to construct an archaic community that exists in a time and place that is unique unto itself. We intended, through performance style and musical orchestration, to create a distinctive, subtly comic tone that would enhance the fable-like quality of the film.

We were fortunate to be able to work with Luke Hewitt [as George Jones] and Leon Osborn [as Mr Jones] to create a palpable sense of tension between father and son. This was paramount in effectively evoking the real heart of the story as the characters each deal in their own way with the loss of George’s mother [Alison Van Reeken].

It was a privilege to work with such a talented cast and crew to bring our story to the screen.

George Jones and the Giant Squid has recently completed post-production and runs for just over 14 minutes. It was funded through the highly competitive ScreenWest/FTI Hyperlink initiative and had its premiere on on 21 July 2011 at the Revelation Perth International Film Festival. It has been officially selected (as one of the 45 films out of 2,200 films entered) for screening at Flickerfest International Short Film Festival 2012 Australian Competition. Flickerfest is Australia’s leading and only Academy® accredited and BAFTA recognised international short film festival. For those in the Sydney area (and anyone willing to travel downunder) the festival runs from 6th to 15th of January 2011 at Bondi Pavillion, Sydney, before touring nationally.

Check out more about George Jones and the Giant Squid on the official website.

• Sources: Ella Wright (Producer) via Avery Guerra; press release; official website; Perrella and Osborn’s website.

Gallery:

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

The Millennium Bug is a flat-out, gore-filled, kaiju celebration — deviant love-child of Ishiro Honda and Rob Zombie. You won’t understand the sheer perverse geek joy of this film without actually seeing it, so head for the official website and blog to check for festival appearances. Or wait for the upcoming DVD release.

While you’re waiting, you can get a feel for things from this highly amusing interview, in which some of the actors give their reactions to the film’s extreme weirdness, and actress Ginger Pullman tells all about her first day of filming, which involved a prosthetic vagina and giving birth to something nasty…

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

For more on The Millennium Bug, see previous Backbrain articles on the subject.

• via Avery Guerra. Written by Robert Hood.

Well, New Zealand director Patrick Gillies is righting this reprehensible wrong in a short film called Huhu Attack!

In Cold War-era rural New Zealand, two social misfits – a mousy spinster and a traveling magician – find love against a backdrop of small-town prejudice and 40ft-high mutant man-eating Huhu grubs!

Click to enlarge (so you can read the details!)

It’s Baz Luhrmann meets Peter Jackson in what the director describes as “an audacious 1950s-style comedy-horror musical extravaganza, featuring a spectacular score performed by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.”

Song, dance, romance and…

… giant grubs!

Synopsis:

Rural New Zealand, 31st October 1957.  A Sputnik satellite crashes into the edge of a forest, irradiating the nearby flora and fauna.  When the Army is called in to investigate, their soldiers are inexplicably attacked by a 40ft-high mutant Huhu grub.  At the nearest township, two-bit traveling magician, Miles, falls for the charms of his mousy volunteer, Ngaire, whilst putting on a Halloween magic show for the locals.  Their blossoming romance is interrupted when the giant Huhu grubs invade, decimating the townsfolk.  Knocked unconscious, Miles awakes to find Ngaire nursing him back to health in a makeshift infirmary.  Citing Miles’ knowledge of pyrotechnics, she pleads her reluctant hero to lead the surviving townsfolk in their fight against the man-eating huhu grubs.  However, her faith in him is shattered when local agitator, Derek, arrives with soldiers to accuse Miles of being a Soviet spy, directly responsible for the Huhu grub menace.  Armed with supposed proof of his Eastern Bloc origins, the soldiers proceed with their intention to execute Miles.  After an impassioned and heart-wrenching plea of innocence, Miles is released and the united community rejoices in its new-found tolerance and enlightenment… but not for long!

Check out the trailer:

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

 Huhu Attack! was shot on the Red One camera. Principle photography took place in Christchurch, New Zealand, over the course of four-and-a-half days in late November 2008.

Rather than using 3D (computer) animation, the producers resorted to the more traditional techniques of puppetry and over-cranked miniatures to achieve the illusion of the giant man-eating Huhu Grubs.

When asked about how the project got made, Gillies commented: “Some interesting facts for you: in its path to the big screen, the project received 21 funding rejections. Approx 80% of those people who read the script, rejected it. Conversely, about 80% of our funding was received from people who hadn’t read the script!” Then he added with due irony: “The moral = when making a monster film, don’t show people the script!”

So how was the Monster created?

I set out to create the film’s giant mutant Huhu grub monsters via 3D animation, but then early on, decided it would take too much time and effort, so opted for the (overcranked) miniature/arm-puppet route. Ultimately, the puppet also fitted with the aesthetic of 50s horror films … In the end, we did use two 3D animation shots, though: a shot of grubs on a log and then our epilogue shot of a giant … [actually, we might save that bit of spoilage for readers to experience for themselves when they see the film - Ed.]

Above: Early 3D conceptual drawings (aborted)

Above: 3D Huhu grub model stage 2

Above: Huhu puppet stage 1

Check out the gallery at the end of this article for more images of the Huhu puppet and early 3D model. The Gallery also includes more screenshots — and there are even more pictures on the film’s Facebook page.

So where can readers see the film?

Festivals at the moment. Only five festival laurels feature on the poster, but we have been selected for eight fests in total: Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival (Panorama), Beverly Hills Shorts Fest (Official Selection), Seattle International Film Festival (Official Selection), Palm Springs ShortFest (Official Selection and Best of Fest 2011: Audience Favourite Comedies), New Zealand International Film Festival (Homegrown: Flights of Fantasy), Puchon International Fantastic Film Festival (Official Selection), Traverse City Shorts Festival (Official Selection) and Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival.

Addendum: Sample Storyboard Sequence:

Source: Patrick Gillies via Avery Guerra; Facebook page. See this article for more Behind the Scenes pictures and images of the location shoot. You can download director Gillies bio and filmography here in PDF form.

Gallery:

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

Naturally the internet naysayers are out in force already, but this looks pretty good to me, sticking, as it seems to do, to the spirit of the original tale. Love the beanstalk!

The story’s most-notable previous cinematic re-telling was Jack the Giant Killer (US-1962; dir. Nathan Duran), which featured 60s “historical hero” Kerwin Mathews (who had become well-known thanks to the 1958 classic The 7th Voyage of Sinbad) and the stop-motion work of an assortment of animators, most notably the uncredited Jim Danforth.

[There is a video that cannot be displayed in this feed. Visit the blog entry to see the video.]

The film still has undeniable charm, but was never one of the great stop-motion classics, despite the power of nostalgia to evoke negative online comparisons with the as-yet-unseen 2012 CGI-based remake.

• Written by Robert Hood