Now Nick has sent us some actual frames from the SFX shots they’ve been working on in Nick’s backyard in Paddington, braving endless rain, work deadlines, the Archibald and other interruptions.

“Here’s a still from the final shot!” said Nick.  “It’s a shot of the plant as it actually grows on camera! The detail and lighting is very sweet. These are not colour-graded shots, but they already look gorgeous. I’m able to fuss with the lighting, which makes all the difference. The close-up focus is impressive, too…”

This first still shows the plant growing up through the stonework. Commented Nick: “This pic is from a shot that is in reverse … and it feels very Carpenter’s Thing…”

This next still Nick titles “Footfall”, which sounds delightfully ominous…

Then there’s “Plant Stage 3″. What a beautiful, Audrey 2-like veggie!

Nick confided to the Backbrain that the film may very well get longer than originally planned. Nick and Ryan intend to enter It Grows in  Tropfest — Australia’s most prestigious short film festival and the largest short film festival in the world. For Tropfest the film can’t be longer than 8 minutes.

“But I think we’re going to have a 20-minute cut as well,” Nick said. “It’s taking shape and the shot list keeps growing because what were meant to be very quick cuts look so good they deserve a tad longer on screen. So it may end up being a longer film … the live-action shoot will be the decider.”

You won’t get any complaints from this quarter, Nick!

• Source: Nick Stathopoulos via Robert Hood
• Previous article on It Grows

Director Black also talked to Dread Central’s Doctor Gash on the subject of the film’s imminent release and his approach to making this “psychological/supernatural thriller”. Check it out. Though not wanting to go overboard in terms of FX and visceral impact, he describes one “confrontational” scene thus:

We had this demon girl just ripping guards apart. We’ve got a guy getting his eyes gouged out. We have the demon girl actually jamming her hand down somebody’s throat and ripping out the esophagus, and it’s really gritty and gruesome.

Shows restraint, eh? Nevertheless, this looks like a supernatural thriller that offers lots of suspenseful, creepy build-up, leading to a powerhouse climax — which is how I like ‘em.

Source: Dread Central via Avery Guerra. Text: Robert Hood.

Thanks to Producer Bill Dever, Undead Backbrain has acquired the first concept drawings of the new Gila! (see The Gila Monster Grows). It’s by Charles Chiodo (of the Chiodo Bros fame), who has been involved in many memorable films, but whom I remember particularly fondly as co-writer and production designer for the cult classic Killer Klowns From Outer Space (US-1988; dir. Stephen Chiodo) and as puppet art director on the unforgettable Team America: World Police (US-2004; dir. Trey Parker).

[click image to enlarge]

In other breaking Gila! news, the new remake of The Giant Gila Monster is now to be released theatrically in drive-in theaters across the US!

• Source: Producer Bill Dever via Avery Guerra. Written by Robert Hood

It is, of course, the much anticipated remake of the dodgy 1950s classic B-monster flick The Giant Gila Monster (US-1959; dir. Ray Kellogg). It’s called simply Gila! (US-2012; dir. Jim Wynorski) and the poster above is the first official teaser poster, created by Jeremy Mincer of Silver Ferox Key Art. Read more about the production on Undead Backbrain as well as checking out a Brainspasm article on the involvement of Don Sullivan, then teenaged star of the original film.

Below is another new poster concept:

If new images from the production are indicative of the visual potential the crew have been creating, this may be an exception B-monster flick and one of Sy-Fy’s more successful acquisitions in the genre. A lot will depend on the quality of the work that goes into the visualisation of the titular monster, of course, but a good cast and script can do much to overcome the negatives of even less-than-perfect FX.  The filming has wrapped now, and the gallery below gives a colourful indication of cast, sets and cars used — and suggests that retaining the 1950s setting definitely has legs!

The Backbrain is quietly hopeful!

Gallery:

For more, check out the film’s Facebook page.

Source: Producer Bill Dever via Avery Guerra. Written by Robert Hood.

Addendum: An Interview with Gila by Robert Hood

With Gila! going into post-production (which obviously includes the insertion of the title character into the film), we decided to get the low-down from the real star of the picture: Gila! himself.

I tracked him down to a huge and particularly grotty trailer half-buried in the sand and covered in scrub somewhere in the Indiana backwoods.

Gila: Hey! Whatta ya mean “grotty”? This is a luxury mobile suite and it’s in a prime location.

Undead Backbrain: It’s in a hole in the ground.

Gila: Yeah. What’s ya point? They dug it specially for me. I’m a star, ya know. A BIG star. That’s why they named the film after me.

UB: But you’ve never been in a movie before, have you?

Gila: Maybe not, but it’s in the blood. My papi was in the 1959 film. I’ve modeled meself on ‘im.

UB: Really? I thought they used a small lizard –

Gila: Gila Monster! None of this lizard business. Calling us lizards is demeaning. How would you like to be described as a monkey?

UB: Okay, okay. Don’t get excited! You’ll sink the caravan further into this hole it’s stuck in. What was I saying? Oh, yeah. I thought they used a small… um, normal-sized gila monster in the first picture, filmed on miniature sets and superimposed –

Gila: Na! That’s a myth, spread by our enemies.

UB: Enemies?

Gila: You know, Godzilla, Gorgo, the Beast from 20,000 Fathoms. All those foreign interlopers.

UB: The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms was an American picture.

Gila: Yeah, but they dug up the actor from the Arctic circle somewhere. Finland, I reckon. Did you catch his accent? Ha! Laughable! He could hardly speak English at all.

UB: Can’t say I noticed.

Gila: You should check out the Director’s Cut.

UB: Sure. Right. So acting runs in the family. You’ve all been big?

Gila: Except for my brother Eric.

UB: Eric?

Gila: We don’t talk about him much. Great disappointment. Lives somewhere in the middle of the Mojave. In a tiny hole. He’s a real hermit. Just drags himself outa his hole every few months to scrounge up an old bird’s egg or eat a relative or two…

UB: Got his address? I’d like to talk to him. You know, get some insight into your past.

Gila: Forget it. He’s got a poisonous temperament. Wouldn’t talk to you, even for money. He hates the film industry. Hates our family. Says papi’s fame ruined his life. You know, he couldn’t live up to it and fell into depression, the pointlessness of life etc. etc. blah blah… bleeding heart stuff. Pathetic. I tried to get him to go on a bit of a rampage once, but after his tail got squashed when it was run-over by a tourist bus while he was crossing the highway, he withdrew inta hisself and gave up on everything. Not that he doesn’t have any talent, you know, for small stuff. They asked him to be in that Rango film but when he told ‘em to f**k off, they changed the character to a chameleon and hired Johnny Depp instead. Bad move, in my opinion. Lacks authenticity. You see the prob though.

UB: Let’s get back to your involvement in this film by Jim Wynorski. How did you get involved?

Gila: Met Bill Dever in a bar. Everyone else had cleared out — it was only a small place and I’d already demolished the pool room when I tried to sink all the balls in one shot — but he stayed and started going on about how great the film was. Reckoned the title character was a problem though. He was a bit… you know… plastered. Anyhow, I told him who I was and that I was lookin’ fa work and he jumped at the opportunity.

UB: Are you looking forward to working with Jim Wynorski?

Gila: Sure. Some of his other monster pics had some crap monster actors — didn’t look like they were actually there, you know. But I reckon he’s got it right this time. I don’t need no enhancement!

UB: Do you have an idea yet about how you’ll play the character?

Gila: I’m a bit like Depp, you know. He played Captain Jack Sparrow by basing the performance on Keith Richards. I plan to play the character like Lawrence Olivier. Bring a bit of class to the genre. Monsters have been short-changed for long enough, I reckon. I’m gonna insist on at least one monologue! I’ve memorised Macbeth’s Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow speech. Maybe the screenwriter can fit it in somewhere.

UB: Do you really think it’d be appropriate?

Gila: It’ll hafta be changed it a bit. “Tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow creeps on its hangin’ belly from day to day, to the last drop of rodent blood. And all our holes in the ground have led the way to trashed towns and derailed trains. Out, out, brief candle! Life’s but a crawlin’ shadow, a gargantuan avenger that eats its way through towns and cities and then goes to DVD. It’s a tale told by a director and his crew, full of sound and fury — and huge at the box-office!” See works fine!

UB: Well, that’s rather… unique, I must say. Interesting to see what Jim Wynorski thinks.

Gila: He’ll come ’round.

UB: I think it’s true to say my readers are very keen to see what comes of this movie. So thanks for talking to us, Gila. It’s been… educational.

Gila: No sweat! And I mean that. Gila monsters never sweat.

UB: Sure, reptiles are all pretty cool, they say.

Gila: We sure are, baby. We’ve got class. Hey, on your way out can you chuck down a sack of roaches and assorted bugs? All this blabbin’ has made me hungry.

UB: Sure.

Gila: Good monkey!

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:

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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.

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What do you reckon? More?

Previous Episodes:

• Episode 1
• Episode 2
• Episode 3
• Episode 4

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

Thanks to Avery as usual.

• Episode 1
• Episode 2
• Episode 3
• Episode 5 [Coming next Monday]

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

Thanks to Avery as usual.

• Episode 1
• Episode 2
• Episode 4 [Coming next Monday]

Source: Quiet Earth via Avery Guerra

Effects:

First, the never-before-seen FX test videos, in which the insects, in their smaller forms, get on the move en masse:

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Are these scenes making you itch yet?

Behind the Scenes Picture Gallery:

Here we have a series of shots taken during production, including location referencing, some green-screen elements, on-set images and more!

Full Gallery:

• Previous: Coming Soon: The Emergence Premieres Here!
• Next: The official premiere of The Emergence, here on Undead Backbrain on 1 December!

Source: Jeff LeBlanc via Avery. Written by Robert Hood