How did it come about? Here’s the news from Todd himself:

“Terry Rossio contacted me in regards to my American Godzilla ’94 graphic novel, and told me he was a fan (Terry is co-author with Ted Elliott of the 1994 rejected TriStar Godzilla screenplay, which you can actually read here. They also wrote the screenplays for Aladdin, Legend of Zorro, and the entire Pirates of the Caribbean series, among others). Now Terry has asked me to finish the G’94 graphic novel — and how could I refuse such an offer?

“Publication possibilities are being looked into, but job number one for me is getting it all finished.”

Todd has even sent the Backbrain some new artwork: three images of Godzilla rampant from page 80.

Great stuff!

For those who don’t know, Todd’s graphic novel adaptation has been running on his American Kaiju website for a long time, finally reaching as far as page 78. You can check it out here — and if you haven’t, you should. How can you resist reading 78 pages of a Godzilla graphic novel? Free!

More News from Todd: American Kaiju

In June 2011, Todd announced that he’d been contracted by Bluewater Productions to produce a series of American Kaiju comics — an ambition he’d been fostering for years. Some of his work toward it appeared in the subsequent articles American Kaiju: Aligon Attacks! and Gigante vs King Komodo, and The Big Eight.

This project continues apace — and you can follow developments on Todd’s blog. Meanwhile here are some images from this original — and awesome — comic series. This first one is PETT:

In this one, New York City prepares for the worst:

What is the worst? Something like this:

You can click on any of these to see them bigger.

Just so you know, Todd, I can’t wait for both these series to arrive!

• Source: Todd Tennant, to whom all images are copyrighted, by the way. No reproduction without consent!

His 1971 camp horror classic The Corpse Grinders tells the gruesome tale of pet food made from human corpses and the domestic pussies who by eating it develop a taste for human flesh. Number two in the franchise, to similar effect, hit the video shelves in 2000.

“Now The Corpse Grinders 3 is under way in Spain,” Mikels told the Backbrain. “A new spin on one of my older success stories. I am the executive producer of Corpse Grinders 3, with approval over the shoots and edits. I’m sure it will be as successful as my original and Corpse Grinders 2.”

Directed by Manolito Motosierra and written by Motosierra and Marc Gras, it will be filmed in English and released worldwide, full of cats, fresh corpses and a touch of the monstrous.

Gras, who is also producing along with Mikels, José M. Rodriguez, Sr. Guijarro, Kiko Underground and José Vicente Tomás for Tyrannosaurus Entertainment in association with TVM Global Entertainment, told us: “The film is the official third part of the Ted V. Mikels’ franchise and will be filmed in Spain over three weeks. We hope to have the movie finished and edited by September.”

Just like its predecessors it will be “a low budget camp horror-comedy” sporting a plot that is basically a re-interpretation of the original movie but “with a ‘monster’ touch”.

Synopsis:

An American entrepeneur comes to Spain to build a new Lotus Cat Food factory and establishes the company in a small Spanish town. The new Lotus doesn’t do too well until they accidentally add a special ingredient to the food — human flesh, ground up into a mash. Soon the cats that eat Lotus not only attack people, but also transform into hideous mutated cat-monsters.

As a Backbrain exclusive, Gras has sent some conceptual artwork — an early incarnation of the monster cats:

Cats are notoriously difficult to herd and films that feature them en masse — even the evil cat episode of The X-Files, “Teso dos Bichos” — resort to a lot of tossing of the indignant feline stars at hapless actors and close-ups of pussies that look like they’re more interested in the off-camera tuna supreme than in biting off the heads of their human victims. These days, CGI would allow for considerable advancement in the conviction department, even for low budget productions — so it will be interesting to see if this new one will come up to scratch — assuming, of course, that the monster cats will be digitally rendered. Who knows, maybe they’ll be cats in rubber cat-monster suits!

Source: Courtesy of Ted V. Mikels, Marc Grass and Manolito Motosierra via Avery Guerra. Written by Robert Hood.  Official website; Facebook page.

Bonus 1: A Lotus Cat Food factsheet (click to make bigger)

Bonus 2: In case you aren’t familiar with Mikels’ earlier work, here’s a classically 1970s trailer to The Corpse Grinders that will give you some idea as to what we’re in for:

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The title Auf den Spuren des weissen Sklavenhandels. II. Teil Durch Schiffbruch zum Strande translates as “On the Trail of White Slave Traders, Part 2: The Stranded Shipwreck”. It is a German film from 1922 [according to KinoTV] and was directed by Edmund Linke. The website KinoTV, which references its source as Der Film #19, 1922 (Kritik), claims that the film was also written by Linke and stars Herbert Hübner, Kadja Lana, Anna Perra, Robert Pirk and Fritz Reiff. That seems to be the extent of available information, though the “Part 2″ in the subtitle suggests that it is part of a serial or series.

Filmportal references a film called Auf den Spuren des weissen Sklavenhandels. I Teil (1921) by Edmund Linke, which is presumably the precursor. Its production company is given as Orient-Film, Linke & Co. (Leipzig) and the producer as Oskar Linke. It does not list a Part 2.

Referring to the poster, Michael Organ commented to me: “It is very much German Expressionism, so the monster probably relates to the evil of the slave trade, rather than actually being a monster/dragon as in Lang’s Nibelungen (1924). The image is very cool, though.”

It is indeed. If anyone out there has more information on it, let us know.

Lots of men are sharks, especially in the vicinity of holiday resorts. Generally speaking referring to them as sharks is a metaphorical gesture, indicative of predatory sexual behaviour. But what if the phrase “shark man” wasn’t a metaphor?

A new Hawaiian film is currently in production dealing with just such a situation. It’s called Makua Charley, and is a modern-day horror story based on the legend of Nanaue, the Shark Man of O’ahu. Directed by Al and Jayne Cloutier, it is being produced by World Class Productions.

So far a few scenes have been shot for the trailer (you can see it further down the page), but principal photography will take place on location in Honolulu during Spring 2012, with an anticipated release for the final film of September 2013.

Synopsis:

Folks are disappearing from the Shark’s Cove youth hostel on the North Shore of O’ahu. When young Karen Palmer visits for a two week vacation, she meets a handsome and charming local boy named Charley. He promises to show her some sights “off the normal tourist path”. Karen finds herself irresistibly drawn to her mysterious tour guide. When her two new friends, Mona and Lester, warn her that there is something fishy about Charley, Karen ignores their advice. She falls deeply under the spell of Charley’s good looks and suave island charm.

Straight out of a romance movie, right?

Wrong!

Unfortunately, Charley is the embodiment of an ancient Polynesian curse, and he’s torn between his basic human nature and his predatory killer instincts. Makua Charley is a feeding frenzy of horror set amidst the gently swaying palm trees of idylic Hawaii. In this paradise turned to hell, the scent of fresh spilled blood is carried on a tropical breeze. (Source)

Check out the newly released trailer:

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On the genesis of the film, the filmmakers had this to say:

We live in Honolulu, Hawaii — coincidentally really close to where Makua Cave, the original lair of the shark man, is located. It’s really spooky inside there, let me tell you! We went inside to explore it and there’s a slimy stone at the back of the cave where Charley would drag his victims to eat them and you can just feel the creepy-ness. Gave us chicken-skin right away. Anyway, we just had to do this film, natch! We started by doing a ton of research on Hawaiian legends. Now we’re almost like living breathing experts on scary Hawaiian myths. Mega-awesome, I know, right?

If you don’t agree take it up with these guys!

Naturally, Makua Charley needs financial assistance and in common with many productions, the producers felt that a Kickstarter campaign would give interested “backers” a chance to help get the film made. The campaign began a few days ago and runs until 26 May. Albert Cloutier commented: “With the funds we raise from KickStarter we will intensify our shooting schedule, hoping to wrap in late July.” Go to Kickstarter to read more about the production and contribute.

• Sources: Albert Cloutier via Avery Guerra. Written by Robert Hood.
• Official website; Facebook page; Kickstarter campaign page.

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

Spider on the Ceiling was directed by Anthony O’Neill for Rectangular Films of Australia. It stars Steve Danielsen, Camilla Jackson, and Steve Carroll (pictured below during production).

Synopsis:

An Aussie slacker wakes up one morning to find a giant huntsman spider on the ceiling. Complications ensue.

Says O’Neill:

The film was made as a bit of a lark at this time last year. Every year in summer I seem to find a huntsman or two on my ceiling — not as large as the one in the film, admittedly, but it’s never a pleasant sight. I’m a novelist (see www.anthonyoneill.net ). The producer (Pete Roberts) and the guy who played the possum catcher (Steve Carroll) have worked as sculptors on such films as Knowing and Where the Wild Things Are (just about every big-budget film that’s been made in Melbourne recently). They handled the effects. Camilla Jackson is delightful and should be much better known — I believe she’s been trying to get some US work….

Trust me — if you have any twinges of arachnophobia in you at all (and who hasn’t?), this one will freak you out. Excellent film — and funny, too!

Spider on the Ceiling is screening now in the Cinema of the Backbrain. Go check it out! Entry is as cheap as it gets (that is, it’s free!)

Source: Anthony O’Neill via Avery Guerra; IMDb entry. Written by Robert Hood.

Addendum: More pics

The Spider, resting between takes:

Anthony O’Neill and Rob Van Dam on set:

The cast and crew:

• Also available for viewing Weekend Fright Flick Spider Festival 1: Scratch

Scratch won the ‘Scariest Film Award’ at a small private film festival in 2011. It “brings one man’s greatest fear into reality during the darkness of a power outage”.

An aspiring director and animator, Ethan Snell studies at a private film school where, he says, “he continues to improve his film making skills”.

Says Ethan:

Scratch was an idea I had several months ago. It started when I ran into a spider web. I just wanted to channel my arachnophobia into a short film.

Originally, the idea was much shorter than it turned out to be; I planned for it to be 30 seconds or so. The guy would wake up in bed, and the spider would be there. However, when I got my Director of Photography, Stephen Watson, on board, we agreed that it needed a little more set up. It didn’t take us long to come up with the idea that eventually became the movie.

The monster itself was a practice 3D model that I had laying around on my hard drive … I decided to revisit it for Scratch, and touch it up. Fortunately, it didn’t take long for me to rig and animate it. This is the dream of every film student: to be able to put spectacular ideas and stories onto film… my idea of spectacular was fortunately within my capabilities.

This is a brief, but atmospheric little film, with an extremely effective reveal. Great FX!

You can view Scratch now, in the Cinema of the Backbrain.

Extras:

“a moment in the film before any visual effects were added…”

“a shot from a sequence that wasn’t put into the film”

Source: Ethan Snell via Avery Guerra. Written by Robert Hood.

• Also ready for viewing Weekend Fright Flick Spider Festival 2: Spider on the Ceiling

Returning to our shared office at work the other day, a colleague reached to open the door, shrieked and started back in horror. Why? There was a spider hanging by a single thread from the door-knob. The spider was about the size of a large dust mote but nevertheless the reaction was marked. Being a hero of epic proportions I gently palmed the arachnid menace and released it out the nearest window, apologising to the beastie for the inconvenience as it scurried up the wall.

That’s the thing with spiders: something about their alien appearance is enough to cause cries of terror and dismay, no matter how small and innocuous the spider might be. Obviously the bigger they are, the worse the reaction. I, too, though undaunted by the dust mote, baulked at the hand-sized huntsman that appeared on the wall of my study a week or so ago, opting to leave him in peace (he eventually left of his own accord). Sure, they get much bigger than that  — you know, in jungles and on banana plantations, where they trap and eat birds — and are very scary indeed, but should they grow to be the size of a house they would be objects of extreme horror. Ask Stephen King, who made a giant spider the climactic el supremo monster in his excellent novel It (following in the footsteps of Tolkien, perhaps, who made Frodo face the giant spider, Shelob, on his way into Mordor).

Cinema has exploited humanity’s essential arachnophobia for many decades, especially when it comes to spiders of the giant kind. Hanging from massive webs in prehistoric jungles or blocking the warrior’s path in dank tunnels beneath castles, giant spiders have made cameo appearances in various filmic variations on The Lost World and in fantasy epics like Ator, the Fighting Eagle [aka Ator l'invincibile] (Italy-1982; dir. Joe D’Amato). But mega arachnids really hit the big time with Jack Arnold’s 1955 film, Tarantula, a classic 1950s giant bugfest, the effectiveness of which remains undiminished today despite the dodgy super-imposed SFX. Arnold tried again with a normal-sized spider becoming monstrous relative to the diminishing protagonist of The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957). Other entries in the subgenre followed, including Earth vs the Spider (US-1958; dir. Bert I. Gordon),  Son of Godzilla (1967) with a Godzilla-sized Spiga, The Giant Spider Invasion (US-1975; dir. Bill Rebane), right through to the big-budget Eight Legged Freaks (US-2002; dir. Ellory Elkayem), which featured not just one species of ultra-giant spider but many of them, all startlingly CGI-rendered. Even though it doesn’t include giant spiders as such, we really should mention Frank Marshall’s Arachnophobia from 1990, which, like the earlier Kingdom of the Spiders (US-1977; dir.  John ‘Bud’ Cardos), has so many spiders in it they surely add up to a couple of Big Ones. Meanwhile, Jeff Leroy’s Creepies series managed to squeeze in an assortment of daikaiju tropes, including giant robots:

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Other more recent giant spider films include Spiders (US-2000; dir. Gary Jones), Spiders II: Breeding Ground (US-2001; dir. Sam Firstenberg), Arachnia (US-2003; dir. Brett Piper), Ice Spiders (US-2007; dir. Tibor Takács), and Spiders 3D (US-2010; dir. Tibor Takács).

Now, to prove that the appeal hasn’t disappeared, we have a new giant spider epic coming soon from director Mike Mendez — Mega Spider.

Mega Spider [a.k.a. Dino Spider] (US-2012; dir. Mike Mendez)

A 50-foot tall alien spider escapes from a military lab and rampages the city of Los Angeles. When a massive military strike fails, it is up to a team of scientists, soldiers, and one clever exterminator to kill the creature before the city is destroyed.

Mega Spider stars Greg Grunberg, Lombardo Boyar, Clare Kramer, Ray Wise, Patrick Bauchau, Lin Shaye and produced by Klaus von Sayn-Wittgenstein, Patrick Ewald, Shaked Berenson, Travis Stevens. The picture below is a wrap shot with cast and crew and eight-legged antagonist.

Director Mendez (previously known for some decent directorial work on the indie horror film The Gravedancers) describes Mega Spider as a “Tremors-style creature feature” (implying, one hopes, that it is good-humoured and intelligently crafted action-thriller, with appealing characters, a terrific script and lots of suspense).

“The script was hilarious, and as we got into the creature design and the casting, we had one objective in mind: fun! I love the tone of this movie and think audiences are going to have a wild time.”

Above: Patrick Bauchau and Ray Wise

Lead actor Greg Grunberg commented after filming was done: “They say never work with animals and babies; I want to add giant spiders to that list. Having such a blast, laughing every day, and yet the movie is scary as shit!”

Above: Greg Grunberg as Alexis Mathis and Clare Kramer as Lt. Karly Brant

By way of confirmation, co-producer Travis Stevens (pictured below in the thick of production) sums it up this way:

“This is a movie about killing a big-ass bug. There’s a lunacy to the concept that we’re really having fun with. You look at classics like Tremors or Starship Troopers, and the humor is just as important as the mayhem. I think we’re finding a great balance between the two.” (Source)

And just to prove that the spider gets down and dirty in the big city, we have this money shot to keep you interested:

Making the Monster:

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Mega Spider is currently in post-production, but I just know all you arachnophobes out there will be dying to see it!

Addendum:

I have no idea what it has to do with the movie, but here’s a video of director Mendez and Make-up artist Emma Jacobs singing “It’s No Good” by Depeche Mode while moving in to the location shoot!

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We do know it is the first Austrian “creepy, gory Monster Movie” and that Müller’s production company, Loom, will be more intent on targeting the film at an international audience than they were with their previous alien invasion film, Tartarus (as reported by Undead Backbrain).

There are, however, two available teaser trailers:

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

We will tell you more when we hear more ourselves.

Source: Stefan Müller via Avery Guerra. Check out the Facebook page for further updates.

Just before Cowboys and Aliens (US-2011; dir. Jon Favreau) hit screens throughout the world, an independent alien invasion film set in the historical past was released in Austria and Germany: Tartarus (Austria-2011; dir. Stefan Müller).

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

Synopsis:

Austria-Hungary 1813: Jacob and Veith return home from the Napoleonic war. Their road leads to the remote mountain village Pahlbach. The two newcomers encounter a frosty reception – and as the night has barely passed, they already understand why: In the woods around the village a strange evil is brewing mischief. Unknown creatures of extraordinary violence and cunning lure the men into the woods and make a silent demand: In order to further propagate, the beasts claim women’s bodies. While Jacob refuses immediately and calls out the fight, Veith is still uncertain: The enemy appears to overpowering. Maybe they should try to come to terms. Progressing events put the courage and humanity of the two men to the test and threaten to shatter their friendship. But Jacob Veith and are not the only ones to whom the demand was made. The battle lines are hardening – and in a single bloody night, the future of the whole world is at stake.

Tartarus, following Legende (2002) and Jenseits (2006), is the third feature film directed by Stefan Müller. Like its predecessors, Tartarus is a film of the fantastic — as Müller describes it, “basically a suspense-thriller that draws bridges between the horror, sci-fi, period and costume genres”.

Tartarus stars Moritz Thate, Martin Kroissenbrunner and Ines Gruber and is said to be the first alien invasion film to come from Austria. It was produced by an independent company called LOOM.

Director Müller explained:

Loom stands for a young group of Austrian Cineasts and Filmmakers, with the ambition to create genre movies especially for a young Austrian or German-speaking audience. You have to understand that the Austrian Film Industry does not have a great variety in terms of fantastic movies, so we are trying to mix it up a little. Tartarus, for example, was Austria’s first Alien Invasion movie ever and [another that is currently in production] is going to be Austria’s first creepy, gory Monster Movie.

By now, we are a nice little network of talented young people, who try to get the best out of everything, despite any low budget circumstances. Our pictures are state-funded and privately financed.

Of himself, Müller told the Backbrain:

Inside Loom, I am the Director and Editor of most of our produced movies. I am 27 years old and an autodidact filmmaker. I have the classic story actually: started out as a young kid, stealing the old VHSC camcorder from my parents and creating little movies with my pals in the backyard. I got better with every new movie, found a lot of great people during every new project and feel like we’ve just started. And in these times where great technology for a young filmmaker is finally available, it is just getting more and more fun to tell amazing stories even with a low budget.

The production took place in many exotic locations:

Among the illustrious locations, most of which were found in Styria, including: the open-air museum in Vorau, the Hebalpe and the nearby farming museum Herk, the smokehouse in Gündorf, the Lurgrotte Semriach, the Green Lake in Tragöß, numerous meadows and forests in and around Graz, as well as the open-air museum Gerersdorf, in Burgenland, which already constituted one of the main locations in Jenseits.

Here for the first time is the official trailer for Tartarus, complete with English subtitles.

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Tartarus has been released on DVD and Blu-Ray in Austria, Germany and Switzerland.  It’s available on Amazon.de, a release that includes English subtitles. It is, however, Region 2 coded. “We have had no contact with any international distributor yet,” Müller explained. “I have to admit, we are not so experienced with international film festivals. Tartarus ran only at European Festivals, but with our upcoming film, Biest, we definitely want to try to send it to international genre festivals, too.”

See the Backbrain article In Production: Biest for what meagre information on this next genre film from Müller exists.

Source: Stefan Müller via Avery Guerra; Production Notes; IMDb; Official website.