Screech of the Fighting Owl

Undead Backbrain frequently highlights small, independent film producers who are engaged in making exciting and (sometimes) innovative genre films. Fighting Owl is one such.

Formed in 2003 as an umbrella company for student films, it is now engaged in the development of several projects, in various stages of production. Says the website:

“Fighting Owl Films focuses mainly on the production of ‘genre’ films, which can encompass action, horror, science fiction and anything in between. Why genre films? Because it’s what we enjoy. Genre films are a lot of fun to make and they’re just as fun to watch. They allow filmmakers to tell stories, share ideas and sometimes tackle controversial topics with subtlety as opposed to an ‘in your face’ approach. But that doesn’t mean we’re ruling out ever producing a full-blooded drama, comedy or romance; we’re just waiting on the right script.”

In the meantime below are descriptions of some of their projects.

The Night Shift (US-2008; short [20 min.] dir. Thomas Smith)

What if you could live for eternity? What if you had to spend eternity working in a cemetery whose inhabitants can get a little frisky? Rue Morgan has such a curse. Every night, with his trusted pal Herb, a limbless skeleton, he guards the cemetery, making sure nothing gets in or out. This is one of those nights…

The cool thing here is that you can watch this neat little film for yourself, online. SFX may be limited, but script, acting and direction are all effective. It’s an entertaining piece and well worth your time to check it out:

Hoax

This one is in pre-production and features one of Kaiju Search Robot-Avery’s favourite things — a lake monster. The plot description leaves it as somewhat ambiguous whether or not a monster actually turns up, but we have it on reliable authority that if you’re a lake monster fan, you won’t be cheated.

The sleepy town of Glenmore is just like another other, only it’s home to Bessie, a thousand year old lake monster – or so the locals claim. Trouble is, Glenmore has relied on tourism dollars its entire existence and Bessie hasn’t been spotted in years. To save the town from going under one shop owner and his son mount a not-so elaborate hoax to bring Bessie back into the headlines and tourism back to Glenmore.

[Okay, the above image isn’t a conceptual drawing relating to the film — it’s by bpkelsey and is taken from one of Worth1000.com’s thematic contests. But I wanted a picture and that’s a good one!]

Writer/director Thomas Smith commented to Avery:

“The film is sort of a drama rolled in with a horror film – think Jaws. The creature isn’t seen terribly often until the end. Up until that point there are just a few hints here and there. We’ll probably go into production on it sometime this summer – we’re in the midst of production for another film at the moment.”

The film he’s referring to is:

The Strange Experiment of Doctor Purefoy

Corey is failing her undergraduate biology class. In an attempt to pass the class and graduate on time she begins working as an assistant for Dr. Purefoy, her eccentric biology professor. He makes requests and saddles her with tasks that appear mundane and harmless. But as things become more bizarre, Corey begins to wonder what exactly Purefoy is planning.

Smith describes it as “a mystery that’s sort of Frankenstein from the assistant’s perspective.”

There is much more material on other Fighting Owl’s short films on their website. All up, the Fighting Owl looks like a group to watch out for. The Backbrain will do just that and release updates when we get them.

Source: Official website via Kaiju Search-Robot Avery