A gross-out mainstay of monstrous horror flicks everywhere are leeches and maggots. At small size, their nasty habit of wallowing in human body fluids and attaching themselves to live and dead flesh respectively for the purpose of consumption and generally being disgusting has given them a decided advantage in the horror genre. Make them bigger — and the Yuck Factor is exponentially heightened.
Now, in case there was ever any doubt that Australians are just as capable of producing disgusting exploitation monster flicks as the next bunch of sickos, Ghastly Fun Films and director Michael Egan have flagged the upcoming production of Blood-Sucking Leeches and Flesh-Eating Maggots — a film about really big leeches and maggots going about their nasty business.
The live-action decay-and-blood-drenched epic tells the poignant tale of a stripper and those creatures that want to eat her.
Synopsis:
Fed up with her abusive boyfriend, beautiful Alice Springs stripper CANDY CARMEL swipes a wad of his cash and hits the road to Adelaide. A nighttime car accident leaves her stranded in a desolate town in the middle of the desert, where she reluctantly agrees to let eccentric local physician DOC KROEGER treat her cuts with leeches, despite her fear of bugs. But when her infected leg worsens, she balks at allowing him to use maggots to heal her wounds.
Stuck in town while recovering and waiting for sleazy mechanic DRAGON to fix her car, Candy carries on a flirtation with decent local cop PRESTON PARKER and is drawn into a sordid relationship with a couple of local swingers, LUPE and BONGO. Fearful that her infected leg may need to be amputated, Candy reluctantly submits to the doctor’s questionable maggot therapy. But Candy soon learns that many of the townsfolk have undergone similar medical treatment, with disastrous results. A recent heat wave has altered the creatures’ metabolism, causing the maggots to burrow deeper and triggering erratic behavior in their hosts. Meanwhile, the leeches have been similarly affected, growing alarmingly in size and in their appetite for blood.
Candy asks Doc Kroeger to remove her maggots, but instead he drugs her and locks her in his office with a cast on her leg. Realizing she’s in the care of a madman, Candy must utilize all her athleticism and stripper skills to remove the maggots from her body and escape. As the heat wave intensifies, Candy joins forces with Parker in a final battle with the now out-of-control infestation.
Producer/director Michael Egan pitched Blood-Sucking Leeches and Flesh-Eating Maggots at the Screen Producers Association Australia (SPAA) Conference 2009 in the Westin Hotel, Sydney, during November last year. Here it is:
But that’s not all. Are you wondering if Egan can pull off the requisite leechiness needed to make the film work? Well, just take a look at the following blood-sucking test footage:
Be rest assured that Undead Backbrain will be your prime source for ongoing information about Blood-Sucking Leeches and Flesh-Eating Maggots as the production progresses.
Meanwhile, in the Gallery below you’ll find pictures of locations around Cobar and Mirinda and other Aussiesque places that have been earmarked for the shoot once it gets going.
- Source: Michael Egan via Avery Guerra. Written by Robert Hood.
- Official website
- Facebook page
- Ghastly Fun Film’s website
Gallery:
Addendum: Michael Egan’s Showreel
