Monsters were rampant at the AFM (American Film Market) — an event to which (according to the AFM’s media kit) “more than 8,000 industry professionals converge in Santa Monica for eight days of deal-making, screenings, seminars, premieres, networking and parties”. Apparently over 400 films were screened and (presumably) flogged in a frenzy of adjectival excess. Here, courtesy of Keith Aiken, are advertising sheets for four of them, all featuring monsters (with a heavy emphasis on sharkishness)….
Dinoshark (US-2010) premiered on the SyFy Channel back in March. It was produced by B-film legend Roger Corman and directed by Kevin O’Neill, who was also responsible for the earlier Dinocroc (US-2004).
Synopsis:
When global warming causes the glaciers to break apart, the unborn egg of the Dinoshark, frozen for millions of years, is released upon the world. It eats people and engages in other Jaws-inspired activities.
Not Spiders (2000) by Gary Jones, upscaled to 3D, but Spiders 3D, a new giant spider disaster film from Tibor Takács, whose CV includes the kids-vs-demonic monsters classic The Gate (1987), which is currently being re-made; a big-time favourite of mine, I, Madman (1989); and a heap of other low-budget stuff since then, including the recent monster flicks Mansquito (2005), Kraken: Tentacles of the Deep (2006), Ice Spiders (2007) and Mega Snake (2007). It’s currently in production and due for release in 2011.
Synopsis:
Following a crash of an old Soviet space station in New York City’s subway tunnel, a new species of poisonous spiders is discovered. Inadvertently the spiders mutate to gigantic proportions and wreak havoc on the entire city.
Addendum: While we’re no the subject of giant spiders, Avery Guerra dropped by to add this one — a remake of the John Cardos classic from 1977, starring William Shatner — only this one’s got the most in-favour (by Hollywood execs anyway) two number/letter designation in current box-office lingo — Kingdom of the Spiders 3D. So, more spiders comin’ at you out of the screen!
Back to sharks…
Sharktopus (US-2010; dir. Declan O’Brien) is one that everyone wants to keep an eye on. It looks wonderfully bizarre. Produced by the aforementioned Roger Corman, it is so exuberant in its absurdity that it’s bound to become a classic of the weird monster genre. Don’t believe me? Well, go check out the extended producer’s cut of the trailer on Undead Backbrain. You can read some early speculative ravings here.
This final one appears to be a more “normal” shark thriller, combining Jaws with the stalker mentality of Spielberg’s other early masterpiece, Duel.
The Reef (Aust-2010; dir. Andrew Traucki) is an Australian film dealing with one of our favourite obsessions.
Synopsis:
A great white shark hunts the crew of a capsized sailboat along the Great Barrier Reef.
That’s it for now. Thanks, Keith.
