Big Bird?

Posted on Thursday, September 4, 2008 by Robert Hood

There’s a giant monster bird movie out there that is more recent than the infamous The Giant Claw (US-1957; dir. Fred F. Sears).

It’s called Big Bird — but it’s not this one by artist Jonni Good (click here to view Flash movie… it’s very short).

Big Bird 2

Nor does it have anything to do with this guy:

Big Bird on Sesame Street

Big Bird posterKaiju Search-Robot Avery asked me if I’ve ever heard of the film that goes with the  poster on the right. Supposedly it’s a Thai film, and Avery says he first became aware of it via a 2005 issue of Fangoria, where it was mentioned — along with Deep Sea Monster Reigo and Mega-Snake — in an article on the American Film Market for that year. It is also mentioned by Foywonder (which is where the poster comes from).

But it still hasn’t … um… flown in.

Anyone heard of it? Details, please?

I guess it’s a spoof, if it even exists…

Posted in Film, Giant Monsters, Where's the Film? | 5 Comments

Update: Cleavagefield Trailer!

Posted on Wednesday, September 3, 2008 by Robert Hood

Director Jim Wynorski has just emailed notice of the Cleavagefield trailer. Follow the link below and you can see:

Cleavagefield pic 1

and

Cleavagefield pic 2

… not to mention this:

Cleavagefield pic 3

and plenty of…

Cleavagefield pic 4

See all this and more here.

Posted in Cloverfield, Film, Giant Monsters, Trailers, Update | 5 Comments

New Guilala Pics

Posted on Monday, September 1, 2008 by Robert Hood

Hey, because I can never resist pictures of Guilala, when Twitch posted a clutch of stills from the new Girara-no Gyakushuu Touyaku Samitto Kiki Ippatsu [lit. Guilala’s Counter Attack: the Touyaku Summit One-Shot Crisis] (Japan–2008; dir. Minoru Kawasaki), I grabbed a few of the most monster-related to put up on the Backbrain. [These are rather big, so click on them to see Guilala in his full glory.]

Guilala expresses his thoughts on the energy crisis:

Guilala attacks!

Guilala and Takemajin discuss who’ll take the lead in the Dance-a-thon:

Guilala 2

The movie was recently shown at the 65th Venice Film Festival.

Posted in Daikaiju, Giant Monsters, Update | 1 Comment

Godzilla Never Dies

Posted on Monday, September 1, 2008 by Robert Hood

Stu Hiatt has sent Undead Backbrain this very early test reel for a Godzilla fan film he is working on. Stu is creating the monster business using stop-motion animation — a challenging approach but not one without precedent. I have already posted footage created by Toho for the film Gojira tai Biollante [aka Godzilla vs. Biollante] (1989; dir. Kazuki Omori), and stop-motion animation was used in a few very brief scenes in the original Gojira (1954).

Check back here for updates on Stu’s progress.

Posted in Daikaiju, Film, Giant Monsters, Godzilla | 1 Comment

Giant Spider Graveyard

Posted on Monday, September 1, 2008 by Robert Hood

Amazing revelation! The skeletal remains of not one but two giant spiders that rampaged through Lincoln County, Wisconsin, in the US in 1975 have been discovered by arachnid wrangler Bill Rebane. Rebane was responsible for recording the twin mega-spiders’ murderous assault on Gleason and the city of Merrill in The Giant Spider Invasion, one of last century’s many celluloid arachnophobic attacks. The 10-metre spiders were said to harken from another dimension, entering our reality through a black hole and some rather dodgy special effects.

One of the spider skeletons — in reality metal framework that had been built around a VW Beetle by a welder named Carl Pfantz in order to create an ambulatory life-size giant spider — was located in a junkyard in Gleason. Rebane apparently plans to excavate the carcasse and sell it on eBay.

Spider graveyard

Rebane had the critter made when the film’s distributor insisted that his film include creature SFX to rival the shark in Jaws, which was then in production. Commented Rebane: “We had a VW sitting at the studio and a friend of mine said ‘Can we make a spider out of that?’ Carl Pfantz figured it out.”

“Pfantz’s steel framework was covered with black Fun Fur to make the spiders both hairy and scary. The mechanical nature of the beast required seven people to be stuffed within the cramped confines of the VW floorpan – a driver and six children to work the spider’s legs.

“It was about 100 degrees under there,” Rebane said.

Giant Spider Invasion

The second, non-animated spider is being refurbished as a roadside  tourist attraction in Gleason.

The Giant Spider Invasion, filmed on a $300,000 budget, grossed $22 million according to Rebane, placing it among the top 50 grossing films of 1975, “when creature features ruled the drive-ins”.

Giant Spider Invasion poster

Inspired by all this arachno-activity, Rebane is now planning a sequel film, though whether it happens or not is dependent on funding. He wants this film, should it eventuate, to feature CGI spiders rather than mechanical ones.

“We don’t ever want to recreate the VW Beetle,” Rebane said.

Read more about the earlier film and Rebane’s current plans on his website.

  • Source: via Kaiju Search-Robot Avery

Addendum: The Trailer (Thanks, Avery)

Posted in Film, Giant Monsters, It's True! Really!, News | 10 Comments

Spike Makes A Point

Posted on Sunday, August 31, 2008 by Robert Hood

Sometimes fairy tales make excellent (or at least interesting) horror films. Guillermo del Toro’s Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) [aka El Laberinto del Fauno] is something of an epitomé of the approach, of course; but others, such as Michael Cohn’s Snow White: A Tale of Terror (1997) and Terry Gilliam’s The Brothers Grimm (2005), do a good job of translating the imagery and sensibilities of Faerie into a horror genre context. Another recent film that springs to mind is M. Night Shyamalan’s rather awkward Lady in the Water (2006) — but the less said about that, the better, I suspect.

A new independent horror film that purports to use fairy-tale elements to weave its dark magic recently premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, taking the award for “Best of the Fest”.

Spike (US-2008; dir. Robert Beaucage)

Synopsis:

A young woman finds herself trapped in a nightmarish fairy tale come true, and must rescue her friends from a strange creature who idolizes her and will have her at any cost.

“There is always some madness in love….”

Director Robert Beaucage readily lists the influences that have driven his interest in fantasy tropes as a means of examining the undercurrents of our ordinary lives. He says:

“Dreams, fantasy, and mythology have fascinated me since my early childhood. From the exploits of Theseus, Perseus, and Odysseus to the works of C.S. Lewis and Lewis Carroll; from my own vivid childhood dreams rife with werewolves, witches, and dragons to the writings of Joseph Campbell and James Frazer, I have viewed fantasy and fairy tales as vital tools to understanding life.”

These cultural influences form the basis of his film’s thematic core.

“With Spike,” he commented, “I have set out to tell a fantasy story exploring dark and dangerous possibilities of a condition we have all experienced in one way or another: romantic love. Why do we love? What causes us to love particular individuals? What is love? Can we control it, or does it control us?”

Given my usual obsessions, I’m intrigued to know what form the romantically inclined titular creature might take, and the following image from the film suggests something both unique and literally described by its name.

Spike pic

Creature creator Jordu Schell’s design background speaks well for the possibilities. His resumé includes Men In Black, Planet of the Apes (2001), Batman Returns, Edward Scissorhands, X-Files: The Movie, Predator II, Galaxy Quest, Evolution, My Favorite Martian, Alien: Resurrection, The Guyver and Bedazzled.

Check out the website for more pictures, bios, storyboard images, behind-the-scenes stuff and clips from the film.

Afterthought:

I note the following statement from the director’s bio with even greater excitement: “His plans for a second feature will not include a monster, but may involve ghosts, time travel, and clockwork dinosaurs.” Clockwork dinosaurs? Very cool indeed!

  • Source: the website via Kaiju Search-Robot Avery
Posted in Faery, Film, Horror, News, Teaser | 7 Comments

J.T. Petty’s The Burrowers

Posted on Saturday, August 30, 2008 by Robert Hood

My awareness of J.T. Petty’s work, as writer and director, is pretty well restricted to Mimic: Sentinel (2003) — the third film in the series that originated with Guillermo Del Toro’s Mimic (1997) and one that hasn’t gained much of a profile among horror fans. The film was, however, extremely impressive, taking a completely different tack to its franchise predecessors and to monster films in general. Original, stylish and intelligent, it used its limited budget well by grafting the Mimic mythos onto a Rear Window scenario, thus giving the film a narrow perspective and considerable claustrophobic intensity. I thought it one of the most interesting horror sequels I’d seen for a long time and one that deserved better than it got.

Now Petty has turned his sights on another grafting, with a hybrid horror/western take on the monster movie called The Burrowers. The wild west may not be at the peak of its popularity in contemporary Hollywood, but there have been several  horror/western cross-pollinisations in recent times, including the ghostly Dead Birds (2004), zombie-comedy Undead or Alive (2007),  and even The Quick and the Undead (2006), which, though set in a post-apocalyptic future, is “western” in tone and appearance. Then of course there was Tremors 4: The Legend Begins, which was a prequel to the classic monster flick Tremors (1990), set in the old west.  This latter is particularly relevant to The Burrowers, as both films deal with burrowing, underground monsters preying on the human surface dwellers.

After a family is brutally murdered in their home, a group of ranchers and infantry men embark on a crusade to find the killers. When a mysterious killer attacks their ranks, they discover that carnivorous creatures are hiding beneath the surface of the earth waiting to feed on their flesh. (Bloody-Disgusting.com)

According to initial reports, the film takes a serious approach to its horrors and this differentiates it from its tongue-in-cheek and witty predecessor. Director Petty has expressed some surprise over the seemingly inevitable comparison with Tremors, pointing out that while that film is “an awesome fun monster movie”,  The Burrowers has “a completely different tone and a completely different world” and what he wanted to do was “make something more in line with The Thing and Aliens.” By which he means “serious”, I assume.

As in many of the best horror films, the horror of the monsters — as frightful as they are — tends at times to be overshadowed by the inhumanity of the humans toward each other. The Old West was a violent time, with fear ruling much of the relationship between settlers and the native Indians, and this is reflected in the film’s action and its underlying metaphors.

The exact nature of the monster, though, remains unclear. Petty comments that the design of the monsters was something central to the success of the film as he sees it.

“A lot of what I wanted to do with the movie was create a new monster … All of the movies I’m seeing today are 80-percent vampires, 15-percent Frankenstein [retreads] and the rest … werewolves. I love what Guillermo [del Toro] is doing in trying to create new monsters, so with The Burrowers I’m trying to do something new. Part of what I love about Aliens is that they have a good set of rules and how the monster works and part of what’s so scary in watching that movie for the first time is trying to figure out what is happening.” (ShockTillYouDrop interview)

So far the only two visual clues we have regarding the monsters are this piece of conceptual artwork:

Burrowers conceptual art

… this hole in the ground:

Burrowers screenshot 1

and this shadowy glimpse taken from the trailer.

Burrowers screenshot 2

Are they humanoid? Are they big? It’s hard to say at this stage. Either way, this looks like an exciting project and one I’m looking forward to seeing more of.

You can view the newly released trailer on Twitch here.

  • Interview with J.T. Petty
  • via Kaiju Search-Robot Avery
Posted in Film, Horror, News | 3 Comments

In the Post: The Ghosts

Posted on Friday, August 29, 2008 by Robert Hood

The Ghosts logo

The Ghosts (Australia-2009 [in post-production]; dir. Mathew J. Wilkinson)

Tagline:

There are 36 claimed haunted locations in Australia.

They missed one.

Synopsis:

A family vacation in the Australian outback turns horribly wrong when the family is taken hostage by a pair of sinister outlaws inside an abandoned hotel. The group stumble upon a harrowing discovery – the hotel is alive with the spirits of the damned searching for their own escape. Isolated and cut off from the world the innocent must now join forces with the criminals in order to survive the night. Filled with old-school special effects, The Ghosts crosses Schlock Horror with the American Western to create an all-new experience to the Australian horror film.

Going on the YouTube teaser trailer (below), the new Australian ghost flick The Ghosts looks suspiciously like it might be an exercise in endurance for those affected by cinematic kinetosis. In fact the trailer makes those high-profile “found-footage” jerky flicks Cloverfield and Diary of the Dead — not to mention The Blair Witch Project before them — seem almost static. Whatever the merits of the film itself — and it definitely looks promising — this doesn’t augur well for a non-nauseating film experience.

Hopefully this extreme jerkiness is confined to the teaser and the film itself will be more considerate of delicate stomachs.

The Poster [atmospheric mix]:

The Ghosts Poster 1

The Poster [in-your-face mix]:

The Ghosts Poster 2

Given my prediliction for the spooky, The Ghosts looks like it could be a goer. At any rate the Aussie outback setting and interestingly atypical haunted house show definite promise. I’ll be keeping an eye on this one.

Speaking of the haunted house, it seems to be a real place, and, according to the director, genuinely haunted. At least, that’s the story…

Go to the film’s MySpace page for production pictures and a video of cast interviews.

  • Robwil Productions MySpace page
  • Thanks, Avery, for the heads-up.
Posted in Film, Ghosts, News, Teaser | 1 Comment

Update: Gualagon

Posted on Friday, August 29, 2008 by Robert Hood

Sometimes you get to influence the makers of movies and related works — it has to be one of the best features of the internet’s ability to provide cross-cultural and virtually instantaneous communication between fans and creators.

The makers of the daikaiju-inspired audioplay Gualagon have indicated that while the play itself will be in the German language, and they won’t be producing an English version at this time, they are willing to consider bringing out an English booklet to go with the soundtrack release.

new Gualagon pic

So indicate your interest, and let’s hope we non-German speakers can experience the giant-monster audio spectacle along with its primary audience! All you need do is send them an email saying you’re interested.

  • You can read  the open letter and find the email address here.
  • And here is the previous Backbrain article on the project.

Below are two more scenes visualised from the audio story:

new Gualagon pic 2

new Gualagon pic 3

Posted in Daikaiju, Giant Monsters, Update | 34 Comments

B-Flick Invasion

Posted on Thursday, August 28, 2008 by Robert Hood

martian-sidebarDuring a routine close encounter the other day — somewhere between an orgy of cornfield art and the usual anal probing — I got into conversation with my tall, google-eyed captor, whose long, pointy teeth should have been a serious impediment to talking but who managed it through a subsidiary mouth in his left armpit.

Seems he was quite a Bug-Eyed Monster About Town and a big celebrity from here to the IOK-1 Galaxy. He’s been on Earth making a new movie, directed by a local by the name of Solomon Mortamur and filmed in Trafalgar, Indiana. So, ever vigilant, I took the opportunity to ask him about it.

It Came From Trafalgar (US-2008; dir. Solomon Mortamur)

Undead Backbrain: So, Zegre-snooz … I can call you Zegre-snooz, can I?

Zegre-snooz: Sure. Why not? It’s pronounced Tom-Cruise, but if you find Zegre-snooz easier, go right ahead. Everyone calls me that.

UB: Well, Zegre-snooz, tell us about the film. Solomon has described it as “outrageous” and “the first black and white independent horror sci-fi epic”. Yet the website and the artwork make it look like a sort of 1950s schlock sci-fi parody. What’s your take on it?

Z: Plain and simple? “Epic” is closest. This movie encapsulates the ambitions and imperial aspirations of the Martian people…

UB: You’re actually from Mars? But Mars is a planet-wide wasteland.

Z: Not your Mars. Our Mars is in another galaxy entirely. The point is, you foolish humans will see this film as a weird piece of B-film entertainment. But it’s a Sirius drama.

UB: A serious drama? It looks like a wacked-out comedy to me.

Z: Sirius, you idiot. Canis Majoris. In the constellation Canis Major. That’s where I come from. Clean out your ears, for god’s sake.

UB: Hey, don’t poke me there. That’s not my ear.

Z: Really? I thought humans heard everything through that.

UB: Well, we don’t.

Trafalgar poster

UB: Anyway, to get back to the movie, if it’s not a sort of horror/sci-fi comedy, why is it being advertised with that comic-style artwork?

Z: Well, to be frank, that Mortamur bloke didn’t understand what was going on. We were manipulating the script in order to tell the story we wanted to tell, in order to set the stage for our Final Scene…

UB: Final Scene? What’s the Final Scene?

Z: Never mind. It’s nothing you need to concern yourself with … yet. The point is, the so-called director was merely our puppet. You need to understand that we Martians have a different way of looking at reality. What you foolishly see as humour and parodic allusions to trash cinema of the past for us provides powerful metaphors with which we can express the deepest, darkest and most evil passions of the anime mundi as we perceive it.

UB: Okay. Well, It Came From Trafalgar has a bus-load of famous actors from B-flicks, like the scream queens Brinke Stevens and Linnea Quigley…

It Came From Trafalgar 3

UB: … not to mention the Texas Chainsaw Massacre guy himself — ol’ Leatherface, Gunnar Hansen…

Gunnar and girls

UB: … as well as Bill Hinzman (of Night of the Living Dead fame) as “Zombie #1” and Phantasm‘s Reggie Bannister. Among others.

Z: Ha! The pathetic publicity department doesn’t understand where the real talent lies. I and my comrades are famous across a million galaxies. The wealth of Sirius talent we represent has never before been equalled in a Terran film.

Martian group

UB: None of you look like serious talent to me.

Z: Watch it, buddy! I’m getting a little tired of your attitude. You should take us more Siriusly.

UB: Sorry. How about telling us what it’s about then?

Z: It’s about the superiority of the Zongolian Martian race!

Martians dressed up

UB: I mean the story. Can you tell us about the actual story?

Z: I could, but I’d have to disintegrate you and all your readers afterwards. That will happen in due course, but now is not the time.

UB: What do you mean “In due course”?

Z: Nothing, nothing. I can’t speak of it yet.

UB: Okay then, how about a personal question? Did you enjoy the shoot?

Z: Sure. The booze, the girls… it was great! What’s not to like?

It Came From Trafalgar 1

UB: What about the music then? There’s quite a line-up of musicians involved — Eerie Von (of Danzig and The Misfits), for example. And there’s music CDs coming out under the franchise. Is this a big part of it?

Z: Of course it is, you simian moron. The music is the key to our ambitions. Deeply embedded in the soundscape are subliminal instructions that all you pathetic terrans will be unable to resist!

UB: What?

Z: The superiority of the Martian race will be totally vindicated. You cannot resist us. Once this film achieves the status of “cult classic” and it has seeped into the subconscious minds of humans everywhere, our real intent shall become clear. You will all be exterminated! Exterminate! Exterminate!

UB: Isn’t that copyrighted?

Z: Copyrighted?

UB: You know, it’s a Dalek catch-phrase. You’re going to be in big trouble, mate. The Daleks don’t take kindly to… well, anyone really.

Z: Daleks? These Daleks are pretty nasty, are they?

UB: I’ll say. And they’ve been around for a long time. They’re survivors.

Z: [chucking me out the nearest airlock] Sorry. We’ve gotta get going now. We’ll talk again… after you’ve seen the film. [Nervously] There’ll be no exterminating though. Just a pleasant little apocalypse. Bye!

Necro Zongolian

So, folks, keep watching this space. You need to stay informed. As we find out more about this explosively suspicious situation, we’ll let you know.

In the meantime, you can see what information does exist at the film’s website.

Posted in Film, News | 3 Comments