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It is on the eve of the new Millennium that I behold the consummation of my efforts…

FEARFUL FEATURE



American Film Market: A November to Dismember

Part Four

By ANTHONY TIMPONE

In the first two parts of my American Film Market journal (see previous articles here and here), I reviewed a raft of new horror flicks. Last time, I revealed some of the foreign fright-film action going on at the AFM (www.afma.com) headquarters, where attendance during the November 2-9 industry event reached an all-time high of 8,014. Everyone had plenty to scream about.

“The insane volume of horror titles on display there was so overwhelming,” one participating Canadian producer told me later on the Fangoria.com bulletin boards. “It’s a miracle to me that anybody gives a rat’s ass about it at all… [Because] 90 percent of that stuff is Z-grade, microbudget crap that no one in his or her right mind would ever want to see. The genre is so watered down and mired in these derivative, storyless, talentless excuses for horror ‘films’ that it’s impossible to differentiate one from the other.”
Well, I’ll give it my best shot.

MARKET OF THE DEAD
Despite the box-office disappointment of George A. Romero’s LAND OF THE DEAD, zombie movies are in no short supply at the 26th edition of the AFM. The high-profile remakes number Nu Image’s DAY OF THE DEAD (with HALLOWEEN: H20 director Steve Miner and TAMARA scripter Jeffrey Reddick attached) at the top. Romero’s film has been reimagined to include a bioterrorist origin for the ghouls, who also display more intelligence and cunning while preying on the living. Writer/director Bob Clark’s redux of his own CHILDREN SHOULDN’T PLAY WITH DEAD THINGS adds new elements to the story of his 1973 original as well: The zombies talk this time and eventually commandeer a Coast Guard cutter and a helicopter as they seek to leave their island setting behind for the bright lights of Miami!

In other living dead news, DAY OF THE DEAD recyclers Nu Image also began presales on ZOMBIES, about the reanimated corpses of children killed in an old mine collapse who return to exact revenge. Writer/director Damon Lemay (a former cameraman on THE LEGEND OF LUCY KEYES and ICE QUEEN) infects an entire ZOMBIE TOWN, where the blame falls on mysterious parasites for transforming the locals (and their pets!) into cannibalistic fiends. Co-writer/director Scott (SILENT ASSASSINS) Thomas unleashes PLANE DEAD, in which a lethal virus transforms passengers and crew on an airborne 747 (hopefully FLIGHTPLAN’s Jodie Foster and RED EYE’s Rachel McAdams are on board). AV Pictures claims Norman (BLADE II) Reedus and Terence (SUPERMAN II) Stamp will visit director Phil (ALONE) Claydon’s ZOMBIE ISLAND, a UK/Hungary co-production in which sleazy producers pit reality-show contestants against you-know-whats.

In the postapocalyptic world of tyro director Milko Davis’ RAIDERS OF THE DAMNED, Richard (EVIL BREED) Grieco leads a group of commandos into the zombie quarantine zone to rescue a brilliant scientist. And finally, just when undead cinema couldn’t get any sillier, a legendary wrestler squares off against pulseless opponents at a besieged castle in Japan’s bizarrely titled OH! MY ZOMBIE MERMAID.

IDT: I DO TERROR
Besides hawking Mick Garris’ MASTERS OF HORROR series for international outlets, New Jersey-based IDT Entertainment descended on Santa Monica with a full slate of horror films for overseas buyers (expect these titles from Anchor Bay, an IDT subsidiary, in the U.S.). IDT signed TV producer Stephen (THE A-TEAM) Cannell to some kind of output deal, so witness here Cannell’s THE GARDEN, a new Antichrist tale with DAMIEN: OMEN II’s Lance Henriksen back as a servant of evil (Sean Young and Claudia Christian pay the bills too); the religious-themed LEFT IN DARKNESS, in which Monica (FREDDY VS. JASON) Keena plays a young woman who literally struggles between angels and demons and heaven and hell after her untimely death; and, previously mentioned on this site, Cannell efforts TOOTH FAIRY, IT WAITS (from LEFT IN DARKNESS’ Steven R. Monroe) and DEMON HUNTER.

IDT is also peddling several films from Mindfire Entertainment (ROOM 6), among them Kevin (THE FALLEN ONES) Vanhook’s genre star-packed VOODOO MOON (see item here) and Rob Zombie’s animated THE HAUNTED WORLD OF EL SUPERBEASTO, based on the metal star/director’s own comic book. Zombie describes EL SUPERBEASTO as “AUSTIN POWERS meets THE MUNSTERS by way of HARD DAY’S NIGHT.” How could he leave out Santo?

STILL SLASHING
The zombies keep comin’ and so does the similarly played-out retro slasher trend. We already told you about actor/director Conrad (MORK & MINDY) Janis’ BAD BLOOD here, but body-count fans can also keep their eyes peeled for HARVEST OF FEAR (has the notorious killer returned to Devil’s Lake 20 years after his original crimes?); actor/director Rick Jordan’s STAGE FRIGHT (a maniac knocking off performers in an old theater); SACRIFICE (four students go camping and…); Michael Bailey Smith (of the new HILLS HAVE EYES), ex-TARZAN Miles O’Keeffe and Lee (NECROMANCY) Purcell facing THE UNKNOWN (four teens head into the woods and…); TRESPASSERS (four surfing buddies hit a desolate beach where…); the gory SHUTTER (not the Thai hit)—the tagline warns “He just wanted a girlfriend,” but the poster has a buxom babe holding a bloody knife; and director Kevin (CHEERLEADER NINJAS) Campbell’s BACK\SLASH, in which, the flier promises, a maniac goes after “hot college girls listed on a popular website.” Meanwhile, THE ZODIAC, based on the true-life serial killer who plagued 1960s-era Northern California, toplines Justin Chambers, Robin (END OF DAYS) Tunney and AMITYVILLE HORROR 2005’s Philip Baker Hall. The film bears no relation to the big-budget David (SEVEN) Fincher movie tackling the same subject, or the recent bottom-of-the-barrel Uli Lommel knockoff.

CREATURE FEATURES
Everybody loves a good monster movie, and the ratings popularity of Sci Fi Channel’s Saturday-night originals has inspired an ongoing rash of CGI critterfests. The two that stand out the most at the AFM:

• THE BREED: A killer-dog opus, helmed by former Romero/Wes Craven assistant director Nick Mastandrea. The footage I watched at the First Look suite seemed exciting enough, buoyed by the presence of Michelle (LOST) Rodriguez. Craven executive-produced this South Africa-lensed film. The same country played host to PREY, where lions hunt humans Peter (ROBOCOP) Weller and Bridget (I, ROBOT) Moynahan. Local boy Darrel (DRACULA 3000) Roodt directs.

• MINOTAUR (art pictured on homepage): First Look teamed with Lions Gate on this Bronze Age horror/fantasy about a young shepherd battling the ancient mythical beast from Greece. The genre-friendly cast (Tom Hardy, Tony Todd, Rutger Hauer and Hammer queen Ingrid Pitt), monsteriffic CGI work and strong production values (added value courtesy of stages in Luxembourg) may raise MINOTAUR above the norm, at least in the impressive clips I spied.

Here’s a checklist of other coming monster mashes:

• THE BONE EATER: An Indian legend returns to menace an Arizona work crew.
• SSSSLITHER (see item here): Not to be confused with James Gunn’s upcoming horror/comedy of almost the same name, this one comes via veteran Roger Corman producers Mike Elliott and Rob Kerchner and involves mutant eels terrorizing the Florida Everglades.
• SAVAGE PLANET: British director Paul Lynch, who brought us the Canadian chillers HUMONGOUS and PROM NIGHT during the crimson-soaked ’80s, makes an overdue genre comeback with this sci-fier. The plot: Space colonists (among them TV DEAD ZONE’s Sean Patrick Flanery) encounter a man-eating thing of some sort.
• WITHIN: Following in the footsteps of THE CAVE and THE DESCENT—but at a fraction of the cost—eight spelunkers seeking adventure in the bowels of the earth (this time in Central Asia) wind up pursued by an unknown presence. Cast and crew on this HD feature remain equally unknown.
• SWARMED (see item here): Killer bees take wing again in this Paul (SNAKEHEAD TERROR) Ziller film, scripted by BEYOND RE-ANIMATOR’s Miguel Tejada-Flores. Tim (TRANCERS) Thomerson, Michael (STARGATE SG-1) Shanks and model Carol Alt try not to get stung. The same producers, Canada’s Tom (SCREAMERS) Berry and his Imagination Worldwide shingle, also completed KAW (killer ravens; see item here) and the new John (GINGER SNAPS) Fawcett thriller LAST EXIT (two women drivers make a deadly wrong turn), with a DECOYS 2 in active development as well.
• BOA and VENGEANCE: Twin titanic Thai terrors. In the first, engineering students in the jungle get squeezed by an oversized reptile, a “stronger version of Anaconda…even more vicious than the deadly Python,” while the second introduces a giant snakelike demon seeking to collect human souls.
• CHOKER: Alien FX by Todd (SLITHER) Masters and music by Harry (FRIDAY THE 13TH) Manfredini distinguish this entry, which also throws in a serial killer amongst its extraterrestrial-intruders scenario for good measure.
• TIKI: An evil little package from producer Fred Olen Ray and director Ron (HOLLYWOOD MORTUARY) Ford, with the titular Hawaiian doll on the warpath.
• CHAIN REACTION: Germany’s resident goremeister Olaf (LEGION OF THE DEAD) Ittenbach transforms a man into a hideous monstrosity in this film from Mainline Releasing. The same company goes back to CHAIN REACTION’s apparent inspiration for JEKYLL + HYDE, co-writer/director Nick Stillwell’s modern take on the often-told Robert Louis Stevenson chestnut.
• SCORPIUS GIGANTUS and TYRANOSAURUS WRECKS: Two “new” Roger Corman presentations produced by his New Concorde company, both starring Jeff Fahey (well, he shot the first one in the morning and the second one after he got back from lunch). The lousy-looking CGI insects in SCORPIUS GIGANTUS represent bioengineered mutations comprised of scorpion, cockroach, human and titanium (?) DNA, while poor Tony Todd joins Fahey in John Carl Buechler’s TYRANNOSAURUS, battling recycled CARNOSAUR footage for the umpteenth time.
• CREEPIES II: LAS VEGAS ATTACK: Just when things couldn’t get any schlockier, along comes the latest from producer Dave (THINGS) Sterling’s cheese grater. Director Jeff Leroy handles the big bug wrangling once more.
• WEEEVIL, EELS, THE ANTS and THE VAULT: A British outfit called Rebellion Films set up shop at the AFM to raise money for this self-explanatory quartet. Huge crawlies figure into the first three, while THE VAULT tosses together Vlad Tepes, an ancient supernatural creature and zombies (of course!) in modern-day Romania.

FAMILIAR FACES
It’s fun noting the roster of recognizable genre stars and TV favorites turning up in obscure AFM product. For example:

• David (KILL BILL) Carradine looks into THE MIRROR, which reflects murder and dark secrets at an old house. Former editor Stephen (BLOODY MURDER II) Eckleberry steers this vehicle.
• Karen (HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES) Black and Michael (BLOODRAYNE) Pare spill ANGEL’S BLOOD, about an entity messing with a mentally ill woman.
• Udo (BLOOD FOR DRACULA) Kier takes part in CHILDREN OF WAX, in which battling Eastern European gangs get blamed for a serial murder spree.
• THAT ’70S SHOW’s Wilmer Valderrama toplines the CROW-esque/comic book-derived EL MUERTO (for DAHMER producer Larry Rattner), while his Fox co-star Laura Prepon plays the true-life Canadian serial killer KARLA.
• FINAL DESTINATION and DISTURBING BEHAVIOR’s Chad E. Donella discovers that the 9 LIVES OF MARA belong to an evil witch masquerading as a stepmom.

Whew! As you can see, with all this horror, the American Film Market appears to be rapidly turning into the American Fango Market. Be on the lookout for some of these movies in the year ahead. The more of these that make it to DVD and late-night cable, the more likely we will see much of the same offerings at the next AFM. Happy screenings.

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