INDIE FILMS YOU SHOULD BE STOKED FOR: VOLUME I
Article Posted on: October 1, 2010
While the general public begins anticipating various upcoming Hollywood blockbusters, such as the extremely boring-looking The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader, the epicly-trailered Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the "gee, this looks like it'd be a cool video game" sci-fi thriller Skyline, and the hopefully final film in the SAW franchise, I look to indie film community for succor. Whenever I have my doubts about the current state of cinema; whenever I believe that every last grain of originality is gone, I always manage to discover a seed of hope in the independent film world.
Submitted for your approval are six upcoming indie films that are in various stages of production; ranging from "completed and ready for theatrical release," to "still on the drawing board." These aren't listed in any particular order, but each films looks (or sounds) extremely promising and I personally cannot wait until they are released. So without further ado, here are six indie films that you should be eagerly anticipating! (Warning: The following article may contain spoilers!)
MONSTERS
Release Date: Monsters will get a limited theatrical run on October 29th, 2010. However, it is currently available to "rent" at various online retailers, including Amazon.com!
Official Website: http://www.monstersfilm.com/
The Plot: Filmed for a paltry fifteen-thouand dollars at various exotic locations in Belize, Costa Rica, and Guatemala, Gareth Edwards' Monsters if anything, looks quite impressive from the trailers. The film takes place six years after a NASA space probe crashlands in Mexico, bringing with it an organism that "infects" the surrounding environment, resulting in twisted mutations of Earth's flora and fauna.
The combined might of U.S. and Mexican military forces keeps the new encroaching species at bay, and soon a quarantine zone is formed between the U.S./Mexico border. And that my friends is just the backstory to this tale!
The bulk of the movie actually revolves around a U.S. journalist named Andrew Kaulder who agrees to lead an American tourist through "The Quarantine Zone," and back to the Land of Opportunity. The buzz over this movie is huge, and though I'm inclined to think that this will be a great film, I'm wondering if it is being a bit over-hyped. Critics (particularly those that write for Ain't It Cool News) are touting it as "awesome" and "the best giant monster movie I've seen in years," which would lead you to believe that this is an action-packed, effects-driven tour-de-force. As would the film's trailer:
However, it seems that the movie isn't like that at all, and is instead, a dramatic romance with a bit of a sci-fi twist. Are there giant monsters? Yes. (Yay!) Are they the focal point? Not at all. (Boo!) General concensus amongst the more forgiving and intellectual filmgoers that have shared their thoughts on the web, is that Monsters is a good, emotion-driven film, with long stretches of well... nothing. (Which is understandable. Sometimes, to achieve a feature-length running time, indie film makers have to pad out their films.) On the plus side, the effects are supposed to be quite impressive and bely the film's tiny budget, plus the two leads reportedly put in great performances.
Regardless of everyone else's opinions, I still have high (albeit lowered) expectations for this movie and plan on renting it off the web sometime this week, since it probably won't be playing in any theaters around here. With all that said....
Why You Should Be Stoked For This Movie: It's rare to see a new giant monster movie these days, and even rarer to see one that isn't a parody, so that alone should get you at least a little bit excited for Monsters. Also, if this movie is even half as good as I heard, then that could mean a multitude of things, such as MORE giant monster films being greenlit in Hollywood! And who knows, maybe Gareth Edwards could very well be the next Neill Blomkamp (District 9)... or even the next Neil Marshall (Doomsday, Dog Soldiers, The Descent)!
TUCKER & DALE VS. EVILRelease Date: ?
Official Website: http://www.tuckeranddale.com/
The Plot: Two relatively harmless and well-meaning hillbillies (the titular Tucker and Dale played by Alan Tudyk and Tyler Labine respectively) find themselves a "Summer place" in the woods and attempt to fix the property up a bit. Nearby in the woods, a group of horny teens are camping out for the weekend, with nothing but sex and booze on their minds. Eventually both worlds hilariously collide, resulting in accidental deaths and gore galore, in this send up of slasher cinema!
What we have here folks is a clever spin on a tired sub-genre. Instead of deconstructing slasher films, much like in the fantastic Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon, this movie reverses the characters' roles. Tucker and Dale are supposed to be the villains here, but ultimately become the victims and vice versa. (Seriously, scroll down a bit and watch the trailer and tell me that this movie doesn't look like a lot of fun.)
Oh yeah, you know you want to see this, but there's a problem... as of my writing this, Tucker & Dale vs. Evil is trapped in limbo. (i.e. It is making its rounds at various film festivals and looking for a distributor.) Surprisingly, no one has picked up this film for North American distribution and I am completely dumbfounded as to why. So spread the word, and let anyone and everyone out on the web know that you want to see this movie! And if anyone reading this happens to have any connections in the film distribution community, toss these guys a bone! This movie needs to be seen by a wider audience damn it!
Why You Should Be Stoked For This Movie: Because it works! The art of cinematic parody is clearly dead; just take a look at Date Movie, Epic Movie, Meet the Spartans, or the last few films in the increasingly awful Scary Movie franchise. (Or better yet, don't.) It seems like absolutely no one in Hollywood knows how to write, or shoot, a parody film these days.
Now take a gander at Tucker & Dale vs. Evil, a film that parodies the slasher sub-genre perfectly. It spoofs the standard slasher (and horror) movie conventions (e.g. partying teens in the woods, chainsaw wielding rednecks living in a spooky cabin) by switching the roles of the protagonists and the antagonists. Despite being good enough to garner a rating of well over 8.0 over at the Internet Movie Database, a slew of positive reviews and internet buzz, and despite being a crowd favorite (and multiple-award winning film) at various film festivals.... not a single distributor has snapped it up yet?
To show your support of this film and to keep up to date on its festival screenings and (eventual) release date(s), make sure you like Tucker & Dale vs. Evil on Facebook!
THE LAST LOVECRAFT: RELIC OF CTHULHURelease Date: ?
Official Website: http://thelastlovecraft.com/
The Plot: An ordinary working stiff named Jeff is given an ancient relic by a mysterious old man. Said relic is apparently a key to unleashing Cthulhu upon our world, and soon Jeff and his buddies are off on a quest to protect the relic piece from various cults and Lovecraft-inspired monstrosities.
Ever since I saw the trailer for this indie production I have wanted to see it quite badly. H.P. Lovecraft's tales have always fascinated me, and I usually go out of my way to watch a film that is based on a Lovecraft tale. (e.g. The Curse, Dagon, The Unnamable, et al.)
However, unlike other horror writers such as Stephen King or Edgar Allen Poe, Lovecraft's stories have mostly remained unfilmed, and certainly haven't ever been played for laughs. And that's the biggest reason I want to check this independent feature out: I want to see if the humor works well with the Lovecraft universe. Plus the trailer makes The Last Lovecraft look epic, and showcases some pretty nifty "men in monster suit" action!
The last bit of news that I heard about The Last Lovecraft's release, was that Dark Sky Films had picked up the distribution rights, and were prepping the movie for a DVD and VOD release date in October. It has not yet come to pass, so now I'm left waiting and wondering when I'll finally get to see this movie.
Why You Should Be Stoked For This Movie: Because this is the first time a movie (to my knowledge) has taken the risk of mixing humor with the horrifying creatures and worlds of H.P. Lovecraft. It's a ballsy move, and I'm curious to see how it all translates to the big (or little) screen. This movie gives me a Shaun of the Dead and Fanboys vibe, and seeing as how it was the official selection of the Slamdance Film Festival (which gave lots of love to a certain cult fave known as Six-String Samurai back in 1998) I have a really good feeling about it!
RARE EXPORTS: A CHRISTMAS TALERelease Date: December 3, 2010... in Finland.
Official Website: http://www.rareexportsmovie.com/en
The Plot: Based upon two hilarious short films where a group of hunters trap and train a "Father Christmas" before shipping it out to a foreign country, Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale seems to be one gloriously strange film!
The movie follows the hunters from the aforementioned Rare Exports Inc shorts, and their discovery of a crate buried 486-meters deep inside Korvatunturi Mountain in Finland.
Within the crate, they discover the Santa Claus, and prepare to sell him to the highest bidder. But Father Christmas apparently doesn't plan on being sold off without a fight, resulting in explosions, death, and mass reindeer suicides(?)!
This movie looks totally insane, and it (thankfully) seems to retain the dark sense of humor from the two Rare Exports shorts, but definitely has a far more epic feel to it. Here is a quick look at the real Santa Claus boys and girls:
Watching that trailer makes me giddy as Hell; I can't wait to see this movie! Of course, I will have to wait because it probably won't be released here in the U.S. for a while. Rare Exports: A Christmas Tale has already made its festival rounds worldwide and will be released theatrically in Finland on December 3. After that, I'm pretty sure this film will go global and hopefully reach us in a few months time. Then again... in the spirit of the season, I believe the film should be brought here to American shores before or around December 24th, don't you?
Why You Should Be Stoked For This Movie: There have been plenty of killer Santa films over the years, but here's one that actually has some merit, as Korvatunturi, Finland is the designated home of Father Christmas. Aside from that though, I really dig writer/director Jalmari Hellander's dark sense of humor, and hope that the feature-length film plays out as well as his two previous shorts (which you can easily find on Youtube). We've seen Santa as a psychotic and depraved murderer, but now we'll get to see Old Saint Nick portrayed as a vicious animal that has to be put down. Is it wrong for me to be excited about this?!
MEN IN SUITS
Release Date: Still in production. Look for a release sometime next year.
Official Website: http://wyrdstuff.com/
The Plot: Have you ever wondered about the guys under those rubber monster suits we've seen in numerous films? Who are they? What got them into the film biz? Why do they enjoy trapping themselves in a skin-tight costume and pushing themselves to the limit of exhaustion? Well the folks at Wyrd Productions have set out to answer those questions and more in their all new documentary, Men in Suits.
I am extremely excited for this project because I am a big fan of rubber monsters! Ever since I was a youngster and saw my first Godzilla film, I was hooked. Now, several decades later, I still love seeing "men in suits" terrorizing puny, fleeing humans (much preferred over CGI, thank you very much) and its great to see that the art of suit-acting hasn't died. In fact, thanks to visionary directors like Guillermo del Toro, actors in creature suits are just as popular as ever.
Thus far, greats like Tom Woodruff Jr. (the xenomorph from the Alien series), Doug Jones (Abe Sapien from Hellboy), Brian "Creature Boy" Steele (The Relic, Predators, et al.), and many other actors and directors have been interviewed. But the truly exciting interviews have yet to be conducted. Why? Well, mainly because the film makers have to travel to the Land of the Rising Sun to interview the true masters of suitmation acting!
Why You Should Be Stoked For This Movie: Like I need to explain? While some may complain that this documentary ruins the mysticism of certain onscreen characters, I think this will be a fascinating look at a group of the hardest working actors in Hollywood! And as if that weren't exciting enough, these gents are planning on making a journey to Japan to interview legendary suitmation stars, such as Godzilla-portrayers, Haruo Nakajima and Kenpachiro Satsuma! Monster movie fans rejoice, for the real stars of monster cinema are finally getting their day in the sun!
HALLOW POINTERelease Date: Still in pre-production; look for it sometime in 2011.
Official Website: http://hallowpointe.com/
The Plot: Henry and Jane are a couple whose marriage is on the rocks. In a final attempt to rekindle their love, they decide to stay at a quaint little bed & breakfast called Madeline's Closet.
Things seem to be going along the right track until night falls, and brings with it a full moon, and a night of horror that this strained couple won't soon forget. Though it is, for all intensive purposes, a creature feature, Hallowe Pointe will be played straight and offer up plenty of drama, romance, and thrills.
While that might not exactly sell you on this film, then allow me to introduce some of the cast: Leslie Easterbrook (The Devil's Rejects), Tony Todd (The Candyman), and Kane Hodder (Hatchet II)! The rest of the supporting cast is impressive to say the least (Tiffany Shepis, Betsy Rue, Scarlet Salem, Belinda Balaski), effects work will be done by John Carl Buechler (director of Troll and Friday the 13th Part VII: The New Blood), and the musical score will be supplied by Harry Manfredini! (Egads! It's like a Friday the 13th Part VII reunion!)
Production on Hallow Pointe starts soon I believe, and hopefully it all comes together for director Bobby Ray Akers Jr. Werewolf movies are too far and few between, and good werewolf movies are an even rarer breed. Here's hoping that this will become the next The Howling and not the next American Werewolf in Paris.
Why You Should Be Stoked For This Movie: Because its a love story.... with a werewolf! Truthfully, I haven't seen a really good lycanthrope film since the 80's, (well, ok that's a lie, I did really enjoy Dog Soldiers and the Ginger Snaps trilogy) and seeing as how there's a lot of talent behind this project, I have to admit that I am pumped! With such a great cast lined up, John Buechler doing the creature effects, and Kane Hodder portraying the film's furry antagonist, I can't see how this movie could fail.