Exclusive: Mothman Flies Again

No, not a Watchmen superhero or the brand name of a pest extermination company, but the notorious cryptozoological critter that has already been given cinematic treatment in The Mothman Prophecies (US-2002; dir. Mark Pellington) and Mothman (US-2010; dir. Sheldon Wilson), and has been explored further in assorted documentaries, such as the feature-length Eyes of the Mothman (US-2011; dir. Matthew J. Pellowski).

Here, based on "actual" sightings, is what it's supposed to look like:

The phantom's appearance is said to presage disasters... well, one in particular -- the collapse of the Silver Bridge that crossed the Ohio River, between Point Pleasant, West Virginia and Kanauga, Ohio on the evening of December 15, 1967, killing 46 people. In the year leading up to the collapse, Point Pleasant had been haunted by this spectre. In the aftermath of the collapse, bizarre stories of premonitions and warnings came to light, and connections were drawn between reports of similar sightings and tragedies worldwide.

Of course, apart from the wings and prophecies, it was the glowing red eyes that caught the imagination of UFOlogists, who speculated that the creature was some sort of time-saavy, interdimensional alien.

Fascinating, no doubt, and now that fascination has given rise to another version of the story -- Two Red Eyes, an independent production starring, and being written and directed by, Austin Cochran (pictured above in a scene from the film).

Take a look at the trailer:

Cochrain (pictured below) commented to Undead Backbrain: 

Two Red Eyes is a personal project. There is a real film to go along with the trailer and the final product should be released eventually -- hopefully soon. As far as the cast/crew, everything was done by me. I began the project to show a few friends and then it became so much more ambitious.

Early Teaser:

Not too much by way of plot information yet, but check back if the Mothman holds a place in your heart. It looks like it could be a good film in the independent, low-budget spectrum.

For more, check out Cochran's YouTube channel and Vimeo page.

More Images: Click on them to enlarge.

• Source: Austin Cochran via Avery Guerra. Written by Robert Hood.

Night Claws Trailer is on the Loose!

There are killers on the loose and one of them isn't human. The trailer for Bigfoot horror flick Night Claws (US-2011; dir. David A. Prior) has been released into the wild.

Read more about the new creature feature on Undead Brainspasm here.

You can check out the film's website here.

Behind the Scenes of Night Claws:

Source: via Avery Guerra

Exclusive: The Night of the Chupacabras

The chupacabra is a cryptid with a territory that centers on Latin American countries, particularly Puerto Rica and Mexico, though it has been sighted in the US as well. The name is Spanish and derives from two words meaning "goat sucker". Yes, it has a habit of drinking the blood of livestock, especially goats.

The chupacabra featured in the X-Files episode, "El Mundo Gira" and came up against the Scooby Gang in the film Scooby-Doo and the Monster of Mexico. There have been several independent films featuring the legendary critter -- such as El Chupacabra (UK/US-2003; dir. Brennon Jones, Paul Wynne); Chupacabra Terror (US-2005; dir. John Shepphird); the Troma flick Legend of the Chupacabra (US-2000; dir. Joe Castro); Guns of El Chupacabra (US-1997; dir. Donald G. Jackson); Night of the Chupacabra (US-2005; dir. Ted Rivera), a sci-fi parody that interprets the chupacabra as an alien; and assorted other low-budget efforts. Coming up in 2011 is, apparently, a studio-based US horror thriller titled Chupacabra, starring Billy Zane, Daniel Stern and Daryl Hannah.

Cryptid Hunter Avery has located an interesting-looking Brazilian film featuring the Chupacabra, titled A Noite do Chupacabras (trans. Night of the Chupacabras). Directed by Rodrigo Aragão, it tells the story of a family feud sparked by something monstrous lurking in the jungle.

Synopsis (roughly translated):

A young couple returns to their land of origin in the interior of Espírito Santo in Brazil, a journey through forests and mountains full of mysteries, legends and natural beauty. Douglas Silva (Joel Caetano) finds his family upset over the mysterious death of their farm animals and old conflicts that have long plagued the area's rival families resurface. The Silva brothers are increasingly certain that the deaths were orchestrated by the neighbouring Carvalho family. However, Douglas' father knows that something more sinister lurks in the woods. With the families at war, they are faced with an evil greater than they can imagine. Between fights, chases, hunts and lots of shooting, the mythical creature, the Chupacabra, reveals itself for the first time. (Source)

Here is the teaser trailer:

Aragão's previous film was Mangue Negro, or Mud Zombies (2008), in which pollution of the local mangrove swamp causes zombie-like creatures to rise from the waters and do that thing that zombies do. (Source)

The Night of the Chupacabras, produced by Fábulas Negras Produções, is currently filming, and aims for a release date of July 2011. It is expected that it will have Spanish and English subtitles like the previous film.

Crew:

• Executive Producer: Hermann Pidner
• Director: Rodrigo Aragão
• Production: Kika Oliveira, Mayra Alarcón
• Production set: Ana Carolina Braga, Kika Oliveira and Mayra Alarcón
• Director of Photography: Secundo Rezende
• Camera: Secundo Rezende and Dani Marchesi
• Special Effects and Visual Effects: Rodrigo Aragão, Douglas Belasco, Murillo Ribeiro, Reginaldo Dallmaschio, and Alexandre Mello.
• Set Designer: Giovanni Coio, Ulisses Debian and Walderrama dos Santos
• Costumes: Mayra Alarcón
• Continuity: Giovanni Coio
• Editing Musical, Sound Design and Mixing: Hermano Pidner
• Pyrotechnics and Electronics: Rodrigo Aragão, Alzir Vaillant and Jorgemar de Oliveira.

Cast:

• Chupacabras: Walderrama dos Santos
• Kika Silva: Kika Oliveira
• Maria Alicia: Mayra Alarcón
• Mr. Pedro Silva: Markus Konka
• Mrs. Clara Silva: Margot Benatti
• Alzir Silva: Alzir Vaillant
• Douglas Silva: Joel Caetano
• Ricardo Silva: Ricardo Araújo
• Jorge Silva: Jorgemar de Oliveira
• Antonio Carvalho: Fonzo Squizzo
• Ivan Carvalho: Petter Baiestorf
• Agnaldo Carvalho: Foca Magalhães
• Reginaldo Carvalho: Reginaldo Secundo
• Raul Carvalho: Raul Lorza
• Raul Child: Hector
• Old Chico: Cristian Verardi
• Mrs. Italia Carvalho: Margaret Galvão
• Matilde Carvalho: Milena Zacchè
• Mr. Tadeu Carvalho: Secundo Rezende
• Mr. Otto: Afonso Abreu
• Alvaro: Eduardo Moraes
• Drunk: Hermann Pidner
• Movie Extras: Giovanni Coio, Ulisses Debian.

Below is a gallery of images from The Night of the Chupacabras, showing the location, the cast and some nudity and gore, but not the monster. Producer Mayra Alarcón told the Backbrain that "the appearance of the Chupacabras is being kept a secret until the debut of the film. It will be our surprise for the public." Director Aragão, who wrote the film, also designed the creature.

Note that, according to Alarcón, "the image that looks like a zombie is our Man with a Sack [that is, O Homem do Saco -- a version of the Bogeyman], a Latin myth about an old man who kidnaps children".


Gallery:

Sources: Producer Mayra Alarcón; Cine-Monstro; Recursozero. Research: Avery Guerra. Written (with additional research) by Robert Hood.

Mallika and Jennifer Lynch Get Snaky

Seen as a sort of Slumdog Millionaire for horror buffs, snake-fanciers and males generally, Hisss (India/US-2010; dir. Jennifer Chambers Lynch) stars Mallika Sherawat, one of India's sexiest female stars, as a shapeshifting Naga. (If you don't know what a naga is, go read this article on Undead Backbrain to catch up on the whole part-woman, part snake thing.)

Here's director Jennifer Lynch and Mallika Sherwat on set:

Says producer Govind Menon:

I definitely want people to see this film and say it is the greatest horror movie made in the history of cinema –- better than Hitchcock, better than The Exorcist.

Ambitious, eh? He sees Hisss as a genuinely international film -- the first Bollywood film to have the sort of money and Hollywood co-production backing that Jennifer Lynch brought with her to the project. When asked why it will appeal to Western audiences, he commented:

The vampire has been around for 200 hundred years, but this character has been around for 5,000 years... It crossed all of these different countries and cultures [India, China, and the Far East in general].

However, I would've thought this was a far more down-to-earth reason:

Mallika said of her role in the film (which is performed without dialogue):

I’m happy to be a part of this. For a snake that doesn’t speak, my character in the movie is very sexy, it’s venomous and it can swallow whole. A story like this comes only once in a lifetime. It’s a popular legend you are part of...

She added:

As it is, my parents have disowned me! Now, when they see me making love to a snake…?! Oh my God! And it was a rubbery, slimy, slithering snake. And Jennifer would tell me, ‘Lick it harder!’ Yuck!

Click on the above image to see it much larger.

You can read a longer article (from which I took the above quotes) on Buzzine Bollywood.

For more pictures from Hisss, the trailer and more info on the film, read Part 2 of the Undead Backbrain article "Of Snakes and Women" here.

And just for good measure, here's some pictures provided by Avery, who gives Mallika his vote for "Sexiest Actress of the Year". He comments: "I know the female cast of Assault Girls are all equally super-sexy but this lady makes a man-eating serpent sexy."

 

• Sources:  Bollywood Buzzine; BharatBytes; various Google searches.