Update: The Angry Sea

Keith Wong, director of the micro-budgeted nautical epic The Angry Sea (US-2010; dir. Keith Wong) has sent two clips from his giant monster flick to the Backbrain. He says of them:

The first one is a behind-the-scenes clip and the second is an establishing scene from the movie. Sorry, I don't have a monster clip to show right now; although I could put one up I would like to show a shorter teaser before revealing the unusual beasts in detail.

Although the movie is at times very gory in nature, I tried to set the pace and tone of the non-scary parts with a traditional style of storytelling so that when the actual dramatic stings occur, they will be utterly brutal. Well, that's my hope anyway.

He promises to send more revealing updates soon.

Shot entirely in a living room, the full-length film's budget is US$3,000. It is still in post production.

I actually rather like the sense of dramatic artifice created by the low-budget effects. Wong has embraced that approach, of necessity perhaps, but without trying to hide it. As theatrical aesthetics constantly illustrate, naturalistic realism isn't necessary in order to create an involving and effective dramatic experience. Hopefully this will be a case in point.

• Source: Keith Wong via Avery. Written by Robert Hood.

Getting a Head in the Swamp

A swamp, dumb teenagers displaying the usual rabid hormonal symptoms, murder ... and a zombie head. Oh, yes, and lots of punning jokes around the word "Head".

Swamphead (US-2011; dir. Justin Propp and Dustin Drover)

Synopsis:

An ancient relic is found at the bottom of a local lake which resurrects the severed head of Robert Gross, aka Swamphead. A group of hapless teens come across the relic and their weekend camping trip becomes a nightmare of blood, feces, and more head than a night in Tijuana. Can they destroy the zombie head or will they die trying?

Trailer:

Writers/Directors: Justin Propp and Dustin Drover
Producers: Justin Propp, Dustin Drover, Derrick Carey, Jon Hanusa
Starring: Josh Harmon, Andrea Smith, Damien Drover, Theodore Koepke, Shana Friedman

Upcoming showings:

• Oshkosh Horror Fest 22nd Oct.
• Internet Simulcast same night through Infini-tropolis.

Source: Jonathan Hanusa via Avery Guerra. Facebook page. Posted by Robert Hood

Creature From the Emerald Lagoon?

Another new film by Bobby Bragg, last featured on Undead Backbrain in regards to his film Maggots, is a creature-feature with an obvious lineage that harkens back to the classic Creature from the Black Lagoon (US-1954; dir. Jack Arnold). Instead of a bunch of scientists traveling down the Amazon in search of a prehistoric survival in an isolated tributary, this one has a scientist and his assistant gone missing in the vicinity of a backwater everglades community and adds assorted family concerns playing out around the shores of an idyllic lagoon, a lagoon which is decidedly emerald and well-lit instead of black and gloomily monochrome, and is home to a monster that may or may not look like its cinematic ancestor. Director Bragg isn't revealing much in regards to his creature's appearance just yet, beyond that obscure humanoid silhouette on the poster and the following two muck-shots.

Emerald Lagoon's original working title was, in fact, "The Creature in the Black Lagoon" -- but that was obviously felt to be a little derivative... Emerald Lagoon is described as "A Family Adventure Film", so I'm guessing there's little that's overly horrific in it.

Synopsis:

When micro scientist, Dr Connors and his assistant Libby Myers are discovered missing from the small everglades community of Emerald Lagoon, Libby's father becomes concerned and tries to find Roland, a local fishing guide to search for her... But the errant guide is currently in the doghouse with his wife, Alyssa, who has discovered that he has been anything but faithful. Local law enforcement, Sheriff Blackburn, is not taking the disappearance of the two seriously, and Roland is more concerned about getting his family back than looking for Libby. When Myers, frustrated on both fronts, decides to undertake a search on his own, he quickly discovers that the swamp is a scary and dangerous place. He retreats to approach Roland with another offer. Luckily Alyssa feels sympathy for Myers and urges Roland to help the desperate father. Roland and Alyssa's young daughter Sophie, upset with her parents over the breakup, wanders into the swamp. A suspicious creature from the muck lurks in the waters of Emerald Lagoon, and patiently waits as Sophie treks deeper into the jungle... 

Trailer:

More Images: (Click on the images to enlarge)

Details:

• AMERICAN INTERGLOBAL MEDIA LLC and SOROTV present a Bobby Bragg film.
• EXECUTIVE PRODUCERS - Bobby Bragg, Grant Austin Waldman
• PRODUCED, DIRECTED and EDITED by Bobby Bragg
• WRITTEN BY Bobby Bragg, Kameron Devine, John Stanford Anderson
• DIRECTOR OF PHOTOGRAPHY - John Stanford Anderson

Cast:
Chris Romero "Male Comedian", Debbie Rallo, Keely Allen, Erica Lea Shelton, Jerry Wisner, Grant Austin Waldman, Jessie LaBorn, Nathena Lewis, Randy Allen

Sources: Bobby Bragg via Avery. Official website. Written by Robert Hood

More on the Giant Monster Trip to Hawaii

More background videos for the upcoming puppet/live-action giant monster film, Giant Monsters Attack Hawaii (dir. Dane Neves) have become available. If you want some earlier info on the project, check out the Undead Backbrain article Update on the Giant Monster Attacking Hawaii and follow the links.

Or watch this new promotional video:

Meanwhile, here are some postcards from the monsters concerned. They're very considerate that way.

New Character Profiles:

On Green-Screen Filming:

And, yes, there's a giant robot involved! Here he is with his controller, Tom Hackett.

Doing Voice-overs:

Some More Pictures:

Above: Diane Ako, Dane Neves and friend

Above: Brent Watanabe

 

 Above: Jordan Harrison

Above: Michael B. Hardy

 

Above: Abercrumble and puppetmaker Sonny Vegas

Sources: via Avery Guerra; Facebook. Written by Robert Hood.

This Bug's Got Bite!

Remember the much-anticipated hillbilly horror/giant monster flick The Millennium Bug, directed by Kenneth Cran. Well, in case you've been living under a rock (and who doesn't sometimes) here's some comprehensive Undead Backbrain articles to remind you.

While they're off reading those, the rest of you can take a gander at the latest picture of the monster and his very special grin. Click on the image to get the full effect!

The film is completed and a limited early release DVD is now on sale (well before it's introduced to the world through a mainstream distributor). Right now, you can pick it up for $15 from http://mbugmovie.com/store.html. Buyers of this limited release DVD get exclusive access to the latest behind-the-scenes video, which shows (we're told) how they "filmed the scene in which actress Ginger Pullman gets slimed by the monster". The first thousand people who order the DVD will also be entered into a raffle for a signed piece of original artwork by director Kenneth Cran.

I haven't seen the film yet, but a few lucky reviewers have and the reception is enthusiastic. For example, Ain't It Cool News describes it as "...a dash of GODZILLA, a sprinkle of TEXAS CHAINSAW MASSACRE, and hell, even a bit of JURASSIC PARK mixed in" and io9.com adds: "... a seriously gory flick that answers the age-old question of what would happen if Godzilla rampaged through a Rob Zombie movie."

So far, The Millennium Bug is entered in eight festivals, in California, New York, Georgia, Indiana, Canada, France, and England. Tickets and information for each festival are on the website. Of special interest will be its presence on the program for the B Movie Celebration in Franklin, Indiana, which runs from 23rd to 25th of September (details can be found in this Brainspasm article).

Finally, I'll leave you with the really good news that the film's creators are giving away a free copy of the limited edition DVD each month to new email list members. So join the M-Bug team, and tell your friends to do likewise, for a chance at winning a copy of the movie: http://mbugmovie.com/join.html

Addendum: Four Behind-the-Scenes/Making of videos are now available, just like this one about making the monster's head:

Source: Press release (via Avery Guerra). Written by Robert Hood