Ahoy, squirts! Quint here with a quick report from directly from the San Diego Convention Center and the Comic-Con. I've heard through my moles that Harry's filled you in on my delay... add in the difficulties of 56k hell and you get an idea of what I've been doing with.
Be that as it may, I have coverage of the first day of panels. First, I nabbed a pic of the SIN CITY promotional banner that's hanging around the Con. I know the pic is out there, but in case you haven't seen it:
Alright, on with the panel coverage. I saw three panels today, but only two of any interest. David E. Allen, the producer of DOG SOLDIERS, held a panel for his two upcoming horror releases BOO, a haunted hospital flick directed by Anthony Ferrante and CEMETERY GATES, a mutated Tasmanian devil (no shit) that terrorizes Reggie Bannister and a bunch of hot young people. Oh, and that mutated Tasmanian devil is called "Precious." No shit. Wanna meet her?
Yeah... Now I love David Allen. He's got one of those great personalities that's so big and full of grandeur that he's a joy to hang around. He tells his stories as a producer with a sort of epicness that he bellows with his Arkansas accent. He loves what he does and his eye for good new low-budget horror is evident with DOG SOLDIERS.
But I have to say that I wasn't impressed with either of the trailers he showed during his panel. BOO visually looks like a mixture of the average FULL MOON ENTERTAINMENT film from the early '90s and Roger Corman circa HUMANOIDS FROM THE DEEP. It's premise it totally out of the '80s... A group of teenagers go to a haunted hospital on Halloween and mayhem ensues. The interior of the hospital actually looks pretty good. The location is just inherently spooky... some of the gore effects look good (especially the old, dried flesh covered skull)... but most of the actors are unknowns and the line delivery they showed in the trailer was pretty bad.
If BOO is half-and-half good Roger Corman and mediocre Full Moon Ent. then CEMETERY GATES is 100% Full Moon Ent. And not the good stuff like PUPPET MASTER.
Listen, I don't fault David Allen for producing B-Grade horror films, but in my opinion he's squandering the promise he showed in producing a film like DOG SOLDIERS. Like it or not, there is a substantial difference in quality between DOG SOLDIERS and the stuff he's making know. I saw it on the Comic-Con screens and I'm sure you guys can tell just by the plot summary of the above films that it seems to be a step away from what he did on DOG SOLDIERS. Just take a look at one of the werewolves from DS that Allen has in his booth (in bright, unflattering light) with Precious above.
I think it would benefit David Allen to focus on a unique, quality horror script and pour a little bit of money into it. The problem I see is he's spreading his money thin on 3 or 4 micro-budgeted films. If he just focused on 1 or 2 quality projects a time, that don't rely on making its money back due to small budget size and lots of fake tits and fake blood, for a few million dollars and made sure they were shot professionally I'd be really happy. I loved championing DOG SOLDIERS and would love to champion David Allen's next flick, but from what I've seen on both BOO and CEMETERY GATES... Well, I can't get behind them based on the footage that was shown to us at the Con.
I'm not laying all the fault on Allen. The people (cast, crew, etc) he hired have to shoulder some of the responsibility as well, but Allen, who is notoriously hands on, did greenlight these scripts and decided to do them on the cheap. And I'm sure he had a hand in the almost spoof-like taglines in the trailers. CEMETERY GATES: "It will kill 17 people in 90 minutes!" and "She just wants to play... with YOUR CORPSE!!!"
Now, one of the panelists was Reggie Bannister, one of my favorite people... You probably know him most from the PHANTASM films...
And he dropped a hint about the next PHANTASM film, which he believes will start shooting at the end of this year. I've heard some rumblings about this, but I'm gonna keep a lid on what I've heard until I can get a confirmation. Cool news for us PHANS, that's for sure.
And bringing up DOG SOLDIERS... Allen did bring up the sequel, DOG SOLDIERS: FRESH MEAT. The only thing he really brought up specifically is that it will start up directly where the first one left off and will have more Americans in it. I know the original director isn't on board, so I hope Allen gets the right team behind the camera.
Now on to Richard Kelly's DONNIE DARKO: THE DIRECTOR'S CUT panel... Kelly (who is "hotter than expected" according to one female fan who asked a question) didn't bring any footage, but he did bring some friends:
That woman freaks me out! But she seemed really kind in real life, not the Sparkle Motion nazi from the movie. I'm glad Frank, The Bunny and Kitty, the Sparkle Motion nazi was there, but that bastard Kelly didn't bring either Drew Barrymore or Jena Malone. I guess he know I would whip out the old seaman charm and sweep them off their feet... Or, more likely, knock 'em on the head and drag 'em away. Smart move, Kelly. Smart move.
The room was filled to the brim with Darko fans and fanatics. Nothing was really said about the DONNIE DARKO: THE DIRECTOR'S CUT that isn't already known from the many reviews we've posted here.
What was new was some description of what to expect on the DONNIE DARKO: THE DIRECTOR'S CUT DVD... It'll be 2-disc set, with a long production journal... apparently lots of behind the scenes video was shot and much of it will end up here. There'll also be a new commentary recorded with some special guests that they wouldn't announce.
Kelly was really secretive about his upcoming film SOUTHLAND TALES, other than to say it's a comedy, a thriller and a musical and that it will have the same editor and cinematographer as DONNIE DARKO.
After the panel, Kelly was mobbed. Check out this pic... I'm sure you can come up with a great caption.
I'm working on getting a few questions to Kelly in the near future, so keep your eye on the site for more info on his upcoming projects and the DONNIE DARKO director's cut.
That's it from me. I have a super secret screening to run off to. Ain't I special? I leave you folks with this image... This is one of two guardians that are set up in front of the San Diego Convention Center... I don't know about you, but I don't feel very safe with these bastards on the loose!
I'll be back soon with more Comic-Con goodness! Lots of good stuff coming up, including the panels for BATMAN BEGINS, CONSTANTINE, THE INCREDIBLES AND THE ROTK:EE! 'Til that day, this is Quint bidding you all a fond farewell and adieu.
-Quint
