Boasting the indelible tagline "Gobble, gobble, motherfu%#@r!", Thankskilling is a project of love, devotion, and Jim Hensen-like puppet skills. Not since The Gingerdead Man (2005) has such an inconspicuous, as well as delicious, murderer been conceived for a straight to DVD-release. Thankskilling follows a group of archetypal college students heading home for Thanksgiving break. When their car breaks down on the way, and the legend of a cursed, bloodthirsty turkey is recounted around a campfire, the bird is out of the bag.
Filmmakers Jordan Downey and Kevin Stewart made the film in 11 days while still in school with a budget under $3,500. Understanding what they were really trying to accomplish, Downey and Stewart worked hard not just at making a film, but making a cult experience that could match the morbidly hilarious massacres of Herschell Gordon Lewis, on about the same budget.
While Thankskilling is a comical romp through slasher conventions, it delves into the phenomenon of the "cult," jamming itself into publications like Fangoria, Horror Hound, and SCARS magazines. Most cult films get their start as sleeper sensations, moving silently through art houses and exclusive venues, cultivating the games, costumes, and rituals that expand its status. However, Thankskilling has started forming its congregation prior to its official DVD-release. The independent project has already found itself on Amazon, Netflix, IMDB.com, twitter, mypace, and facebook (where 1,445 fans have already declared their appreciation by friending the film).
The most impressive cult aspect of Thankskilling could be the eccentric turkey puppetry, but its own website offers so much more. Downey and Stewart embrace the camp of their film and encourage web surfers and film enthusiasts participation privileges. The webpage extras include downloadable materials used to make the film such as shooting scripts, photoshop files, and scripts, giving all potential filmmakers a sense of ease as they embark on their own works. Also, the fan contests open the door for musicians to write Thankskilling-inspired songs and artists to submit their own fan art. Not stopping there, the contests can be anything a fan could dream of, as long at it's an original idea and is Thankskilling-oriented (so your brand new turkey hairstyle could get you some sweet swag from the the crew).
My personal favorite feature draws on a committed bootleg bastardization of the original director's cut. Compassionately called the "Non-Director's Cut Contest," Downey and Stewart ask fans to recut the film themselves, whether it be a short, trailer, or feature length edit, and submit it for the chance to win a prop used in the film. It befits the mania that the turkey-slasher has his very own slashing contest, calling on fan devotion and creativity to be a part of the film's history and inevitable cult following*.
It's no secret that low-budget horror is a formulaic, and often futile, excursion. Films like Evil Bong (2006) and Return of the Living Dead (1985), appreciate the quirk of the killer without taking themselves too seriously (mostly likely why Blockbuster still carries them). Thankskilling holds tribute to those that came before, and embraces the horror in horrible, which catapults it directly into the must-see category for all fans of the cult classic because, yes, it will be a classic. There is no doubt that if you find yourself rolling your eyes at Native American curses, neon red corn syrup, and incompetent police officers, then keep your turkey stuffed and served with cranberries. But if you do enjoy "who dies next?" drinking games and offbeat fowl-mouthed poultry (pun intended), then you can pre-order the region-free disc at http://thankskillingmovie.com/, pending its release on November 17th.
*Contest ends November 15th.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment