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Loaded Gun
‘NIGHTMARE’ IN NYC Milton-based filmmaker, John R. Hand, is gearing for an exclusive theatrical engagement of his full-length horror flick, “Frankenstein’s Bloody Nightmare” at NYC’s Pioneer Theater in the East Village from Wednesday, Oct. 11 to Tuesday, Oct. 17.
“It’s very exciting yet very scary to me in some way because it’s such a big place and big media market,” Hand remarks. “But I’m going to be in New York the entire run so I’m really excited about the whole thing.”
In a contemporary twist on the “Frankenstein” tale, Hand plays Victor Karlstein, a brilliant young scientist who finds himself falling into an abyss of personal turmoil and professional stress after a female patient dies while under his care. Determined to keep his love interest and patient alive, Karlstein uses a mechanically enhanced reanimated corpse to murder young women in order to furnish raw parts for her new body.
“It came in a weird way,” he says, talking about the inspiration behind the film he shot in downtown Pensacola and near his home in Milton. “I was helping a friend transfer his Super 8 home movies to video. There was something about the format that really intrigued me and it brought back memories of when I was a kid and when I would collect old bits of projectors and cameras.”
Similar to the “mad scientist” protagonist in his film, Hand pieced together an old-school Super 8 camera from the hardware parts he stored in his garage.
“It seemed like an interesting format to tell a really strange story,” he says. “I describe it as a fantastic film, having one foot in the past and one foot in the future. It’s dreamlike and kind of in that unknown zone—in that unknown vector—and I thought Super 8 would be an interesting way to visually tell the story.”
Hand says audiences so far, including fans at Pensacola’s Silver Screen premiere in August—have been polarized about his experimental exploration of the aggressive male psyche gone terribly awry.
“People either really love it or really hate it,” he says. “I don’t think a film like this has been shot in Pensacola before. It has a cohesive rhythm to it but it doesn’t necessarily follow a traditional mold.”
As far as the future of “Frankenstein’s Bloody Nightmare,” Hand is somewhat ambivalent.
“I have no clue what’s up for me,” the filmmaker says. “I’ve sold the DVD rights and I’ll probably attend the Pensacola Film Festival but after that, who knows.”
Check out www.pulsingcinema.com for the lowdown.
RAVE REVIEW Jeremy Devine, Rave Motion Picture’s vice president of marketing, stopped by Loaded Gun headquarters last week to discuss the construction of the chain’s Bayou 15 theater near Cordova Mall in Pensacola. According to the Dallas-based spokesperson, the new hotspot will be full of “bells and whistles” and is slotted for a grand opening of Wednesday, Nov. 22.
“Out of all of the theaters in the country, this has to be one of the first that will be all digital,” he says, sitting next to the new Bayou Plaza location’s manager, Gayle Kelly. “The idea of all-digital has been talked about for awhile and you would have the occasional art house or multiplex with one or two screens retrofit. But, to open a brand new, state-of-the-art theater like Bayou with all 15 screens digital? You can count them on two hands.”
Devine says with 32 screens in the Pensacola market, Rave can possibly offer more limited-release films and will screen graphic-intensive reissues like Tim Burton’s “The Nightmare Before Christmas” and “Star Wars” in a 3D environment.
“We’re making a commitment to the town,” Devine continues. “We’re really happy to be able pull-in more limited platform films now because we have the shelf space. However, it may be awhile with the real exclusive stuff and limited-release films that have only a hundred copies in distribution.”
Visit www.ravemotionpictures.com for updates.
PLT SPOOKS Unfortunately, the Pensacola Little Theatre has decided to put “Stage Fright” on hiatus this year. However, organizers insist that the haunted theatrical experience will return in October 2007, then they’ll rotate the event every other year.
Also, the PLT considered and started planning a “Mad Monster Bash” and “Masquerade Ball” for Saturday, Oct. 28 as a “Stage Fright” alternative, but have decided that without adequate lead time to pull off a bona-fide hit event, they’ll have to shelve the idea and plan for an official launch in October 2008.
No “Stage Fright” this year? Now, that’s scary.
On a positive note, the Independent News is handing over the proceeds to the upcoming Best of the Coast celebration from 6-9 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 15 at Seville Quarter’s Apple Annie’s Courtyard to help the non-profit theater recoup its losses. The culturally inspired evening will include live entertainment from country crooner Paul Ewing, a silent auction, cocktails and refreshments provided by a bevy of award-winning restaurants and businesses.
New this year is the Rat Pack-inspired press party to be held 6-9 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 11 at the Atlas Oyster House, 600 Barracks St. Former IN Music Awards winners, The Cripple Lilies, will perform.
Go to www.inweekly.net for details.
