io9
Though Cloverfield is definitely one of the great giant monster movies of recent years, it's best feature was also its worst feature: the reality-TV feel to the acting and camera work. I'm a fan of the jiggy-cam stuff, but I was one of many who had no sympathy at all for the entitled yuppie main characters who YouTubed their own demise. Now a new crop of truly indie monster movies may offer a corrective to the New York rich kid POV in Cloverfield. The forthcoming Blob-meets-illegal-pharmaceuticals flick Bio-Slime, whose trailer you can consume right here, is a good example of these new-style monster flicks, whose low production values look suddenly professional in light of the faux-low production on Cloverfield. Other indie monsters are rampaging in your DVD drive next year too.
Though Cloverfield is definitely one of the great giant monster movies of recent years, it's best feature was also its worst feature: the reality-TV feel to the acting and camera work. I'm a fan of the jiggy-cam stuff, but I was one of many who had no sympathy at all for the entitled yuppie main characters who YouTubed their own demise. Now a new crop of truly indie monster movies may offer a corrective to the New York rich kid POV in Cloverfield. The forthcoming Blob-meets-illegal-pharmaceuticals flick Bio-Slime, whose trailer you can consume right here, is a good example of these new-style monster flicks, whose low production values look suddenly professional in light of the faux-low production on Cloverfield. Other indie monsters are rampaging in your DVD drive next year too.In Birth of a Legend: Story of the Wawa, irradiated worms used by Alabamans fishing in a polluted river turn into a giant monster that eats people. Here's a plot synopsis:
Sweet Tee, Alabama was a friendly town, Family Friendly. But Sweet Tee had a secret. You see, in the Tennessee River that flowed right through the middle of town, there lived some kind of a swamp monster. And it preferred the taste of human flesh over all others. A loser journalist, a burned-out hippie and a brainy scientist chick found themselves smack dab in the middle of this situation... and it was up to them to fix things.And another regional flick, Serpent Lake, is set in Minnesota, where people have started disappearing. According to the filmmakers:
This monster is one of the best-known mysteries of crypto zoology. Most scientists and other experts find current evidence supporting the creature's existence unpersuasive and regard the occasional sightings as hoaxes or misidentification of known creatures or natural phenomena. Minnesotans believe in this legend, even though their theories may vary. The creature thought to be a plesiosaur being the most popular of these theories.Both the Wawa and the Serpent, like Clovie, come from the water and just want to eat people and be left alone.
I look forward to a return to the 1970s monster movie era, when cheapo productions in the Midwest and the South churned out great flicks about monsters created by evil polluters, evil yuppies, evil corporations, evil racists, evil people in small towns, evil aliens, and evil government programs.
Check out the official sites for Bio-Slime, Serpent Lake, and Birth of a Legend: Story of the Wawa (Thanks, averyguerra!)
Comments
Sci-Fi Channel here we come, doo-dah, doo-dah
or
Nice to see Tommy Wiseau branching out.
Ooh. Bio-Slime looks pretty ace. I love "corrupted human" horror.
That's a pretty polished trailer for "in production." If the acting's up to par, I could easily see it getting picked up on the festival circuit.
But I'm a big champion of homebrew filmmaking, but those descriptions of Birth of a Legend: Story of the Wawa and Serpent Lake both sound like every bad logline from every mediocre spec script I've ever read. I'm hoping that's not an omen.
yo dudes
i have no idea if it is my connection or what but every time i watch a clip hosted on the site, it is choppy.
does this happen for anyone else/is there a fix?
@epitomeoftight: Well, this clip was sourced from a slightly choppy trailer, that had a couple of noticeable stutters... what are the other ones you've had trouble playing lately?
@epitomeoftight:
Same here, using Opera 9.24.
So it sounds like Squirm 2? "You be da wormface!"
Bio Slime might be ok, awful title though. Does it all take place in a single room?
Sure sign of doom: director, writer, and producer are the same guy, and he names the production company after himself.
@Charlie Jane Anders:
the trailer on the film's website/youtube doesn't look very choppy :-\
it happens with pretty much all of the videos i've tried to watch
@epitomeoftight: I'll third (second was taken)
@epitomeoftight: Can you describe the problem? Does it keep stopping and starting? Pausing? Does it affect the sound or just the picture?
Don't forget last year's DVD smash hit ripoff "Monster", from "The Asylum". That's the people that brought you "Transmorphers", "I Am Omega", "Pirates of Treasure Island", and "The Da Vinci Treasure". Later this year, they've got "100 Million BC".
I bet you think I'm kidding.
@Charlie Jane Anders: only the picture is affected, it is choppy and skips. the video loads completely
is it just me or is that REALLY similar to THE THING
I'm having the same issues with videos. The video loads completely, just plays back in a choppy way. At first I thought my video card was crappy or something (well, it kind of is), but I guess not.
/the shiny guy always worries.
Why do they have swords?
"entitled yuppie main characters"
I think you're projecting some sort of prejudice you have onto them. For one thing, the word "yuppies" hasn't been in since the early 90s. The current term is "hipsters", and I think only Rob qualifies.
Going back to Cloverfield for a sec: Personally I really liked the fact that I did not connect with the characters. Monster movies tend to juxtaposition evil/good in such a formulaic way that you already know how things are going to pan out by merely holding it in your hand.
Cloverfield was different in that aspect. I could immerse myself in the experience of "wtf would I do if my town suddenly was under attack?".
"War of the Worlds" tried, with an eerily similar scene, to convey that trundled mass hysteria of tons of scared people getting onto a ferry. In Cloverfield it was a bridge. The scenes handled basically the same reactions, but, in Cloverfield, thanks to the POV and the totally random and generic main characters, I felt what the crowd felt.
I think that it was a clever way to tell a story, and I would'nt mind seeing at least two more iterations of it. One traditional big budget, no-bars-hold-explosions-and-tits-action movie, and one, of course, from the perspective of the monster itself : )
@CaptainValiant: Are they the same ones that brought you Snakes on a Train?
I don't understand the hostility to the Cloverfield characters.
"Entitled yuppies"?
Perhaps a bit of projection there?
I thought it was a kick-ass movie and dug the hell out of the viral web stuff, even though it ultimately didn't pay off, and they dropped it as soon as the movie came out.
But would it have been better with different characters? I dunno, but deeper characterization would have dragged the story down, imho. Keeping it simple kept it nice and tight.
Just my 2 cents...
@Jonn&Katana
I swear I didn't read your posts before I wrote mine.
Great minds apparently think alike!
Ha!
When I fear the b-movie fallout approaching from Cloverfield clones, I'm encouraged that the Blair Witch Project spawned one of my personal favorites, FreakyLinks. Art, it most definitely wasn't, but it's the closest series - in spirit - to the original Kolchak, the Night Stalker that recent TV has produced (despite many dismal failed efforts).
If you guys mean by "highly choppy video", "highly crappy video", I completely agree.
Makes me YEARN for sci fi channel acting abilities.
@Jonn:
Hipster can't mean Yuppie, they weren't hip at all.
-Kle.
@Klebert: Did you see Rob's beard? I ask you, did you see his beard?
@jane2073: They are! Also "Alien vs. Hunter". They've got a business model and they're sticking to it!
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