You had to figure I'd be hyping the crap out of A Haunting in Salem during the week leading up to its DVD release next Tuesday, October 4th; it is, after all, my first produced script. But a story's one thing. Turning that story into a full-fledged, quite-literally-3D reality is a whole different thing altogether. And so, to start off Committed's coverage of all things A Haunting in Salem, we take a look at the film's captain, triple-threat Shane Van Dyke.
I say triple-threat because not only is Mr. Van Dyke the director behind a few of your favorite Asylum films - Paranormal Entity, 6 Guns and Titanic II - he's also the writer of a couple more - P.E., T2, Transmorphers: Fall of Man, The Day the Earth Stopped and Street Racer - as well as an accomplished actor: after a 17-episode stint on "Diagnosis: Murder" alongside his father, Barry Van Dyke (6 Guns), brother Carey Van Dyke (Mega Python vs. Gatoroid) and grandfather Dick Van Dyke (I don't have to tell you what Dick Van Dyke's from, you know damn well who he is), Shane graduated to the film world, picking up a few roles here and there, most notably in the rad two-part miniseries Shark Swarm, before running into the fine folks at The Asylum. Apparently it was love at first sight, because over the last three years they've worked side-by-side on some of the studio's biggest projects.
Outside The Asylum, Van Dyke has a role coming up in another shark film, Super Shark, alongside John Schneider and Asylum-Hall-of-Famer Sarah Lieving (Beast of Bray Road, Monster, 9/11 Commission Report, Mega Shark vs Crocosaurus, King of the Lost World etc etc etc). Super Shark, interestingly enough, is directed by the famed Fred Olen Ray, whose son, Christopher, directed Mega Shark vs Crocosaurus, Almighty Thor and 2 Headed Shark Attack, due in January. I wrote that one too, off a story by Ed DeRuiter. But I digress...
Also on the horizon for Van Dyke, the release of The Sacred, a film he and brother Carey wrote that stars Jeff Fahey, Jenny O'Hara and the legendary Sid Haig.
So, as you can see, Shane Van Dyke is a hyper-motivated, multi-talented kinda dude. For my money, 6 Guns was one of the best of the year, and Titanic II was much, much smarter than I expected. I'm not alone on that last one, because Committed readers voted Shane Van Dyke Best Script for Titanic II in last year's first annual Looney Awards for Excellence in Asylum Films, presented by yours truly.
What does this mean for A Haunting in Salem? It means the film is in excellent, capable hands. Honestly, the first time they told me he was directing, the first word that popped into my head was, "jackpot" (after "holy shit," of course). If you haven't seen his other efforts, check them out now, especially Paranormal Entity; it'll give you a viscerally-excellent idea of just how scared he can get you.
That's right, this one's as self-indulgent as they get: since I wouldn't dain to do observation notes on A Haunting in Salem -
no spoilers from this camp - but as I have now seen it (!!!), I did want to do a post about the experience of sitting down to watch the very first movie made because I wrote something down.
In a nutshell, it was pretty fucking awesome.
Truthfully, it was a little weird at first, I felt kinda like Albert Brooks in Broadcast News: "I say it here, it comes out there. Huh." When lines I remember writing and tweaking and ditching then resurrecting and tweaking some more came mellifluously spilling from the talented lips of the cast, my stomach flipped a little bit. Certain scenes, certain silent moments, they gave me chills that had nothing to do with the (incredibly frightening) ambiance.
I've been writing a very long time, since I was 11, and until now, any characters I've created have existed solely in my imagination. To have some of them walking around on my TV was surreal to say the least, and my wife was required to punch me gently on the arm every quarter hour to ensure it was real; she became less gentle as the film went on, as she's not one for being scared.
The actors - Bill Oberst Jr., Courtney Abbiati, Nicholas Harsin, Jenna Stone, Carey Van Dyke, Gerald Webb, Sonny King - did things with the roles I never could have written, things that transformed ideas into people and brought dimension to what had been a scary story, now just plain scary.
Composer Chris Ridenhour's score was spot-on - chilling, ferocious, chaotic, mind-bending. It augmented every scene, heightened every scare, and became very much an alive thing, another menacing character all its own.
I could go on and on; for me, an admittedly biased viewer, everything about the film - the camera work, the lighting, the make-up, the casting, the HOUSE - was brilliant. But that's how I'm supposed to see it, right? That's how it's supposed to feel, how you imagine it feels when you daydream about it: you're write a script, some incredibly talented people take it and turn it into something amazing you can be proud to be a part of.
And I am proud. I really really really am. Director Shane Van Dyke has made a great movie, a horror film with classical sensibilities and modern, innovative scare tactics. It's intimate and quiet one moment, cacophonous and violating the next, a terrifying whirlwind of cinema. I'm honored to have contributed.
And as for The Asylum itself...I'm just very grateful for the opportunity - ridiculously, massively grateful - and hope everyone is as happy with the film as I am, though I'm pretty damn happy, so that's a high bar.
Sure, I'm gushing a little bit, or a lot, but I wrote a movie because of all these wonderful people, and to me, that's a dream come true, so I've earned being eternally grateful and (perhaps childishly) emotive. I realize that I'm probably more lucky than I am talented - though I am quite talented; ask my wife, my mother, my 8th grade English teacher Mrs. Bradford or my bartenders, Glenn & Chots - and I know that my contribution is but a cog in the machine of this film, I just wanted a chance to say how happy I am to have been along for some of the ride.
So, to wrap it up, there's a really awesome horror film soon to be on DVD - Shane Van Dyke directed it, Alex Yellen shot it, Shannon Benna made it all 3D, Christopher Ray & Randy Carter assisted direction, Bill Oberst Jr, Courtney Abbiati, Nicholas Harsin, Jenna Stone, Gerald Webb, Carey Van Dyke & Sonny King gave it life, Chris Ridenhour made it scream, James Condelik cut it up, Alexa Roland, Spencer Brennan, Amber Hamzeh & Valerie K. Garcia made the fear tangible, Devin Ward managed the crap out of unit production, so many other fine folks sweated for it and I got to write it, all under the eyes and wings of B-movie royalty, the fine folks at The Asylum, specifically Mr.'s Rimawi, Latt & Bales and Ms. Brown - A Haunting in Salem, October 4th on DVD and Blu Ray, in 3D if you got the equipment.
Highest recommendation. Naturally.
That's right, exactly one month from today, on October 4th, 2011, A Haunting in Salem - my first produced script, directed by Shane Van Dyke and starring Bill Oberst Jr., Courtney Abbiati, Jenna Stone, Nicholas Harsin, Gerald Webb, Carey Van Dyke et al - will be released by the venerable peeps at The Asylum on DVD and Blu-Ray, in 3D if you have one of those fancy 3D TVs. For those fine folks looking to purchase the film, you can pre-order it from Amazon here, or if you're on the Netflix, add this shizzle to your queue now to ensure you're near the top of the list.
Today also marks a month chock-full of blatant plugging and hyping of the film by yours truly, including profiles of the creative personnel behind the film, links to press and advance reviews, an in-depth and exclusive interview with actor Bill Oberst Jr., possibly a surprise or two, and, of course, up-to-the-minute accounts of my general freaking out over what is easily the biggest deal in my life (until January 17th, that is.). Should be, at least, entertaining.
But fantasy fans don't fret, I'm well-aware that the next actual release from The Asylum is Mark Atkins' Dragon Crusaders, and rest-assured I'll be giving that film it's full due as well, including more profiles, an exclusive interview with actor Simon Lloyd-Roberts and my patented blend of objectivity and fanaticism in the form of Observation Notes.
It's gonna be a pretty rad and hectic month here at Committed; drop by often...
Exclusive news here: I received word this morning from the fine folks at The Asylum that A Haunting in Salem - the film I wrote for them being directed by Shane Van Dyke and starring Bill Oberst Jr, Courtney Abbiati, Jenna Stone, Nicholas Harsin, Gerald Webb and Carey Van Dyke, among others - has been pushed back from its original release date of August 23rd, to OCTOBER 4, 2011.
I for one am a big fan of this move. October is the perfect spot to release this hair-raising, spine-tingling, blood-curdling horror masterpiece (if i can say so myself, which, as it's my blog, i totally can). Yes, there will be a lot of horror releases that month, but that's just an opportunity for the incredible work done by Van Dyke, his actors and crew, to outshine all the others. Are you sensing my confidence here? Yeah, that's because this movie (the brief teaser I've seen of it, at least) is AWESOME. Tell everybody. Twice.
And yeah, it means I have to wait a little longer to see my first script brought to life, but I've been waiting since I was about ten; after 23 years, 6 more weeks won't kill me.
After all, anticipation only heightens the pleasure. And the horror.
I thought in this post we'd check in on some of the work being done by Asylum regulars outside the walls, that is, for other production companies besides the one we cherish so dear. This time, I thought we'd start with some of my favorite talent behind the camera.
Writer/director/cinematographer/etc. Mark Atkins, recently of Battle of Los Angeles and soon-to-present Dragon Crusaders, has another directorial effort due soon, the awesomely-premised Sand Sharks, starring Corin "Parker Lewis" Nemic, Brooke "Fruit of Hulk's Loins" Hogan and Vanessa Lee Evigan, Asylum vet for Journey to the Center of the Earth, in which she appeared with her father, the great Greg Evigan (also 6 Guns). I don't have the exact plot for this one, but the great thing about shark movies, is that once the premise is established, it pretty much goes in the same, wonderful direction. No release date for this one yet, either, but all indications are it'll be some time this year.
Anthony Fankhauser, director of 8213 Gacy House, 2012 Supernova and line producer of 17 other Asylum titles, has a pretty full plate of his own. IN addition to producing Atkins' Sand Sharks, he's also line producing a television film called Jabberwocky featuring the lovely Kacey Barnfield (Lake Placid 3). No word on whether it has anything to do with Lewis Carroll. Furthermore, Mr. Fankhauser has also written and directed a horror film called Grizzly Flats (formerly Shadow People) about a family terrorized by, well, shadow people. Danielle DeLuca stars.
Speaking, in a sense, of Lake Placid 3, its director, Griff Furst - known for directing The Asylum's 100 Million B.C., I Am Omega and Universal Soldiers - has been keeping busy as well. In addition to his recently-released horror flick Mask Maker, he was also at the helm for the recent SyFy Saturday Night entrant, Swamp Shark, starring D.B. Sweeney, Kristy Swanson and Robert Davi, recently of The Asylum's Ballistica. Swamp Shark aired last Saturday night to the highest ratings since Sharktopus. Seems SyFy fans realllllly like shark movies. And The Asylum has 2 Headed Shark Attack on its slate. I'm just sayin'...guaranteed ratings champ.
And finally, Christopher Ray, director of Mega Shark vs Crocosaurus and Almighty Thor, as well as being the first assistant director of A Haunting in Salem, has another gig as first assistant director in the pipeline, this time on the creature-thriller Camel Spiders, starring the great C. Thomas Howell (War of the Worlds, War of the Worlds 2, The Day the Earth Stopped, The Land That Time Forgot) and Brian Krause (2012 Supernova).
So as you can see, inside Asylum walls or out, the creative types responsible for your favorite films have a lot on the horizon. Don't feel the least bit guilty straying to support them.
I recognize that not all great films are made exclusively by The Asylum and that, in fact, there's a whole world of film outside these walls, some of which might actually interest Asylum fans - when they're not watching or re-watching Asylum films, of course. And, being as I'm only looking out for your viewing well-being, here's a peek at some other DVD releases this month which might satiate you between Asylum releases. But remember, as always, Sweet n' Low ain't sugar.
June 7th
Exorcismus
Green Lantern: Emerald Knights
Rubber
Slices of Life
Tortured
Universal Squadron
June 14th
Battle: Los Angeles
Chained
Chatroom
Fall Down Dead
Hall Pass
Kill the Irishman
Red Riding Hood
June 21st
Black Rat
Mega Python vs Gatoroid (!!!!!)
June 28th
2012 Ice Age
starring Patrick Labyorteaux & Julie McCullough
written by Victoria Dadi & Paul SInor
directed by Trey Stokes
Dawning
Norwegian Ninja
Sucker Punch
Warehouse 13: Season 2
Enjoy!
Man oh man is this one shaping up to be a great film (and not just cuz I wrote it): The Asylum has released 8 new stills from A Haunting in Salem, now in post-production, and from the looks of things, this one's gonna be creeeeeepy.
Featuring cast members Bill Oberst Jr, Courtney Abbiati, Jenna Stone and Carey Van Dyke, it looks like director Shane Van Dyke and his erstwhile crew have made something destined to scare the crap out of viewers everywhere. Hop over to the film's official page on The Asylum site to see the whole, bloody set, then check back on August 23rd of this year, when A Haunting in Salem is released on DVD, Blu-Ray and Video On Demand.
This one's gonna kick your ass, believe it.
Now that production has wrapped on The Asylum's next horror film A Haunting in Salem - directed by Shane Van Dyke from a script I wrote - we're getting more details about who will be supporting the principle cast of Bill Oberst Jr., Courtney Abbiati, Jenna Stone and Nicholas Harsin. We already know the great Gerald Webb (Battle of Los Angeles, MSvC) will be playing Mayor Collins, and Carey Van Dyke (MPvG) will fill the role of Deputy Mike; now we can add two more names, in albeit smaller roles, but it's my firm believe - since, again, I wrote the script - that there are no small parts in A Haunting in Salem, just one with fewer lines. And screen time. Anyway...
First up is the lovely Catherine Lidstone (left) playing the role of "Sarah Good," about which I will divulge no spoilers. In addition to acting, Ms. Lidstone is also a singer/songwriter, and spent her college years at beautiful Middlebury College in Vermont. This will be Ms. Lidstone's first film, but as tremendous a film as A Haunting in Salem is going to be - think The Others meets Paranormal Activity with better camerawork and a more classical narrative approach, plus that extra dimension - no doubt this time next year she'll be a household name :)
Three articles went up today for The Asylum's next horror film, the Shane Van Dyke-directed and me-scripted A Haunting in Salem, starring Bill Oberst Jr, Courtney Abbiati, Jenna Stone, Nicholas Harsin, Carey Van Dyke and Gerald Webb. Read and spread the good word!
28 Days Later
More Horror
McBastard's Mausoleum
Courtesy of A Haunting in Salem's IMDB page,
another cast member of the upcoming Asylum ghost story has been revealed. The film already stars Bill Oberst Jr, Nicholas Harsin, Courtney Abbiati, Gerald Webb and Jenna Stone, and now, at last, the identity of the last major character, "Mike," deputy to Mr. Oberst's sheriff, is out in the open: none other than Carey Van Dyke.
Carey is the older brother of Salem director Shane Van Dyke, son of Barry (6 Guns), and is best known - to me, at least - for his awesome work in Mega Python vs Gatoroid as Tiffany's intended, Justin. Dude had a great (SPOILER) death scene in that one. He also appeared in notable roles in both films Shane directed last year for the Asylum - Titanic II and 6 Guns.
Having a little insight to the character - as, if you didn't already know from my incessant mentioning of it, I wrote this script - I think CVD is an excellent choice for the character I consider the most likable of the film. Another score for the Asylum casting department.
A Haunting in Salem is filming now in Pasadena, CA for an August 23, 2011 release. Rest assured I'll remind you. Constantly.
You had to figure I'd be hyping the crap out of A Haunting in Salem during the week leading up to its DVD release next Tuesday, October 4th; it is, after all, my first produced script. But a story's one thing. Turning that story into a full-fledged, quite-literally-3D reality is a whole different thing altogether. And so, to start off Committed's coverage of all things A Haunting in Salem, we take a look at the film's captain, triple-threat Shane Van Dyke.
